Franklin MAtters Weekly: economic development

Showing posts with label economic development. Show all posts

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Full week of meetings features a packed Town Council agenda & Economic Development session exploring "Permitting 101" (audio)

We are in the middle of September and the week ahead holds a full slate of meetings.

The Ad Hoc Committee for the Town Administrator Evaluation starts to work on Monday morning.

The Planning Board meeting is canceled on Monday evening but they along with members of the Design Review, Conservation Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeal are slated for participation in a “Permitting 101” discussion on Thursday at the Economic Development Subcommittee meeting.

The Horace Mann Legacy Committee continues their work on Monday. The 250th Anniversary Celebration also meets Monday in a virtual session.

Design Review has enough business to continue to hold their session on Tuesday.

The Town Council has a full agenda with recognition of a number of Town employee retirements, legislative updates from Senator Rausch and Rep Jeff Roy, presentations from the Franklin Food Pantry, SAFE Coalition, and the 250th Anniversary Celebration

The Council holds office hours Thursday morning at the Senior Center

The 250th Events Subcommittee is scheduled to continue their work on Thursday as well as the Economic Development meeting mentioned above.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news/ where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1820-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-09-13-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 9/11/26 9:00 PM ***

Town Administrator Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee Meeting

Monday, September 14 Time: 9:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09142026-2498

FPS - Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee

Monday, September 14 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09142026-2500

Planning Board Meeting-Cancelled

Monday, September 14 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09142026-2493

250th Anniversary Celebration Committee

Monday, September 14 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09142026-2501

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Finance Committee Meeting

Tuesday, September 15 Time: 12:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09152026-2510

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, September 15 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09152026-2499

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, September 16 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09162026-2512

Town Council Monthly Office Hours

Thursday, September 17 Time: 8:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2506

EDC Meeting (with Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission & Design Review Commission)

Thursday, September 17 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2504

DR - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2496

PB - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2503

ZBA - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2484

250th Anniversary Celebration Events Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, September 17 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09172026-2511

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

Town/ School meetings

On Tuesday, the School Committee Policy Subcmte met. The recap and exclusive audio can be found https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/schcmte-policy-subcommittee-tackles.html
Also on Tuesday, the School Committee got insights into the District Improvement Plan for this school year and provided feedback. The meeting recap and video https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/school-committee-gets-insights-on.html
The Conservation Commission met on Thursday. Franklin TV video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v0hjRy54lg

FHS Sports broadcasts

FHS girls varsity soccer game on Tuesday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8HrEx4uEyk
FHS football game on Thursday shared via coverage by Wachusetts High School - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D63b_TI3WA
FHS girls volleyball match vs Bishop Feehan on Friday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AipFJCMPv8

All Access programming

The Second Sunday Speaker Series in August features Scott Mason sharing the Franklin connection to the bombing of Nagaski, Japan in World War II. The video is available for replay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGtNLXDSr-Q
An episode of Once Upon a Town, filmed with an audience at Franklin TV Studios was published to YouTube. Watch to find out about the history of the race track that used to be on the land where Shaw’s and the HOrace Mann Plaza is today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwWnZ06S0dw

Franklin Matters

Town Council Quarterbacking with Councilor Max Morrongiello recapping the Council’s Sep 2 meeting is available https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/town-council-quarterbacking-with-town.html
The audio recording of the 25th Anniversary 9/11 Memorial Services is available https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/franklin-fire-dept-25th-anniversary-911.html

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Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Another short list of meetings yet development projects are a key topic

Yet another short set of meetings on the schedule for this week, August 2 through August 8, 2026.

The Economic Development Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday reviews a plan for a Downtown study to be done with UMass Boston students along with a proposal for a revision to the Friendly 40b policy.

The Commission on Disability meets on Thursday at the Senior Center discusses multiple topics including consideration for adding a virtual option to the meetings to improve accessibility.

The Charter School Board meets to among other things set objects & goals for the Executive Director as well as the Board.

Finally, the Zoning Board of Appeals gets to take up the proposal for the 39 unit condo development on Washington St.

