On Saturday the high school chorus group was holding a car wash to raise a few dollars for their program. The kids were about an hour into it, 2 hoses with nozzles when the police came by and had them shut down due to a complaint. The officers were apologetic but had to act due to a compliant. I don’t have anyone in the schools, but what an awful example for the village. We ask the kids to work a task to help their program and then send the police to shut it down.
We should all be very concerned that their are people so miserable and angry in town that they complain about a organized event at the school to raise money.
Why is there no pressure on the water company to build a system that can meets the needs? Why is there no consideration of water use in the proposed increased in area housing? Why are we using village police resources to enforce water rules, seems if they had the time to do this perhaps we should review staffing levels when the water “crisis” is over ?
The “Stage 4 In Effect” notice posted on the Village’s website says NOTHING about a ban on washing vehicles. It addresses IRRIGATION ONLY.
When were we told in writing that washing cars is prohibited?
https://www2.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1779
Sometime you have to use a little common sense .
” I cannot emphasize enough the importance of obeying these restrictions – this is a public safety issue – our firefighters need to have the necessary water and water pressure to be able to fight fires and we also need to maintain reserves for household use.” But wait its ok to wash my car.
9/17/2015
Dear
Ridgewood Water
customers
,
Your cooperation with
Stage
4
restrictions ha
s
started to
ease the stress
that the
water
system experienced during this unusually dry summer.
Weather forecasts predict that dry conditions will
continue
,
so Stage 4
restrictions will
remain in effect
until further notice
.
No irrigation
of any kind is
allowed
on Mondays,
Thursdays, or Fridays
.
Irrigation using
only a
hand
–
held
hose with a spray
nozzle
is
permitted for odd numbered addresses only on
Tuesdays and Saturdays
and
for
even numbered
addresses only on
Wednesdays and Sundays
Waivers for special circumstances such as irrigating
newly
planted
lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling
swimming pools
will be considered on a case
–
by
–
case basis.
For more information on
waivers please call Ridgewood Water at 201
–
670
–
5520 or
email
Customer Service at cswater@ridgewoodnj.net.
I guarantee you it was one of the assholes that comments on your blog that complained.
Do all these limitation apply to Commercial Car and Bus washing businesses?
Well7:49, sounds like you have a lot of hostility. Maybe it was you?
7:49am is probably right. Most car washes recycle there water.
Call tour friend the Mayor Dom and ask him.
Your probably right Anon because most of us on this blog use common sense and follow rules and we don’t think were special.
Can we please fine the owners of the apartments on Ridgewood Ave by Irving? Bright green thick lawns. I hear they water at 5am so maybe our nighttime police shifts could take a few rides by tomorrow am.
The issue of the Police only stopping the car wash because “someone complained” is ridiculous. If this is what the Police told the car wash kids, then they are being unprofessional and avoiding their own responsibility. Either what the kids were doing was against Village water restrictions, or it was not. It is asinine to have a situation where something is illegal based upon whether a complaint is made.
Whomever organized this ‘car wash fund raiser’ had to be fully aware of the severe stage IV water restrictions in Ridgewood and the well known drought conditions also affecting other areas, all over the news (United water resevoirs down 60%). It’s a no-brainer they should have cancelled the ‘car wash fund raiser’ and held a bake sale instead or something else, not waste water.
You don’t host a ‘car wash fund raiser’ in a drought with severe mandatory restrictions with stiff $1,000.00 fines being given out to violators in Ridgewood
The Ridgewood elites become the laughing stock. Stupid is as stupid does.
Right Declan its all the police fault.
Declan where you there? Did you witness the police say that or are baseing your opinion on what a disgruntle poster said which would asinine of you.
Again, the written Stage 4 notice addresses irrigation only. There is no mention of a ban on washing cars, filling swimming pools, etc. Those who get summonses for washing their cars have a good case in court.
It’s in the first paragraph. “The Police shut them down due to a complaint”. So, if I see a bank being robbed and call the Police, and the Police then catch the robber as he runs away, do they say to the robber, “We have arrested you because someone made a complaint”?
Is there some place I can send a donation in to these kids? I feel terribly for them. I know a few of the other RHS organizations have held car washes since the opening of school (and the ban on irrigation).
Wrestling had a car wash last week.
