Ready to report on the Town Council meeting to begin at 6 PM Follow with the agenda ma-franklin.civicplus.com
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Meeting opens, Chair Dellorco reads the protocol statement Citizen comments A Earls, representing Historical Commission, advocating for a historical district study. First step is to set up a study committee, can only go that far. Or get customized for Franklin. Willing to walk through the process Another from the commission advocating for the study W Lee something the state gives the Town the power to do, about 100 or so have it. Hopkinton has 2 for different reasons Kaye Kelly, appreciate the access of Franklin TV and efforts of Steve Sherlock. Meetings are so packed, no time for discussion on the budget. We need an abundance of transparency and information hopeful that this Council can do so S Daderian (?) advocating for climate leader community, green community, a goal to work towards, committee of departments and community, another tier to attain K Mu Chow, Chair of Board of Health, so proud of the work, May 20th, women's health expo at New England Chapel, able to secure a free mammogram van, 7 AM to 3 PM, childcare provider for the woman to take the test. J Evans, echos comments on creating new revenue, we all look forward to seeing that Jan 21, 2026 raised questions about a candidate and whether it required disclosure or not. Records released show that the facts discussed were inaccurate. Goal is accuracy. Providing docs as such to Council D Callaghan provides an update on their recent meeting met virtually to approve the 2.5% increase in prior year budget, cost avoidance of $3M with redistricting, cut last year $2 post override failure, sustainable, predictable, next year school calendar approved. Kudos to DPW for their blizzard work Council comments Malloy thanks to DPW, thanks to police officers for their help, thanks to fire dept for work on Peters Lane Update emergency contact listing from town, essay contest winner for new US submarine Ojukwu thanks to DPW for their work, now we need to figure out to continue to fund them We need to know the successes like Chloe and celebrate them Griffith ditto to what was said before LeBlanc while there are no subcommittees currently that doesn't mean we don't talk and take part in other orgs and meetings, may not be always visible, did more now than he did 20 years ago. Appreciate the patience for the Friday trash group. LeBlanc challenges the remainder of the Council to give Jamie what your ideas are. How to subscribe from the robocalls? In the app, or call the TA office and they'll take the individual off Callaway-Tripp understand WasteMgt issues with driver hours, we pay for services required, if they don't provide they should provide a credit, 2 bags is great but for some it may not be enough. They need to be able to deliver what they are contracted to do. Jane acknowledges Kaye's comment, others are working on it, I feel lost myself. It doesn't work well to talk individually, not being able to do it together is a problem. Doesn't leave room for the conversations. Cormier-Leger thanks to Chloe for the essay, thanks to DPW for the storm work, thanks for the women's health fair... Parents frustrated with after school options, Creative Corner has some options, with transportation options. Tickets for Into The Woods Mar 13-22 Franklin Culture doing public activities, call for mural residency project... Apologies for things that got a little out of hand at our prior meeting during the capital budget discussion. Condolences to Sardino family Grella, ditto on storm kudos, first job had been with Electric boat, would like to see the sub launch Input from residents lead to the bags, need a better plan if it does happen again, playbook Like the idea of the committee; did work on recycling didn't take a lot of town resources, with the budget issues we have would be great to have citizens help us, perhaps present back to FinCom and TC Dellorco has been at the airport all winter long, ditto to DPW, we always talk. I have been in some towns and won't say where, but their roads were terrible If mother nature is in the contract, then we don't have a leg to stand on Kudos to fire dept, relative had an issue, the ambulance was late but he is fine now, did get med-flight Town Admin report, snow and ice Exceeding budget, double ice last night. Will use stabilizer funds, custodians did all the walkways for the schools. Kudos for their work Thanks for the small acts of the police and fire sometimes go unnoticed. Trash won't rehash, thanks for your patience, recycling Center has open hours Thurs and Friday. Other bags can be used instead of the overflow bags The storm didn't just impact us, it hit other communities. Difficult to do a credit but we'll try, lucky to have no power outages Only time in 20 plus years, compared to what has happened elsewhere this is minor. Hopefully the 60 degrees weekend March 18 joint meeting with SchCmte, presentation on Chap 70, hold harmless, how to work together as we go. Superintendent and I will give an overview on strategic planning Budget page has been updated FinCom just appointed their joint membership maybe March 25? Will need to manage staff hours Liz Kalaijian started last week in communication role. Part time Sandy Moore starting, 3rd ambulance coming online, mental health division had some turnover did replace 1 Approve minutes for prior meeting, second, passes 9-0 Appointments, Franklin’s 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee - Courtney Shimer Moved, second , passes 9-0 Skipping presentation to take legislation first Resolution 