Clocks change, State Election Tuesday, and a full slate for meetings this week

The clocks should have fallen back an hour to give us more daylight as winter approaches. No further forecast on winter from here, it is hard enough reporting on what happens in Town, never mind trying to forecast what could happen on the ever changing weather front.

The Planning Board meeting on Monday continues the Depot Plaza proposal discussion. The developer has rendering for the building height relative to the others on Main St. The agenda doc also includes some citizen proposals for consideration by the Planning Board.

The State election is Tuesday, Nov 3. Polls open at 6 AM and close at 8 PM. There are 9 ballot questions so being prepared is a great thing to do to speed your way through the process. Be patient as others may not have been as prepared. 

As there is nothing Franklin specific on the ballot to be decided by the outcome of the vote, Franklin Matters will be covering the School Committee meetings. When the Town Clerk releases the unofficial totals, we will post those as soon as possible.

The School Committee Policy subcommittee meets on Tuesday. Up for consideration are a set of changes resulting from further review of the Freedom to Read legislation passed during the summer to bring other references inline with that change. Also a continuation of the fiscal policy work already underway.

The full School Committee also meets on Tuesday, on their agenda is an update from the SAFE Coalition, the Horace Mann Legacy, and Franklin 250 Anniversary Celebration.

The Board of Health is scheduled for their monthly meeting on Wednesday at 5 PM.  

The Town Council meets at 6 PM with the key discussion item being a presentation by the Police Dept on their use of the Flock cameras. Legislation is prepared should the Council consider a vote to remove them. There is also an executive session on 2 police contracts with a return to open meeting for their app (assuming it works out that way).

The Commission on Disability is scheduled for their monthly meeting at 4 PM at the Senior Center. 

The Conservation Commission has canceled their normal session this week. This continues the trend of meeting cancellations across the Planning Board, Design Review, and ZBA as proposals for new developments have dried up.

There is a meeting for the Finance Committee on the Town calendar but it is likely to be cleaned up. The published set of meetings for the year listed nothing for November, and their October session confirmed their next meeting as December 9.

The Franklin Fire Dept closes out the week with their annual Open House on Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM.

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-1848-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-11-01-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 10/30/26 5:00 PM ***

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, November 2 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11022026-2589 

Franklin School Committee Policy Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, November 3 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11032026-2592 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, November 3 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11032026-2591 

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, November 4 Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11042026-2588 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, November 4 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11042026-2593 

Town Council Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, November 5 Time: 12:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11052026-2590 

Franklin Commission on Disability

Thursday, November 5 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11052026-2585 

Cancelled Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, November 5 Time: 7:00 PM

No agenda needed for this canceled session

Fire Department Open House

Saturday, November 7 Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

*** 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

Town Charter Ad hoc commission meeting on Monday, Oct 26 video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mwUliR6Ods 

School Committee meeting Tuesday, Oct 27 meeting recap - 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/10/school-committee-gets-updates-on.html 

Town Council meeting Wednesday Oct 28 - video link - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f09u6XBeJ0 

Economic Development Subcmte meeting Thursday, Oct 29 - video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAba-Yo3yxE&t=609s

Zoning Board of Appeals meeting Thursday, Oct 29 -  video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlE8To9Q2H8 

FHS Sports

FHS field hockey vs Concard-Carlisle on Monday, Oct 26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqNIzLBVmOA

FHS Girls Soccer vs. Sharon on Tuesday, Oct 27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWUH0PMiBww 

FHS football vs. Taunton on Friday, Oct 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPF4fQxaaL8 

All Access Channel

Town of Franklin Voter Information Session 2026  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ktQgEuqS4

Frank Presents: Andrew Mikula https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3fO5KzGoqU 

Frank Presents: Mike Maraglia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVuJ7t85Kqg 

Frank Presents: Tamisha Civil 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvPtsRbln3g 

Franklin Matters

FM #1844 Direct Impact Checking & SAFE Coalition 10/27/26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlK8J9OiwSk 

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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 

September opens with a host of meetings and key topics, oh and the State Primary, Sep 1

September arrives Tuesday with the State Primary election taking center stage from 6 AM to 8 PM. A newly announced write-in campaign may delay the results as those write-in ballots require manual counting; so let’s be patient and allow time for the democratic voting process to work and count accurately.

The Cultural Council meets on Monday. Their agenda is rather spartan and by the way, there are still a number of vacancies for this group that administers the cultural grant process locally.

The Agricultural Commission is also scheduled to meet on Monday. A key item on this agenda is planning for the Pumpkin Festival at the Farmers Market Oct 2.

The 250th Anniversary Celebration Communications Subcommittee meets on Tuesday to work on  several items relating to their formal communications (website, press releases, guidelines for social media, etc.)

The Board of Health returns to meet on Wednesday after taking the summer months off. A bunch of health related items are on this agenda.

The Town Council has a full session of work on its agenda for Wednesday. The Police Station Building Committee formally makes their presentation/recommendation, the new Police Chief is up for approval, the Deputy Town Administrator and Administrative Assistant is introduced.

