It’s true. Unfortunately Ridgewood residents are not paying attention. They are trusting that our elected council people are protecting them, but they are not.
Councilwoman Knudsen and councilman Sedon are the only one’s trying to protect our rights as village residents. Please go and click on the link to the previous story, then click on the link to the ustream video https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/60629688 of the April 1st council meeting. Go to minute 24:00 when councilwoman Knudsen starts to explain the run around she has been getting for a month about information she has asked for in order for her to make an informed decision before she votes April 8th on the ordinance regarding residency preference.
The rest of the council should have been upset that Knudsen was being blocked from receiving information. Instead, the village manager, the mayor and councilwoman Hauck seemed more concerned that Knudsen was speaking about this information in public. Sedon was not present at the meeting. I applaud councilwoman Knudsen for bringing this information out into the open.
What is happening with the majority of our council? Why are they always on the defensive? They should be thanking Knudsen for bringing this to light. After all, they have been following an ordinance about hiring practices that is inconsistent with the law.
All hires since Aug 2014 should be reviewed to determined if they were done according to law. Who was skipped over that should not have been? Who was hired that should not have been? Did these hires take place according to civil service rules? Instead of gushing over the village manager’s performance, let’s make sure her performance practices are according to law.
Message to Ms. Sonenefeld: The hiring and firing of Village employees is certainly within your purview, but that in and of itself is no excuse whatsoever for not keeping the ENTIRE Village Council informed of your plans with respect to holding positions open in expectation of an ordinance change. Personally, I’d like to see the complete list of job applicants for those open positions, now on hold, to find out exactly who it is from Ridgewood that you don’t want to hire.
Ms. Roberta:
1. You are not an elected official. You should not insert your opinions and commentary incessantly. We are not interested in your opinions. What are you, the fourth AMIGO? Your gratuitous swipe at Ms. Knudsen last night was completely uncalled for. Councilwoman Knudsen conducted a calm and fact-filled discussion. At the end of it, you had the audacity to state that you had prepared a joke but now you didn’t feel like it. That was insulting and unprofessional. You were clearly stating that you did not like Councilwoman Knudsen’s discussion. That is just tough luck for you. You are not, I repeat YOU ARE NOT an elected official. Your opinions are not germane to any discussion. Keep them to yourself and just try to do your job.
2. You need to stop interrupting when one of our elected officials is speaking. Watching the tape, it is so distracting when you keep interjecting. Stop it. We did not elect you to represent us and we do want to hear what our elected officals have to say.
First Councilwoman Susan Knudsen was told to recuse herself from a closed meeting on this subject at the suggestion of the Village Manager and now information was withheld from her about this same subject.What the hell is going on in Village Hall. Who is the employee that contact Civil Service and who directed this employee to do this, Why can’t Councilwoman Susan Knudsen have that information. Why didn’t the attorney contact the Councilwoman and speak to her about this issue instead of directing another Village employee to withhold the information. WHO IS RUNNIG THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD.?
The circumstance described by Ms. Knudsen demonstrates that public matters are being discussed, and decisions made, by a majority of the council in advance of the public meeting during which the discussions and decisions are supposed to take place on the record. This reduces the public meeting to the status of a charade, because the result desired by the majority has already been determined in advance! As we all had suspected, it now appears clear that the Sunshine Law has been violated. Violations of the Sunshine Law don’t just happen–they are usually undertaken when the majority wants to avoid scrutiny for something they wish to do that the public might find odious. We all owe Ms. Knudsen a debt of gratitude for sticking to her guns and airing this issue out publicly.
Hourly meter rates in all Village lots and streets are now $.50 per hour from 10AM to 6PM,
Monday through Saturday.
Ridgewood Nj, First it was parking with hourly meter rates in all Village lots and streets jumping to $.50 per hour from 10AM to 6PM,Monday through Saturday.
Then there was an increase in Ridgewood Parking Permits provides ‘coinless’ with annual permits issued for a calendar year coasting residents $750. RPP are issued to Non Residents at a fee of $1,500 and require parking in the Cottage Place or Rt. 17 Park & Ride Lots.
