Tag: BCIA

Posted on

Reader says that Mr. Sedon and Mrs. Knudsen are the only 2 on the Ridgewood Council actually doing their job

Village Council Meeting

file photo by Boyd Loving

I’m against the single super sized garage and how the Council plans to fund it through the County. However I understand why developers and the Chamber are in favor of it – they stand to profit from it’s construction and/or operation. Much as I disagree with them I at least understand their motives. What I can’t fathom however is that our Council majority seems so set in its ways on THIS design and THIS way of funding it. Why? Do they think that this is really the best solution for Ridgewood? It seems more like they have a bone to pick with their Council mates.

The Council’s job is to say to the developers and the Chamber that yes, we understand you’d like to make more money but this is not the best solution for the Village. It isn’t. What they’ve actually done is side with the developers to use all of their collective authority to ram this plan though as quickly as possible. Again, why? The Council majority is treating the results of a NON BINDING referendum as an electoral mandate when the only question they posed to us in the fall was essentially “do you think we need more parking?”. E-mails I received from the Mayor said that the design was not final (apparently it was) and made no mention of financing the project through the County. Just when I thought my intelligence couldn’t be any more insulted by these 3.

And to those that say that we could bond the garage through the Village if only Mr. Sedon and Mrs. Knudsen would agree with the developers, I’d say that Mr. Sedon and Mrs. Knudsen are the only 2 on the Council actually doing their job. They, like many of us, feel that while we need a parking solution, there are better ways to go about it. And the rush to get this done now in the face of growing doubt and opposition only raises questions about the Council majority’s motives.

Posted on

Petition signing event at Ridgewood Elks Club

petition signing event at Elks Club

February 20,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, sign the petition and get the question on the ballot. Let the people decide which way to fund. What are the petition opposers afraid of?

PETITION SIGNING LOCATIONS
ELKS CLUB
(111 Maple Ave-next to library-across from Kings)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20TH
11:00AM-4:00PM

DSCF7839

OLMC – AFTER EACH MASS
HUDSON/PASSAIC/PROSPECT STREETS
SAT FEB 20TH / SUN FEB 21ST

Posted on

Reject the lease/purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) to fund the Hudson Street garage

garage new design

To the Editor,

I am writing to urge my friends and neighbors to let our council know we reject entering into a lease/purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) to fund the Hudson Street garage.

Our referendum vote shows that the majority of Villagers support funding a garage on Hudson street. We enjoy a triple AAA rating, and do not need Bergen County for funding. The only reason to go to the BCIA is because our own Council can not agree on the design, and the Council majority believes they and only they know best.

If funding through Bergen County, the likely results will be a garage controlled by the county. All Bergen County residents, including out of town commuters, will have the same access and fee structure as Ridgewood residents. Ridgewood’s general parking fund, which has been used to absorb budgetary overages will no longer be allowed to do so, which most likely will impact our taxes.

We elect our Council with the expectation that they will work together to represent the best interests of our Village. I would like to think they wouldn’t make decisions for our Village that they wouldn’t make in their own personal lives. Yet they approved change orders and are pushing forward with a plan to have the BCIA fund the garage when the public and the Council haven’t received photo simulations, rough site plan with footprint, details of how on street parking will be impacted etc. Would you approve funds for work on your own home without knowing what it would look like? Would you build into the street and not let your neighbors know? if you did so would you expect them to be upset?

Council members Sedon and Knudsen have stated that they would support a garage that fits on the lot, fits within the streetscape, and when their is a clear financial plan in place. Councilwoman Knudsen has repeatedly said she would like to have photo simulations to bring to the church and neighbors for their input. Isn’t that what we would desire from our neighbors? Councilman Sedon has expressed interest in having the specific financial plan in place. Again, this is a very reasonable request. We know the garage is not self funding and meter rates will rise but it has not been determined how much and what the impact will be on local businesses. Would you be willing to pay $.75-$1.00 for a coffee in town or to mail a package or might you visit Glen Rock or Midland Park instead?

