Reader says “sports groups” already have more “skin in the game” than any other organization or group of organizations in town
The “sports groups” already have more “skin in the game” than any other organization or group of organizations in town. They privately raised the funds and paid for the renovation of Maple Park, (A million bucks, the Council didn’t spend a dime and until recently they haven’t spent a dime on maintenance either.) they annually pay for upgrades and renovations to both BOE and Village owned facilities including baseball fields, gymnasiums, and other fields. They have paid for installation of sprinkler systems, drainage, seeding, backstops, backboards, padding, bleachers, scoreboards, lights, and the list goes on and on. The problem with the support is that the BOE and the Village have become dependant on the funds. The HS athletic teams are supported by the sports groups by over $200,000 per year in private funding at least. Sports groups purchase uniforms, pay for coaches, pay for buses, etc…. In return for that support you better believe they are going to demand the best playing surfaces available for their teams.
In regards to paying for the maintance and repairs, the sports groups would probably make that trade in a heart beat. Pay for maintenance and repairs on the turf fields in return for the BOE and Village fulfilling their responsibilities for all of the other items would be a major win for the sports groups and net loss for both the BOE and Village Council.
Turf king endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
TAKEN FROM THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG (Archived ) You should read the whole article.
From 2009-2010 Brian Abdoo repeatedly endorsed the multi-million dollar controversial turf projects at Stadium and Stevens fields. As we all know the turf has been an unmitigated disaster resulting in Ridgewood Taxpayers incurring the burden of costly repairs
Turf king endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
Moments ago, after a long day at work I sat down to review my personal emails, check school info and sports emails, kids schedule, etc. In the mix was an email from Brian Abdoo who I know from a number of sports programs my kids are involved in. I began reading the Abdoo’s endorsement of candidates, Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarelli. The more I read the sicker I became. Abdoo has thoroughly disgusted me with his hypocritical rhetoric.
From 2009-2010 Brian Abdoo repeatedly endorsed the multi-million dollar controversial turf projects at Stadium and Stevens fields. As we all know the turf has been an unmitigated disaster resulting in Ridgewood Taxpayers incurring the burden of costly repairs.
Now, this same Brian Abdoo wants to express concern over taxes? He attempts to peddle Paul Aronsohn’s gimmicky zero based budgeting. Even my 6th grader understands built-in inherent cost increases. Abdoo states he wants more transparency and Village Council should “open the books”. The fact that Brian Abdoo is ignorant should not persuade anyone to his argument. Brian, the books are open. They are a matter of public record and are available for anyone to review. Brian, feel free to visit APP DataUniverse if there is anything you need to know. However, Mr. Abdoo, while doing your research you likely will not find the value of your candidate Aronsohn’s health care costs, at village taxpayer expense, for the past four years. Mr. Abdoo, while Mr. Aronsohn is busy telling you he wants to help Ridgewood Taxpayers, he has been busy helping himself for four years . Brian Abdoo proceeds to attack our police and firemen, attacking their salary and benefits. If this is such a concern why on earth would he support Aronsohn who voted for each and every raise, and contract , pertaining to the police & fire department. Maybe he prefers regionalized police and fire departments like Hauck and Puciarelli. Hauck announced the savings for each village taxpayer during the debate: a whopping $ 285 each! For that money I will sleep better at night with Village police and firemen.
Abdoo professes the revitalization of Ridgewood downtown and how committed each of his threesome is to this goal. Mr. Abdoo, Paul Aronsohn is the Council liaison to the Chamber of Commerce. What has he been doing for the past four years? Shopping at the mall? And Hauck and Puciarelli prefer a more urbanized Ridgewood. If they want urbanization let them move to Hoboken.
Best for last, Abdoo states each of these candidates is committed to helping Valley and residents to negotiate a compromise to allow for expansion. For goodness sake, Brian, where has Al Puciarelli been? He has been a member of the planning board forever. Hauck didn’t speak of compromise when she endorsed the massive expansion, as is, over and over again. Valley Hospital is not interested in compromise. The only time that was suggested by Valley was at the last Village Council hearing. Audrey Meyers, seeing the writing on the wall, begged council to hold off their vote so Valley could develop a compromise. Seriously, where was the compromise for six years?
