The Town of Franklinton’s ongoing electric car charger controversy took a new step last week when the chargers disappeared from the downtown municipal parking lot.
The chargers had been wrapped in black plastic for months while the town’s Board of Aldermen and the Mayor wrangled over their usage, their cost, whether they had been properly budgeted, whether they were handicap-accessible, and whether Franklinton even needs car chargers.
The abrupt disappearance of the car chargers was quickly cleared up by Mayor Greg Route, who said the removal is only temporary while a concrete base that will allow handicap access is being installed. The grant that provided the funds for the car chargers apparently requires that they must be handicap-accessible.
Meanwhile, following the removal of the chargers someone placed a sign at the charger site that touches on another issue completely: Funding the police instead of the car chargers.
Very few local citizens appear to be seriously worried that the Franklinton Police Department will ever be defunded, but adequate funding for police officers and the police station itself is always a concern for any small municipality.
