VILLAGE COUNCIL PUBLIC MEETING
VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING
MAY 10, 2017
8:00 P.M.
Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute and Moment of Silence
Acceptance of Financial Reports
Approval of Minutes
Proclamations
National Cancer Survivors Day
Emergency Medical Services Week
Proclaim May as Mental Health Month
Proclaim May as Older Americans Month
Proclaim June as Gay Pride Month
Proclaim June 2nd as National Gun Violence Awareness Day
Comments from the Public (Not to exceed 3 minutes per person – 40 minutes in total)
Scoping Hearing – Green Acres Diversion on South
Broad Street
Adoption of Ordinance 3592 – Establish a CAP Bank
2017 Budget Hearing
Overview of 2017 Budget
Village Council’s Comments
Public Hearing on 2017 Budget
Resolution 17-126 Adopt 2017 Budget
Village Manager’s Report
Village Council Reports
ORDINANCES – INTRODUCTION – RIDGEWOOD WATER-NONE
ORDINANCES – PUBLIC HEARING – RIDGEWOOD WATER-NONE
RESOLUTIONS – RIDGEWOOD WATER
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION, NUMBERED 17-127, WILL BE ADOPTED BY A CONSENT AGENDA, WITH ONE VOTE BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL. THERE IS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION BESIDE THE RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. THE RESOLUTION WILL BE READ BY TITLE ONLY:
17-127 Award Professional Services Contract – Engineering Services for Suez Corrosion Control (NTE $15,000) – Awards a Professional Services Contract to Mott MacDonald, 111 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, NJ
ORDINANCES – INTRODUCTION
3599 – Amend Chapter 260 – Trees and Shrubs – Establishes rules and regulations for the planting and removal of trees on both public and private properties
3600 – Amend Chapter 212 – Parks and Recreation Areas – Prohibition of Dogs Off-Leash in Certain Parks – Prohibits dogs who are off-leash in both the Irene Habernickel Family Park and the Schedler Park Property
ORDINANCES – PUBLIC HEARING
3593 – General Capital Ordinance ($6,241,000)
3594 – Water Utility Capital Ordinance ($5,745,500) 3595 – Parking Utility Capital Ordinance ($210,000)
3596 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Parking Restrictions – Bogert Avenue and Cambridge Road
3597 – Amend Chapter 265 – Vehicles and Traffic – Parking Restrictions – Pomander Walk
3598 – Construction of Handicapped Ramp at Irene Habernickel Family Park ($70,000)
RESOLUTIONS
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS, NUMBERED 17-128 THROUGH
17-139 ARE TO BE ADOPTED BY A CONSENT AGENDA, WITH ONE VOTE BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL. THERE IS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION BESIDE EACH RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. EACH RESOLUTION WILL BE READ BY TITLE ONLY:
17-128 Title 59 Approval- Replacement of Firehouse Roof – Approves the plans and specifications for Roof Replacement at the Main Fire House, 201 East Glen Avenue in the Village of Ridgewood prepared by the Engineering Division, pursuant to Title 59
17-129 Award Contract – Replacement of Firehouse Roof (NTE $126,760) – Awards a contract to the lowest responsible bidder, NDP Construction, LLC, 200 White Road, Suite 207, Little Silver, NJ
17-130 Title 59 Approval – School Bus Transportation Services – Approves the plans and specifications for School Bus Transportation Services prepared by the Parks and Recreation Department, pursuant to Title 59
17-131 Award Contract – Rebid of School Bus Transportation Services – Day Camp (NTE $21,000) – Awards a contract to the lowest responsible bidder, Durham School Services, 248 Goffle Road, Hawthorne, NJ
17-132 Award Contract Under County Contract – Rock Salt (NTE $56.86/ton) – Awards a contract under County Contract to Mid-American Salt, LLC, 4528 Hillegas Road, Fort Wayne, IN
17-133 Authorize Additional Funding for Special Attorney for RCRD Lawsuit (NTE $15,000) – Awards an additional $15,000 for the Special Attorney in the RCRD Lawsuit, Peter Scandariato of Eastwood, Scandariato, & Steinberg, 336 President Street, Saddle Brook, NJ
17-134 Authorize Application – Designate Graydon Park – Historic Designation – Authorizing application to Historic Preservation Office of the State of New Jersey to add Graydon Park to the State and National Registers of Historic Places
17-135 Authorize Shared Services Agreement – Borrowing of County Equipment (Bergen County) – Authorizes a Shared Services agreement with Bergen County for the sharing of emergency and non-emergency equipment
17-136 Suspension of Ordinance for Certain Illuminated Signs – Suspends the ordinance for certain illuminated signs in the Central Business District until December 31, 2017
17-137 Approve Encroachment Agreement – The Office Restaurant – 32-34 Chestnut Street – Approves an Encroachment Agreement for a canopy over the doorway of The Office Restaurant which extends over the Village’s sidewalk and is minor in nature. Also authorizes the Mayor and Village Manager to sign the Encroachment Agreement.
17-138 Authorize Addition of World War I Ridgewood Resident Veteran Killed in Action to Memorial Plaque – Authorizes the addition of the name of Anthonie J. Wendels, a Ridgewood resident, who was an Army Veteran killed in action in World War I, to the plaque at Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Also authorizes the Village to pay the cost of doing so.
