Township Council

An ordinance creating a $1.8 million road reconstruction program was introduced April 23 by the Township Council. The Council will pay for the work with $1,662,500 in bonds and an $87,500 cash down payment. The work will entail milling, paving and resurfacing all or part of the targeted streets. The streets included in the program are: Spruce Street Ellen Street …

The township was able to hold the line on municipal taxes in its proposed 2019 budget, but a mandatory hike in the library tax means an overall increase in local property taxes for township residents this year. The $61,931,338 proposed budget was introduced at the March 26 Township Council meeting. The total represents an uptick in the 2018 spending plan …

A new library branch, a fitness center and music and video studios are just some of the amenities that will be included in the Franklin Township Youth Center when it opens on Lewis Street. The 24,000-square-foot center is slated to open in September of 2020. Under discussion for decades, and championed the last several years by Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois …

The Township Council wants to know more about a proposed $500,000 pedestrian bridge to the Delaware & Raritan Canal towpath near Easton Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The Council voted on a motion to give township resident John Loos – a member of the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission – the authority to see whether Somerset County would be …

Franklin is in a “very good, strong financial position,” the Township Council was told at a Feb. 19 special budget meeting. That prognosis of the township’s revenue position came at the end of the meeting – the second budget meeting in eight days – from township auditor Andrew Hodulik. And as far as debt is concerned, Township Manager Robert Vornlocker …

Township residents looking for information during emergencies now have another outlet, an AM radio station. WRBX 655 AM 1630 has been live for a couple of months, the end result of an effort started in 2017 by Mayor Phil Kramer. In August 2017, the Township Council awarded a $73,018 contract to a Michigan-based company for the station’s equipment and maintenance. …

A “safe zone” for residents to conduct online business exchanges will be established in front of police headquarters under an ordinance approved at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting. The brainchild of Councilman Will Galtieri (D-Ward 2), the zone is meant to give online sellers and buyers some “peace of mind” when transacting their business, he said. “The idea is …

Construction on Catalpa Park has been put off for about a year due to permitting issues. The first phase of the park, bordered by Old Vliet and South Middlebush roads, was expected to be open by this fall. But a realignment of the driveway into the proposed park triggered the need for more stream crossing permits from the state Department of …

The township motor pool will be a little “greener” soon, now that the Township Council has approved the purchase of five electric cars for its fleet. The cars, along with six charging stations that have yet to be purchased, were anticipated in the 2018 budget. The council at its Aug. 14 meeting approved the $188,312.50 purchase of five 2019 Chevrolet Bolt electric …

A resolution expressing support for medical marijuana facilities locating in certain sections of the township was unanimously approved Aug. 14 by the Township Council. The resolution states that the council is supportive of medical marijuana facilities – cultivators, processors and distributors – being located in the township’s M-1 and M-2 zones, which are light industrial zones. It would be up …