Township Council

The Mayor and Township Council for the second consecutive meeting on Sept. 25 were criticized for the handling of a proposed “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park, targeted for township-owned open space. At the meeting, council members also discussed the idea of scraping all existing plans for the park and starting over with a reconstituted “citizen’s committee” the first charge of …

An anonymous automated telephone messaging campaign designed to bring supporters of the proposed “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park to the Sept. 25 Township Council meeting is underway. The robo-call message, which is less than two minutes long, does not identify who sponsored it. The message urges listeners to attend the meeting, speak during the public portion and ask that the …

The effort by a group of township residents to recall Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has begun. A “Notice of Intent to Recall,” the first step in the process, was filed with Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy on Sept. 18. McCarthy has three business days from then to validate the three signatures on the notice – Christina Ganzer, Ravikanth Kolla and …

Updated with comment from Deputy Mayor Robinson and statement from the Somerset County Democratic Committee. The chairman of the Somerset County Republican party Sept. 18 called on Deputy Mayor Shanel Robinson to release all of her emails concerning the “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park issue. GOP chairman Al Gaburo said Robinson, who is running for one of two available seats …

A Township Councilman on Sept. 13 called on an embattled colleague to “consider resigning” over his actions in furtherance of the proposed “Peace and Non-Violence” monument park. The comment came from Councilman Ted Chase (D-Ward 1) after members of the public had eviscerated the council in general, and Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large) in particular, for more than an hour …

For the 17th consecutive year, fire fighters and other first responders gathered at St. Matthias Church on Sept. 11 to honor their colleagues from around the country who were killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks. The service included a prayer and statement from St. Matthias’ Fr. Douglas Haefner, and the traditional reading of the names of first responders killed in …

Story is updated with OPRA’d emails.   Opponents of a proposed “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park that would feature bronze statues of Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa are Republicans who “don’t want colored statues in town,” a township councilman has charged. That councilman, Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large), also gave project supporters at least six days’ …

For the first time in 13 years, the township is putting up for sale a liquor license that would allow for another bar, restaurant or club in Franklin. Bidding on the plenary retail consumption license starts at $200,000. Retail consumption licenses allow for the sale of alcohol for off- and on-premise consumption. The last similar license was sold in 2005 …

The school district has an updated list of areas it considers too dangerous for children to walk to school. The list was approved at the Board of Education’s Aug. 23 meeting. Streets contained in the prior policy “were a little dated,” board spokeswoman Mary Clark said. “This is also a reflection of changes in attendance zones.” Students whose route to …

The donor of statues targeted for a controversial “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park on township open space owns vacant land in the township that could be suitable for such a park. The land, two adjoining rectangular lots on Davidson Avenue, is primarily wetlands, but there are about 3 buildable acres at the front of the combined lots, facing Davidson. The …