>By a 4-1 vote, with Vice President Robert Hutton casting the only “no” vote, BOE members approved the contentious Athletic/Recreational Field Use Policy late last night. Jack Carroll, of the Village’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, promised that if the policy were approved as is, there would be a 50% reduction in the use of portable lights at Glen School during next year’s Fall soccer season.
Residents of Eastbrook Road and other streets in the Glen School area had come out in force during recent meetings to protest the heavy use of the school’s athletic field. Citing their desire to have significant reductions in noise levels, intrusive lighting, and litter, residents petitioned BOE members to move games & practices elsewhere, or at least rotate activities among other schools within the district.
BOE President Mark Bombace thanked Mr. Carroll for coming up with a workable compromise for next fall’s Glen School field schedule, but insisted that Board members would need to approve all schedules beginning with those planned for Fall 2007 (to ensure no single neighborhood is being overloading with activity). A memorandum of agreement will be attached to the Field Use Policy to accommodate Mr. Bombace’s request.
Separately, and in what could be considered a very politically damaging revelation, Mr. Carroll, speaking again on behalf of the Village’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, made this somewhat eerie, on-the-record statement about the continuing controversy over use of mobile floodlight trailers on Village and BOE owned athletic fields: “I know there’s been some discussion about, you know, the legality or Village Code on the use of portable lights and what have you. And my understanding is that the Village has the Engineer and, um, um, Building Inspector looking into it; and, they are expecting a report back, and they asked for this in August. And they are not in a big hurry; and it is also my understanding that the Council [Village Council] is willing to change the Village Code if needed [to legalize the use of mobile flood light trailers on athletic fields]. With that said, their initial advice apparently was they probably would not have to change the Village Code. And that is what is standing as far as that issue is concerned.”
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>Ridgewood has become a village of seagulls. We all know what seagulls do–they flap their wings and their beaks and crap all over everything. That defines Ridgewood A.D. 2006. I can’t imagine why anyone would ever “volunteer” to provide a service to the residents of this town. Jack Carroll, Ed Seavers, and their fellow members of the Fields Committee have gone far beyond the call of duty to their Village as they contemplated a workable policy to manage the scarce resource of recreation areas. For this, they receive scorn from well-orchestrated blocs of ignorant residents, interested only in selfish agendas articulated through vitriol and nasty expression.
Haven’t we heard far too many times the resident’s plaint that his children are being “forced” to sleep “five feet from the soccer field line” in the light and noise of other kids playing soccer? Guess what? Get over it. I live on Ridgewood Avenue, where the NJ Transit buses start running every morning at 5 am and don’t stop until after midnight. They make a lot of noise. And, they travel a lot faster than the posted speed limit. It’s not a great situtation, but I knew the drill when I moved here. If it was such a problem I would have moved away–which is everyone’s option.
Thankfully, people like Carroll, Seavers, members of the Board of Education, members of the Council, Planning Board, Zoning Board and every other Village VOLUNTEER body choose not to move. They make Ridgewood what it is–a highly desirable place to raise a family.
All you seagulls out there, instead of making the mess worse through your shallow intellect and self-important NIMBY attitudes, pick up some tools and start building something.
>Better to be a seagull than a pigeon.
>Whatever the hell that means…
>Catch 22 versus Morton’s Choice or do we really mean Hutton’s Conundrum…?
Get on board with the Board, Bob.
You’ll never win another election in this town as long as the east siders can still vote.