Township Council

RECOMMENDS DENIAL – Loren Altshuler, from Highland Park-based Gabel Associates, tells the Township Council that it’s the company’s recommendation that the one price quote for energy aggregation be declined. Any potential electricity cost savings for township residents through energy aggregation will have to wait a while longer because the Township Council declined to make a contract award to an energy …

EXPLAINING THE INCREASE – Mayor Phil Kramer explained the different tiers of the proposed water rate hikes at the June 12 meeting. Water rates would increase this year between 5 percent and 27.5 percent under an ordinance amendment introduced at the June 12 Township Council meeting. The actual amount of each water increase would be based on a user’s consumption of …

NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN – Bob LaCorte was recently named the chairman of a new committee to spearhead Franklin’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding. (File photo.) The first member of an as-yet-unnamed township committee to guide Franklin’s commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026 was recently named. That person, nominated by Mayor Phil Kramer …

WANTED ANSWERS – John Baptist, a commercial property owner on Hamilton Street, questions the Township Council on May 27 about the Special Improvement District assessment. The first special assessment in 10 years of commercial property owners in the Hamilton Street Special Improvement District was approved May 27 by the Township Council. The total assessment for the year was $34,268, and …

DENIAL OVERTURNED – Hundreds of residents attended each of the eight Planning Board hearings on the proposed B9 warehouses application. (File photo). In a scathing decision in which he called out what he said was the Planning Board’s “unmitigated hypocrisy,” a state Superior Court judge recently overturned the Board’s denial of a controversial two-warehouse development near the Canal Walk housing …

FIGHTING BACK – State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen talks during the April 23 energy forum about legislation he is sponsoring to help mitigate upcoming electricity rate increases. The state agency responsible for regulating utilities in New Jersey has taken an “all-hands-on-deck” strategy to help mitigate coming spikes in the amount Garden State residents will pay for electricity, residents were told at …

The Township Council approved $1,075,689.24 in purchases of goods and services at its April 8 meeting. The Council awarded: A contract worth $309,650 to Whitfield Schneider Enterprises of West Long Branch for boiler replacement at the Franklin Township Senior/Community center. A contract worth $199,999.48 to Riverview Paving of Hackettstown for the Newkirk and Evergreen resurfacing program. A two-year contract worth …

TALKING CHICKENS – Kate Brown, from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, speaks about raising hens for eggs April 17 in the Township Council chambers. About two dozen aspiring chicken keepers were provided the ins and outs of raising hens in their backyards at a special forum April 17 hosted by Township Council Member Ed Potosnak. The forum comes in the wake …

“GOLD STANDARD” – Township Attorney Lou Rainone said at the April 8 Township Council meeting that Franklin has become an example of how towns should plan for affordable housing. The Township will be obligated to provide for the construction of 659 more affordable housing units over the next 10 years, according to a settlement it reached with a builder industry …

HONORING ARAB AMERICANS – Township Councilman Alex Kharazi reads the Council’s Arab American Heritage Month proclamation. To his left is Mahmoud Azmi, who accepted the proclamation. The Township Council formally recognized Arab American Heritage Month at its April 8 meeting. Accepting the proclamation was Prof. Mahmoud Azmi, a township resident and president of The Egyptian American Council. “As values of …