member winegrad here and mayor vaganos here will you all please join us and salute to our flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the repblic for it stands one nation God indivisible withy andice for all before we go to public comment um I have a short statement um there was an article in the paper today regarding an item on tonight's agenda concerning the position of Municipal historian and while we will be discussing it later in detail this evening I want to make sure everyone has all the facts let me Begin by saying that we are incredibly grateful to the individuals who have served in this position over two decades their volunteer service to our village is what I mean when I talk about getting off the bench and into the game I wish everyone gave as freely of their time time and expertise to our village they are incredibly well qualified and their historical knowledge has been of Paramount importance to our village and its residents as the years have passed however their connection to the Village has become attenuated one of the two municipal historians who I believe was a resident his whole life moved out of town over a decade ago the other individual who was not a resident was appointed Municipal historian while serving as the Director of the hisor room at the Ridgewood Library I believe she even started that room today that room is referred to as the boulder Heritage Center she left that position I believe in 2016 as a result neither of the current Municipal historians has any connection either by residency or employment to the village and while both are Inc incredibly well qualified to serve have not had any connection to the village for many years the proposed ordinance which we will discuss later this specific evening simply seeks to establish the same connection to our village for the municipal historian as we have had for so many years what is being proposed is to have the current director of The buer Heritage Center appointed as Municipal historian for a finite term of five years it is because of the connection and experience established by our current Municipal historian that has worked out so well that we are proposing the identical qualification and connection as had originally been established I want to be abundantly clear that the council's actions in this regard have nothing to do with anyone's position regarding the shedler property in fact the other Municipal historian who also chairs the historic preservation commission signed a letter announcing that the HPC voted unanimously that it has no objection to the plan for shedler Park that was approved by this Council what I regret and what we accept full responsibility for is that this was not handled better this was originally scheduled for our meeting of no November 8th when we realized that we had neglected to contact these individuals we pulled it off the the agenda so we could speak with them directly on behalf of this Council I want to convey our heartfelt thanks to two people who have served our village admirably for decades thank you and now we'll go to public comment Frank the bman Mortimer 426 van Beren Street Ridgewood New Jersey I'm here today not as the B man but as to speak on behalf of the parks and wreck board um and this is in regards to the Hazardous Barn at heracle Park the PRC board fully supports raising the barn due to the increasing safety concerns as well as health concerns um we've had people come and speak to us uh residents that have that have talked about their concerns over it and have addressed us directly about them wanting it raised as well this past summer we as a board held a meeting over at Tabernacle and were able to look around the outside of the bar because of course you can't get inside to see for ourselves just in what condition it is Frank could you Us RC board fully supports raising the barn due to the increasing safety concerns as well as health concerns um we've had people come and speak to us um well it's so and not that it's not incredibly important and well set it's so good it's theing twice okay so sorry continue Frank yeah so so back in the summer the board had a meeting over at Tabernacle so we could see firsthand what how poor of condition the barn was in and it was shocking you know that that's a very heavily trafficked area I would say with especially with the health Barn in the Summer where the camp that they hold for the kids and the the concerns with it first and foremost is it's falling apart and if it's falling apart then that means it could fall on somebody second it's clear that there's a lot of infestation um I am not a trained verman expert but it certainly looks like that there's a lot and it's been reported that there is and so what if what if some a rat or whatever bite somebody so between the it falling on somebody or the the Vermin living in the bar it's it's a it's an issue that if we don't solve quickly it's going to get worse and it's going to be the village fault if it's not raised so for all of these reasons the PRC board would like to see the the barn raised and I personally as a citizen would also like to see it thank you very much thank you Frank uh good evening my name is Tim Graham uh I uh live at 377 beverage Road or at least I did and was temporary displaced um it's very close to habber Nickel par he calls it habber nickel I call it habber nickel but we have the same view on the bar uh it's it I'm a big fan of Hab nickel I it's a treasure for this community an underutilized asset I believe um I love it my dog loves it even more and um but that Barn it not only is it an eyesore I agree Frank it's a health threat it's a danger it's falling down I've taken pictures uh it's also a magnet for rodents and other um animals and I think it's only a matter of time that it could be something really bad could happen there um including a group of kids breaking in and um who knows what but my point is it really isn't bad shape it needs to be removed I don't uh I think we deserve better it's an eyesore uh it also uh you know with the porta potty is the only uh facility out there it stinks a lot especially during the summer um I think we just deserve better I don't know what the answer is in terms of the future that's not the point the real my real concern is that it be removed and I'm pretty sure we won't find any historical value to it I don't um you know I it's it's I know the years ago it was used as a stable but it isn't hasn't been used in that way for most of the 20 years or so that I've lived here so uh with that I think thank you very much thank you Tim good evening 342 South Irving Street and loving um first of of all I would like to thank the village manager for giving me permission to bring my dog here this evening which I will explain in a moment and second of all I'd like to wish Heather a happy birthday because I learned it's her birthday last Friday while I was walking my dog on a leash in front of my home two large Unleashed dogs came running over one of the dogs violently attacked my dog my husband and I had to rush to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital on Route 17 where Eddie under underwent surgery the vet was unequivocal in stating that the larger dog had attempted to kill my dog thankfully my dog's going to be okay he can't be left alone which is why he's here I am so grateful the reason that I bring this up here at the council meeting is twofold first I would like to thank Don sat trulo of the health department Keith kasmar The Village manager and Carol Tyler of Tao who helped address the matter of the loose dogs my neighbors in my absence called the police and filed a police report a gardener who was working across the street and who I had never met ran across the street and bravely you know breaked up the broke up the attack they all stayed behind and coralled the dogs contacted the owner and Glenrock talked to the police and generally took care of business while we were with Eddie as he underwent life saving surgery officer Colin Donnelly came by our house later in the afternoon to see how our dog was doing and to see how we were doing really it takes a village and I never saw that more clearly than last Friday Animal Control has visited the house in Glenrock and steps are being taken to ensure that these dogs are never able to get loose again this was not the first time they have been loose it was made very clear to us that they escape regularly they can never present a risk to an animal or God forbid to a human again so besides wanting to acknowledge the kindness efficiency and assistance of Ridgewood Glenrock and a total stranger I also want to urge anyone who is listening to understand this if your dog is attacked by another dog you should and you must file a police report if you don't do so which I didn't do my neighbors did but if it's not done done then there is no record and no steps can be taken to ensure that it won't happen again I fully understand that it could be very awkward if you're reporting a dog that belongs to a neighbor or a friend that was not the case with us we didn't know the people however it's the right thing to do and it's the only way to ensure that an aggressive dog will not have the opportunity to do this again when I said before that it takes a village that ALS applies here imagine if your dog was attacked and you chose not to report it and then that aggressive dog attacked another dog or a person it really is an obligation and I urge anyone who's listening to to please understand that having your animal survive the attack is key but then following through by making sure that the attacking dog is secured is also key thank you thank you and we I know I speak on behalf of the entire Council many of us are dog owners we're very sorry to hear that Eddie was attacked we're all relieved to hear he's going to be okay and we appreciate you're coming to alert everyone of what needs to be done because how else would we know thank you Cynthia o'keef 542 West sadle River Road um I wanted to just start by saying that yes I'm interested in hearing more information when you get to the topic of discussing the historians um and person that you're intending to hire um and I do think it's um appropriate that Joe and Peggy were thanked for their many years of devoted service I hope that doesn't change the landscape of Ridgewood because of the fact that they do know so much they are so knowledgeable and personally I don't think it has anything to do with where they physically reside um I don't know if you know Keith lives in Ridgewood or Heather lives in Ridgewood so it doesn't matter that they don't live here I'm just not calling you out personally I don't know where you live but it shouldn't matter because um they have the knowledge of the village whether they lived here now or they lived in the P here in the past um the letter they sent was on November 27th it was not done under the guise of the historic preservation Commission and the letter was not intended to be from the chair of the historic preservation commission so Joe didn't send it in official capacity they sent it as Village historians it was sent to Katherine maripol from the state historic preservation office um and that's also the Department of Environmental Protection they felt so passionately that they needed to speak out about the shedler property given so many um contentious decisions that have been made um and based on you know the passion that they share for this Village this is the letter they sent Dear Miss maripol Joe and I have been the historians for Ridgewood for over 20 years as the Village Council considers retiring us from our positions we would like to share our thoughts on the zisy shedler house and the use of the property we researched and participated in writing the application for the Certificate of Eligibility for the zisy shedler house j a l zisy shedler house in 2013 and have follow the progress setbacks and controversies surrounding the house and the property as a historic building the house has been saved this is a credit to many in the community and serving in the village government the plan for use of the property around the house is however In Contention when the village purchased the property it was planned as a mi mixed use athletic and recreational facility given the historic nature of the house and the property we feel that the recreational development should be in scale with the property the compromise for 2018 reach between the athletic organizations and the Neighbors on the size and location of the field should be honored um in addition we would offer that the following comments on the various plans proposed over the years the land can be used for athletics with consideration uh with the context of the house open land near the house is historically appropriate as parking near the house and use of native shrubs and trees Gus shedler the last owner was interested in trees and planted many specimen trees he also protected and nurtured the historic maple