Town Council - Regular Meeting

Time being six o'clock. Recording in progress.

Gets me all the time.

Time being six o'clock, I call the Franklin Town Council meeting to order, September 16th, 2026.

I ask for a moment of silence.

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands,

Note to residents, all citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person or remotely by using one of the options listed below. Meetings are recorded and archived by Franklin TV and on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel. and shown repeatedly on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. Remote options, watch Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channels or Comcast Channel 9 or Verizon Channel 29. Participants zooming, the ID number is 845-4205-4953. In order to speak, Zoom attendees must select the raise hand function to be requested to be unmuted. All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting. On Zoom call by calling 1-929-205-6099. Enter meeting ID, The pound sign. Announcements from the chair. Upcoming town sponsored community events. The Franklin Health Department is holding a free flu clinic for all Franklin residents at the Senior Center on Tuesday, September 22nd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The next town council office hours will be held on tomorrow, September 17th, from 8.30 to 9.30 a.m. at the Franklin Senior Center located at 10 Daniel McHale Road. The Franklin Farmers Market takes place every Friday through October 23rd from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Franklin Town Common. The Franklin Conservation Commission invites residents to participate in the Passport to Fall Challenge, taking place September 15th through November 15th. Participants are encouraged to visit five feature conservation management open space properties, take a photo at each location, and submit their complete passport to the conservation department. The five featured properties are the River Bend Conservation Area across from 887 Lincoln Street, Indian Rock, the end of King Phillip Road, Franklin Town Forest across from 403 Summer Street, Delcott Conservation Area, 459 Pleasant Street, and the Maple Hill Conservation Area Bridal Path. Hard copies of passports are available at Franklin Municipal Building, Recreational Department at 235 Wachusett Street, and the Department of Public Works at Fisher Street. Citizens Commons. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda in compliance with Chapter 38, Section 20, the open meeting law. The council cannot engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during citizens' comments. The council may ask the town administrator to review the matter. Nothing herein shall prevent the town administrator from correcting a misstatement of fact. Do we have anybody in the audience that would... Ryan, just stay who you are.

Good evening, Ryan Jetty, 13 Spring Street. I'm a resident, but I'm also town recreation director. Tonight I wanted to take a minute to just recognize and publicly thank a group of town employees who went above and beyond to improve one of our recreation facilities. Fletcher Field Batting Cage recently underwent a major renovation. What makes this project especially meaningful is that it was completed largely through the hard work and dedication of our Department of Public Works employees. The batting cage system itself was purchased using funds from the Austin B. Fletcher Trust Fund. It was recommended by our Recreation Advisory Board, who Mr. DeLauro was on that committee, and it's allowed us to make an important investment in our field and in the young athletes who use it. But purchasing the equipment was only part of the project. The installation and renovation required a tremendous amount of time, effort, skill, and teamwork. Our DPW crew stepped up and completed this work themselves, saving the town more than $10,000 in labor costs. It's a significant savings to the town, but the value of what they provided goes beyond the dollar amount. They took pride in their work. They worked together, and they delivered a finished product that the rec department and, more importantly, our residents can be proud of. So tonight I want to sincerely thank our DPW crew. Starts at the top with Carlos and Tony providing leadership for the talented employees to complete the work. Nathan McDonald, Steve Rozak, Steve Akiki, Chris McKenna, and Justin Mercer all worked on the project. Your work is greatly appreciated. The time and effort you put into the project are a great example of what can happen when the town departments work together for the benefit of the community. So I want to also recognize Pat Farrell, who we're honoring tonight for his retirement. Pat was instrumental in advising the crew throughout the project. His experience is particularly valuable because he was involved in building a very similar batting cage at Dacey Community Field two years ago. The knowledge and experience helped guide the Fletcher Field project and contributed to its success. Pat has always been involved in helping the recreation department, and I want to personally thank him and congratulate him on his retirement tonight. Projects like this for retirement, some of the best work is being done in our community behind the scenes. It's the dedication of our town employees, people who take ownership of their work and care about the facilities of our residents that they use every day. That makes a real difference. On behalf of the Recreation Department, I want to say thank you to everyone involved. And while I'm here, I also want to congratulate John Rondo, Mike Ellsworth, Irene McDonough, of course, Pat, and John Chalk for fantastic careers. You all did so much for the town of Franklin, improving the facilities and grounds. On behalf of all the students and the athletes, I want to thank you, and best of luck in your retirement. Thank you.

Thank you, Ryan.

Kim Yuchel for Barwood Road. I have multiple hats today. Building on what you said about the flu clinic, just to expand on that, you do have to sign up. And I have the information on how to sign up here. I'll leave it on there. If you want to see who your Board of Health members are, two out of three of us are working the flu clinic. And we're trying to persuade the third one to bring his therapy dog, Asia, as well. And just so that the kids are not left behind, there is also a kids' flu clinic, which is being scheduled for Wednesday, 10-14, from 3 to 5-30, again at the Franklin Senior Center. Again, to sign up as well, and I'll leave this one here. Also, the Franklin Senior Center is having their Senior Health Expo on Friday, October 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is the very first time that we sold out on all our vendors way in advance, because normally we're calling them going, can you come? Can you come? We have sold out on that, and we are so pleased with that. And again, there will be a vaccination clinic there. That one will actually be staffed by the Osco's slash Shaw's pharmacist. She brings more than just flu vaccines. You do need to bring your insurance card. But she gives a lot of things there. There's community resources, giveaways, and raffles. And the last thing is we just started our planning of, I guess, our third annual community coat drive. So just so that you know, we haven't reached out to all our partners, but generally we have pickup points and drop-off points at the Hockamock YMCA, the fire station, the police station, New England Chapel, and Franklin United Methodist Church. We're going to do the cult drive dates on October, starting Friday, October 30th to Monday, December 7th. We're going to do the community cult drive. giveaway on Friday the 11th from 1 to 3 for seniors and veterans and or active duty families only and then on Saturday December 12 from 9 to 12 and we're going to also use our personal shopper model that we did last year which was very very successful where someone actually goes with the people who are looking for coats and helps them shop for it but thank you thank you

Is there anybody else in the audience? No? Wow. Oh, go ahead. Name and address, please.

Eddie Emerson, 98 Partridge Street. I was here last week talking about the flock hammers and once again requesting that they get taken down and end the contract with them. I talked to Jamie Helen this week about it. There's some new information. There's a story out of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where they offered to sell the police department their five years of driving data and driving patterns. And it was promised that they delete everything after seven days, but they clearly don't because that was only a couple weeks ago. So they terminated the contract with them immediately when they found that out. And there's a lot of other towns that have terminated their contracts since last meeting. Greenfield, Natick, Watertown, Boylston, Sharon, Wilmington, and Boston. And there's a reason that they're doing that. And I hope you guys can consider taking those down, because it's only two, and ending that contract. I just think every day that they're up, you're violating everybody's Fourth Amendment rights in town and privacy. And let's see. Ben Franklin said that anybody that would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserved neither liberty nor safety. And I know that they didn't have cameras when he was around, but this is exactly what he was talking about, I think. And I think you'd be appalled if we were taking everybody's information like this and just giving them to Flock, who is based in Atlanta, Georgia. And we don't really know what they're doing with the information. And also, we live in the safest town. in the state right up there. So it's just not worth it. And I hope we can get that on the agenda very soon. Thank you.

Anybody else? We don't have too many on Zoom. Start Roberta on Zoom. All right.

