Taxpayers Facing a $1.1 million funding gap
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the ongoing battle over the Zabriskie-Schedler property in Ridgewood, NJ, has reached a costly new chapter. Despite a previous budget allocation of $1.5 million for soil remediation, the latest bids for work at the site have come in significantly higher—leaving taxpayers to wonder how the Village will bridge a $1.1 million funding gap.
With the lowest bid starting at $2.6 million and others reportedly tripling that amount, the “Schedler Saga” is quickly becoming one of the most expensive and controversial land-use projects in the Village’s recent history.
The Berm Controversy: Safety vs. Removal
At the heart of the debate is the soil berm located along the western boundary of the property. While the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requires the remediation of contaminated soil, critics point out that the agency did not explicitly mandate the total removal of the berm structure itself.
The Village Council’s decision to move forward with full removal has sparked outcry for several reasons:
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Natural Safety Barrier: Police documents have previously referred to the berm as a natural safety barrier between the property and the heavy traffic of Route 17.
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Children’s Health: The current plan involves placing children on artificial turf fields directly adjacent to a major motorway, without the physical and acoustic protection the berm provides.
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Environmental Impact: Residents have voiced concerns that removing the established vegetation and trees on the berm will destroy a local “living ecosystem,” replacing it with plastic and rubber surfaces.
The Price of Progress: A $1.1 Million Budget Shortfall
The Village originally appropriated $1.5 million for the remediation. However, with the $2.6 million low bid, the Council is now searching for ways to cover the extra costs. Potential funding sources discussed include:
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Insurance Reimbursements: The Village is presenting findings to the Bergen Joint Insurance Fund.
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DEP Grants: Officials are exploring state grants for contaminated site remediation.
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Borrowing: If grants and insurance fall short, the Village may have to take on additional debt to complete the project.
Note: The company that submitted the low bid has reportedly never performed work for the Village of Ridgewood before, adding another layer of uncertainty to the project’s execution.
At a Glance: The Schedler Property Bids
| Item | Estimated/Budgeted | Actual (Low Bid) |
| Remediation Cost | $1.5 Million | $2.6 Million |
| Soil Volume (Berm) | ~10,000 Cubic Yards | ~14,000 Tons |
| Funding Gap | $0 | $1.1 Million+ |
What’s Next for Ridgewood Residents?
The Village Council, led by Mayor Paul Vagianos, remains at a crossroads. While the administration argues that the park will provide much-needed recreational space and preserve the historic Schedler House, the combination of rising costs, soil contamination from “imported fill,” and the removal of a safety barrier has left the community divided.
As the Council evaluates the re-bids and explores borrowing options, Ridgewood taxpayers are encouraged to attend upcoming public forums to voice their concerns about the financial and environmental future of the Schedler-Zabriskie site.
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And to add insult to injury, the first change order is probably already being drafted.
Didn’t Mrs. Due Diligence say “welcome to expensive”
Evan has a solution, just bond it.
They are removing the berm to make room for a bigger field, not because the dirt has a small level of contamination. The easy solution is the plant vegetation on the berm and leave it there. Nobody is going to Schedler to play on the berm.
Let us tally when it is all said and done. It will be more with scope creep add ons. I am going to guess another million on top of this new figure, which would make it the original 1.5M plus the the 1.1M plus whatever the add ons cost.
Scope creep…
Being a PM is no way to go through life son.
There’s a future for you in the Fire escape trade.
I’ve seen it. Or a Lumberjack. Yea that’s the ticket. Lumber.
Oh well, I guess you shouldn’t rely on the Insurance, because it’s not an accident. Everyone knows who whose fault it is. while the village can borrow more money like they’ve been doing in the past four years. Or they can do it for an employee furlough. Hay , don’t get mad at the messenger. You people should be upset with yourself for protecting him. Well, now you pay the piper. I say this if the village goes forward with putting a claim in through the insurance, that’s Insurance fraud Everyone knows it. That would be another scam. that’s no accident. And the village still needs to deal with all the employees that worked at that location. No one knows if anyone was affected. They will be responsible for the rest of their lives. This is documented. This will not be swept under the carpet at village hall. All the top officials really screwed up with this one, talking about dropping the ball.☠️
Grok who pays the increased premiums for a “joint insurance fund” after they pay out claims? Is this free money?
KA CHING!
Who is the contractor who put the bid in.
Read the image with the story..
Northstar Environmental Services LLC of Clearmont NJ
there is no such company in Clearmont
Contractors are turning the screws as they know the mayor and council are married to the large turf field and will spend any amount $ to get it done.
We will be notifying the insurance company, why should they pay for a screw up like this, the individuals should’ve been fired, actually we do don’t blame that just the ex village engineer, and director of Dpw, what about the ex manager, like you telling us that you never thought of where this soil is coming from. Everyone knew where it was coming from. It’s not like it was coming from an organic garden. You people are so full of shit. We are sick of it. A few more people should be pushed out the door immediately. I’m glad we wrote everything that I have all the documents.
$2.6 million?
On top of what’s been spent?
And a council so inept they lowball their own budget estimate by nearly 60%?
In a normal town, this would signal the official end of this historically ridiculous 17-year disaster.
But this is no longer a normal town.
Don’t worry pretty soon I’ll be 100 million in debt, they’re going to have to raise taxes, big time or have major furlough.s.
Let’s not forget the secret budget that they have to implement regarding health and well-being of employees that worked at these locations. No one knows who has been affected or not. This is going to be a major budget. So far the village has failed in reaching out and sending employees for Testing. This is going to turn out to be just like Ground Zero in New York, 911, right now there’s a table of attorneys and state officials working on this. Top officials of the village don’t even know what’s going on because they can’t be trusted. The shit didn’t even hit the fan yet. If I was the top official in charge of that time, they better run.
Corruption, incompetence, and stupidity can go very far.
Here’s hoping the state legislature never eliminates Senior Freeze (reimbursing home owners for property tax increases) or I’d be outta here.
Think Anchor and StayNJ pay out s bigger portion of your property taxes.
Keep Voting them in . You get what you vote for
Man the the village is in some big major hole. Over 75, million and going up
They pushed the director out on early retirement. One more to go.
?
You are right.
The ones that put thumbs down, they must be a management, we are like a mosquito, biting them right their ass. And they can’t stand that they can’t control the Ridgewood blog. Well too damn bad. They don’t like it that a few individuals have a lot of dirt on the town and they know more than the mayor of the council, the village manager and the new director. Freedom of speech baby. Have a good weekend.
Ridgewood Never should have acquired this crappy house and property