on the property can I finish go ahead okay thank you um next to the house which was recently granted Heritage or big tree status by the DP well I mean she might not have known that it was rescinded uh that being said uh This was oh she did she did know that which was contested by The Village okay in recognition of the natural history of the property and its development by the shutler Special Care should be taken in selecting the trees and shrubs for the property in consideration of the cont context of the house the use of artificial turf is inappropriate the size of the field should be proportional to the property the property can support multiple uses historic athletic Recreation passive Recreation and habitat The Village needs to find use for the house it's unrealistic to expect it to become to be incom producing property I'm sure that one or more Ridgewood nonprofits would be glad to have this space for meetings practice example mu musical groups Andor storage the latest plan uh which she had dated 10 2722 um the use of the house was impaired by providing no nearby access for parking delivery or handicapped access there is provision for handicapped access which is diminished by the youthfulness by being almost 100 fet from the house historically this would be some kind of vehicle access near the house in the 20th century it was a driveway garage uh north of the house we encouraged the New Jersey historic preservation office to advocate for a context for the brisky shedler house that includes native trees and shrubs a moderate sized athletic field with natural turf or grass and passive Recreation opportunities and natural habitat for wildlife sincerely yours Peggy Norris Joseph picky historians for the village of Ridgewood thank you Christina Millian 530 West Saddle River Road I just wanted to publicly State thank you to Peggy and Joe tonight I've never worked anywhere in my life for 20 years let alone uh given 20 years of volunteer work to a town um so I just think that they what what they've done for this town is completely commendable and I would also say that bringing up um the location of where they live actually just double downs double down and imp and uh proves that their dedication was that committed that they don't even apparently physically live here and we're still that committed to Ridgewood and that committed to Bergen County and so I just think um what what they've done is awesome and given all of this time uh to the to the community and to the town should be recognized so thank you thank you Christina anyone else seeing no one we have a couple of people from uh online and the first one I'm very happy to say is RoR calibby who has been a little under the weather lately so how you doing there Ru you're on mute I'm doing fine Paul thank you very much uh Ric HBY one Franklin Avenue I'll be very very brief uh I am presently unable to be with you in person but I'm pleased to join you by hybrid meeting thank you Village Council for reowing this also thank you the Village Council and Village manager for embarking on a project to fix Rood streets and Roads Rood was so shabby looking with these horrible poth hold streets come spring the three streets will be repaved and we will have streets and Roads we can be proud of yes taxes at work lastly I realize the zoning board works independently of the Village Council so I'm addressing this comment to the listeners and not you necessarily the Village Council uh we the residents of rwood should do all we can to make sure the bill board never goes up in this day and age to have a billboard like that is an Abomination truly a poke in the eye with a sharp stick to the resident of rud thank you very much and keep up a good work guys thank you thank you Ric and we're so glad to see you doing better next up Susan you're on mute Oh no you're not on mute sorry go ahead thank you um Susan Ruan um 705 Kingsbridge Lane um I I just hold hold on I find my comments um I I just have a few comments um want to thank Rorick for um bringing up the billboard because I also realized that a few of I do agree with him that the billboard should not be allowed I also realized that several of the members of the zoning board are going to be um their term is expiring and that the new there's going to be new members of the zoning board and hopefully they will not um approve this um billboard which I don't think I don't I don't even understand why it's even being contemplated um and then um I also for just a just a little FYI I know Warick just spoke about the potholes um West Saddle River Road is a complete mess and uh it's just not we we drive around other parts of Ridgewood and that's not uh even comparable to what we have to drive through every day um on the road hocus just repaved their portion of West Saddle River Road which was nowhere as dilapitated as ridgewood's section and can we say that we have Envy of road work um because there when we go onto that our cars are not going bump bump bump bum bump there is no excuse why West sadle River Road has been neglected for so long um and talking about the road unfortunately we live in um section A of leaf collection and and the leaves have only been collected once so far in this section I'm not certain about other sections of town um I do um and again back to West Saddle River Road that road is off a major highway and we have to go in and out of this obstacle course um try you know driving you know around which is again A Hazard on top of the bottles um and I'm not certain why that that's been allowed to be um not collected sooner um because some of the PE the the piles were so high not because of the the resident's fault it's just because it was never collected and it became a driving Hazard so I don't know when the next leaf collection is supposed to be happening because I know people are still leaves out but we'll we hopefully next year it won't be that bad and also why is West SLE River Road allowed to have leaf collection when I've driven down Lynwood and Ridgewood a they don't have the same Leaf out out on the streets as we do and we have to go like again zigzag around thank you very much your your time is up thank you so much much anyone else seeing no one I'm going to close public comment and we can proceed with our agenda mayor before you do I'd just like to address one point that the last speaker brought up about the Zoning Board of adjustment and the new members coming in on the billboard application um unfortunately you know the zoning board the the board members who may may make decisions on any application have to hear the entire application right so one of the things under consideration by the council is renewing or extending the the terms of any of the members that would be um have been involved in that applica all of the application hearings so that they can follow through with it and bring it to a conclusion so you can't just appoint a new member and they jump in and they they start participating um so we're going to try and make sure that the same zoning board members that have heard the application throughout continue to hear it to its conclusion thanks to that clarification Matt and and through you mayor to Susan just to back up Matt's comments you know new members appointed to the board would not be able to hear this application because they didn't start with the application so I think that's needs to be made abundantly clear um moving forward as we get to January when appointments would be made by The Village Council um in addition to that with regard to West SLE River Road I think I've said it no fewer than four or five meetings um that this is a street that I have earmarked with our engineering department for resurfacing during next year's program um that commitment to have that on the list um remains there obviously were delays because there was concern over how the street might be impacted if the property at shedler was developed that was the delay but one way or the other I think it's Our intention to prioritize that going into the 2024 capital budget thanks Keith that's an important point so with that let's go to the manager's report thank you mayor um first of all I hope everyone had a pleasant and uh thankful Thanksgiving um I want to thank I want to start off by thanking uh the social services Association uh for their food collection and Distribution Drive uh we had an abundance of donations downstairs in the community center I know the mayor had the opportunity uh to join with the group as they were Distributing the food right before Thanksgiving uh so I certainly on behalf of the entire community and the region want to thank them for their efforts in making sure sure that everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving during the month of November myself mayor of vagianos and director of operations Rich CBI uh spent a good amount of time re reaching out to the State Legislative teams in the three districts uh the three legislative districts which represent the community serviced by Ridgewood water um it is a priority for the Village Council and for Ridgewood water to try to solicit as much supplemental funding as we possibly can from the state and federal government and I want to thank Rich publicly tonight uh for his efforts in reaching out to the legislators to try to put Ridgewood water on the radar as the state prepares for their next fiscal year budget I also want to reiterate um the comments made by Mrs loving tonight um I do strongly encourage and I've had conversations with uh Chief Lions about this over the last few days uh we want to strongly encourage all residents to responsibly care as they're walking their dogs throughout the Village um um the situation that happened on Friday um was terrible um and it was because of the irresponsibility of containing those dogs at that home in Glenrock that the lovings had to experience what they had to experience over the weekend um so we strongly want to encourage everyone to be responsible dog owners make sure that their dogs are leashed and contained when on their properties on behalf of the police department um I want to encourage everyone who's interested in possibly becoming a police officer uh to sign up and take the entrance level Civil Service examination uh we are in the process right now of vetting candidates uh for police officer positions to start with the village this coming January um and as Chief lions and his team have gone through that process um he has asked me to relay that message to anyone who would like to become a police officer prospectively I also want to thank the police department they received an award this week uh the entire department was recognized uh with the driver safety award and specifically Lieutenant Chuck uh was recognized as a traffic hero uh for identifying uh ill-lit light light ill lit intersections uh here in the village and proactively coming up with a plan to address those areas so I want to congratulate Jay on his recognition I also want to thank the village again uh for all of their efforts especially the Green Team uh for renewing their Sustainable New Jersey certification uh deputy mayor parin was front page news this week in the Ridgewood news um and I know she's going to talk more about that under her Council report uh but I just want to thank everyone on the village team who was involved in uh achieving that bronze level certification I spoke today uh to representatives from the Department of Transportation relative to the parking ride on Route 17 very happy to say that both sides of the parking ride since right before Thanksgiving have been made accessible to commuters I know this was a an issue near and dear to councilman White's um efforts to try to improve that area and make sure it was accessible I also received today the planting plan um and we are working through when those plantings can be done whether there's still a window of opportunity to do it now although the temperatures are getting colder or whether those plantings would need to be held off into the springtime uh also further discussion with the NJ doot about possibly using some funds that are available to improve the bus station uh downtown and also to improve the pedestrian bridge going over 17 near the park and ride facility um with regard to um staff training um I want to thank Heather Mander and her team in the clerk's office for putting together required GIF training uh that we had on Monday and I also want to thank Beth and my office for coordinating civil service training that we had with the staff just about two weeks ago uh looking forward to January when we will be announcing the rebranding um with our new logo I thank uh councilwoman winterr for her efforts along with the communications team there um and we will be launching our new website come January 1st um of next month we received today this late this afternoon um correspondents from Richard grub and Associates which was the contractor that we used to perform the archaeological study at the shedler