FRANKLIN (continued)

Conservation officials discussed the plan briefly at their May 16 meeting, reviewing comments by the Planning Board and an informal review of the latest plans by Town Engineer Michael Collins. Most of the discussion last week centered on drainage and grading of the property.
Developer Michael Collins (no relation) of Stoneham, owner of Collins Development Inc. of Lexington, appeared before the commission along with his engineer and Attorney Brian McGrail. Under the latest plans there is expected to be less impervious space on the property with the condominium, so drainage should be improved, the engineer told commission members.
McGrail said his client will be amending the development plan to incorporate all conditions and recommendations that have been made by the Planning Board and Collins and a revised plan will be presented at the June 6 meeting accordingly.
Commission Chairman James Luciani said that with all of those requests being addressed, he expects the commission will give the plan its blessing at that time and issue a final order of conditions.
According to developer Collins, the proposed condominium complex would be constructed within the current Franklin School building, using all three floors. The proposal is for 10 two-bedroom units, seven three-bedroom units and three one-bedroom units. Each condominium would feature 11-foot ceilings and would range in size from 700 to 2,400 square feet in area, though most would fall under 1,500 square feet.
Some new windows would be installed in the building, repairs would be made as needed to the exterior brickwork and a new main entrance is planned. Otherwise the exterior of the building will remain largely intact as it now appears.
There will be significant changes to the property, however. A new street entrance is planned, along with a circular access roadway for residents and a series of garage buildings. The garages would be constructed in clusters of 6, 5, 5 and 4 units each.
In other business: The commission had been scheduled to provide an update on Lake water quality improvement investigations and the proposal to purchase SolarBees. But that discussion did not take place.
In addition to two public hearings on the agenda for May 16, the “other business” portion of the meeting was to include budget discussion; an update on the Holland Road project; a SolarBee update; and an executive session update on a matter concerning 50 Quannapowitt Parkway. Instead, the meeting basically fizzled out informally and no real conclusion appeared to occur. Two members of the commission had been unable to attend the meeting; one needed to leave early, and the others began filing out of the conference room. There was no announcement of what was happening with matters still appearing on the agenda.
The update on SolarBees was to have includes the results of a scheduled visit to Cape Cod by commission members to witness the devices there.
SolarBees have been proposed for Lake Quannapowitt to help improve the lake water quality. They are high-flow, long-distance circulation devices which operate on solar power and which take water from the bottom of a pond or lake and pump it to the surface. SolarBees basically recirculate the water within a lake and can do so in a matter of days, depending on the size of the body of water and the number of SolarBees used.
Conservation Commission members have expressed interest in purchasing SolarBees for Lake Quannapowitt, with an early estimate of $500,000.

HEROISM (continued)

Yesterday, Jamie and her colleagues were dealing with the somewhat routine issues one commonly finds after the Marathon - dehydration, muscle cramps, etc., etc. No big deal - just a normal Marathon aftermath.
Then the bombs went off and everything changed. While everyone else was running away, she and her colleagues ran toward “the sound of the guns,” and encountered a scene out of a nightmare - blast wounds, shrapnel wounds, concussion trauma, traumatic amputations and avulsions, burns. Somehow, in the midst of incredible carnage, they were able to function as a team and, thanks to their actions, a lot of lives were saved. Not one of them gave a thought to their own safety - all they saw were victims in desperate need of help.
Jamie encountered a very seriously injured victim ... and knew immediately she had to get that person to the hospital to have any chance of saving his life. She commandeered an ambulance, loaded up her patient and took off for MGH, getting him there within just a couple of minutes. The patient survived.
Katie McGill, Mary Sullivan, Jamie Smith Daly, Rebecca Klug, Fatmata Sesay, Bethany Crim, Alyssa Marceau, Dan Ainsworth, Hillary Mann Levinson, Kate Sobo - on staff at MGH Urgent yesterday. They went to work, and they made a difference. As is so typical of her, her only comment when I spoke to her briefly last night was “Don’t worry Dad - I’m good. This is what we do.”
I’ve always been very proud of Jamie, as I have been of all my kids but I have never been prouder than I was yesterday.
Jim Smith