Graydon Pool may have revenue shortfall due to early school opening
March 26,2015
Boyd A. Loving
Just when you though you’d heard everything –
Ridgewood NJ, It appears as though the scheduled September 2, 2015 opening of the Ridgewood Public Schools may seriously impact Graydon Pool revenues this summer. Graydon Pool is currently scheduled to remain open until Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2015.
Village Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, liaison to the Parks, Recreation & Conservation Board, stated that the last operating week of Graydon Pool (just prior to and including Labor Day) traditionally generates a significant amount of revenue. If the Pool is forced to change its schedule and close earlier in the season than Labor Day [due to the unavailability of lifeguards (students) and supervisory staff (teachers)], the Pool may experience a significant revenue loss.
Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus Special Spring Concerts in Ridgewood
March 25,2015
Ridgewood Nj, The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus will present its annual spring concerts on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm at the Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street, in downtown Ridgewood, NJ.
This year’s concerts are entitled “Celebrating Americana in Song.” The concerts feature a diverse selection songs to delight every age and interest. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s end, the Chorus will offer America the Beautiful, Johnny Comes Marching Home, Camptown Races, Workin’ for the Dawn, and Battle Hymn of the Republic. Orpheus will celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday as well with Come Fly With Me and New York, New York. The concerts will feature a special celebration John Palatucci’s 25th anniversary as musical director of the Chorus with music written specially for this event, Hymn of Triumph. Rounding out the program, the Orpheus Doo Woppers will perform their rendition of Come Go With Me, and so much more.
Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance and $25 at the door. Advance purchase may be made online at the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus website www.ridgewoodorpheusclub.org and at any of the following local businesses: Daily Treat Restaurant, Wine Seller and Town and Country Apothecary in Ridgewood; Lewis Drug in Westwood; Perry’s Florist and Rock Ridge Pharmacy in Glen Rock; Wine and Spirit World in Ho-Ho-Kus; and Benny’s Luncheonette in Fair Lawn.
Seniors and students under 17 years of age may purchase tickets at the door for $18.The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus has been a keystone of the cultural life of the tri-state region for 110 years. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest cultural institution in all of Bergen County. Now over 50 voices strong, it is directed by John Palatucci and accompanied by pianist Ron Levy.
MARCH 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015, 11:51 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Anthony Daniels still needs a miracle.
With any luck, that miracle will come April 18, when another donor drive will be held in Hillsdale, aimed at finding possible matches for the 23-year-old Ridgewood man, who has been battling an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma for several years.
The drive is being organized by Delete Blood Cancer — the U.S. unit of the German Bone Marrow Donor Center.
During the drive, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hillsdale’s Veterans Park, healthy people ages 18 to 44 will undergo a cheek swab. Volunteers must be willing to donate to any patient.
A match could mean a lifesaving bone marrow stem cell transplant for Daniels, a former Fordham University business student and onetime Ridgewood High School hockey player who was 20 when he was diagnosed with the immune system cancer.
A number of drives were held last year to help find Daniels a donor. His search for a match continues, since less than 1 percent of the population has his same DNA markers.
Inexplicably, Daniels’ two brothers are a match for each other but not for him.
03/24/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Work SessionAvailable 03/25/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work SessionAvailable 03/25/157:30PMVillage Council Special Public MeetingAvailable 03/31/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting 04/01/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work Session 04/07/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – Village Hall Court Room 04/08/158:00PMVillage Council Public Meeting 04/14/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting
Meet the Manager – Tuesday, March 24th 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Tuesday, February 24th between the hours of 4:30pm to 7:30pm. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.