property um there is an extensive letter that was written we are waiting we are awaiting the final report which we anticipate we will receive this coming Friday uh but the letter that was put together today included a proposal for a phase 2 archaeological study which is going to be required at the recommendation of Richard grub and Associates um I can say with certainty uh that they've concluded that there was no evidence of any type of revolutionary war artifacts uh discovered during the archaeological study uh but there were items that may have been associated with the house um in and around that area that would require a phase two study so the proposal that I left uh with the council before tonight's meeting um would be for a two-fold spending initiative uh the first would be phase two work and coordination uh with uh the New Jersey historic preservation office uh that amount is $6,000 um including EXP expenses and then the cost for the phase 2 archaeological study would be $7,777 th000 and 47,7 78 um that would be available through a capital Bond uh that has already been earmarked uh for the shedler property um and I am requesting tonight a consensus under my report that Heather be authorized to place a resolution on next week's agenda um to move forward with the phase 2 archaeological study I will tell you I bring this up tonight under my report because I think time is of the essence um if we wait on this and we do have snowfall or the ground freezes over thoroughly uh grub will not be able to go out and perform this archaeological study in a timely fashion and we'll probably have to sit on this till spring um so um I know this has been something that the residents have requested in the past um during public meetings I know this is something that we would be required to go to shipo with uh so I would encourage the council to consider tonight moving forward with a resolution authorizing the phase two I I definitely would support that in because of where we are in terms of going into winter but I I really want to do due diligence here um I think it's money well spent I'm eager to see what the phase two uh survey shows um our residents have asked for this and we're going to need it for shipo anyway so yeah I I would be in favor of of putting that on next next week I'm with okay okay we'll add it to next week's uh agenda for formal formal action and lastly just a few announcements uh first I want to thank the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce our Police Department all the Departments who uh were a part of the downtown for the holidays event on Friday evening uh despite the rain there were umbrellas for as far as the eye could see down Ridgewood Avenue I also want to thank down Tree Service uh who voluntarily helps cut down the tree move the tree um and install the tree um near the train station uh interestingly enough our drone team from the police department and chief Lions is here tonight I want to thank uh he and the guys for putting together the video which actually showed the entire Transportation process it was a little reminiscent of Rockefeller Center which was uh which was cool uh but I want to thank the Drone team uh and the folks down in the police department for helping us out with that uh tomorrow night is the manora lighting uh at Memorial Park at Vana Square PR from 5:30 to 7:30 we encourage everyone to come and participate in the celebration of Hanukkah uh we are continuing with our free parking uh on Thursday evenings in the central business district from 4: to 8:00 p.m. um I know that the business owners were excited about this and we encourage everyone to take advantage of it uh Santa Claus will actually be here in Ridgewood at Santa's house from 11:00 a.m. to 2: p.m. also in vanas square uh on Saturdays December 9th the 16th and the 23rd from 2: p.m. to 400 p.m. encourage everyone to head out there to the central business district to visit with Santa I want to thank the uh Ridgewood fmba Local 47 uh they will be riding their fir Tru in town uh with Santa Claus on Friday December 22nd um and they will be making stops at each of the elementary schools here in the village uh Village offices will be closed in OBS in observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas day on Friday December 22nd and Monday December 25th uh there will be garbage and recycling pickup on Friday December 22nd and the recycling center will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 300 p.m on that day our next Village council meeting is a week from tonight on December 13th starting at 7:30 and our first meeting in January will be January 10th which will be a work session also starting at 7:30 that concludes my report mayor thanks Keith EV great thanks so much Paul um just a couple things I know we have have a long agenda so I will be somewhat brief um for those of you who watching MSNBC today uh you may have seen uh our own Rabbi fine and and Iman Hamza uh on national TV today talking about the event we had in Ridgewood a few weeks ago um bringing together Unity amongst Jews Muslims and everyone else um it was really just fabulous to see Ridgewood setting an example for the rest of the nation in terms of civil discourse and living with diversity um really could not be prouder of those two folks in the event that we held a few weeks ago um but the SE on on national TV was made it even that much more special um had the privilege um of on right before the tree lighting of handing out along with Paul the awards for the Ridgewood Art Council uh contest for uh storefront design um I'm leaon to the rigid Arts Council this is a a long running contest uh I got to spend two weekends going around to the businesses with members of the rack uh informing the businesses uh of the contest um at the end of the day it really doesn't matter who wins because so long as r looks nicer we attract more people to the CBD which is what really counts but I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that Cena Felina and NOA crua uh were the three winners this year um I go out um thank them for really making Ridgewood beautiful but there were dozens of other uh businesses that were really gorgeous as well and was really really proud to be part of the rid Arts Council uh in that part of uh in that contest um right after we give out the awards as Keith had mentioned uh got to go to the tree lighting um Keith I think I speak on on behalf of the entire Council for thanking everyone at the Village uh Village employees that made that a special night um the weather did not cooperate but we really owed it uh to the people that did come out in that weather to give them a special night and we really did um every year uh the village really just just do a wonderful job this year even more so given the lousy weather but it was really just wonderfully executed really well done and a test to those folks that work in the village and I couldn't be prouder and happier uh that they were out also thank Keith uh for the park and ride for my fellow commuters I'm glad we finally have this fixed um I'm sorry it took so long but was very pleased that our advocacy got the department uh the New Jersey Department of Transportation to open up the second half of the lot um now we're moving on to the second piece which is addressing some of the concerns that Village residents who live along the periphery of the lot have about getting some more trees so there's more separation between the parking uh between the um parking lot and and the homes um hopefully we'll be able to get some of those trees up before the end of the year um however I'm very very pleased that the rest of the parking ride uh lot has now been opened it's was an unsafe situation for commuters it's now been fully paved fully open and my fellow commuters don't have to fight for limited parking spots anymore and then finally would encourage all of you to join us the manor lighting uh tomorrow 5:30 um you know come out support the Jewish part of our community um now especially it's important to show that we Embrace diversity um I will certainly be there I'm proud to be there and for everyone who is celebrating do have a happy Hanukkah thanks Evan sioban sure thanks so I'm going to try to go quickly because we do have a long agenda um earlier in November we were lucky enough to attend the Elder dinner which is hosted by Parks and Recreation as well as health barn and generously donated by the capore family and Glenn Rock um we've been doing this for several years at old pris church it was awesome and quite simply it is a place to celebrate Thanksgiving for older adults and remove remove some of the isolation and enjoy an awesome meal um just such a great experience if you've never been involved in it I would encourage you to be involved in it and thank you to everyone who made it happen we uh later that week I met with pride um The Pride committee is welcoming two new members next week and we were happy to secure the date of the senior prom at high school so we have no conflict and pride this year will be June 1st um we like to keep it you know not in conflict with the prom so the kids of saga can attend and so we're very excited about that I also had a meeting with access and we hosted a woman named Anika Davis who uh provides services from Bergen County now that we have placed so many older adults with special needs in our community um making sure they understand the services they're entitled to securing them meaningful work understanding some of the legalities because there's all different types of living Uptown now um Miss Davis came to speak she was wonderful I know that access was super excited to have her back and we look forward to our next month's meeting we're bringing in a series of outof District guests to speak to that population about like H how is this working what can we do what types of businesses can come in here what type of traffic signals can we put in place that are more meaningful to our special needs population additionally um I know that last month we spoke about the Sensory free dinner um we are doing a sensory friendly dinner on Monday December 11th at um pra and this is going to be great and I want to thank everybody first I want to take thank police and fire who always show up and that's again so meaningful for that population and Community because it's engagement but this time I'm going to thank signal um kids with sensory issues really um struggle coming into a crowd and we've been doing things like early hour so if there's going to be a crowd at 5 we'll open up an event and it'll be 4:00 and people will be able to participate in the event it's on site it's inclusionary and that's what they want um we've really struggled with the lighting of the tree so on Monday our signal department is coming with a button the tree will remain dark and the special needs population from a limited less sensory filled area will light the tree and I want to thank Rich Charlton for being so um available with this I want to thank the restaurant Community mayor Paul of course lorine and everybody and I want to encourage all of you to attend if you can it's actually not cuz it's my committee a beautiful experience and a big shout out to Jamie Davis who's a new member of access who's doing more of this integration into the community and I'm just so lucky she sits on my committee um before you move on Siobhan it's at Parisa East there is also a paresa restaurant this is Parisa East which is the corner of Ridgewood Avenue and Broad yes right next to the the tree which will be very exciting um four to six four to six you can come for any in all parts you can eat or you can just come mingle it'll be very exciting um I also attended uh the Parks and Recreation meeting last week and that was wonderful I want to because I just spoke about access brag a little bit about Parks and Recreation is releasing a lot of their content and information and when we talk about crossover between departments the parks department is now ensuring that all of their Flyers are ADA Compliant this is huge this is wonderful it's wonderful for rdwood I want to thank Katie fry I also think if you didn't get this in the mail um they're available at the parks department I want to thank Nancy of course and in addition to that um Parks ran the s'mores Fest in vaness Park which was just wonderful everyone's going to talk about Friday and how great it was but particularly from the park side it was I was so proud of them everybody had such a good time and it was really Whimsical and charming and additionally into Parks thank you for the fire department to be there to make sure the fire did not get out of control um um I Keith and I had a follow-up meeting on flood mitigation Paul attended as well we met with the D in The Board of Ed and we are still discussing some areas of improvement mostly on Board of Ed Land um the committee there has been a subcommittee funding team put together to raise funds for p prospective studies and you'll