Thanksgiving week brings a short and condensed set of Town meetings

Thanksgiving week brings a short and condensed set of Town meetings. Time to give thanks for what we do have.

Monday is the busy day with 5 of the 6 meetings for the week scheduled. The Cultural District and Cultural Council, the Agricultural Committee, the Library Board of Directors as well as the Recreation Advisory are all scheduled to meet.  

The Design Review is the only meeting scheduled for Tuesday. 

Schools are closed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

The Library and Senior Center close early Wednesday and both are closed on Thursday. The Senior Center remains closed on Friday but the Library is open Friday and Saturday.

Saturday is also a day to focus on supporting the local and small businesses which is a good thing to consider.

Santa Claus is scheduled to be delivered to the Town Common at 4 PM on Sunday via the Franklin Fire Dept for the Concerts on the Common celebration.

Get up early Thanksgiving Day to walk, run, or stroll to help the Franklin Food Pantry with their fundraising efforts. The annual football game between FHS and KP is hosted by Franklin at 10 AM.

Curbside pick up will be delayed for those normally scheduled for Thursday. Thursday will get picked up on Friday, and those normally on Friday will get picked up on Saturday.

As we all go through this holiday week, it is time to give thanks for what we do have.

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-1588-franklin-ma-what-matters-in-5-minutes-11-23-25/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 11/21/25, 9:00 PM   ***

Cultural District Committee Meeting

Monday, November 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7738/CDC-Agenda_Meeting_-Nov2025docx?bidId= 

Franklin Agricultural Committee

Monday, November 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Agricultural-Commission-13/?#_11242025-2018 

Franklin Cultural Council

Monday, November 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Cultural-Council-26/?#_11242025-2022 

Library Board of Directors Regular meeting

Monday, November 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Library-Board-of-Directors-20/?#_11242025-2024 

Recreation Advisory Board

Monday, November 24 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11242025-2017 

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, November 25 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11252025-2025 

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

The Planning Board met on Monday, the 17th. Franklin TV video is available

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fN8_2aY9Ww

The School Committee met for the first time since the election. Griffith will be the Chair going forward, with Callaghan as Vice-Chair. The meeting recap including audio and video links can be found ->  

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/franklin-school-committee-reorganizes_22.html 

The Town Council met again at 6 PM for another 4 hour session. The recap and video link is available -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/town-council-votes-to-join-gic-approves.html 

The Zoning Board of Appeals met on Thursday. Madeline Village came back 10 years after their initial 40b approval of a minor change (it was approved). The plans will still come back before the ZBA after they confirm agreement with the state DEP on the change to not re-route the stream but to use culverts to provide access in 2 cases. 

444 East Central was still before the ZBA in spite of the Council vote the previous day to rescind the prior approval of the Council for this project. How the decision and project will play out remains to be seen. The video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_b_a4Owfs0 

The Interfaith Council held their annual Thanksgiving service on Sunday and the live stream is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FF34vdmrE  

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

Town Council selected new leadership, School Committee is up next

With the new Town Council organized around new leadership, the School Committee gets to do the same thing this week.

The School Committee welcomes 3 new members to their organizational meeting on Tuesday. They also have a workshop facilitated by the area director of the Mass Association of School Committees with lots of good info on rules, regulations and process items specific to School Committees.

The Town Council gets into their second meeting with some serious business on the agenda for their Wednesday session.  The second FY 2026 budget adjustment of approx. $280K is scheduled for discussion. An organizational change to remove the Deputy Town Administrator and replace that role with one focused on communications and returning a part-time administrative assistant provides some of the savings needed. There is an adjustment to local receipts as well as a reduction to the Tri-County school building assessment due to a lower interest rate actually achieved vs. the original forecast.

The first adjustment was made in August to account for a reduction in State local aid revealed when the State approved their budget in July with a lower amount than already included in the FY 2026 budget by the Town.

The requested rescission of the Town Council approval of the 444 East Central St development proposal is also on the agenda. 1 or 2 of the Council won’t be able to vote on this to avoid a conflict of interest as they are either direct abutters to the property or in the immediate neighborhood. 

Part of the discussion should also include consideration of all the options for what to do and what consequences might occur. If nothing is done to interfere with the due diligence process at the ZBA, and they deny the proposal, the Town is in good position as we are above the minimum 40b percent and an appeal to the State would likely not be overturned. As I understand the situation, most other options for appeal to the State could result in additional legal costs to be assumed by the Town to defend its actions.

The ZBA is scheduled to continue their due diligence at their Thursday meeting. The 250th Anniversary Celebration committee also meets for the first time Thursday.

