You forgot to mention that Gwenn Hauck came to the microphone and asked a question that she should have know the answer to had she been paying attention during the meeting instead of chatting with her buddy Rurik Halaby.
And then the FORMER councilwoman Gwenn Hauck goes flitting up to the microphone and asks a question that made no sense. She asked whether 3066 had been repealed. And it had not. And our Mayor had already explained why it was not being voted on last night. Ummmmm Gwenn…..please pay attention. It’s a shame to see you making a fool of yourself. Oh, that’s right, you always make a fool of yourself, nothing new there. Laughing my ass off from my easy chair with my ipad on my lap.
It really is time for Mrs. Hauck’s family to keep her at home for Council meetings. I feel bad and embarrassed for her at the same time.
Dear Council, I agree that long lines of speakers behind the lectern are a relatively recent development as issues affecting the future of our village arose and contentiousness reigned. In addition, council meeting agendas were absurdly crammed and many pages long, making the hour impossibly late and everyone cranky. This meant that people who had hoped to speak but could not stay up into the wee hours were forced to leave Village Hall without saying a word. At more than one such meeting, people greeted the council with “Good morning” as they began to speak.
For years we were given only three minutes–and there was no second comment period at the end of the meeting. Those of us representing the Graydon group routinely had complicated and timely points to make. I know that I was not alone in having to rewrite and edit my statements for hours, practicing over and over in front of the clock, whittling my comments down to three minutes, often forgoing important points because I couldn’t say them fast enough, and not wanting to come off as the world’s fastest speaker, with my words signifying nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEqRdIbXbtg
It was truly a waste of time and served no one well.
Then we learned that the three-minute limitation had been incorrect all along, and suddenly five minutes was allowed. Remembering how difficult it had been to abide by the shorter limit, I felt both relieved and frustrated: it was too late for the longer time to help us much, since by then we had won our main fight to preserve Graydon. Still, progress is progress. There will always be new issues and comments. I can say from long personal experience that the difference between three and five minutes is enormous, considering that within the allotted time one must adjust the microphone, state and possibly spell one’s name and address, and perhaps interact with one or more persons on the dais. The seconds fly by.
Some residents and others truly have complicated statements to make; others may be nervous and unaccustomed to public speaking, and end up pausing a lot, or not know how to stop talking until the bell rings; yet others simply like to hear themselves talk, and go on and on, meeting after meeting, about what they want and do not want personally, annoying and boring all present, and probably an important motivation for considering shortening the time for all. Those making comments would do well to make their points and leave the lectern rather than feeling obliged to use the full time allowed. (I can’t claim to have always succeeded in this, but it has happened far more often when I had five minutes than three.) Perhaps it would help if the mayor noted from time to time that the speaker who does so tends to make a stronger impression.
I hope you will not restore the shorter maximum speaking time. In some important situations, that limitation prevents speakers from making their points at all. Sincerely, Marcia Ringel
Ridgewood NJ, an odd occurrence at the Village Council meeting last night Siobhan Crann Winograd who has recently joined the League of Women Voters along with some other notables including Paul Aronsohn. Asked to curtail public comment at Village Council meetings . Given the former mayor and his cronies tried engineer the turning the Village into Union City despite the public out cry . The 3 amigos were famous for presenting done deals to residents then ignoring both their questions and objections. Siobhan who was involved with the horrible “civility committee ” also spoke in praise of Roberta as well as Rurik Halaby.
Jim Griffith also spoke about the garage and some ambiguities in Susan’s position but the new mayor handled it very well. One other thing of particular interest was when the council was going over bills and the one for the garage video came up Mike and Susan both stated that they had never been informed of the decision to pay for the video and voiced real discomfort about. Jeff Voigt also voiced his concern and Bernie abstained from voting without comment. It was 4 yeses and one abstain but with vocal criticism.
Anne Loving asked whether the authorization of this video should be investigated and that those responsible should foot the bill. Boyd Loving also spoke about not reducing public comment.
