>
$4 Million, plenty of engineers and consultants, and look what we’re left with. How much will the cleanup cost?
>
>Dan
I read your emails to Tom with great interest and frankly disbelief.
It is incredible that you can write that “we do not have crumb rubber on our fields.” Every parent of a child that has played on these fields would be amazed to hear that all the crumb rubber that has been tracked in since these surfaces were opened did not come from the fields and will want to know exactly where the kids have been picking up all that shredded tire stuff. Of course the fields have crumb rubber. This was a major point of discussion with the DEP when you applied for permits. There are three very large sacks of crumb rubber over by the right of way near Stevens. Perhaps you misunderstood the question.
I am very concerned that you have further taken a “hands off” attitude toward the situation that the BOE’s project has created. You tell Tom that the “RHS fields are closed”, presumably because it is unsafe to use these fields until they have been cleaned. This sound reasonable given that we do not know what pollutants the flood has deposited on the artificial turf surface the BOE installed. As the owner of the fields, the BOE has decided that closure is necessary to protect the public. However, you then say it’s not your problem because “we do not have the resources to post people to police the area”. In private industry, the owner of a project that has a major public safety issue is also responsible for enforcing that decision. Failure to do so exposes the owner to damages if someone is hurt. To summarize, as the owner of the fields the BOE has determined that it is unsafe to use them, but aside from telling the Village of your decision, you do not propose to do anything to protect the public? As a taxpayer, I certainly hope that no one is injured this weekend due to the BOE’s negligence. I might suggest that you somehow cordon off the fields with yellow tape, provide signage as to the fact they are closed and access is forbidden and consider stationing a custodian over the weekend to prevent their use.
When these fields were proposed and the DEP permits were sought, you personally assured the public that the construction of artificial turf surfaces in the flood plain would not pose a major problem. A number of the neighbors tried to point out the questionable basis for these comments. Even damage from a minor flood such as the one that occurred last night seriously belie your position.
As you can see, I have copied the press, Village Council and BOE members on this correspondence in the hope that they will find your responses as questionable as I have.
Regards
Jim Morgan
>OUR NEW TURF FIELDS ARE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (NO IDEA WHEN).
Thought you should also be aware of this info below.Forget about Lightgate, this is really Fieldgate now!
Both Stadium and Stevens Fields are now closed until further notice. Even though Dan says clean up will begin on Monday who knows with “testing” (for what?) this whole thing will take let alone cost! Since the BOE does not care to secure the fields as noted below I think your blog is the best way to get the word out to non-Sports groups who have not been told that OUR NEW TURF FIELDS ARE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (NO IDEA WHEN).
Also in case of another flood that will come sooner or later THE SAME THING WILL HAPPEN. It’s why the neighbors originally said, before even Lightgate, that to put turf in a flood zone was simply crazy! Unless you have millions of dollars to waste. That’s Fieldgate!I am sure you will be as flabbergasted as we are to learn that Dan did not know the fields have crumb rubber. I feel like this is a bad dream, it can’t be reality! Beam me up, Scotty!
>Parking utility loses a whopping $285,944 last year
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
According to the Ridgewood News the Parking utility lost a whopping $285,944 last year significantly more than Graydon Pool leaving taxpayers to pickup the tab.
There is also still an outstanding bill of $395,000 which was used toward the purchase of the Town Garage property, a controversial project that was voted down by the council after a failed attempt to acquire the property through the use of eminent domain.
The property also have some environmental remediation issues that must be performed before the property can be used which may in turn raise the costs . These costs have not to our knowledge been quantified as of yet and often run far larger and initial estimates.
>Hope and Change: Gas Prices Have Gone Up 67 Percent Since Obama Became President
That’s compared to a 7 percent increase under Bush in his first 26 months.
6:00 PM, MAR 9, 2011 BY MARK HEMINGWAY
Ah, January of 2009. Hope was in the air, but more importantly, gas was under two dollars a gallon. Since then gas prices, have gone up 67 percent and it’s an ominously upward trend. Interestingly enough, the Heritage Foundation also took a look at the first 26 months of Bush’s presidency — gas only rose 7 percent during that time frame.
https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/hope-and-change-gas-prices-have-gone-67-percent-obama-became-president_553930.html
>AOL Lays Off 20% Following Huffington Purchase
By VERNE G. KOPYTOFF
AOL said it would lay off 1,000 employees on Thursday in the wake of its acquisition of news and commentary site The Huffington Post.