I believe when all these details are known, we can achieve a 5-0 vote in favor of a garage we can all be happy with. Please email your council and ask them to work together and say no to the BCIA.

Paul Aronsohn – paronsohn@ridgewoodnj.net
Albert Pucciarelli – apucciarelli@ridgewoodnj.net
Gwenn Hauck – ghauck@ridgewoodnj.net
Susan Knudsen – sknudsen@ridgewoodnj.net
Michael Sedon – msedon@ridgewoodnj.net

Thank you,

Carrie Giordano

Posted on

Reader says Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce faces back lash over ad promoting BCIA deal

Ridgewood_Chamber_of_Commerce_theridgewoodblog

I am outraged at the Chamber’s Ad in the Ridgewood News today. They lied from the beginning with the say “yes” and negotiate size later when there is no negotiation. You try and negotiate and they go around you. We are not a small, rogue, nameless group! Most of us speak at meetings, write letters and emails, and stand on the streets with clipboards. So the paper lets them continue to write lies with no rebuttals?

There was an email floating around today suggesting keeping this transaction off the balance sheet will allow Ridgewood to bond more projects. First, what other massive projects are they planning?? Second, anyone who believes in off balance sheet financing needs a lesson in finance. It is still debt, it needs to be paid back and ratings agencies will still recognize it as leverage.

Posted on

Paul Vagianos’ he was against the BCIA involvement in Ridgewood before he was for it

Vagianos & Ordway sign now in violation

 

February 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Paul Vagianos’ has a letter in The Ridgewood News in which he supports BCIA involvement.
https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-letter-parking-deck-will-be-good-for-ridgewood-1.1514746
Attached is a clip from his comments at the 1/27/2016 VC meeting at which he repeatedly said “don’t go to the BCIA.”
When the letter is available on line tomorrow, can you run the letter along with the clip so people can see how he’s flip flopped, changed sides like a Gemini?
Thanks.
https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7706122

 

Posted on

Too many anti Ridgewood garage letters bad for newspaper business?

Hudson Street Parking Garage
February 18,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Several persons who object to BCIA involvement in the ongoing parking deck debacle have recently written letters to The Ridgewood News only to find receipt of those letters unacknowledged, and also never published.
As a result of a full page ad supporting BCIA involvement that appears in this week’s edition of The Ridgewood News, which was paid for by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce, the staff of The Ridgewood Blog now wonders if The Ridgewood News has chosen not to publish too many anti garage letters to the editor for fear of losing advertising revenue from local merchants who belong to the Chamber.
Two letters in direct support of the garage and BCIA involvement are printed in this week’s edition of The Ridgewood News. There are no letters specifically opposing the BCIA becoming involved, although one anti garage letter was printed.
Is it possible that The Ridgewood News sold out its readers in favor of its advertisers?
Posted on

BCIA County Commuter Garage paves way for Ridgewood as a “Transit Hub”

Ridgewood_Train_station_train _is_coming_theridgewoodblog
February 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, after years of subtle move it looks like developers will get there “Transit Hub” in Ridgewood once and for all.Since 2012 the Ridgewood blog was featuring stories on the urban transit hub idea and now with the County Garage on Hudson Street plans can move forward with high density housing and a further transformation of Ridgewood into a small city  and commuter access point to New York City.  The idea seems to have been in play since the Ridgewood Train Station ,$40 million dollar remodeling job and NJT looked to build a parking garage in Ridgewood .

Residential developers aim for piece of proposed $1B Urban Transit Hub expansion

https://theridgewoodblog.net/residential-developers-aim-for-piece-of-proposed-1b-urban-transit-hub-expansion/

Readers ask Why did Senator Menendez Pick the Ridgewood Train Station to to Launch a Mass Transit Policy Initiative?

https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-ask-why-did-senator-menendez-pick-the-ridgewood-train-station-to-to-launch-a-mass-transit-policy-initiative/

Posted on

So let me get this straight the Village of Ridgewood is paying for a County Built Commuter Parking Garage ?

