Showing posts with label summary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summary. Show all posts

Saturday, October 17, 2026

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 


Saturday, September 26, 2026

September runs out, October opens

Monday is full of meetings, the rest of the week not so many.


The Town Administrator Ad-hoc evaluation continues its work with a session early Monday morning.


The Franklin Cultural Council, the Agricultural Commission, and the 250th historical significance subcommittee all meet Monday evening.


The major meeting of the week is the Planning Board session also Monday night. This is the start of the formal process for the Depot Plaza development. Should it be 4 stories, should it have additional parking, what should it look like are likely among the topics for  discussion. 


Given the track record with other development proposals, the process starts but won't finish in one night. It is likely to take several months to reach a conclusion. 


The School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday.


There is a continuation of a Pole Petition hearing scheduled for Wednesday. 


The Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to meet and review one proposal on Thursday.


The Commission on Disability has a meeting for the record to allow the membership to participate in the Senior Expo on Friday from 10 AM to 1 PM.


The Farmers Market closes out the week Friday afternoon. Having been canceled recently, folks will be looking to stock up.


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 9/25/26   8:00 PM   ***


Town Administrator Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee Meeting

Monday, September 28 Time: 9:30 AM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09282026-2535


Franklin Cultural Council

Monday, September 28 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09282026-2529

Franklin Agricultural Committee

Monday, September 28 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09282026-2527


Planning Board Meeting

Monday, September 28 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09282026-2532


250th Historical Significance subcommittee

Monday, September 28 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09282026-2533


Franklin School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee

Tuesday, September 29, 2026.       Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/School-Committee-35/?#_09292026-2536


Pole Petition Hearing

Wednesday, September 30 Time: 1:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09302026-2508


Economic Development Subcommittee
Thursday, October 1 Time: 6:00 PM

ZBA Meeting

Thursday, October 1 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10012026-2518


Franklin Commission on Disability Meeting

Friday, October 2nd Time: 9:00 AM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10022026-2520



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


Town & School meetings

The Franklin School Committee met on Tuesday. The recap and video link is available at https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/franklin-school-committee-meeting-goes.html

The Finance Committee met on Wednesday, the recap and video is available 

The Conservation Commission met on Thursday, Franklin TV video is available for replay


FHS Sports 


FHS Boys soccer game on Tuesday 

https://www.youtube.com/live/sf07LkVW3-g?si=HGONzEg3g3zgRgGc 


FHS Girls varsity soccer on Friday

https://www.youtube.com/live/dXol3S9J_ys?si=rsuiCLnw96OcenVn


FHS football game on Friday 

https://www.youtube.com/live/ug-3uHdxUTc?si=Nn39ZIkhWsXXuwEf


All Access


Frank Falvey in Frank presents interviews independent candidate for Norfolk County District Attorney https://youtu.be/THr9G_Yr8PU?si=EazRDBMFNZLm9RrH


The first episode of FM Journal was broadcast this week and is available for replay

https://youtu.be/YVWdEy2kLak?si=akW-jdByqJZsjXlk


On the radio on demand/podcast front


The October event highlights at the Senior Center

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/mary-jillian-reveal-special-events.html


And at the Library  https://youtu.be/aJDQ-NUiHUk 


The Senior Center scribblers or Writers Group has a new episode

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/senior-story-hour-wfpr-episode-111.html 


-----------



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 

Saturday, February 7, 2026

More snow, more cold, more budget = winter in New England; Franklin news in less than 5 minutes

More snow, more cold, ah, yes, it is winter in New England. 


February also brings a beginning to the FY 2027 budget cycle. And yes, there is more daylight in the forecast so there is hope on that side. Hope not so much on the budget front especially if you were looking for prior cuts to get restored.


Tuesday, Feb 10 the School Committee holds the public hearing on their FY 2027 budget proposal. Of note, the meeting also moves to a 6 PM opening to provide sufficient time for line item review by committee and community. 


Per the preview we received at the Jan 27th meeting, they will bring in a level service budget at 2.5%. Which also means cuts made last year don’t come back. Fees at this point, don’t change (up or down).


Wednesday, Feb 11, the Town Council gets the Capital budget and the 5 year fiscal forecast with plenty of info on the seriousness of our budget situation especially given the prior override failures. 


Town Administrator Jamie Hellen writes that using one time money to balance this budget “I have provided a model to give everyone time to strategize a game plan for the future without any department cuts or conversations about property tax increases in FY27.”


What that statement doesn’t say is 

  • nothing previously cut gets restored (especially on the School budget, but also across the Town departmental budgets)

  • AND we will start out the next budget cycle (FY 2028)  in the hole (by however much one time funds are used)


The Capital budget proposal is less than normal as $2 million in ‘free cash’ is held aside to help balance the (FY 2027) budget as noted above. And by kicking the can down the road again (using ‘free cash’), digs us a hole for the next budget cycle.


Fasten your seat belt for these budget conversations, they won’t be easy.


There are a number of other regular board and committee meetings scheduled for this week. Some adjusted to avoid the school vacation coming next week.


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-1655-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-02-08-26/


*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 2/06/26, 7:00 PM   ***


Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 4:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2126 


Franklin Public Schools Community Relations Subcommittee Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 6:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2123 


Planning Board Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2124 


Bi-County Collaborative Meeting

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 2:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02102026-2132 


Franklin School Committee

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02102026-2129 


Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 7:00 PM 

No agenda for this session


Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, February 11 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02112026-2130 


Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 2:00 PM

No agenda posted at this time


Charles River Pollution Control District Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 4:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02122026-2131 


Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/553?fileID=7915 


Cultural District Committee Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02122026-2125 


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


The School Committee conducted their brief and ‘remote only’ meeting to authorize the transfer of accounting for health care to the Town budget line 910. Franklin.news has the recap and video link

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/school-committee-votes-to-move-health.html 


The Town Council conducted their shortest session of this new term in part by punting on setting goals and reserving time for a lengthy executive session to review property decisions. Franklin.News has the recap and video link

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/town-council-discusses-goals-hears-last.html 


On the High School video performance recorded/broadcast by Franklin TV



On the Community video front


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