By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on May 10, 2017 at 9:39 AM, updated May 10, 2017 at 11:37 AM
New Jersey may not make an October deadline to have state driver’s licenses conform to stricter security requirements to meet the federal Real ID act.
The state may need a “short extension” past October to meet the standards, said Ray Martinez, Motor Vehicle Commission chief administrator.
“We are very confident it will be done by the end of the year, but it may not be in October,” Martinez said at an assembly budget committee hearing on Monday. “Real ID compliance is top priority.”
New Jersey is one of 12 states that have an extension until October. A first extension was granted in January 2016 by the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Not meeting the Real ID requirements would mean New Jersey driver’s licenses and non-license ID cards issued by the MVC would not be accepted at airports for identification. Currently, licenses and other ID issued in four states are not accepted for identification by federal agencies because they don’t meet Real ID standards.
Ridgewood NJ , Volunteer members of Ridgewood’s Emergency Medical Services organization were on hand to receive an official proclamation declaring the week of May 21 through 27, 2017 as Emergency Medical Services Week in the Village of Ridgewood. The proclamation was made and presented by Ridgewood’s Mayor, Susan Knudsen, and members of the Ridgewood Village Council during a Village Council Public Meeting held on Wednesday evening, May 10.
Ridgewood has an all volunteer Ridgewood EMT’s , who answer 1700 calls a year, 21,000 hours of time . Mayor Knudsen and the Village council honored the Village EMT’s . Mayor Knudsen specificity thanked the EMT’s for being so attentive on recent visits to her father house ,twice in the last several weeks. The EMT’s responded that “It was our privilege and pleasure to serve the Village” .
Ridgewood NJ, the Village budget was up loaded on April 27th after it was approved by the state on New Jersey . The tax hike over last year is about .04% ,hardly massive. The previous administration increased the budget 1.6% , this Village council is looking for an increase of 2%.
The council made an effort to balance many competing issues and expenses with an eye on investing in the future of the Village as opposed to the previous administration which used emergency funds to pay for current non emergency expenses .
The Mayor and Council continued their on going battle with the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) which continues its ill informed agenda driven attacks on the Village Council.
The mayor explained the parking pass rate increase , and the overall allocation of parking. There has been an attempt to push use of less utilized parking through a lower rate and get employees off the street with discounted parking .The parking rate increase of $1000 was proposed by the from the Financial Advisories Committee , but the Council raised the rate to $750.It was important to balance commuters with shoppers with CBD employees.
The recent letter published in the media by former Village manager mirrored a letter that was sent to the Village council by the FAC.
In response to the Ridgewood News letter to the editor written by Roberta Sonenfeld: Residents should be cautious relying on the content due to errors, omissions and misrepresentations.
• Sonenfeld’s suggestion that the process wasn’t transparent is remarkable! The process followed is the same she was required to follow as former Village Manager. AS REQUIRED BY LAW, once the budget is introduced it must be reviewed by the Village auditor and afterwards, again as required by law, must be submitted to the State in THEIR BUDGET FORMAT for review with the completion of a check list and all required documentation. This process is no different than any other year – even during those years she was village manager. When the budget is advertised, it advises the public to contact the Village CFO with the appropriate phone number and extension. No phone calls have been received to date.• Sonenfeld’s feigned surprise about the use of “rainy day” funds is curious since Sonenfeld utilized the surplus over and over again. She need only review her use of $3.032mil in 2015 and $3.3mil in 2016. The 2017 use of surplus, at approximately 10% more, is well within the amounts stipulated by the guidelines of the resolution recommended by Sonenfeld and adopted by Village Council last year for the utilization of “rainy day” reserves.
• Sonenfeld writes, “the budget proposes $7.4 million in authorized general debt for 2017 – an 88 percent increase over last year.” If she had provided the actual 2016 amount of $6.021 million ( authorized general debt) readers would have recognized her math error…. The increase of 21% NOT 88% – the difference is for possible property acquisition. Remember this is not incurred debt, IT IS AUTHORIZED BUT NOT ISSUED
• Too other many errors, omissions and misrepresentations to list!!! The Mayor says you can email if you have any questions: sknudsen@ridgewoodnj.net
Ridgewood NJ, Mayor Knudsen read a statement addressing displaying the “Pride Flag” in the Village of Ridgewood .The Mayor answered some over the top criticism , name calling and threats toward the Village council over that flag .
The Village Council approved flying a rainbow flag, a symbol of gay pride, at Van Neste Square for the month of June in recognition of Gay Pride Month.
