Concerned Residents question benefits of Valley proposed expansion
Thursday October 31, 2013, 3:23 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Impassioned speeches by the final three fact witnesses for the Concerned Residents of Ridgewood addressed the various quality of life elements that would be impacted by a hospital expansion, and they posed the collective question to the Ridgewood Planning Board: How will doubling the size of The Valley Hospital benefit village residents?
After weeks of objections and other legal challenges by the hospital’s project attorneys, the grassroots group comprised of more than 150 members voiced its concerns Tuesday night. CRR’s testimony, including president Pete McKenna’s audience-rousing summation, went on without any lawyer interruption.
McKenna admitted that his worries related more to the final product of Valley’s proposal instead of other points of contention previously raised by residents, such as prolonged construction and the effect it would have on the learning environment at nearby schools. But those concerns, he said, are just as vital to the residents’ case.
New dorm space going unused at NJ colleges
Friday October 25, 2013, 11:53 PM
The Record
New Jersey’s largely commuter public colleges and universities made a concerted push over the last decade or so to make their campuses more residential, spending tens of millions of dollars on new dormitories and recreation centers.
But the economic downturn has reduced demand at some schools, leaving them with empty beds even as they continue to pay back the bonds used to build new facilities.
Ramapo College in Mahwah reports that 333 of its 3,019 beds are empty this semester; William Paterson University in Wayne also has a vacancy rate near 11 percent as about 300 of its 2,700 beds are unoccupied, according to the school.
Friday October 25, 2013, 9:33 AM
The Ridgewood News
Democracy not evident in Valley’s approach
Melinda Wagner and James Saporito
To the editor:
We have long been vehemently opposed to Valley Hospital’s unprecedented bid to double in size in a residential neighborhood of single-family homes, three schools and two major playing fields – an area that is traversed by many hundreds of children every single day.
Standing up to Valley Hospital and its ludicrous project, for over seven years, has been an exhausting and frustrating test of endurance. However, we have never been more disgusted with the process than we were during the Oct. 22 Planning Board meeting at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Indeed, Valley’s true colors, in all their meanness and vibrancy, were on full display. Many hundreds of Ridgewood residents watched in dismay as our opportunity to be heard was literally hijacked by Valley’s lawyer, who proceeded to interrupt, often with tones of blatant disrespect, at every single turn.
We would like to think that money does not trounce democracy, but Valley Hospital – with its endless funds to pay lawyers to run out the clock – will apparently do everything in its power to prevent the residents of Ridgewood from actually speaking. Any kind of common sense approach to the issue, or input from residents, has so far been suffocated by interminable legalese (Valley’s strategy). We, the taxpayers, are being prevented from having a say about the future of our village and about the quality of life we pay to preserve. What does Valley have to hide? Ultimately, an enormous medical center will provide no additional benefit to our town, yet the cost to us will be great. This fact alone should stop Valley’s project in its tracks.
>The job of the Bergen County Executive is to protect the county’s approximately 500,000 taxpayers. Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
The job of the Bergen County Executive is to protect the county’s approximately 500,000 taxpayers. Think of the taxpayers as the shareholders of a business with an annual operating budget in excess of $500 million. The shareholders entrust the executive to make certain that their money is spent wisely. They demand oversight and accountability.
To fulfill that mission I have proposed that all agencies receiving county funds be accountable, transparent and allow for appropriate oversight.
Three agencies, the Bergen County Utilities Authority, the Northwest Bergen County Sewer Authority and the Bergen County Improvement Authority are statutorily required to submit their minutes to me for review. I have already vetoed the minutes of two of these agencies citing unnecessary and excessive spending.
Other agencies will be asked to voluntarily submit to an oversight process similar to the one recently negotiated with the leadership of Bergen Community College. That process provides for the Board of Trustees meeting agendas to be submitted to the county executive 10 days in advance of the meeting and for discussion to take place over any questionable items.
If an issue in dispute cannot be resolved the item will be pulled from the agenda until an agreement can be reached. It’s that simple.
Bergen County taxpayers contribute more than 20 percent of Bergen Community’s $100 million annual operating budget. They have a right to require a level of oversight and to expect accountability and transparency. If the county were a “lender” and the college were a “borrower” the lender would demand covenants limiting the use of funds. We are simply requiring oversight.
