Township Council

MAKING HER CASE – Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather explains the need for changes to the Township’s noise ordinance during the October 8 Council meeting. Classifying noise as a “nuisance” and better regulating large outdoor parties were topics of conversation at the October 8 Township Council meeting. The Council took up two proposed ordinance amendments: one that would require registration …

POT TALK – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker talks about the proposed ordinance amendment limiting the number of cannabis retailers in the township to 18. The number of cannabis retailers in the township would be officially limited to 18 under an ordinance amendment introduced at the Township Council’s October 8 meeting. There is some leeway in that number, however. If a …

The Township Council approved the purchase of more than $967,000 worth of goods and services at its September 24 meeting. Contracts awarded were: An amended 3-year contract for Office 365 with CDWG of Shelton, Ct. worth $257,265.99. A contract for a landscape trailer with Cherry Valley Tractor Sales worth $7,499. A $132,514.64 contract with Axon Enterprise of Scottsdale, Az. for …

GIVING THANKS – David Carcieri, CEO of the Greater Somerset County YMCA, expresses his thanks for the $750,000 allocated by the state and distributed by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen for the construction of a Y in Franklin. The fundraising campaign for a township-based YMCA branch got a large boost from the state on September 24. State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) …

Contracts for nearly $700,000 in goods and services were awarded July 9 by the Township Council. The Council approved five contracts totaling $696,588.10. Nine companies were awarded contracts valued up to $500,000 for surveying services. The companies are Carroll Engineering and Van Cleef Engineering Associates, both of Hillsborough; Boswell Engineering of South Hackensack; Colliers Engineering & Design of Holmdel; CME …

More than $3 million in road reconstruction contracts were approved July 9 by the Township Council. The five contracts total $3,248,933.94. DeSantis Construction of Somerset received two contracts, one worth $761,188.59 for the resurfacing of Cornelius Way, and the second worth $662,244.48 for the resurfacing of the Mosher Road area. Z Brothers Concrete Contractors of Sayreville received a $640,330 contract …

SWEARING IN – Fr. Simon El Hajj, Rabbi Eli Garfinkel and Rev. Jamin Powell, left to right in white shirts, are sworn in to their FTPD Chaplaincy positions at the June 25 Township Council meeting. Three of the five Chaplains in the Franklin Township Police Department’s “revamped” Chaplaincy program were sworn in at the June 25 Township Council meeting. Rabbi …

PARKINSON’S PATIENT – Mayor Phil Kramer announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. (File photo). Mayor Philip Kramer has been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease since the middle of 2019, he said on June 24. Kramer, 68, said the disease has not affected his mobility and that he has no plans to resign the seat that he’s held since …

Certain new developments would be required to post anti-idling signs under ordinance amendments approved June 11 by the Township Council. The amendments were recommended by the township Environmental Commission in August 2023. The amendments “will work towards preventing instances of idling, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the release of harmful pollutants, and educate the public about the negative impacts of …

LOBBYING FOR RESOLUTION – Mohammed Turan was one of many members of the township’s Palestinian community and their supporters who once again tried to convince the Township Council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Members of the township’s Palestinian community and their supporters were once again unsuccessful on May 28 in convincing the Township …