Some of the posts are making a different point. My suggestion is that a some point the village has become a place where neighbors blindly follow a restriction, call out neighbors for trying to maintain their properties, and never seem to push for understanding of how to address the issue or correcting it. The facts are interesting; there is no shortage of water, the issue is the lack of pumping and storage due to poor planning and management. Claims that we hit Stage 4 due to disregard for previous stages shows a complete lack of understanding of how the water systems work, there is no linkage. We expect our neighborhoods to have maintained houses with landscaping, etc and then call out those who invest to do so. When I was young I remember the local police pulling into a school event and participating, now the village has them shutting it down. Imagine how much goodwill would have been realized had the police car been ‘washed’ by the kids. Isnt that the relationships we should foster as a Village.
This weekend I traveled to another town in eastern Bergen, where I noticed the local fire department was sponsoring a ‘wash’ seemed odd that less them 12 miles away they had enough rain to avoid water issues.
The village needs to reset a bit and ask the right questons to the right authorities, when we are the point where the police are shutting down fund raising events we all should be concerned.
Why does it have to be a complaint if its illegal. Why not have an anonymous “tip” line?
For instance, if a call to the police asking if they still are writing a summons for sprinkling, the response is yes, what’s the address, what’s your name, address and phone number and will you sign a complaint, the only way they’ll issue a summons is when they send someone out, they actually have to see the sprinkler on when they get there.
Not true, he saw the sprinkler on watering, put the spot light on it, walked up to house, flashlight showed sprinkler on, talked to owner at front door, owner claimed they’re “new” didn’t know, police gave warning, didn’t give summons. Another neighbor saw and heard, told police they water all time. The owner knew about restrictions from other neighbors last year and repeatedly knew about it this year, ignored rules, sprinkler on at night whenever he felt like thru stage 1,2 and 4.
so, even when they actually see a sprinkler on, it don’t cut it for writing a summons? What gives?
“from the VOR website – Village Manager Regarding Stage 4 Enforcement”
“The only way a summons can be written is if the person sees the watering – unfortunately wetness around the area and having a green lawn do not cut it for writing a summons….so we have to be there at the right time.”
But the questions remains can I wash my car or not ?
Village of Ridgewood E-Notice
Water Restrictions
Dear E Notice Resident,
Your cooperation with Stage 4 watering restrictions as well as stricter enforcement has had a very positive impact on our water usage. We have seen roughly a 50+% decrease in usage from the highs of August and early September. That being said, weather forecasts over the next several days are not positive from a rainfall point of view and we will continue Stage 4 restrictions – with some ability to do case by case waivers – until further notice. We will continue our heightened enforcement – I know some of you have expressed dismay that we are not ticketing every residence and that there are still residents that are flagrant violators – we will continue to be vigilant about this.
Just a reminder: No irrigation of any kind is allowable on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays. Irrigation using only a hand-held hose with a spray nozzle is permitted for odd-numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and for even-numbered addresses on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Waivers for special circumstances such as irrigating newly planted lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling swimming pools will now be considered on a case by case basis. In order to be considered for waivers, please contact Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520 or email Customer Service at [email protected].
Several of you have asked me about why Ridgewood Water has instituted Stage 4 restrictions as opposed to some other water utilities. The Ridgewood Water System is unlike many other systems as it relies on a system of over 45 wells, associated treatment systems, piping, storage and more. These appurtenances have their limits and become extremely stressed when there is noncompliance with watering restrictions during a drought condition. This is part of the problem we had when we were in Stage 2 watering restrictions. During a peak summer day with irrigation systems running, water production can more than double reaching limits as high as 14 million gallons per day. Some think the crux of the problem is lack of storage but during the conditions we have been experiencing we cannot even fill the tanks completely.
Improvements are needed in certain areas to provide more resiliency and fire protection and we are working on those capital projects…….but the entire system cannot be overbuilt at the expense of providing unlimited irrigation supply. Conservation and better controls are important components of our overall answer. Ridgewood Water will be working closely with each community (besides Ridgewood, we service Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff) to start building a conservation platform for the future. Considerations will include requiring the installation of weather, rain and soil sensors, and implementing new watering schedules – all of which can be controlled with smart irrigation technology.
