August 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood Council will have its regular public meeting at 8pm tonight with a couple of interesting things on the agenda .
First Ridgewood Water ;
16-233 Authorize Compensation for Participants in Lead and Copper Sampling and Testing Program – Authorizes Ridgewood Water to credit $25 to the water service accounts of the participants in the lead and copper sampling and testing program
16-234 Amend Agreement for Online Credit Card and Bank Account Debit Payment of Water Bills – Elimination of Convenience Fee for Customers – Amends the existing agreement with Metropolitan Communications, LLC for the processing of credit card and bank account debit payments for water bills so that Ridgewood Water will be charged the $.25 convenience fee instead of the customer being charged.
Then there is parking ;
3542 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Violations and Penalties – Increase Parking Ticket Fines
3543 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Overnight Parking Restrictions
3544 – Amend Valet Parking Ordinance
3545 – Amend Chapter 249 – Streets and Sidewalks – Increase Fines for Paving Moratorium Violations
3546 – Amend Chapter 145 – Fees – Sewers and Sewage Disposal Fees – Increase Annual Service Charge for Out of Village Dischargers
And of coarse land use ;
3540 – Amend Chapter 190 – Land Use and Development – Regulations for Political Signs and Temporary Signs
3541 – Repeal Ordinance 3066
and a few interesting tidbits :
3547 – Ban Puppy Mills
Resolutions:
16-246 Amendment to Central Business District Advisory Committee Resolution – Terms of Members
16-249 Authorize Ridgewood Wildscape Association to Fund Treatment of Noxious Weeds at Kings Pond Park
16-250 Declare Property Surplus – Street Sweepers – Declares two street sweepers surplus property and authorizes the Village Manager to dispose of said property
I understand that the puppy mill ban is a political message thing but it is ironic that instead of trying to get us back a pet store which was a great store to have in town we are instead passing rules against them. I’d rather our council work on getting great businesses like a pet store which brings people to town regularly. I remember riding my bike down to get dog treats, live crickets, drops or what not for various pets when I was growing up. It was a great store to have in town.
I agree. My children practically lived there. A reliable pet store will only offer animals from a reliable breeder. Forcing them to only offer animals from shelters will lead to a lot of training problems which are usually are handled by the breeder before he/she releases the animals for sale. This will lead to many out-of-state sales as well as increase the direct from breeder sales.Also, a true pet store handles more than dogs and cats. It offers many other animals and supplies for all. And children want to go to town to “watch the fish”.
Why not look to reorganize or fire people at the water dept. it seems year after year there is one problem after another. No one seems to know his or her job or how to manage the company properly.
Town of Monroe, NY lost $670,000 on their town arts theater last year. Looking to unload the building. Taxpayers are on the hook.
The pet store closed for the same reason a lot of stores close. They didn’t make money. I have two friends who bought from the pet store and the animals were very sick.
I doubt that a pet store in town would be a big shopping draw. Most people now prefer to deal directly with a breeder or adopt a pet.
Maybe they should also pass an ordinance to ban torture…
lets hope this VC doesn’t fall into the mire of Political Correctness and instead focuses on real solutions to REAL PROBLEMS in the village.
Its too early to go off the rails…
What about challenging Valley’s “not for profit” status in court which could lead to a $4mn property tax windfall for the Village. Instead we get rules against the return of any pet shops….lets hope the Council is focused on the prize.
I dont know why the pet store closed. Was it profit or was it a dramatic rent increase?
I think a successful pet store in town would be supplies and fish, not mammals. The place in Radburn seems to do very well but it is huge. Seems pretty crowded when I am in there. Maybe you go have some kind of higher end fish adn pet store with the basics plus sweaters for Muffy and real raw hide for Rover.
The broader point is that we need our Council to focus on getting more stores into town and not on ordinances to support a political agenda.
4:45. And compete with Petco and Pet Goods.
The pet store was always crowded, but the crowds were families with small children who treated it as a free petting zoo. There’s simply no way anyone could run a profitable pet store in Ridgewood.
A reputable pet store would not be harmed by this ordinance.
Reputable pet stores are hard to find. Most families I know like dealing directly with the breeders. Some travel 2 hours or more to visit.
Why would anyone need or want to go to a pet store. Those animals are raised in crates until sold.
That pet store was a known issue!! They didn’t treat animals well! It was a terrible place. Who is kidding who??