be hearing more about that but I want to thank the superintendent Keith and Paul for all their time and then I'm almost done lastly I did want to say that um in November we had the privilege of going to Atlantic City for training and I want to say that we went to all these seminars and we drew on best practices and we talked about issues that you know affect us here in Ridgid but affect everybody elsewhere as well and I want to thank Heather and the clerk's office for sending us I want to uh say to everybody in our staff who went it was so excellent to see us both bragging about our professional successes and seeking information on others so this was in Atlantic City and um I wanted to just say I'm incredibly grateful that we had this opportunity to go and you'll be hearing probably all three of us draw upon things that we picked up there and that's it thank you thanks Siobhan Lorraine thank you uh real quick I just wanted to let every many know the citizen safety advisory committee which typically meets the third Thursday of the month being that it would be so close to the holiday we decided to move it up we are having it this coming Monday December 11th at 7:30 in the Garden Room if you have any issues with safety public it's open to the public you can come or email me and we'll put it on the agenda and have a discussion about it that's it thank you thanks Lorraine Pam thank you Paul following up on what Keith mentioned about applying for a job with the police department if you take the civil service exam uh Ridgewood residents and veterans are granted a preference so that's worth considering uh also with respect to Santa's tour around town on December 22nd um that starts at 4 o'clock at the Glenn school and the the truck will take Santa to each of the other six Elementary School schools um I did want to thank the Chamber of Commerce and the guild and everybody on staff who helped Friday night with downtown for the holidays it was just so much fun and um uh let's see what else the library is renovating and the renovation starts on the 11th the library is going to stay open during the renovations but things are getting moved around a lot the circulation desk is moving and um the children's department will be closed for three days between the 18th and the 21st but the Librarians can get you any book you're looking for um and uh they do have future plans uh planned to renovate the mezzanine and the auditorium as well um I did want to congratulate the green team for getting uh bronze certification and also the Green Team just got word that Columbia University graduate school of international uh Affairs and wait International and public affairs has agreed that their graduate students will work with the green team to um to work up uh our energy footprint and and and come up with best practices for our town they're going to be doing research of what's going on in other towns in New Jersey and so we're really excited to get working on that um green Ridgewood had a tour of the leaf composting facility every time I go there I learn something new from Chris rutus Houser it was really a very interesting tour um and Green Ridge will also on a totally different note note gave a gift to the public library of a battery powered leaf blower that which will be in their library of all things if you haven't heard about their library of things it it's like books you can take these things out of the library and and use them however you see fit so now the uh battery powered leaf blower is one of those um let's see Ridgewood water the four t the officials in four towns met with new Engineers who have been hired to help with um replacing the lead service lines and it was really interesting meeting with them they will be coordinating with psng uh helping with markouts permitting and we just were so impressed with them they're so professional um and I also left an article on the table there from the New York York Times magazine section entitled Municipal meetings we all spend so much time here and why uh you know sometimes I can't really even put my finger on why this is so important and so meaningful what we do in this room um the author rather indelicately says this is where a community spills its guts and so I just thought it was was um good support for what we do you can read it or not that's all I have thanks Pam and I know we have a long agenda and I'm gonna I'm gonna rifle through this but um I'm going to start with the fact that it is my friend Heather's birthday which has already been mentioned but um here's a person who who like Lorraine on her anniversary Heather on her birthday is here and we are so grateful and so appreciative of the work that she does and her Limitless experience and institutional knowledge thanks Heather really appreciate it and now for I have I have always said that we live in the Greatest Town in America and since our last meeting and I'm going to Rifle through these things and many have been mentioned but this is why this is the Greatest Town in America the Social Services food drive there were 20 people out there giving giving out food in the cold weather um the Interfaith service at the old pamis Reformed Church a few weeks back uh the the uh uh the minister Rabbi priest from every church or uh house of worship in Ridgewood was there and if you haven't been to it let me tell you it's a special event at the same old pamis Reformed Church was the Elder dinner that um Siobhan mentioned and there were I don't know 150 people there all enjoying a wonderful turkey dinner and it was just again a very very special day there were two dalii festivals that I attended what is Dali you ask it is one of the holiest days on the Hindu calendar and um and I learned something wonderful about this it is the celebration of light over Darkness good over evil knowledge over ignorance I'm going to keep that in my back pocket because who can disagree with that it's just it was it was wonderful the Christmas tree lighting the weather outside was frightful but the crowd was so delightful I mean you could not except for the fact that there were umbrellas out there you could not even tell that it was raining Nancy how you got those fires going in the park for the s'mores let me tell you John John I thought you only knew how to put out fires um it was it was a very very special day and there's so much thanks to go around the chamber the uh our our Ridgewood staff um Downs Tree Service who does this every year for free God Knows Why um but it is a wonderful thing tomorrow night the manur lighting I will be there it's at 5:30 at Van Nest uh I've been there before again now more than ever let's all go to the manura lighting um the um the I have to report on something a little more substantive for a moment that that also makes me happy the P4 we had a a puss um review meeting at Ridgewood water and you know our our biggest issue until we resolve this in 2026 and it will be resolved in 2026 is that in the summertime because we water our lawns and some people do it a little more than they should um that is when we have to take water more water from um from Wells that haven't been outfitted with or retrofitted with um extra filtration um the four towns had gotten together we all held hands saying kumay and we urged our residents to try and use less water in the summer now this actually this summer had a dramatic effect on the the amount of water that was used now the fact that we had lots of rain this summer didn't hurt but it was a an overall success and I was really pleased that the four towns came together for the common good it was it was really something something that restores my faith um and and again that is still scheduled for completion in 2026 um the Jewish Muslim solidarity um uh vigil that we had last month as Evan said if you haven't seen the interview between Imam U Mahmud Hamza and Rabbi David fine you can get it on msnbc.com and it will make you feel not as bad about what's going on overseas um it was very special the Sensory free dinner that Siobhan talked about Who does these things our wonderful incredible Community do we have issues we have to deal with everybody in this room knows that but there's a lot of good stuff going on and let's recognize that and finally and most importantly this last Thanksgiving weekend was a very special Thanksgiving weekend for my family because my wife Jeanie and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary and I will tell you the woman as I'm sure many of you realize is an absolute Saint she did something very bad in a former life but it has been the greatest ride ever and I am so grateful and so thankful to this wonderful woman and with that we will move on to our regular agenda here we here we go um tonight we have uh two items for discussion uh that will roll over into a motion to suspend the work session to convene a special meeting so I'd ask chief judge from the fire department and Rich calby from the water department to come up uh to speak on both of those issues that the council is going to be asked to take action on tonight uh the first is a budget item uh relative to the fire department this is the authorization of submission of an application for American Rescue plan firefighter Grant uh this is for protective and sanitizing equipment for the Ridgewood fire department um so I'll ask the chief to share a few words on that as way of background before the council's asked to take action and Rich if you'd come up at the same time um just in case there are any um public question questions this was an item that was discussed extensively in in closed session um about the settlement response to the Ridgewood water litigation with 3m and Dupont Chief the floor is yours good evening everyone good evening John this is the same Grant we applied for two years ago uh the state put it out again which was nice uh we got $32,000 last time we're in the process we just finished spending it all we're in the process of reimbursement uh and then they put it out again gave us a four-week window to resubmit and I'm working on it as they actually speak right now and hopefully it'll be submitted with your approval and that's about it it'll continue um to purchase turnout gear to help off offset that capital budget item we have and in addition this year we're going to ask for a solo rescue Decon washer what that is is it's the only one on the market which will Decon everything but our turnout gear it'll Decon helmets boots gloves the SCBA itself cancer is such a huge thing in the service the fire service right now that anything we could do to help alleviate those concerns with everyone so this it's a company out of Texas they're the only one that makes this product so we're going to submit for that as well in the grant great everybody good any questions on the application from the council nope okay thank you um as I mentioned um the council was fully briefed in close session about the uh the litigation on 3M and Dupont any questions about the resolution that's before the council tonight for Rich John you can stay because you're going to stay here for H nickel so rather make you get your steps in getting away that easily um any questions on the uh on the settlement Authority the set I shouldn't say the settlement Authority the settlement response all good okay um Heather I think we're good to motion okay so we need a motion to suspend the work session and convene the special public meeting so moved second okay pin yes Reynolds yes whites yes wad yes and vaganos yes this is the Village Council special public meeting the date is December 6 2023 the time is 8:32 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall by mail to the Ridgewood news the record and by submission to all persons entitled the same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting roll call Deputy Mayor parin here council member Reynolds here council member whites here council member windrad here and mayor vaganos here the following resolutions number 23- 387 to 23- 389 n will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by title only authorized submission of application for American Rescue plan firefighter Grant protective and sanitizing equipment Ridgewood fire department authorize execution of settlement response Ridgewood water litigation versus 3M authorized execution of settlement response Ridgewood water litigation versus Dupont may have a motion so moveed second second okay perin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vagianos yes I need a motion to adjourn the special public meeting and reconvene the work session so moved second hold on just one sec perin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vagianos yes okay mayor next on the agenda is our one presentation tonight this is on The habernickel Barn at this time um I'd ask chief judge to stay um I'd ask uh our village engineer Chris rudish Houser our director of Parks and Recreation Nancy beos our police chief uh Forest lions and uh maryani from the health