Hi, folks. Good evening. Roberta Trahan, 1 Green Street, Franklin, Mass. Just a quick announcement. Franklin Downtown Partnership will hold their 24th Annual Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 26th from 12 to 5. Rain date is the 27th, but I've been assured it's not going to rain. And just a quick minor correction. The farmer's markets actually go until October 30th. So come on down, get your butternut squash and all those root vegetables to last you through the winter. Thanks, everyone.

Thanks, Roberta.

Yep.

That's it? I think so, yep. Nobody else? All right. Next on the agenda is Council Comments. Council Malloy.

Thank you. Quick one tonight, but important, just to thank the Franklin Fire Department, Police Department, for the 9-11 memorial that they hosted last Friday, September 11th. It was a very fitting tribute to the solemnity of that day and the loss that the country felt and the fire departments and police departments in particular. But I thought it was nicely done. The music was terrific. The turnout was great. And it was somber but a very proud day. So thank you all for that. That's it for me tonight, sir.

Thanks. I'll speak to this because I think I spoke briefly about FLOC in our last meeting. As I mentioned before, I think it's important for us to actually understand how we're using it so we can make an informed decision. We have asked the the police chiefs to share with us just more information about how Flock is used in Franklin so we can make a decision that makes sense for our town. I believe that's something we're going to look to get on the agenda soon. I really just want to let you know that we are hearing the questions and we're looking to respond, but we want to make sure that whatever response we have is well informed.

I just have one thing. I know November feels really far away, but yesterday was National Voter Registration Day, and the election is coming up on Tuesday, November 3rd. I strongly encourage you all to make sure that you are registered to vote and make a plan to look. We have a lot of ballot questions that are going to be on the ballot in November, so look into those. um figure out what they mean and what the yes or no votes will do and um and yeah get ready to to enact your civic duty in november so that's all mike um i just wanted to uh publicly send my condolences to uh edward kolachi's family

Mr. Colacci, as I call him, when I met my wife almost 40 years ago, she was good friends with his daughter, Linda. And as we honor all these folks that have been here many years, Mr. Colacci was assistant principal, principal in the middle school almost over 30 years. And so he has a fixture in town. And... When I went to the wake this week, they said he had a couple of things to talk to me about as a counselor, and they did share with him what they were, so I will publicly follow up on those things for him. But my condolences to his family, and may he rest in peace.

Mr. Chairman, I've been very busy the past few weeks trying to work on a few things. I got to tour the new Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School being built alongside Councilor Garella. We got a great look at what our regional partners are building. I also got to sit down with the DPW about the Community Assistance Program. And they agreed to reach out to the Franklin Public School System about trying to advertise it more along time. The school system agrees with the school lunch program. So more families know that it exists. Right now, we're just not quite sure about the utilization rate and how many people are aware that there is a discount on water and sewer and trash and recycling for people who are low income. So if you are looking for help, check out that program. I also made a point of showing up, the Sculpture Park ribbon cutting for some of our two newest sculptures. It was a great ceremony, very beautiful sculptures, as well as they had a little miniature art exhibit that you could open up and take a little trading card that you could share with someone else and you could do your own art and put in there. I also got to chop cucumbers for the salad for the Rotary Club's 34th Annual Pasta Supper, and we had a great event with a lot of seniors and residents of the Housing Authority down there. One thing I want to recognize, I want to recognize Mike Berthiaume on his promotion to Fire Captain, Group 3 of Station 2 last July. He's been with our fire department since 2015, served as acting captain since last October, and holds a master's degree in emergency services management. Before Franklin, he received the Massachusetts State Medal of Valor for his actions during an active shooter incident while serving on the town of Bourne. That's the caliber of person protecting this town, and I think it's worth recognizing. Around town, there's more good news. The Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee installed four new benches along this net trail, funded through MassTrails grant and through loan fundraising, and locations residents requested in the community survey. This volunteer-driven work is paying off. Franklin also officially achieved compliance with the state MBTA communities law this year, which is a big milestone. On a public health note, the Health Department flagged West Nile activity this season, so just be sure to take precautions when you're outside. Some of the good stuff in our community, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is hosting their Friends of the Poor Walk, September 26th at the Town Common. The need has grown significantly this year. Assistance spending is up 150% over last year, driven mostly by red utilities and transportation. So if you're looking to help, that walk is worth your time. I do hear your concerns about wall cameras. And as Councilor Ajuku said, that will be hopefully coming before the council soon. And finally, if you want a reason to get outside this fall, the Conservation Commission's Passport to Fall Challenge runs November 15th. And they actually give you a little book. You can stamp with your time the places you go on it. So it's encouraging residents to visit our conservation areas. And that's all I got. That's all I yield. Thank you.

I don't really have that much. Basically condolences to the Kolache family as someone who had Mr. Kolache as the vice principal and loved him dearly as the vice principal. It's just they're a wonderful family, and he was a wonderful man. And so my heart goes out to all of them, and sorry for your loss. And at this moment, that's all I have. That's it?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly want to send my condolences to the Kalachi family. I want to echo Councillor Molloy's comments, thanking our police and fire departments and all the volunteers for the beautiful and very fitting 9-11 ceremony last week. I want to call special attention to Mrs. Plouffe and the musicians from my school. They were exceptional. Those kids gave up time from their studies to come out and make that ceremony. even more beautiful. want to wish all of my jewish friends and neighbors here in franklin a very happy new year and also for if you're looking for something fun to do this friday night uh seven o'clock the varsity home opener for our franklin high school football team will be happening at seven o'clock against brockton it's also youth cancer awareness night and youth football night so there'll be tons of kids of all ages there in uniform cheering everybody on. It's always a fun night, and it's a great way to support the Franklin Sports Program by buying some tickets, buying some concessions, and just having a great night. I know the kids appreciate it. With that, I give up, Mr. Chairman. You remember we had to do that, don't you?

Yep. A lot of times. I'd also like to express my condolences to the Kalachi family. I just wanted to say that. I also want to talk about the Tri-County School. Max and I went, gave a little more to that. I was just amazed at what they're constructing there and what a facility it's going to be and really excited for the students of Franklin who get to go there. I think that we're going to be relying more and more as the years go by. go by on vocational schools. We need those skills, and we're in short supply of those skills, and a lot of them are retiring out, so it's great to see that Franklin has invested this, and the people of Franklin have invested in this school, so I'm really proud of the community for doing that. And then the last thing I wanted to say was we had the meeting with Chief Lynch on the flock cameras, kind of went in there as a skeptic of flock cameras, but I have to say after going to that meeting, you know, I kind of changed my mind on that. I've given it a lot of thought. on the concerns about privacy, but we also have to realize that we kind of live in a world of cameras now, where everything's on cameras. When I drive my car, I have a camera on me. I don't know what Tesla's doing with that footage. I just have to kind of assume that they're going to be responsible with it. When it comes to the flock cameras, they're really focused on the license plates, and we don't want to give up this, I think, what we have as far as being able to solve crimes. And I think it's powerful. But it's always in our control to shut it off anytime we want to. And we need to, excuse the pun, but police it, keep an eye on it, bring the police department in to report on it. a site which kind of gives statistics and everything. But I think, you know, there's some things that we can do to tighten it up. But at the same time, it's, you know, I think when the townspeople learn about some of the crimes that it's been used to solve, I think, you know, we may get some change in sentiment about that. Well, I'll end it there. Thank you.

