Township Council

The leader of the Franklin Township Youth Council and the Franklin High School Model U.N. Team received commendations April 25 from the Township Council. The youth council’s leader, Saffie Kallon, was honored because the council recently won the Gasalberti Excellence in Recreation Programming Award by the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association, and the Model U.N. team received a commendation …

We live-streamed the commendation ceremony for the Franklin High School Lady Warriors basketball team from the April 25 Township Council meeting. It’s downloaded and presented here for your viewing.

A change to a township ordinance that would have reduced the amount of time property owners have to remove graffiti from their buildings was pulled April 25 over Township Council members’ concerns about its fairness. The Council members worried that multiple instances of the same buildings being tagged with graffiti would pose an undue hardship on their owners, who, some …

Girl Scout Week, National Nutrition Month Hindu and Muslim holidays and Women’s History Month were acknowledged at the March 15 Township Council meeting. The council proclaimed March 12-18 as Girl Scout week in the township in a proclamation that noted nearly 300 township girls participate in the scouting program.

A ban on the sale in the township of animals bred in puppy and kitten mills is the “appropriate way to move,” Mayor Phil Kramer said on March 15. The mayor was responding to criticism leveled by a township resident of a proposed ordinance amendment to do just that.

The Township Council is “moving at the right speed” to answer calls for Franklin to join the list of American towns that will not enforce national immigration laws, Mayor Phil Kramer said March 15. Kramer was responding to Emerson Road resident Manijeh Saba, who asked the Township Council to declare Franklin a “sanctuary city.” Sanctuary cities  declare themselves safe for …

The Township Council is moving closer to voting on an ordinance amendment prohibiting the use of traditional loud fireworks by private businesses and organizations. Responding to complaints from residents about the noise, Mayor Phil Kramer last year asked Township Manager Robert Vornlocker to look into the availability of “quiet” fireworks.

The township’s dream of having a thriving corporate business park will probably take 20 years to 25 years to realize, the Township Council was told during a special Feb. 7 meeting. And to ensure success, that corporate park should include affordable housing as well as amenities such as restaurants, the council was told.

An ordinance that would prohibit pet stores from selling animals bred in large-scale commercial breeding facilities is making its way to the Township Council. The ordinance wold be symbolic at this point because the last township pet store that sold dogs and cats – Pets, Pets, Pets, on John F. Kennedy Boulevard – closed its doors several years ago. The …

The township is getting ready to auction off the farming rights for a number of plots. The Township Council at the Jan 24 meeting set at $8 per acre the minimum auction price for 414 total acres, 261 of which are tillable.