The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Township Council on August 12 took the first step in reclaiming the Girard Avenue property that had been used by the Franklin-Somerset First Aid Squad.
The Council introduced an ordinance to purchase the property for the token amount of $1.
Like many volunteer first aid squads in the township, Franklin-Somerset went out of service several years ago.
As far as what to do with the property, a local fire fighter presented the Council with an alternative.
Ray Quabeck, the Assistant Fire Chief at the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department, told the Council that his department could use the building for living quarters for volunteer firemen.
Reading a letter written by Chief Dan Krushinski, Quabeck said the department would like to pursue grant funding to renovate the building.
“East Franklin has a strong history of recruiting Rutgers University students who are firefighters in their hometowns,” Quabeck read. “On average, these students volunteer with us for four years while completing their studies. Most of them also tend to stay around as well. Providing safe, secure, and comfortable accommodations for them while on call would directly benefit the township, by enhancing volunteer recruitment and retention, improving emergency response times as firefighters living on-site could respond more quickly to calls, and maximizing use of an otherwise vacant municipal property turning it into an asset that serves the community daily.”
Quabeck said that East Franklin does not have room in its fire house for all of the fire fighters who want to stay there to be able to respond to calls quickly.
“We’re just running out of room, and it’s impossible for everybody to stay there,” Quabeck said. “So if you guys would really consider us getting the building, obviously the chief would like to discuss that with you all.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the Township owned the property. The Township last owned the parcels in 1998, when it sold them to the first aid squad for $1.
The ordinance will have its public hearing and final vote at the Council’s September 9 meeting.
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