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Village Council Meeting : Uber and Ridgewood Water Highlight Discussion

Village Council Meeting Uber

photos by Boyd Loving

October 27,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Wednesday night’s Village Council Meeting led off with a moment of silence in honor of the missing Rurik Halaby . Mo, Larry and Curly a Peter,Paul and Mary cover band sang , “I am leaving on a jet plane”. Women wore black and wept openly during the pledge .

Now a brief rundown of last night’s council meeting. Congratulations to Ramon Hache on the birth of his son on October 15th.

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League of Women Voters President Anne Walsh read a resolution on the Pilgrim Pipeline which stated its negative effects if built on our environment, infrastructure and water.

Later in the evening after comments from Rich Calbi and council members ,it was approved 4 – 0 with councilwomen Walsh recusing herself.

Resident Martin Walker came to the mic in support of the TAP grant which needs to be submitted by November 10th.  A discussion on TAP occurred later in the evening.

A presentation from Uber was next. The two women representatives came to the table and discussed a public/ private  partnership opportunity for Ridgewood. They were quite professional and friendly. They referenced their relationship with Summit, New Jersey which from all accounts is working well.  A pilot program could be introduced rather quickly if they got council approval. Ramon Hache commented that the use of Uber was essentially like building a virtual garage. Estimated arrival times from when the call is first made averages around 5 minutes.There are background checks on all approved drivers and their cars must also pass muster. Uber carries commercial insurance of 1.5 million dollars on every drive which is higher than what is standard for licensed taxis.  The council appeared positive in their responses and will be considered after additional information is gathered.

Next was the discussion of the TAP ( Transportation Alternative Program).  The dynamic duo if Chris Rutishauser and Jeanne Johnson made a presentation and it became clear that in the last two weeks the council never received copies of the grant or background information that they had requested in order to make a decision. There was no explanation of why this happened.  While everyone agreed that pedestrian safety is a top priority, no decision could be made without the requested materials.The mayor asked if they could have it on Thursday but Chris said he was busy with a trial and therefore Friday or Monday would be the earliest he could send it .

Later in the evening,Boyd Loving commented on the absurdity of a paid employee of the village not fulfilling his duties and seemingly getting away with it.

Richard Calbi of the Water Department was on board to speak of the drought conditions in New Jersey due to a long hot summer, little rain and overuse by consumers for lawn and shrub watering/ irrigation. New Jersey relies on winter rain to recover.  We will stay in stage 2 water restrictions indefinitely and will looking at additional water conservation methods to introduce to our residents through forums, entices and other forms of communication.  A discussion ensued as to whether Ridgewood should privatize the water utility in total, in parts or not at all.  I believe Richard Calbi’s preference would be to retain ownership as it is a huge asset and we would have local control which has served us well for the most part. November 1st , is also the water trial begins which is the law suit filed by Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park against Ridgewood  for years of overcharging.

In a discussion amongst council members, two great ideas came up and seemingly got full support from the 5. One was the possible hiring of a grant writer and Mike Sedon’s suggestion that they take a second look at a town garage proposal on the Hudson Street site which actually fit the footprint keeping sidewalks and on street parking.  Mike had all the information and will make a presentation at Ramon Hache’s CB  meeting next week.So far there has been no hard decision on the parking garage ,just more studies and information gathering.

Some observers think this council seems intent on forming committees for everything or uses the same old tired line of ” We will look into it”,too often , but given the previous administration residents seem to prefer the careful gathering of the facts and public input in major decisions.
Others also felt that the council being schooled by the Finances Director on budgeting 101 should have been given on an individual bases as needed and not in a public work session. After all 2 council people have been there for 2 years , and one council person served 4 years previously. Once again other felt that the budget discussion was just as much for the audience as it was for the new council members .

32 thoughts on “Village Council Meeting : Uber and Ridgewood Water Highlight Discussion

  1. Mr. Rutishauser is getting WAY TO BIG FOR HIS BRITCHES. Time for the Mayor to cut him down to size (literally and figuratively).

    And what about the balls on that Jeannie Johnson. Yelling at the Mayor in public about the bike lane in Garber Square. Come on now Jeannie. The Mayor is in charge, not you.