Having been around forever and remembering all the long battles to increase opportunities for public comment both at the council level and at the Board of Education, I would like to make an observation . Public comment only becomes a bit unwieldy when there are hot button issues. Years can go by when the only people at the mic are the regulars. I can’t remember a time like these last several months when there were so many controversial issues on the agenda at the same time: housing density ordinances, Schedler, Parking Garage, Habernickel Park to name a few. Everyone and there brother had an opinion and felt the necessity to voice it. Limiting public comment in situations like this only leaves people more frustrated and when that happens the tone of a meeting can alter. It was like ” The Perfect Storm”.
I think the council does a great job in allowing multiple opportunities to speak. I would hate to see that change because of the past several months. The council can always allow for more public comment or curtail it due to the late hour or hold special meetings when necessary.If someone becomes somewhat contentious or too personal, that person can be asked to refrain from that behavior. Last, Marcia Ringle made a great point regarding the location of the speakers podium. Many of us have commented that having it directly in the center aisle makes it difficult for those attending the meeting to hear and also for the home viewers. That simple change to place it back on the side wouldn’t cost a penny. How rare! A cheap fix! Thank you to all for your service both at the dais and attendance at meetings.
Sincerely,
Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood Council will have its regular public meeting at 8pm tonight with a couple of interesting things on the agenda .
First Ridgewood Water ;
16-233 Authorize Compensation for Participants in Lead and Copper Sampling and Testing Program – Authorizes Ridgewood Water to credit $25 to the water service accounts of the participants in the lead and copper sampling and testing program
16-234 Amend Agreement for Online Credit Card and Bank Account Debit Payment of Water Bills – Elimination of Convenience Fee for Customers – Amends the existing agreement with Metropolitan Communications, LLC for the processing of credit card and bank account debit payments for water bills so that Ridgewood Water will be charged the $.25 convenience fee instead of the customer being charged.
Then there is parking ;
3542 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Violations and Penalties – Increase Parking Ticket Fines
3545 – Amend Chapter 249 – Streets and Sidewalks – Increase Fines for Paving Moratorium Violations
3546 – Amend Chapter 145 – Fees – Sewers and Sewage Disposal Fees – Increase Annual Service Charge for Out of Village Dischargers
And of coarse land use ;
3540 – Amend Chapter 190 – Land Use and Development – Regulations for Political Signs and Temporary Signs
3541 – Repeal Ordinance 3066
and a few interesting tidbits :
3547 – Ban Puppy Mills
Resolutions:
16-246 Amendment to Central Business District Advisory Committee Resolution – Terms of Members
16-249 Authorize Ridgewood Wildscape Association to Fund Treatment of Noxious Weeds at Kings Pond Park
16-250 Declare Property Surplus – Street Sweepers – Declares two street sweepers surplus property and authorizes the Village Manager to dispose of said property
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood schools will be open and students will return to school on Tuesday, September 6 (minimum day schedule). Opening Day for teachers and support staff is Thursday, September 1.
Ridgewood sale days under attack by aggressive parking police .witnessed this last Friday at 12 15 aside the book store cottage place.
Merchants should look into this interms of a ticket amnesty for mid day to 6 pm for special Ridgewood sale days .try to get over ourselves RIDGEWOOD good will be remembered forever…parking tickets on sale days guarantee no repeat visit by that out of Towner…why would they come back..give them a thank you for coming flyer waiver reminder if the Meters can’t be waived.
Ridgewood NJ, Watch this short clip. Yelling at a resident, Sergeant Chuck says no dogs allowed at Habernickel park, any park. Roberta says, “it’s illegal!”
HealthBarn announces they are dog friendly and the LAW is thrown out to accommodate Stacey and her dog watering station.
Then HealthBarn lures/invites dogs, dog bites kid, the law is back again.
Can it be that the Police and Roberta (our code enforcers) don’t know the law or are they catering to Healthbarn? Either way it’s reckless and negligent.