department to all come forward I'd also asked Dylan in the uh control room uh to bring up the photographs of the hab nickel barn on the screens please it's like Congress here tonight just thinking the gang's all here Mike could you just check on the photos going up with Dylan through you mayor um upon my arrival here back in July it quickly became apparent uh that we had some concerns with regard to the structural issues safety issues and health issues at the habernickel barn um in the park uh we had multiple meetings uh with the team that's before you today uh to talk about um what options were available with regard to the barn uh what future use might look like um but really to delve into uh the concerns that we all have um about the public use of the Barn um and the safety structural and health uh concerns that exist there um I'm going to start off uh with Chris and ask him to address to you uh some of the concerns uh with from the engineering department and the public works department on the structural Integrity um of the building and Dylan's going to uh roll through some photographs um as each of our department heads uh talk about this issue so Chris you're up first good evening mayor and Council first photograph you're seeing up on the board is the west side of the building um important thing to notice is all the windows except one or all of them are boarded up and the reason being is they've all been broken by our local vandals uh the building has been vandalized frequently and often um in the upstairs addict area there is still a residue of the last party they had empty beverage containers and so forth uh we do have alarms on the building building uh both fire and intrusion they work sometimes uh this build picture you see now is basically the southeast corner of the building showing some of the delamination of the sofit materials and the edge of roof Decay uh the center point piece that was in that picture that's part of our if I recall that's part of our lightning detection system uh this Photograph depicts the East wall line facing to the very East um again evidence of deterioration sofits have fallen off gutters have fallen off uh that's the entrance door to get into the barn or the stable uh it has been boarded up um the glass had been broken out and it had been broken into a number of times uh signal built that frame structure to try to keep people out uh this is a view of the Southern half of the barn showing what the interior condition looks like uh we do deal with pesticide uh not with PES sides I apologize with rodents you could see a bait box is in the picture this is moving down the stable Windows have been broken out we've had to consequently then board them up same again uh this is looking towards the South interior of the south east corner uh to the very right of the picture is the electrical switch gear box and again boarded up window ah this is the residue of the latest party that was evident in the upstairs area so this is a good segue if we may to to Chief Lions uh Chief you want to take us through the call volume uh at this location please yeah sure um so over the past 10 years we've had 1728 calls for service there uh suspicious acts is about 82 juvenile delinquency 15 fireworks 19 criminal mischief harassment trespass nine burglar and panic alarms as you see we've had 73 of those um non-criminal and suspicious calls for services 85 that's basically just all the other calls uh kind of the catchall the business checks so directed patrols how much we actually go and check on that uh it's 1445 so we do actually go up there a lot and check on it the biggest problem with it is the location that not many people can have direct sight of it so they don't call so people and the kids know that this is a place where we're probably not going to get called on um we've had some substantial arrests uh burgle criminy mischief and there was a quite substantial drug arrest a few years ago because this is where people yeah kids and other people who want to stay out of the public eye this is a good spot because there's really no great sight lines from other houses or even the road Dylan go ahead that's the upstairs as well marani can you uh discuss the health inspection that was done there with regard to erodent population yes hi everyone um so an inspection was conducted at the barn um and there's several areas at least four that have had both mouse and rat droppings um there was numerous areas of the barn that are deteriorated and um points of entry for past like pictured above um and there is a large accumulation of water throughout the barn which is the perfect condition for breeding mosquitoes and for mold and and I just want to reiterate I was up there with Nan last Thursday um there are a lot of points of entry for verman lot any points of entry for burn Keith does the tenant have any issue with the burn coming down no okay no they they don't have access to that through the lease agreement so it has no impact okay okay um chief judge can you speak about the most recent fire inspection that occurred there sure so December is fire prevention for we do all the inspections of every village building in December so we just did this one the other day uh aside from as we mentioned the dangerous condition just for we talked about the sop at De sding a couple those issues uh also found some open electrical boxes uh some light fixtures which are we'll say broken but still on and attached uh an unsecured gas line and let's see gas line that the sofit and the broken light pictures were the main concerns of the other day's inspection and then Nan if you could just speak to the the resident concerns that have been expressed to your department um and the practical uses of this uh this structure based on its current condition within the department of Parks and Recreation good evening Council um The Parks and Recreation Department has been monitoring this facility since it was purchased in April of 2004 um I can tell you that this 10 acre property was financed through the open space um the village of Ridgewood open space tax Birkin County open space Green Acres the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection infrastructure loan and Village funds so for the last 20 years the barn has been on that list of things that we would like to do but sadly hasn't met up to the um the list of our first priorities in regards to renovation um departmentally we receive complaints um regarding this facility everything from rodents to vandalism to um Park users and our neighbors taking offense to the portable toilet being located I've had residents that wanted moved I've moved it then I've had Park users complain that they can't find it so we've moved it back it's it's been a challenge um the lack of shelter for our residents or Park users um our youth sports groups that are utilizing this facility is a real concern for me um the the park is used greatly after school for our youth sports programs for practices for clinics for mothers to to walk in the afternoon with their children and strollers and little ones to ride their bikes often times that's when our late afternoon storms come in and there's nowhere for them to go the majority of our parks are adjacent to other facilities whether they be school buildings whether they be the library Village Hall the stable which give our residents someplace to go sadly this is not the case up at Hackle um Stacy has been so kind when this situation occurs to open the garage doors um as the the tenant and let our residents in there to seek shelter um but it's it's a hard priority for me and it's a it's a real concern um most recently we have had residents come to the parks recreation and conservation board and um in public comment serve their concerns as that the building is being neglected it's run down it's vandalized we've put Band-Aids on it what are we doing so we kind of noted that it's in the minutes I've shared that with our village manager if I may n it's it's actually included in the packet before you tonight okay so then so then we've had subsequent um residents come and share the same so it's important to us that um we seriously take a look at this facility um being a resident in that neighborhood I can tell you I'm romantically attached to this building it I've had dreams and visions of what it could be for the last last 20 years but sadly I think that it's come to a time when it it's reached its Tipping Point so um we look to you for Direction but thank you so with regard to the packet that's in front of you um the second half of the packet um really is a collection of letters emails uh different correspondents from various residents um as to their concerns um about the condition of the facility there and I don't want to speak for Nan and and she can uh she can chime in on this but um after being there myself you know there is certainly a certain charm uh to the inside not so much to the outside um however really the only use for that building would be to you know Stable horses there again which I don't think is the intention of of anyone um up at that Park um but Nan can you talk about the um salvageable contents within the building and the fact that there may be be a revenue stream um if the council were to decide to um raise the building uh that we may have people come in and take some of the elements of it so working with the engineering division we have reached out to um just to get quotes on what's next right demolition how do we do that what's involved um and in taking these experts through the building um we have recognized as you can see in the photo there is um Barnwood that is really um has a resource out in the field there's also um all of the stable doors and the Barnwood adjacent to that also has an opportunity to be bringing us Revenue there is a value to that would we be proposing putting anything in its place or just taking the property so so at this point councilman um I think our first goal is if the council's inclined to do so uh to take the quote which is the back page of the packet that was submitted for this topic tonight um and move forward with the Demolition uh we have funding available um to cover the $42,000 quote to remove the building and then as we get to Capital 24 which is just a few months away uh we would be talking about what type of amenities would replace um This Barn at that facility and where's the money coming from now right now we have an open bond that has capacity from the ni project initially am I correct in saying that Bob and I'm sorry to just be so candid given that seems like you have a unan you know unanimous opinion is there any good reason not to take it down no thank you Nostalgia but I I'm not even sure that takes us where we' y want to be I got you um so that that's basically um the consensus of the um dep the department directors across the board um I thought it was important that not only the council but also the public heard directly from the folks who are dealing with some of the challenges at this facility um one other note I did have a meeting this week with Green Acres and our representative um mud Snyder um I talked to her about this discussion that was going to occur at tonight's meeting Green Acres takes no objection to raising the barn um they would obviously have to be put on notice that that action was going to be taken if that's what the council DEC decides to do here tonight um and then they would want to be part of future discussion about what would replace the barn any type of amenities any type of Park Improvement that we would discuss during our Capital 24 planning uh they would want to be part of that so that it uh fits all of the Green Acres requirements but that that's the only um that's the only standard we would need to meet when it comes to the DP questions so I do have questions The Proposal um is for 42,000 it includes the permit demolishing police removal of contaminated and testing what about the you said there were things that were valuable in it so would Ridgewood be taking those down and trying to get money for those items so councilwoman I think at that point that we will be able to negotiate that with the contra contractor um it was he that shared with me the ability for um he has the contacts for this and that would be a further conversation with them okay you don't think this include this money includes him taking everything this this this is just the expense any Revenue that we received because there were any there was any type of valuable wood or any type of other amenities like the stable doors that we would be able to get revenue for that would would be um paid back to the Village so we would outlay the 42 and then any Revenue coming in because of the sale of any of the amenities we'd be able to to reap that okay but we're relying on him to sell it and tell us what he gets I'm relying on on director be I mean obviously he's going to take a cut you know he might just let us be in touch with the companies that are