The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Miss Willett is in the same bitter school as Evan Weitz,and Roberta Sonenfeld from the failed FAC. That FAC was Aronsohn’s breeding ground for his little puppets. Sonenfeld got a hefty 6-figure job out of her tenure on the Financial Advisory Committee, Wow, that was a huge error for our village. She cannot get out from behind her own mathmatical errors. Evan Weitz and Janice Willett, two nasty failed candidates for Village Council who we all hope will run again because they will lose again.
I too read the minutes from the March 2015 minutes. I got a completely different take on the iissue than Ms. Willet. It is clear from the transcript that Roberta was pushing for the deal,with ParkMobile. Boyd Loving’s comments and concerns were stated at that meeting and Roberta was extremely dismissive. As VM/ CFO she was responsible for the process and failed miserably as the Council was not made aware ,not to mention the public , of the overall cost of this contract with the village. Where was the resolution that talked of the additional credit card fees? This should have come before the council. Where was the FAC? It is not playing the blame game when tax dollars are spent with an absence of a financial analysis of the expenditure in question is not included as part of the final decision. She did not follow the standard procedures and signed a contract without proper approval from the VC.
So first Roberta and Paul use public funds illegally to influence their stupid parking garage vote. Then we find out that Roberta, under the reign of Paul, has signed a contract that is in direct conflict with the resolution, costing us (according to the CFO last week) upwards of $200,000. Wow, Roberta, you were aces. Thank you so much for the breath of fresh air that you left on our fair town.
Active “vote yes” promotion of the parking garage by elected office holders and village employees was always wrong, wrong, wrong, and NOBODY should be criticized for complaining. Whether they live in Ridgewood or not. This was a thumb in the eye of village residents and a flagrant abuse of the reins of government. The fact that we have neighbors willing go on record with complaints against such behavior is a blessing we don’t always deserve.
I don’t know that I disagree with Weitz on his general point, but he completely overlooks the fact that nasty barbs and citizen put downs were the stock in trade of Mayor Aronson. Simply put – He was mean and nasty to those who disagreed with him. No one trusted him in the least. (And who can forget Deputy Mayor I Am the Only One IN Town with a Day Job.) And Evan, to be frank, you were rumoured on the campaign trail to toss a few barbs yourself when you ran on the Arohnson supported ticket.
So, yes, Evan is right, we need to tone it down sometimes. But his fake news and attempt to resurrect Arohnson from the political graveyard he richly deserves isn’t helping us at all.
December 13,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Simply put, the situation involving Parkmobile constitutes a blatant case of FRAUD.
Officers of Parkmobile convinced elected officials to adopt a formal resolution that approved the signing of a contract with their company. The adopted resolution stated in plain English that the Village would not be charged in any way, shape, or form. All costs were to be paid for by users on a per transaction basis. Then, Parkmobile somehow convinced former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld to sign a contract granting Parkmobile a percentage of the parking revenue from every transaction involving their app.
Bait and switch, plain and simple. One bill of goods was sold to the Council, another was sold to Roberta Sonenfeld.
FRAUD I say. I maintain the contract is invalid because it is in direct conflict with what our elected officials were told, and what they approved via resolution.
I’m about to call up that attorney who is handling the case against the Board of Education (Rosemarie Aronold of Fort Lee) and ask her to file a class action suit against Parkmobile for triple damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD!
December 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, In a letter to the editor : A lack of civility in Ridgewood https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/12/12/letter-lack-civility-ridgewood/944073001/, former council candidate Evan Weitz sticks up for ethically challenged former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn , and former breath of fresh air Village Manager Roberta Sonnefeld .
Wietz like may New Jersey politicians supports the philosophy that the rules are only for the little people and politicians and their flunkies are always above reproach ,they are here for self promotion, self aggrandizement and personal gain at your expense .