Thank you, Gene. I also would like to give the condolences to the Kolache family. HE WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH MY FATHER AND MY UNCLE. HOPEFULLY THEY'RE UPSTAIRS HAVING A GLASS OF WINE LIKE THEY USED TO. SO, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE UNION. BUT HE WAS A GREAT GUY. I DELIVERED OIL TO HIS HOUSE, AND HE ALWAYS OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME, MADE SURE I WANTED TO KNOW IF I WANTED SOMETHING TO EAT OR SOMETHING TO DRINK. BUT HE WAS A GREAT GUY, SO MAY HE REST IN PEACE. AND WITH THAT, I'LL END. JAMIE? We have joint budget committee, subcommittee. When's the next meeting? Do you know? Does anybody know? No. Just to be determined?

We're going to work on that one.

All right, EDC subcommittees, the next meetings are September 17th at 6 p.m. and October 1st at 6 p.m. Yeah, right?

Nothing to add since the last time, because this will be the first meeting since, but I would recommend if anyone is interested in kind of the permitting process that involves a lot of the committees, please either attend the meeting Public comments are welcome. Join on. I think we'll be on Zoom tomorrow night. I can share on Zoom as well. I'm really looking forward to the workshop, as I'll kind of call it. So it'll be fun.

Thanks, Mike. Thank you. Communication subcommittee.

We're working on scheduling the next meeting. It should be within the next two weeks. We haven't nailed that date yet.

TOWNCHATTER. I THINK WE'RE WORKING ON THEM. BEFORE YOU GO AWAY, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GET ONE IN, RIGHT? GET SOME DATES.

I WAS LOOKING AT SEPTEMBER 30th, BY CHANCE?

NO.

SEPTEMBER 24th?

I CAN DO THAT. SEPTEMBER 30th IS MY WIFE'S LAST DAY OF WORK, SO I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT. I KNOW WHERE YOU'LL BE.

LET'S FOLLOW UP AFTERWARDS. YOU GOT IT.

THE POLICE STATION BUILDING COMMITTEE DOESN'T HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED, SO I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT WILL BE DONE. Outside of that, that's it for subcommittee's town administrator's report.

Through you, Mr. Chairman, really quickly just want to thank the town safety committee, Julie McCann, Karen Bratt, Joe Barberi from the fire department. They received a $6,000 grant this past week to go towards safety training for the Franklin Fire Department. If people out there are wondering what kind of grants we get or other good news in town, please sign up for our Franklin First newsletter. You can go onto our website, take a look at it. If people want to know how to connect with the town, we have a ton of social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so on. Please see all the work that Liz Collasion is doing and sign up for our newsletter. Our newsletter has all the good stories that are going on in the business of the council as well as grants and awards and a variety of other things. Really quickly, I just want to, like Councilor Mulloy, thank the Franklin Fire Department for an incredible ceremony on 9-11. Particularly, I want to thank Josh Impey and the union, who I understand kind of took this one over this year, so it's really great to see the rest of the department get involved and put that program on. on that incredible day. And then just looking out into the future for future council meetings, I've mentioned these before publicly, but I'll just put it out there again. October 14th, october 28th and november 4th are the next three meetings i announced this is the last one but it bears repeating it's anticipated that those will be tax rate workshops so kicking things off on october 14th we have the three high school interns that were in my office over the summer they're going to be doing a presentation on their research on tax rates on other communities and variety data so if people are interested in seeing the high school kids that's a good one TO BE AT, BUT I EXPECT THERE TO BE A STRONG DIALOGUE. I THINK IT WAS AN IMPORTANT GOAL OF THE COUNCIL'S THIS YEAR TO LOOK AT THE TAX RATE WELL IN ADVANCE OF DECEMBER 2ND WHEN Y'ALL WILL SET THE TAX RATE. SO WE'VE SET ASIDE IN WORKING WITH THE CHAIR A FEW MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO GO THROUGH THIS. It's a complicated topic, right? So we wanted to allow enough time for public comment. But if anybody out that's watching this on YouTube or watching this live tonight and you're interested in tax rates for residential or commercial, you should mark your calendar for those dates there. Also, I just want to mention it's anticipated at the October 28th meeting. That will be an official pinning ceremony for many of the promotions in the police department. We obviously know about the new chief. Yep. There'll also be a deputy chief, sergeant, lieutenant, and a bunch of other promotions that night. So if people want to come out for the police department, that's something that they may want to put on their calendar. And finally, November 18th will be your budget, FY27 budget recap. State aid was a little bit lower than we anticipated. And just as part of the budget process in every community, in fall, we have a fall meeting that goes back and looks at the budget that was approved by the council in June. And we make a few adjustments that are in there. YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE REVENUES FROM THE STATE AND A COUPLE OF OTHER CHANGES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE OCCURRED. I DON'T ANTICIPATE ANYTHING LARGE, BUT I HOPE THAT GIVES EVERYBODY HERE AND THE COUNCIL, BUT ALSO THE PUBLIC AND THE RESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF A HEADS-UP OVER THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR MEETINGS OF WHAT IS GOING TO BE ON THE AGENDA. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME, MR. JAMES.

OKAY. DID YOU MENTION THAT STATE AID WAS a little low as Jeff walked in. Was that on purpose? I have no doubt that he will give a thorough report pretty soon.

And I will contradict that.

Okay. Proclamations and recognition. The first one is the proclamation on Hunger Action Month. So Max is going to read it, I think. My good friend Tina is here somewhere.

Now, there you are.

Proclamation from the town of Franklin. A proclamation recognizing September 2026 is Hunger Action Month. Whereas hunger and poverty are issues of grave concern in the United States, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Franklin, and whereas the high cost of housing, food, and other basic needs have exacerbated food insecurity and put tremendous stress on food assistance programs, And whereas, child food insecurity in our community grew 35% over the last year. And whereas, 2,411 individuals in our community received assistance from the Franklin Food Pantry nearly 33,000 times in the last year. And whereas, the Franklin Food Pantry distributed 816,610 pounds of food in the last year, equivalent to 680,008 meals, and whereas the town of Franklin, Franklin residents, schools, first responders, letter carriers, houses of worship, civic groups, businesses, families, individuals, and more have shown their commitment to fighting food insecurity by supporting the Franklin Food Pantry and food relief organizations. Now therefore it be known, that the Town Council of the Town of Franklin hereby recognizes September 2026 as Hunger Action Month in Franklin, Massachusetts, and urges all citizens of Franklin to take notice of this event and participate fittingly in its observance. Signed, Robert DeLorco, Chairman, Franklin Town Council.

As we all know, Tina does a great job. All right, next one up is John Rondo, 35 years of service. And you know I had to do this one. Yeah, I know. And Tana Franklin, on a proclamation recognition of John Rondo on the occasion of his retirement from the Franklin Facilities Trade Department, whereas John Rondo joined the Franklin Facilities Department on October 9, 1991, serving for over three decades as the backbone of the Facilities Trades team. committed to the constant upkeep of our schools and town building. And whereas after 35 years of dedicated service, he retired on July 31st, 2026. And whereas throughout his 35 years of service, John served as the town carpenter, John held various licenses and certifications, as well as having served as the union steward and representative for the safety committee, and whereas John has poured his heart into this community, accepted emergency calls and working off school hours to ensure student safety with various projects, and whereas John's skills and talents as a tradesman were of the highest caliber, even if another talented individual. Our team matches John's ability. His institutional knowledge and understanding of the talent cannot be met, and that's for sure. And whereas John will officially step into a well-earned retirement, WHETHER PICKING UP A GOLF GLUB. WE'RE NOT PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER TOMORROW. SITTING IN A TREE STAND ALL DAY AT HONEYDOO COFFEE SHOP, WHICH YOU SEE HIM OUT FRONT ALL THE TIME. TICKERING AROUND THE HOUSE, WE HOPE TO CONTINUE TO SEE JOHN THROUGHOUT FRANKLIN. NOW THEREFORE BE KNOWN THAT JOHN RONDO HEREBY CONTINUES COMMENDED AND RECOGNIZED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN FOR OVER 34 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE WITH THE FRANKLIN FACILITIES. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON HIS RETIREMENT, SIGNED BY MYSELF, YOUR FRIEND, AND FRANKLIN, CHAIRMAN OF FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL.