Again Declan that story came from a poster. You don’t if it fact. Get off your high horse
Anonymous September 20, 2015 at 4:40 pm
On Saturday the high school chorus group was holding a car wash to raise a few dollars for their program. The kids were about an hour into it, 2 hoses with nozzles when the police came by and had them shut down due to a complaint. The officers were apologetic but had to act due to a compliant. I don’t have anyone in the schools, but what an awful example for the village. We ask the kids to work a task to help their program and then send the police to shut it down.
We should all be very concerned that their are people so miserable and angry in town that they complain about a organized event at the school to raise money.
Why is there no pressure on the water company to build a system that can meets the needs? Why is there no consideration of water use in the proposed increased in area housing? Why are we using village police resources to enforce water rules, seems if they had the time to do this perhaps we should review staffing levels when the water “crisis” is over ?
I hear the 3 amigos are having a car wash at village hall all donations will be going to their re-election campaign for 2016. Gyenn will also have home made brownies. 1 senior citizen bus count as two cars.
You are missing the point. Is the school car wash against Stage IV restrictions or not?
Ok Declan lets not go back and forth on this. As far as your question yes I do. I posted the Ridgewood Water Customer Memo which clearly states “lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling
swimming pools will be considered on a case to case basis. Now the Village Manager E News says nothing about car washing. You would thing that these well paid Employees of the Village would be on the same page on this “critical issue”.
As far as the Police I guess they could have told them to shut it down without saying that they received a complaint but you could just well looked at it as they were telling the truth. In any case the car wash did violate the spirt of the law when it come to stage IV water restriction. Maybe a phone call to the Water Dept or the Village Manger to see if was allowed and maybe permission would have been given.
Why does it have to be a complaint if its illegal. Why not have an anonymous “tip” line?
For instance, if a call to the police asking if they still are writing a summons for sprinkling, the response is yes, what’s the address, what’s your name, address and phone number and will you sign a complaint, the only way they’ll issue a summons is when they send someone out, they actually have to see the sprinkler on when they get there.
Not true, he saw the sprinkler on watering, put the spot light on it, walked up to house, flashlight showed sprinkler on, talked to owner at front door, owner claimed they’re “new” didn’t know, police gave warning, didn’t give summons. Another neighbor saw and heard, told police they water all time. The owner knew about restrictions from other neighbors last year and repeatedly knew about it this year, ignored rules, sprinkler on at night whenever he felt like thru stage 1,2 and 4.
so, even when they actually see a sprinkler on, it don’t cut it for writing a summons? What gives?
“from the VOR website – Village Manager Regarding Stage 4 Enforcement”
“The only way a summons can be written is if the person sees the watering – unfortunately wetness around the area and having a green lawn do not cut it for writing a summons….so we have to be there at the right time.”
4:19 – HILARIOUS!!!
No mention of anything but irrigation restrictions on the official press release either.
https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/water/StageIVpressrelease.pdf
Some of the posts are making a different point. My suggestion is that a some point the village has become a place where neighbors blindly follow a restriction, call out neighbors for trying to maintain their properties, and never seem to push for understanding of how to address the issue or correcting it. The facts are interesting; there is no shortage of water, the issue is the lack of pumping and storage due to poor planning and management. Claims that we hit Stage 4 due to disregard for previous stages shows a complete lack of understanding of how the water systems work, there is no linkage. We expect our neighborhoods to have maintained houses with landscaping, etc and then call out those who invest to do so. When I was young I remember the local police pulling into a school event and participating, now the village has them shutting it down. Imagine how much goodwill would have been realized had the police car been ‘washed’ by the kids. Isnt that the relationships we should foster as a Village.
This weekend I traveled to another town in eastern Bergen, where I noticed the local fire department was sponsoring a ‘wash’ seemed odd that less them 12 miles away they had enough rain to avoid water issues.
The village needs to reset a bit and ask the right questons to the right authorities, when we are the point where the police are shutting down fund raising events we all should be concerned.
“the village has become a place where neighbors blindly follow a restriction”…..yes 8:52, water restrictions in a shortage, speed limits, hosting parties with alcohol for minors, etc – we are all so special and shouldn’t have to obey the rules.
“the village has become a place where neighbors blindly follow a restriction”
Huh? Someone is questioning the fact that most residents follow the rules? Of course most of us follow the rules. Then again, three of our elected officials break the law regularly, so the example being set by our leaders would lead us to think that we can do whatever the hell we want.