News-pourri

SIGNS APPROVED – Bank of America won Zoning Board approval for three new signs for its Easton Avenue branch, but the approval didn’t come easily. Bank of America won Zoning Board of Adjustment approval for new signs for its Easton Avenue branch on July 20, but the road to that point was a bit bumpy. The bank applied for three …

OPPOSITION IS HEARD – Mary Paist-Goldman testifies about the B9 Schoolhouse warehouse project’s water management plan while attorney Stuart Lieberman looks on. Opponents of a proposed two-warehouse development at Schoolhouse and Mettlers roads got the chance on July 19 to convince the Planning Board that the application should not be approved. The opponents, the majority of whom are Canal Walk …

REVIEWING PLAN – Members of the township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission review plans related to the proposed McDonald’s restaurant targeted for Rutgers Plaza. It took a few go-’rounds, but the McDonald’s Corp. finally got the needed approval from the township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission July 18 for its new restaurant in Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue. The sticking point was …

CDBG GRANTS – Deborah Mitchell, administrator of the Township’s Community Development Block Grant program, discusses this year’s program at the Township Council meeting. An application for more than $348,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money was approved July 11 by the Township Council. The program, overseen by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is designed to help …

ROAD BUCKLED – Work to replace this section of Canal Road is set to begin on July 17. (Photo: Phil Kramer). Work to fix a 60-foot-long section of Canal Road damaged by the recent rainstorm is set to begin on July 17, Mayor Phil Kramer said. Asphalt buckled on the section north of Coppermine Road, forcing a closure in the …

TAKING THE OATH – FTPD Lt. Brandon Domotor is ceremonially sworn in to his new rank at the July 11 Township Council meeting. Four rookies – one of them a township native – and a seasoned officer were ceremonially sworn in to the Franklin Township Police Department at the July 11 Township Council meeting. Also at the meeting, two newly …

FLORA NON GRATA – The Township Council has introduced an ordinance that would limit future bamboo plantings to those in above-ground bins. (Photo: Shutterstock.) Spurred by resident complaints at the June 13 meeting, the Township Council on July 11 introduced an ordinance that would limit how running bamboo can be planted in Franklin. Under the ordinance, all new plantings of …

PAYING RAPT ATTENTION – More than 200 people crowded into the Board of Education community room at its Route 27 administrative campus July 5 for the third hearing on the proposed B9 warehouses. Testimony on changes to a plan to build more than 200,000 square feet of warehouse space at Mettlers and Schoolhouse roads elicited sometimes aggressive questioning from members …

The Middlebush Volunteer Fire Company continued a nearly century old tradition with its annual July 4 parade. Kicking off at the fire house at 21 Olcott Street, the parade meandered to Smith Street, then South Middlebush Avenue and Amwell Road before returning to its starting point. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth …

The Township’s annual Independence Day celebration went off without a hitch on July 3 at the Municipal Complex on DeMott Lane. Kicking off the annual Franklin Day series of events, the day featured performances by the Villagers Theatre cast of TeensVill’s Carrie, the public debut of the Township Jazz Band and the main event, Total Soul. Don’t Miss Out! No …