Mr. Abdoo, reconsider and bullet for Killion and Shinizuka before we are in another turf-like drowning mess attributable to the likes of you.
Reader says it only fair that the Sports Groups step up and contribute to maintenance and depreciation of the turf fields
If the sports clubs have gotten so much value out of the fields, I would think it only fair that they step up and contribute to maintenance and depreciation. It shouldn’t always be the VC or BOE (the rest of us). Given that maintenance seems to be running about $100K year and depreciation another $200K for $1.5M to replace the carpets after a flood-shortened 7 year life, the sports clubs should be contributing on the order of $100K.
Raise dues if you have to — it’s part of the true cost of doing business.
And did they ever contribute everything they had promised for the lights?
Readers says frustrating and costly when the turf has to be cleaned and repaired after flooding the grass was worse
Agreed, it is frustrating and costly when the turf has to be cleaned and repaired after flooding. But, remember, when those fields were grass the “Stadium” was used a maximum of a dozen times a year. 5 or 6 home football games and a couple of lacrosse games. And of course graduation. The field was so bad that visiting teams threatened to file official complaints and refuse to play on the field. Stevens was a glorified parking lot and nothing took place on that field besides RHS football practice and adult softball. Both of those fields are now in constant use. RHS Varsity and sub varsity sports (Football, soccer, lacrosse,) are on them almost non-stop during the afternoons and youth sports utilize them in the evenings and weekends almost non-stop as well. The result has been much improved conditions on the grass fields in town as most of the pre-season and poor weather “days” events are conducted on the turf fields and the grass fields are closed. If you look at if from the angle of cost per use, it isn’t even close even with the repair costs. The fields are much more “productive” and we’re not spending money on seed, weed killer, fertilizer, and labor for cutting and maintaining those fields. I’m not saying it is a wash but the total cost difference probably isn’t as great as you think.
Schedler, Habernickel, and Citizens are all Village owned fields. Might be fun to try and get the Village Council to step up and spend some money on any of those fields. They haven’t spent squat on maintaining Maple Park and now that field is going to have to be replaced. They can’t even agree on the simplest things, how would they even consider spending money on new fields?
One question I would ask. What ever happened to the dredging program that was begun a couple of years ago? Was it completed? I don’t recall seeing any “work” done near Graydon or down by Stevens or RHS. Multiply 2 or 3 feet of dre
It’s time to pull the plug on our turf fields. The locations are not conducive to turf material. With the over $100,000 in repairs we could take that money to go back to grass. The money we have spent in fixing each if these damaged episodes could have been used for another employee or two in our maintenance dept which is short employees (our town’s landscape is falling apart and w the taxes we pay, our town should be looking well attended and it’s not!! The best landscaped areas are the ones donated by kind vendors, not our village tax dollars.). What about the Schedler property for turf, or Habernickel Farm, or Citizens park or one of the elementary schools that don’t flood?
Reader says the Ridgewood Council still considering plans for Schedler property
Its has been 2 1/2 years now that the “Dream Team Council ” of ARONSOHN ,PUCCIARELL and HAUCK have been in charge of Ridgewood via their “Block Voting” and still no decision on the Shedler Property. What are they waiting for. Are they caught up with taking care of their friends at The Chamber of Commerce and the Developers. Is the Mayor to busy with his Wellness Campaign? Is the Deputy Mayor to busy starting up his grass roots committee to help in the development of the CBD? Is Councilwoman Hauck to busy throwing luncheons for the Senior Citizens? There the house sits rotting away while the Three Amigos promote their own personal agenda. The residents or “Folks ” should be applaud by the actions or rather non action of these three. After all didn’t our Mayor when running for reelection promise action on the Schedler house and property. Didn’t he encourage “Folks” in the area of the property to also support his running mates. So now what?
6 storms in 4 short years…so much for the 100-year storm hooey.