The boiler plate letter is almost believable except that it defends a group of people and their supporters who called residents “terrorist” , “grandstanders” , physically attacking legal petitioners in the central business district , mocked people who lived on the far east side of Ridgewood, hosted efforts to silence dissent , attacked businesses that didn’t go along with their schemes and egregious mishandled almost ever public forum they held.
December 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, as previously reported by the Ridgewood blog ,the Village Mangers office confirmed that “ZERO” business opted in the Central Valet Parking program . That means that there are not any business in the Central Business District willing to Validate parking . Apparently we have all been misinformed about the parking problem .
For years readers have questioned the claim that the Village of Ridgewood Central business district really needed a garage or if the “parking shortage ” was nothing more than a self created marketing ploy to add parking for the new housing developments?
With no merchant participation in the central valet service and little to no participation in the Ridgewood “Estate Card ” program , taxpayers are left with one and only one conclusion , that no garage is necessary and that like the parking meters and parkmobile scams the Hudson garage appears to be nothing more than an effort to separate tax payers from there money and offer developers indirect subsidies to further destroy the Village of Ridgewood .
Reader said, “Nice to see that ya’ll are finally taking your head out of your asses and realize that you have been getting screwed for years. And James, stop with the Union City crap. It’s getting old. We don’t need “massive upgrades” to anything. Do we need extra capacity to bring the town into the future? Sure. But your doomsday predictions because a few developers understand what the towns future residents want is classic of the Ridgewood NIMBY attitude that keeps anything from moving around here. Including how the municipal govt. works. You want change or will you continue to bitch and moan anytime anyone takes action. We can’t move forward if you insist on remaining in the past.”
Best for you to take your head out of the sand ,
Ridgewood as a nice place to live was virtually destroyed by the prior council or the 3 Amigos. The push to turn Ridgewood into Union city , with high density housing creates a need for massive upgrades of the Village infrastructure . This will take a decade , water, sewer, traffic, schools ,police , fire and so on all need massive taxpayer funded upgrades thanks to the actions of the 3 amigos and Roberta . The Villages ability to increase revenue has also been curtailed by giveaway contracts and bad leases . So no one with any sense will stop blaming the Paul Aronsohn , Gween and Uncle Albert as well as their side kick flunky Roberta
The past village manager led the council to believe that the village would incur only the 35 cents per transaction which would go to Park Mobile. She signed a contract with an additional 21 percent off the top.No one would have been okay with this. Why she was so determined to go ahead with this bad deal for Ridgewood is a mystery. Current council members who were there at the time were not made aware of the additional charges. It looks like the village is out close to 200,000 dollars due to this poor contract. Whether anything illegal occurred is unclear but it was a bad contract and it looks as though the past village manager at best was deceitful in her communication with the council and acted poorly on behalf of the village.
So either the fix or cover up is underway or a real investigation shall begin..
Notifying the vendor of non continuation nor extention is just a negotiation
ploy ;a valid starting point , but not an end.Who knew what and when?
What the hell is being done to hold those responsible for this misrepresentation ,,meantime the commuters got screwed over and over again on rates and cash was moving under the gunwhales as standard operating fiasco..who is being held responsible for this misgovernance..
who in the previous administration approved this vendors withholding of village revenues ,,how long was this fact known perhaps over a year? and covered up?Tip of iceberg..full VOR AUDIT NEEDED…
December 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, As previously reported by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog ; Earlier this year, the Village’s CFO, Robert G. Rooney, became aware that a portion of the Village’s Parking Utility revenues associated with use of the Parkmobile smart phone application at Village owned and operated parking facilities (said to be 21 cents of every 1 dollar), were being withheld from the Village by Parkmobile USA, Inc.
Upon further investigation, Mr. Rooney determined that a 2-year contract, with an option for a 2 year renewal, signed by former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld entitled Parkmobile USA, Inc. to retain this revenue. The total amount of Parking Utility revenue withheld from the Village by Parkmobile USA, Inc. since the contract’s inception is reported to be over $200K.
