Town of Franklin Press Releases

January 9, 2025

Town of Franklin Offices Closed January 10, 2025

For the safety of our staff and our customers, due to the forecast of snow, ice and sleet and the potential for dangerous road conditions, the Town of Franklin offices will be closed on Friday, January 10, 2025. The Town offices will re-open on a regular schedule on Monday, January 13, 2025.

Payments may be made online at www.franklinnc.com or you may utilize the drop box near the front door.

Thank you for your understanding and please stay safe.

 

Town of Franklin Winter Storm Preparations

The Town of Franklin Public Works staff will be pretreating town-owned streets today, Thursday, January 9, 2025, with a brine mixture in advance of the impending winter weather. As the timing of the storm is still variable, but predicted to begin by 7:00 a.m. on Friday, crews will be monitoring road conditions and may treat with a salt/sand mixture when necessary. Please note that it is difficult to remove snow and ice from roads when there is active accumulating precipitation and any road clearing will be done by the Town once the event has subsided and it is safe to do so.

In order to protect the street surfaces, if accumulations are less than 3 inches, there will be no plowing of streets, but melting aids (salt and sand) will be applied. For greater than 3 inches, the plows may be used to clear streets. NCDOT will clear the primary access roads and may use any combination of ways to do so.

Please do not call 9-1-1 to inquire as to when the streets will be cleared. The Town has a system in place for prioritizing street clearing and will work in a planned pattern. As with any snow-related event, it is recommended to follow the advice of public safety officials and stay off the roads unless it is necessary to travel.

Announcements related to any closure of or adjustment to Town operating schedules for Friday, January 10 will be made as soon as conditions are known.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Town of Franklin Town Hall at 828-524-2516.

 

January 2, 2025

Franklin Holiday Closing – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Town of Franklin offices will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and will re-open on a regular schedule on Tuesday, January 21st.

Town of Franklin holidays are in accordance with the North Carolina State Holiday Schedule.

 

November 19, 2024

Franklin Seeks Tourism Development Authority (TDA) and Planning Board Applicants

The Town of Franklin Town Council is accepting applicatons to fill the following vacancies on two community boards. Applications should be submitted no later than December 20, 2024 for consideration. Applications are kept on file for one year. Unless indicated, applicants must be a resident of Franklin to qualify.

• Tourism Development Authority - one (1) vacancy - one position for a resident that must collect occupancy tax within the Franklin town limits, that could be hotel/motel or other short-term rental such as a bed and breakfast or AirBNB or VRBO to qualify. This appointment will fulfill the remaining term, which ends June 2026.

• Planning Board – three (3) vacancies - one position is for a resident of Franklin town limits, one alternate position for a resident of Franklin town limits and one alternate position for an extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) member. The term for these appointments is three years.

Applications are available online by clicking or tapping here -or- can be obtained at Town Hall, 95 East Main Street, Franklin. For more information, contact Town Clerk Nicole Bradley at 828-524-2516 x 312 or via email at nbradley@franklinnc.com

These appointments will be on the January 2025 meeting Town Council agenda.

 

September 28, 2024

WASTEWATER SPILL AT TREATMENT FACILITY AND LAKESIDE DRIVE

The Town of Franklin had a discharge of partially treated wastewater on the premises of the Wastewater Treatment Facility due to excessive flows into the system.   The sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) began on Friday, September 27 at 8:00 a.m. during periods of excessive and intense precipitation and ended at approximately 10:00 p.m. Friday, September 27, 2024.  The total spill amount is estimated at 100,000 gallons.  The discharge ended when the water levels subsided. The flows in the plant were above 3.0 MGD during this time.  All spill areas have been contained and any adversely affected areas cleaned as necessary.  No boil water advisory was or is required as the discharge did not impact any water lines or drinking water sources.  The partially treated water was released into the Little Tennessee River.   Water monitoring samples are being taken upstream and downstream from the plant as is required by the State following such an event.

A second discharge beginning at 5:20 a.m. on September 27 and ending at 12:15 p.m. the same day resulted in 10,500 gallons of untreated wastewater being released from a manhole at the intersection of East Main Street and Lakeside Drive.  The wastewater reached the Little Tennessee River.  As with the other spill, no drinking water source was impacted and the area has been cleaned appropriately.

During the times of overflow, precipitation was measured by the official TVA record at 7.62 inches in Franklin for this event.  Maintenance activities and sewer system rehabilitation are continually being performed to identify and correct issues to prevent any future overflows.  The weather event that triggered the overflows was due to Hurricane Helene and was unseasonable and caused multiple incidents throughout Western North Carolina.  This notice is required by North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.  For more information contact Jason Hopkins, Wastewater Treatment Plant ORC at (828) 524-4492 or Water/Sewer Supervisor Jim Zilbauer at 828-524-2516.    

 

September 17, 2024

New Permanent Town Hall Office Hours

At the September 3, 2024 meeting, the Town Council approved a permanent change to office hours for the Town of Franklin Town Hall. The hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Payments at the window will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. until 5:25 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. until 2:55 p.m. on Friday. The drop box will remain available for payments before and after hours and on weekends.

“Customers requested extended hours to make utility and tax payments. In order to provide this service, staff completed a 90-day trial with the schedule and found that it was effective to have additional time in the afternoons for customers to make payments after their work days end,” said Town Manager Amie Owens.

The new hours are posted at Town Hall and on the website.

For more information, contact Town Manager Amie Owens at 828-524-2516 x 305 or via email at aowens@franklinnc.com.