Do you have the repairs costs as well…?
Mother Nature keeps mastering the Master Plan.
Thee field was put in during summer 2010. We’ve had floods worth remembering on:
– October 1, 2010 (there was wrinkling of the carpet then and in all the other events below) – March 8, 2011 – April 17, 2011 – Jun 23, 2011 (graduation) – August 29, 2011 (Irene) -August 1, 2014
Sandy didn’t cause a lot of flooding. It was more of a wind event
We’ve had minor flooding many other times, but not to the scale above
Ridgewood repairs artificial turf fields after costly flooding
AUGUST 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014, 1:21 AM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Thousands of dollars are being spent this week to repair the village’s turf fields, which were damaged late last week when heavy rain caused flash flooding.
The artificial turf field at the village’s Maple Park suffered $48,000 in damage, Ridgewood officials said at a council meeting this week.
Workers began cleaning silt and dirt from the turf surface at Ridgewood High School on Thursday; some resultant wrinkles in the field will also be removed.
Flood damage will also be repaired at nearby Stevens Field, which is also owned by the school district.
Earlier this week, Ridgewood school officials allocated an emergency expenditure of $119,865 for the work.
It is expected the school fields will be usable within two weeks, when the school’s soccer and football teams are set to start practices.
Another $119,865 to repair 2 turfed fields + $48,000 for turf on Maple Field (no longer Park, so let’s admit it and change the name). Plus who-knows-what in change orders.
Deductible is $25,000! That must have been somebody’s great idea to save money on the insurance.
We are going to go broke over this fiasco. It even failed a referendum but it happened anyway. Sickening waste. Meanwhile people are literally starving all over the world.
The turf MUST GO. It’s either now or later. Now is better. But nobody can admit to making a mistake. Well, this was a huge one.
Ridgewood incurs costly damage from recent flash flooding
August 7, 2014
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
Bubbles pop up on the Ridgewood High School field after a quick but powerful rainstorm led to flash flooding throughout the village last Friday.
Last Friday’s flash flood is costing the school district and municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs.
The Board of Education (BOE) received authorization from the Bergen County Department of Education this week to award a bid to LandTek for $119,865 for “emergency repair” of two district-owned artificial turf fields.
Business Administrator Michael Falkowski said there was “extensive” damage at Ridgewood High School and Stevens fields following the Aug. 1 storm and that the playing grounds are “not useable” in their current state.
The money will come out of the 2015 district budget and possibly an emergency reserve fund, he said.
“This is just for the fields,” Falkowski said. “There’s other work that needs to be done,” including general cleanup of the area.
Readers Say Turf Fields Exacerbate Village Flooding
Is seems ever time it rans now , significance damage is done to our playing fields and Village property .
We were told the turf fie;ds would drain faster , well yes they sure do but the water still needs some place to go like the Village Hall , the Ridgewood library .
Since the Village Hall Rebuilding Fiasco , and the addition of turf fields along the Ho Ho Kus brook the 50 year flood has now become an almost yearly event .
Is it time to recognize the damage to the environment all this turf is doing ?
The problem is not just the fields at Stevens ,Maple and the RHS Stadium but the many turf fields all along the banks of our rivers all over Bergen County . Again the water needs some place to go .
Maple Park flooded over into Meadowbrook on Aug. 1.
Police had to direct traffic. I was part of the directed traffic on my way home from the library. It was scary and dangerous driving through the flooded street. That’s why the police had to be called out.
I was coming home from the library where my shoes and socks and pants had gotten soaking wet as I had to wade to my car, in leg deep water. Note: Not ankle deep; leg deep, above the ankles.
Before Maple Field was turned artificial, REAC had done a report stating that artificial turf is safe for Maple field and good for the environment.
If the rains had continued the new village hall and new library would have been flooded.
Flooding was not supposed to occur there. Supposedly Ridgewood engineering experts had designed the buildings to prevent flooding.
You know what, the members of REAC should pay to have the artificial truf (grass) removed from Maple Field and real, mother nature’s grass replanted.
