Category: Village of Ridgewood

>PJ,


I heard from the Mac Murphy’s owners the Cinco De Mayo promotion you listed on the Ridgewood blog was a great success. The restaurant was packed all night.


Numerous people that check your blog attended.
It was so great they ran out of some specials and Corona’s.


Appears you site is getting more viewers and locals that are supporting local businesses.


Ridgewood residents get more info from you that the papers.


G

for rates email: onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com

>Several residents of the area surrounding Ridgewood High School made accusations at Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session that the Village Planning Board and Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser have inappropriately approved soil movement permits for several upcoming Ridgewood BOE projects (3 turf fields and a building expansion project).

Specifically, charges are that Mr. Rutishauser waived requirements pertaining to supporting documentation and fees without proper authorization, and in violation of established Village Code pertaining to soil movement. It is also alleged that the Planning Board overlooked these requirements, based solely upon the recommendation of Mr. Rutishauser. Further charges are that the applications were signed by an individual who is not an authorized agent for the BOE.

Deputy Mayor Keith D. Killion directed Village Attorney Matthew S. Rogers to investigate the charges and report back to Council members as to the legality of all documents required by existing Village Code.

Council members are scheduled to take a formal vote on the soil movement permits during their May 12th Public Meeting.

>Ridgewood Water Company subscribers may soon be faced with additional rate increases following a revelation at Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session that an electric service hook up to the new Valley View Avenue water storage tank will cost $135K.

Although the $135K estimate for electric service installation was presented to Ridgewood Water Company officials on September 4, 2009, Village Council members were not made aware of the need for additional project funding until April of 2010.

It is believed that the recently installed Valley View Avenue water storage tank will not become operational until the $135K electric service installation is complete. Thus, Village Council members have now been backed into somewhat of a corner. That is, they must approve an unexpected $135K expenditure, or be faced with a new water storage facility that can’t be made operational (and lawn sprinkler peak season is rapidly approaching).

The Fly would like to know how many more Village employees will be laid off in order to make up for the surprise $135K expenditure?

>Ridgewood police sergeant admits to stealing PBA funds
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Last updated: Wednesday May 5, 2010, 5:34 PM
BY EVONNE COUTROS
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER

RIDGEWOOD – A village police sergeant has admitted to theft by deception five months after his arrest for stealing funds from the local Policemen’s Benevolent Association.

Detective Sgt. William Hemmer, of Sussex, pleaded guilty and made more than $115,000 in restitution to Ridgewood PBA Local 20 through his attorneys on Wednesday in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack. Hemmer, 40, diverted the money from the Local 20 bank accounts into his personal account. The 17-year veteran of the Department has been banned from public service for life with formal sentencing for the crime in June. If Hemmer violates his terms of probation, he faces five years in prison.

Hemmer was treasurer of Local 20 for more than seven years. The PBA was conducting an audit of its accounts when the discrepancy was found and the case referred to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
RIDGEWOOD – A village police sergeant has admitted to theft by deception five months after his arrest for stealing funds from the local Policemen’s Benevolent Association.

Detective Sgt. William Hemmer, of Sussex, pleaded guilty and made more than $115,000 in restitution to Ridgewood PBA Local 20 through his attorneys on Wednesday in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack. Hemmer, 40, diverted the money from the Local 20 bank accounts into his personal account. The 17-year veteran of the Department has been banned from public service for life with formal sentencing for the crime in June. If Hemmer violates his terms of probation, he faces five years in prison.
Hemmer was treasurer of Local 20 for more than seven years. The PBA was conducting an audit of its accounts when the discrepancy was found and the case referred to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

>

>Union protest outside Valley today. They were asked to remove the coffin that they were using as a prop because it might upset the students walking past.

