A weekly summary for all the Franklin, MA news you can use - "Watch, Listen, Read"
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Major or minor, the meetings are important
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.
*** 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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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, August 29, 2026
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.
*** 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
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*** 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
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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
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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, August 15, 2026
A relatively quiet week ahead, let's enjoy it while it lasts
A less busy meeting week down from 14 meetings to only 5 on the calendar.
Like the humidity that seems to have gone for now, we can enjoy the lack thereof and the less busy week while they last.
The Cultural Council meets on Monday and among other things starts to discuss priorities for the next grant cycle, how would the funding be allocated?
The Design Review Commission is scheduled to meet virtually on Tuesday. Recall the hot item on the calendar was the Depot Plaza proposal which is being withdrawn and resubmitted to better align with the Planning Board timeline.
The Town Council holds their monthly office hours at the Senior Center on Thursday morning. Recall they expanded this option with a session at the Library, Saturday, August 15. They plan to add other locations and days/time of day to try and meet folks.
The 250th Celebration Events subcommittee meets on Thursday. The Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee has a meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon to allow for participation of as many members of the committee as possible at the Farmers Market table. Stop by and find out what they are planning!
On Wednesday, the monthly Conversation and Q&A I conduct at the Senior Center comes around at 11:00 AM. You can participate in person, or remotely, I provide an update on what has happened the past month and take your questions on what is on your mind.
Also of note: 2 Fallen Hero recognitions are scheduled for 9 AM on the 20th and 22th This approx. 5 minute program will include the placing of a Memorial Wreath for the day, the playing of Taps, a salute from those present, and a reading of whatever history may be available for that veteran. This is a way of keeping the memory of that veteran alive.
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 8/14/26 7:30 PM ***
Franklin Cultural Council
Monday, August 17 Time: 7:00 PM
https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08172026-2456
Design Review Meeting
Tuesday, August 18 Time: 7:00 PM
https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08182026-2461
Town Council Monthly Office Hours
Thursday, August 20 Time: 8:30 AM
No agenda for this informal discussion
250th Anniversary Celebration Events Subcommittee Meeting
Thursday, August 20 Time: 7:00 PM
https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08202026-2462
ZBA Meeting - No Meeting
Thursday, August 20
Franklin Public Schools Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee Meeting (Farmers Market)
Friday, August 21 Time: 2:00 PM
https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08212026-2458
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*** Looking back at the week that was ***
Town/ School meetings
The School Cmte Horace Mann Legacy Subcmte met on Mon Aug 10. The recap & exclusive audio - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/audio-recording-of-horace-mann-legacy.html
The Planning Board met on Monday, Aug 10. YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U5X9j_ytEs
The School Cmte Policy Subcmte met on Tuesday, Aug 11. the recap & exclusive audio is available
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/school-cmte-policy-subcommittee-reviews.html
The School Committee met on Tuesday, Aug 11
Recap and video link - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/school-committee-gets-multiple-updates.html
Town Council met in Executive Session for 4 hours and public meeting for about 10 minutes to vote on the updated contract for the Town Administrator
The recap including audio & video links as well as links to the current and prior contract https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/town-council-votes-to-approve-town_01711482811.html
The Joint Budget Subcmte met on Thursday. The recap and video link -
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/joint-budget-subcmte-in-healthy.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