News-pourri

FEES GOING UP – Recreation Director Beau Byrtus’ recommendations for fee increases were unanimously approved by the Advisory Recreation Council on February 8. Fees will increase for two popular summer programs run by the township Recreation Department. Summer Camp and the evening swim programs will see new charges, as a result of action taken February 8 by the Advisory Recreation …

Brett Skapinetz, the project’s engineer, said he has no fear that the billboard will topple over. A plan to erect a v-shaped, double billboard on Elizabeth Avenue, near Route 287, was approved February 2 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. In granting the approval, the Board required the applicant, American Outdoor Advertising, to locate the billboard about 40 feet away …

A mistake in the public notice about the January 24 public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance amendments banning new warehouse development in the township requires a second public hearing, a township official said on February 1. The initial public hearing notice left out the hearing’s location, which was the Township Council Chamber in the municipal building. That rendered the …

Eight Franklin firefighters who are committed to six departments in the township graduated from the Somerset County Fire Academy in Hillsborough on January 27. The ceremony was the first graduation ceremony held at the academy since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Animal Control Officer Katie Nordhaus shows Carl, the Boa Constrictor, to students at the Youth Center. A group of township middle schoolers got an introduction to some animals and learned the responsibilities of Franklin’s animal control officers at “Pet Care Day” hosted by the Franklin Township Youth Center. On hand to present the animals and answer questions were animal control …

The school district is looking to return some students to temporary classroom trailers, such as these at Franklin Middle School – Sampson G. Smith campus, to deal with issues caused by its growing pre-Kindergarten population. The Board of Education at its January 26 meeting agreed to submit a request to the state Department of Education to use trailers at five …

Another six state Cannabis Regulatory Commission applications for potential businesses in the township received resolutions of support at the January 24 Township Council meeting. Four of the applications will be for retail establishments while two will be for either cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor licenses.

Deputy Mayor Ram Anbarasan is given the Oath of Office by Shanel Robinson, the Somerset County Board of Commissioners Director and a former Township Councilwoman. The ceremony was delayed by several weeks, but Deputy Mayor Ram Anbarasan was finally sworn in at the January 24 Township Council meeting. Anbarasan was out of the country during the January 3 reorganization meeting …

The Tour de Franklin is the Franklin Food Bank’s largest fundraiser. (Photo: Franklin Food Bank.) The 34th annual Tour de Franklin Charity Bike Ride, the largest fundraiser for the Franklin Food Bank, will be held on April 30 at Franklin High School.  The Tour de Franklin consists of seven events including 62-, 40-, 25-, 10-, and 5-mile rides through Somerset …

Zoning Board of Adjustment attorney Francis Regan reads off the list of conditions attached to the approval of the Saharose bus company’s application. The Zoning Board of Adjustment was forced on January 19 to approve a bus company’s application to park 15 buses in the rear lot at JFK Plaza on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The application for a Use …