Shane Hrbek, candidate for Franklin council

I am a father of three and heavily invested in the community. I am serving on my second term on the Franklin school board, a member of the Forward Franklin Alliance — which has donated $100,000 to the community — volunteered at Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, chaired the Franklin Miners an after-school bowling league, as well as a Deacon in my church. These experiences have given me an opportunity to hear, see, and put my Fresh Perspective on how to try to improve the borough.

1. Transparency: Too many times the residents feel they aren’t informed or know what is going on. I will be open and you may come up to me or reach out to me via my email. I will always get back to you with an answer or direct you to the right person to help. I believe in Honesty so this doesn’t mean you will always get the answer you want to hear but rather the best information I have to give.

2. Public safety: This should include many aspects from crime, drugs, roadways etc. We should be looking at solutions that tackle all of these. One example is better lighting on our streets! This was started on Main Street but still is not finished due to costs. Let’s not be pennywise and dollar foolish by not spending the money. Instead, invest in putting up lights on all Borough Streets. When there is more visibility there are fewer opportunities to commit crime, access drugs, or speed down the street as they are more visible. Concerned citizens can report them in real time so our police can respond better and be more efficient in addressing these community concerns.

3. Finish projects: Main Street Revitalization has been talked about for over 20 plus years. We need to hold the owners accountable, fix the zoning, and set an example as a Borough. The Hungarian Church was moved to Main Street to spearhead this! Instead, we have an unused eyesore, if we want to hold the owners accountable than we must also hold ourselves accountable! How can we tell anyone to fix up their property if we leave ours undone? Once it is fixed, we can then put an auxiliary unit of the police Dept there, as well as have all of the great organizations have their meetings in the church. This will bring a bigger police presence to the area and more public traffic to Main Street and finally we can do real revitalization.

I hope I am given the privilege to be your next councilman .