OCTOBER 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015, 10:45 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The latest drawings for the proposed Schedler Park, which includes a large multi-purpose field, were unveiled last week during a presentation made by village officials.
The Schedler property and the historic Zabriskie-Schedler house have come back to the forefront in recent weeks with a resolution passed by the council to endorse recommendations made for the site in the 2012 Open Space report and the submission of an application for a matching grant that would fund preliminary cleanup work in the area.
Some of the features of the potential park include an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible walking path, restrooms and playground, a woodland and nature area, and the most-discussed feature, a 90-foot baseball field with multi-purpose field overlay for soccer, lacrosse and football. A parking lot at the southern end of the triangular shaped parcel contains 74 spaces and a drop-off lane.
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld emphasized this was “the beginning stages of a public discussion on the actual design of the park.”
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.
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.
The Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood shall conduct a Public Hearing in the Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room on the fourth floor of the Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ at its October 14, 2015 Regular Public Meeting, which meeting begins at 8:00 p.m.
The purpose of this Public Hearing is for the Village Council to receive comments and suggestions from the public for the Village of Ridgewood’s 2015 Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund Municipal Park Improvement and Development Grant application. The Village has applied for this grant for Phase 1 work on the Schedler Park property, located at 460 West Saddle River Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Phase 1 would encompass basic infrastructure improvements to include: installation of underground utilities (water, electric, sewer); demolition of two-car garage, small shed; capping of inoperable well; selective removal of down, dead, diseased trees; site clean-up; and cut in proposed parking lot driveway entrance.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 11:13 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Questions have arisen in recent weeks over the process by which the Village Council submitted its application to Bergen County for its Open Space grant, prompting officials to respond in a public forum.
During a recent council meeting, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld dedicated a portion of her manager’s report to address questions that had been brought up both that evening and in past meetings.
The Village of Ridgewood has applied for a Bergen County Open Space matching grant that will cover preliminary work needed at the Schedler property to allow for the construction of any passive or active recreational purposes on the site, said Sonenfeld.
The grant will fund the removal of the garage and shed, the capping of a well and the removal of dead, diseased or downed trees and stumps. Bidding for this work will go out in October or November pending the approval of another resolution by the council.
During public comment, resident Frank Delvecchio asked if the village is providing any funding for the project as the open space application indicated $100,000 in capital funds will be used in order to apply.
Sonenfeld said the $100,000 amount is a gift coming from the Ridgewood Baseball Softball Association (RBSA), which would be accepted through the village’s gift ordinance and could then be deposited into a special trust fund for the park before moving it into a municipal capital fund account.
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.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Old plans could present solution for Schedler
To the Editor:
There can be a sensible alternative to construction of a 90-foot baseball/multiuse field in a heavily wooded area on the Schedler property, and with little cost to the sports groups or the village. There is an existing 80-foot field at Pleasant Park that can be expanded to 90 feet. An existing plan, before the purchase of Schedler, might well be a solution.
In fact, both Veteran’s Field and the Pleasant Field were slated to become 90-foot fields as replacements when the field at Benjamin Franklin Middle School was turned into a track. A 2007-08 report on our Parks and Facilities by Schoor-DePalma-CMX (“Comprehensive Parks, Facilities and Recreation Plan”), paid for by the village, was presented to the council in 2008 recommending that the 80-foot existing baseball field at Pleasant Park be expanded, as well as Veteran’s Field, which now has a 90-foot field.
Of course, this report was written before the Schedler property was purchased.
After Schedler was purchased, the Pleasant Park extension was discarded. Reasons for the change by the village were soil conditions, objections by neighbors, permits from the DEP, etc. But no studies were ever done, and to my knowledge, no correspondence with the state.
The Pleasant Park neighbors are right to be concerned that a 90-foot field brings lights, noise, and traffic that could disrupt the Lawns neighborhood. But why are their concerns more important to the town than the residents on the east side.
