Summertime, the living is easy as we ease into the 4th of July weekend

We can put “Summertime, and the living is easy”  on repeat as we ease into the long 4th of July weekend.

Less than a handful of meetings this week. The Agricultural Committee and Planning Board meets on Monday. The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust meets on Tuesday. 

While the Board of Health has a meeting scheduled for their normal first Wednesday of the month, there is no agenda posted and it may not occur. Prior meeting discussion was around whether there was a need to meet during the summer. Nothing was pressing at the time.

The 4th of July Celebration opens on Wednesday and runs through Sunday on the Town Common. Carnival rides open daily with a wrist band or ride package available. Live music is scheduled each day with the 5th Annual Mike Crandall Blues Festival on Saturday. Fireworks close out Saturday night at 10 PM from Franklin High School.

The Franklin Democratic Committee, the Rod and Gun Club, and the 4th Coalition will operate food booths during the event. Supporting these organizations are a win-win; food or refreshments for you and the family, and you help the group.

You can check out the 4th of July Coalition page for their full schedule. The Coalition is community supported so your donation can help support this event.

Each day's schedule will also be shared via the Franklin.news daily newsletter. 

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 6/27/25, 8:00 PM

Franklin Agricultural Committee

Monday, June 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Agricultural-Commission-13/?#_06302025-1797 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, June 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06302025-1798 

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Tuesday, July 1 Time: 2:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/437?fileID=5188 

BOARD OF HEALTH MEETINGS

Wednesday, July 2 Time: 5:00 PM

no agenda at this time (not likely meeting)

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

A short week of meetings this past week.

The School Committee policy subcommittee met virtually on Tuesday at 6 PM to preview the fee discussion and decision before the full meeting at 7 PM. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/franklin-school-cmte-policy-subcmte-mtg.html

The full School Committee meeting met at 7 PM with 5 members participating for this virtual session. Franklin TV did not broadcast this session as it was virtual only. The audio for both the Policy subcommittee and full meeting is available at Franklin.news. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/school-committee-meets-virtually.html 

The Conservation Commission met on Thursday. Franklin TV video is available for replay on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glunYy20aWs 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars 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.

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

Franklin Schools close out for the summer, June 18, District prepares for September 2025

School closes out this week with half days as Franklin prepares for redistricting starting in September. The last day to register for bus transportation is Friday, June 20. Any requests after Friday can not be guaranteed a bus seat for September.

A small slate of meetings are scheduled for this shortened week with Town and School facilities closed Thursday for Juneteenth. 

The Planning Board meets on Monday and the Town Council on Wednesday. The Council agenda includes ratification of multiple union contracts. The School Committee approved their teacher contract in their last session June 10. 

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars 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.

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 6/13/25, 10:30 PM

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, June 16, 2025 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Planning-Board-23/?#_06162025-1786

Brownfields Cleanup Plan Review for 21 Grove Street

Tuesday, June 17 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Legal-Notices-29/?#_06172025-1770

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, June 18 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Town-Council-4/?#_06182025-1788

Town officials office hours  canceled

June 19 all Town, schools closed for Juneteenth Holiday

ZBA Meeting canceled

Thursday, June 19th https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Zoning-Board-of-Appeals-31/?#_06192025-1745 

Council on Aging Meeting

Friday, June 20th. Time: 1:30 PM

No agenda posted

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

State Representative Jeff Roy hosted an appreciation event on Monday, June 9 to recognize the collaboration to bring a single family home back into the Franklin Housing Authority (FHA) inventory. It has been stuck in a legal limbo for about 20 years and finally got unstuck, renovated, and is now occupied by a Franklin family.  The audio and video of the event can be found  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/audio-recording-of-fha-appreciation.html

The Franklin School Committee reluctantly approved their revised budget to account for the reduced allocation from the Town per the failed override. In addition to the 29 personnel cuts due to redistricting (saving the Town $3.1M annually), the District reduced an additional 12 personnel along with multiple sets of expenses to account for $2M less in revenue. This results in only a 1% increase over the prior year school budget the lowest annual increase since 2013. The recap and recording of the meeting -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/school-committee-reluctantly-approves.html

The Finance Committee held its shortest meeting on Wednesday. It struggled to gain quorum, then when it did achieve that, determined to postpone the Technology topic for presentation/discussion in the fall. 3 new members are scheduled to be appointed in July and they would benefit from such information. The very brief audio officially recording the short meeting  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/finance-committee-reschedules-their.html 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars 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.

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

A very full week of Town and School business meetings is scheduled May 12 through May 16, 2025

A very full week of Town and School business meetings scheduled 

Both the Recreation and Planning Board are scheduled to meet on Monday. Housing Authority, Design Review, Friends of the Library, and School Committee and School Policy Subcommittee are scheduled for Tuesday.  The Board of Health, Cultural Council and Historical Commission are scheduled to meet on Wednesday.  Thursday morning starts with the Town and State official coffee social (8:30AM) at the Senior Center, followed by ribbon cutting for the new van and pavilion also at (10:00AM) the Senior Center. Thursday evening has the regular meeting of the Conservation Commission. Friday, the School Committee has a contract negotiation session to close out the busy week.

