The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By Richard Seamon.
I have read all of the recent letters to the “Speak Out!” section of the FR&A and I appreciate the perspectives of so many people. I have personally attended the Township Council meetings the last couple of months and spoken directly to the council, reminding them of their responsibility to the Township and its citizens. Most importantly, I reminded them that they are the Keepers of the Public Trust and need to act accordingly.
Respectfully, I feel that Mayor Kramer’ letter and his desire to re-start the process is an effort at being responsible and working in the public’s best interests. Certainly, we can complain that this is the way this process should have started some time ago and I would agree with that. Given where we are, I appreciate the Mayor showing leadership and trying to bring some level of order to this process.
However, this effort is meaningless if a committee is formed but has little if any direction given to it. I am reminded of a great Paul Newman movie from many years ago called “The Verdict” in which the judge admonishes the jury that ‘you should not have heard from this witness and that is my fault, pay no mind to anything you just heard, give it no weight’ or words to that effect. You can imagine how that turned out. If a committee is to be formed, it must be directed to give no weight to anything that has occurred to date; it is to start fresh; no artist’s renderings, no pre-assembled statues, no list of mandatory persons to be honored, etc. The only way for any final product to come from this debacle that the public can have any respect for would be if the process truly started back at square one.
Having said all of that, I can’t help but think that Township time and money could be better spent elsewhere. Recently, I had a discussion with a couple of leaders in town about doing something imaginative to the “little schoolhouse” on DeMott Lane that could turn it into a local landmark and museum. The 9/25/18 Council agenda notes the land swap that includes the historic Middlebush School. Should that effort move forward, this historic structure would have the opportunity for a new life and purpose. What about the need for parks that was outlined in the Recreation Needs Assessment and is woefully plodding along? Personally, I’d love to see an expansion of community gardens throughout Franklin that would benefit the Food Bank. All of these items would have far more positive impact to our community than four statues that would be located about 100 feet from North Brunswick and miles away from where most people in Franklin Township live.
Imagine a future municipal center that included the gazebo, the schoolhouse museum and the Middlebush School recreation department and pocket park? Why not?
Why don’t we create ad-hoc committees for the little schoolhouse and Middlebush School instead. At least these are existing facilities that can be re-purposed for the greater good.