As previously reported by this blog much of the name calling was in clear violation of the spirit of inclusion of ‘Gay Pride ” and motivated by small minded political agenda’s. Poor behavior of many residents on this issue show how far we have to go in excepting and respecting our differences and differences of opinion.
While no surprise the corporate media fed by failed special agenda politics continues to misrepresent the Village’s position on the “rainbow flag” and the Villages intent .
Editors note: Did Jeff say “must embrace the LGBT community”, ie must seems to imply force ? Are we really going down this road ? Like I said before inclusion comes from how people treat each other ,not from phony pretenses.
Why not just pass a proclamation saying The Village of Ridgewood, during Gay Pride Month, celebrates all of our LBGTQ citizens, and fully supports their equal rights. Done, everyone happy. However, the cultural Marxists among the supporters really want more, and flying a flag is a useful psychological device in asserting power and how everyone should think. No shades of gray allowed,
As for Mt, Carmel, a nun in my daughters school flies the flag in front of her office. Don’t care, not my business. I think Mt. Carmel will simply stay out of the fray, especially as feelings may be mixed among the priests and elders of the Church.
Of course, the churches in town may be sorry at some point as the Cultural Marxist influence grows
Lot of truly dangerous people on that FB page. Challenge, as I did, you will get booted.
Every time he seems to have calmed down, he comes out with another Aronsohn-like outrage. Dissing his fellow council members in public before the issue was even decided was pretty low and only makes him look bad.
Known and unknown detractors and calumniators of our mayor are diligent, working toward her political reduction and the resurrection of the Aronsohn faction. There is a level of sophistication in their machinations that our Village has never before seen or experienced. In some ways this speaks well of ordinary citizens in Ridgewood, in that the big guns of political warfare are now being rolled out to try to disarm and discourage them, and yet our non-political municipal heritage is not really yielding to the pressure. Most towns get caught unawares, leading to easy takeovers by the democratic machine. The reader who posted this is quite astute. Voight is undoubtedly recruiting like-minded candidates to run, win, and serve with him for at least a two-year period as a new majority that would marginalize Councilpersons Coughlin-Walsh and Hache much like the present Mayor and Deputy Mayor suffered at the hands of former Mayor Aronsohn and his cronies. Their treatment was atrocious and they are due a debt of gratitude for persisting and waiting for the dawn the way they did.
I remember when VM Roberta Sonenfeld advocated for a modest tax increase Ashe at the time was worried about depleting or lowering the emergency funds account. The extremely low tax rates in the past were well below the current rate of inflation. Many feel that this approach was in the long run ,did not make good financial sense. People who were not involved during Paul’s reign will not understand how truly awful he could be to his own colleagues on the bench and to citizens. The appointment of Ms, Sonenfeld was very political in nature. He got a 4th vote for his side when she became VM. The current council got rid of an un needed and not so nice Human Resource appointee saving us tax dollars and our sanity. They appointed a truly qualified individual as VM when they hired Heather Mailander.They are working overboard to address the parking issues and allowing for all opinions except the one from the Financial Committee that addressed the old garage design! I don’t expect that I will agree with anyone all the time but it sure is nice when you’re elected officials are at least nice people!
I agree about what one gets for one’s taxes now versus then. Mortgage and taxes were never low but they did not take giant bites out of one’s life and the schools were terrific. They actually stink now. I don’t like paying so much for so little. I believe we have not begun to see what will happen to our property taxes when the apartments are built. During construction the CBD will be unbearable, so there go the businesses and restaurants (and garage). The water dept. has already found that the pipe system can’t handle it and plans to bill residents for the pleasure of expanding it for hundreds of residents who should not be moving here because there isn’t room. All the water to be used by all those buildings and renters and lawns is going to take another bite out of our limited water supply. Will we be allowed ONE day a week to water? And will everybody water throughout all the limited hours permitted? Will water start costing more and more? On a personal note, the prospect of losing all the plantings that I could finally afford to have done and make it look nice is unbearable. If I liked cacti I would live in the Southwest.
Roberta is, was and will always be Paul Aronsohn’s puppet. This move is part of a much larger scheme to discredit Susan Knudsen. Why? Because they are gearing up for the next election. The dark side has to win the two opening spots so they can regain the voting block. Jeff Voight is holding their third spot. Salivating for 2018. They have a lot of shady agendas waiting to push through.