Several of you have also asked me to discuss rates we bill our customers. We are one of the lowest cost providers of water in our immediate region. This year’s rates were kept flat, with no increase. It is important for Ridgewood taxpayers to know that Ridgewood Water is totally financed by the consumers of Ridgewood Water.
Apologies for the long E-Notice but I also had wanted to respond to some of the questions I have received from you as well as to communicate a status on our watering restrictions. We will continue to monitor conditions and inform you of any changes to the restrictions.
Best,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
-PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS
Become the Driver of Your Destiny at YWCA September Women’s Empowerment Network
YWCA Bergen County is holding its September Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) event, “Become the Driver of Your Destiny” presented by Lois Kramer-Perez on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 from 8:30 to 10:00 am at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood.
Are you tired of struggling with relationships? Tired of feeling guilty about being happy? Wondering why you dim your light to let others shine? Learn the simple tools to clear your path, release the guilt, and create a freedom roadmap to your life and the relationships you love. You will learn which relationship in your life has the most influence, the surprising truth about letting go, the #1 way to stop guilt in its tracks forever, 3 crucial key words that will stop sending you into sabotage over and over, and how to discover what YOU truly want for yourself.
Lois Kramer-Perez, CHt puts her 10+ years of energy clearing to work for realtors, divorcees, business owners, and moms, breaking through their lives and putting them in the driver’s seat of their relationships and spaces. Lois is the creator of popular programs such as “Clearing Meditation Circle” and the “Feng Shui Jumpstart.” She is a board member of International Feng Shui Guild, and has been invited to speak for numberous organizations and companies. Lois is a faculty member at Emerson and Ridgewood Community Schools, and is a contributor to Natural Awakenings, Inner Realm and BC the Magazine. She is also Pazoo.com’s Feng Shui Expert.
Get the personal and professional growth you seek with exclusive opportunities for WEN Membership. Annual WEN Memberships are available at $100 for Professionals and $75 for Military or Students (with valid ID). Memberships include one-year basic YWCA membership, members-only discount for all WEN Intensive workshops, and a tax deductible donation ($50/$25) toward vital YWCA programming. WENPlus Memberships are also available at $250 annually and include a one-year basic YWCA membership, exclusive early bird registration and members-only discount for all WEN Intensive workshops, one non-member guest pass for the monthly program series, and discounts for other YWCA programs for women. A $200 tax-deductible donation toward YWCA is also included. Per event rates for monthly WEN programs include $25 for non-members, $10 for WEN members, and no charge for WENPlus members.
Yes same story every year only this is the worst. Other water companies didn’t start any restrictions til September. I’m shocked there aren’t more Posts from others and towns it services
Got my latest water bill a joke to spend the money all season then to be forced to have it die due to this restriction.
Just had spine surgery so virtually impossible for me to be out there with a hand held hose due to this.
What year or decade will this system ever be upgraded or improved so the water quality doesn’t effect us adversely?
Let’s get changes made instead of excuses for 30 years.
Dont fix an essential service – like water supply
Do build an albatros of a parking garage
Do build another turf field.
We’ll have a nonbinding, ignored referendum on the garage at Hudson and Broad…but perhaps unwittingly demonstrating just how real that building already feels to those in power, the Village Manager announced at Wednesday’s council meeting that they are soliciting suggested NAMES for it. Once you name a thing, they know, it becomes real.
Click Here for the Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline – as reported by the Village Manager at the September 16, 2015 Village Council Public Meeting.
Application to Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund – 2015 Municipal Program
At the September 9, 2015 Village Council there was discussion about the grant application submitted to Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund for the Schedler Park Property – Phase 1.
Click Here Application
Schedler Property Resolutions – August 12 Village Council Public Meeting
Wednesday, August 12th the Village Council discussed the use of the Schedler property. They voted on the following resolutions:
Click Here for Schedler Property Resolution including House
Click Here for Resolution to apply fpr Schedler House Grant
Click Here for Conceptual Map of the park project. The existing structure (460 W. Saddle River Road) is identified by standard architecture/engineering markings. The electrical wire to the house is included. The garage is not identified on this drawing.
