After weeks of questions being raised about the chance of contaminants in Franklin, residents can come to a meeting tonight to discuss their concerns.
About two weeks ago, the city asked state officials to come to Franklin and answer residents’ questions about the site of a former manufacturing plant that local residents worried was contaminating the air.
Since then, state and city officials have been discussing the format of the meeting and how it should be conducted. This week, state officials decided that the meeting would be a community listening session in the performing arts center at Franklin Community High School.
Commissioners from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and Indiana State Department of Health, along with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will attend, according to a news release from the state department of environmental management.
City officials had discussed the state offering both an open house and a public presentation, so that residents could have their questions and concerns heard whether they want to speak in front of a crowd or would feel more comfortable in a smaller group setting, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said.
In 2015, when state officials came to a meeting in Franklin when concerns were raised about the water, officials from the state spoke and took questions in an open meeting at Franklin Community High School.
The meeting is not being conducted by the city, since the state offices are the experts in the topic, and they are the ones who set the format, Barnett said.
Barnett wants everyone to be able to hear the public discussion, so everyone is getting the same information at the same time, he said.
“We want everyone to feel they have been heard and to get their questions answered,” he said.
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Multiple state agencies will come to Franklin to discuss concerns about possible contamination:
When: 6 to 7:30 p.m. tonight, doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Franklin Community High School, 2600 Cumberland Drive, Franklin
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