Parking Garage

Chamber of Commerce/Paul Vagianos begged the council to cooperate with each other and “do this in house”…see video of Council meeting Jan 27th…

Roberta dodging his questions of “will this be open to all Bergen County residents?”— the answer is YES, Roberta

Yes, Paul Aronsohn has been “working with the BCIA for 3 years” on this scheme-WHY?
Yes, this will cost more than funding within the Village of Ridgewood
Yes, parking meters in CBD will be extended until 9pm and increase to a triple the rate it is now
Yes, Ridgewood residents will pay the same as out of town commuters
Yes, this garage is for Bergen County, not for the people of Ridgewood who will pay dearly for it

Yes, the 3 amigos are shoving this thru as an end run around our municipal government. It is disgraceful and Ridgewood deserves so much better.

To sign the petition, go to https://www.no2bcia.com to find locations and people to sign with. Thank you!
The petition is to repeal ordinance No 3519, which allows the village to enter into a 25 year lease purchasing agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA)

Posted on

Reader says I voted YES on the November referendum and am furious at the way the Council Majority is trying to shove this huge garage through by having the county bond it

Hudson Street Parking Garage

I am one of the petitioners and I can tell you that many who have signed for me state categorically that they voted YES on the November referendum and are furious at the way the Council Majority is trying to shove this huge garage through by having the county bond it.

No one is happy with the County bonding it. They want a garage, almost everyone wants a garage, but they want a reasonable size and they want Ridgewood to issue the bond. And to answer your snarky suggestion, we are not collecting email addresses. Leave that level of underhandedness to those who use private email lists such as CHURCH GROUP lists to disseminate their campaign information. (yes, you know who you are).

Stop making the claim that 65% voted for the plan. Watch this to see what 65% knew before the vote –https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7623263

Posted on

Petition to protest and repeal Ordinance 3519-An Ordinance authorizing the execution and granting of a lease purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority

BCIA petition

This petition is to seek to protest and repeal Ordinance 3519-An Ordinance authorizing the execution and granting of a lease purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority relating to issuance of County Guaranteed Lease Revenue Bonds for the Village of Ridgewood parking Deck Project (i.e. Hudson St garage).

You must be a registered voter residing in the Village of Ridgewood to sign the petition.

This has nothing to do with the design or scope of the parking garage-just to stop the funding of it with the BCIA, until Ordinance 3519 can be submitted to the electorate (Village of Ridgewood residents/registered voters) for a vote at next election as a referendum question.

If you have any Questions, please email no2bcia@gmail.com
As of Monday Feb 15, the petitions will be available at following times/locations:

Lorraine Reynolds house, 550 Wyndemere Ave/come to door off John St., Monday, Feb 15th – 1pm-4pm.
Anne Loving, call cell 201-723-8017 to make appt to sign.
Melanie McWilliams – 431 Bogert Ave – Feb 15th-Feb19th (M-F) 9:15-12:15pm, call/text to confirm 201-675-8937
PLEASE CHECK BACK AS TIMES/LOCATIONS WILL BE ADDED.

PLEASE EMAIL no2bcia@gmail.com if you are a registered voter
and can help canvas neighborhoods this week when it’s not so cold out!!!
WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY RIDGEWOOD!

Please let us know if you want to be part of the petition to say No 2 BCIA,https://goo.gl/forms/KpPtDY2We9

Below are some reasons why people feel we should not have a lease/purchase agreement with the BCIA (Bergen County Improvement Authority):

1. The BCIA will cost us more than what it will cost us to bond through Ridgewood. Yes, the BCIA can get us a better interest rate by 0.03%- to 0.08% compared to what we get from a Ridgewood Issued bond, but that is so small and it eventually costs more to go with BCIA, because of their initiation fees, and annual fees as well as multiple lawyer fees. Here are the final costs -https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/20160129BCIAFin.pdf

2. The BCIA financial comparison from the above link, does not consider the fact that we will now have to charge out-of-town commuters the same price as Ridgewood commuters (a requirement by the BCIA to treat all county residents the same.). Suppose we issue 50 out-of-town commuter passes at $300 less than what we could have charged them, that’s $15,000 more per year for the next 25 years by going through the BCIA. Will non-resident commuters take many of the spaces, leaving few spaces for our own commuters?

