Salvation Army moves into senior complex

FRANKLIN — The Borough of Franklin’s mayor and council have unanimously approved a three-year lease of a vacant office at their senior complex to the Salvation Army in order to implement charitable programs benefitting the borough and surrounding areas.

According to the ordinance approving the lease, Franklin’s governing body believes the organization serves an important public purpose and will rent the space inexpensively in accordance with the state’s local lands and buildings law, which allows a municipality to lease property to a nonprofit corporation for public use. The lease, which began on Jan. 1, will have a first-year rental rate of $157.50 per month and will increase by 4 percent each of the following two years.

In order to maintain the status of the lease, the Salvation Army must submit an annual report to the borough which describes the use of the leased property; activities performed which maintain the public purpose for which the lease was granted; the approximate cost of those activities; and a confirmation of the continued tax-exempt status of the nonprofit organization.

The Salvation Army, originally founded in 1865 as the "Hallelujah Army," strives to help the poor, destitute and hungry meet their physical and spiritual needs by running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless and providing disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries.