Early voting and election preparation move to center stage this week

Weather dynamics are upon us. The rains canceled the Farmers Market, caused other events to reschedule, and now the temperature is dropping so bundle up.

Early voting began Saturday and continues each day until Friday, October 30. All the early voting takes place in the Town Clerk’s office. Tabulator testing is scheduled for Monday at 9 AM in the Council Chambers. This is a key step in the preparation by our Town Clerk and her team before each election here in Franklin.

The Board of Assessors, and Housing Authority are scheduled for regular meetings on Monday. The Planning Board will review the traffic study for the Depot Plaza proposal at its session Monday evening.

The Norfolk County Regional Emergency Planning Committee and the 250th Anniversary Celebration Budget Subcommittee are scheduled to meet on Tuesday. The Design Review Commission has a number of items on its virtual only meeting agenda Tuesday evening.

The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday. They will review the fiscal policies and discuss the potential for some changes for further review by the Town Council. They are also scheduled for a deep dive into the DPW enterprise funds (water, sewer, solid waste, and stormwater). 

The Conservation Commission closes out the meeting week with their regular session on Thursday.

Friday is the next to last (or penultimate) Farmers Market for this season on the Town Common. Fairmount Fruit Farm has scheduled 2 Saturdays each month from November through March 2027 for the Winter Farmers Market.

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-1837-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-10-18-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 10/16/26 6:00 PM ***

Board of Assessors Regular Meeting

Monday, October 19th Time: 9:00 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2565 

Tabulator Testing for November 3 Election - Council Chambers Room

Monday, October 19 Time: 9:00 AM

No agenda for this observation period

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Monday, October 19 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2567 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, October 19 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2564 

Norfolk County Regional Emergency Planning Committee Meeting

Tuesday, October 20 Time: 10:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10202026-2563 

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, October 20 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10202026-2566 

250th Anniversary Celebration Budget Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, October 20 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10202026-2568 

Finance Committee Meeting

Wednesday, October 21 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10212026-2572 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, October 22nd Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10222026-2570 

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

There were several video productions by Franklin TV during the past week both broadcast live and pre-recorded for publication via YouTube.

Town & School meetings

The Franklin School Committee met on Tuesday, Oct 13. The video is available here {recap will be available Sunday) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnpWxfXwZgU

The School Committee Policy Subcommittee met before the full Committee meeting on Tuesday. The audio recording should be available soon at Franklin.News. 

. 

The Franklin Town Council met on Wednesday, Oct 14 in the first of a 3 part series on the tax rate. The video is available here (recap available Sunday)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUfX3OGpgM 

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met on Thursday, Oct 15. The video is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSrmcTr7AYs 

FHS Sports

The FHS Varsity Volleyball vs Milford Tuesday October 13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT1W8z4UTso 

The FHS girls soccer game vs Medfield also on Tuesday Oct 13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXJEtMOohxU

The FHS Football game vs Attleboro on Thursday Oct 15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXFjCqlHya0

The FHS Varsity Field Hockey vs Natick on Saturday, Oct 17 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bCc9oEtvo 

All Access Channel

Franklin Union St Cemetery Tour with Dean professor Rob Lawson and Scott Mason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgAonH4qHxA

Once Upon A Town: Cataldo Block with Joe Landry and Scott Mason

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

Second Sunday Speaker Series: History of Hayward Manor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47959PBbmHg

The October 2026 edition of FM Journal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdtTH6U6LNc 

Local historian Joe Landry visits the New England Chapel to check out the Rotary Club's 10th annual car show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crRrDkDkHUg 

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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.

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 

Major or minor, the meetings are important

9 meetings on tap this week and 1 special event being recorded for future broadcast.

I hesitate to call some meetings “major”, which means some are “minor”, when all are important to the operation of the Town and School services. And yet, some are more important than others.

School Superintendent Lucas Giguere is the representative for the District to the BICO Collaborative. Their transportation subcommittee meets on Monday. 

The Recreation Advisory Board and the BFCCPS School Governance committees also have regular sessions on Monday.

The School Committee budget subcommittee meets on Tuesday to start preparing for the next budget cycle, especially in acceptance of the Joint Budget Subcommittee Meeting on Wednesday. 

Town Clerk Nancy Danello has an information session on Wednesday with Liz Harkins, Franklin TV executive director. The event will be recorded for a future broadcast providing the ins and out of mail ballots, early voting, etc. to prepare us all for the multipage ballot for the November 3 state election.

The Board of Health is scheduled to meet Wednesday. Their agenda is not yet published but will likely be on Monday.