The cuts, which represent 20 percent of AOL’s work force, also include reductions in its operations in India.
https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/aol-layoffs-continue/?partner=rss&emc=rss
>Illinois Governor Signs Amazon Internet Sales Tax Law
After two-months of fence-sitting, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today signed controversial legislation requiring Internet retailers like Amazon.com and Overstock.com to collect Illinois’ 6.25% sales tax if they have affiliate sellers in the state. House Bill 3659, the Mainstreet Fairness Bill, was passed by the state’s lame duck legislature in early January. Since then, the bill has been the subject of fierce lobbying by traditional bricks and mortar retailers, who supported it, and Illinois-based Internet-only businesses, who warned that if Quinn didn’t veto it some of them would flee the state. Had Quinn done nothing, the bill would have become law tomorrow without his signature.
>PSE&G utility pole-attached solar project : Another feel-good waste of money.
I notice that nowhere in the post is it stated the amount of energy that these solar panels will produce. Nor is there a cost analysis of when they will reach break even. Nor is there any disclosure on projected maintenance costs including breakage, wear, life (replacement expectations),cleaning (I’m sure a cleaning program will be initiated as soon as energy level drops are tied to efficiency losses due to dirt, bird droppings/nests, tree growth, etc.)
Again, what a feel good waste of money that could be put towards more cost efficient energy production from Natural Gas, Clean Coal, Oil or Nuclear.
>A wake-up call for gadget lovers; Text, tweets robbing us of needed sleep, study finds
By Mary Jo Layton The Record (Hackensack N.J.)
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they’re not getting enough sleep and late-night computer use, texting and video games are a significant part of the problem, according to a national survey released Monday.
Virtually all of Americans surveyed in the Sleep in America poll reported “very active” use of technology at least a few nights a week within an hour of bed.
“It is clear that we have a lot more to learn about the appropriate use and design of this technology to complement good sleep habits,” said David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, which conducted the survey.
More than half of kids ages 13 to 18 text an hour before bed most nights and this group reports being the sleepiest of all, the survey found.
On average they report seven hours and 26 minutes of sleep a night on weeknights, nearly two hours shy of the nine hours and 15 minutes recommended by sleep experts.
It’s a familiar story to Dr. Tracy Carbone, a sleep expert at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J., who treats a growing number of adolescents for sleep disorders which are affecting school performance, driving ability and moods and mental health.
>Light Gate : Under the draft Fields Use Policy, sports teams are planning to play up to 75 nights up to 10pm. Of these 75 nights, 16 are on weekday “school nights
Attached is the “Lighting/Field Use Per Proposed Policy 3/4/11” as prepared by the BOE using Gerry Rossi’s chart. What this shows is that under the draft Fields Use Policy, sports teams are planning to play up to 75 nights up to 10pm. Of these 75 nights, 16 are on weekday “school nights” when children start class about 8am the next morning.
Childhood schedules have changed over the years, but I doubt that there are any professionals that will endorse the idea of children playing sports up to 10pm on night before school days. What are these parents thinking of by asking to keep their kids out this late.
>DEP looks to loosen environmental regulations
In a move denounced by lawmakers and environmentalists, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) yesterday proposed to waive regulatory requirements in limited cases where the rules prove to be “unduly burdensome.” (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0309/2349/
>At least 27 N.J. towns may ask voters by referendum to raise taxes above 2-percent cap
At least 27 towns have notified voters they may be asked to raise their taxes through a referendum next month, the first time New Jersey residents will have a say in their property tax rate. (DeMarco, The Star-Ledger)
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/at_least_27_nj_towns_may_ask_v.html
>School unions: Pay cuts too steep
Teachers unions, complaining they’re already saddled with historic lows in salary settlements, say they’re bracing for reductions in compensation because of proposals to reform health care plans and the pension system. (Williams Boyd, Asbury Park Press)
https://www.app.com/article/20110309/NJNEWS/103090378/School-unions-Pay-cuts-too-steep
>Where the money went: Spending by NJ special interest groups
It’s the who’s who of lobbyists and special interest groups in Trenton, a voluminous report and database that details who is spending how much each year to try to influence legislation and policy. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0310/0008/