With barely three months left before the presidential election, 2016 candidate lawn signs are sprouting like mushrooms throughout the Garden State. Claude Brodesser-Akner, NJ.com Read more
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Before they even understand what words and books are about, young children still benefit from listening to you read aloud. And by making books a part of your daily routine, you’re setting the stage for future success in school, work and life.
Benefits include:
Boosting School Readiness – Reading is one of the easiest ways to increase school readiness. When you read to your child, you’re building their vocabulary, language and literacy skills, while improving concentration, curiosity and memory. Watch the video below to learn more about how reading builds comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Success in School – Studies show that children who grow up with lots of books in the home tend to go farther in school.
A Love of Books – Reading together builds strong family relationships. By cuddling up together with a good book, you teach your child that reading is fun—even for adults.
Teaching Coping Skills – Books are a great way to teach children how to handle new experiences and stressful situations. Stories can help children understand, talk about and deal with everything from starting a new school to the loss of a pet.
Did you know?
If a child reads for 20 minutes every day, they are exposed to about 1.8 million words of text every year. That is 137 new words per minute!
If families read together for 20 minutes a day, 7 days a week, they get more than 121 hours of bonding time every year!
Many states use third-grade reading scores to predict the number of jail cells they might need in the future (about three out of five prisoners in America are illiterate).
For every year you read with your child, average lifetime earnings increase by $50,000. You make a $250,000 gift to your child from birth to age 5 by reading aloud, just 20 minutes a day!
Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3–4 times more likely to drop out in later years.
Ridgewood NJ , Sarit Lotem’s book “Get More Clients Online – How To Leverage Your Business And Generate New Clients” is coming to Amazon Kindle!
You can get it for free for one day only on August 18th. To reserve your free copy, just go tohttps://www.lotemdesign.com/get-clients-online/ and Sarit will send you a reminder so you will not miss it.
P.S.
You don’t need a kindle device to download and read Kindle books. You can download an app for your computer. Go to https://amzn.to/24T6xNo to see what’s available.
Ridgewood NJ, YWCA Bergen County now offers “Music and Movement Fitness Class”, a special needs program for children ages 6 through 12 years. This class is designed for children with intellectual and development delays, including autism, with self-help skills to independently participate.
Music and movement are stimulating for children’s physical, emotional and intellectual growth and can positively impact their educational experience. This program is designed to keep children focused and engaged by involving them with exercise, musical instruments, puppets, drumming and parachute play.
Instructor Lisa Powers, aka Lisa La La, has been designing and teaching children’s music and physical fitness programs since 2001 in preschools, daycares and public schools throughout Bergen County. She holds a B.S. in Music Business from NYU.
Classes are held Thursdays from 5:00 to 5:45pm at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ. Registration opens Monday, August 15th and program session runs from September 6th through October 29th. For more information or to enroll, please contact the Membership Department at 201-444-5600 x400.
Aronson left us these problems and we need to deal with them now, ourselves. How much money is too much to unravel what was done? Besides, this is not a witch hunt – – this is a targeted effort to try and determine the truth of repeated allegations of improper favoritism in Village life. There is a reason there is a law on the books that allows the council to conduct this inquiry. This is exactly the situation where an investigation is required.
Until all the other Ridgewood problems are solved (Habernickle, high density housing, garage and most of all,Valley!) I can’t see the Village spending one cent on the library. It is already huge for a town this size and it has an auditorium that it rents out. (Check into how often it is rented and that will show you a need for maybe something extra on Sundays when they entertain but it is certainly not being put to daily usage. Why would one think the Arts Center would be any busier?
I heard there was a big dog bite at HealthBarn last week? Can anyone confirm? I heard it was just under the eyes ON the face and it was BAD?
Yes if someone can confirm that would be great. It is not shocking that it happened since habernickel park is now filled with healthbarn private clients. By this I mean children paying healthbarn directly. Not Ridgewood. Yet Roberta calls it a partnership. Yet it is just a tenant/ landlord relationship. No reports of profits from healthbarns business coming to Ridgewood parks and rec. I hope because of her ” so called ” partnership Stacy doesn’t advise her client to sue Ridgewood too!
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