Episode 1066

FM #1066 - Franklin (MA) Town Council Mtg - 09/20/23

Published on: 24th September, 2023

This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. All 9 members of the Council were present in the Council Chambers. 

Quick recap:

  • Three appointments to individual committees were unanimously approved.  a. Council on Aging - Collette Ferguson  b. Finance Committee - Heather Sanscoucy   c. Municipal Affordable Housing Trust - Kimberly Mu-Chow 
  • Franklin Elks Riders presented a donation of $1k, the Franklin Elks Bingo donated $10k to the Town of Franklin veterans services
  • Council goals review, a long list of accomplishments, a list to be proud of
  • The funds previously allocated for purchase of a new ambulance were authorized to be paid to the vendor to hold the contract and avoid a price increase - Resolution 23-54: Ambulance Transfer & Appropriation
  • The Council discussed and approved placement of the debt exclusion to fund the Franklin portion of the Tri-County RVTHS new building. The question language approved was as follows: 

"Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay the Town’s allocable share of the bonds issued by the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School District to pay costs of designing constructing and equipping a new high school to be located at 147 Pond Street, in Franklin, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?"

  • The Open Space & Recreation Plan developed over the course of 15 months, muti[;e meetings and 3 public hearings was approved by the Council. IT will be submitted to the State and assuming their acceptance will also be part of the Master Plan Update now underway
  • Town Administrators report provided updates on the migrant housing situation, the demolition delay report and a report on decommissioning a section of Spring Street.

The recording runs 2 hours and 16 minutes. Let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on Sep 20, 2023. 

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Town Council agenda doc ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_-_sept_20_2023.pdf 

Town Administrator Jamie Hellen provided an update. This audio segment of the meeting was shared separately. https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/09/town-administrators-report-on-migrant_20.html  

The Franklin TV video is available for replay ->   https://www.youtube.com/live/bF13Dgn_6qs   

My full set of notes captured via Twitter during the meeting are collected in a single PDF for easier reading  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1khvMQCoANrW3vZxzRHMYP1pPlrpfAfP4/view?usp=drive_link  

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

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For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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About the Podcast

Franklin Matters Radio
Information for the community because Franklin matters
What matters in Franklin MA - we follow the money sharing Town business meetings and interviews to enable an informed resident and voter

About your host

Profile picture for Stephen Sherlock

Stephen Sherlock

I volunteer as the Community Information Director for Franklin, MA (USA)*. I have been providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin since 2007. Currently working in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019.

*They don't have one and couldn't afford me.