you sound for all the world like a desperate current officeholder sweating their re-election chances. You uncivilly bad mouth our esteemed former Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh as if she were a current candidate vying to replace you on the Council. (We should be so lucky. You should keep your powder dry if in fact you anticipate facing her as a future electoral opponent!) You further hypocritically introduce party politics into your discussion regarding Ms. Walsh, as if she ever allowed her already well-known political affiliation to affect the way she conducted herself as a (successful) candidate for Ridgewood council, or as a (successful) sitting Councilwoman. (Which, of course, she never did, having full and complete respect for the clear strictures imposed by the Faulkner Act.) Finally, you blithely and coldly use the word ‘failed’ when discussing Ms. Walsh’s bid for a county-wide position. This is a transparently malicious bid to paint her as some kind of sad sack candidate, a characterization no right-thinking Ridgewood resident who knows her at all would ever accept, particularly coming from an individual clearly clutching at so many straws to defend an incumbent who was himself a ‘failed candidate’ for US Congress. Would do us all a favor and slink back into the humble roadside hole you came out of, Mr. Mudslinger?
2. Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act
MAYOR: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
3. Roll Call – Village Clerk
4. Flag Salute and Moment of Silence
5. Public Comments (Not to exceed 5 minutes per person)
6. Discussion Items
a. Review of Departmental/Utility/Other Accounts Budgets
Your editorial (“Sinking feeling is settling in,” March 13, page A6) prompted me to telephone the village’s 24-hour “pothole hotline” to report several very bone-jarring potholes on South Irving Street in the vicinity of Cedar Avenue and Arden Court.
Within one hour of placing the call, I observed a two-person crew from the village’s Streets Division working feverishly and skillfully to fill each of the potholes that I had reported.
Thanks are in order to the management and worker bees of the Streets Division for having moved so quickly and professionally to address a report of serious, and potentially hazardous, roadway impediments.
This is a fine example of how quickly the wheels of municipal government can turn if a customer focused action plan is developed, implemented, and assigned to knowledgeable and highly motivated employees.
Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli has scheduled a CBD Panel Discussion for March 18, 2015 from 7:30PM to 9:00PM; with an “open mike” from 7:30 to 8:00PM. It will be held at Christ Episcopal Church located at the corner of Franklin venue and Cottage Place. The discussion will focus on Parking with a panel comprised of Paul Vagianos, Charles Di Marco, Janet Fricke and Paul Aronsohn.
Ridgewood Village Council amends residency rules for hiring
MARCH 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015, 10:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
After a lengthy discussion during a work session earlier this month, the Village Council introduced an ordinance last Wednesday amending residency requirements to indicate that all civilian classified titles in Civil Service will be opened to the entire state with the exception of police and fire department public safety titles.
A previous ordinance, which gave preference to Bergen County residents, followed by residents from contiguous counties and then state residents, was adopted unanimously on Aug. 13, 2014, according to the minutes of that night’s meeting. However, this was deemed impermissible by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and was sent back for revisions.
The new ordinance, which was introduced by a 3-2 vote, would open those jobs to residents from anywhere in New Jersey without a tier system.
During discussion on March 4, Councilman Michael Sedon acknowledged that he voted in favor of removing the residency requirement in August, which he said was “a mistake.” He stated his belief that hiring residents from the village puts them ahead of those from outside of Ridgewood.
The Passing for Bill Clark
Pastor Marc’s Lenten Devotional Day Twenty-One:
West Side Presbyterian Church
This past Saturday, a wonderful human being Bill Clark died after nearly five years battling cancer. Bill leaves behind his wife, two sons, mother and brother, and many others who loved him dearly. Bill died too young. He had yet to turn 60 years old and had so much life ahead of him. We will celebrate his life and grieve his death tomorrow at West Side Presbyterian Church (2pm in the sanctuary). People will come from all parts of Bill’s life to share stories, to give and receive comfort, and to find strength in community and in their faith in God.
When I met with his family this past week to plan the Memorial Service, I was touched by the stories they shared, particularly his tenderness and devotion as a son, husband, and father. At one point I asked his sons, “Was there anything your father shared with you this past week that you will treasure?” After some silence, one son answered, “There’s nothing our dad could have said this week that he hadn’t already taught us by being the person he was.” Those words brought tears to my eyes as I was touched by their affection and gratitude for their dad.