  2. Didn’t Matt Rogers previously claim that the lawsuit against Ridgewood Water was frivolous and could be easily defended? Now all of a sudden the Council has to prepare for the sale of assets to pay off the expected legal judgement?????????? WTF happened Matt?

  3. There is difference between a “background check” and a criminal background check. Don’t be fooled by what the Uber executives are claiming.

  4. Why is Rutishauser needed in court? A summons for an errant sign or two maybe? Get the court case postponed fat boy and give the Mayor what she asked for instead.

  5. No derogatory comments from the fat boy last night about Paterson at least.

  6. Peter Deuber must be laughing his ass off watching all of this from above. He was an odd duck, but he certainly had Rutishauser pegged correctly.

  7. Concerned that council will listen to committees decisions
    in lieu of hashing things out among themselves and doing their own hard work to research and think about and decide about issues.

    I mean we voted for the council. Not for committees. I am kind of really disappointed on how things are shaping up.

    Although to be politically correct I will say that everybody on the council is really nice and likeable. So what the f…

  8. Alas, poor Rurik, I knew him well…..

    Yes, committees can slow things down, but look at the Arohnson rushes that brought us all the problems we are now left with. We are talking about changing the direction of Ridgewood for the next century, so careful deliberation is required. We need to undo the disastrous, backwards looking plans put into place by Aronson and then build for a future of progress. Its going to take time and effort.

  9. I am 8:48 a.m. I said I am concerned about the council not doing their own thinking and letting committees decide for them.

    I don’t care how much time they take , I am concerned that the council members do the research they are telling others to do for them.

    The committee members can have their own agendas and give the council members biased information.

    But I want to repeat, to be politically correct, the council members are really nice and likeable, the best, so what the f—k.

    Maybe I should tell the council members what I think. But then they would think I am not politically correct, and don’t like them and think them sooo niiiice as I should. So what the f….k

  10. If you ever want to see Mr. Rutishauser at his smarmy, incompetent best, stop by the engineering department some day. Time stands still there now that he’s the heir to Tony Merlino’s private sandbagging operation. Where in God’s name do these hacks come from?

  11. Jeanne Johnson was out of control ridiculous. And Rutishauser too. Who the hell do they think they are trying to pressure the council to sign off on a grant application when they have not seen the plans. Memo to Ruishauser: Aronsohn and Sonenfeld sent out grant applications that were filled with lies. This council does not play that way.

  12. I wish Susan had walked down from the dais and yanked the cord of Jeannie’s microphone out of the wall to shut her up. But of course our Mayor has way too much class and grace to do that. The whole presentation was a total waste of time. Obviously the council will not move forward on a grant when they have not seen the plans. Duh

  13. No one missed Rurik. No one. And we had plenty of insanity without him being there. Chris Rutishauser (he of the ghetto palms) and Jeanne Johnson (she of the ridiculous bike lanes) provided ample idiocy for one evening.

  14. Agree at 10:20. And Martin walker, your 15 minutes are up. Five years on the safety committee, with nothing accomplished beyond making the town more dangerous vs 10 years ago and a bike lane to nowhere. Say no to another!!

  15. Thank you Mayor Knudsen for continuing to bring up that jackassaholic green bike lane debacle, another Rutishauser mess. Those lanes are so confusing and dangerous. I never know what lane to be in when I am heading west. God help anyone who dares to bike over there. Please, PLEASE go back to two traffic lanes and no more stupid bike lanes in the most dangerous of passages.

  16. Yes, Martin Walker you did NOT accurately convey what actually was said at the safety meeting.

  17. What was said about the grant writer position? That was great. Something about how it is being discussed in open and not being shoved through like when Roberta got her friend Sharon Matthews into a full time job and neglected to tell Mike and Susan. Those were the days. Thank god that regime is gone.

  18. Let’s sell the water utility once and for all. Then we can water our lawns again and let the kids run through the sprinkler.

  19. We also drink that water. If we sell it, we will lose all control over the quality. It would later be seen as an enormous mistake. As would caving to the Uber people. Has everybody already forgotten the rape in Wyckoff by an Uber driver a couple of weeks ago? I would never take an Uber anywhere. Insurance, vetting–it works as a business plan because it ignores the basics. And people are buying this, stupidly.