ANNUAL STREET FAIR, Sunday, September 20th Ridgewood Parks and Recreation will again sponsor this seasonal outdoor market on Sunday, September 20th, 12 noon to 5 pm, on East Ridgewood Avenue (rain or shine). There is no fee to attend. Vendor wares will include arts and crafts, jewelry, holiday ornaments, novelties of many sorts, home goods, and clothing and accessories. Children’s events will include pony rides, sand art, a petting zoo, inflatables and more. The food court offers a wide variety of refreshments.
Stage 4 water restrictions are still in effect.
September 19,2015
Dear Ridgewood Water customers,
Your cooperation with Stage 4 restrictions has started to ease the stress that the water system experienced during this unusually dry summer. Weather forecasts predict that dry conditions will continue, so Stage 4 restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.
No irrigation of any kind is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Irrigation using only a hand-held hose with a spray nozzle is permitted for odd numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and for even numbered addresses only on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Waivers for special circumstances such as irrigating newly planted lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling swimming pools will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For more information on waivers please call Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520 or email Customer Service at [email protected].
You can always find the current status of restrictions at our website,water.ridgewoodnj.net. Your patience is greatly appreciated
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Children doodle; it’s a known fact.
Some pieces are individual works of art, while others are simply innocent mishmashes of various shapes and lines.
But Melissa O’Sullivan saw things unmistakably two years ago when she came across drawings of penciled space men and oddly-shaped beings. In her son’s drawings, the Ridgewood mother of three not only saw pure art, but she also saw signs of enriched expression from a child with an impaired ability to communicate.
“We were just amazed,” O’Sullivan told The Ridgewood News last week, as she shared one of several spiral-bound notebooks full of her son Jake Soper’s sketches and doodles.
Jake, 13, is a freshman enrolled in the Ridgewood Intensive Special Education (RISE) program and has high-functioning autism. Though he has difficulty articulating his thoughts, he speaks clearly and honestly.
He also has mastery over pen and paper, and that’s a skill O’Sullivan and her family have recognized.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Schedler plan is same as 2008 proposal
To the Editor:
As the community continues to debate the development of the Schedler property, it is important to recall the discussions that led to the village’s acquisition of the property.
In September 2008, former Councilman Pat Mancuso convened an ad hoc “Schedler Committee” of interested citizens, including residents of the adjacent West Saddle River Road neighborhood, which met on a weekly basis to discuss the urgency of preserving the property as open recreational space, potential sources of funding and the conceptual plan for the development of the property.
I was asked to present the Schedler Committee’s recommendations to the Village Council at the Council’s Oct. 22, 2008 meeting. In addition to recommending that the Village purchase the property as promptly as possible, I made the following statement:
“Although the members of the Schedler Committee believe that the primary objective at this time is the preservation of the property as open space, they have also discussed in detail and approved the conceptual plan for the improvement of the property that includes a baseball diamond, an overlay multi-purpose field, an ADA-compliant walking trail, a wooded area and a parking lot, and the potential sources of funding for those improvements. . . . Significantly, the representatives of the West Saddle River Road neighborhood association on the Schedler Committee have assured us that the neighbors support the conceptual plan, including the eventual installation of permanent lighting for the athletic fields, and will not ‘disappear down a manhole cover’ . . . as soon as the property is acquired.”
The conceptual plan discussed and approved by the Schedler Committee was substantially the same plan recently endorsed by the Village Council.
It is also worth noting that the intention at the time was to raze the Schedler house. In fact, as part of its grant application presentation, the village told the advisory committee of the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund that the village intended to tear the house down, and the committee’s only request was that the house be documented (i.e., photographed) before demolition.
Given this history, complaints of “east side” unfairness seem like a smokescreen to impede progress.
The plan for the development of the Schedler property has remained consistent since 2008. I believe it is in the best interests of the village to realize that plan now.
