Township Council

Update: The Township Council passed the ordinance on second reading at its Nov. 8 meeting. The new rules go into effect immediately. Township manager Robert Vornlocker said the striping and signage could go up as soon as Nov. 9, weather permitting.

The land swap between the township and school district is all but a done deal with the Oct. 9 final passage by the Township Council of an ordinance approving it. The Board of Education approved the deal at its September meeting.

It appears that the idea to form a citizen’s committee to rework an idea for a “Peace and Non-Violence” memorial is on ice, at least for now. There were no takers at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting when Mayor Phil Kramer asked for comments from the council, after giving his opinion that it would be difficult to discuss “what …

Embattled Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has decided to take some time away from council business. A statement from Prasad (D-At Large) to that effect was read at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting by Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy.

Sunday alcohol sales would be permitted during the same times as the rest of the week under an ordinance amendment set to be introduced at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting. Currently, Sunday sales of alcohol are restricted to noon to 2 a.m., in restaurants and noon to 10 p.m. in liquor stores.

The group that for the past 10 years has acted as the repository for donations earmarked for a proposed “Peace and Non-Violence” monument park on Oct. 2 took the first steps toward divesting itself of the money, and effectively killing the project. The Franklin Township Community Foundation is holding more than $79,000 donated to the monument effort. Money was donated …

A Township Councilman appears to have tried to influence a Municipal Court judge – over whom he has reappointment power – to help a local landlord evict tenants from her property, according to emails reviewed by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. The councilman, Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large), steered the landlord to Municipal Court Judge Hector Rodriguez in an email sent …

Analysis

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.