Township Council

Gayle Nelson and Township Councilmember Ed Potosnak after Potosnak presented a commendation to the FHS PACE club, for which Nelson is the advisor. A Franklin High School student group geared to LGBTQ youth received a commendation at the June 28 Township Council meeting. Going by the acronym P.A.C.E. – which stands for “protect, accept, care and educate” – the club …

Mark Healey, the township’s Director of Planning, explains the proposed warehouse ordinance at the June 28 Council meeting. Spurred by residents of Canal Walk who are opposed to a proposed warehouse abutting their community, the Township Council on June 28 introduced new zoning requirements for future warehouse projects. The new regulations would increase the distance between a residential property and …

Township Councilmember Ed Potosnak describes the “genderless bathroom” ordinance at the June 28 Council meeting. An ordinance that would require the establishment of single-occupancy, all-gender bathrooms in some public places within Franklin was introduced June 28 by the Township Council. The ordinance is championed by Councilmember Ed Potosnak (D-Ward 1), the Council’s first openly gay member. Potosnak said the ordinance …

Contracts worth more than $3 million in goods and services were approved by the Township Council in June. The Council authorized contracts totaling $913,281.60 at the June 14 meeting, and $2,274,154.55 at the June 28 meeting. At the June 14 meeting, the Council approved contracts for: extending a recreation and enrichment program from various vendors, worth $400,000eight land surveyors, worth …

Bob Chilton of Gabel Associates explains an aspect of clean energy aggregation during a special Township Council meeting on June 20. The pros and cons of clean energy aggregation were discussed at a special Township Council meeting on June 20. The meeting was necessitated by the submission of petitions requesting that a question be placed on the November ballot asking …

Mayor Phil Kramer said the Township is looking at ways that warehouses can be reined in in Franklin. (File photo). Township officials are studying ways to limit the effects the warehouse boom is having on Franklin, Mayor Phil Kramer said at the June 14 Township Council meeting. The Mayor’s announcement came after the Council heard about an hour’s worth of …

Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the Franklin Township Youth Center as Township Manager Robert Vornlocker and Mayor Phil Kramer (left to right) look on. A half-century of talking about it and 15 years of planning came to fruition on May 14 with the Grand Opening of the Franklin Township Youth Center at 429 Lewis Street. Set …

John Samba, Abdul Gabisi Township Councilman Charles Onyejiaka, and Lamin Alharazim, (left to right) listen as Township Councilman James Vassanella reads the proclamation. April 27 was officially crowned “Sierra Leone Day” by the Township Council at its April 26 meeting. The West African country is celebrating its 61st year of independence. On hand to receive the Council’s proclamation were several …

The Hamilton Street Special Improvement District’s $53,222 budget for 2022 was approved by the Township Council at its March 22 meeting. The budget is usually funded by a special assessment on property owners in the Hamilton Street Business District, but this year the Hamilton Street Advisory Board decided to use surplus and not impose an assessment. The Hamilton Street Business …

Deborah Mitchell, who administers the township’s CDBG program, speaks to the Council at its March 22 meeting. Representatives from some of the organizations asking for more than $150,000 in federal grants made their pitches before the Township Council on March 22. The money is coming from the federal Community Development Block Grant program, which is designed to fund programs that …