3. Once we take money from the BCIA, it will be issued like a loan, not like a Home Equity Line of Credit. We cannot draw the funds when we need them, i.e. as the project goes along. We will have to start paying interest on ALL of the money from day 1, which is May 2016, and the garage will not be complete until Feb 2017. Once the BCIA bond is issued in May 2016, we won’t be able to pre-pay for 10 years. We are locked into the interest for 10 years, even if the design & scope changes to a smaller design and we need less funds.

4. The county will own the garage for next 25 years. They may add more conditions later, for now they have asked us to treat non Ridgewood commuters at the same price.

5.The lease agreement also mentions that the BCIA will build the garage and lease it to us. It’s not clear / not explained to us how much control they will keep during the ‘build’ phase.

6. Overall, all of the benefits explained to us for going through the BCIA route are financial. In the end, with all those benefits, if it still costs more, and if we don’t retain full control of the garage and the process, then why go through the county?

7. We can and should do this with a Ridgewood Issued bond. It is our fiscal and resident responsibility to make sure this bond is issued through Ridgewood and not the County.

Posted on

Ridgewood Council votes 3-2 to bond with BCIA for parking garage

Council meeting assult

photo by Boyd Loving minutes after the alleged assault at the council meeting

BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – Ridgewood’s Village Council voted 3-2 to bond with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) on Feb. 10 in order to fund the proposed Hudson Street parking garage.

This came on the heels of last week’s unanimous vote of the BCIA to authorize the submission of an application to the state local finance board, accelerating the process along.

Just as there was at the BCIA version, Wednesday’s meeting featured both proponents and opponents of the decision to bond with the county, including village residents and council members.

Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who voted against adopting the ordinance to bond with the BCIA, said that she still has some serious concerns with moving the process along at this time.

“I think that before we get into this, it’s really important to have a conversation with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and be neighborly and have the simulations and all of the information available to address and allay any concerns that they have,” she said.

While she did admit that bonding with the BCIA “seems like a great option,” she said that she continues to believe “that when we find the appropriate scale and design of this garage, it could be done on self-bonding.”

“While there seems to be some financial benefits to be gained by going through the BCIA, some of the detriments are very real,” Knudsen said. “Maintaining ownership and absolute control is imperative to the success of this garage … I think it’s still an opportunity to bond on our own.”

Councilman Mike Sedon, who cast the other dissenting vote against bonding with the BCIA, said he thinks it is necessary to have a payment plan in place before moving forward.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/town-government/bcia-bond-to-fund-garage-passes-3-2-1.1510815

Posted on

Stay tuned for tonight’s Ridgewood Council meeting

garage new design

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Village Hall meeting at 8pm, during the first public statement there will be an announcement about what actions you can take if the Village Council votes in favor of bonding the proposed garage through the County. So, whether you can come out to the meeting or watch at home – stay tuned.

For those who are just getting up to speed, here’s what’s happening:
The attached new garage proposal diagram just appeared in the lobby of Village Hall. I don’t know about you, but I never imagined it would be this HUGE, let alone that, even with all the prior resident outrage, it still does not fit the municipal lot size.
Tonight our Village Council will be voting on going to the County for a $12,300,000 bond. This is going to take away our control of the process. It is going to cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars more to do this than to bond ourselves. Bonding through the County stipulates the same parking rates for everyone using it. Because of this, it will become a commuter garage for other towns to use and fill up.
Personally, I am not against a parking garage. Our town needs more parking solutions. Bonding through the County, unfortunately, isn’t the way to go.
Let’s keep in control of our wonderful town. Stay tuned for tonight’s meeting.

Sincerely,

Dana
Posted on

Reader says This garage is going to be a money loser and the town will be left on the hook for it

BCIA

file photo by Boyd Loving

This garage is going to be a money loser and the town will be left on the hook for it.

