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Citizens for a Better Ridgewood Says 5pm Special Public Meeting Substantially eliminates the ability of most Residents from being able to attend

village council meeting

file photo by Boyd Loving

SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING – MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

There will be a Village Council Special Public Meeting held on Friday, January 8, 2016 @ 5PM in the Court Room at Village Hall.  Various Consultants will be presenting proposals for the 4 Multi-Family Housing Studies covering; fiscal impact, traffic, education & municipal infrastructure

Dear Councilwoman Knudsen, Village Council and Village Manager:

On behalf of the Supporters of Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR), I request that the Village Council promptly review and change the date of the Multifamily Housing Impact Study Presentations, which are apparently set for Friday, January 8th at 5pm.  This meeting MUST be scheduled at a time that will encourage Resident input and attendance… after all it is called a “Special PUBLIC Meeting.”  The current scheduling has the direct and true effect of substantially eliminating the ability of many (or most)  Residents from being able to attend.  We recognize you are working hard to expedite these presentations, but nevertheless, the serious public attendance issues with a Friday 1/8, 5pm timeslot should have been evident and understood as a given before making this problematic change.  This issue and this meeting are too important to your Resdients.  Beyond the fact that Fridays are generally an inopportune time for such events, the 5pm timing eliminates most Residents with school age children (as this is their dinnertime), as well as the majority of our workers and commuters, who will not be home in time to attend.  Given this, who then, is this “Public” meeting planned for?

While I am sure this was not intended, leaving the meeting set for such a difficult time, creates the divisive appearance that the Village Council is seeking to bypass or avoid public attendance and input.  That is most certainly not what our Council, or our Village needs at this time.  Our Mayor has been a vocal advocate of finding ways to improve the tenor of public discourse.  Providing an “inaccessible” meeting time, for such an important event, will raise the level of frustration, Resident-exclusion and act as a setback to those noble intents.

The timing of this meeting is wrong for Ridgewood.  Please reschedule at a time that encourages public attendance.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Dave Slomin

12 thoughts on “Citizens for a Better Ridgewood Says 5pm Special Public Meeting Substantially eliminates the ability of most Residents from being able to attend

  1. The hell with the people,this is why it is being held at this time.Better yet they should hold the meeting at 1:pm so even less people come.

  2. Why have a public meeting when the public can actually attend? And someone brought up the point that Friday night is when Jewish residents go to temple, so that eliminates a whole large group of concerned citizens.

  3. These 3 have hijacked our village. I am so sick and tired of having to attend government meetings to babysit these fools. I sure wish we could take our village back. What can we do? Is there a more aggressive course of action to put a stop to them? Their personal friendships and relationships are destroying our village.

  4. Fed up….it’s not what can “we” do but what can YOU do?… get the 160 odd signatures and run… it you have time to “babysit” you should have time to run… or stop whining… Mike Sedon shows that you can get in as an outsider…

  5. That’s great, tell them the MUST change the time.
    If this is so Important to you then BE THERE.
    Play the game…it’s dinner time? Are you kidding me?
    Temple? Call the rabbi and reschedule.
    If you don’t learn how to play the game then the game is OVER.

  6. Very good letter. Thank you for taking the time to write. Infuriated that I will not be able to attend at that time.

  7. Any member of the council not present at the start of the meeting should be barred from the dais. You set the time, so be on time.

  8. smith… In the history of Ridgewood, this village has never seen such a dangerous council. Every citizen who voices displeasure and concern should not have to run for council. As an active citizen, I can whine all I want. I have the right to whine because I vote, I participate. Mike Sedon, an outsider? I don’t think so, he is one of us. He cares about the residents and the village… Not what his position on council will do for him, like the other 3. He ran because he cares, not because he was going to get something from it. That’s why he won. People saw the bad direction the 3 were dragging the town through and finally woke up. 2 years too late in my opinion but better late than never.

  9. S. Frapz: I know 1 or 2 council members who reluctantly agreed to the day and time and said in advance they may be on time so they get a pass…Roberta and Paul have been insistent on not moving the time…

    @7:24 while you are right it is important enough to switch plans, some of us (me) have obligations with our children we can’t break.

  10. Well fed up, or should i say “up” as you called me as “smith”… I’ll tell you this, I’m really happy that you make the effort to vote and I wish more people would follow your lead… I called Sedon an outsider because he put a lot of sweat equity into his effort without a defined support base…

  11. When the meetings drag on to 2am they disenfranchise many more people than starting at 5pm. If this is a 5-6 hour meeting like the Valley ones were then you can get there at 9 and still enjoy most of the fun.

  12. Children…Temple…Church…infuriated…Dangerous…disenfranchised…and no one is going.
    WELL ISN”T THAT SPECIAL…Right back to where you started. STOP YOUR BITCHING UNLESS YOUR GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

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