Township Council Taxes

Contracts worth more than $450,000 were awarded Oct. 10 by the Township Council. The council approved a $400,000 contract with Total Lawn Care & Landscape Services of Somerset for 20 snow plowing routes for the 2017-2018 snow season.

It looks as though issues with the state have been resolved, and the woes associated with a water main in Little Rocky Hill may finally be coming to an end. Township Councilman Ted Chase (D-Ward 1) made the announcement at the Sept. 26 council meeting. Chase has been working on getting the main replaced for at least the last five …

Among the goods and services purchased were: $36,700 for shade trees for Middlebush Park from Northern Nurseries of Somerset. The cost is for the trees only, the township’s Department of Public Works will plant them. $73,742.58 for two 2017 10-foot Stainless Steel Dump Bodies, $36,871.29 each. The bodies will be installed on: Two 2018 Model SD 108 Freightliner Cab and …

A $73,000 contract to create an AM radio station for the township was awarded to a Michigan-based company by the Township Council. The station – the frequency of which has not yet been determined – is mainly envisioned to serve as a way to reach township residents with important information during emergencies, especially during widespread power outages, Mayor Phil Kramer …

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.

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.”

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 Township Council at its May 9 meeting approved several contracts for goods and services. Among the actions taken by the council:

What some township officials called the best land purchase in township history was closed on May 11, when papers were signed for the $14 million purchase of the 65-acre Consolata Missionaries tract on Route 27. Consolata representatives, township officials and others were on hand in the Township Council chamber for the closing, for which an oversized presentation check for $14,090,000 …