interested we hadn't got to that point to be honest with you he did mention in in conversation okay that you know he saw value um he has also came recommended through me through the director of the wood Department who he has also done extensive work for okay thank you through through you mayor to Chris um Chris would you recommend that in this situation that they whoever this entity comes in that would be interested in purchasing it come in strip the building and then let the contractor do their work uh that could be one of several directions The Village can go um first of all we have to clean out our crap that's in the in the barn uh if anybody goes in there for a tour you're going to have to walk gingerly there's a lot of stuff we have in there from a lot of departments uh so first thing once the council decides what direction we go all the Departments who have stuff in there will be advised their stuff is evicted uh then we can really get a good handle on the wood the doors and so forth uh we'll put out some feelers maybe work with the person who gave us a quote to see what their time frame is what our time frame is and see if we can get somebody interested in uh taking it before the overall demolition is done the Salvage it because it would be sad to have it demolished if those items are usable yeah there I think there is salvageable stuff in there um but like everything else that you want to sell you have to find the right customer for it right that's that often times is the challenge is there any concern um structurally like if somebody wanted to purchase something and they come in and they're stripping the Barnwood that you know the building would collapse I'd like a certificate Insurance on them indemnifying the village for their actions so if they collapse a barn on themselves oh well next I I and line I'm sure that a lot of the Timbers that might have some value and again I I don't know how much value we're talking about at the end of the day um are structural so you know how they how this contractor is going to take it down is going to be part of this it's not well let's go take down this Timber and that Timber it's they're going to take it down knowing what they're going to try and save um so and again we're going to get a couple of bucks for it I'm I'm I'm not anticipating that this is going to be um big money okay so we usually we use the term in engineering and construction means and methods like when we bid out a project for on behalf of the village we don't dictate necessarily how exactly it is to be done we rely on the contractor their means and methods is to achieve the goal we want same same would apply in any Salvage operations in the building anyone else so I just wanted to add so when Evan and I took our seats we were looking at all the buildings for Revenue generating and this is one of the ones that I thought oh maybe we could do something here so I have had the luxury of being in the barn um Matt Rogers and I Heather we took a tour um with Chris and you know I did this after being the parks and recm the complaints have been fairly persistent people have General legitimate concerns um and I remember when horses were in that Barn so there there are the stable gates are probably the most Whimsical you might get some money for that but the inside condition of the barn was really really bad and on Matt's advice I wanted to bring the whole Parks and Recreation Committee in that we felt it was really unsafe and I'm not going to name names but only the bravest of us went up the stairs because they're unstable unsteady and slightly scary um so I I want to say thank you to everybody um I know this is a lot of work a lot of numbers and this a lot of information that makes it easier for me to draw on the decision that this has got to go and you know like pretty quickly and with that I think it's a unique opportunity to think about what we want to do next so thank you I mean this is really Congress Jokes Aside this is an impressive staff with some impressive statistics so thank you so much so are we going to votee on this next week um quite frankly um yes we can we can do a resolution authorizing uh the uh the expenditure um it's below the bid threshold so we can we can do that and um and again I just want to sum up you know my concern about this in totality is the liability uh the liability of of of young people being in there um unsupervised not knowing what's going on the liability of the the condition of the building as as the councilwoman indicated you know I went up the stairs I was one of those brave people um and I got about halfway up and questioned what I questioned my decision um but um you know I I just I I have grave concerns about um about the condition of this building and God forbid something happens there yeah plus I mean look you have Vermin there we have a tenant that has children um that go out and play and so yeah here just just from the austere nature of the witnesses testifying today it sounds like you guys are feeling very strongly about this and I think the council is with you so we have a consensus to put a resolution on the agenda yes thank you all thanks very much okay I'd like to invite uh director calby back up no lots of Michael Kors business manager for Ridgewood waterer um Rich if you can take the council through uh items 13A 1- 11 and then uh we are going to jump down to one under budget that falls under Rich at the end of uh his report right thank you Keith Mr Kors is joining me tonight uh kind of breaking him in so we get the experience we will try to be gentle with you Michael any questions direct to my right please so we got quite a few um agenda items tonight and the reason for that it's end of year trying to line up contracts for the beginning of 24 so please bear with me as we go through them and certainly ask any any questions along the way could I have you speak into the microphone please I thought I was sorry okay um so the the first item is 13 A1 uh this is an award of a contract for distribution piping various infrastructure improvements throughout the rigid water system um it consists of improvements of a street and the tof um work within the village of Ridgewood and also within the buau of Glenrock um eight bids were received on November 16th 2023 out of 20 that were picked up they were publicly opened um in this this room uh they were reviewed by S bman Consulting Engineers who was the contract cons on the project um they provideed an award recommendation in your packet uh rigid water is also concurring with their recommendation and recommends an award to the low bidder shoger Property Services in the amount of 4, 529,000 raw water mains on those streets I mentioned throughout the water system questions good you next item is 1382 uh this is infrared asphalt surface repair uh this project is Bid out annually by The Village engineering department by The Village engineer this was awarded back in April 26 of this year uh what is in front of you tonight is to award the next half of this contract for half of the 2024 contract year running from January 1st through June 30th of 24 it's the same contractor Jay Fletcher Kramer who is currently under contract this is for work of doing repairs and replacements for roadways sidewalk curbing that is Disturbed when we do um repairs and Replacements throughout the system um in Additionally the village utilizes it in case they have to make a repair for a Road opening a permit contract who doesn't f follow the permit conditions uh the amount of the contract is $125,000 um that amount of money is allocated in the rigid water operating budget questions yeah I have a question and I'd like to put it to Chris ruteshouser um this is a contract to repair the roadways and it looks like some of it Isa some of the the damage is occasioned by thirdparty contractors who as is written in here who fail to satisfactorily restore the street so my question is how often does that happen and if so can we compel the third parties to pay for these repairs instead of the taxpayers uh let me answer your question a little bit backwards okay uh good evening mayor and councel this is the infrared asphalt restoration it's for the SE it's for an additional six months because it runs January 1st to December 31st but I bid it last June so now we need another award by you folks until June 30th or whatever right Rich yes and then at that time we will ask the vendor if they want to renew it my at the same price as they currently quoted now to your question on doesn't happen very often because we have Road opening permits that are required for anybody digging in the public right away uh part of that road opening permit is we get insurance information we find get the reg uh the information on the contractor and we get a bond um for the smaller jobs it's usually $1,000 most people will give us a cash instead of getting a paper Bond we will refund that at the end of a year if the trend restoration is acceptable proper hasn't settled if it is no good um we'll seize the bond and we'll use that money to pay for the infared contractor to make the repairs okay so we're we're protected yeah matter of fact in the last several years I have not put any money in my operating budget to use this award for any of our Municipal streets because usually we go after the bonds okay good anyone else thanks Chris thank you next item is 1 18 A3 U this is the award of HVAC maintenance and repair contract on November 9th R would received bids for hvc maintenance and repair uh for the years 24 and 25 uh total four bid packages were requested um only one was submitted although a second came in late um and that was not able to be opened um but the low bidder um recommendation is to unitemp U mechanical dues LLC um and the amount not to exceed of $55,000 the that amount consists of annual maintenance at several locations throughout rigid water system a village hall and the new water headquarters additionally there will be a repair allowance subject to the hourly rates that were in the bid for the contractor in the event that there are necessary repairs funding for this contract is in the water operating budget and the village operating budget questions good next item is 13 A4 this is for servicing repair of electric Source a November of 21 uh Village award a two-year contract to vanor Electric um we asked vanor if they would like like to extend their contract for third year um knowing the situation with the economy and how prices are going um they had agreed to extend for a third year so recommending um in a word of an extension in the same amount of the natic sea that we've done annual basis $250,000 um that water is contained in the water operating or that money is in the water operating budget questions let's go next item is 13 A5 um similar to vanor this is now servicing repairing of portable water pumping facilities another extension request was made to that contractor William stof Company Inc um they agreed to an extension so this be a one-year extension the amount not to exceed of $500,000 uh the same amount that has been did not to exceed for every year of the contract um this money is also within the water utility operating budget questions good next item is 1386 uh this is the award of contract for landscaping services for Ridgid water at all the properties throughout the four municipalities total of five b packages were requested uh two were submitted November 9th 2023 uh the low bidder was LTI Inc uh the amount of the annual service contract was $149,950 that amount includes a $20,000 allowance for miscellaneous Services generally landscape plantings that we may have to do at facilities to replace dead plantings uh the current contract we have is with LTI they've performed successfully on that contract so recommending a 2-year contract with LTI in the amount of $149,950 this order this amount of money is also within the water operating budget questions good next one is 13 A7 uh this is a water contract to the furnish and delivery of sodium hypochlorite this is the disinfectant that is utilized um and added to the water to prevent bacteria um in in the water delivered to our customers on November 8th of 23 um two bids were submitted out of eight packages that were picked up uh the apparent low bidder was PVS min mini bulk Inc in the amount of $248 per gallon uh PVS mini mini bulk is currently under contract um they've performed also successfully um the price has gone up as a result of variations in the market for chemicals we are recommending award for the $2 $248 per gallon price rid water uses approximately 50,000 gallons expected not to exceed of $124,000 for the contract this funding is also within the water utility operating budget questions good next item is 13 A8 um this was Award of uh contract for Line stop and valve insertion services for the years 24 and 25 5 on November 8th uh bids were received for this project two bids were submitted out of four that were picked up um Conquest was the parent