Township Council Taxes

The cost of having Somerset County act as the township’s health department will increase more than $37,000 over the next three years. The department’s 2013 annual report and new three-year contract was presented to the Township Council at its Aug. 12 meeting. The council acts as the township’s Board of Health. The township will p[ay $604,682 for the county’s services …

A proposal to install a speaker system in the Middlebush Park sports complex will likely be defeated on Sept. 9 when it is scheduled to be up for a vote by the Township Council. All six council members who attended the Aug. 12 meeting said they would not vote for a system which includes external speakers, with some expressing support for a so-called …

Contracts for more than $1 million worth of road improvements were awarded at the July 8 Township Council meeting. The funding for the projects is included in the current budget. Schifano Construction of Middlesex was awarded a $425,673 contract for the resurfacing of Smithowld, Layne, Tunnel and Tamarakc roads and Hadler Drive. Six bids were submitted for the contract, according to …

More than $200,000 in equipment purchases for the police department were approved at the July 8 Township Council meeting. The council voted to buy seven vehicles and six portable computers. Winner Ford Fleet of Cherry Hill was awarded a contract for one Ford F150 truck for $31,098. The council also voted to buy six Ford Interceptor police vehicles for $165,289. …

The Franklin Web site should be streaming Township Council meetings by the end of the year, according to the township’s Information Technology director. Once council meetings are streamed live, the effort will be turned to stream Planning Board and Zoning board meetings, he said. Also on tap: an interactive online directory of the township’s parks and trails. The updates were part of …

The first step toward financing the township’s $2.5 million 2014 road program was taken at the June 24 Township Council meeting. The council approved on second reading a bond ordinance for about $2.4 million of the cost, which will cover 27 township roads. The work will include milling, paving overlay and resurfacing of the roads. Included in the program are: Archer Avenue …

Funding for all but one of the 14 applications submitted for the township’s 2014 Community Development Block Grant program were approved June 24 by the Township Council. The only group that received none of its requested funding was the township’s Pop Warner Football program, which asked for $10,000 to install additional lighting for its practice fields. RPM Management LLC, which …

The lobbying effort against installing a sound system at the Middlebush Park sports complex continued at the June 24 Township Council meeting, with a cadre of Middlebush residents once again showing up to press their case. An announcement by township manager Robert Vornlocker that a noise expert from Rutgers University has been asked to provide the council and local residents with …

Traffic on a portion of New Brunswick Road will be tied up for the next two weeks as the busy artery is given a facelift. The work on the portion of the road between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and DeMott Lane began June 9. The work will include milling and repaving the street. The Township Council at its April 22 …

Township Councilwoman Roz Sherman (D-Ward 2) has entered the fray over whether a permanent sound system should be installed at the Middlebush Park football fields. “Yes, we needed the fields, yes, we were very happy to have the fields,” she said at the May 27 Township Council meeting. “Speakers are not necessary.” The park, off DeMott Lane, affects residents of …