Now the Village is moving to increase Building Department Fees .At the March 25, 2015 Village Council Meeting the proposed Building Department Fees was discussed.
Whats next garage sales, parking tickets , keeping the tax increase flat add some layers of supervisors and the spend the reserve .
Sat, April 04, 2015
Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, East Ridgewood Ave
Meet the Easter bunny under the tent and have fun in Ridgewood!
9am-11am – Breakfast with the Easter Bunny
at The Office Beer Bar & Grill
reservation required 201-652-1070.
In Memorial Park at Van Neste Square
11am-2pm
-Easter Bunny arrives at 11am-weather permitting
-Families will be able to take pictures with the Easter Bunny.
-Activities for the children in the Park* and maps available for location of the in-store activities.
FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY
*Ben & Jerry’s sponsoring an “Egg Extravaganza” for ages 2-7 years.
To reserve your spot and details call
201-689-1122, www.njbenjerry.com, or stop by
104 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, location.
Ridgewood’s Engineer Chris Rutishauser explained the pros and cons associated with automated parking structures
MARCH 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Village officials continue weighing potential solutions to the downtown’s parking paucity, and could end up turning to robots for help.
Ridgewood’s Engineer Chris Rutishauser explained the pros and cons associated with automated parking structures to the village council this week.
Village officials, who have met with representatives from the county in recent months to discuss a possible partnership on a parking garage facility, are considering an automated parking garage system at its worn lot on Hudson Street, Rutishauser said.
“It is something worth exploring, but we’re not ready to unequivocally recommend it,” Rutishauser said. “We’re enamored with the idea but we’re not ready to say this is the best thing for the village.”
In automated parking garages, cars are driven into a loading bay. When the car’s occupants leave the bay, a button is pressed, closing a glass door.
The vehicle is then scanned before a robotic pulley system carts it off to a space. For the forgetful, the scanning system can even detect pets or children.
Vehicle owners pay for parking time when they return, as the computerized, robotic mechanism retrieves the vehicle.
A conventional parking garage at the same site on Hudson Street could net the village 170 to 230 additional spaces, spread out over four parking decks and a roof. An automated garage, Rutishauser said, could hold up to 475 cars.
All of those spots would also comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, the village engineer said.
Central Business District Employee Permits – CBDEP
Monthly Central Business District Parking Permits are available for sale at Village Hall and allows parking for employees of Ridgewood businesses at the Ken Smith property or Cottage Place Lot. The fee is $80 per month. Payment may be made by check, cash or credit card.
Village seeks bidders for “2015 Road Resurfacing and Repair of Various Village Streets In the Village of Ridgewood”
BID NOTICE – 2015 Road Resurfacing and Repair of Various Village Streets
Sealed bid proposals will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Village Hall Level Three Conference Room, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, on Thursday, April 9, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. prevailing time, and then publicly opened and read aloud for the following project:
“2015 Road Resurfacing and Repair of Various Village Streets In the Village of Ridgewood”.
The principal items of the work of the project include: Installation of NJDOT HMA 9.5 M64 Top Course, approximately 7,500 tons; Installation of NJDOT HMA 19 M64 Base Course, approximately 1,900 tons; Installation of NJDOT DGA, 6 inches Thick, approximately 8,000 S.Y.; Thermoplastic Line Striping, 6-inch wide, approximately 10,000 L.F.; Milling 0 to 3 inches thick, 48,000 S.Y.; Topsoil and Seeding, 4 inches thick, 2,000 S.Y.; Installation of 7-inch Thick Concrete Driveway Aprons or Handicap Ramps, 1,500 S.Y.; 9-inch by 18-inch Concrete Vertical Curb, approximately 6,800 L.F.; Concrete Sidewalk, 4 inches thick, approximately 1,200 S.Y.; Bicycle Safe ECO-Grates, approximately 10 each; Repair Inlets and Manholes, 5 Each; Cast Iron Extension Frames for Inlets, 5 Each; NJPDES Storm water Management Phase II replacement curb inlet heads, Type N, approximately 5 each; Bituminous Concrete Driveway, 4 inches Thick, approximately 400 S.Y.; Reset manholes approximately 50 Each and other related work for a complete project.
