Reader says the town engineer should be concerned the property which will require clearing and substantial fill at an enormous cost to taxpayers
The town engineer has made comments that are pro ball field. His renditions for the use of the property is predisposed for the inclusion of a 90 foot ball field.
Town engineer should be concerned with the elevation of the property which will require clearing and substantial fill at an enormous cost to taxpayers and to the detriment of the homeowners who will be subjected to the flooding changing the topography will cause.
He should also take into consideration and advise elected officials and taxpayers the long term cost of maintainng this ball field. Especially at a time when we are laying off borough employees.
The double whammy to this cost is the devaluation of properties causing lower tax rates.
Keep it the way it is. Give the kids in the neighborhood a small playground and some walking trails. No reason to chage the topography for this.
the re ader makes a good point. what is the cost of maintaining the property as a passive Park as compared to a multipurpose field with a 90-foot diamond And parking lot. There has to be a huge difference in cost Tothe taxpayers of Ridgewood long term. Something everyone should consider.
“Give the kids in the neighborhood a small playground and some walking trails.” Really? Do you think for one minute the Village paid $4 Million or whatever it was for that piece of property so “the kids in the neighborhood” could have a small playground and some walking trails? The Village of Ridgewood is in desperate need of more open space, open space that can be used by a wide variety of organizations. The Habernickel property is a great example of a project that addresses the needs/wants of many different groups. Schedler should be a similar project. Ridgewood is very deficient in the number of fields for the number of kids playing sports. The need for a large baseball diamond has been acknowledged for a long time. If Schedler is the place that such a field fits than that should be incorporated into the design.
The same thing was proposed for Grove Park – only on a larger scale. The Sports Council wanted something like 4 ball fields and a parking lot. And the fill was going to come from the Valley Hospital underground parking excavation.
The neighborhood got together and got facts and fought it. Even the kids for whom this sports complex was being built for didn’t want it if it meant destroying one of the last forests in Ridgewood.
Disingenuous #2. Village did not pay 4 million for the property. The cost was about 2 million with very little coming from Ridgewood. Get your facts straight before you go shooting your big mouth off. The lions share was paid for by Greenacre grants not ridgewood taxpayers. But the ridgewood taxpayers will bear the long term brunt of maintaining your field compounded by devalued neighborhood properties. All this while your son enjoys a full baseball scholarship to an ivy league college to cement his future as a New York Yankee.
No to the ball field and parking lot! A passive park would be much better. Sports council is just plain greedy and continue to try to bully the village to give them what they want.
So if there is no parking lot how are the rest of the residents that don’t live near by get to use the park. Wow. you people what your own little park only to be used by the neighborhood. Typical for that group always crying that they are the forgotten part of town.
The VIllage purchased the property for $2.7 million. $1.6 million of the bill was covered by grant money. The Village paid an additional $90,000 for a property abutting the Schedler property known as the Shotmeyer property. There is about $60,000 a year in lost tax revenue and ongoing maintenance costs as well.
Never should have been purchased in the first place. I agree, just a lot of Ridgewood sport bullies trying to get their way again. PS #4 and your son will end up a Yankee??
Who would want to do that?
What would have happened to that property if the Village didn’t buy it?
If I remember, the BOE budget referendum of 2011 made changes to the field structure in town. The HS got its turf and lights but lost the track. BF got the track and lost both a full size baseball field and a smaller multi-purpose baseball/softball field.
The town is left with only 1 full size baseball field to support the recreation program, the travel program and the HS program.
No one is saying these boys and girls will become MLB players someday, but giving them an opportunity to play their games is important.
sell the land.
and who is going to do all the cleaning at this site. the parks are down to 4 workers.