  20. Martin Walker are you taking a page from the Chamber of Commerce when you say for the CBD to thrive ecnomically and to keep taxes low we should accept this grant and put in bike lanes. So you think people will get on their bikes and ride to Ridgewood to shop and dine. Here is a suggestion for you ‘Physician, heal yourself’

  21. 1:12 no one drinks this water. It is full of lead and chromium. Everyone buys bottled water. Except maybe you And that is why your posting makes no sense.

  22. Miss Jeanne actually said that the bike lanes would only be for experienced bikers (ie dangerous). Oh hell yes, this makes sense. Let’s put bike lanes that are dangerous for all but the most experienced bikers. Ummmm what happens when an inexperienced driver comes alongside an experienced biker. This whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen. Thank God it probably will not happen.

  23. Jeanne kept saying FREE MONEY to which Susan repeatedly reminded her that grant money is still OUR MONEY. Whoever Jeanne is, whereever they found her, well she is of no use to the citizens of Ridgewood.

  24. Dumb and dumber. about what Jeanne Johnson said about bike lanes being for “experienced and commuting bikers.” I actually wrote to council members on that one. In case they missed it.

    I am soooo experienced that I can ride anywhere in Ridgewood,; yes in a car or truck protected by a steel barrier.

    Who pays her for writing these grants. Why is she pushing it so hard. There has to be some kind of payoff or perk for her. “perk for her,” now that’s cute.

  25. Twice last week I drove under the train tressle towards Stop N Shop. Both times a cyclist rode on the bike lane. When we got to the light (at Oak?)they rode down the yellow line, passed cars on left and made a left turn as soon as the light changed. They followed only the traffic laws that they wanted to.

  26. The dynamic duo of Chris and Jeanne should take their show on the road showing people how to accomplish nothing while antagonizing everyone. Also, the Bike Lane To No Where is hazardous to bikers as well as drivers. In stead of calming traffic, it makes us all annoyed and irritated!

  27. @8:03, agree. And it is against poor planning principles. Traffic calming measures of this type are not recommended in major arteries for obvious reasons.

  28. hudson street Parking garage is a va,pure that won’t stay in the ground.

    We the towns people voted in a referendum no.Not for the restaurants ,coffee shops or anyone else from out of town..

    Let them Park and walk.No more Studies for spending money for peak restauranteurs business plan.JUST SAY NO.pave and RELINE that dam lot.fix the other surface lots Potholes at cottage place..buy a line painting
    Machine and make the Ticket agents Line the Lots..The ticketing of visitors and town citizens parking is out of control.no one comes here to get over…if they are having a second coffee or stopping in another store that’s commerce..GLEN ROCK HAS THIS ONE DOWN COLD.

  29. 1:26 above re bottled water. You are way off base. Roughly 30%-50% of all bottled water in the US is actually tap water, Some like Acquafina filter tap water, extracting minerals that are actually good for you. Also, there is no comparison in the level of testing and control between tap and bottled water. If there is lead and chromium in your water you either have an issue with your own plumbing or, more likely, you really don’t have any idea about water quality standards and processes.

    Privatization only makes sense if the private sector can create efficiencies that pay for the profit margins and return on capital that private businesses require. For me, selling to United Water does not make me more confident that water quality will improve (not that I see an issue with it currently) and rates will almost certainly escalate. Privatization of water utilities was a bit f a trend in the 1990s. It didn’t go very well, leaving many municipalities to live with a mistake they could not easily undo. Nationally, private water supply cost 59% more than public water.

    Maybe Ridgewood Water is not well-managed. That is fixable. But the loss of accountability and control of privatization can’t be fixed

  30. Great comment 10:22 am. Agree wholeheartedly.

  31. Clearly there is a build a big oversized Garage on hudson street for the
    Business benefit agenda again..déjà vue REFERENDUM PEOPLE
    Do they think we are fools or what?.Simple answer NO

  32. Mount St Carmel has a second chance to lead its community against any Garage across from this future Landmark Building -and House of Worship.Dont drink their Cool-ade again.Community is Behind the local residents and houses of Worship.No Hudson St transit /restaurant shoppers Garage.Clean up the Town Garage super fund site.bill owners

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