It is also in the interest of the Schedler neighborhood. In 2008, the neighbors’ primary concern was to save the property from high density residential or commercial development. Instead of that, the neighborhood will have a beautiful park with a playing field surrounded by trees and a walking path.
Ralph Currey
Ridgewood
The writer is the Chair of the Village of Ridgewood’s Open Space Committee.
Quick thinking on the part of an observant bank teller and an immediate response by Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Paul Dinice saved a local resident from becoming a victim of the increasingly pervasive “IRS Scam.” photo by Boyd Loving
N.J. pair accused of bilking more than $150K from at least 70 people in 32 state-IRS scheme
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015, 7:59 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015, 12:12 PM
BY JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
LEONIA – A man and a woman living in Middlesex County were arrested and charged with bilking at least 70 people in 32 states out of more than $150,000 by persuading them that they owed back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and would be arrested if they did not pay up immediately, authorities said Tuesday.
Leonia Police Chief Thomas P. Rowe said a man identified as Akash Satish Patel, 32, and a woman identified as Nikita Natvarlal Patel, 25, were arrested in Union as they arrived at a CVS store to claim the proceeds of a MoneyGram sent to them by one of their victims.
Rowe said the pair were not related, although they have the same last name and they both reside at the same address in Iselin, in Middlesex County.
Ridgewood Patrol Officer Assists Stuck RV on West Glen Ave
September 17,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Kevin McKeon assisted a motorist whose rented RV became stuck in the gravel driveway of 210 West Glen Avenue, Ridgewood on Thursday afternoon, 09/17. The vehicle partially blocked the busy east/west roadway, which required McKeon to manually alternate the flow of motor vehicle traffic until a flatbed tow truck was able to free the RV from a stuck position. No injuries were reported, nor were there any summonses issued.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 was recently honored for its community service, receiving the Post Excellence Award.
The award, which is given to an American Legion post that has shown exceptional service to the community and those in need, was presented this summer at the 97th annual state convention at the Wildwood Convention Center, according to Bob Paoli, commander of the Ridgewood post.
To be considered for the award, a post must have achievements in the fields of membership, youth activities, community service and service to troops/veterans.
However, excellence in other categories is also a must, as evidenced by the fact that the Ridgewood post’s focus on “Americanism,” as Paoli puts it, was the thing that put the group over the edge.
“They praised us for American Legion principle No. 1, Americanism, for our annual Gold Star Mother’s Day event,” he said, referring to an event, hosted by the American Legion, at which mothers of fallen soldiers are honored. This year’s event is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Van Neste Square (see sibebar).
While being recognized with the award is great for the individual post, it is also useful for the organization as a whole.
“The purposes of this award are membership growth, exposure of American Legion values to the youth of the community and increased visibility of the American Legion Family through service projects,” the American Legion’s website said. “A post achieving this qualification will have had numerous post members involved in planning and achieving these goals.”
SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015, 2:11 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council is moving ahead with a design for a parking garage at the Hudson Street lot, selecting Desman Design Management as the firm to provide architectural renderings for the governing body and the public to review.
The council voted 3-1 on Wednesday evening to award the contract for professional architectural and engineering services for the design of a multi-level traditional self-parking structure to Desman Design Management in an amount not to exceed $295,350.
A special public meeting was held last Tuesday by the governing body for the purpose of hearing presentations from four different companies as they pitched their ideas on a downtown parking garage.
The next night, during the Village Council’s regular work session, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said the steering committee decided to recommend either Desman Design Management or Timothy Haahs & Associates Inc.
During the ensuing discussion, three members of the council gave a similar opinion while two others stated a preference for Desman, with all five members eventually agreeing on Desman as the choice for the garage.
Councilman Michael Sedon noted that Desman had focused on the “bones” of the structure more than other presentations, broaching topics such as firewalls and keeping some space between the garage and surrounding businesses.
“They had one design that was interesting with ramps outside the building and a lot of their designs had space between the shops on Hudson Street in the rear of it,” said Sedon. “They would maintain that easement outside the garage, which was different than all the other presenters.”