I was in town on Saturday and the main streets had people circling for spots as usual on Chestnut, Oak, etc. But, if you drove a couple of blocks away to near Mt. Carmel (and where the new garage would be), there were TONS of metered spots open.

I don’t think the parking problem is that there aren’t enough spots in the downtown area. The problem is that people don’t want to walk a couple of blocks for a parking spot. Building the garage right near Mt. Carmel is NOT going to solve this problem. Maybe, if the new garage was at the old garage next to Ben and Jerry’s or somewhere more central and visible would it be more utilized. I just don’t see the draw to have to park in a multi-level garage when there is street level parking available at most times across the street.

There is no way Ridgewood should be spending $10m plus on this.

Posted on

The Plan Village Taxpayers will be responsible to pay 100% of the debt service and Bergen County Finally Gets There Commuter Parking Garage

BCIA

photo by Boyd Loving

Fedruary 6,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the purpose of the garage from the very beginning seems to have been to build a commuter garage for NJT and Bergen County in Ridgewood ,moving to make the Village a transit hub

The Village of Ridgewood (the “Village”) is undertaking the construction of an $11.7M parking deck on Hudson Street (the “Project”). There are two ways the Village can finance this Project over a 25 year period. First, the Village can issue its own General Obligation Bonds (the “Village Bonds”). Second, the Village can finance the project through the Bergen County Improvement Authority (the “BCIA”), which would issue County of Bergen Guaranteed Lease Revenue Bonds (the “BCIA Bonds”). In either event, the Village will be responsible to pay 100% of the debt service on whichever bonds are issued. (https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/20160129BCIAFin.pdf )

the choice :

Transaction Costs: The model includes up-front fixed costs of issuance of $162,500 for the BCIA Bonds vs. $92,500 for the Village Bonds. These costs include typical municipal bond transaction fees such as bond counsel, financial advisor, auditor, credit rating agency, printing, etc. In addition, the analysis assumes the underwriter’s discount would be essentially the same under either scenario. The BCIA Bonds also include the upfront authority financing fee of 12.5 basis points (“bps”) of total par amount of BCIA Bonds, the annual authority administration fee of 5 bps based on the annual outstanding par amount of the BCIA Bonds and an annual trustee fee of $1,000. (https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/20160129BCIAFin.pdf )

as per usually the most expensive for Village Taxpayers is the best choice  .

Going to the BCIA , once the money is approved, it tends to appear almost instantaneously, accruing interest long before the project can even get started. That is a significant reason to reconsider this plan or ploy and an excellent reason, if it does happen, not to ask for a cent more than is needed. But losing control over the way commuter spaces are priced is a huge problem and there are undoubtedly more.
There will be approximately 320 car garage. 4 levels. The mayor said in the last meeting that 2 levels may be dedicated to commuters. That’s about 160 cars for commuters. We currently already have one level, which is mostly used by Ridgewood commuters. Lets say the second level is used by Bergen County commuters at no extra money compared to Ridgewood commuters. So, 2 levels are either used by out of Ridgewood commuters or commuters who are already using this lot today without the garage.

With remaining 2 levels, we will get 160 new spot, presumably for non commuters. Cost – 12.3 million in new bond, 500K bond has been already spent + 450k already spent on environmental studies in 2014 & 2015 on this lot. = 13.25M.

That’s 82,800 for every new parking spot created for CBD. This assumes that the project will not go over the budget. With the way this council and village manager are spending the money, this is highly unlikely to stay in the budget.

 

 

Posted on

BCIA votes today at 1pm on Ridgewood Garage Bonding !

Hudson Street Parking Garage

Dear Neighbor

BCIA votes today at 1pm. If you have not already sent them an email, please send them an email. Our council members are so close to bond it within Ridgewood. We should keep the control of the garage and not bond it through BCIA.
This link can auto-populate an email form for you to edit and send. Don’t forget to sign your name in the email.
If you can make it to the BCIA meeting today at 1:00 that will be really great.
Address is: Bergen County Improvement Authority, 1 Bergen County Plaza, 4th floor, Learning Center.
put 10 Hudson Street into your GPS.
Thank you