low bidder subsequently those bids were reviewed um we checked references we checked um the equipment and the experience of the contractor as a result of a a bad reference and experience with this contract are similar here within Ridgewood we are recommending rejection of that low bidder and awarding to the the second lowest bidder carner Brothers in a notic seed mat of $200,000 per year funding for this is also in the water utility operating budget questions next item is 13 A9 this is also a contract for rigid water this is a one-year contract this is for pipe and apperances so this is all the piping hydrants valves um Etc that is purchased for repairs or Replacements done by rid water staff on November 8th we received received bid packages total of two were received out of five that were picked up also in this case one was submitted late and could not be opened as a result of that we're recommending award to both of the biders because this this bid is unique it's awarded in sections so the low bidder on each section gets awarded that section but you have to provide prices on the entire section so in this C case Capital Supply is receiving several of the sections and Ferguson Waterworks is receiving portions of one and and one other section so recommending award is a total not to exceed of $415,000 for all the various uh parts that are utilized by rigid water funding for this is also contained with the within the operating budget questions good okay 13 A10 this is a change order for Suburban Consulting Engineers for the 23 various transmission and distribution improvements as a results of request from rigid water there were extra charges on the projects in the project in the amount of 8,942 um those modifications were necessary to make changes to the plans U to include sanitary s Mains that were going to be put in and a future project to make sure there are no conflicts to make the addition of fiber optic conduit so we could expand our fiber Network and a change in size of one of the raw water mains this is the first and final change order for the project that brings the total up to $88,700 no excuse me 97,1 this is funded in the capital budget for the water utility everybody good good and the last water item U Mr Kors is going to handle water smart um it's a name change what is that 13 A1 yeah so uh under the vendor name change uh under the resolution on 23289 dating back September 13th uh 2023 The Village Council renewed the uh annual water smart customer portal software package uh for the years 2023 2024 and 2025 um during that time we had enter the resolution under the vertex one company uh while entering the new vendor form we were informed that the water smart software Inc was still the company name so this is a name change just to change the uh resolution in the proper vendor name over to water smart software Inc everybody good yep great thanks Mike thank you much mayor with your permission I just asked the council to move to item 13 c19 C9 it's the reject uh rejection of The Proposal I'm sorry I take that back oh it's the rejection of bids for the landfill disposal of solid waste that also falls under Mr CB's responsibilities uh so rich if we can uh speak to that one thank you for taking this item so this item is the the contract that we put out every two years for the disposal of solid waste on November 9th we did receive bids out of five bid packages that were picked up two bids were received uh the parent low bidder was Waste Management in the amount of $92.50 cents per ton at our estimated tonnage of 9,500 tons the total cost per year would be 800 $78,750 this was over what we had estimated for the disposal our estimate was $85 per ton so we're recommending a rejection of the bid and and we're going to go out to to bid if you so approve it and hopefully achieve better pricing good questions no oh good thank you thank you both I did want to say thank you to Rich and to Chris and Keith for answering all my questions so that makes things go much the deputy mayor only submitted five pages worth of questions to us to answer on this agenda they're colorcoded she read every word I can attest to it um no and that that invitation is extended to the entire Council if you ever have questions before a meeting and you want to either call or put those into writing um we can certainly talk to the department heads and get your answers uh leading up to the meeting so you you feel comfortable uh Mr Rooney if you come forward for uh the budget and finance portion of the agenda Bob's here tonight to speak on the first three items uh under the budget so Bob if you want to start with C1 good so I provide you with the financial statements through September 30th the revenue expenses for the current water and parking utility um um as of September 30th we've achieved um bear with me one second um the the local revenues have been at about 99% of what we anticipated through the year uh I will tell you through November we're at about 107% so that's that's a good thing um through the state aid um through September 30th we were about 32% that state a is predicated on our best practices so once we file the best practices and we're within the guidelines that they've established we get 100% of the state aid so through November we're up to 92% the balance will be paid by the end of the year they'll get us at the 100% next section relates to state grants state and federal programs all of which are realized at 100% after that we're into other special items uh through September we were about 85 5% of what we anticipated uh currently through November we're at about 90% um overall revenues 77% through uh September through November we're at 93% so looking good on the revenue side Appropriations I've made comments uh along each line item uh some of the uh concerns that we had you're covering with transfer resolutions which is typical for this time of year year uh we have unanticipated um changes due to contractual commitments as far as pricing on on chemicals things of that nature unanticipated expenditures related to repairs that have to be made um that results in getting to those budget levels that are a little questionable so we ask you to trans authorize transfer of funds to um offset that and uh allow us to move forward uh so rather than go through each item if anybody has any questions specifically um I'd be happy to address them regarding the uh current fund Council questions okay water fund water count which is on U page 12 of 15 so through September 30th we're at about 77% which is right on budget uh through November we're more to the uh 85 90% And we there's a lot of Billings that go out in septe in December so I'm or rather I'm sorry a lot of Billings that have gone out through October November so I'm pretty confident that you know we're going to be right on target with that same for the expenditures on uh on the Appropriations for water uh as of September 30th we're about 74% I have no indication that we're going to have any problems with those whatsoever we did have one transfer that we needed to make uh which is before you tonight for $100,000 uh but other than that there isn't anything that uh any fluctuation that was not anticipated questions on water okay um parking through September we were at 81% of what we anticipated through November uh we're closer to 91% um so I think we're right on target with our uh our parking and for the Appropriations related to parking uh through September we were at 7 2 2% and I think we're right where we need to be right through through November so no uh nothing unusual to report there questions just in general do you think parking is going back to closer to pre-co in terms of commuters uh not yet uh are we any closer it's oh definitely moving in the right direction okay um you pass the the train station parking lot on Mondays and Fridays and it's not as crowd as Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday so you do have diminished uh usage there um but it's growing it's it's climbing which is good news what what percentage would you say we are towards preco numbers are we at 50% 70% 80% 30% I'm going to take a stab at 65 is just wondering great thank you okay the next we have is the um budget transfers that we're asking U Council to approve provided explanations as to those items requiring transfers to um if you have any questions be happy to entertain them anybody thank you for a very uneventful um Financial update that's the way we like them all right last one on the list is the cash management plan um by Statute we're required to approve cash management plan for the village this uh plan is similar to what we've done in the past we updated where it need be for any change in circumstances um but right now in a nutshell we're restricted to where we can manage our money or invest our money there's no risk to the those that we have to use so it's a very conservative approach we do invest money with the state in the cash management plan which provides uh some good returns for us and as council could see on those Revenue items our interest on investments has skyrocketed uh this year based upon what we were allowed to anticipate so that's a positive thing that goes to Surplus that will help us next year in our 24 budget um and we will just have to monitor what the projections are for interest earnings for next year so just in case it swings in the other direction but it's it's all good questions thank you for answering all my questions in advance again as always you're quite welcome never a problem thank you Bob thanks Bob item uh 13 C4 uh is the award of contract preparation of the 2024 Village council meeting minutes Heather I don't know if you have anything else you want to add to that particular item um just that uh we had two candidates um provide proposals one was for $8 a page which was Prestige Evas LLC and the other was Alvarez typing at $9 a page Alvarez typing has done the minutes for the last two years and also did it back in 2009 and 2010 um they were similar not exact but um based on price as well as the um level of detail as well as um being able to identify individual uh speakers I am recommending that we go with the 8 per page proposed by Prestige Evas LLC questions yeah I was going to say this is a decrease in the price that we paid in 2023 by 50 Cents a page everybody good M or not good with the decrease in price no I I I was just thinking the more we talk then the more money we spend right good to know good to know your CL a Fortune whites no I'm I'm one of the good ones here but I'm going to shut up and save us some money let's go through you mayor um item 13 C5 is to award extraordinary unspecifiable Services contract improvements upgrades to the public safety communication bandwidth at various location this was the I action item uh or the agenda item I should say uh that we spoke about when Lieutenant Chuck was here um talking about the uh potential uh for uh antennas um on this building and after reconvening with the team after that council meeting um I think we all came to the conclusion that because there is a public safety aspect to this and because it does um affect our communication amongst our EMS Personnel uh that we were comfortable moving towards an extraordinary unspecified Services contract um so I did ask Chris and chief Lions to remain here in case there's any further questions the concept cep is exactly the same as we talked about at the previous meeting it's just a different procurement process uh to help us attain our goal any questions on that or for the professionals I just want to say thank you I totally agree I think it's such a safety issue especially when we're resp assembling crowds around here I think it's great so thank you okay um next item is um C6 which is the award of contract for the concession refreshment Service uh stand at Gren pool The Waters Edge Cafe um this was an additional option for 2024 uh the second year option is for $10,500 in rental fees um to uh melor foods and Parks and Recreation Department is making a recommendation of award any discussion so Keith we're contractually obligated I assume to accept this uh we have a one-year option um which we're which we're we're looking to pursue um I did talk to to Nancy about about the possibility of going out and looking at other options moving forward being that we did have the one-year option and there's no guarantee as we'll get to on the concession stand at the train station that we are going to get a responsible party to bid we we're making a recommendation to do the extension right I know historically we've not had a lot of success in getting bids here is that right that's correct okay right and and I know where you're going because you and I have had this conversation councilman um next year we're going to be required to go back out because there won't be the additional year option so we're going to go out into the field and see what the responses are at that time anyway great and just be glad I have no no