the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the current Village Council continues to face difficulties finding residents willing to serve on various boards and committees. The Councils recent decision to terminate long time Village historians over policy disagreements has further compounded the issue .
This added to the council and their supporters appearance of bullying , harassing, perhaps blackmailing and in some cases overtly racist behavior toward residents and their seemingly contradictory policies on the environment and general small mindedness has lessened the appeal to serve and contribute .
SEEKING RIDGEWOOD RESIDENTS TO VOLUNTEER TO SERVE
ON VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
DEADLINE – 1/5/2024
The Ridgewood Village Council is looking for residents who are interested in volunteering to serve on the following Boards and Committees: The Open Space Committee; The Shade Tree Commission; The Historic Preservation Commission, for a Class B member and a Class C member; The Project Pride Committee; The Ridgewood Arts Council; The Stigma Free Task Force; and The Kasschau Memorial Shell Committee.
All interested residents should download and fill out a Citizen Volunteer Leadership form, found on the Village website by clicking on the tile “Employment and Volunteer Opportunities”, then clicking, downloading, and filling out the “Citizen Volunteer Leadership Form”. The Citizen Volunteer Leadership form should be sent with a cover letter indicating on which board(s) or committee(s) the resident wishes to serve, and a biography or resume to:
Eileen Young
Deputy Village Clerk
Village of Ridgewood
131 North Maple Ave.
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Or by email to: eyoung@ridgewoodnj.net with the Subject Line – Volunteer for Board/Committee
Deadline for submissions is January 5, 2024
The Open Space Committee assists in identifying specific types of open space, and makes recommendations to the Village Council on the development of existing open space acquisitions.
The Shade Tree Commission works closely with the Parks and Recreation Department, Green Ridgewood, and the Ridgewood Green Team to promote awareness and education of the residents, as well as advise and provide recommendations to the Village Council, in promoting and sustaining a safe and productive shade tree resource.
The Historic Preservation Commission – Class B Member and Class C Member – The Historic Preservation Commission identifies, records, and maintains a survey and inventory of all buildings, sites, and landmarks of historical or architectural significance. Oversees the preservation of structures and properties which reflect the heritage of the community. Acts as an advisory board to the Planning Board. A Class B Member is a person who is knowledgeable or with a demonstrated interest in local history and who may reside outside of the Village. A Class C member shall hold no other municipal office, position or employment within the Village of Ridgewood.
The Project Pride Committee works with the Village Council, Village Management, residents and stakeholders to organize and initiate improvements to foster a visually appealing environment throughout the Village of Ridgewood. Project Pride is responsible for organizing and implementing the Central Business District spring/summer plantings, including budget preparation and request, and recruiting volunteers to help with these plantings. Project Pride also seeks stakeholder input to foster improvements to areas throughout the Village.
The Ridgewood Arts Council assists in the promotion of, and encourages, artistic and cultural programs and provides for educational opportunities in the areas of art and culture. The Ridgewood Arts Council also provides advice, guidance, and recommendations to the Village Council, as needed.
The Stigma Free Task Force educates residents and raises awareness of mental illness in our community; provides and allows residents with mental illness to become involved in the community, which will decrease their feelings of isolation and shame; and links people to mental health resources, while raising awareness that care is accessible, regardless of income.
The Kasschau Memorial Shell Committee seeks out and determines the annual summer programming at the Kasschau Memorial Shell; raises awareness in the community about the performances; and assists in obtaining sponsors to pay for the performances. Also attends as many performances as possible, which are held from mid-June through early August.
What about Finance and Fields committees? No chance the council wants free thinkers on these boards
I guess the new majority is finding it difficult to seek out enough yes men and women to populate their empty committees. Any normal resident would never want to waste their time if they realize that they will be canned from said committee if they have a different opinion than the nit wits.
Personally, I can’t wait for budget season. We got a 6 percent increase last year, and we will get a double-digit increase next year. But alas, Pee Wee and company will win overwhelmingly in 2024. I’ll leave it to my friend the rich and stupid guy to tell you why these ass clowns will win again. I hope I didn’t spoil the surprise .
When interviewed, the mayor stated in the article from last week, that there are anywhere from 60 to 70 people just waiting to get on to one of these committees so keeping the historians was not prudent. Plus he wanted to make sure thta anyone serving should live in Ridgewood so they could be closer to the day-to-day of what is going on in Ridgewood.
Total BS. Tell Pee Wee to give us the list. There is no way they have that many people vying for a position to work with the bozos.
Why subject yourself to such scrutiny and aggravation
Why is Fast Eddie still assigning fields for the Rec and Travel teams for all sports…?
Isn’t 30+ years enough ?
Richard Brooks is still the Chair of the Parks and Recreation and Conservation Committees for how long? He also is friends with the Mayor and he and his wife, Gail Price, got an undisclosed mortgage loan from Mayor Paul Vagianos (notarized June 2023) for $47K plus 10% interest. Gail is a named partner of the law firm representing the LED billboard company that has applied to Ridgewood’s Zoning Board for approval. I guess when you are friends with the mayor, you can hold long time positions but if you are a historian that doesn’t support the narrative to put a large plastic field on a historic property, then you are out.
Just hire people from Patterson … Equity.
The current historians have done a terrific job. The only thing they did that could possibly bring about their replacement is to not bow before the wishes of the current Council in relation to historical properties. The council has no respect for anything historical!
Village council taxes have increased by 17% in last 4 years since Paul Vagianos took oath.
They don’t want normal people on the boards, they want their puppets. So they can control them. It’s just like management they put who they want in as a supervisor so at the end of the day they can control them. Everyone knows what’s going on.
Another Wednesday…what nonsense will the 4 Dirtbags come up with tonight?
The person that they want to have in this position works at the library and will be a village employee who will march to the orders of this majority block. That is what they want. So very sad that everything is being watered down and puppets are the people that they want. This bad bunch of actors has got to go. RECALL PAUL.
Residents please beware of the psychological techniques this group of bad actors is trying to employ. They smile to your face and manipulate behind the scenes. This mayor and majority block council (minus Lorraine Reynolds), village manager, village attorney are all in on this farce together. They stick together and have manipulated residents into believing so many untruths. People need to start paying attention. They will bankrupt this village soon with their nonsense and are essentially using gaslighting techniques to con everyone into believing them. So much of what they are prioritizing is not being dealt with in a honest manner. This is not fair to the honest tax paying citizens.