News-pourri

The Board of Education Jan. 26 thanked one of its former members for her service. Julia Presley, who chose not to run for re-election last year after two terms and several tumultuous years at the helm of the board, was presented with the traditional plaque honoring her service by current board president, Ed Potosnak.

Legislation co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17), designed to preserve the integrity of the state’s historic sites, was approved by the Assembly on Jan. 23. Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D-20) co-sponsored the bill with Danielsen.

Township residents joined hundreds of thousands of women and men in “Women’s Marches” in cities across the country and the world on Jan. 21. The main march was held in Washington, D.C., and so-called sister marches were held elsewhere, including Trenton and New York City.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment will hire an independent real estate consultant to vet a developer’s claims that a Cedar Grove Lane tract is only economically viable for a townhouse development. The decision was made at the end of the Jan. 19 hearing, after board members grilled a real estate consultant proffered by the developer, Levin Properties.

Replacement of the Route 518 bridge at Canal Road is expected to be finished by the end of February, but that date, unlike the bridge, is not set in stone. Work is progressing on the project, but winter weather could play havoc with the time frame, said Stephen Schapiro, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Plans for a 15,000-square-foot restaurant and retail store project on a site once occupied by an historic Franklin Park building were approved Jan. 18 by the Planning Board. The developer, S4 Estates, has yet to secure the retail tenants, the board was told.

The developer of a proposed WaWa convenience store and gas station on Route 27 on Jan. 18 won the last approval needed for the project: a sign. The store, targeted for Rt. 27 and Juliette Avenue, will have a 12 1/2-foot tall monument sign set back about five feet from the property line.

Reports of unmanned aircraft flying over township-owned open space and parkland has prompted officials to research whether that activity can be prohibited. Township manager Robert Vornlocker told the Open Space Advisory Committee at its Jan. 17 meeting that he has asked the township attorney to look into the matter.

  The township library has launched a new, improved, online historic photo database that will one day hold thousands of pieces of history.

New goals for the school district and strategies to achieve them were the main topics Jan. 11 at a strategic plan workshop held at Franklin High School. About 50 people – school and district administrators, faculty, parents and Board of Education members and Mayor Phil Kramer – met in the school’s cafeteria for the fourth in an ongoing series of …