LET'S GO, BUDDY.

Surround them with love.

All right, John, I pulled the microphone down for that. Look at it. Max, if you want to come up and read this, you did such a spectacular job. That was amazing. I do have a citation for you, John, from the State House, and I'll read it to you now. It's, be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to John Rondo in recognition of your 34 years of dedication and service. You started with two. to the Franklin Facilities Department, wishing you all the best in your retirement. The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for a future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors, given this 16th day of September, 2026, at the State House in Boston, signed by Ronald Mariano, the Speaker of the House, and myself, whose great honor it is to be the State Representative. And this entitles you to a free coffee.

All right, next up, Michael Ellsworth, is it?

Stand here. Mr. Chairman, it's my pleasure to read this proclamation from the Town of Franklin recognizing Michael Ellsworth on the occasion of his retirement from the Franklin Facilities Department. Michael Ellsworth joined the Franklin Facilities Department on May 12, 1993, and has been the backbone for many of our schools committed to keeping our school safe, clean, and running smoothly. And whereas after 33 years of dedicated service, he retired on July 31st, 2026. And whereas throughout his 33 years of service, Michael served as the day senior custodian and has poured his heart and soul into this community, arriving early, staying late, and working behind the scenes to ensure that his school was always at its best. And whereas Michael was always a strong advocate for each and every student's needs, and he was always willing to help any student by going the extra mile. And whereas Michael was a great team player and an asset to the facilities department, and whereas Michael was a dedicated and valued member of the Franklin Facilities Department whose commitment and contributions to the department and the community are greatly appreciated, and he has wished many happy years in his well-deserved retirement. Now, therefore, be it known that Michael Ellsworth is hereby commended and recognized by the Town Council and the Town of Franklin for 33 years of dedicated service with the Franklin Facilities Department and congratulations on your retirement. Signed September 16th, 2026 by our Chairman, Rob DeLorco and the Franklin Town Council. Congratulations.

that it didn't happen, right? Michael, I, too, have a citation here from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to Michael Ellsworth in recognition of your 33 years of dedication and service to the Franklin Facilities Department. Wishing you all the best in your retirement. The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors. 16th day of September, 2026, signed by Ronald Mariano, the Speaker of the House, and myself, whose great honor is to be a State Representative. Congratulations.

Next up. Yeah, and many more people retired. We need more people than we have on the council.

Mr. Chairman, it's with great pleasure that I'm reading this proclamation recognizing Patrick Farrell on the occasion of his retirement from the Franklin Department of Public Works. Whereas Patrick Farrell joined the Franklin Department of Public Works on August 17th, 1994, and the Department of the Town of Franklin will greatly miss his service. And whereas after over three decades of dedicated service, Pat retired on August 19th, 2026, and whereas throughout his 32 years of service, Pat has earned the profound respect, admiration, and gratitude of his colleagues, town officials, and the citizens of Franklin, who recognize him a truly great man and an irreplaceable public servant. And whereas, throughout his tenure as working general foreman, Pat consistently endured early mornings, long days, and grueling weekend snowstorms, we all know how bad those are, to ensure the safety, infrastructure, and well-being of the Franklin residents. And whereas during his time at the DPW, Pat was also serving for many years as a union representative and was involved in numerous union contract negotiations, and whereas Pat was a dedicated and valued member of the Franklin Department of Public Works, whose commitment and contributions to the department and the community are greatly appreciated, and he has wished many happy years in his well-deserved retirement. Now, therefore, be it known that Patrick Farrell is hereby commended and recognized by the Town Council of the Town of Franklin for 32 years of dedicated service with the Franklin Department of Public Works and congratulated on his retirement. Signed by Robert DeLarco, Chairman and the Franklin Town Council. Congratulations.

All right, Patrick. Is this going to get me a street light fixed, or are you done? Patrick, I bring you a citation from the House of Representatives in recognition of your 32 years of dedication and service to the Franklin Department of Public Works, wishing you all the best in your retirement. Do you have plans? Yeah, I'm going to take these. Can I join you? Sure. The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all its endeavors, given the 16th day of September 2026 at the Statehouse in Boston, signed by Ronald Mariano, the Speaker of the House, and myself, whose great honor is to be a state representative. I wish you the best of luck. Thank you very much.

Jamie, Irene is... Irene is not feeling well, but I thought we should recognize Irene with the proclamations that are here, and the facility staff are going to come up and accept it on her behalf. Okay, all right. Yeah, if you could.

Guys, I'm not going to be talking to myself up here. All right.

Well, from the town of Franklin, this is a proclamation recognizing Irene McDonough on the occasion of her retirement from the Franklin Facilities Department. Whereas Irene McDonough joined the Franklin Facilities Department on April 28, 1997, and for the past 29 years has been the face and voice of the Facilities Department. And whereas after 29 years of dedicated service, she retired on August 31, 2026, And whereas, in Irene's 29 years of service, she has demonstrated unwavering commitment, professionalism, and integrity as an administrative assistant in the facilities department. And whereas, over the years, Irene has handled countless phone calls, work orders, and unexpected emergencies with the utmost competence. And whereas, Irene's presence will be deeply missed, but the legacy of hard work, dedication, dependability, and flexibility that she leaves behind will continue to inspire the facilities workforce for years. and whereas Irene has been a dedicated and valued member of the Franklin facilities department whose commitment and contributions to the department and the community are greatly appreciated we wish her a long healthy and richly deserved retirement filled with joy relaxation and new adventures now therefore be it known that Irene McDonough is hereby commended and recognized by the town council of the town of Franklin for 29 years of dedicated service with the facility for the Franklin facilities department and we congratulate her on her retirement signed today the 16th of September, 2026 by Robert DeLurco, chairman of the Franklintown Council.

to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And I have 28 years. Is it 29 or 28? Twenty-nine. It is 29. Twenty-nine. All right, we're going to fix that. Twenty-nine years of dedication and service to the Franklin Facilities Department, wishing you all the best in your retirement and hoping you're feeling better over the next couple of days. Please pass this along to Irene Flores.

We absolutely will.

Thank you so much.

Last but not least, I guess.

So I'm honored to read this proclamation from the town of Franklin. It's a proclamation honoring Captain John Chalk on the occasion of his retirement from the Franklin Fire Department. Whereas Captain John Chalk joined the Franklin Fire Department as a Franklin firefighter on December 19, 2005, and whereas during his 21 years of service, Captain Chalk developed a software program for the Franklin Fire Department that allowed them to transition from filing shifts on paper to doing so electronically. John used his software development background to create a program that the department still uses today and that John was able to turn into a business. And whereas John was a dedicated and valued member of the Franklin Fire Department whose commitment and contributions to the department and the community are greatly appreciated, and he has wished many happy years in his well-deserved retirement. Now, therefore, be it known that Captain John Chalk is hereby commended and recognized by the Town Council of the Town of Franklin for 21 years of dedicated service with the Franklin Fire Department and congratulated on his retirement. Signed by Robert DiLorco, Chairman of the Franklin Town Council.