Why not revive the idea of adding just a few feet to the existing 80-foot field at Pleasant with the following restrictions: no lights, no turf, and strict penalties for loud and disturbing behavior. As long as the players and fans play by the rules, the neighbors should be glad to help out. We would balance the loss of less than an acre of trees versus over 5 acres of trees at Schedler.
Sure, it would be nice to go across town to an area of east side residents near the Schedler property, put up a field, put in over 70 parking spaces and create problems on a narrow roadway, not to mention cutting down acres of trees that buffer the view and sounds of Route 17.
A traffic study in the middle of August on a residential street is not the right time to see what traffic is really like when school is out, when rush hour occurs, etc.
If this village is concerned about money, how would they justify an outlay of at least $1 million to level 5 acres at least, in an area that is uneven at best, put in a field, create a large berm around most of the property as buffer so trucks or cars don’t crash into the field?
The solution, a much less expensive solution, one that was proposed in the report, paid for by the village, is to extend the field at Pleasant.
The fly has noticed…………… that according to the Village website a recently crafted grant application with an attached resolution ( neither of which was brought to the full council ) showing that one hundred thousand dollars appears to be coming from village capital funds and not the RBSA. The Village manager stated at the recent council meeting that sports’ groups had funded the matching grant. This appears to be a blatant lie. While not one but two members have recently resigned from the Open Space Committee( one publicly) and it looks like they will start taking down trees at the Schedler property without a fully vetted plan in place on actual costs and the viability of a 90 foot baseball diamond at Schedler. There is so much wrong with the process and now it looks as though some of it might be in violation of the law. The Deputy Mayor was quoted on Wednesday as saying ,: “Maybe we’re breaking the law, but it’s not a good law.” , is there a lawyer in the house ?
Wednesday night’s meeting was a confirmation that the Schedler advocates are being treated far differently than the RBSA who want a professional size baseball diamond at the Schedler property.
When Isabella Altano came before you with 45 thousand dollars, a matching grant opportunity and a plan to stabilize the house every obstacle was thrown in her way even accusing her of some scheme not to accept monies from Mr. Bolger. Roberta made a comment that putting together the grant application would require work from village employees and that the ability to lend the additional 45 thousand until the grant came through would be a strain.
Now the RBA comes forward with money and no plan and we find that a grant application is in place with the help of village employees and two council members knew nothing about it.
In this day and age there is no believable explanation for not informing all council members. We have email and phones and there are only 5 council members not 50. Gwenn made some comments about a dad dealing with his two equally loved children. I would say it is more like the story of Cinderella. The inequities are that apparent.
I am asking you to put a moratorium on any removal of trees or other significant alterations to the property until there is a fully vetted plan for Schedler that includes safety studies, DOT approval for site changes, traffic studies etc. At this point we do not know the entire cost of a 90 foot diamond at Schedler and whether a wall may need to be built as the property without the trees will back up to Route 17. Removing the trees in advance would be devastating and unnecessary.
I don’t understand why any one organization or advisory committee has more importance than the people. Schedler advocates are representatives of their community and for the whole of Ridgewood. They have been left out if the process. It appears that they never had a chance but you let them work diligently, attend numerous public and private meetings acting as though there was a hope. You need to know costs including long term maintenance of the property and if the field is even viable for the area. After spending some time there recently I was reminded again of how close the property is to Route 17 and how drastically the removal of the 4 acres of trees will affect the neighborhood.
I sincerely hope you will not move forward until you can present a fully developed plan to the public for their input and for your needs to know actual costs.
RBSA- Welcome Home – Celebration for U-14 – Monday, August 24th
The RBSA will hold a victory celebration for the U14 Ridgewood Junior League All Star team, winners of the Junior Little League East Region Championship. The team is competing the week of August 16-23 in the Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Michigan. There will be a welcome home celebration taking place on Monday, August 24 between 2-4pm at Van Neste Park in the Village of Ridgewood. The team will have a police escort down East Ridgewood Avenue to the park, where they will be greeted by Mayor Paul Aronsohn, the Town Council and town residents to commemorate their accomplishments.
