Franklin (MA) Matters

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan. We had our conversation in the Franklin TV & Radio studio on Monday, March 25, 2024. The School Committee had their regular meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. We recap that meeting in our discussion. The major item of the meeting was the public hearing on the school budget.  We spend time on that as well as the Comprehensive School Facilities Planning work also underway which has long term budget implications. Topics:Superintendent Recommended Budget for FY 2025Comprehensive School Facilities PlanningSchool budget vote scheduled for April 9The recording runs about 35 minutes so let’s listen to my “chalkboard chat” with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan.--------------Contact info for Dave Callaghan  callaghand@franklinps.net School Committee page => https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee Superintendent’s Recommended budget -> https://www.

This session of the radio show shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee meeting held on March 19, 2024. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers. All 7 members of the Committee were present in Chambers. Quick recap:FY25 Budget Open Hearing  (presentation doc not posted but the full budget book is available ->    https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/fy25_complete_budget_book.pdf)2 quick points from School Committee member Paul Griffith during the Q&A for the presentation, I paraphrased here but go listen to what he said:Great clarification questions from Cmte member Griffith Go back and listen (via the YouTube link) for his points on the class size as well as the support services (i.e. personnel titles) some legally required if not morally to provide the proper education for each studentIf we are looking at the bare minimum of level services across the Town and schools, given the Town expected revenue, it is not whether there should be an override,

This session shares my conversation with Mitzi Gousie, Programming and Outreach Librarian with the Franklin Public Library. We had our discussion at the Franklin TV Studios on Monday, March 18, 2024.We talk about Reviewed the regular open hours, and month ending holiday timesLibrary events for April 2024Special eventsKiddos, or “littles”FamilyAdultsThe show notes include links to the Library page and to the calendar of events where registration for some of the events is required/recommended..The recording runs about 32 minutes, so let’s listen in.--------------Mitzi Gousie’s email -> mgousie@minlib.net Franklin Public Library page ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library Library Calendar of Events ->  http://www.eventkeeper.com/mars/xpages/F/FRANKLIN/ekp.cfm Stellarium - open source sky viewing software https://stellarium.org/Eclipse viewers -> https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/viewers-filters -------------We are now producing this in collaboration

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Ted McIntyre, Franklin resident and climate activist. We met to record in the Franklin TV & Public Radio studio on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.  We continued making sense of climate on an almost extemporaneous discussion similar to what we recently had. The topic list:State of the Union, Inflation Reduction ActConservation land, rewilding to restore carbon balanceGulf Stream, and implications of climate changeBoston Globe article on smart electrical panelsStranded asset, reuse with geothermal possibleTotal eclipse, April 8This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well. If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.  The conversation runs about 47 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted.--------------Bos

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with the leadership team of the National Art Honor Society. Amy Edson, FHS Art teacher, and club advisor. The leadership team students introduce themselves as we go around:  Raena, the President of NAHS and leading the Singapore roomAllie, the Vice-President, and leading the Spain roomGia, the Data Manager, and leading the Columbia roomChristine, the Social Media Director and leading the Sudan roomWe had our conversation in one of the art rooms where the Create Art Around the World will be taking place. Thanks to the Franklin Cultural Council for the grant to enable this event for free.Let’s listen to this conversation about the kid friendly (and did we say, “Free”) Create Art Around the World scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, 2024 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. --------------FHS Clay Studio Instagram account -> https://www.instagram.com/fhs_claystudio/ More about the Franklin Cultural Council -> https://www.franklinma.gov/cultural-c

This session of the radio show shares the FPS Comprehensive Facilities Planning Subcommittee meeting held on March 13, 2024. The meeting was held in the 3rd floor training room. Participating in the room: D Callaghan, Supt. Giguere, Dr. Dutch, Dr. Rogers, P Marano, Mike D’Angelo, K Ham, and E Gallagher, Participating remotely: A CharlesQuick recap:Supt Giguere set up for Kate Jessup (?) Kaestle Boos  to provide her insights and findings as part of the tours and workshops, she has taken part of or facilitatedCapturing the slides with photos (as they were shared), the presentation copy should be posted to the School page in the next day or so. When I find it, I’ll add the link hereThe meeting runs about 65 minutes so let’s listen to the FPS Comprehensive School Facilities Planning Subcommittee meeting held on March 13, 2024.--------------School Committee page => https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee Meeting Agenda doc  ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vy

This session shares a recap of the Town of Franklin (MA) Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting held on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. This recap was recorded via Zoom on Thursday, March 7, 2024. The recap of this critical budgetary meeting was conducted withCouncil Chair Tom Mercer who also serves as the Chair of the Joint Budget CommitteeGeorge Conley, Chair of the Finance CommitteeDavid McNeill, Vice-Chair of the School Committee as well as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee for the schoolsQuick recap:Role of the Joint Budget CommitteeReflections on the info shared in the meetingNext steps including schedule of meetings to continue to work on refining the FY 2025 budgetThe recording runs about 51 minutes, so let’s listen to the recap of the Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting.--------------Franklin TV video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D33RO5xYoUg   Meeting agenda -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/joint_budget_subcommittee_meeting_agenda_-_march_6_2024