All right, Captain John, you know the drill. And you've got so many of your colleagues here, that's a tribute to you. Do you want to give them any last orders before you... No, no, they wouldn't follow anyway. Well, be it hereby known to all at the Massachusetts House of Representatives office, sincerest congratulations to Captain John Chalk in recognition of your 20 years of dedication and service to the Franklin Fire Department, wishing you all the best in your retirement, although you're far too young to be retiring. The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors, including that software, which hopefully is keeping us all safe in this town. Given this 16th day of September 2026, signed by Ronald Mariano, the Speaker of the House, and myself, whose great honor it is to be your state representative, stay in touch. Very much appreciated. Thank you. Good luck.

Take a two-minute recess to clear out. CALL THE SEPTEMBER 16TH TOWN COUNCIL MEETING BACK TO ORDER. I'M GOING TO GO A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER HERE. I'M GOING TO GO TO PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS. I'M GOING TO GO TO THE FRANKLIN ELKES RIDERS DONATIONS TO VETERAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT.

THAT'S US.

THAT'S YOU GUYS. YOU'RE UP. YOU GOT IT?

CLERK, WE'LL READ THE... YEAH.

Where is it? Oh, 2652. 2652.

You guys go ahead.

Oh, Mr. Chairman, town councilors, we are very honored to have Rich Gately, president of the Elks Riders, and several other members from the organization here with us tonight. And I will turn the microphone over to Mr. Gately.

Thank you. Good to see everybody. I see a lot of new faces this year. So, Every year we try to donate a couple of thousand dollars to the Veterans Gift Fund for the town. And this year, no surprise, we're back again with another $2,000 we'd like to give to the Veterans Fund for the gift fund.

Thank you so very much. We have received such generous financial support for the Franklin veteran community over the years from the Elks Riders. Since fiscal year 22, this organization has donated over $10,000 to the Veterans Gift Fund, and this includes tonight's generous donation of $2,000. These donations allow us to provide financial assistance to low to moderate income veterans who are facing a crisis, unexpected bill, or sudden change in life events. We can help pay a veteran's utility bill, ambulance bill, or buy them new glasses with this fund. Sometimes we can provide partial assistance for larger expenses, such as dental bills, property tax bills, and moving costs, just to mention a few uses of the fund. We use the gift fund to complement the Franklin Veteran Municipal Assistance Fund, which covers the cost of heating fuel, transportation, and food. All of our veterans funds, I want our donors to know, and the community, and town council, All of our funds are used in a sustainable fashion with the intent of providing temporary bridge assistance. The funds are not designed for long-term use in living situations that are unsustainable. To help with long-range stability, we can help veterans apply for benefits such as VA disability, VA health care, subsidized housing, and Chapter 115. Turning our attention back to the Elks riders, we want to thank them for their enduring commitment. They complete their fundraising rides every year to show up for our veterans in Franklin and the greater community. As part of Franklin Elks Lodge 2136, they help us in so many other ways, too, such as hosting the annual Franklin Veterans Day Luncheon, providing donations through Elks Bingo, and hosting pizza parties, and providing holiday gifts for the veterans at the Brockton VA. I ALSO WANT TO TURN IT OVER TO PRESIDENT GAITLEY TO TALK ABOUT A SPECIAL INITIATIVE THEY COMPLETED FOR 9-11.

Yeah, I don't know how many people have been down Pond Street, all the flags out front. We put the 2,977 flags out for remembrance of 9-11. And I am also the chair of that committee. And we had a great response this year, being the 25th anniversary, that we got a lot of help to get that done. They will be up until Sunday if you haven't been able to get over to see it. Sunday morning we're taking them all down. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. We are so grateful for your support and the support of all of our donors. We appreciate you for taking the time to be here tonight to present your generous donation. Thank you so much.

All right, going to go right to legislation for action. Resolution 26-52, acceptance of gifts. Veterans Service Department, $2,000. Clerk, will you read the resolution?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is my honor to read Resolution 26-52, the acceptance of gifts for the Franklin Veterans Department, whereas the Franklin Veterans Department has received a generous donation in the total amount of $2,000 to be used at the discretion of the Veterans Department as follows. Donation summary, Franklin Veterans Department $2,000 donation to be applied at the discretion of the department toward the Veterans Gift Fund in support of local veterans and their families. Donor information is included in tonight's packet. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Town Council of the Town of Franklin, on behalf of the Veterans Services Department, gratefully accepts this generous donation to be used at the discretion of the Veterans Department for the purposes noted above. This resolution shall become effective according to the provisions of the Town of Franklin Home Road Charter.

Make a motion to approve Resolution 26-52. Second. Discussion? Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passed.

Thank you very much.

Councilor Calloway-Tripp will be leaving the meeting. She's not feeling well, so she'll be here. I'll call you tomorrow, Jim. All right? All right, thanks. All right. I'll entertain a, going backwards now, I'll entertain a motion to approve minutes on August 12th, 2026. So moved. Second. Section addition, deletions.

I just had a question. Is this, are the actual executive session minutes separate from this? Yes. Yes. Okay, so that's a separate document. Yes. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's it? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passed. Next is appointments. Franklin Cultural Council. Clerk will read the appointments.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's once again my honor to read tonight's committee appointments. The town administrator has appointed the following individuals to serve on the Franklin Cultural Council with terms effective September 16, 2026. Brittany Capozzi, of 531 Coronation Drive, with a term to expire June 30th, 2029. Jorge Martinez, street address 3 Gatehouse Lane, term to expire June 30th, 2029. Jessica Phillips, 133 Beach Street, June 30th, 2029. Nancy Rabinowitz, from Four Eagles Nest Way. to expire June 30th, 2029, and Leslie Rapoport Atlas from 458 Lincoln Street, term to expire June 30th, 2029. The motion to ratify the appointments by the town administrator of the above listed individuals to serve as members of the Franklin Cultural Council as described above.

Is there a motion?

Do I have a second?

Second. Jamie?

Yeah, appreciate everybody volunteering. There's a few folks on Zoom if people have questions, but we don't, you know, there might be some folks in the audience, but I think it's pretty straightforward.

I have a question. Go ahead. I just wanted to know, were there any incumbents who wanted to be reappointed who were not? Or is it all pretty much people, everyone wanted to be, got what they wanted?

Yeah, I think everybody got what they wanted. If they want a reappointment, we appointed them probably back in June.

So how many members, Jamie, are now, will be on the Cultural Council?

You had to ask me. Probably, I think this may be probably, I think, eight or nine by now. I mean, it's pretty. Yeah, it's great. Pretty good. It's great.

Okay, all in favor of the appointments? Aye. Opposed? Thank you. Passes. Thank you. Public hearings? We have none. Licensed transactions? We have one. Presentations and discussions? We do.

Tina, do you want to come up and do the Franklin food pantry, please?

