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Above, Council Chair Tom Mercer and Unified Basketball Team at Town Council Wednesday
The Wednesday Evening Town Council meeting kicked off early-on with lots of smiles as the Council, and State Rep. Jeff Roy, representing the legislature and the governor. All joined in offering their recognition and good wishes to lifelong resident Margaret “Peg” Simpson, who celebrated her 100th birthday in May.
[Above, centenarian Margaret Simpson listens as Councillor Melanie Hamblen reads the proclamation honoring her.]
Present for the event, and even offering a few wisecracks and sharing in some laughs was Ms. Simpson herself, who left smiling and burdened with an armful of ceremonial proclamations.
Then came the whole of Franklin’s Unified Basketball Team, which went from triumph to triumph over the course of the academic year, culminating in the honor of representing Massachusetts in national competition.
The Council then moved on to appoint a slate of 2022 election workers and received the Elks Rider Donation Presentation. This was followed by a brief discussion of the Old South property, specifically the recommendation from the EDC that it be considered for private redevelopment as housing.
There followed items a through h under ‘legislation for action.’ Items a and c through h were handled with little discussion. Item b was another story, Resolution 22-44: Authoring Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Plansee USA LLC, 115 Constitution Boulevard. Not for the first time, the town was being asked to approve a TIF deal, under a structure approved by the state, whereby investments in new facilities in the town are temporarily exempted from taxation as a means of encouraging those investments.
The program dates back to the 1990s and has been used widely across the Commonwealth. Plansee, a company based on Germany that deals in advanced metallurgy, has substantial American operations in Franklin and, according to representatives present, has outgrown its current space.
Town Director of Planning and Development, Bryan Taberner, explained the mechanics of the program, which essentially postpones full taxation on the new investment for a period of years, gradually bringing it up to its full taxable value – typically around year 10. Taberner noted that the program had worked well for Cold Chain Technologies, a well-known Franklin firm. The preliminary guess at what Plansee would save in the first year was $30,000, according to Taberner.
Councilor Cobi Frongillo, was not convinced. “I love all companies working in, Franklin, if I can help them out, I would. But we can't, you know, we still need to get tax with tax revenues. There's a whole bunch I could do with $30,000 a year to improve the lives of Franklin residents.
Taberner further explained the rationale but Frongillo was not satisfied. “I want to be clear that I'm in no way denying that this is a positive thing. I’m more speaking to other companies than Plansee, who are also constantly making positive investments in their community and aren't asking for a $30,000 tax break a year. I'm missing why this is unique.
Town Administrator Jamie Hellen said any company can apply but not all choose to go through the effort and some decide it is to complicated to meet all the requirements set by the state.
After a protracted discussion, the matter was finally brought to a vote and passed.
The other items passed included:
a. Resolution 22-43: Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Department ($2,000) (Motion to
Approve Resolution 22-43 - Majority Vote)
c. Resolution 22-45: Transfer of Care, Custody, Management and Control of Davis-Thayer
Elementary School from School Committee to Town Council (Motion to Approve Resolution
22-45 - Two Thirds Majority Vote)
d. Resolution 22-46: Gift Acceptance - Historical Commission ($2,000) (Motion to Approve
Resolution 22-46 - Majority Vote)
e. Resolution 22-47: Gift Acceptance - Disability Commission ($2,000) (Motion to Approve
Resolution 22-47 - Majority Vote)
f. Bylaw Amendment 22-881: Chapter 7 Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Add Vice Chair and Clerk positions, 1st reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 22-881 to Second Reading -
Majority Vote)
g. Bylaw Amendment 22-882: Chapter 4 Admin. of Govt.: Authorize Town Clerk to make format
changes, 1st reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 22-882 to Second Reading -
Majority Vote)
h. Resolution 22-55: Town Council’s Local Authorization and Approval for Conduct of 2022 State Elections, as Required by Chapter 92 of Legislative Acts of 2022 (Motion
Several other items were discussed before the Council retreated to executive session to discuss and vote on personnel matters which led to ratification of agreements with several employer groups.
