Tag: Village Council

Posted on by — 13 Comments

Reader says this Council instead on focusing on running this town engage in petty bickering, retaliation and furthering their own personal agendas

Ridgewood_-Village_Hall_theridgewoodblog.net_1

Reader says this Council instead on focusing on running this town engage in petty bickering, retaliation and furthering their own personal agendas

Yes the departments are all understaffed and our taxes are still obscenely high. You are correct about our current Council – they are all pushing their own pet projects without at all acknowledging that at some point taxes alone will crush the value of our homes. Who will ever buy your house if the taxes are $40,000 a year?

Mrs. Hauck wants to double the size of Valley but clearly has not considered the impact of a facility that size on the town’s neighborhoods and infrastructure. Valley pays no taxes yet their drain on Village resources will also double with this project. You think departments are understaffed now?

And how about Mr. Pucciarelli and building up the CBD? Has anyone done any math on the impact on our tax base? I’ll tell you right now they would be shouting it at every meeting if ONE PERSON thought that building apartments in town would make our taxes go down. Instead they choose to tell us that traffic will improve and only 4 new kids will enter the school system.

I’m shocked at how out to lunch this Council is in the face of such a crisis. Look at this weekend alone – Super Bowl parties at the bank and a big skating party at Graydon. Then on to having lunch with the elderly, and banning smoking outside. Maybe they should Google Stockton, CA for a glimpse into our future when they have a minute.

Oh yea, and don’t forget to put your garbage out on the curb tonight….

wine.com

Posted on by — 23 Comments

Readers Begin to talk RECALL

recall1_jpg_475x310_q85

Readers Begin to talk RECALL

All I can say is that if you don’t like what went on here then sign the RECALL PETITION when it comes around and believe me it coming around. A councilperson that signs a Ordinance and then claims that it was someone else fault does not deserve to be in office. Take responsibility for action.

New Jersey*

Const. Art. 1, §2(b)

Any elected official in the state or representing the state in the United States Congress. Includes local officials.

Recall may not commence during first year in office.

No specific grounds are required

Time for gathering signatures is 160 days.

Signature requirement is number equal to 25% of the registered voters of the district

Save 15% on Valentine's Day Flowers & Gifts at 1800flowers.com. Use Promo Code: VDAY2014 at checkout (Offer Ends 02/13/14)show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=216823

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Mobil Cell Tower Update : Village Revenue Share

unnamed-14

file photo Boyd Loving

Mobil Cell Tower Update : Village Revenue Share

CELL TOWER UPDATE: A review of Village Council meeting minutes dating back to 2008 may provide the answer as to why the mobile AT&T tower was brought in.

What the meeting minutes reveal is that for years, several cell phone carriers have attempted to construct a new monopole style tower on property owned by the State of NJ on Franklin Turnpike. However, indications are that Village officials objected to this location because of the State’s unwillingness to share site rental revenue with the Village. Instead, several Village owned properties in the Route 17 corridor were offered as alternatives to the State of NJ owned property. Unfortunately for the Village, there were insurmountable technical issues with each of the alternative sites.

The State’s policy has been to reject construction of cell towers on their properties when objections are made by local government officials, So, due to the objection voiced by Ridgewood officials, a new cell tower can’t be built at the NJDOT facility on Franklin Turnpike (which seems to be the only location that offers the requisite ground space, and meets all technical parameters). Thus, the current holding pattern – and unusual risk taken by AT&T to keep their system functioning (the existing AT&T shared use tower in the construction company’s yard is unable to support equipment required for 4G service).

It is believed that construction of a new tower on State owned property would result in removal of the existing tower at the construction company yard. The Village would get property tax revenue despite the tower being built on State owned property (most likely more tax revenue – the new structure would be larger).

However, the Village would not get any of the site rental revenue, and that’s what this seems to all boil down to; we want our cake, and we want to eat it to. Why do Village officials feel the State of NJ should share site rental revenue with them? Would they expect the same of any property owner? Then why the State?