The hospital administration contacted us to let us know they have asked the protesters to get rid of the coffin when children are going to/coming out of school. The hospital is waiting to hear back from the protesters about that. In the mean time, the hospital has said they will have a security person (possibly an off-duty Ridgewood Police officer if one is available) cross students to other side of the road and they will try to put up some sort of barrier up to shield the coffin from view on that other side of the street.”

According to Valley Hospital administration a union is protesting about some asbestos removal work that hospital had done over the weekend. The hospital assured us that they used a properly licensed contractor and all the work was done with proper precautions and without incident; but union is unhappy that the contractor used union workers who were paid off the union scale because the contractor didn’t go through the union hall to get the workers.

The union has set up a display on Van Dien Ave. There are two people on the sidewalk handling out leaflets. On the grass between the sidewalk and the street they do a coffin set up on saw horses. Part of the coffin is open and a dummy is in there with a helmet and gas mask on. There is also a large sign in front of the coffin that says “Asbestos Kills”. The image may be disturbing to some children.

The hospital administration contacted us to let us know they have asked the protesters to get rid of the coffin when children are going to/coming out of school. The hospital is waiting to hear back from the protesters about that. In the mean time, the hospital has said they will have a security person (possibly an off-duty Ridgewood Police officer if one is available) cross students to other side of the road and they will try to put up some sort of barrier up to shield the coffin from view on that other side of the street.

There doesn’t appear to be any cause for alarm over this. We just want to make sure parents are aware of it if/when your children come home with an unusual story about their trip to or from school.

Please do not respond to this email. Thank you.

>Read Soul Alinsky and then talk to me about disjointed and disruptive manners. I don’t care to be friendly and cordial to people on the left who will lie to get their way.

All across tis nation from local to national levels of government there is a battle for the direction which this nation will take for years to come. Ours in Ridgewood is only a microcosm of the larger struggle. Either you decide to win by pushing back the forces of statism or you are an accomplice by your unwillingness to fight fire with fire.

The fact remains that liberals control our BOE and believe that spending money on new fangled education programs, which are unproven and carry with them an ideology of the left in the quest to indoctinate our children into their way of thinking.

If you question this, just open a math book, if you can find one in our elementary schools, and read the PC crap in it.

Ask yourself why the Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum just bought a new subject curriculum for our middle schools when we are trying to save money. Maybe to justify her $140k salary?

>Board of Education and Village Council Meeting – May 10th at 5:30PM

Monday, May 10th at 5:30pm in the Village Hall Court Room, the Village Council and the Board of Education will meet to further review the recent defeat of the 2010 – 2011 School Budget.

Municipal Elections – May 11th

Polls are open from 6:00AM to 8:00PM

Tom Riche, Bernie Walsh, Doug Cronk, Brian Dowd

>Jack Elwood, a Ridgewood High School physical education teacher battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for years , died on Sunday. at the age of 59.

Students at Ridgewood High School observed a moment of silence on Monday morning after the announcement of Elwood’s death .

In May 2003, Elwood was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neuromuscular disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, eventually leading to paralysis. RHS students, coworkers, friends and family held numerous fund-raisers in recent years to help the teacher and his family, including the annual Jack Elwood 5K Walk/Run. Elwood often expressed gratitude at the support he and his family got from the community.

Elwood,was assistant manager at Graydon Pool during the summer months, remained teaching at RHS during the early stages of the disease.

Elwood is survived by his wife, Laura, and daughter Tricia.

Visitation will be held at Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood on Tuesday, May 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday, May 5 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 6 at St. Luke’s R.C. Church in Ho-Ho-Kus.

>Mac Murphy’s Restaurant in Wilsey Square invites all
to our first ever CINCO DE MAYO festival

Excellent Mexican cook will be whipping up some great
Mexican dishes for lunch & dinner on Wednesday May 5th.
Check out these favorites;

Soups – * Tortilla Soup

Appetizers – * Jalapeño Poppers
* Nachos w/ Chili
* Taquitos
* Quesadillas

Salads – *Taco Salad

Dinners – Served w/ Rice & Refried Beans
* Burritos
* Fajitas
* Enchiladas
* Flounder Vera Cruz
* Mole Poblano
* Camarones Rancheros

Special priced Coronas, way too low to mention.