Opponents have raised vague issues of “illegality” suggesting that the board cannot enter into a voluntary oversight process to ensure transparency and accountability. Where in the law does it say that a public agency relying on public funds to fulfill its mission cannot voluntarily be accountable? This is a bogus issue raised by individuals who undoubtedly need oversight more than most.
They also suggest that oversight and accountability will strip the college of autonomy. Well, they might be right to a limited degree. But there is a price for autonomy: you pay your own way. The college simply cannot expect to be largely funded by Bergen County taxpayers without submitting to oversight.
Academic freedom? Not an issue. It’s up to the college to set the curriculum. It’s up to the county executive to protect the taxpayers’ investment.
College Chairman E. Carter Corriston and I agree that Bergen Community has been a credit to the county and that the limited oversight we have agreed to will not in any way impact its mission.
The agreement itself is voluntary. Should the college’s Board of Trustees determine that they cannot work within the confines of transparency and accountability, they can rescind the resolution and reestablish full autonomy; less, of course, their public subsidy from the taxpayers of Bergen County
>CBO raises its stimulus cost estimate, again By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times
Congress‘ chief scorekeeper has again raised the cost estimate of President Obama‘s two-year-old economic-stimulus program, calculating it will end up costing taxpayers $821 billion — or $34 billion more than originally projected.
>RIDGEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION AND THE WOMEN GARDENERS OF RIDGEWOOD TO PRESENT “BATS, BATS, BATS” WITH EXPERT JOSEPH D’ANGELI
RIDGEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION AND THE WOMEN GARDENERS OF RIDGEWOOD TO PRESENT “BATS, BATS, BATS” WITH EXPERT JOSEPH D’ANGELI Expert Joseph D’Angeli will present an education experience for Village youth with live bats and verbal lecture to explain the vital role these endangered nocturnal creatures play in virtually every environment on earth. The program is co-sponsored by Ridgewood Recreation and the Women Gardeners of Ridgewood and will be held at the Anne Zusy Youth Center in Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue on Thursday, February 24th. The program will be divided into two time slots; Grades K-2 from 11 am to 12 noon, and Grades 3-5 from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. The cost of admission is $5. As seating is limited, tickets should be purchased in advance at the Recreation office at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, weekdays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. For additional information kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560 or visit our website at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation.
>N.J. businesses praise Christie’s proposal for $690M in tax cuts
New Jersey business advocacy groups cheered Gov. Chris Christie’s state budget Tuesday, expressing satisfaction with his strategy for creating “a better environment to start and grow a business.” (Kwoh and Rizzo, The Star-Ledger)
>Christie challenges Democrats on making N.J. workers pay more for health benefits
Gov. Chris Christie’s message to Democrats today was clear: Make state workers pay more for health benefits or be the reason thousands of residents don’t get more property tax relief. (Gibson and Friedman, The Star-Ledger)
>Christie holds property-tax relief hostage to union givebacks in budget
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is holding homeowner tax credits hostage until he gets state unions and their legislative allies to agree to give up some benefits as part of his $29.4 billion budget for fiscal 2012. (Dopp, Bloomberg)
>Congressman Scott Garrett: Christie Budget Makes Job Creation Priority Number One
WASHINGTON, DC, February 22, 2011 – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) issued the following statement today after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie unveiled his budget plan during a speech at the New Jersey Statehouse:
“I applaud Governor Christie for unveiling a budget plan today that strikes the right balance between cost-cutting savings and incentives for private-sector job creation. By cutting business taxes and the eliminating wasteful government spending, Governor Christie has made job creation is his number one priority. Business tax cuts will not only help grow the economy and create jobs, but will signal to the business community that New Jersey is determined to do all it can to tear down barriers to job creation. In addition, Governor Christie’s spending cuts will prove that New Jersey is serious about getting its fiscal house in order, which will go a long way in creating the certainty necessary for businesses to expand. Like Governor Christie, I, too, am determined to reduce spending and cut taxes, and I believe the Governor is on the right path.”
>Cuts in state payments to municipalities for open space could devastate small-town budgets
The rural communities of southern New Jersey anxiously wait to see Gov. Chris Christie’s budget this week as many fear the complete cutting of aid money that compensates them for their preserved open space. (Procida, Press of Atlantic City)
In 1991, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the state teachers’ union, reached the zenith of its power. The NJEA opposed the teacher pension funding reforms proposed by the then Governor Jim Florio and therefore endorsed most 1991 Republican candidates for the state Senate and Assembly. (Steinberg, PolitickerNJ)