The excess sewer capacity discussion and potential decision is back again (as promised), an overview of town owned buildings is scheduled (to set up for the future police station decision and related decisions on Parmenter, Davis Thayer, etc.). The public session also closes with an Executive Session on “other town property”

The Commission on Disability has its monthly meeting on Thursday at 4:00 PM in advance of the Ad Hoc Charter Committee (6:00) and the ZBA meeting (7:30).

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-1806-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-30-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 8/28/26   7:30 PM   ***

Franklin Cultural Council Meeting

Monday, August 31 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08312026-2476 

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, August 31 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08312026-2472 

250th Anniversary Celebration Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, September 1 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09012026-2475 

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2480 

Police Station Building Committee Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2481 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2482

Franklin Commission on Disability Meeting

Thursday, September 3 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2474 

Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee

Thursday, September 3 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2479 

ZBA Meeting

Thursday, September 3 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2469 

—-----------

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

Town/ School meetings

• The Planning Board met on Monday, Aug 24. The video is available on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMZ_KePpqkM 

• The School Committee met on Tuesday, Aug 25. The recap and video link is available  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/school-committee-welcomes-new.html 

• The Conservation Commission met on Thursday, Aug 27. The video is available on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqZtdHye7Wg 

• The 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee also met on Thursday, Aug 27. The recap and video link can be found - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/250th-anniversary-celebration-committee.html 

All Access programming

•  A new episode of the Aging Agenda is available on the All Access channel as well as YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm6O1M5Ahz0 

Franklin Matters

• The recap and audio recording of the first “Voices of Franklin” series held at the Senior Center on August 18 is available - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/voices-of-franklin-audio-recording-of.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    

80% of the Franklin (MA) registered voters don’t care

Yes, 80% of the Franklin registered voters don’t care that this is the final week of early voting before the Biennial Town Election on November 4. 

A very sad statistic but the numbers show that even during a Presidential election with major amounts of nauseating advertising, about 20% of the voters don’t vote. The State election doesn’t do any better with 40% of the voters not bothering to cast their ballot. Even when it comes down to specific dollar votes for Franklin, whether for school buildings or to fund the operational budget, 55% of the voters ignore the issue and don’t bother to vote.

Voting is easier now than ever before. Absentee ballot, vote by mail, early voting have all been added. While the numbers show a statistical shift away from in person voting on the Day, the percent of voters actively voting overall is NOT increasing. Sadly, 80% of the Franklin voters will do anything but vote on or before November 4, 2025.

You can do something about this sad state of affairs by talking with ALL your Franklin neighbors and friends. Ask them if they are planning to vote? If they are, thank them and remind them that information is available to make an informed decision.

If they are not planning to vote, please ask them why? It is a civic duty, an honorable right, to vote and help determine who governs for us on the local level. Our Town and School services are directly dependent upon these local elected volunteers to provide oversight on the entire Town and School operation.

If they don’t, or won’t vote, then I would have to assume that Franklin doesn’t matter.

Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1554-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-10-26-25/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 10/24/25, 8:00 PM   ***

CANCELED: Police Station Building Committee - to be rescheduled

Monday, October 27 Time: 6:00 PM

Franklin Cultural Council

Monday, October 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10272025-1969 

Franklin Agricultural Commission

Monday, October 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10272025-1970 

Library Board of Directors Regular meeting

Monday, October 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Search/?term=&CIDs=all&startDate=10/27/2025&endDate=10/31/2025&dateRange=&dateSelector= 

Hennep Community Outreach Meeting Notice

Tuesday, October 28 Time: 5:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282025-1946 

Franklin School Committee Budget Sub Committee Meeting

Tuesday, October 28 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282025-1965 

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, October 28 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282025-1976 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, October 28 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282025-1977 

License to Store Propane Public Hearing

Wednesday, October 29 Time: 11:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292025-1979 

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Wednesday, October 29 Time: 5:45 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292025-1964 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, October 29 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292025-1978 

Historical Commission (Executive Session only) (updated 10/28/25)

Thursday, October 30 Time: 6:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10302025-1981

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, October 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/519?fileID=6730 

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

This is Steve Sherlock with a lookback at the week that was in Franklin MA from Oct 19 through Oct 25, 2025

The Planning Board Meeting was broadcast by Franklin TV on Monday, Oct 20 -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgakMhebcRk 

The Finance Committee had some good discussion on financial issues but didn’t get into the ‘deep dive’ on Technology in their session on Wednesday. Franklin TV video is available for replay ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMhCNMRndj0 

The Franklin Town Council met for their next to last time in this term on Wednesday in a 4 hour plus session to complete a bunch of the items on their goals list. Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SdsqXbknGQ 

The Zoning Board of Appeals met as scheduled on Thursday. The proposed cell tower was denied by ZBA but it likely will still go forward in a legal challenge and Federal process seems to indicate the courts will approve. No decision yet as the 444 East Central proposal continues its public hearing. Franklin TV video is available for replay ->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td5Ggg5fwCk 

FHS live streamed sports

Boys soccer on Tuesday, Oct 21 -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUhz8K7k7IA

Football homecoming game on Oct 24 ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_Bra400IU 

The 24 Biennial Election candidate videos conducted are available in a single YouTube playlist  bit.ly/2025-ElectionCollection 

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

80% of the Franklin (MA) registered voters don’t care