In response to a town council proposal to rename Franklin’s historic downtown to Uptown Franklin, local merchants pushed back and asked for the council to at least delay a vote on the issue.
Representing the Franklin Downtown Merchants Association (FDMA), chairperson Nicole Vachon argued that “any renaming or rebranding discussion should be postponed until the Town completes the Main Street Redesign planning process and the Economic Development planning process.” To Main Street area merchants, any redesignation from traditional “downtown” references to “uptown” could create unnecessary complications.
Last month, Vice Mayor Mike Lewis offered a resolution, renaming the Main Street area known as Town Hill or Franklin’s Historic Downtown to Uptown Franklin. The resolution also included two additional district identifiers:
- Downtown East Franklin, which refers to the “eastern commercial and mixed-use district contiguous to and east of the Uptown/Main Street corridor;” and,
- Downtown West Franklin, the “western commercial and mixed-use district contiguous to and west of the Uptown/Main Street corridor.”
In response to business concerns, Lewis said, “This is how representative government is supposed to work. If that’s the way tenants and merchants on Main Street feel, I am certainly willing to listen. But, I do want to push ahead with East and West Franklin [designations]. I want those people to know they are on our mind and are important as well.”
Regarding the other downtown designations, Vachon who also owns Doodlebugs on Main St., told Macon Sense, “While I don’t have a business in those areas, I like the idea of east and west downtown districts – especially if it helps open up avenues for further revitalization funding in those areas.”
Mayor Guffey added, “I agree in terms of moving forward with designations of downtown East Franklin and downtown West Franklin. I think further work with our economic development incentive packages will assist and it’s good to delineate where those areas of town are and recognize businesses that are there.”
In response to the FDMA request, the council formally withdrew the resolution to redesignate the Main Street area from Downtown to Uptown, for now.
Main Street speeding enforcement campaign
As part of quarterly agency reports, Town of Franklin Police Chief Devin Holland updated the department’s Main Street Traffic Enforcement campaign.
In the past few weeks, officers conducted 137 traffic stops and 298 traffic enforcement activities. Specific actions included:
- 40 speeding citations,
- 52 warning tickets,
- 24 violation citations, such as no driver license, unsafe movements, and expired tags.
Holland reminded the council that a message board was placed at the bottom of Town Hill advising motorists of the 20-mph speed limit and the strict enforcement.
Other actions include a decoy patrol vehicle, and additional signage reminding drivers of reduced speed limits. Social media also is used to remind people of the speed zone and crosswalks.
Water service improvements
Town Manager Amie Owens submitted for approval a change order, ordinance amendment, and engineering services agreement change with the Clearwell and High Service Pump Station Project.
The change order adds $297,410 to the original total project cost of $6,301,400 and extends the completion date by two weeks. The budget amendment serves as formal approval for the change order.
The amended engineering agreement is a result of proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding that brings it in line with federal labor compliance and Davis-Bacon requirements. Increased costs associated with the funding totaled $75,050.
Sunnyside and new fire equipment funding
Sunnyside Inclusive Play Area Project changes and amendments also were unanimously approved at the meeting.
The change orders constituted $1,700 for a plumbing waste line relocation and $1,502 for a silt fence. Project costs now stand at $2,037,437.06, which includes a $500,000 reimbursement under the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant expected later this year.
Owens then presented three bids received by the Town for new fire department equipment. In February, the Council approved spending up to $58,940 for equipment associated with a new fire truck. North American Fire Equipment came in with the lowest cost at $42,199.63. The council approved the purchase unanimously.
New Firefighter
Interim Franklin Fire Chief Justin Setser introduced Chad Stone as the department’s newest firefighter. Stone brings more than 30 years of firefighting and law enforcement experience to Franklin and thanked both Setser and Town Clerk Nicole Bradley for helping to bring him on board.
Local News Day
Mayor Stacy Guffey proclaimed April 9 as Local News Day in Franklin, “The Town of Franklin is home to several news outlets [that] continually share information with the public freely and with transparency.”
The proclamation noted that “Americans overwhelmingly say local news and information are the most important and trusted source of news” and that “local journalism is a foundational element of functioning and healthy democracy.”
During the public input session, Morgan Stewart announced the return of Macon Sense to the local news arena. “Our newspaper and staff will honor God and our (Christian) faith; we’ll still be free to readers and will still be advertiser supported. We are still locally owned … we will focus heavily on community stories, like nonprofits, business leaders and ‘local heroes,’ as well as history and events.”
Stewart explained that the paper is now a “strictly digital news source”. Stories could be published daily, making it as close to the only daily news source west of Buncombe County/Asheville. Website features also will be added.
“We will be meeting news readers where they are – their phones, their computers, their tablets,” said Stewart.
The next scheduled Town Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 4 at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall Boardroom.
