Franklin to apply for grant from state D.O.T.

Franklin — Franklin Mayor Paul Crowley provided the swing vote after the council’s 2-2 deadlock, allowing Borough Engineer Tom Knutelsky to apply for a New Jersey Department of Transportation Local Aide grant Tuesday night.

The grant, if approved, will provide funds to pave High Street and/or to improve sidewalks throughout the center of town.

While Knutelsky offered two additional possibilities to the mayor and council, including paving Junction Street and Cork Hill Road, he suggested they narrow them down to one or two, based on priority, to allow for the highest possibility of state acceptance.

While each of the council people and mayor had differing ideas as to which area should be first priority, Crowley urged the body to follow the recommendation of the only licensed engineer of the bunch.

High Street was chosen first due to its connectivity to State Route 23.

“It’s a gateway into the middle of the borough,” Knutelsky said. As “the D.O.T. is looking for projects that make the most sense,” he added, a highly traveled road in poor condition would be most likely to be chosen to receive the grant money.

Sidewalk improvements on Fowler Street, Church Street, Buckwheat Road, Evans Street and the pond area were able to be submitted as an additional first priority, Knutelsky advised, because a “planned pedestrian project” would be evaluated in a different light than a road resurfacing project.

“We could connect some of the missing pieces for pedestrians in the borough,” he said.

Junction Street and Cork Hill Road were both passed on because the roads’ design features don’t meet the D.O.T.’s criteria — such as horizontal and vertical alignment and guardrail placement. Junction Street was passed on because it would create more work for the borough before the state would approve any grant project.

Cork Hill Road also runs nearly 8,000 feet in the borough, making a one-shot pave project out of the question. Due to the nature of the application process, Franklin would have to reapply each year for the same project until it was finished—approximately three years.

“We need to choose a project that can be done in one fell swoop,” Knutelsky advised.

Second time is the charm
After a question from the council, Knutelsky admitted the borough submitted applications for High Street and Junction Street to the Local Aide grant committee last year to no avail.

He said the state’s investment of funds to repave Route 23 throughout the entire borough and the funneling of D.O.T. money to storm-damaged areas after Hurricane Sandy could have played a part in the denial.

As Franklin wasn’t awarded any local aide last year, “the likelihood of getting a project approved this year is very good,” Knutelsky said.

Councilmembers Joe Limon and Fred Babcock voted yes on the approval while Susan Gardell and Nick Giordano voted no. Crowley was called on to break the tie as councilmen Mark Zschack and Gilbert Snyder were absent.