Work Session Meeting – February 26, 2013
The Work Session meeting of the Township Committee of the Township of Franklin was called to order by Mayor Pfrommer at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. The following Committee members were in attendance Mayor Pfrommer, Mr. Petsch, Mr. Deegan, Mr. Genna, and Mr. Leopardi. Mr. Moore,
CFO/Acting Administrator, Mr. Ziegler, Solicitor, Chief Rock, and Mr. Yusko, Asst. Public Works
Director were also in attendance.
The Municipal Clerk read the following: Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by adopting a schedule of regular meetings for the year 2013, which was posted on the Bulletin Board as well as the Township Website, forwarded to the Gloucester County
Times, Camden Courier Post, and The Sentinel of Gloucester County, and was filed with the Township
Clerk on January 3, 2013. This meeting is being videotaped and will be on Channel 9.
Barbara Freijomil, Township Clerk, reported that we are renewing two Food Handling Licenses tonight, and approving one new Food Handling License due to a new owner at Country Farms. All Fees have been paid and because the businesses rent, current taxes are not a factor.
CFO, Jud Moore, reported that the Bill List is in the packet.
Community Center Director Jim Michaelson reported that Genna Electric worked on an electrical switch.
They believe the television was causing the program. Mr. Michaelson suggested moving one television from the lobby to the Senior Citizens Room.
Mr. Moore said the Engineers Report is in Packets for review and Fralinger’s is working on various projects.
Police Department reported on two items. Chief Rock explained that they was a rash of burglaries but two suspects have been arrested and the burglaries seemed to stop. One of the men arrested was on parole for homicide. Chief Rock reported that the second item was sexting. Underage people are taking naked pictures of themselves and sending it to others. When the receiving party sends it to others, it is a second degree charge. This practice seems to be widespread and the younger kids don’t know that it is a serious offense. These pictures are also ending up on a website and adults are contacting these kids. The website requires the participants to be over 18 years old. Mr. Petsch asked if an outreach program could be started at the school. Chief Rock said the prosecutor’s office does do that at the High School already. Mr.
Deegan wanted to know if there was a letter writing campaign that could be started to get the website taken down. Mr. Ziegler stated that there is no one to send it to. He said that existing legislation is the problem. Mr. Ziegler suggested encouraging the prosecutor to send it up the chain of command to shut the website down.
Mr. Yusko, Public Works, reported that pot holes are being repaired. The mechanics and crews are eagerly awaiting the new vehicles. Mr. Genna asked Mr. Yusko to reach out to other communities to see how they fill pot holes.
Mr. Ziegler, Solicitor, reviewed the Resolutions and Ordinances for the evenings meeting.
Mr. Ziegler said that R-41-13 would be tabled until the March meeting on the advice of Mr. Jerry
Vasquez regarding Meredith Farms. R-45-13 is no longer needed because Mr. Shoemaker is not available until the March meeting and Mr. Ziegler would like him to catch the Committee up on Kiddie Kollege.
Jud Moore, Acting Administrator, reported working on the current year budget. Mr. Moore said he held a
JIF Safety Meeting and Chief Rock is the Safety Coordinator. There will be quarterly meetings. The first retrofit dump truck is ready and will be picked up next week. Mayor Pfrommer said she saw that the signs around the Municipal Building were up and that they looked good. The smoking area has been moved away from the entrance way so people don’t have to walk through that.
Township Committee Reports:
Mr. Leopardi reported that he attended a Newfield Terrace Community Center meeting and that the members asked him to try to obtain some extra funding to help them pay their bills and fix the building.
Mr. Moore said that he talked to Mr. Vasquez who is on the board for Small Cities and that grants were being looked into for that area. Mr. Ziegler said that the grant that built Newfield Terrace was the same grant. Mr. Genna and Mr. Leopardi met and discussed Arbor Day activities. A softball team that uses the fields is going to do some work on the fields. Paint and other items would be needed. Mr. Moore said that there is money set aside for that purpose.

Mr. Genna said that there was a lot of participation from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts last year. Arbor
Day activities will be on April 27, 2013. Lady A’s Softball Team has volunteered the labor and material to improve the dugouts. Mr. Genna found that admirable.
Mr. Deegan said that he and Mr. Petsch have been working on the budget and making great strides.
Mr. Petsch commended Mr. Moore on his budget work. Mr. Petsch stated that all the pieces were coming together. Mr. Petsch said he and Mr. Deegan met with two candidates for the Channel 9 Operator position. He said they both are township residents, were great candidates, and had a lot to offer. He recommended Greg Taylor because of his past experience with the TV Station and had previous knowledge of the equipment and how it ran.
Mr. Petsch said that after reviewing the RFP’s for Conflict Prosecutor, he recommended appointing Mr.
Adam Brent for the position. This position is usually appointed at the Reorganization meeting and needs to be done.
Mayor Pfrommer once again reminded the Seniors to sign up for the AARP Tax Help. The Easter Egg hunt will be held on March 23 at 10 AM. Mayor Pfrommer thanked the Sentinel for putting both items in the newspaper. The blood drive will be held at the Community Center on March 28.
Upon motion by Mr. Deegan seconded by Mr. Genna and carried the public portion is now open.
No one came forward.
Upon motion by Mr. Petsch seconded by Mr. Genna and carried the public portion is now closed.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Freijomil
Township Clerk