The Joint Budget Subcommittee is composed of representation from the Town Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee. They have the task to figure out how to solve our structural budget deficit. 

This is one of those “major” meetings. Don't hide behind your keyboard and walk up in a couple of months “surprised“ when the opportunity for input is now.

The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is scheduled to meet on Thursday. Their agenda is usually posted no later than Tuesday.

The Conservation Commission and the Cultural District Committee close out the meeting week with their respective sessions Thursday. 

Friendly reminder that it does take over 200 unpaid volunteers serving on these boards, committees, and commissions providing oversight and direction for the Town of Franklin authorizing the services the Town provides for all of us. 

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. 

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 10/02/26 8:00 PM ***

BICO Transportation Subcommittee Meeting

Monday, October 5, 2026 Time: 2:30pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10052026-2542

Recreation Advisory Board Meeting

Monday, October 5, 2026 Time: 7:00pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10052026-2515

BFCCPS School Governance Cmte

Monday, October 5, 2026 Time: 7:30pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10052026-2541

Franklin Public Schools Budget Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Time: 6:00pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10062026-2545

Your Vote, Your Voice! An Information Session

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Time: 4:00pm

No agenda posted, will be recorded for future broadcast

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Time: 5:00pm

Agenda usually posted Monday 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10072026-2549

Joint Budget Subcommittee 

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Time: 6:00pm

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10072026-2551

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, October 8, 2026 Time: 2:00pm

Agenda usually posted Monday 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, October 8, 2026 Time: 7:00pm

Updated agenda -   https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10082026-2555 

Cultural District Cmte Meeting

Thursday, October 8, 2026 Time: 7:00pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10082026-2537

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

Town & School meetings

The Planning Board met on Monday, among the key items was the opening discussion on the Depot Plaza proposal. View the replay https://www.youtube.com/live/ofxfKrbslNE?is=MOMwVA8TwQHUs5YJ 

The Zoning Board of Appeals met on Thursday, view the replay here

https://www.youtube.com/live/xm10rWRaytg?is=g1bakbb8b92cAgtD 

FHS Sports

FHS girls soccer on Monday 

https://www.youtube.com/live/xh4QSWSx_hc?is=yLTq31XyeVryJyDj 

FHS boys soccer on Wednesday 

https://www.youtube.com/live/kFdaIal5xJE?is=UP37IqKBfi_Jc6Qd

FHS volleyball on Wednesday 

https://www.youtube.com/live/PFsfHHjYovU?is=QLNsTlKkGx28gx9v

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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.

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 

7 meetings on tap this week leading to the Farmers Market (Fri) and Harvest Festival (Sat)

7 meetings on tap this week.

On Monday, the Conservation Commission does a site walk to view in person the property where proposed work would encroach on wetlands. This is prior to their discussion on the proposal for their normal scheduled Thursday meeting.

Also Monday, the Housing Authority and the Library Board of Directors conduct their regular monthly sessions.

Tuesday, the School Committee gets the school level details on the Improvement Plan that go the District view of in their prior meeting. Both the District and School Improvement plans are up for vote at this session.

On Wednesday, the Finance Committee elects their leadership (Chair, Vice-Chair, and Clerk). Michelle Monsegur, Deputy Town Administrator is formally introduced to the Committee. Word is that she will be taking the lead on the financial aspects of the Town Administrator's Office, allowing Jamie to do other items around planning and economic development.

This is the Finance Cmte’s first meeting since June. They get to review the 5 year and fiscal plan for FY 2028 that the Joint Budget subcommittee got to see in August.

The previously mentioned Conservation Commission meeting closes out the meeting week on Thursday. Friday features the Farmers Market, and Saturday is the 24th Annual Harvest Festival. Main St from the triangle/railroad bridge through to School St is closed to traffic for this event full of vendors, organizations, live entertainment, and food & refreshments.

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-1826-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-09-20-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 9/18/26   4:00 PM   ***

9/21/26 Conservation Commission Site Walk at 78 Populatic

Monday, September 21 Time: 1:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09212026-2516 

Franklin Housing Authority

Monday, September 21 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09212026-2502 

Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, September 21 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09212026-2514 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, September 22 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09222026-2519 

Council on Aging Board Meeting

Wednesday, September 23 Time: 11:00 AM

No agenda at this time

Finance Committee Meeting

Wednesday, September 23 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09232026-2522 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, September 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09242026-2521 

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

Town/ School meetings

• The Town Council met for more than 4 hours on Wednesday. Zoom restarted on its own creating 2 YouTube videos. This is temporary. The Studio is working to replace them with a complete one. 

Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yU90Rl52sE

Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v6EpsdI8dY

• The Economic Development Subcommittee met on Thursday. The video is available for replay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46_qWc-jBXA 

FHS Sports broadcasts

• Boys soccer game vs Milford on Monday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKgRSxo564I 

• The FHS football game on Friday vs. Brockton https://www.youtube.com/live/O948Io4nwAs 

• Also Friday, FHS Volleyball vs. Oliver Ames https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG_Zyf7mlPY

• The boys soccer game vs. St John’s on Saturday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjQpI-E6VMI

All Access programming

• A brief promotion for the Harvest Festival from the new program scheduled to debut next week called FM Journal  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQGCZg_zZb4

Franklin Matters

• Exclusive audio of the Horace Mann Legacy meeting held Monday, Sep 14 is available https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/exclusive-audio-of-horace-mann-legacy.html 

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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.

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 

Labor Day gives us a long weekend and a short week (audio)

Monday, September 7, is Labor Day, the latest in the month that this occurs, so we end up with a long weekend and a short week.

Note: due to the holiday, the trash and recycle curbside schedule is off by one day. Imagine DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi talking about the Monday Collection: Moved to Tuesday; Tuesday Collection: Moved to Wednesday, etc. 

As a bonus, the recording of one of the winter announcements of the delay is available, and linked to below. 

On Tuesday, the School Committee Policy subcmte gets together at 6. They are slated to begin review of a number of fiscal policies related to the budget and operations. 

The full School Committee gets together at 7 PM also on Tuesday. The District Improvement PLan is being presented. This plan sets the stage for individual school plans as well as for the Superintendent’s goals.

On Wednesday, the Historical Commission among other items is considering offering tours on Saturdays. 

The 250th Celebration Events subcmte, also meets and among other items is a discussion on their first potential donor lunch scheduled for Oct 16.

Thursday is the busiest meeting day with meetings for the Bi-County Collaborative, Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter, Conservation Commission and last but not least the Cultural District committee. 

The Cultural District meeting also lists an item to discuss cultural tours on Saturdays.

A special event is also on Thursday; new exhibits are being welcomed to the Sculpture Park at 5 PM. On Saturday to close out the week, there is a Bike Safety Event at Franklin High School beginning at 9 AM.

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-1813-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-09-06-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 9/04/26   7:00 PM   ***

Franklin Public Schools Policy Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, September 8 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09082026-2485 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, September 8 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09082026-2487 

Charles River Pollution Control Meeting

Wednesday, September 9 Time: 3:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09092026-2491

Franklin Historical Commission Meeting

Wednesday, September 9 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09092026-2490 

250th Anniversary Celebration Events Sub Committee

Wednesday, September 9 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09092026-2492 

Bi-County Collaborative - Board of Directors Mtg.

Thursday, September 10 Time: 9:00 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09102026-2489 

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting - canceled

Thursday, September 10 Time: 2:00 PM

Sculpture Park - new exhibits revealed Thursday, September 10  - 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/reminder-sculpture-park-is-adding-art.html 

Cultural District Committee Meeting

Thursday, September 10 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09102026-2471 

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Meeting

Thursday, September 10 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09102026-2488 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, September 10 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09102026-2497

Bike Safety Event Saturday, September 12 - 9:00 AM at Franklin High School

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/reminder-bike-and-helmet-safety-event.html 

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

Town/ School meetings

The Town Council met on Wednesday, Sep 2, the recap and video can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/town-council-approve-west-as-police.html

The Commission on Disability met on Thursday, the exclusive audio can be found - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/commission-on-disability-meeting.html   

The Zoning Board of Appeals met on Thursday, Sep 3, the video can be found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O93n6IQhRH4

All Access programming

A new episode of Aging Boldfully: Discussion with Julie Booth of Quinnipiac University is available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymehk2zxGZE 

A new episode of Once Upon a Town from Joe Landry and Scott Mason talking about the Post Office in Franklin is available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTH6nG2ewlU 

Franklin Matters took a walk through the rescue animal farm and you can join us for that walk at the Maloney Farm and Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEkAQfKLMU4 

Franklin Matters also took a walk through the kitchen cabinet custom build process process happening in the former bakery building on Ruggles St. Join us for the informative session with the Franklin KItchen Center - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc3ss_wlgpE 

***  As a special episode of Franklin Matters Radio, we offer the voice recording of DPW Director Robert "Brutus" Cantoreggi's voice message in advance of the blizzard forecasted for Jan 29, 2022

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/dpw-director-brutus-cantoreggis-voice.html 

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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.

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