Week of January 31

Thank you Public Works Department for doing a great job keeping our streets safe and clear of snow this past week. I had two meetings this week.. Tuesday Feb 2 with the Recreation Commission, and Thursday Feb 4 with Rural Awareness.

I am the Committee representative to the Recreation Commission. The Recreation Commission needs members!!! They are 5 members short and need your help! The Rec Commission runs the annual fishing derby, Easter egg hunt, they participate in a basketball league, run a 2 week summer day camp for Franklin residents, and participate in the Trunk or Treat program for Halloween. They run these activities well but they need new blood to get them to the next level.. thinking ahead.. creating and achieving longer term goals..Franklin needs an active recreation park.. ie a playground for residents. Are you tired of driving your kids to Union or Alexandria or Clinton in order to go to a playground? The Rec Commission by-laws allow them to purchase / acquire land.. pretty powerful stuff but as they stand now, it would be difficult to accomplish this. The Rec Commission first needs new members, then they need to define their goals, and incorporate them in the form of a Recreation Element in our master plan. Let's work together on reviving the Recreation Commission! Contact me or the Township Clerk if you are interested in being part of Franklin's Future.

Rural Awareness is a non-political non-profit group; I wont speak on their behalf- check out their website at http://www.ruralawareness.org/

I really enjoy attending the RA meetings- they meet on the first Thursdays of each month. Given the a-political nature, it gives me a chance to meet the people of Franklin who cherish and wish to preserve the rural nature and character of Franklin. They host candidates night for the School Board elections, they authored a picture book on the history of Franklin (about to be released soon!), and they are sponsoring a house tour of historic homes on October 9. Do check out their website for updates on their activities or stop by the Snyder Farm at 730PM on the first Thursdays of each month.

This coming week I have the Land Use Board meeting and Township Committee meeting. If you are interested in knowing more about the School addition, the Land Use Board will be reviewing the plans and representatives of the school board will be present to answer our questions. I look forward to keeping Franklin citizens up to date and aware of the progress of this project.