Environment

The Jan. 24 snowstorm that hit the region left about 4.9 inches of snow in the township, according to the National Weather Service. More snow is expected to start the evening of Jan. 25 and continue through Jan. 27, according to the NWS. Snow began falling very early in the morning of Jan. 24 and lasted through most of the …

Township officials are hoping the second time is the charm with a $150,000 grant for improvements to Middlebush Park. The Township Council at its last meeting in 2014 approved the submission of a grant application to the American Water Charitable Foundation to build a natural play area in about 28,000 square feet of the park, located near a parking lot. …

Updated 11/27/14: A winter storm that had been forecast to drop between 5 and 10 inches of snow in the Franklin area Nov. 26 fizzled, leaving the township with little more than an inch of snow, but lots of slush and ice. The National Weather Service says there’s a slight chance of snow showers this morning, but they won;t leave …

Saying it would help them when reviewing future park development plans, members of the township’s Open Space Advisory Committee Nov. 18 asked for a complete inventory of Franklin’s playing fields. The request to the Township Council was the idea of member Arnold Schmidt, who said he was asking it in anticipation of new and old park requests coming before the committee to …

  A township resident was among 12 members of Leadership Somerset who created a rain garden at Exchange Field in Somerville. Fran Varacalli, who is also the township’s land preservation and management consultant, helped build the garden, which is designed to “intercept, treat and infiltrate rain water at the source, before it become runoff,” according to Leadership Somerset documents. The …

The Rutgers Preparatory School on Easton Avenue will receive an award from the township’s Environmental Commission for the school’s “many contributions to the environment of Franklin Township.” The school was notified that it would receive the commission’s “Organization Environmental Stewardship Award” in an Oct. 27 letter, according to a press release. The award is scheduled to be presented at the Nov. …

The Somerset County pilot single-stream recycling program that was set to begin in the township this month has been put on hold. John Kendzulak, Somerset County’s recycling superintendent, said that no bids were received this summer for the program, so “(t)he County is currently evaluating the market for single stream recycling and has made a decision to not rebid this …

Faced with public backlash over plans for Middlebush Park and the proposed Catalpa Park, the township’s Open Space Advisory Committee on Sept. 16 voted to recommend a one-year moratorium on new township-financed park development. Although the resolution passed by the committee references parks, the original motion was made in the context of athletic fields paid for by the township’s Open Space Trust Fund. …

An ordinance designed to save water by limiting how some residents can water their lawns was introduced at the Township Council’s Aug. 12 meeting. The ordinance has been a pet project of Councilman Ted Chase (D-Ward 1) for several years. Chase thought the ordinance was going to be introduced in March, but objections brought by Deputy Mayor Brian Regan (D-At …

A plan by an Edison developer to remove 25 trees from a Hillcrest Avenue property drew the ire of the Environmental Commission at its Aug. 18 meeting. Developer Gregory Ginzberg wants to create three lots and build houses on two of them. His plan calls for the removal of about two dozen trees. That caught the commissioners’ attention; what irked …