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Franklin committee agrees driveway work should precede leasing of Memorial Forest
Summary
Committee members agreed to prioritize clarifying and improving the Memorial Forest driveway (recommended 16–18 ft width) and to mow high‑priority areas before publicly advertising a lease for the front tillable portion of the property.
Committee members returned to a longstanding discussion about leasing portions of Memorial Forest and agreed at the April 21 meeting that resolving driveway access and maintenance must come before finalizing a lease for the tillable front portion.
Members described two years of limited mowing and maintenance and said that back, wooded portions are not practical for equipment access. The group discussed two sequencing options: define driveway dimensions in a lease and proceed with a lease, or complete driveway grading and access improvements first. Several members advocated doing the driveway work first to remove uncertainty for potential tenants.
Tara, the staff member, summarized the operational steps the committee recommended: "Step one is then to go out to bid for leasing of the front portion of the property. That's step one." She also said she would "see what we have to do to get the driveway done basically" and noted that the township's public works team would need to confirm grading and width requirements.
Discussion covered practical access dimensions for farm equipment and vehicles (members cited a 16–18 foot two‑way width as a target), parking and potential pull‑offs, and protection of memorial plantings; committee members reiterated they would avoid leasing areas with memorial trees. The committee agreed to reconvene the memorial subcommittee, ask DPW to mow the highest‑priority areas soon, and produce a plan that defines driveway width and lease boundaries before advertising any farmland lease.