Microsoft Store

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Flawed bid process will delay Maple Field cleanup in Ridgewood

maple+field1-300x19911

maple field

Flawed bid process will delay Maple Field cleanup in Ridgewood
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17, 2013, 10:32 AM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Ridgewood Council has rejected the lone bid it received for the Maple Park turf cleaning job, a move that will delay a much-needed procedure at one of the village’s most used fields.

According to a council resolution unanimously passed last week, the village will put the project back out for public bid because the initial bid process was declared flawed.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/236204961_Flawed_bid_process_will_delay_Maple_Field_cleanup_in_Ridgewood.html#sthash.MGSmM45E.dpuf

Posted on by — 12 Comments

Mark Levin: Reader says not so fast Mark

mark_levin_bookends_theridgewodblog.net

https://queenofliberty.com/2013/08/14/mark-levin-rolls-out-his-new-book/

Mark Levin: Reader says not so fast Mark

Mark was shown where he made a mistake in stating in a footnote that delegates from Vermont belatedly attended the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787. In reality, Vermont was not even a state until 1791. Before that it was a disputed territory between New Hampshire and New York. So Vermonters were not asked to nor were they qualified to attend the Philadelphia convention. He gave his challenger no credit for reading his book carefully and bringing this non-trivial mistake to his attention. He then refused to sign the book on the page where the footnote appeared and showed distinct signs of impatience and annoyance when he opened the front of the book and began to sign it.

At this point, Mark was challenged about Cruz’s eligiblity. But the challenge did not happen as Mark said it did. The challenger asked this: “Under what possible definition of the term natural-born Citizen does your friend Ted Cruz qualify to be president?” At this same time the challenger placed an annotated copy of an earlier TheRidgewoodBlog posting repeating CNN’s recent article questioning Cruz’s eligibility, and was pointing at the document. After cursing at the challenger , Mark replied: “I never said he was a natural-born Citizen.”, upon which his challenger said: “But you must be a natural-born Citizen to be President!”. Mark then said: “No you don’t!”, and the challenger said “Yes, you do. Read the Constitution.” Levin was showing no signs of changing his tune. The challenger then turned around and left the booksigning. There was no time during any of this dialogue for Mark to ruminate on the challenger’s motivations or talk about Canada or Cruz’s mother or anything like what he said on his Radio program

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Readers asks Why is Heather A. Mailander capable enough to fill in but not to actually be appointed to the position

village-hall-theridgewoodblog

 

Readers asks Why is Heather A. Mailander capable enough to fill in but not to actually be appointed to the position

Why is she capable enough to fill in but not to actually be appointed to the position. Another woman running a dept and not being recognized. She is better than Gabbert and Ten Hoeve

Heather Mailander would make an excellent choice for Village Manager. She is highly capable, has a tremendous work ethic, she knows the town and she well respected and liked by both Village employees and residents. Most importantly she has good common sense………..which is in short supply in Village Hall.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Basement, Bathroom, Kitchen Remodeling, Roofing, Painting or Any Restoration Services By ALL DONE

15-15

ALL DONE Home Improvement service company located in Fair Lawn serving you with any maintenance or repair.  We will advise you on the best practices to improve your home or business with any property needs, quickly and at the lowest cost. See website at: www.alldonecompany.com From sewer cleaning, repair to complete home improvement Basement, Bathroom, Kitchen Remodeling, Roofing, Painting or Any Restoration Services. or commercial property maintenance and repairs we are excited to work with you and complete it beautifully and ON TIME.

Basement, Bathroom, Kitchen Remodeling, Roofing, Painting 6-6

located in Bergen County New Jersey (NJ) serving clients in Home Improvement, repairs and remodeling residential & commercial projects since 1996. We Commit to Provide You With:

  • Honest & Reliable Service.
  • Professional & Affordable Service.
  • Best solutions at the lowest cost.
  • Guarantee on Labor & Parts.
  • We are Local, So We Can Serve You Faster.
  • Licensed and Insured.
  • Free Estimates.

