April 20,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The league of Women Voters will host the Ridgewood Council candidates night tonight at 7:30pm at the Village Hall.
Village of Ridgewood Candidates night format for the evening will include welcome from the president, flag salute, and an introduction of our esteemed moderator and the candidates. The moderator will then take over.
Opening statements 11/2minutes each
Questions # 1 2 3 1 1/2 minutes each question
Cross talk on each question 5 minutes in total each question
Questions from the public 40 minutes
Closing statements 1/1/2 minutes each
1. During the recent budget proceedings, Ridgewood Water outlined a six year, approximately 40 million dollar capital plan to
update the facility which serves not only Ridgewood but also Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff. Should the town invest the money
to update the facility or should we consider selling the utility and why?
2. We are looking at potential new development in Ridgewood , in the downtown area and the Central Business District (garage and
multi family housing at several locations). What measures would you propose to minimize disruption to traffic flow, local businesses and home owners and to ensure pedestrian safety?
3. Regarding the Town Garage location on Franklin Avenue and the adjacent municipal lots, the Department of Environmental Protection has cited these properties for remediation due to underground fuel tanks that are leaking diesel and hydraulic fuel into
the surrounding ground water. There has been talk of charging the cleanup to a potential developer or acquiring the garage site by
eminent domain and doing it ourselves. How do we address this problem in the most expedient manner so that no further
contamination occurs and serves the best interest of the village?
Its good to hear directly from the candidates, but the moderation (and questioning) the last few times I attended left much to be desired.
Both members of financial advisory committee are providing wrong numbers /data. Weitz and willet.
Watching from home: Such a shame the audio quality is poor and the picture in picture of the line of residents with questions is hiding the faces of several candidates. It’s very difficult to answer
I was very impressed with Hache, his honesty about what can and cannot be done in Ridgewood with regard to high density, not saying he will try to limit it, that means nothing. It cannot be limited. Hache did not pander for votes.
I thought he was right to leave option open about eminent domain on the toxic site of town garage. It’s vital that toxic site be cleaned up, if a private owner cannot be made to do it; taxpayers must pay for it.
The town should not sell our water facilities and lose control.
Hache stated most clearly on not wanting a large field at Schedler.
Rurik was out of order when he spoke; he had to be told to sit down, because he couldn’t stick to the issues. He had to beg Walsh for a personal clarification that she was not insulting his wife’s work at Twinney’s.
That’s what we need at council meetings. A presiding official to monitor those who insult others, like Rurik and to tell them to sit down immediately. Those who cannot stick to the issues.
Then civility can be restored.
Not much fireworks tonight – but a few immediate take aways about the three candidates supported by the Mayor and the developers..
Weitz is too busy to have gone to Council meetings during the past two years. And, he was too busy to vote. How the heck is he going to fulfill his duties should he be elected?
Willet is happy with the housing density because she believes it is a good thing to bring more students into our Ridgewood school system. At the same time, she is going to hold down costs. Not quite sure how she is going to balance the two. She doesn’t quite seem balanced.
Brooks is in favor of nepotism rule, and apparently he does not think anyone should be deleted if they have a connection to someone holding a public position. He forgot to mention his wife is the planning board attorney so he did not explain how he is going to be able to vote on anything important that comes before the council in the next couple of years should he somehow be elected. Frankly, he seems a bit dull.
Thank you so much James for all your help in getting out the word on Candidtes Night. I think it went pretty well considering all the issues and personalities. Paul didn’t get a chance to speak and I am sure he believes we planned it that way. The moderator is from a different town and felt it was time to go to closing statements. I don’t even know if she knew the last person at the mike was the mayor. It was time to close public comment and she did.