I'm going to change it here.

we always pivot no problem all right can you all hear me great well thank you very much for this opportunity we are very grateful we present to the town council in the community annually just about and it is a wonderful opportunity it's not only share what we're seeing out there in the community but also to thank our everyone in this community who plays such a critical role in our achievement of our mission. I want to start off by first thanking all the folks that are part of this municipality. We are so lucky in the town of Franklin. My social service agency, SAFE, all of the organizations in Franklin are very, very lucky to have the town of Franklin, the department heads, the department staff, Just the presentation here was work of Jamie and I'm sure Michelle soon and Sophie and Julie, just really professional folks who are experts in their field, who are so highly dedicated to bettering this town. So when you work in social services, you get to peek a little bit under the hood and see how things are running. So for community members who don't get to see that every day, I hope that you're really proud and really grateful to be living in this community. It's an honor to do the work we do with all of you. So I'm going to run through a little bit of background for everybody and then tell you what we're seeing and then maybe we could have questions or have a discussion. I think that one of the most important things I want to leave the community with is that there is no typical client that you see at the Franklin Food Pantry. There might be preconceived notions that you have in your head, but I would encourage you to sort of throw those all away. And I would say in the last year or two, that is even more true. It truly is your neighbor that we are seeing come through our door. You can see in this statistic, we saw a 35% increase in the number of children that we served this year, which is the largest increase that we have seen, including the pandemic. And that really reflects families that are coming through our doors, two-income families that maybe were making ends meet before inflation. The feds just raised interest rates today for the first time in three years. Cost of housing, rents are going up. Subsidies for health insurance have gone away. It puts a lot of pressure on families. It puts a lot of pressure on our seniors who are living on fixed income. So there really is no phenotype and we help anyone who sort of shows up at our door with the bravery to ask for a little bit of assistance during a tough time. These are all actually pictures from the food pantry. If you've never been in the food pantry, we would love to show you around. It is not what you might think of as a typical food pantry. We were in the basement of a church. We were in a lot of places, care of the town for a long time. And we moved into our permanent home a few years ago. And it really has allowed us to better meet the need in the community. We always have fresh dairy. That includes milk and eggs. That's a commitment just like you would expect at a grocery store. Always have produce. Always have proteins. We really focus on nutrient-dense foods, which can be expensive. That's another sort of misconception folks might have. We actually purchase about 55% of the food that we distribute. Another 23% of our food is recovered. through our relationships with Spoonfuls, which is a Massachusetts-wide food recovery organization. But we also work with all of the grocery stores in Franklin, Shaw, Stop and Shop, Big Y, BJ's. They're all fantastic. We provide personal care items. So if you receive public assistance benefits, which usually aren't quite enough, thank your max amount would be $10 about a day. So I encourage you to try to feed yourself or a family on $10 a day. But those benefits don't cover things like feminine hygiene, diapers, wipes, shampoo, conditioner, which are just your basic needs. To live your life. We're very proud that we have those on site, too So there's a lot of things that sort of make us larger than your typical food pantry But really what sets us apart is the wraparound services we provide if you look at our vision There's a piece that's about immediate food insecurity But it's really trying to look at the factors that surround food insecurity it doesn't exist in a vacuum and that's where we work really closely with our the different departments in the town of Franklin. We work with SAFE, St. Vincent de Paul, Santa Foundation. It's really a group effort to take care of our community. And that is the piece that we're really working on growing this year. We're going to be a SNAP outreach partner, which means we can actually interact with the Department of Transitional Assistance to help folks submit their SNAP applications, follow up online. As you may know from the news, DTA is woefully understaffed. So we are going to become almost an extension of them, which is pretty powerful. There's only a few other folks in all of Norfolk County that have that capability. So we're hoping that that will further help the folks we have in our community that are in need. So this is a pretty sobering chart. We wish the line was really going the other way, but it is not, as you can see. 15,000 is the number of unique visits in our community. You can see as the gap between the bar, which is food, and the line graph, which is visit, that closes. We have been able to give more food to each person who comes in for a visit, but it is certainly rising at a very high rate. This chart also shows what I was demonstrating, sort of a concentrated effort on our part to increase the amount of produce and fresh foods that we can get to folks. You may have seen us at the farmer's market. We now have a tent there to help folks apply for SNAP and another program called HIP where they can use their dollars to purchase healthy produce at the farmer's market. And we actually have an unlimited match. So if you show up at the farmer's market, and please do if anyone is listening and they're in need of assistance, and you have money on your SNAP card, if you say, I want to use $20 for my produce shopping today, you will receive $40 from us and we're funding that balance. And that has been a really successful program to folks too. So community challenges. What are we seeing that you all as the governing body in Franklin might want to know about? 40% of Massachusetts households experience food insecurity in 2025. sort of just sit with that for a minute. That means of all of you sitting there, of everybody in this room, that there is a handful of us who may be nervous about where our food is coming from. It's a very high number. Food costs are going up. We know that. We can see it. I'm sure you all experience it when you go to the grocery store yourself, as well as all the other costs it takes to sort of get through the day, utility bills, things I have mentioned earlier. The SNAP uncertainty is a huge factor in this community. Again, if you aren't familiar with the news, there were some federal rules that changed last year and those are coming into play now as they become implemented and phased in. So folks who had SNAP benefits before are seeing them either decrease or they are being removed from roles. Veterans would be one example that have increased paperwork, sort of more hoops to jump through to get the benefits that they had sort of been living their life on for so long. So again, that's another reason we're moving to sort of the SNAP outreach model to try to augment those federal policy changes. But it's a difficult time. You know, I think I'm going to pause for a second because I think we are really lucky to live in a town that has amazing schools, looks beautiful, and sometimes food insecurity can hide a little bit. On Tuesday, we had a client who came in and was sort of chatting with some of our volunteers outside. We have a mini farmer's market outside in the summer months where folks can have beautiful fresh produce. And the client was exhibiting a little bit of anxiety. And as the volunteer talked to her, the client said, I'm sorry. I haven't eaten in two days. And I'm very nervous. And those stories are not as unusual as you might hope. And they're not exaggerations. So it truly is people in our community that need our help. Transportation is another huge limitation. We have tried to work with the various liaisons. It switches over which one of you is a liaison to GATRA. We work with GATRA directly. In our opinion, the absence of a fixed bus route is a huge problem for folks in Franklin who are trying to access services. That's a much larger conversation. But when that went away, it has become very difficult for an on-demand system to meet the need of folks out there. Thank goodness for the senior center van. That has been a lifesaver for a lot of our folks. The town has been great in working with us to get folks into their appointments and get to us if they have questions or need assistance other than food. That is a serious problem that we are seeing as well. So how are we responding? I talked a little bit about this. SNAP Outreach Partner, this is a program you have to apply for. It's a program the state contracts with UMass Medical School around. We applied, we're undergoing training. It's four almost full days of training. So we'll have a couple of staff members who are doing that, and that will be effective in October. We also are contracting with various bulk purchasing commercial entities. So we can buy a pallet of X or Y or Z diapers, for instance, much cheaper than buying them in smaller quantities. But if you've ever seen a pallet of diapers, it's not small. So it creates a space problem for us. So right now we have a contract with a company in the old Clark Cutler facility. That's their job, their fulfillment. We deliver. We can inventory it, pick it when we need it, which allows us to sort of control our costs to meet the need. As we talked about the snap and the hip, we're expanding what we're calling our food is medicine work. That's a big umbrella that you might have read about in other areas, which focuses on the interplay between nutrition and long-term health outcomes, your ability to hold a job, your ability to perform in school if you're a child. It really impacts long-term sustainability and success of people if they have, it's not just food, it's the right food so that you can function. And we're one of the few pantries in this area that are able to serve a few towns outside of the town in which they originate. So we serve Bellingham, Medway, and Norfolk and rent them through our curbside model. Those pantries are very small. We're incredibly lucky in this community to be so well supported by businesses and individuals and the philanthropy and the intellectual capital that we all share. So we were able to extend that service to those towns. And you will see in our annual report, which I'll tease, is coming out sort of at the end of this week and the beginning of next week. You'll see that that's one of the things we really are very proud of, that when we are strongly supported and successful if you were, that just means we can continue to think of new ways of reaching the community. So, you know, those are a few examples. The trouble is the need is not going anywhere and we are already constrained by that building which seemed so big when we moved in. So where we're really looking at now is engaging in a mini strategic planning process. Our current strategic plan is ending in 2027. So we're going to look at where we are focusing and how we might continue to solve or address some of the food insecurity issues in the town that doesn't necessarily require a large capital infrastructure. We're very proud that about 90% of a dollar donated to us goes directly back into the hands of client programs. We have very low overhead. So we want to continue to think strategically about how to do that. And we're looking at trying to solve some of our space issues, partner with different businesses, which is what we've been doing for the last couple of years. But we can't patchwork it together anymore. I can't probably adequately describe what almost a million pounds of food looks like, but it's hard to move that in and out of a building. We rely on over 580 volunteers to do that. We're a little team of 10 or 11 staff. So we need some more space, and we're working on that. We are here today because it is nationally Hunger Action Month. Thank you very much to the town and the council for recognizing that. This is a national movement started by Feeding America to raise awareness so that folks just don't forget that this is such a critical need. It's just so basic. It is so basic. When a child comes to school hungry, they have behavioral problems. They don't perform. It impacts the classroom. It impacts the adult who's trying to go to work. It impacts your chronic health care conditions. So it's really an underpinning to the machinery that makes a community work. So we are thrilled that it's as important to this community as we believe it is. September 29th specifically is Hunger Action Day. If you have orange, which is not unusual color for people maybe to have in their wardrobe, wear it out of awareness building solidarity. Someone can ask you why you're wearing orange. You can direct them to us. You can talk about that the need is real out there. And if folks are looking to become involved, there are so many ways. There's the obvious ways of donating. your funds or food, doing a food drive. But if you have a business, they can hold fun drives. There can be sponsorships. You can promote the cause on social media. We have a ton of community events run in the Turkey Trot. It's a great event. You will feel fantastic once you finish. Probably will be beaten by somebody wearing a turkey costume. I'm just warning you on that But it is it's a really great way to be with your community around a common cause on a day That's about giving thanks and recognizing, you know what we have and you can volunteer we are looking to expand some programs in 2027 because of the need and we are primarily volunteer run and So please go to our website, submit an application, and we would love to talk about how we might fit your needs. And truly, anybody can take action. It can be small, young folks, older folks, groups, corporations. If you raise your hand and say you care about this cause, we will figure out a way to engage you. I felt like I rushed through that, but I know you all have a very full agenda, and although I'm sure you enjoy being here until 10 o'clock every night, I was trying to save you a little bit of that. I do want to thank, now that Senator Rausch is here, I would be remiss if I didn't thank Representative Roy and Senator Rausch You couldn't have two people more dedicated to your community in general, but to this cause in particular. We are maybe on our seventh year of funding through the food insecurity earmark in the state budget, which was instrumental in getting us into the new building and being able to meet the need that this community is seeing. So it's an honor to have them represent us and sort of to carry the cause forward. So I would open the floor to questions, discussion.