The complete agenda for each of these meetings are listed below.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out Franklin.news/ where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1790-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-02-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/31/26 8:30 PM ***

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, August 4 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08042026-2434

Franklin Commission on Disability Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2427

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2431

ZBA Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2429

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*** Looking back at the week that was ***

Town/ School meetings

The only meeting broadcast this week was the Conservation Commission session on Thursday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXCJw2kre3Y

The Planning & Community Development shared the Zoom copy of the Design Review session held July 21 which introduced the Depot Plaza project. The video is available

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/design-review-commission-meeting-july.html

All Access Programming

Frank Falvey interviewed Norfolk County District Attorney candidate Bob Jubenville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg8KlpKhxl0

There is a new episode of the Aging Agenda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXTYChTbE-c

A new episode of Aging Boldfully

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFLTNIpNsWw

Jason Poulos, candidate for the MA 4th District was interviewed for Franklin Matters

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/jason-poulos-explains-his-stand-on-key.html

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Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Only 2 meetings this coming week gives time to discuss the new topics raised last week

This week has the shortest list of meetings this year, only 3 on the calendar with one of them canceled.

This would be a good time to get into some of the topics that arose this week that should be further discussed.

Tuesday’s Design Review Commission got a presentation on the proposal for redevelopment of the Depot Plaza. The owner/developer is asking for 2 variances: 1 for 4 stories and 1 for a reduction in the parking requirements.

Objections have already been raised against the 4 stories and around the parking, generally from the same folks who advocated for the street scape project (which changed the look and feel of downtown) but didn’t bring in the additional economic development it hoped for. The developer has expressed willingness to work to adjust the proposal. However, the 4th story is what makes the project financially doable. Maybe it is time to change the approach.

Wednesday’s marathon Town Council session also raised a couple of items for discussion, first up, the potential sale of some of Franklin’s excess sewer capacity. THere is a discussion around how much is excess and what the pricing should be, but there is excess, and if the sewer rate payers can get dollars back, that is a good & neighborly thing to do. More to come in September on this topic.

The 300 Fisher St superfund site is under remediation by the EPA. They are conducting the remediation with Federal funds as the current property owner is not the business that created the mess. The EPA is looking for community input on the potential reuse of the site in order to determine the next steps in remediation. Stay tuned for that opportunity reportedly coming in a couple of months.

One other topic (the audit result) should also help to put to rest the recurring comment around mismanagement of Town finances. There are always going to be differences in priorities, but the Town (yet again) is confirmed as financially in good shape. The AAA rating is a good thing.

So what kind of Town do we want to be? Do we want good revenues to meet the service demands of the community? Our revenue options are limited so the discussion needs to happen.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1783-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-07-26-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/24/26 6:00 PM ***

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, July 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07272026-2425

Planning Board Meeting - Cancelled

Monday, July 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07272026-2415

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, July 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/620?fileID=9803

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*** Looking back at the week that was ***

The light meeting week that was, resulted in 2 broadcasts

Town/ School meetings

Town Council meeting TV link and recap -

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/franklin-town-council-votes-to-extend.html

Economic Development Subcmte TV link and recap -

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/economic-development-subcommittee.html

All Access Programming

Porchfest 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlre--9Cq9Y

—-----------

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html

Saturday, July 18, 2026

Design Review meeting scheduled to provide an initial view of the proposal to replace the Depot Plaza building

No matter the summer weather, some Town business continues. One of the busier weeks comes around this week beginning July 19 and running through July 25.

The Design Review Commission looks at signs for a new “Fresh Monkee” food oriented business which will apparently bring “Truly Healthy Shakes” according to the sign up for review.

More importantly, the Design Review also gives us an initial view of the proposal to replace the Depot Plaza building. The site plan and architectural renderings of the proposal can be found as links in the agenda document.

The Town Council has a potpourri of items on this only meeting of the month of July. Some alcohol license transactions, street acceptance, some more committee appointments, etc.

The Board of Assessors meet briefly on Thursday (at 5:30 PM) and then join the Economic Development Subcmte (at 6:00 PM)for a discussion on “new growth”; the process and how it is calculated. This should be an informative session. Check the agenda for the supporting documents released for this meeting.

Friday closes out the week with the Farmers Market and entertainment provided by Concerts on the Common.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1779-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-07-19-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/17/26, 9:00 PM ***

Housing Authority

Tuesday, July 21 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-2418

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, July 21 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-2419

Council on Aging Board Meeting - No Meeting

Wednesday, July 22 Time: 11:00 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07222026-2397

Charles River Pollution Control District