For over 20 years we have been providing our clients with prompt, professional, and affordable home improvement and construction services. Customer service is our highest priority. We will consistently impress you with our knowledge, experienced, friendliness and honesty. Whether it is a simple repair in your kitchen, a leaking roof, basement remodeling or commercial office renovation, you will receive the best value available. And we guarantee it!

All Renovation, Repair & Maintenance Services, are Completed with Integrity & at a Reasonable Cost!

Call us  at 201-458-0455 for beautiful results!

Posted on by — 7 Comments

Appeals court affirms decision to reduce Ridgewood firefighter’s award to $500,000 from $3.5M

ridgewoodfiretruck_theridgewoodblog.net

file photo by Boyd Loving

Appeals court affirms decision to reduce Ridgewood firefighter’s award to $500,000 from $3.5M
Wednesday May 1, 2013, 12:29 PM
BY  CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record

RIDGEWOOD — A panel of appellate court judges agreed the village only has to pay one of its firefighters half-a-million dollars — far less than the $3.5 million a jury awarded him in 2012 for emotional distress.

The decision, issued Tuesday, upholds a Superior Court judge’s May 2, 2012 ruling, reducing Kevin Reilly’s damages to $500,000.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Appeals_court_affirms_decision_to_reduce_Ridgewood_firefighters_award_to_500000_from_35M.html

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Reader says to save money, quit buying land and taking it off the tax rolls to make soccer fields

292538_333638296706630_674051065_n

Will the Zabriskie Schedler House, in Ridgewood become the next turf field

Reader says to save money, quit buying land and taking it off the tax rolls to make soccer fields

If you want to save money, quit buying land and taking it off the tax rolls to make soccer fields. The horse farm, if its worth the $10 million we got hosed for at the time of purchase, equates to about $250,000 per year of taxes no longer coming in.

Citizens park was paid for with donations from long time residents, whose names appear on the placque. It was for a PARK, not a soccer field, with obnoxious loud people blocking up the traffic there, along with the nite lights. Its disgusting how a nice green park became a brown mudfield to accommodate the newbies here.


Posted on by — 6 Comments

Postal Service set to cut Saturday delivery

bikeatthePostOffice_theiridgewoodblog

 

February 6, 2013 7:41 AM
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ– The U.S. Postal Service has announced that it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to deliver packages six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion, the financially struggling agency says. Saturday mail cutback would not begin until August.

The move allows the USPS to focus on package delivery which has increased by 14% since 2010, At the same time technology which aids in package delivery has caught up with the delivery of letters and other mail declining significantly with the ever increasing use of email and other Internet based technologies. .

Under the new plan, mail would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays. and Post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.

The Postal Service for some time has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages . The US Postal Service is an independent agency that gets no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.

The agency would need congressional approval to make the change and It was not immediately if that would be forth coming or even necessary.

Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general , says Postal Service market research and other research has indicated that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Village Council commits funds for affordable housing ah sort off

golden toilet theridgewoodblog.net

file photo of a golden toilet

Village Council commits funds for affordable housing ah sort off
July 13.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

On Wednesday evening the Village Council committed $195,000 from its affordable housing trust fund to subsidize future projects by Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County. Village officials are hopeful that the resolution, passed at a special meeting will prevent the state from seizing that money and absorbing it into the New Jersey Housing Trust Fund.

Village Manager Ken Gabbert told the Ridgewood News that .”committing the funds, the village establishes a maximum amount of money to put toward an affordable housing proposal by Habitat for Humanity. The organization will be responsible for raising money and gathering donations in the event its project exceeds the $195,000.

With in such a depressed real estate market we fail to see the wisdom of much of the COAH funding . Politicians would be better off streamlining housing regulations and cutting spending to lower property taxes making housing more affordable in New Jersey . Prime real estate is always going to go for a premium and subsiding home ownership as we all have learned since 2008 has proven a well intentioned folly.

However some people for what ever reason have simply dropped through the cracks making it very hard to reenter society as productive individuals .Housing responsibilities are sensible part of the rehabilitative process. This means a case by case evaluation avoiding all the big government housing project one size fits all of the early 1970’s or the Soviet Union. Local organisations have proven to be far better and more able to identify the issues facing local displaced people.

