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Franktown Open Hearts asks Franklin City for up to $900,000 to address stormwater barrier to new youth center
Summary
Franktown Open Hearts requested city assistance of up to $900,000 to fund underground stormwater infrastructure on Johnson Circle and for the city to accept Johnson Circle as a public right-of-way, saying the improvements are required before the nonprofit can break ground on a planned facility that would expand services for low-income children.
Franktown Open Hearts asked the Franklin City Board of Mayor and Aldermen on March 11 for up to $900,000 to pay for off-site stormwater infrastructure and to have Johnson Circle dedicated to the city so the nonprofit can proceed with a planned youth and workforce-training facility at 215 Granbury Street.
The nonprofit’s representative, identified in the meeting as “Chris (Franktown Open Hearts),” told the board that earlier-engineered options using an open swale on an adjacent Franklin Housing Authority parcel were infeasible because of topography. Brandon Priddy of 906 Studio Architects said an underground solution in Johnson Circle would cost roughly $700,000; he and other presenters estimated the total building program will cost $6–6.7 million and said the stormwater work represents about a 10% piece of that budget. Chris said the lease with Williamson County requires construction to begin by October 2025 or Franktown risks losing the site.
City staff and aldermen discussed funding options, including using available and future Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and unspent capital investment plan (CIP) funds. Vernon (City staff) and other staff members said approximately $450,000 in CDBG funds are currently available and that the city could consider spreading any city contribution over multiple fiscal years. Alderman Baggett and others expressed support for the request in principle but asked staff to return with specific funding scenarios. Several aldermen stressed caution about committing limited CDBG dollars because other housing-related projects are also seeking the same funds.
Board members and staff clarified that if the city accepts Johnson Circle as a public street, the city would require it to be brought up to city standards (milled/overlaid, curb-to-curb) before dedication. Franktown said it has raised about $4.5 million toward the building and maintains an annual operating budget of roughly $900,000; the capital campaign raised $2.4 million last year toward the facility. Franktown representatives said the nonprofit serves primarily households on free or reduced-price school lunches and uses vocational and educational programming to reduce generational poverty; they said waiting lists fluctuate and that the organization currently cannot meet demand.
No formal motion or vote on funding was recorded in the work session. Multiple aldermen asked staff to return with options — including possible use of CDBG, CIP, ARPA, or multi-year approaches — and with the exact cost breakdown and timing so the board can consider how to proceed without overcommitting limited grant funds. Staff indicated they will prepare funding scenarios and a draft development agreement for future consideration.
The board moved on to the next agenda item after directing staff to bring funding options back to the board for review.