17-139 Recognize the Designated Public Forum Space in Memorial Park at Van Nest Square – Display of the Gay Pride Flag – Designating the Public Forum space in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, resolving to display the Gay Pride Flag for all of June 2017 in recognition of Gay Pride Month.
Comments from the Public (Not to Exceed 5 minutes per person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
A. Legal – COAH, Valley Hospital
B. Personnel – Appointments to Boards and Committees; Appointments of Professionals
C. Contract Negotiations – Consideration of Purchase of Property 24. Adjournment
Saw Jeff’s letter to the editor this morning about the flag flap…is he going rogue again…?
Every time he seems to have calmed down, he comes out with another Aronsohn-like outrage. Dissing his fellow council members in public before the issue was even decided was pretty low and only makes him look bad.
this crew is a bit scary. we can not see this working well for a long time.
Who owns “Property 24”? Who is the beneficial owner? Why is the Village increasing municipal debt to buy this?
So that’s it, the outrageous 2017 Budget was just adopted like that?
Mayor Knudsen needs to recuse herself from contract negotiations given her sons work for the RPD. Why is no one concerned on this blog about her obvious conflict of interest here? Same with discussions and contracts related to the Schedler property, why isn’t she revising herself? Serious ethical breaches.
she will recuse as many time as Gweeen Hauck
Mental Health Month was not celebrated at last night’s council meeting.
it was but some people were noticeable absent
dirty, dirty , dirty,
Funny James, I don’t know Gwen but I do know that a vote on Valley’s redevelopment plans never made it to the Village Council when she served; it was stopped at the Planning board level so there never was a need for her to recuse from a vote, it was just you and your bloggers making an issue out of a potential conflict that never happened. The current Council just voted on a budget that funds police salaries. Did the Mayor recuse herself given her very obvious conflicts? Has she recused herself from discussions about using Village funds on Schedler or Property 24? Why are you being so hypocritical about this?
James, why are you and your posters defending the indefensible?
Oh boy! Just in time to get sued by their new supplier if it doesn’t snow.
NJ Towns, Counties Breached $9M Salt Contract, Suit Says
By Jeannie O’Sullivan
New York (June 14, 2017, 3:16 PM EDT) — Dozens of New Jersey public entities were slapped with a federal lawsuit Monday alleging they breached a $9.3 million purchase agreement to buy minimum amounts of rock salt from an Indiana-based supplier.
Mid-American Salt LLC had a $9.3 million contract with the Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council to provide 115,000 tons of rock salt, but 48 of MCCPC’s members, including towns, counties and school boards, either bought less than they estimated they’d buy or didn’t buy any, according to the suit filed in New Jersey federal court.
Collectively, the purchases the contracting defendants ended up making — along with non-defendant Union Township, which exceeded its planned purchase — amounted to 3,686.64 tons of salt, less than 5 percent of the estimated tonnage awarded to Mid-American, for a total of $250,000.
“Implicit in the MCCPC members’ submission of estimates was a promise to purchase amounts approximately equal to those estimates. However, the contracting defendants, without exception, either failed entirely to purchase from Mid-American, or purchased quantities vastly lower than their estimates,” the complaint said.
The defendants include MCCPC as well as member towns and school districts located in eight counties. Five of those counties — Hunterdon, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union — are also defendants.
The complaint asserts claims of breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and seeks compensatory and consequential damages, along with attorneys’ fees and costs.
The contract at the heart of the lawsuit was awarded to Mid-American in August following a competitive bidding process.
In preparation to fulfill the contract, Mid-American imported salt from its Moroccan salt mine and arranged a terminal contract with DuraPort Marine and Rail Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey, to store the salt until it was to be delivered. In October, Mid-American returned the signed contract and a $93,016 performance bond to MCCPC.
Each of the contracting defendants was directed to provide a customer profile form, including the estimated rock salt to be purchased, to Mid-American, the complaint said. Requested quantities ranged from 75 tons to 12,000 tons.
However, most of the contracting MCCPC members didn’t follow through, according to the complaint.
For example, the combined requested amount from Hunterdon County was for 12,920 tons of rock salt, yet none of the county defendants other than the township of Lebanon ordered any salt from Mid-American, the complaint said. Lebanon had requested an estimated 2,000 tons, but actually only purchased 50.14 tons, amounting to a mere 2.5 percent of its estimate, Mid-American said.
Further, a number of the defendants ended up buying rock salt from Mid-American competitors who undercut Mid-American’s prices, the complaint said.
In addition to the performance bond, Mid-American’s investments have included $4.8 million for the import of three shiploads of salt, a $31,250 monthly storage fee and $58,962.26 to cover the salt with tarps, the complaint said. Mid-American has also incurred about $220,000 in financing costs as well as additional costs to rend barges, arrange for tugs and contract for truck delivery of the salt.
Representatives for the named defendants didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Counsel information for the defendants wasn’t available.
Mid-American is represented by Peter L. Skolnik of Clark Guldin Attorneys at Law.
The case is Mid-American Salt LLC v. Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council et. al., case number 2:17-cv-04262, in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.