Specifications and bid forms may be obtained by mail from the office of the Division of Engineering, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, for a non-refundable fee of $50.00 per set of bid documents. Documents may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, Monday through Friday. Prospective bidders requesting bid documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No Specifications and/or Proposal forms shall be given out after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
The contractual obligation of the Village of Ridgewood under this Contract for these items is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for this Contract can be made.
Prices quoted must be net and exclusive of all Federal, State and Local Sales and Excise Taxes. Bids may be submitted in person or by mail prior to the bid opening, addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any bid sent to it prior to the Bid opening.
Each bid must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the bidder thereon and endorsed, “2015 Road Resurfacing and Repair of Various Village Streets in the Village of Ridgewood ” and must be accompanied by the following: a certified check, cashier’s check, or Bid Bond (Schedule B), drawn to the order of the Village of Ridgewood for ten percent (10%) of the amount bid, or $20,000, whichever is less; a Consent of Surety (Schedule A); a Corporation or Partnership Statement (Schedule C); a Non-Collusion Affidavit (Schedule D); and a Statement of Responsibility (Schedule E). Any award or awards may be made at a later or subsequent time or meeting of the Village Council. All required schedules, that is Schedule A, B, C, D, E, and G, are required to be submitted on the forms attached to the bid documents. No other forms will be accepted.
The successful bidder shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, as determined by the New Jersey Department of Labor. All contractors, their subcontractors, and material suppliers shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Public Works Contractor Registration Act, pursuant to Public Law 1999 Chapter 238 and the Contractor Business Registration Program, pursuant to Public Law 2004 Chapter 57. Evidence of satisfactory registrations shall be submitted at the time of the bid. All bids submitted shall contain a copy of the bidder’s New Jersey Business Registration Certificate and a copy of the bidder’s Certificate of Employee Information Report.
The successful bidder shall furnish and deliver to the Village of Ridgewood a performance and payment bond in the amount of 100 percent of the accepted bid amount as security for the faithful performance of the Contract. Additionally, the successful bidder shall furnish policies or Certificates of Insurance required by the Contract. In default thereof, said checks and/or bid bond and the amount represented thereby shall be forfeited to the Village of Ridgewood as liquidated damages, not as a penalty.
Proposals submitted by Bidders and/or Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies) not chartered in the State of New Jersey, must be accompanied by proper certificate(s) from the Secretary of State, indicating that such Bidders, Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies), and/or Surety Company(ies) is (are) authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informalities or to accept a bid, which in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village. No bids may be withdrawn for a period of sixty-days (60) after the date and time set for the opening of bids.
“BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27). A complete statement as to these requirements is included in the specifications.”
Reader says Community Hospitals Do Not sue the Community they Serve
Three lies by the current Valley Board and Audrey at odds with the fact that they are suing the Village of Ridgewood:
1) Ethics – They say, “We are honest and fair in all we say and do.” Suing the community that built and funded Valley is honest and fair?
2) The Valley Hospital Mission Statement – “The Valley Hospital serves the community…” – see above
3) According to https://www.valleyhospitalfoundation.org/who-we-are-auxiliary-70th-anniversary“Since 1951, The Valley Hospital has existed to care for the people of our community when they need it most. The Valley Hospital opened its doors on August 8, 1951 thanks to the 450 charter members of the Women’s Auxiliary of The Valley Hospital who helped to raise $140,000, enough to fully furnish and equip a new three-floor hospital thanks to their “Third Floor Drive”. The Valley Hospital opened its doors on August 8, 1951 in Ridgewood.” How is that consistent with Valley suing the Village? Audrey is clearly only in it for the money. She should resign post haste.
