Township Council

(Photo: East Millstone UMC.) An ordinance that would allow the purchase of property in East Millstone for open space preservation was introduced by the Township Council on January 23. The ordinance would allocate $261,500 from the Township’s Open Space Trust Fund to buy the property at 4 Elm Street. The property is owned by the East Millstone United Methodist Church, …

MAKING HISTORY – FTPD officer Patrick Kanu is ceremoniously sworn in at the January 23 Township Council meeting. Officials said Kanu is the first West African uniformed officer in the township. Five new Franklin Township Police officers – two of whom are graduates of the Youth Police Academy – were ceremoniously sworn in at the January 23 Township Council meeting. …

TAKING THE OATH – Mayor Phil Kramer takes the Oath of Office while his wife, Laurie, looks on. Councilmember Ed Potosnak was voted in as Deputy Mayor at the January 2 Township Council reorganization meeting. Also at the meeting, re-elected At-Large Councilmembers Kimberly Francois and Ram Anbarasan and newcomer Alex Kharazi and Mayor Phil Kramer were sworn in. The Council …

HEALTH MATTERS – Saffie Kallon, foreground, discusses the health assessment report with the Township Council as Tara Kenyon looks on. The results of a nearly two-year study of data, demographics and surveys on the factors that affect the health of Franklin Township residents was previewed at the December 12 Township Council meeting. The information was presented by Tara Kenyon, the Township’s …

SAYING GOODBYE – Township Councilwoman Crystal Pruitt reads her farewell address during the December 12 Council meeting. The Township Council said goodbye to Councilwoman Crystal Pruitt at its December 12 meeting. Pruitt, a Council member since 2019, decided to not run for re-election this year. Alex Kharazi, also a Democrat, won Pruitt’s seat. Pruitt was appointed to the Council in …

A long-term tax abatement plan for a township low-income senior citizen apartment building was approved by the Township Council recently. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, program was deemed necessary by the Council to aid in the rehabilitation of the Wilentz Senior Residence at the Wilf Campus for Senior Living on DeMott Lane. The Council approved on second …

REQUEST DENIED – Mayor Phil Kramer said he did not think it was appropriate for the Township Council to pass a requested resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel War. The Township Council on November 28 declined requests to pass a resolution supporting a cease-fire in the Hamas-Israeli War. Council members, led by Mayor Phil Kramer, said they did …

BIAS OUTRAGE – Ardaman Singh speaks to the Township Council about an alleged bias incident against a township Sikh boy. An alleged bias incident against a township Sikh boy has members of the religious community calling for justice. According to Ardaman Singh, who described the incident at the November 28 Township Council meeting, the unnamed boy was assaulted by a …

MEETING SET – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said he and several other officials will brainstorm on the best way to ask Somerset County to decertify some County roads for truck traffic. Township officials plan to put their heads together this week and strategize on how to ask Somerset County to decertify some County roads for truck traffic. The idea is …

NURSES SEEKING HELP – Township resident Erika Colindres, a nurse at RWJ New Brunswick, speaks to the Township Council at the November 13 meeting. UPDATE: The Township Council unanimously passed the resolution in support of the proposed bills at the November 28 Council meeting. A contingent of nurses from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick asked the Township Council …