Franklin City Council considers dissolving redevelopment district at business park

FRANKLIN — After the Franklin City Council accepted Olivia Zink’s resignation Monday evening, all 40 attendees at the meeting gave her a standing ovation. Mayor Desiree McLaughlin gave her flowers, too.

The vote to accept Zink's resignation at the meeting at the Elks Lodge was unenthusiastic, with councilors reluctant for her to leave. Some councilors jokingly voted against accepting the resignation.

Zink, who served for nine years representing Ward 2, is moving out of the city.

Glen Feener was appointed to fill the vacancy with five votes, compared with Sam Jacobson who received three votes. Bob Desrochers received none. Feener was in the audience, sitting next to Desrochers and his wife Janet, who pointed to Feener with a big smile on her face, surprisingly happy her husband did not win.

“[I’m] happy to let somebody else step in,” she said. Bob Desrochers had just finished his last term a couple years ago.

Feener was not a green pick either, having previously served for 21 years on the council. Feener said his experience will help with the upcoming budget season. As a longtime Franklin resident, he believes it is his civic responsibility to serve.

“I've always had the interest in the community, and I think serving on councils or on boards helps with advancing the community,” he said.

Feener will serve the rest of Zink's term. The seat will be up for election in October.

While Feener was councilors' pick, during public comment residents expressed support for Jacobson. Werner Horn of Ward 2 was one such supporter, and said Jacobson would have provided a fresh perspective, as the other candidates have already had time to prove their abilities.

“We're talking about bringing in a new city councilor to replace Councilor Zink. Why on God's green Earth would we consider people who have already been city councilors, who have already shown they're not inclined to fund the city properly?” he asked.

Before Zink resigned, she voted during one last council meeting. The most contentious agenda item was from McLaughlin, asking the council to consider a hiring freeze to review the city’s financial position and ability to support current payroll.

She said in 2017 the council approved an increase in payroll expenditures, raising those costs to 63% of spending from the general fund, without any documented increases in revenue. She said this created unsustainable city spending.

McLaughlin said the proposal was intended to start discussion on the issue, but was met with immediate concern.

“I had every single councilor call me or see me at some point and say, ‘What are you doing with this?’ And I said, 'This is a topic for discussion, a vehicle for discussion, because we have big issues,'” McLaughlin said. “We're not permitted to just hang out and talk about things. We have to do it in public.”

After hearing concerns, McLaughlin said she intended to clarify her stance and “water down” the recommendation at the meeting. But she faced a strong, sometimes personal, backlash.

Parks and Recreation Director Krystal Alpers was concerned if the council voted on the hiring freeze, she won’t be able to hire summer staff, and the summer camp program with 148 students enrolled would not open.

“This request is being put forth without any prior conversation with the department heads to determine how it would affect the individual departments negatively or positively,” Alpers said.

Alpers' comments led to a back-and-forth with McLaughlin. Residents and councilors commented on the mayor’s lack of professionalism.

After discussion and three amended motions, Councilor Al Warner (Ward 3) said, "I move that Franklin City Council request the city manager to take the following action: to set a series of meetings in conjunction with the budget hearings between the city council and department heads specific to each department, with the intention to address individual budgets using SWOT analysis.”

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats used by corporations to examine their operations. The vote on Warner's motion was a 4-4 tie, with Councilor Tim Johnston (Ward 1) abstaining. McLaughlin passed the motion with a tie-breaking vote.

School Board Chair Liz Cote gave a school district update in Superintendent Dan LeGallo's stead. Franklin High School needs to replace its sole math teacher. Cote also handed out the district’s annual report.

Another item which prompted much discussion was whether the council should set a public hearing to terminate the Franklin Business Park and Industrial Tax Increment Finance District, and appropriate any remaining tax increment to the general fund.

A TIF district redirects some taxes from businesses and taxpayers to pay for development. The business park is one of two TIF districts in the city, the other being downtown.

Councilors thought the TIF district did not have an advisory board, and that little had been done about development. Minutes from a July 2023 city council meeting show the council voted to establish an advisory board. Of councilors present at Monday's meeting, Councilor Leigh Webb (Ward 3) and Councilor Ted Starkweather (Ward 1) voted in favor of establishing the board, and Zink abstained.

In a June 5, 2023 meeting to set a public hearing about establishing the advisory board, Steve Crowley, Ryan Dillion, Jeremy Laucks, Mike Mullavey Jr. and Jim Aberg were listed as members.

Johnston added the item about the TIF district to the agenda.

“The advisory board would be the people that are responsible to bring their recommendations to the city council. And without an advisory board, there are no recommendations,” he said. “This TIF no longer serves the purpose of Franklin residents.”

Jacobson spoke during public comment about the TIF, asking the council to bring beneficiaries of the TIF district forward as part of the conversation.

“I think it'd be helpful for everybody to know what's that money being used for, and what might we use it as part of the city,” he said.

Per Zink’s suggestion, the council voted to have the language of the motion vetted by the city's legal counsel before setting a public hearing.

Upcoming events noticed at the meeting are the Class Day Parade 12:30-1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12, downtown; Franklin Community Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at Odell Park; and Winni River Days start at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 13, and run through 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at Trestle View Park, Mill City Park and Central Street.