03/24/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Work SessionAvailable 03/25/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work SessionAvailable 03/25/157:30PMVillage Council Special Public MeetingAvailable 03/31/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting 04/01/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work Session 04/07/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – Village Hall Court Room 04/08/158:00PMVillage Council Public Meeting 04/14/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting
Meet the Manager – Tuesday, March 24th 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Tuesday, February 24th between the hours of 4:30pm to 7:30pm. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.
you sound for all the world like a desperate current officeholder sweating their re-election chances. You uncivilly bad mouth our esteemed former Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh as if she were a current candidate vying to replace you on the Council. (We should be so lucky. You should keep your powder dry if in fact you anticipate facing her as a future electoral opponent!) You further hypocritically introduce party politics into your discussion regarding Ms. Walsh, as if she ever allowed her already well-known political affiliation to affect the way she conducted herself as a (successful) candidate for Ridgewood council, or as a (successful) sitting Councilwoman. (Which, of course, she never did, having full and complete respect for the clear strictures imposed by the Faulkner Act.) Finally, you blithely and coldly use the word ‘failed’ when discussing Ms. Walsh’s bid for a county-wide position. This is a transparently malicious bid to paint her as some kind of sad sack candidate, a characterization no right-thinking Ridgewood resident who knows her at all would ever accept, particularly coming from an individual clearly clutching at so many straws to defend an incumbent who was himself a ‘failed candidate’ for US Congress. Would do us all a favor and slink back into the humble roadside hole you came out of, Mr. Mudslinger?
2. Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act
MAYOR: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
3. Roll Call – Village Clerk
4. Flag Salute and Moment of Silence
5. Public Comments (Not to exceed 5 minutes per person)
6. Discussion Items
a. Review of Departmental/Utility/Other Accounts Budgets
Your editorial (“Sinking feeling is settling in,” March 13, page A6) prompted me to telephone the village’s 24-hour “pothole hotline” to report several very bone-jarring potholes on South Irving Street in the vicinity of Cedar Avenue and Arden Court.
Within one hour of placing the call, I observed a two-person crew from the village’s Streets Division working feverishly and skillfully to fill each of the potholes that I had reported.
Thanks are in order to the management and worker bees of the Streets Division for having moved so quickly and professionally to address a report of serious, and potentially hazardous, roadway impediments.
This is a fine example of how quickly the wheels of municipal government can turn if a customer focused action plan is developed, implemented, and assigned to knowledgeable and highly motivated employees.
Ridgewood Planning Board members weigh in on housing proposals
MARCH 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015, 3:13 PM
BY BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
With the completion of public comment and attorney summations, members of the Ridgewood Planning Board were given the chance to weigh in on the proposed master plan amendment at a deliberation meeting on Tuesday night.
Many of the board members stated their belief that some form of multifamily housing downtown would benefit the village, while opinions diverged on subtopics such as density, building height, traffic and impact on the school system.
Planning Board Chairman Charles Nalbantian began with his observation that higher-density, multifamily housing in and around the Central Business District (CBD) would be good for Ridgewood and that an amendment of some kind to the housing element of the master plan is timely due to the under-utilization of the chosen sites.
However, he noted that “the devil is always in the details,” and while he believes the amendment reflects appropriate use, there are reasonable questions regarding many of the smaller issues – height, affordable housing and density chief among them – that form the larger picture.
Ridgewood Village Council amends residency rules for hiring
MARCH 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015, 10:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
After a lengthy discussion during a work session earlier this month, the Village Council introduced an ordinance last Wednesday amending residency requirements to indicate that all civilian classified titles in Civil Service will be opened to the entire state with the exception of police and fire department public safety titles.
A previous ordinance, which gave preference to Bergen County residents, followed by residents from contiguous counties and then state residents, was adopted unanimously on Aug. 13, 2014, according to the minutes of that night’s meeting. However, this was deemed impermissible by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and was sent back for revisions.
The new ordinance, which was introduced by a 3-2 vote, would open those jobs to residents from anywhere in New Jersey without a tier system.
During discussion on March 4, Councilman Michael Sedon acknowledged that he voted in favor of removing the residency requirement in August, which he said was “a mistake.” He stated his belief that hiring residents from the village puts them ahead of those from outside of Ridgewood.