There will be food and music. Please come out to line the streets in celebration as we welcome home our U14 East Region champions.
RBSA – Welcome Home – Celebration for U-14 – Monday, August 24th
The RBSA will hold a victory celebration for the U14 Ridgewood Junior League All Star team, winners of the Junior Little League East Region Championship. The team is competing the week of August 16-23 in the Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Michigan. There will be a welcome home celebration taking place on Monday, August 24 between 2-4pm at Van Neste Park in the Village of Ridgewood. The team will have a police escort down East Ridgewood Avenue to the park, where they will be greeted by Mayor Paul Aronsohn, the Town Council and town residents to commemorate their accomplishments.
There will be food and music. Please come out to line the streets in celebration as we welcome home our U14 East Region champions
The Ridgewood U14 Raiders captured the Junior League state championship Monday night with a comeback win over Toms River East and will begin the Eastern Regional Tournament tonight in Freehold. FRONT ROW, from left: Garret Thompson, Ben Geraghty, Alex Facini, Sam Favieri, Avery Scott, Brady McSwigan and Kevin Seitter. BACK ROW, from left: Coach Dave Wang, coach Will Seitter, Dan Boucher, Mike Breiter, Pat Higgins, Dylan Black, Coleman Clauss, Bret Thompson, coach Marc Favieri, David Kleiman and coach Craig Frisina.
AUGUST 7, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RON FOX
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Fortunately, Marc Favieri’s rallying cry did not fall on deaf ears Monday.
“Keep fighting,” he and his assistant coaches kept urging the U14-level baseball team.
The Ridgewood Raiders responded full bore. They came back from near oblivion to take the next step on the circuitous route toward the Little League Junior World Series by scoring nine runs in the seventh and final inning to win the state championship, 14-8, over Toms River East in Old Bridge.
The Raiders now move on to Freehold, where the Eastern Regional Tournament starts against Edgewood Little League of Bristol, Conn., tonight at 7 p.m. The tournament consists of 10 teams, from Maine to Maryland and Delaware.
The winner of that tournament earns a berth in the Little League Junior World Series beginning Aug. 16 in Taylor, Mich. A New Jersey team hasn’t won the tournament since Holbrook Little League of Jackson captured the title in 2009.
The outlook was bleak as Ridgewood entered the seventh. They were running out of time. With one out and no one on base, the situation has reached desperation time for a Raiders squad just two outs away from elimination.
“Keep fighting,” came the cry again, reasserting the faith the coaches had in the boys. It was not an empty phrase.
APRIL 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Mr. Met will be among the attractions highlighting a revamped Ridgewood Baseball and Softball Association (RBSA) Opening Day Parade and Family Fun Day Saturday at Veterans Field.
The New York Mets mascot is scheduled to march in the parade, which is expected to include more than 1,000 players from the village’s youth baseball and softball teams.
The 65th annual event begins at 9 a.m. at the Ridgewood train station and will proceed through town via East Ridgewood Avenue to Veterans Field, where the opening ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Kasschau Band Shell.
The New Jersey Jackals minor league team is slated to make a guest appearance alongside Grand Marshals Gary and Nora Muzio, longtime supporters and invaluable members of the RBSA.
This year’s fair features a fresh new look and will include five of the area’s top food trucks, including Pizza Vita Brick Oven Pizza, Jersey Johnny’s Grill, and Oink and Moo BBQ. A pavilion will be set up where 30 vendors will showcase a mix of unique wares and sports-related items.
Also new to the events is a 60-item Tricky Tray and Silent Auction. Participants can take a chance on winning prizes such as tickets to professional sporting events, golf outings, a Rawlings pitching machine, Easton Mako and DeMarini Vendetta bats, spa packages, dining certificates and more.
Ridgewood council weighs costs of turf versus grass
AUGUST 14, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014, 3:48 PM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
Artificial turf appears to cost less to maintain than grass, at least on Maple Field.
According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, an estimated $121,500 was spent maintaining the turf on Maple Field during an eight-year period from 2006 to 2014.
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