Taxes

More than $240,000 in Community Development Block Grant applications were approved Aug. 8 by the Township Council. CDBG grants, as they are known, originate at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and are used to help communities “address a wide range of unique community development needs,” according to the program’s web site. According to Deborah Mitchell, the township’s …

Construction workers at the Claremont Road School site are ruffling the feathers of some of their neighbors. Two Marion Avenue residents appeared at the July 27 Board of Education meeting to ask the board members’ help with some issues with the workers. The residents were introduced by Lakeside Avenue resident Daryl Kipnis, an attorney who is challenging state Sen. Robert …

Despite announcements released by Bound Brook officials, a final schedule for the repair work to the Queens Bridge has not yet been determined, according to a state spokesman. The bridge, which connects South Bound Brook and Bound Brook, is scheduled for “high priority structural repairs,” according to an announcement from Bound Brook. The announcement also said that work would begin …

Catalpa Park could be open by the fall of 2018, now that the Township Council has green-lighted the final concept plan. The park’s two cricket pitches – the source of much of the controversy over the park during the past three years – should be ready for play by the spring of 2019, according to one of the engineers planning …

Update: Franklin Township is one of three towns in Somerset County identified as possible branch sites, Somerset County YMCA David Carcieri said in an email. Carcieri declined to name the other two, but wrote that “the interest and enthusiasm of Franklin township officials, and the community, have been the catalyst for advancing this opportunity.” “Franklin was identified primarily based on …

A three-month bridge replacement project – slated to start June 28 – is expected to cause massive delays along South Middlebush Road and surrounding roads. Come mid-September, according to the plan, the $745,000 project will result in a brand-new, wider bridge, according to documents on file with the Somerset County Public Works Department. During the construction, South Middlebush Road will …

The chaining off of Ari Drive at Julie Court was once again a hot topic during a Township Council meeting. Most of the residents of streets affected by the chains who showed up at the May 30 council meeting praised the decision, but there were some who opposed it. The council on Feb. 14 voted to install the chain in …

A new 5-year contract for the schools Superintendent was approved May 25 by the Board of Education. The $196,584 contract ups schools Superintendent John Ravally’s salary by nearly $20,000, and comes just two years into his original 5-year term. The move was made to bring Ravally’s salary in line with updated state regulations concerning schools superintendents’ compensation, school board president …

There were more questions than comments May 16 when the school district’s proposed school rezoning plan was debuted to a packed house in the Franklin High School cafeteria. That could be a good thing, in terms of keeping district on schedule for getting the entire redistricting project finished in time for the 2018-19 school year. The rezoning plan is necessitated …

The Township Council at its May 9 meeting approved several contracts for goods and services. Among the actions taken by the council: Approved a correction in a 3-year contract with Lightpath of Jericho, NY for the township’s telephone system. The original contract set a limit of $2,400 per month, but, according to a memo from Justin Heyman, the township’s IT …