Township Council

Township officials have one request for residents concerned about snow plowing after the weekend storm: Please be patient. Crews from the township Department of Public Works and hired contractors have been plowing the township’s more than 800 streets since the storm began, officials said. But, they admitted, some mistakes were made. Independent contractors hired by the township missed 11 streets, said Mayor …

The Township Council Jan. 12 picked a leader in the West African community as their newest colleague. Charles Onyejiaka, a 14-year township resident, was chosen from a field of three to fill the Ward 3 seat vacated when Philip Kramer was sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1. The other two candidates, presented to the council by township Democrats, were Alex Kharazi and …

The Township Council started the new year by awarding commendations to a number of people and groups. The first to receive a commendation was township Police Lt. Darrin Russo, the Franklin Reporter & Advocate “Man of the Year” for 2015. Russo was commended for being named MOY, which recognized the restraint he showed when a suspected car thief he stopped …

Township government officially became an all-Democratic institution Jan. 1 when the team that swept the November election was sworn in to their seats. Taking their oaths were Mayor Phillip Kramer, Councilwomen Kimberly Francois and Shanel Robinson and Councilman Rajiv Prasad, all of whom are At-Large members. Kramer was a Councilman representing Ward 3. Township Democrats will present three candidates to …

Outgoing Mayor Chris Kelly has some advice for the man who’s going to be filling the seat come Jan. 1, 2016. Well, actually, he has a lot of advice. “Dealing with (Township) Council is kind of like herding cats,” Kelly said. “Trying to get everybody together on the same page is nearly impossible, so don’t go into it thinking you will …

The Township Council Dec. 8 presented commendations to a number of students who won a township-wide poster contest, and to two of its own. The students won commendations for their entries in the annual Red Ribbon Poster Contest. Red Ribbon Week is a national substance abuse prevention campaign run in schools. The council also presented commendations to Mayor Chris Kelly …

  The two rivals for the mayor’s seat agreed on one thing at the final Township Council meeting of 2015: Donald Trump is not welcome in Franklin. In fact, both the current Mayor, Chris Kelly, and Mayor-elect, Phil Kramer, said at the Dec. 8 meeting that if they had the power, they’d ban the controversial Republican presidential contender from the township. Kelly …

In the wake of the Veterans Day commemoration debacle, township officials have decided to take over the arrangements for that and one other commemoration. Township manager Robert Vornlocker at the Nov. 24 Township Council meeting suggested that since the township already runs the July 4 celebration, it should also handle the Veterans Day and Memorial Day observances. He asked the council …

Despite a continued objection emailed from a member of the township’s historic preservation commission, the Township Council Nov. 10 voted to replace the Hageman House roof with a synthetic material. Tom Gale, vice chairman of the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission, had argued in September that the roof should be replaced with natural slate. He renewed that objection Nov. 10, via …

The Township Council at its Nov. 1o meeting declared Nov. 13 as “World Pancreatic Cancer Day” in the township. With Rachel Shaw of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network looking on, Deputy Mayor Kimberly Francois read the council’s proclamation into the record. The proclamation noted that 48,960 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, with 40,560 dying from the …