Taxes

Contracts for new police cars and cleanup services were approved November 28 by the Township Council. The Council approved a contract worth $319,709.60 with Nielson Ford of Morristown for seven Ford Police Interceptors. The Council also approved a contract worth $150,000 with Panfietti Construction of Phillipsburgh for property cleanup as needed. The contract is effective through November 2025, and cannot …

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 …

BRIDGE TO CLOSE – The pedestrian walkway on the Landing Lane Bridge will remain open during the month-long construction project. The Landing Lane Bridge will be closed in both directions for approximately a month starting December 4 for priority repairs to the retaining wall. Work will be conducted around-the-clock to expedite the construction, according to a press release from the …

Contracts worth more than $941,679 for goods and services were approved November 13 by the Township Council. The contracts awarded were: A $24,900 and a $6,300 contract to Francen Contracting of Branchburg for rehabilitation of 26 Tamarack Road. A 2-year, $200,000 contract to Fyr-Fyter Sales & Service of Pennington for Central Station Monitoring. Maintenance, Repair and Testing Security Systems, Sprinkler …

The Board of Education on October 19 approved contracts for goods and service worth more than $185,000. The Board approved: A contract worth $9,457 to Open Systems Integrators of Hamilton to upgrade access systems at a Board administration building. A contract worth $2,200 with the state Department of Human Services/Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired for a student to …

RATE INCREASE EXPLAINED – FTSA executive director Joe Danielsen explains the need for a 10 percent rate hike in this year’s budget at the October 3 Sewerage Authority Commission meeting. Customers of the Franklin Township Sewerage Authority will notice a slight increase in their quarterly bills as a 10 percent rate hike takes effect in November. The rate hike was …

GENERATIONAL FARMING DISCUSSED – The Generational Farmer panel at Somerset County’s Influencing Agriculture Conference included (l-r) Carol English of English Farm in Basking Ridge; Matt Puskas of Middlebush Farm in Franklin Township; and Jimmy Abma of Abma’s Farms in Hillsborough and Doug Van Nuys of Hillsboro Farm. A township farmer was among 13 Somerset County farmers who participated in panel …

A contract worth more than $65,000 for fitness equipment for Naaman Williams Park was awarded September 12 by the Township Council. The company that will supply and install the equipment is MRC of Spring Lake. Among the equipment being purchased is a captain’s chair for $4,692, recumbent cycle for $6,658, vault bar ($619) and push-up ($1,150) stations, cardio walker for …

CDBG GRANTS – Deborah Mitchell, administrator of the Township’s Community Development Block Grant program, discusses this year’s program at the Township Council meeting. An application for more than $348,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money was approved July 11 by the Township Council. The program, overseen by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is designed to help …

As promised earlier in the year, an application to the state to use trailer classrooms at five township schools during the 2023-24 school year was approved by the Board of Education at its June 20 meeting. The trailers would be used at Pine Grove Manor, MacAfee Road, Hillcrest and the Franklin Park annex elementary schools and at Franklin Middle School …