Is that a little bit of a dig? Because when you were here, we never were here until 10 o'clock.

Nobody has ever accused me of being succinct, so I don't know what that's about.

Any questions? Next.

You want to go first? Okay. So you all talked a little bit about some of the constraints you're facing. In terms of what are your primary constraints? Is it money? Is it volunteers? Is it primarily space? And how could the town be a better partner on these issues?

That's a great question. I would say our immediate probably need that I'm spending the most time on is the logistics, the space, trying to figure out when we have this week. We had an opportunity where a commercial bakery received two pallets of the wrong flour, and they wanted to donate it to us so it wouldn't go to waste. And we just couldn't take it. We have one partner. They weren't able to receive the delivery. We just don't have the backup plan. So we want to be able to take advantage of every single one of those opportunities because we turn it around really quickly. But we can always use volunteers. Sometimes you might come in and what we have available might not be a fit. There's a lot of very physical labor at the food pantry. So sometimes that's not a fit for everybody, but there's other opportunities to get involved. So certainly we would never turn away volunteers. And, you know, when I rattled off the figures of 55% of the food that we distribute we purchase and 23% is recovered. The rest of it, the other 22% comes from the community through donations and food drives. So we keep our current needs list really up to date on a weekly basis. So that is something you can always pay attention to. But the town has always been really responsive. I know I filled you all in in an email about our space just so that you were aware. So if there is a business out there that has warehouse space that they haven't they're not using. We were in our prior facility through an arrangement with Rockland Trust that lasted well over a decade, which was fabulous. So we can be very creative. So I would say anyone who has thoughts or leads in that area, that would be great.

And finally, I'd just like to comment. As someone who uses the food pantry services myself, I just want to talk about busting the stigma around asking for help. Needing help takes many forms. It could be hunger. It could be lack of access to healthy food or just stretching a tight budget. And the food pantry has made a real difference for me in stretching limited grocery dollars. So if you need it, don't hesitate to ask for help in using their services. So thank you.

Thank you, Max.

Yeah, Tina, thinking back to a time when I was working in a supermarket and the store next door, actually it was a restaurant next door, it was vacant, and we used that space to store overflow for a stock room or whatever. Just wondering, do any of the landlords who might have vacant properties, whatever, ever offer to to store in their facilities while they're waiting to get leases?

Yes, absolutely. That's the arrangement we've been pursuing for the last few years. As soon as we opened that building, and this is not a unique experience to us, it was more visible. Again, a statement on this town to realize that having a food pantry on your main thoroughfare would be a way to increase access and have people come through the door. So the second we opened the doors, the need was rising. And the businesses in our immediate plaza have been really great, and we have been working with them. But then eventually, over time, they might need it for their own space or their own endeavor. So we're looking for something a little bit more permanent, if you will. That's good that you do that.

My only other question is around needs. So I see like what, you know, on your website you have the Amazon wish list or whatever. These are things you need all the time. Is there anything that you are really short on that the community should know that you absolutely need because you have shortages in these things?

I would say that the current needs list is probably the best item. We can always use cereal. There are some things that we can always use. Diapers. There's never enough diapers in the world. There's never enough wipes. But it can ebb and flow what we need. So it really is updated on a very regular basis. So that's probably your best bet. And we just actually started a new partnership And with Amazon, we're the first nonprofit to do it, I think, in the state. And they have a new nonprofit model. So in the past, if you purchased through our Amazon wish list, it would get to us, but we wouldn't have any information about you because it went through your account. Now we can say, Jean, thank you, which is really important to us. And then you would be able to receive information about us, and we can engage you a little bit more. It also will come to us. There's so many logistics to running an organization that's doing a million pounds, so it will come to us on a regular basis. So our Amazon interface now is a really great way. Some people just have it on automatic delivery. Beginning of the month, they send 10 boxes of cereal, and that's another way to do it.

It's a real good way to do it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Tina. As always, incredible presentation. We're very lucky to have you. Certainly very lucky to have the Franklin Food Pantry. I wanted to call attention. I didn't hear you mention the backpack program, but I've always been a big fan of the fact that kids can stop there on a Friday and get a backpack full of food to get them through the weekend. yes or school supplies and you know the various snacks and the things that the kids need that maybe parents can't always provide I think it's a wonderful way to think outside the box it's a wonderful thing I also want to bring attention and commend you on the birthday party kids because I think every kid deserves a birthday party it's a great those are two really great programs and

Thank you so much for your support. I do just want to make sure that folks really understand we have incredible volunteers, an amazing staff, a top notch board. I think I saw a board member sneak in here in the middle of the presentation. And without the board's leadership and the staff's expertise and the volunteers' dedication, you know, we wouldn't be here. So the food pantry, although I'm sharing all this information out with all of you, I'm just really the voice. The weekend backpack started back in the days of Parmenter. It was a trial program because Franklin Public School nurses said to us, this is what we think is the root of the behavior problem. So now it's a great partnership with Franklin Public Schools. Thank you for bringing it up because if anyone is listening and they think it would be really great to have a little bit of extra food over the weekend, we're so lucky in the state of Massachusetts that school lunches are now guaranteed and free. But that doesn't help you over the weekend. So we deliver backpacks that have meals and snacks to get kids through the weekend until they can get back into school on Mondays. And that's identified through adjustment counselors, school nurses. So if you have a child in the Franklin Public Schools and you'd like to receive that service, you can reach out to us or even a teacher or a nurse in FPS.

