News-pourri

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES – School board candidates who attended the October 8 candidate forum. Clockwise from upper left: Jennifer Welch, Clara Wilson, Martin Czebotar, and Meher Rafiq. Charter schools, the school district’s goals, and the expanding District budget were some of the topics covered October 8 in a Board of Education candidate forum, held at Franklin Middle School – Sampson …

BUDGET EXPLANATION – Sewerage Authority Executive Director Joe Danielsen takes Authority members through the proposed 2025-26 Authority budget at its October 7 meeting. Franklin Township Sewerage Authority customers will pay 2.9 percent more in their annual fees, and sewer connection fees will rise nearly $300 under the $17.5 million Fiscal Year 2025-26 Authority budget introduced at its October 7 meeting. …

PROHIBITED MURAL? – This mural on the side of the Green Knight Dispensary on Hamilton Street needs approval from both the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. A mural on the side of a Hamilton Street cannabis dispensary is not the type of wall art the Hamilton Street Advisory Board wants to see. The issue was …

Explaining Proposed Ordinance – Mayor Phil Kramer describes the proposed ordinance that would restrict the use of on-site generators. Hoping to preclude any thought of a developer creating a data center powered by generators burning combustible materials, the Township Council on September 30 took the first step in restricting the use of on-site generators. The ordinance would prohibit the routine …

BRIDGE REPAIR DELAYED – A deeper-than-expected water main is the reason the bridge replacement project on New Brunswick Road will now not be completed for another month. Work replacing a bridge on New Brunswick Road will probably not be completed until the end of October, according to the Somerset County web site. The work was supposed to have been completed …

NEW CENTER OPENING – Somerset County Commissioners Director Shanel Robinson, CIC Director of Recovery Support Ken Musgrove, and Andi Williams, CIC Executive Director, left to right, speak with the FR&A’s PJ Parker at the center’s grand opening on September 18. People struggling with substance abuse who need help connecting with services, or who just need to talk, have a new …

Here is the latest on the Township’s 2025-26 road resurfacing program. Sebring Rd Area Resurfacing – Contractor to begin milling operations on or about Oct 2 2025.  Sebring Rd Annapolis St – THIS STREET HAS BEEN PULLED FROM THE PROJECT. WILL BE ON FOR NEXT YEAR.  Lexington Rd Phillips Rd – PAVED Francis St – PAVED Link Rd School Ave …

The 19th annual running of the Renaissance Cyclists Defeating Cancer United bicycle fundraiser was held September 20 at the Township Senior/Community Center. More than 100 riders participated in the event, which offered ride lengths of three, 10, 30 and 50 miles, as well as a 3-mile walk. The event raises money for prostate cancer awareness and screening. Shirley Spruill, the …

A milestone was reached September 20 at the Millstone Valley Fire Department – the 30th running of the Ladies Auxiliary Tricky Tray fundraiser. The fire department’s truck bays were filled with tables filled with people, residents of Franklin as well as surrounding towns. They all spent about the event’s first two hours choosing for which of the more than 100 …

INDOOR PLAYGROUND APPROVED – Hang Lin, foreground, owner of Bounce Air Adventure Park, tells the Zoning Board of his plans for the new location in Rutgers Plaza. An indoor children’s play park targeted for an empty space at Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue was approved September 18 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Called Bounce Air Adventure Park, the roughly …