This experience has remained with me this week. I’m grieving Bill’s death as many people are, but I’m also challenged again to be the kind of father who will be remembered with similar affection and gratitude. This Lent, we’ve been reflecting on what it means to be a church. What if our primary role was to help shape one another as human beings? What if we helped each other live into the fullness of our God-given humanity? What if we encouraged and supported each other in being the best sons, husbands, and fathers (as well as daughters, wives, and mothers) we can be? Imagine if we looked around at church and saw people who inspired us to grow and stretch in humility and compassion, in whom we saw a special light of life, and with whom we wanted to partner in being a “little Christ” (the literal translation of “Christian”) in the world.
Taxpayers on hook to fund portion of signs for CBD businesses
March 14,2015
Boyd Loving
Ridgewood NJ, As a result of Village Council approval of Resolution 15-90, Village taxpayers are now on the hook to pay a portion of the expenses associated with installing new “Wayfinding” signs in the Village’s Central Business District (CBD). The “Wayfinding signs are intended to direct pedestrians to businesses located on side streets off of East Ridgewood Avenue in the CBD.
Estimated construction expenses to be paid by taxpayers for additional poles to hold the signs are between $6K – $9K.
Village of Ridgewood employees will also be responsible for the installation of each new sign. Taxpayers will be reimbursed $25 per installed sign by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce (including reimbursement for previously installed signs). The Chamber collects an annual “maintenance fee” from each sign owner, as well as a fee for the signs themselves. 36 signs have been sold to date, this according to the Chamber’s president, Paul Vagianos.
No explanation was offered to the public as to why taxpayers needed to provide funding if installation and annual maintenance fees are being collected by the Chamber. Nor was any explanation offered as to why a private contractor could not be hired to install the signs (as is done in Montclair).
Additionally, no review of the sign project was undertaken by the Historic Preservation Commission nor the Planning Board, and questions regarding ownership of the signs as it pertains to liability insurance coverage in the event of an injury caused by a sign defect were left unanswered (during the Council meeting at which the resolution was passed).
Here’s the full text of Resolution 15-90:
Res. No. 15-90
RESOLUTION NO. 15-90
WHEREAS, the Village of Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce continues to strive to enhance the public’s knowledge of the various stores on the side streets in the Central Business District by means of the installation of”wayfinding” signs at various intersections; and
WHEREAS, each proposed wayfinding sign, identifing the various businesses, would be a plaque no larger than approximately 6 to 8 inches tall and no more than 24 inches in length affixed to a pole at the approved intersection locations, with no more than 8 plaques per designated pole or no more than 4 plaques per PSE&G decorative streetlight pole location, while maintaining a vertical clearance of 84 inches from the sidewalk; and
WHEREAS, the Chamber is seeking approval for additional locations for designated poles for wayfinding signs, in accordance with the location sketch presented to the Village Council.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood that it approves the installation of wayfinding signs at the various locations along East Ridgewood Avenue, in the Central Business District, to direct patrons to the various businesses on the listed side streets; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Village Council agrees to install the concrete bases for the new designated poles for no more than 4 locations, have the Village Traffic and Signal Division install the designated poles on the new bases for no more than 4 locations; have the Traffic and Signal Division install new sign plates for a $25.00 per plaque fee paid by the Chamber of Commerce; have the Traffic and Signal Division perform an annual sign plaque maintenance which would remove any invalid sign plaques for a $25.00 per plaque fee to be paid for by the Chamber of Commerce; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce agrees that they will purchase the designated poles in the color black, without a globe, matching the existing PSE&G decorative streetlight poles for the wayfinding signs; agrees to have installed no more than 8 sign plaques on designated poles, and no more than 4 sign plaques on PSE&G decorative streetlight poles; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood agrees to authorize the Village Manager to approve any subsequent locations for wayfinding signs in the Central Business District, upon review and approval by the Village’s Engineering Division and Public Safety Departments.
