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Steven Tichenor, Manager of Maintenance and Custodial Services for the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE), appeared before Village Council members last night to formally request a temporary exemption from the Village’s Ordinance prohibiting the outdoor use of power tools on weeknights, and during certain weekend periods. Mr. Tichenor’s request was related to the window replacement project at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School, which was scheduled to commence on Monday, February 4.
As explained by Mr. Tichenor, the BOE’s contractor is unable to work when students are present in the classroom due to safety concerns. Thus, all work had been scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM, and last until approximately 9:30 PM on weekdays. The contractor had also planned to work all day on Saturdays. The Village’s noise ordinance prohibits commercial use of power tools after 6 PM on weekdays, and allows Saturday use only between the hours of 9 AM and 1 PM. No outdoor power tool use for commercial purposes is permitted on Sundays.
Tichenor further explained that although window replacement work would be scheduled take place all day long during the upcoming school vacation weeks, February 16-20 and April 27-May 1, the entire project could not be completed exclusively during these recess periods. When asked why the work couldn’t be done entirely in the summer months, Tichenor said that the BOE’s budget cycle was such that the project had to be spaced out across two separate budget years, which necessitated that some work take place prior to summer recess.
Councilman Patrick Mancuso and Councilwoman Kim Ringler-Shagin were united in their opposition to any exemption being granted. Both expressed concern for the neighbors who lived close to the school and suggested the BOE go back to the drawing board and come up with an installation plan in which no “out of hours” work would take place. Mayor David Pfund and Deputy Mayor Betty Wiest were more receptive; they agreed that weekday work until 7:30 PM might be acceptable, but certainly work until 9:30 PM should not be permitted. Councilman Jacques Harlow was fine with Mr. Tichenor’s initial request.
Village Clerk Heather Mailander suggested that the temporary exemption be formalized via resolution and Village Manager James Ten Hoeve concurred (as did the entire Council). The resolution will be introduced and voted on during the Village Council’s scheduled February 13 Public Meeting.
Following the Council’s discussion and dismissal of Mr. Tichenor, BOE member Robert Hutton arrived in the audience (The Fly believes that Mr. Hutton was watching the event on Cable TV, saw Mr. Tichenor taking a beating, and decided to come to the meeting in person to lend a hand).
Hutton, visibly upset, said to Tichenor in the rear of the meeting room: “Did you just get screwed?” Following a private consult between the two, Hutton remained until the end of the meeting and was observed and overheard in heated discussions with both Village Manager James Ten Hoeve and Mayor David Pfund. The Fly isn’t sure what relief, if any, Mr. Hutton obtained during those two rather animated exchanges.