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Town Councilor Glenn Jones. Glenn is currently Chair for the Master Plan Update Committee. They have been working diligently for the past year to revise and update the “Master Plan” for Franklin. The Committee is preparing for the Open House event, March 23. To be held at Dean College, 60 School St from 11 AM to 3 PM. Refreshments will be provided by Dean College.We talk through the Master Planning process and what remains ahead of them.The audio recording runs about 45 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Glenn on the Master Plan and come to hear more on March 23 at Dean College.--------------Master Plan Update Committee page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/master-plan-update-committeeInventory Report (Updated) -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/franklin_master_plan_inventory_assessment-rev_03-07-2024_ia_with_maps.pdf Event info for March 23 -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/town-fra

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan and Ruthann O’Sullivan. We had our conversation via the Zoom conference bridge on Friday, March 8, 2024. The School Committee had their regular meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. We recap that meeting in our discussion as well as get their insights on the Joint Budget meeting as well as the Comprehensive School Facilities Planning work also underway. Topics:Superintendent Recommended Budget for FY 2025Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting March 6 started the formal process to develop the FY 2025 budget including the decision around a possible overrideThe recording runs about 42 minutes so let’s listen to my “chalkboard chat” with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan and Ruthann O’Sullivan.--------------Contact info for Dave Callaghan  callaghand@franklinps.net Contact info for Ruthann O’Sullivan  osullivanr@franklinps.net School Committee page => https://www.franklin

This session shares the Town of Franklin (MA) Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting held on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. The meeting was conducted in the Council Chambers with a huge crowd and multiple folks tapped in via Zoom. The Joint Budget Subcommittee is composed of the 4 members of the Town Council, 4 members of the Finance Committee and 3 members of the School Committee (to avoid a committee quorum for each of the respective bodies).Chair - Tom Mercer, Brian Chandler, Cobi Frongillo, and Melanie Hamblen of the Town CouncilGeorge Conley, Natalie Riley, of the Finance CommitteeDavid McNeill, Paul Griffith, and KP Sompally of the School CommitteeQuick recap:Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and School superintendent Lucas Gigiuere jointly presented the story of the town and school budgets as they initially create a 10.1 million deficit to be resolvedNext steps outlined as this is the start of the discussion and fine tuning of the budgetThe show notes contain a link to the agenda, the Franklin TV meeting vide

This session shares my conversation with Mitzi Gousie, Programming and Outreach Librarian with the Franklin Public Library. We had our discussion at the Franklin TV Studios on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.We talk about Reviewed the regular open hours, and month ending holiday timesLibrary events for March 2024Kiddos, or “littles”FamilyAdultsThe show notes include links to the Library page and to the calendar of events where registration for some of the events is required/recommended..The recording runs about 32 minutes, so let’s listen in.--------------Mitzi Gousie’s email -> mgousie@minlib.net Event highlights we covered in this conversationhttps://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/news/march-2024-franklin-library-news-events Franklin Public Library page ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library Library Calendar of Events ->  http://www.eventkeeper.com/mars/xpages/F/FRANKLIN/ekp.cfm Stellarium - open source sky viewing software https://stellar

This session of the radio show shares the output of The Climate Minute podcast episode hosted by Ted McIntyre, Franklin resident and climate activist. We met to record in the Franklin TV & Public Radio studio on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.  The topic thread we talked of as we continued this making sense of climate discussion was the most extemporaneous that we have had. Ted turned the tables around and interviewed me to find out about my trip to Uganda and we discussed the climate implications of some of the lessons or highlights I shared. This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well. If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.  The conversation runs about 58 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted.--------------Links to references made during thi

This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 18, 2024. All 9 members  of the Council participated (1 remotely). Most of the first 2 hours was spent on a healthy conversation around the proposed zoning change from residential to business for two lots on King St near the Fire station. The Council after spending almost 2 hours listening to the proposal (no specific business use was proposed) (the real question was should the lot be residential or business?), the Council decided to take "no action". This move allows them to refer the zoning change back to the Planning Board which while they had a quorum discuss this previously, the recommendation came back with only 3 votes, not the full 5 of the Board (due to the recent election).Quick recap:Brownie troop 64085 led the pledge as part of the work on the Democracy badgeThe minutes for the Jan meeting were approvedThe OPEB financial report was presented and reviewed, we are in a better

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan. We had our conversation in person at the Franklin TV Studio on Monday, February 26, 2024. The School Committee had their regular meeting on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. We recap that meeting in our discussion. Recall that Tuesday, a snow storm was forecast, school canceled, the meeting went virtual and the snow didn’t fully come to pass in the amount expected.Topics:SAFE Coalition Overview - Jennifer Knight-LevinBudget OverviewCosta Rica Field Trip ProposalItaly Field Trip ProposalJoint Budget Subcommittee of March 6 starts the formal process to develop the FY 2025 budgetThe recording runs about 43 minutes so let’s listen to my “chalkboard chat” with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan.--------------Contact info for Dave Callaghan  callaghand@franklinps.net School Committee page => https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee 2/13/24 meeting Agenda doc 

