The Ridgewood News offered the new Village Council a laundry list of priorities including a push for the Valley Hospital expansion plan
July 6,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Paul Aronsohn, Gwen Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli were elected in May and made campaign promises to just about anyone who would listen .
While in some voters eyes they have already broken there “zero base budget ” initiative with the last budget vote given an ample opportunity for Paul Aronsohn to put his words into action by voting down the proposed budget and deferring till the new “dream team” to put there much heralded ‘zero base” budgeting into action. Councilmen Aronsohn ,now Mayor Aronsohn deferred looking to protect the increase in Library spending which was another key promise of his campaign .
The “dream team” reiterated during the campaign how through some new thinking they would be able to improve services , invest in the Villages aging infrastructure and keep tax increase to the bare minimum .
While nothing in the Ridgewood news article indicates anything but a continuation of past policies of previous Village councils ,the only thing new looks to be the push to force the Valley expansion .
The Ridgewood News submitted “wish list” for the new council:
* Encourage more residents to attend council meetings and speak out when necessary. Residents can pick up mistakes that the council might make. The newly elected council members promised more open government and transparency, which will not matter if nobody is paying attention. Attendance may also help break down the perceived barriers between Village Hall and residents.
* The council should move forward with the official formation of a Shade Tree Commission. The commission would be tasked with providing more care to the village’s trees, which is needed. In a related note, the council needs to be involved in plans for responsible use of open space, including the possibility of preserving more at the undeveloped Schedler property.
* Take steps to continue the revitalization of the Central Business District. A good first step would be to speed up the application process for businesses that apply for permits and variances. A good second step would be to finally do something with the vacant and unsightly Town Garage property on Franklin Avenue.
* Formulate a plan to repair – and fund – the village’s aging infrastructure. Start the process now as a preventative measure before it becomes an urgent problem.
There are many more issues for this council to address, including The Valley Hospital expansion plans, pedestrian safety and leaf pickups. But we believe this is a good start.
( https://www.northjersey.com/news/161530025_A_wish_list_for_council.html )
The editorial mentions the Council’s need “to address” Valley Hospital’s expansion plans. That is a neutral statement and a given. It hardly urges a “push” to accept the plans, as your headline and article state. I believe this is a misreading of the carefully worded editorial.
You are right when you say it is carefully worded. In the hospital favor. Just look at the amount of advertisement the hospital put in The Ridgwood News every edition. The Ridgewood news know not to bite the hand that feeds them.