Trust me as they say: The kids will profit by playing on real grass.
Flash Flood Sees Ho Ho Kus Brook Breach its Banks in Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, The HoHoKus Brook went over its banks in Ridgewood on Friday, 08/01 causing the Village Hall/Ridgewood Public Library parking lot to flood as well as artificial turf athletic fields at Ridgewood High School, Maple Park, and Stevens Field.
Five (5) privately owned vehicles parked in the Village Hall/Ridgewood Public Library parking lot were not moved in time and heavily damaged. One vehicle reportedly belongs to a Library employee whose first day on the job was Friday.
The turf athletic fields were bubbled up and will need to be repaired.
Several streets, including Linwood Avenue, were closed due to flood waters.
No injuries were reported.
Damage to Village Hall itself was minimal; water entered at only one point, an overhead door on the north side of the building.
The letter was sent to the Ridgewood News by email on Sunday afternoon, May 4. On Monday morning the paper called to confirm that I had sent it and wanted it published. I said yes.
Late Wednesday morning, the three candidates for council received an email message from Ed Virgin, editor of the paper, stating that the volume of letters this week had been so great that the usual noon (Wed.) deadline had had to be cut off a little early. However, he added, anything received before late Wednesday morning (May 7) would be published.
Well, mine wasn’t. Gee.
Too late now.
I called Ed but his phone message said he was out until Monday and not listening to voice mail. Thanks for your objectivity, local newspaper!
Here’s the letter:
RBSA Financial Practices Questioned
Ridgewood News readers deserve to know about an important issue raised at the League of Women Voters Candidates’ Debate on April 29 but omitted from last week’s article on that event (“Race for Two Seats Heats Up,” May 2).
According to public records, the Ridgewood Baseball and Softball Association failed to file federal tax returns for at least 3 consecutive years during Village Council candidate James Albano’s long and continuing tenure as RBSA president. As a result, the group’s tax-exempt status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service on March 15, 2011.
This suggests that appropriate papers have not been filed for at least 7 or 8 years and that contributions have not been legally tax deductible for several years.
Questions emerge:
Why did this happen? Was it deliberate, or sloppy bookkeeping?
In either case, how might RBSA’s financial practices reflect on Mr. Albano’s ability to serve on the Village Council, which oversees a vastly larger budget?
How much money does the RBSA have and where does it go?
Since RBSA activities heavily use tax-supported fields owned by the Village and Board of Education, might an audit of RBSA’s financial records by the Village be warranted?
Were corporate and individual donors to RBSA informed in a timely way in 2011 and every year since that they could no longer deduct donations from their taxes without violating federal law?
Do any individuals profit from RBSA’s summer baseball clinics conducted on taxpayer-owned property? Might an expansion of the summer clinics be one reason RBSA has pushed so hard to flatten the Schedler property in exchange for a 90-foot baseball field that its neighbors and countless other residents adamantly do not want?
At the debate, Mr. Albano denied being “the sports candidate,” a term no one but him had used that night. Interestingly, a message sent to the RBSA email list last month under the subject line “Albano for Council!” by Gary Muzio, RBSA’s “2014 Commissioner” and a leader of the summer clinics, stated: “While he [Mr. Albano] is not just the ‘sports candidate,’ the issue of the badly needed 90′ field, along with an all purpose field (read: soccer & lax) at Schedler is certainly a timely issue here.”
The assumption that RBSA had tax-exempt status and was therefore prohibited from any political activity, including endorsing candidates for local elections, led to a simple search for confirmation on the excellent IRS website, which quickly revealed the March 2011 revocation.
Might RBSA therefore use its email list for political activity, after all? Consider another factor beyond IRS regulations. The Village and Board of Education, recognizing the RBSA as a nonprofit entity (is it so registered?), have granted it the privilege of being cosponsored by the Village Parks and Recreation Department and Community School. Is it appropriate for a Village/Board of Education-cosponsored athletic organization (given priority in the use of tax-supported fields) to endorse a candidate for public office?