26-11: Establishment of Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Review Town Charter (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-11 - Majority Vote) Nonbinding preliminary review of the charter, conduct outreach, produce a final report, advisory only So moved, second Discussion Griffith questions the work required when other things are on the plate Goal to produce a list of possible changes, rather than speculation Once the list is defined, then we can have a better set of options on how to resolve Vote on the motion, passes 9-0 Resolution 26-12: Appropriating Funds by Borrowing to Pay Costs of Purchasing a Fire Truck for the Fire Department (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-12 - ⅔ Majority Vote) So moved, second Discussion Jamie recaps the FinCom meeting Ryan from FinCom speaks to summarize the discussion and resolution A BAN requires interest only, a Bond would require principal and interest. Floor model would be a basic model and fully function, it is a standard spec and this fits. It does have a galvanized frame with 25 year coverage, shouldn't have a longevity issue, 2025 but never been in service. Manufacturer admits a poorly built frame rail, (new ones are galvanized) our use (in salt without cleaning) they use as out for covering the warranty; there are class action suits but without much traction Vote on the motion passes 9-0 Resolution 26-13: Parking Meter Receipts Appropriation (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-13 - Majority Vote) so moved, second, discussion Specific user based fee paid by the parking users for maintenance of the units and software only. Vote on the motion, passes 9-0 Resolution 26-14: Acceptance of Gifts - Senior Center ($1,645) (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-14 - Majority Vote) So moved, second, discussion Thanks! Passes 9-0 Resolution 26-15: PEG Funding Approval (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-15 - Majority Vote) So moved, second Motion to waive reading, second, passes 9-0 Vote on the motion passes 9-0 Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-948: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Use Regulation Schedule, Attachment 2, Attachment 3, Attachment 4, Attachment 7 & Attachment 8 - Referral to the Planning Board Morena Zelaya, director of Planning presenting on the update before the Council. Mostly cleanup the documents for the Crossing Neighborhood zoning as well as the MBTA compliance zoning Morena walks thru the changes, mostly errors caught after, you can see on the Town online copy blanks where there shouldn't be and references added back to where they should have been. Will be going to the Planning Board for their hearings and come back to the Council with no changes or ... Some changes for the Council review and public hearing before the vote on the measures. Vote to refer to planning board, passes 9-0 h. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-949: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot Area Requirements - Referral to the Planning Board Motion to refer, second, discussion Vote on the motion, passes 9-0 FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS So far, round of no's Historical Commission provide an update on the district study Public safety (Fire, Police, MECC) departments had done reform prior to provide to current Council Finally: Discussion: 2026-2027 Town Council-Town Administrator Goals i. Town Administrator Memo ii. Draft Town Council-Town Administrator Preliminary List of Goals Q on expectations Reading the list, acknowledge hold if needing further discussion First meeting on joint budget FY 27-28-29 ... Adding FY 27, meeting talked of in Mar/Apr "Objective allocation" term needs to be defined As part of the Joint budget to review and consider a potential objective allocation policy for the FY 28 OPEB and Audit review at the May meeting discussion around tech terms or "kitchen English" FY 27 target for June 10 CPC public hearing May 18 Water rate increase possible FY 28 Change of 'approve' to 'review and discuss' and other strategies Water rate is on a sliding scale. Use of federal govt numbers for poverty level Discussion on road acceptance, the additions do enable an increase in Chap 90 funding as our mileage increases Change "with special emphasis" to "include but not limited by" Complete street grant opportunities Police station Cmte to come to a future meeting RFP for Beaver St recreation Explore options for a Franklin community art center Local home rule change to increase hotel tax by 2% Restaurant week suggestion Remove Marketing/Branding phase 2, for now EDC to review and prioritize the Master Plan goals Possible grant opportunity for a transportation planner to outline a route, stops, and enable a fixed transit route along 140 Pursue to replace "Explore" and take initial steps towards sustainable green community Remove the affordable housing trust item as the Council is limited in what ... It can do. The Municipal affordable housing trust should go to CPC with project or funding requests, funds can be applied that way but it is between the CPC and housing trust Change "adopt" to "evaluate" On the 40r... Discussion on list or schedule vs policy Or kill it completely? What is the historical perspective? Create a historical record of the Franklin planning reviews Review the SHI, Actual affordable numbers rather than the 40b Motion to approve 26-10 as revised tonight, March 4. See attached Second, Waive reading, second, passes 9-0 Vote on the motion passes 9-0 Motion to adjourn, passes 9-0 That's all for tonight catch you next time! @unroll.skywriter.blue