This session of the radio show shares our “Town Council Quarterbacking” with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer. We had our conversation via the Zoom Conference Bridge on Thursday, February 29, 2023.  • ok, what just happened? • What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?Topics for this sessionBrownie troop 64085 led the pledge as part of their work on the Democracy badgeZoning change from residential to business, two hours, “No action”Procedural move to refer back to the Planning Board for their ‘full’ assessment & recommendationThe OPEB financial report was presented and reviewed, we are in a better position than we were previouslyFY24 Capital Improvement Plan was approvedGift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Dept. ($2,900), Senior Center ($200), Police Dept. ($50)  were approved with thanksCable Funds in Support of PEG Service and Programming per MGL Ch. 44, §53F3/4 actually 2 resolutions were approved. Joint Budget SubCmte meeting on March 6 will begin work on how to res

This session of the radio show shares a new format for "Talk Franklin'' with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Deputy Administrator Amy Frigulietti. This episode features a conversation with many of the key folks from the Department of Public Works. We recorded our discussion in person in the 3rd floor Training Room on Thursday, February 22, 2024.Topics for this sessionWater & Sewer Beaver Stream Interceptor PFAS mitigationsStormwater New fee abatement cycle opens April 1Trash & recycling Composting comingGIS (graphical information service) The storymaps and the “data”Fleet managementOver 200 registered vehiclesAnother 80 unregistered devices (large & small)Always looking for efficiencies Engineering Baron Road out to bid for work this year (ARPA funded) Highway/ & Grounds The most visible working section of the DPWThe recording runs about 96 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie, Amy & the DPW group on Thursday, February 22, 2024--------------Town Administrator page -&

This session of the radio show is the audio recording of the Franklin, MA Capital Budget Subcommittee meeting conducted on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. All four members of the subcommittee were present: Chair Debbie Pellegri, Vice Chair Bob Dellorco, Ted Cormier-leger, Brian Chandler. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone, Superintendent Lucas Giguere, along with almost all of the Town Department leaders; at least those with capital budget requests.This meeting covered the first round of capital budgeting. As noted during the session, there is about 1.5M remaining of “Free Cash” to be allocated during round 2.You can follow along with the agenda as each department section was covered and line item by line items, votes were conducted (with a few exceptions). Only one vote did NOT finish 4-0. That being the vote to fund the town/school website upgrade which passed 3-1 (Cormier-Leger cast the “no” vote). As noted when I shared the agenda, while this proposal was reviewed b

This session shares my conversation with Mitzi Gousie, Programming and Outreach Librarian with the Franklin Public Library. We had our discussion at the Franklin TV Studios on Thursday, January 25, 2024.We talk about Reviewed the regular open hours, and month ending holiday timesLibrary events for February 2024Kiddos, or “littles”TeensAdultsThe show notes include links to the Library page and to the calendar of events where registration for some of the events is required/recommended..The recording runs about 28 minutes, so let’s listen in.--------------Mitzi Gousie’s email -> mgousie@minlib.net Event highlights we covered in this conversationhttps://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/news/february-2024-franklin-library-news-events Franklin Public Library page ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library Library Calendar of Events ->  http://www.eventkeeper.com/mars/xpages/F/FRANKLIN/ekp.cfm Volunteer tax assistance program info -> https://www.fr

This session of the radio show shares a new format for "Talk Franklin'' with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Deputy Administrator Amy Frigulietti. This episode features a conversation on the 2024 elections with Town Clerk Nancy Danello. We recorded our discussion in person in the 3rd floor Training Room on Thursday, January 25, 2024.Topics for this sessionQuick news highlights Franklin Ridge received $8.5M funding Town Council goals set for next 2 years Jamie elected as Vice-President of Mass Municipal Assoc (MMA)Elections for 2024 Presidential Primary - March 5 State Primary - September 3 Presidential Election  - November 5Quick outlook Council Meeting - Jan 31 Finance Mtg - Feb 6 Council Mtg - Feb 28 Joint Budget Cmte - March 6The recording runs about 47 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie, Amy & Nancy on Thursday, January 25, 2024--------------Town Administrator page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/administratorTalk Franklin podcast page -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfrank

This session of the radio show shares the Police Station Building Cmte Meeting held on Wednesday, January 24, 2023.4Quick recap:Police Station Bldg Cmte meeting underway. M D'Angelo provides an overview of the Owner Project Manager (OPM). The request for proposal (RFP) for the OPM is the doc before the group to review and discuss tonight.The OPM really runs the project and is required by Mass Genl Law for projects of this size. The OPM responsibility list is more than a page of single spaced bullet itemsSubmittals from the firms are usually interesting but the interview is key to determine who is most qualified to do the work. Example given of a firm that had done 1 specific project, another had done a few, the last one had more than 20. That experience can be keyThe initial response is a non price proposal, first you want qualifications, then you can work on a price. FHS OPM was the 3rd choice actually and did a good job ultimately.Chair Mercer reminds group to get to find out the team of individuals that th