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-1581-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-11-16-25/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 11/14/25, 6:00 PM   ***

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, November 17 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11172025-2005 

Recreation Advisory Board Meeting

Monday, November 17 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11172025-2003 

Franklin School Committee MASC Workshop

Tuesday, November 18 Time: 5:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11182025-1982 

Franklin School Committee

Tuesday, November 18 Time: 7:00 PM

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/6138802/SCAGENDA11-18-25.pdf 

Board of Assessors Meeting

Wednesday, November 19 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11192025-2009 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, November 19 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11192025-2010 

Town Council Office Hours

Thursday, November 20 Time: 8:30 AM

No agenda for this session

250th Anniversary Celebration Committee Meeting

Thursday, November 20 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11202025-2007 

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting

Thursday, November 20 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11202025-1997 

FOFE Meeting

Friday, November 21 Time: 9:00 AM

Council on Aging Meeting

Friday, November 21 Time: 1:30 PM

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

The Town Council met for the first time since the election brought 7 new members to the table. Dellorco was voted as Chair. Grella as Vice-chair, and Cormier-Leger as Clerk. Griffith was appointed temporarily as Clerk to cover the absence of Cormier-Leger for 2 meetings. Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsYVvhWdqWs

The Conservation Commission met on Thursday as scheduled. Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojepfHYFuow

On the Franklin High School sports front, there were 3 live streamed events broadcast by Franklin TV

Volleyball on Wednesday, Nov 12 -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLttuyC6NQ 

Girls soccer on Thursday, Nov 13 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6k4hfKdJ1w 

Football on Friday, Nov 14 ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPwJa8sz_s 

On the Youth Football front, 3 teams are scheduled to play in their respective Super Bowl games this weekend. A special 3 part series provides info on the G5, G6 and G8 team success this season

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/the-g5-football-teams-journey-to-emass.html

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/the-g6-football-teams-journey-to-emass.html 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/the-g8-football-teams-journey-to-emass.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 

The winds of change have landed in Franklin

The winds of change have landed in Franklin.

Tuesday, November 4 dawned sunny but windy, and those winds may have been the portent of the change that the community saw when the Town of Franklin Biennial Election results were available just after 9 PM.

Only 2 of the Town Council incumbents were re-elected, joining 7 new members. Diane Daddario won the write-in vote for the Board of Health with a convincing margin. 1 of the School Committee incumbents did not return as 3 new members will be joining the committee. 

The first Town Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 12 with a 6 PM starting time. The meeting will open with organizational votes so it will be interesting to see who ends up as Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk for this new team.

The agenda is mainly an orientation to Council operations, open meeting law, Conflict of Interest, Ethics, and other matters that for the prior Councils with less change were covered but not likely in the depth anticipated for this session with so many newbies. 

Other Town meetings this week are scheduled around the Veterans Day holiday Tuesday. 

The Housing Authority meets on Monday. The Historical Commission and Friends of the Franklin Public Library are scheduled to meet on Wednesday. 

The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, the Charles River Pollution Control District, the BFCCPS and the Conservation Commission are all scheduled to meet on Thursday. The agendas for all the meetings this week are listed below.

For all the cultural events and meetings, 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-1577-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-11-09-25/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 11/07/25, 8:30 PM   ***

Housing Authority

Monday, November 10 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11102025-1994 

Veterans Day - Town offices and Schools closed

Tuesday, November 11

Historical Commission Meeting

Wednesday, November 12 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11122025-1999 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, November 12 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11122025-2001 

Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting

Wednesday, November 12 Time: 7:00 PM

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meetings

Thursday, November 13 Time: 2:00 PM

not available at this time

Charles River Pollution Control Meeting

Thursday, November 13 Time: 3:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11132025-2000 

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Meeting

Thursday, November 13 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11132025-1995 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, November 13 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/528?fileID=6820  

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

The Franklin Public Schools Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee met on Monday, Nov 3 at 6 PM. Exclusive audio of that meeting is expected to be available by Monday, Nov 10

The Planning Board met on Monday, Nov 3. Franklin TV broadcast the meeting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgAto6ygY8M

The Biennial Election was conducted on Tuesday, Nov 4. The official results were posted by Town Clerk after noon on Wednesday, Nov 5.  6387 voters, 24.4% of the 26,136 registered total cast ballots. Detailed results are available -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/town-of-franklin-official-results-of.html 

The Board of Health met on Wednesday, Nov 5 at 5 PM. Exclusive audio of that meeting is expected to be available by Monday, Nov 10. 

The Finance Committee was also scheduled to meet Wednesday but it was canceled late in the afternoon due to lack of a quorum. The Technology ‘deep dive’ will need to be rescheduled yet again, likely for the next meeting in December.

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met briefly on Thursday, Nov 6. They approved the first accessory dwelling unit requiring a variance. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wc7bTwqVFg

With the MIAA playoffs underway, there was only One live steamed FHS high school sports this week. 

The boys soccer team fell to Framingham in OT by a 2-1 score. The video is available   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qNsIesLrv4

A shareworthy presentation by Joe Landy to the Senior Center on “Then & Now” is available on YouTube ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EkZIrEeq4 

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