Over 200 volunteers, yes, some of your neighbors may be part of this group of non-paid volunteers spending some number of hours willingly to provide oversight for the Town and School operations. As a general rule, we should all be kind to our neighbors and more so to those who volunteer to help make this community work for us.

There may be disagreements on specific items but we are all here because we chose to be. We need to work together to make it a better place. Step away from the vitriol on the social webs and have a civil conversation with your neighbors. Franklin will be a better place for us.

*** The agendas for the week ahead can be found here: (as of 8:00 PM Friday, May 9, 2025)

Recreation Advisory Board Agenda

May 12, 2025, 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122025-1713

Planning Board Meeting

May 12, 2025, 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122025-1727 

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

May 13, 2025, 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132025-1733 

Design Review Meeting

May 13, 2025, 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132025-1732 

Franklin School Committee Policy Subcommittee Meeting

May 13, 2025, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132025-1737 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

May 13, 2025, 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132025-1735 

Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting

May 13, 2025, 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM

No agenda posted

Board of Health

May 14, 2025, 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05072025-1722 

Franklin Cultural Council Meeting

May 14, 2025, 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05142025-1731 

Historical Commission Meeting

May 14, 2025, 6:00 PM 

No agenda posted at this time

Coffee Hour with State & Local Officials

May 15, 2025, 8:30 AM

No agenda for this informal gathering

Conservation Commission Meeting

May 15, 2025, 7:00 PM

No agenda posted at this time

SC Negotiations - Franklin School Committee

May 16, 2025, 4:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122025-1713

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

The Town Council met on Wednesday, May 7. The audit is once again “clean” and we also heard of the renewal for our AAA bond rating. This provides significant financial value to the Town. The recap and video can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-hears-of-clean-audit-and.html 

The Town Council Quarterbacking session with Council Chair Tom Mercer condensed the almost 3 hour meeting to about 30 minutes can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-quarterbacking-condenses.html 

The Zoning Board of Appeals had a contentious but informative session on Thursday. More discussion on the key zoning and building topics, including the 40b topic will be coming. In the meantime, catch up on the meeting here (recap and video)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/zba-listens-town-administrator-attempts.html 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events on posted on the top of the page

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

Financial details laid out for review in advance of casting an informed vote on or before June 3

With the Finance Committee budget hearings completed, the Town can focus on other business in advance of the early voting which begins May 16. 

 

Memorial Day Parade and ceremonies scheduled for May 26 are being adjusted. The parade route is being changed, it will start at 11 AM, the ceremonies at Dean College and the 2 cemeteries will be conducted in advance of the parade beginning at 9:30 AM. The ceremony on the Town Common will remain in place at noon. The American Legion & VFW are making these changes to hopefully make it easier for veterans to participate. 

 

The Town Council budget hearings are scheduled for May 21 & 22. The second hearing will be continued until the June 4 regularly scheduled meeting of the Town Council. If the override passes, the budget as proposed can be officially and formally passed. If the override fails, the budget adjustments will need to made before the budget is approved. The vote of June 3rd will be available for them to close out the budget.

 

What do cuts look like if the override would fail?

• Fire Dept would lose staffing, and 3rd ambulance would come out of service
• Police Dept would lose staffing
• DPW admits many won't notice changes immediately but road repairs, etc will either be delayed or not happen with their cuts
• Other personnel cuts across the smaller departments would be significant in affecting service and program delivery

The Schools redistricting as currently funded, should lay the foundation for future but if the override fails, cuts of $2M across the district including staffing would be made. The bus and athletic fees would remain as they are (rather than be reduced if the override passes).

 

The choice will be up to the voters. Be informed with accurate info from Town and credible sources.

 

Town Clerk's page with voting info and schedule

https://www.franklinma.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=Special-Election-for-Proposition-2-12-Ov-20

 

Town page with all the budget info and override details

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/1089/Fiscal-Year-2026-Override-Information

*** The agendas for the week ahead can be found here:

Franklin Public Schools Community Relations Meeting

Monday, May 5    Time: 5:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05052025-1714

Community Preservation Committee Meeting

Monday, May 5    Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05052025-1717

Franklin School Committee - Executive Session Contract Negotiations

May 6, 2025    Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05062025-1588

Charles River Pollution Control District

May 7, 2025    Time: 3:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05072025-1718

BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING - Moved to May 14

Wednesday, May 7 Time: 5:00 PM

No agenda at this time

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, May 7 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05072025-1719

Pole Petition Hearing Agenda - 90 East Central Street

May 8, 2025    Time: 12:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05082025-1716

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA)

May 8, 2025     Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05082025-1695

 

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

Three Finance Committee budget hearings, along with Planning Board, School Committee, Town Council and Conservation Commission were a full line up of meetings.

 

The Franklin TV recordings are available for all of them as follows:

 

Finance Cmte recap & video

budget #1 (education) - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/finance-committee-hears-of-franklin.html

budget #2 (public safety & public works) - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/2nd-budget-hearing-confirms-what.html

budget #3 (general government & recommendation votes) - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/finance-committee-closes-out-fy-2026.html

 

Planning Board video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koR2GYAZDaU

 

School Cmte video -  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/school-committee-approves-elementary.html

 

Town Council recap & video - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-recognitions-for-police.html

 

Conservation Commission video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQInKdj_mFw

 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events on posted on the top of the page

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