With that said , Ridgewood is a town that spent over $400,000 on toilets aka “the golden toilet” for Vets field so it does look like Habitat for Humanity has its work cut out for it given $195,000 may barely cover a shower head in Ridgewood.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli are officially sworn in to the Village Council

Reorg theridgewoodblog.net

Photos By Boyd Loving

Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli are officially sworn in to the Village Council
July 12012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli were officially sworn in at Sundays Village Council reorganization meeting.

reorg2 theridgewoodblog.net

Reorg3 theridgewoodblog.net

There were no big surprises Paul Aronsohn was appointed Mayor, Albert Pucciarelli appointed Deputy Mayor. Matt Rogers reappointed as Village Attorney, and a litany of appointments to the various Village boards were also made . U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez administered the oaths of office .

Some changes were made to Village Council committees; Gwen Hauck is now liaison to Parks & Rec and Bernie Walsh assumes the Citizens Safety Advisory Committee leadership now that Keith is gone.Both former Mayor Killion and Councilman Stephen Wellinghorst were praised by residents and council alike . Former Mayor Keith Killion received a standing ovation as he left the dais.

reorg4 theridgewoodblog.net

reorg6 theridgewoodblog.net

Now Mayor Aronsohn made his first public speech as mayor, and vowed to work on the revitalizing the business community, fix the permitting process, fill store vacancies, and take a closer look at pedestrian safety.

In his remarks U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was very complimentary to Ridgewood’s non partisan form of government.

Both the ceremony and reception were well attended and there was a standing room only crowd .

reorg7 theridgewoodblog.net

reorg10 theridgewoodblog.net

Photos by Boyd Loving

show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=196268

Posted on by — 8 Comments

Ex Chief Bombace looks to resuscitate image after behavior was blasted by judge in Reilly verdict

unknowncomic2 theridgewoodblog.net

Ex Chief Bombace looks to resuscitate image after behavior was blasted by judge in Reilly verdict

Kevin Reilly alleged that he reported two incidents in which firefighter safety was compromised because of violations by his superiors.

The recent decision by Judge Menelaos W. Toskos reducing Firefighter Kevin Reilly’s 3.5 million dollar jury award to $500,000.00 told only half of the story.

Firefighter Reilly’s “whistle blower” claim that he and his colleagues were ordered to clean up an unknown chemical spill at The Valley Hospital was proven to be false during the court proceedings. The chemical had been identified by The Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team, which was called to The Valley Hospital at 7:30 PM on Sunday, August 12, 2007, at the request of the Fire Department, for what was then an unknown spill in the area of the Hospital Pharmacy. I was also called to the scene by the on duty Fire Captain.

The members of the Ridgewood Fire Department and Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team contained and then identified the spilled material, which was identified as 1000 cc of Glacial Acetic Acid. Bergen County Hazmat and Fire Department members then used an absorbent to pick up the liquid. Once all of the liquid had been picked up they double bagged the absorbent and the broken bottle for disposal. The bagged material was turned over to a Hospital Representative for disposal in the Hospitals normal hazardous waste flow. This action was documented in a report filed by the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team (BCDHS Case Number 2007-8-71) see attachment.

The next day, Monday, August 13, 2007, Deputy Chief David Yaden and I returned to Valley Hospital in the morning to speak to the Valley Hospital Safety Officer about incident and to insure that the already contained and bagged material was going to be disposed of properly. When we went to check on the hazardous material it was noticed that the outer bag had been torn at some point. We called for the on duty firefighters to respond to The Valley Hospital and I instructed Firefighter Reilly and the other Firefighters to wear their appropriate respiratory protection with gloves and to place the torn bag into another bag and then place a hazardous materials label on the new bag.

None of the already bagged absorbent material had spilled from either of the inner bags. No spill was cleaned up by Firefighter Reilly or the other Firefighters. At no time were these Firefighters placed in any danger and because there was no spill there was no need to call the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team for this situation.

James Bombace, Chief (Retired)

Ridgewood Fire Department