Bring the family and dine either in our outdoor cafe
or inside. Suppose to be a beautiful day and evening.

Eileen & Scott Smith
Mac Murphy’s
8 Godwin Ave.
201-444-0500

>May 1, 2010

To: All Ridgewood residents,

As we approach the municipal election for Village Council on May 11th I would like to thank many of you for your support. I have been truly humbled by the outpouring of encouragement before and during my campaign.

As many of you are aware, I was a Ridgewood Councilman from 1998 through 2002. During my tenure, Ridgewood residents benefited from the Library expansion, Graydon Pool and waste management facility upgrades as well as a stabilized tax rate and low debt service. Since then, Ridgewood has failed to recognize the need to control expenses so the residents who have lived here for decades, may continue to enjoy our beloved Village.

As a candidate for Council, I have continued to emphasize that we must transition to a new era of fiscal responsibility. Some might say easier said than done in government, however with a Council who will take that leadership role seriously, that message must clearly be sent to Village management who will initiate a top down approach to restraint. The days of spend and tax is behind us! We must, together, look forward to new behavior.

During the past eight years since I was on the Council, I have continued to be closely involved with Village affairs. I currently serve as a member of the Planning Board, OEM (office of emergency management), Historic Preservation Commission and the Site Plan Committee. Almost daily, I interface with various departments in the Village so I am keenly aware of areas in need of a redefined focus. As your Councilman I will commit to making the changes required to safeguard your personal investment in Ridgewood.

Your vote on May 11th (VOTE LINE # 4) is crucial to the journey into the future for Ridgewood. I humbly ask for your vote.

Tom Riche

>My Views on Graydon Park

I have been asked repeatedly in this election about my views on Graydon and how to improve the facility and make the water clearer for swimming. The Village is in the process of preparing for an RFP that would perhaps include major capital improvements. It would not be feasible to add a major structure to the site.

The majority of the site is located in a High Risk – Inundation Flood Zone (AE Flood Zone as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency https://www.fema.gov).

Our Village Hall is also located in this same Flood Zone and is regularly damaged by flooding. As a small, recent example: a rain storm flooded the elevator pit disabling the elevator this spring 2010. Significant damage and destruction have previously occurred to the Village Hall and vehicles causing significant financial loss to the Village tax payer. While vehicles can be moved when storms threaten, structures cannot and future flooding damage and losses are inevitable. Many residents of Ridgewood remain upset that the Village spent over $10,000,000 (and is still paying off the bond today) for a structure that will flood over and over again.

Graydon has, in the past and will continue to, flood many times. Common sense dictates that placement of the proposed $10,000,000 pool structure will be a future financial disaster for the tax payers of Ridgewood in two ways:

First, the Village will be required to self insure this project and self fund future damage.
Secondly, the Village will be required to back-stop the required bond financing. Those who proclaim the pool financing will not burden the Ridgewood tax payer because the recreation facility will be financially self-sustaining are deceiving the public as the unlimited backstop of the Village of Ridgewood AAA credit rating will be required to finance the project. Should the pool be unable to meet its massive financial obligations, the Village tax payer will be entirely on the hook for loan re-payment.

Common sense and historical perspective provide obvious answers. Stepping back in time we would observe the diversion of a nearby stream. This stream runs along and under the Graydon pool. It may well be imagined that this land was donated to the Village by a generous resident not only because it would enhance the life of countless Ridgewood residents in the future but also because, within Graydon’s border are harnessed powerful forces of nature that make it unsuitable for significant man-made development.

Bernadette Walsh

Candidate for Village Council 2010

>The traditional Monday BOE meeting has been postponed to Tuesday so board
members, staff, and residents can attend the Village Remembrance service.