The Franklin Town Council has set aside money to help local businesses and approved its first grant application on Aug. 4.
The 2025-26 budget includes $60,000 for economic development. At its retreat in February, council members talked about ways it could offer incentives for downtown businesses. One option was a facade grant that would help businesses make improvements to their store fronts. The grant requires a 50% match up to $5,000.
Kitchen Sink Inc. on Main Street applied for a $3,385.50 reimbursement grant for a new awning; the total cost of the awning is $6,771.57. The council unanimously approved the request.
Finance Director Sarah Bishop, who is also serving as the town’s interim Main Street coordinator, said the awning meets the town’s sign ordinance. Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey said at some point he would like to see the town review the sign ordinance and possibly treat awnings differently than signs.
“It has some limitation in terms of the font size that can go on a very large awning,” Guffey said. “It’s my opinion that we should allow a larger font size on awnings.”
Bishop said they were glad to get the first incentive grant application and get the ball rolling. “I’m really excited. It’s going to look really nice, and I appreciate them being interested in investing in our Main Street as well as helping to build their business.”
Council member Rita Salain said she liked the design. “I hope that the other merchants on Main Street will think about this and look at the facades that they have.”
Other possible incentive grants include internal improvements (such as bringing a building up to code), signs, architectural/design services, reimbursement for permitting fees, infill development, demolition, traffic studies and rent subsidies.
Businesses interested in learning more about the grants can contact Sarah Bishop at 828-524-2516 or sbishop@franklinnc.com.