Angry crowd overflows council

Franklin residents demand to be heard; council forced to find bigger quarters to accommodate them, By Stacy Maldonado Franklin — It was a warm, sunny evening on Tuesday, May 25, with a hue of purple haze along the skyline. However, no one seemed to be outdoors enjoying it. Not along Franklin Avenue; not along Main Street. A visit to Municipal Hall explains why. It was the bi-monthly Borough Council meeting and residents came in droves. The parking lot overflowed down onto the street, and inside was no better. More than 60 adults, young and old, stood on the staircase and in the hallway leading up to the meeting room where an additional 100 angry taxpayers were present. All were fueled, ready to question and voice their complaints about the current financial crisis in Franklin. The Council had planned to run their meeting as usual, with agenda items first, and then hold the open public session with a five-minute maximum for each item speaker. This upset many. Resident Wendy Kovach interrupted Borough Administrator Richard Wolak irately, questioning: “How can we even follow the meeting if there aren’t enough agendas?” Only 40 were printed for the 160-plus in attendance this evening. She adamantly suggested the public to speak now. Angry and not gonna’ take it Many of those in the hallway complained they could not hear the mayor and council, citing “poor microphones and speakers,” while others asked: “Why aren’t there enough seats inside for us?” Despite the air conditioning, the air was growing oppressive. One resident said the old borough hall was better and much bigger. (The current location was originally built in 1929 for the Sussex County Trust Co. and restored in 1997-1999 as the Franklin Municipal Building with two floors of modern offices and court room.) Mayor Paul Crowley kindly invited everyone into the room. Another 30 were able to line the perimeter of the room while others considered sitting on the floor, until Crowley announced, “We are over capacity and need to postpone the meeting.” This caused waves of shouts and obscenities with resident Michael Krupa yelling, “Someone’s running scared.” Not one moved to leave and a few hollered, “We aren’t leaving!” Resident Carolyn Brown-Shamah looked around smiling, and quietly said, “They didn’t expect so many people, but we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore.” Crowley called for rescheduling the meeting for Tuesday, June 1, at the firehouse or school, but even that was unacceptable by one mother who stood up to let the Council know that the annual sports award dinner is that night. “Now I have to neglect my child too.” Crowley advised residents to check the borough Web site. It can be found at www.franklinboro.com. Resident Karen Folkerts stood at the exit and aggressively distributed a flyer about the Franklin Taxpayer Association, encouraging everyone to get involved. “Whether it’s about the trash, road department, police, schools, people need to stand up in this little town and say no more.” The Franklin Taxpayer Association meets the first Thursday of every month at the Library, 2nd floor, 6:30 p.m. That group’s next meeting will be June 3.