TOWNSHIP SERVICES
The township provides services to residents including township highway roadway maintenance, maintenance for hike and bike trails along township highway roadways, storm water drainage system maintenance within the right-of-way, chipping of tree limbs and branches, curbside recycling pickup, seasonal leaf pickup, Christmas tree pickup and fire and EMS services. The Portage County Solid Waste Management District provides curbside recycling pickup. Franklin contracts with the City of Kent Fire Department to provide fire and EMS services and with the Portage County Sheriff’s office for additional policing services. Franklin also contracts with a private business for leaf pickup.
NEWS FROM DAVE

HUDSON ROAD IMPROVEMENTS
Hudson Road Improvements have been broken up into five phases:
Phase 1 began at Ravenna Road and went south to approximately 200 feet south of Newton Drive. This phase was about .5 miles and was completed in 2013.
Phase 2 continued about .57 miles south to just north of the Judson/Ravenna Road intersection. This phase was completed in 2015.
Phase 3 continues south for 1700 feet (.32 miles). After this phase was completed in 2017 and phase 4 was being designed, the Trustees agreed that a bike lane should have been added to phase 3. We hope to have this bike lane added and bid out with phase 4 very soon with construction beginning around May or June.
Phase 4 will continue just about to Johnson Road. There will be 4-foot bike lanes on each side of the road.
Phase 5 will finish off at Kent city limits. With luck, we hope to bid the final phase 5 out in mid-summer and start work this fall. This phase also has 4-foot bike lanes.
The bike lanes will tie into the Hike and Bike Trail at the intersection of Hudson and Judson Road.
ODOT RESURFACING PROJECT- S.R. 43
ODOT will begin the State Route 43 road resurfacing project on February 21 and run through May. They'll start from W. Main to Fairchild, both one-way sections, then from Cuyahoga St. north to City limits. They'll be closing one lane as work progresses.
2023 ANNUAL CLEANUP
The annual cleanup dates for this year will be Friday, April 28 from 10am to 5pm, and Saturday, April 29 from 8am to 4pm. You may drop off your unwanted items at the township garage, 2331 Ravenna Road.
Proof of residency is required! We will not be accepting hazardous waste, chemicals, fuel, oil, paint, batteries, tires, car parts, and appliances that contain freon.
STREET PARKING
With snow season wrapping up, the Franklin Township Trustees and Road Superintendent would respectfully ask our residents to please remain mindful of on-street parking during snow events. We realize that some residents have limited or no driveway areas and we ask that you make other arrangements for parking if possible. Please keep in mind that some of our plows are 11 feet wide and can't go around a car that is parked on the side of the road. Some streets cannot be effectively plowed if cars are parked along the roadway.

PERMITS
Ditch Enclosure Permit
Franklin Township is responsible for the installation and maintenance of ditch pipes that are necessary to ensure the safety of vehicles or pedestrians using the roadway. The installation and maintenance of all other ditch pipes is the responsibility of the property owner. Franklin Township requires property owners to complete an Application for a Ditch Enclosure Permit and pay a $25 permit fee prior to installing or repairing a ditch pipe. The completed application should be sent to the Township Administrator for review by the Road Superintendent. Construction or maintenance of the ditch pipe cannot begin until the applicant has received written approval from the Road Superintendent.
Roadway Work Permit
Franklin Township residents who are planning to perform any work within the right-of-way or any construction work that may disturb a roadway or bike path must contact the Franklin Township Road Superintendent to determine if a Right-of-Way Use Permit Application is necessary. If the permit is necessary, a completed Application and a $25 permit fee must be sent to the Township Administrator for review by the Road Superintendent. Work cannot begin until the resident has received written approval from the Road Superintendent.
Procedure for NPDES Permit Issuance
In addition to a Right-of-Way Use Permit Application and $25 permit fee, applications for NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) will adhere to the procedure found here.

COUNTY AND STATE ROADWAYS
Franklin Township maintains the majority of roadways within the boundaries of the township. However, both Portage County and the state of Ohio are responsible for some of the roads within the township. If you have questions or concerns about these roadways, please contact the appropriate agency.
Portage County Maintained Roads – Contact the Portage County Engineer’s office at 330-296-6411
Brady Lake Road
Dawley Road
Diagonal Road
Ferguson Road
Lake Rockwell Road
Newcomer Road
Overlook Road
Ravenna Road
Redbrush Road
Summit Road
State of Ohio Maintained Roads – Contact ODOT District 4 at
330-786-3100
State Route 43
State Route 59
State Route 261

LEAF PICK-UP
Each year, Franklin Township sponsors a leaf pick-up. Loose leaves are gathered from the road edge, and transported to nearby mulching facilities where they are recycled into leaf mulch, a nutrient-rich humus.
Click here for the 2022 Leaf Pickup Schedule

CHIPPING
The Franklin Township Brush Chipping Service is provided to assist Township residents dispose of storm damaged tree limbs, branches, brush and debris and natural Christmas trees. It is also provided to assist residents in the removal of limbs and branches pruned by the residents themselves. Franklin Township will not pick up tree materials that have been cut and placed out for pick up by a contractor. This service is for storm limbs and light tree pruning.
Effective March 2023 chipping will be the first week of every OTHER month: April, June, August, and October. The Trustees have placed a 30 minute chipping time limit for each stop. The chipping crew will stop chipping after 30 minutes. The crew will return to the interrupted stop to perform additional chipping if time allows at the end of the chipping schedule.
The Township provides this service after storms and during the first full week of every other month from April through October. Check the calendar for specific dates for the chipping service. Limbs and branches should be placed curbside by Monday 7:30 am of the chipping week. A week or two after the Christmas holidays, the Road Crew will also spend a few days driving around neighborhoods and chipping up natural Christmas trees that are left at the curb.
To ensure tree limbs and branches and Christmas trees will be chipped please observe the following.
Place cut material in the right of way near the road with the cut end facing the road. Do not place material in the roadway or across bike trails. Arrange material in neat reasonably sized piles.
The following materials are not accepted for chipping.
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Tree materials cut and placed out by a contractor
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Finished lumber
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Grass clippings, plants with thorns (hawthorns, rosebushes, etc)
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Flower /vegetable garden materials
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Fruit on tree limbs
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Tree material greater than 8 inches in diameter
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Stumps or branches with dirt on them
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Fire wood sized cuts of trees (these can jam the chipper)

CURBSIDE RECYCLING
Franklin Township residents enjoy bi-weekly curbside recycling provided by the Portage County Solid Waste Management District. Follow this link to determine your recycling pick up day:
Portage County Solid Waste Management District
3588 Mogadore Road, Kent, Ohio 44240 (330) 678-8808
Acceptable Items for Curbside Pickup
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Aseptic containers
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Cardboard- Clean Corrugated
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Chipboard or paperboard (shoe boxes, cereal boxes, etc)
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Plastic all containers with the number 1 and 2 on them. Please rinse them out.
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Glass Jars and Bottles- Please rinse them out
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Aluminum, steel and bi-metal cans from food and beverages- also must be rinsed out.
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Paper- Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, office paper, junk mail.

ANNUAL CLEANUP