Everyone should have equal rights. Nice statement. Is Citizen’s Park going to look like the front of the United Nations building? It is physically impossible to fly all the flags that will demand equal rights. Flying one flag that is neither national nor state will lead to an overwhelming demand by all groups–sports, college, Women’s rights, etc.etc.. The council is opening up a hornet’s nest. No matter how we feel about any specific group’s “rights”, all groups are free to fly any flag at their home, but we should not use public spaces for such flags. It is one thing if a specific group is celebrating a specific day at Citizens. Then a special flag “might” lead to consideration for that day only. Even then, that will lead to multi requests by other groups for “Their day”. The council should not yield to the demands of a single group (of any kind) without seriously considering future consequences.
VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING
MAY 10, 2017
8:00 P.M.
Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute and Moment of Silence
Acceptance of Financial Reports
Approval of Minutes
Proclamations
National Cancer Survivors Day
Emergency Medical Services Week
Proclaim May as Mental Health Month
Proclaim May as Older Americans Month
Proclaim June as Gay Pride Month
Proclaim June 2nd as National Gun Violence Awareness Day
Comments from the Public (Not to exceed 3 minutes per person – 40 minutes in total)
Scoping Hearing – Green Acres Diversion on South
Broad Street
Adoption of Ordinance 3592 – Establish a CAP Bank
2017 Budget Hearing
Overview of 2017 Budget
Village Council’s Comments
Public Hearing on 2017 Budget
Resolution 17-126 Adopt 2017 Budget
Village Manager’s Report
Village Council Reports
ORDINANCES – INTRODUCTION – RIDGEWOOD WATER-NONE
ORDINANCES – PUBLIC HEARING – RIDGEWOOD WATER-NONE
RESOLUTIONS – RIDGEWOOD WATER
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION, NUMBERED 17-127, WILL BE ADOPTED BY A CONSENT AGENDA, WITH ONE VOTE BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL. THERE IS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION BESIDE THE RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. THE RESOLUTION WILL BE READ BY TITLE ONLY:
17-127 Award Professional Services Contract – Engineering Services for Suez Corrosion Control (NTE $15,000) – Awards a Professional Services Contract to Mott MacDonald, 111 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, NJ
ORDINANCES – INTRODUCTION
3599 – Amend Chapter 260 – Trees and Shrubs – Establishes rules and regulations for the planting and removal of trees on both public and private properties
3600 – Amend Chapter 212 – Parks and Recreation Areas – Prohibition of Dogs Off-Leash in Certain Parks – Prohibits dogs who are off-leash in both the Irene Habernickel Family Park and the Schedler Park Property
ORDINANCES – PUBLIC HEARING
3593 – General Capital Ordinance ($6,241,000)
3594 – Water Utility Capital Ordinance ($5,745,500) 3595 – Parking Utility Capital Ordinance ($210,000)
3596 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Parking Restrictions – Bogert Avenue and Cambridge Road
3597 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Parking Restrictions – Pomander Walk
3598 – Construction of Handicapped Ramp at Irene Habernickel Family Park ($70,000)
RESOLUTIONS
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS, NUMBERED 17-128 THROUGH
17-139 ARE TO BE ADOPTED BY A CONSENT AGENDA, WITH ONE VOTE BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL. THERE IS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION BESIDE EACH RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. EACH RESOLUTION WILL BE READ BY TITLE ONLY:
17-128 Title 59 Approval- Replacement of Firehouse Roof – Approves the plans and specifications for Roof Replacement at the Main Fire House, 201 East Glen Avenue in the Village of Ridgewood prepared by the Engineering Division, pursuant to Title 59
17-129 Award Contract – Replacement of Firehouse Roof (NTE $126,760) – Awards a contract to the lowest responsible bidder, NDP Construction, LLC, 200 White Road, Suite 207, Little Silver, NJ
17-130 Title 59 Approval – School Bus Transportation Services – Approves the plans and specifications for School Bus Transportation Services prepared by the Parks and Recreation Department, pursuant to Title 59
17-131 Award Contract – Rebid of School Bus Transportation Services – Day Camp (NTE $21,000) – Awards a contract to the lowest responsible bidder, Durham School Services, 248 Goffle Road, Hawthorne, NJ
17-132 Award Contract Under County Contract – Rock Salt (NTE $56.86/ton) – Awards a contract under County Contract to Mid-American Salt, LLC, 4528 Hillegas Road, Fort Wayne, IN
17-133 Authorize Additional Funding for Special Attorney for RCRD Lawsuit (NTE $15,000) – Awards an additional $15,000 for the Special Attorney in the RCRD Lawsuit, Peter Scandariato of Eastwood, Scandariato, & Steinberg, 336 President Street, Saddle Brook, NJ
17-134 Authorize Application – Designate Graydon Park – Historic Designation – Authorizing application to Historic Preservation Office of the State of New Jersey to add Graydon Park to the State and National Registers of Historic Places
17-135 Authorize Shared Services Agreement – Borrowing of County Equipment (Bergen County) – Authorizes a Shared Services agreement with Bergen County for the sharing of emergency and non-emergency equipment
17-136 Suspension of Ordinance for Certain Illuminated Signs – Suspends the ordinance for certain illuminated signs in the Central Business District until December 31, 2017
17-137 Approve Encroachment Agreement – The Office Restaurant – 32-34 Chestnut Street – Approves an Encroachment Agreement for a canopy over the doorway of The Office Restaurant which extends over the Village’s sidewalk and is minor in nature. Also authorizes the Mayor and Village Manager to sign the Encroachment Agreement.