Reader says legally-imposed hiring preference for qualified local residents was NEVER ON THE AGENDA.
Unfortunately for you, you’ve just highlighted perhaps the best reason why Councilwoman Knudsen need never have concerned herself with any potential conflict-of-interest: Potentially eliminating the RPD’s and the RFD’s legally-imposed hiring preference for qualified local residents was NEVER ON THE AGENDA.
Other items relating to village hiring practices for other municipal jobs may have been up for discussion, but never the local hiring practices relating to police or firemen. (And certainly nothing on the agenda necessitated closing the session.)
This is also why it is so clearly a red herring for anyone to bring up her relationship to the test-takers. They are not even candidates for any of the positions or categories of positions being looked at by the VC for potential changes in the law relating to hiring practices!
What do we care about what relationship the test-takers have or don’t have with Councilwoman Knudsen? What’s the relevance?
Reader says Nobody cares whether RPD or RFD test-takers have any relationship with a current member of the Village Council or not.
Nobody cares whether RPD or RFD test-takers have any relationship with a current member of the Village Council or not. Yet you won’t stop talking about it. It has no relevance to the topic at hand. Your continued harping on it seems to show that you are trying to sow general confusion or to deflect attention from the topic immediately at hand (namely: non-police and non-firefighter municipal hiring practices in Ridgewood). Is this not the textbook definition of a red herring? If so, can we please be forgiven for ignoring it?
A municipality that flouts or ignores the law in question for 25 years MUST BE consistently failing deliberately to give priority to qualified candidates who actually live within its borders. Thus, its hiring practices are literally out of control and must be amended immediately.
Most qualified potential candidates who are also local residents are likely to be unaware of the law operating in their favor because the management of the municipality has itself forgotten about its requirements. That’s a heck of a lot of ignorance, institutional and otherwise. The likelihood of such collective ignorance and lack of management control producing many, many violations of the law in question over a twenty-five year period is objectively high.
More particularly, the municipality in question will be extremely lucky if one or more such violations did not occur within the one, two, three, six-year period (whatever it happens to be) specified by the statute of limitations (i.e., the recent past) such that the hiring decision(s) is either currently subject to being ‘undone’ as a result of a well-pled lawsuit, or will be held to have triggered liability for money damages awardable to the plaintiff behind the suit.
You are asking someone to simply name for you any and all Ridgewood residents in the past twenty-five years who were qualified and applied for a position with the village and were improperly turned down in favor of respective out-of-town applicants.
With all due respect, and at least in this forum, this is a preposterous demand. If you are curious about the potential scope of the village’s liability for current and past violations of the hiring practices law in question, you should conduct your own investigation. Pounding your fists at the insufficiency of a collection of comments on a local blog accomplishes nothing and, frankly, makes you look like a fish out of water (or worse).
OTOH, Nobody here ultimately wishes anyone ill. The issues and good governance are what count, and your time was not wasted if you would just try to broaden your perspective to include more than just the political, or the tactical.
Ridgewood settles resident’s sewage ‘blowback’ case for almost $22,000
MARCH 11, 2015, 9:59 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015, 10:04 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD NJ— The village has agreed to pay $21,920 to settle a resident’s claim for repairs to her finished basement that flooded when the municipality cleared its sewer lines last September.
The settlement was approved Wednesday night by Mayor and Council.
Resident Jill Feeney said she reached out to village officials soon after discovering the carpet in her basement was soggy and stank.
“It literally smelled like the men’s room at Penn Station on a hot day,” Feeney said Wednesday, noting one foot of sewage-contaminated water was forced up through the drain in her basement’s sink by the village’s work.
As village crews worked to unclog a sewer line next to her Stevens Avenue home in September, Feeney said a pocket of pressurized air formed within a nearby sewer line — the pipe leading to her basement’s sink. The air escaped through the sink, and the contaminated water followed, tainting everything it touched.
Plumbers refer to this rare phenomenon as “blowback.”
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