I also wanted to just call attention to you mentioned that there's corporate volunteer opportunities I think as someone who's been able to go and just have a blast at the food pantry with my fellow co-workers putting together all sorts of gift bags for folks at the holidays. It's a couple of hours, right? But it's a really nice opportunity for an office of 10, 15, 20 people to just find some meaningful work. It builds camaraderie with your team. It helps a great cause. It also brings light to the facility and the needs and you know I would encourage any small businesses out there offices out there to reach out to you and find little ways to help and I also just I want to end with I was so moved to attend your volunteer appreciation luncheon last year and I think the staff and the volunteers are truly doing God's work. So thank you to all, because I know that it takes a village to make this incredible program work, but those volunteers giving hundreds and hundreds of hours, some of them each, for their role, and your small staff pulling off such an incredible feat. Again, we're very, very lucky to have all of you doing what you do for Franklin, so thank you. Thank you.

I'm really glad that you mentioned the backpack program, because I was going to ask about that as well. That is an incredible asset for our town and for our children. I wanted to mention one thing that, as we're talking about all the food and the personal care items, something that I see every time I'm in there are seasonal items or things that bring a little bit of extra joy to people, whether it is, I think I've seen like Halloween themed plates around this time of year, or like tabletop Christmas decorations. And the fact that, one, that we have donations from our community members, I've seen that as well, you know, pallets of things that come in from community members. But the donations of those things and then you all having, you know, taking the space and put that out there so it's not just let me come in and grab this food, but also let me see something that can, you know, brighten up our holiday time or this time in our lives. I think it speaks very much to, I think one of the central tenants that I've seen the food pantry do, which is how you treat every client with such incredible dignity. These are people, it's not that they're coming for help, they are coming for what they need and they get just the most you know, courteous, helpful volunteers and staff to help them through that. And I've seen, you know, the way people come in and they're, like you said, nervous or stressed out and they come in and they are greeted so warmly and they're helped through the aisles and are able to collect what they need for their family and sometimes they get something that's a little extra they get you know a birthday cake package or brownie mix or they get you know some little decoration and they leave you know, with this understanding that the community is behind them and that we are investing in you all to support them as well. And it's just an incredible, incredible thing that you all do. And I don't have any questions, but I just wanted to say that here in this public forum as well. We are very grateful for everything that you and your staff and volunteers do. Thank you.

Ken, anything? I have nothing to add to that.

Steve? No questions, again, just kind of impressed. And every time I hear more about what you do, it is kind of amazing how it grows and all the things you put together. I guess you've given me some things to think about just in terms of logistics, right? You've gotten to that point where it's now a matter of somebody wants to donate, but you can't take it because you don't have all of the parts and pieces. So we'll give some thought to potential answers for that, and we'll ruminate on some ideas that might kind of work on that, because that seems like a real shame. You can't pull that together when you need to.

It doesn't happen often, but we want to be ahead of it.

Yeah, it sounds like it might be more of an issue going forward as the need grows and maybe your capabilities increase, then they kind of feed each other, right? So I'll give some thought to that, and just thank you for all that you do.

And I invite you all, any needs that you all see or gaps that might start to come up, you know, Jamie, Michelle, as you're working with your public safety folks, who we work, you know, very closely with, but, you know, we are absolutely a partnership and our staff, board, and volunteers will do anything for this community. So never hesitate to reach out to anyone at the food pantry. Our addresses are on the website. I hope you don't regret saying that, but please shoot us emails with thoughts or ideas or concerns.

Actually, I do have a couple of thoughts that came to mind. When you mentioned logistics, I'm just thinking about the fact that we started based on the church, and you're not already outgrowing the building you're in. And I'm just trying to think of how do we This is for Roberta and the rest of the board. How do you actually plan for what the future is going to look like when it's so uncertain and just given the rapid pace of growth of the need? It just has me thinking, and it's something I hope the town is aware of or just kind of paying attention to to some extent. So that was one thought. I don't know if there's an answer to that. It's just that's a thought. The second thought, which you may have thought, which may be something you're already doing, which clearly... You're servicing Franklin and surrounding towns, surrounding communities, and that's commendable and fantastic and absolutely the right thing to do. I am curious how we engage, and this may be a question for us, how we're engaging the surrounding communities who are also making use of the food pantry. To be clear, this is not me saying, hey, we should be stiff-arming them by any stretch of the imagination, but just trying to think about how can we better partner with them to... expand our capabilities or perhaps their capabilities in terms of being able to make sure people are getting what they need. And it may be a satellite and hub situation or something along those lines, but just something to keep in the back of your mind as you think about the growth strategy.

Right. I think, you know, we've been a pretty nimble organization, which is great and what has allowed us to meet the need. And we actually had up a sort of regional hunger action network where we're meeting with those folks. But it's a really dynamic environment and it changes certainly. based on what legislative policies come down for sure. I mean, there is a true direct result. You know, when SNAP dollars get cut, that has an impact on the local economy. If your family falls off SNAP, then you're not identified for free lunch, which is not a problem in Massachusetts, but is in other communities. So it's definitely an interrelated issue.

I'm sorry, back to me because I talked too much and I distracted myself and I forgot I did have a question. So I saw, you know, you were talking about the need for space and I saw on the slide is that, you know, specifically food safe storage. So as we are looking, you know, around at our, at the companies that are here, the businesses, what are the parameters around the space that you need? What is it that, you know, equates to a food safe storage. What are places that don't work that would work? So we know this isn't going to work. We're not going to go there, but we can maybe find places that are.

We have a general sort of proposal that we can share that has the details, but as you would expect, temperature control, pest control, all of that. We have pretty rigorous standards that we have to meet by Greater Boston Food Bank, but I can share that with the council. Thank you.

You're all set? Thank you. You're not done yet.

Sorry.

Sorry, your old partner. No, I just want, if you don't think we need it, I happened to go down and get a pot for my car last night at AutoZone. If you're around on a Tuesday, go down and see how busy these people really are because I was shocked to see how busy they were. And you had a young girl out there directing traffic. You had other people out in the back. I walked around back just to see what was going on. And it's a bigger... line that I've ever thought that would be there. So people think that there is no need. It's a definite need. The other question, Tina, like coming up into the holidays, are you going to need like turkeys or stuff like that? I don't know. Is that like holiday stuff you definitely need?

Yes. I mean, we're planning on distributing sort of 1,200 holiday meals, we would call it. And we've moved to a model where we try to emphasize client choice whenever we possibly can because Your tradition is not going to be the same as my tradition. People have different dietary restrictions, different religious traditions or cultural traditions. So we've gone away from sort of the model of everyone gets a turkey. But we do purchase turkeys. We do have kosher meats. We do have ham. We do have halas. So we have those available for folks to choose. I think probably for the holidays, Donation that helps us the most is financial, really, because that gives us the flexibility to buy what we need based on what is moving faster or slower.

Okay. No, I was just kind of curious because, like I said, I'm... I'm retiring. I'm going to be working with my union a lot. So I was just kind of curious. I don't know if I can, but when I get in to the union, I will see if we can maybe help you out in some way. Absolutely. We get pretty creative. I'll be in touch. Thank you. Thank you, Tina. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you.

You two are up.

That's a tough act to follow. Yeah. And Robert, be sure when you retire.