17-138 Authorize Addition of World War I Ridgewood Resident Veteran Killed in Action to Memorial Plaque – Authorizes the addition of the name of Anthonie J. Wendels, a Ridgewood resident, who was an Army Veteran killed in action in World War I, to the plaque at Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Also authorizes the Village to pay the cost of doing so.
17-139 Recognize the Designated Public Forum Space in Memorial Park at Van Nest Square – Display of the Gay Pride Flag – Designating the Public Forum space in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, resolving to display the Gay Pride Flag for all of June 2017 in recognition of Gay Pride Month.
Comments from the Public (Not to Exceed 5 minutes per person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
A. Legal – COAH, Valley Hospital
B. Personnel – Appointments to Boards and Committees; Appointments of Professionals
C. Contract Negotiations – Consideration of Purchase of Property 24. Adjournment
Truly Amazing to see any official defend this type of budget. If my company performance mirrored that of our schools with the never ending costs I would be fired in a moment. Ridgewood you win.
Reluctantly After 20 years in Ridgewood, we have changed our plans and will be joining others who are leaving. Our children are gone and although we planned to stay and the village should also want us to stay as we have no longer have kids in the system, we have lost the fight. Our property taxes are almost $50,000. The taxes have gone up almost 8x in 20 years while my home value has been stagnant or reduced. The schools do not excel despite the spin, I can’t water my lawn, can’t park at the station to get to work, can’t get through town with all the traffic, very hard to live here now. The mayor is able to get her family village jobs, sell us her property for millions, Spend money on a old house and then fight to protect it, guess the list goes on.
Funny thing. We have a house in another part of NJ with a higher value, half the taxes, higher ranked schools, and much easier commute to NYC.
#18. Ridgewood High School Location: Ridgewood, Bergen County Overall Niche Grade: A+
By Matthew Stanmyre | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Sports programs from school districts in Passaic, Ocean, Bergen and Essex counties have been ranked the best in New Jersey and among the most highly rated in the nation, according to the latest Niche best schools rankings.
The study rated school district athletics as a whole, considering parent and student opinions, number of interscholastic sports offered, percentages of girls and boys participating in sports and the average athletic expense per student, among other factors.
Scroll down to see the full rankings for New Jersey.
* Note: The rankings do not include private schools. Click here to see the full Niche rankings.
Ridgewood NJ, What’s better than a summer cocktail utilizing the freshest ingredients? As the summer season rapidly approaches, Kings Food Markets has crafted the perfect summer-time cocktails fit for any occasion, including:
Sunset Mimosa– Everything gets hotter when the sun goes down.
At Kings, we offer a wide variety of Kings Sparkling Lemonades, including Original, Pink, Orange and Pomberry, that are bright, refreshing beverages with a light effervescence and smooth, citrus taste, imported directly from France.
We also offer a nice selection of Kings Sparkling Natural Mineral Waters to concoct the above cocktails, or even to enjoy on the patio on that hot summer day. Our Sparkling Waters are produced in the heart of the Italian Alps, naturally filtered for an exceptional crisp and clean tasting water.
Looking for garnishes? Kings Organic Fresh Herbs add nuance and complexity to any cocktail. Whether you are looking for Fresh Sage, Rosemary, Mint or Bay Leaves, Kings offers more than 16 fresh herbs to top off your perfect cocktail.
And if you need a place to pick up your favorite bottle, your neighborhood store along with our Ridgewood, location offers Fine Wine and Spirits- a truly one stop shopping experience.