Following discussions with Mr. Rooney and Village Manager Heather Mailander, Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen requested a review of all Village Council meeting minutes and Village Council approved Resolutions associated with discussions and approval of the Village’s relationship with Parkmobile USA, Inc.
During the aforementioned review process, it was determined that at no time had a public discussion taken place concerning any monetary obligations on the Village’s part in connection with integration of Parkmobile USA, Inc.’s smart phone application into the Village’s Parking Utility system.
Furthermore, Resolution #15-52, approved unanimously by Village Council members on February 11, 2015 specifically states: “. . . there is no additional service or contract fee for the Village of Ridgewood; and WHEREAS, Parkmobile USA , Inc. will provide this service at no cost to the Village of Ridgewood, and shall not charge the Village of Ridgewood any costs for the integration of its system(s) or for the management of the project and services;.”
At a public meeting of the Village Council held on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, Village Council members directed Village Manager Heather Mailander to formally notify Parkmobile USA, Inc. that the Village would not be renewing its contract with them.
The staff of The Ridgewood Blog will keep you informed of any further developments in this matter as related information is made public.
payback re the town citizens referendum don’t build it Big raised slum garage at hudson ; that was not appreciated by Paul and Robertas crew. So a new spin of the wheel..timelines need review…How could this fact be covered up for so long!? like rotten meat in the chiller…forensic time people…
December 7,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewod NJ, at last nights council meet the Village of Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen revealed that the previous council never authorized payments to Parkmobile USA above the .35 cent user paid convenience fee .
The Village of Ridgewood now pays Parkmobile 21% of each parking transaction that involves the use of the Parkmobile APP . This was the direct result of a contract signed by an unnamed Village official .
file photo by Boyd Loving
November 28,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On November 13, 2017, the New Jersey Local Finance Board (LFB) issued Notices of Violation to the Village of Ridgewood’s former Mayor and former Village manager for authorizing and appearing in a video that advocated only one side of a referendum question that was pending before Village voters.
The ethics complaint was filed on June 13,2016 by the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project with the Local Finance Board–the agency that enforces the Local Government Ethics Law.
The complaint alleged , “Mayor Aronsohn’s statement in the video that its purpose is to educate and inform the public about this issue, the video goes well beyond providing neutral facts. Rather, the video is clearly an advocacy piece intended to persuade Village residents to vote “yes” on the proposal. For example Mayor Aronsohn made the following statements at the noted times in the video.”
The Notices of Violation, issued against former Mayor Paul Arohnson and former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, both arose out of a June 21, 2016 referendum question which sought $11,500,000 in bonds or notes to finance the cost of constructing a new parking deck. Under New Jersey law, government officials may use public resources to educate ,but not to persuade voters on public issues.
The LFB concurred and found that the one sided video was persuasive and not purely educational because it advocated only one side of the question and “urg[ed] citizens to vote ‘yes.'” Using public resources to persuade voters to vote “yes” on a referendum is unfair because the referendum’s opponents do not have access to those resources and have to use private resources to distribute their message.
Arohnson and Sonenfeld, by supporting and appearing in the video, were found to have “attempt[ed] to use [their] official position[s] to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for [themselves] or others in violation of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5(c).”
Reader says , “The Garber Square project used grant money and then more than tripled the amount to incorporate a bike lane that is dangerous and has narrowed an already congested passage way under the trestle bridge. We all remember when it was 4 lanes no matter how our village engineer wants to use “revisionist history”to defend this fiasco. The bike lane should sport a sign” Use At Your Own Risk. “ Another fiasco: The concrete ramp built at Graydon to make the swimming area handicapped accessible also started from a grant and grew into a project that was not only expensive but is unusable. As predicted, algae has made it slippery to the point that able body people have slipped and no one can report a wheel chair being seen going down the ramp. It is a hazardous situation that could not only injure someone but result in a law suit against the village. It too should support a sign, “Use At Your Own Risk.” Thank you, Paul Aronsohn.”
