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The Franklin City Council had reached a consensus April 14 to not close Main Street for the Franklin Cruise-In this year, but the council conditionally reversed that consensus Monday, April 28.

Council members unanimously agreed Monday to close the street for the cruise-in contingent upon event organizers and the Franklin Electoral Board reaching a compromise on access to the Franklin Registrar’s Office that adheres to state and federal regulations. Early voting begins Friday, May 2, and the cruise-in is set to begin this year on Wednesday, May 7.

Drew Dunn, one of the cruise-in organizers, noted that he had plans to meet with Purlie Banks, of the Electoral Board, on Tuesday, April 29, with the goal of coming to an agreeable compromise.

The Franklin Cruise-In, a May-October weekly event, has been held for the past decade, running most weeks from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The cruise-in typically features vehicles occupying the public parking lot in front of the building that contains Franklin Fire and Rescue and the Franklin Registrar’s Office. The city has previously shut down Main Street for the event, allowing cars to line both sides of Main Street.

The council had reached consensus April 14 to not shut down Main Street. Some accompanying discussion cited conflicts the cruise-in had previously created with elderly members of the shag club trying to get to Fred’s Restaurant, as well as conflicts previously created with voters trying to access the registrar’s office.

Some council members suggested the cruise-in could move from downtown to the parking lot in front of the Franklin Bowling Center on Armory Drive.

Dunn, Christine Hill and Roy Hill are the organizers of the Franklin Cruise-In, formally moving into that role prior to the 2024 season after attending for years.

Christine and Dunn expressed opposition to a move away from downtown, and they also expressed a willingness to work with the shag club and the registrar’s office to avoid conflicts. Christine also noted that not closing the street would create a safety issue for the cruise-in if it continued to operate downtown.

Six members of the public spoke Monday, April 28, in favor of keeping the cruise-in downtown.

Dunn was one of those citizens, and he said the organizers of the cruise-in “believe in this event, and we support it because of all the good that it does for our community and for downtown Franklin. We don’t try to do it for any personal gain, just for the good that it does. We love to see people and families come together and have a good time together. We have tried to make it about fellowship and about camaraderie. People come from all cities, towns and communities around us to support this event.”

He later said, “We will gladly work with any parking in allowing people to try to get to Fred’s for their own events. I’m also meeting with Mrs. Banks tomorrow to work out and keep the (registrar’s office) open for the voting. I also talked with Pam from the shag club today, and we were able to work out the details for them to get in when they need to and to rely and be able to park when they need to.”

All seven council members expressed support for conditionally approving the city manager signing the permit to close the street for the cruise-in based on there being a mutually acceptable solution between the cruise-in organizers and the Electoral Board with regard to access to the registrar’s office.