concerns no issues with the current vendor I think they do a nice job I just want to make sure was competitive okay okay um item seven is Award of contract for 2024 recreational program instruction for the Parks and Recreation Department um this is a a new bid for 2024 with an option for 2025 and all the activities are outlined in the resolution questions good good item C8 is uh the award of contract of the Bergen County uh Cooperative contract for untreated rock salt uh this is a recommendation from the village engineer um the this year's quote for untreated rock salt is $78.75 per ton last year it was $75 for an increase of $3.75 per ton um we need rock salt because Chris is predicting a bad winter that's all I have and I understand don't ask him to explain the weather to you because he will I'm sorry I understand we have some salt left over but we're going to go through it pretty quickly oops and there you go not my fault let going to cost us another eight bucks well I could shout from the back of the room or I could use the microphone cuz Heather prefers the microphone we have enough salt for maybe 8 10 in storm and then we're out unfortunately we do not have a large storage capacity so we can't hold thousands of tons from one season to the other um the nicest salt Barn in the village belongs unfortunately to do it's by the parking ride and they don't let us have any of it so okay thank you I mean I have to ask do you really think it's going to be a bad winter this is what's circulating I have to do it I can't hold back why you have it's not 11:00 yet okay the weather patterns in the last few years have been called in the linia pattern it's generally lighter snow in this area the Pacific ocean temperatures winds have shifted to El Nino that is generally more predictive of more snow will we have snow maybe maybe not will we have a lot maybe maybe not if I could predict exactly how much we'd get I'm in a wrong line of work well veale got two feet on Monday so my son is very happy Lucky them we're losing losing our momentum okay um item C9 is a uh resolution to resin 23-25 and resolution 23262 Award of contract for two uh vehicles that are no longer available item 10 is Award of contract uh under the state contract uh for a 2023 Ford F550 uh it's a 4x4 Mason dump truck for the parks department uh that's a replacement for the resending resolution prior to okay item 11 uh award contract under sourcewell Cooperative purchasing program for the lease of a Ford Explorer for the health department um this is actually an an interesting program that Ridgewood has endeavored in uh Lieutenant Chuck from the police department has worked with enter Enterprise Fleet Management uh to lease our vehicles uh we're actually doing a presentation at our um director's meeting on December 20th about this program um and um they are looking to expand our capacity here uh but this is the uh fourth year of a five-year lease uh on the 2021 Ford Explorer for the health department when you consider the lease a year hence could you look into hybrid absolutely thank you absolutely and as we um evaluate the fleet which I think is going to be a major project in the first quarter of 2024 um I I I I'm still wrapping my arms around the amount of vehicles that we have who utilizes them what their longevity life is going to be um I have asked U Mike Juna to start to identify vehicles that could be um converted to hybrid use um so for example you know inspector vehicles are a good candidate for hybrid use whereas you know the parks department and the the streets department probably less so so as we're going through that evaluation process we're going to be identifying which vehicles um in future leases could be could be moved over to hybrid okay um item 12 chief judge if you'd come forward and actually uh as as John's walking up uh he's going to address item 12 and 18 so if you wanted to pull 18 out uh for that discussion as well chief sorry it's 12 the requests or 12 the denial apologies oh 12 is the request okay so 12 is the request for a award Professional Services another year for ke andrier uh we used him in 2022 uh due to speaking with ke strer of what we used and what our plans for next year are they've agreed to lower the price um this year the price would come into about 174 for the entire year versus the 36 last year also importantly to note on this is that uh this year for any clients they wrote a full um policy and procedure manual very specific to EMS uh it's been vetted by about three different attorneys as well and that comes with he sells it for $5,000 separately or it comes with when you do this purchase um if anybody wants to see I had sent a table of contents but it's very very th um for what they're doing uh just to go back uh we've done not to say too many words for our typing I was listening uh but uh just with ke over the past year I quickly glanced today I think I've sent him over 200 emails this year uh also he has said he's available to the whole village I FD and EMS uh the other day he sat with Chief Lions about a couple things as well and we've touched on countless topics and if everybody wants to know I wrote a whole list out but we can say that for another day um and that's really it on that just looking to keep them on for another year 12 months questions sounds like a good investment perfect thank you and okay uh item 18 Chief yes the recommendation to reject the proposal so we put an RFP out for the ambulance billing so AR is our current ambulance billing company we got them in 2007 in 2010 that ended but they still are a billing company we never went back out again uh when we put it out this time we found that the response we received back was just one person we only received one um the references provided by this person we called many of them and got we'll say average responses we'll just say um in addition when I was down at the league I spoke to a couple other billing companies who said they didn't actually even see our proposal we thought we'd had out in the right places but I guess we missed a couple of the more important ones so a couple of the bigger companies that never even heard our proposal So based on those two things we're um suggesting to reject the one proposal received and to rebid it out again everybody good thank you for answering my questions in advance absolutely anytime okay um circling back to item 13 Award of Professional Services contract for the pediatrician for the child health clinics um this is an Endeavor that we take on with Glenrock and fairon uh through our health department uh we are would like to uh award this to Dr Wayne Niki who has done this for the last 14 years um the rate is $180 per hour not to exceed 1950 for each of the municipalities questions uh 14 is award Professional Services contract for animal control and water foul management uh this is a two-year contract um which will expire in June of 24 however we need a funding resolution uh for January uh the yearly charges $32,400 um breakdown of 274 for animal control services and $5,000 for waterfall management uh for a total of 324 and this is to Tao everybody good okay um 15 is award a Professional Services contract for the elevator subcode inspection um I know Deputy Mayor parin asked me about this this morning um this proposal um moves us from the Department of Community Affairs who has historic done the elevator inspections for the village and moves over to a um private inspection company which is based here in Bergen County the difference is is that under DCA inspections we receive no Revenue under the private contractor uh we have the potential based on the volume of our elevator inspections to take in somewhere between $9 and $10,000 a year in Revenue inspection um fees so that's the difference between going with the state and talking to Tony Merino we're recommending that we do this for year uh we'll evaluate it in the last quarter of next year to determine if the service is is adequate um if it is we'll renew it and continue to collect those revenues if it's not we always have the ability to go back to the state and use the DCI good everybody good okay um 16 is authorize a shared services contract for the child health clinic this reverts back to item 13 um but this is to enter into the shared services contract with Glenrock and fairon uh for the child health clinics for calendar year 24 questions good okay um the next item is the um bid that went out for the train station coffee bar um at the Ridgewood train station uh we advertised and received bids on November 22nd um the minimum bid was $1,200 per month uh we had no responses at that time albeit six people did pick up uh at this time Chris is recommending lowering the uh minimum monthly rent to $800 a month and going back out to bid uh we do want to document though this though because if we do have three rounds of no responses then we're able to negotiate a contract independently of the bid process good so okay wait can I ask a question sure so are we not at three already ither didn't we bid earlier in the year because I my understanding is the bids all have to be the same so in other words if you change the amounts then they may not be same okay three times so it's three strikes on yeah and and Chris you you've spoken to some of the the the prospective biders who picked up uh yeah we bit this out twice so far this year and once last year okay with different uh minimum floors uh monthly charges um one person I spoke to we were asking for too much uh there just isn't the volume of business in the trains going through the train station taking the train in the city as was mentioned earlier this evening like on a Monday and on a Friday a lot at the train station is not full it's half empty so uh we may want to try bidding it at a lower rate see what happens again if we are unsuccessful we may hit the uh regulatories limit where we can negotiate with a prospective vendor Chris what were we charging pre-co I think we were around 1,200 a month so can can I ask another question so that's what we were we were getting paid so if we that's a lot of coffee yeah but if we offer it at 800 and if as Bob said we're at about 65% um our lots are uh of of the commuters that we normally get that sounds like it's about the right number hopefully uh again the pandemic changed a lot of things uh it's hard to say if people are still interested in grab and go you know get a wrapped up muffin and a cup of coffee to take on a train right now nobody seems to want to take that gamble with us so I think it's great I think um in addition to getting the revenue it provides a service and you know with limited words when I was canvasing for the election people really are missing their coffee especially on that side um it when we do the bid can we cycle it through the Chamber of Commerce because maybe there's a way that an existing coffee vendor would want to have like a satellite location okay well what we'll do is like we've done with the other bids we'll produce it in we'll reduce the bid package into a PDF I'll email it at the chamber and the guild uh we do advertise in the Ridgewood news um we also have have a series of online companies that we send our notice of advertisement to uh and they send it out to various companies that subscribed for their services I think it's great I just think that there might be the potential that a local Merchant might want to just send some coffee over every day and that would be great because it would be local sure thank youis great idea y should we consider no floor at all no minimum I actually was just thinking the same thing I mean I'm more interested in the service than the income income here even if we got 500 600 700 a month I think you need to establish a certain floor it can be low but I would not recommend going to zero I would maybe low ball it somewhere under $500 somewhere in that range the low ball I mean like I said it's more about the the the um it's more about the service than it is the actual income the income in the grand schem thing is the Minimus you know it's a shobon point people just want to grab coffee when they're waiting for the train that's I'd like to provide that for folks I want the income too but I think we you know I think during Co a lot of people waved rent overall and I I don't know if this is true but that's why Flo left because the rent so I think it'd be great to explore you know a lower value too but I do think we need to be concerned with the the rent and we shouldn't wave it completely 800 is already not succeeded well I I agree with keth oh that's right 1,00 and this is the third time at 1200 we we've had it at 1200 we've had it I think at 500 and 800 when was the 500 I'd have to I'd have to look it up I think I replied to it in the emails to you Miss uh parent yeah is there a consensus to go with 500 that we went out there already we just want to see if 500 was at the height of Co or May 24th uh the minimum bid was 500 um that's May 24th 2022 yeah um February 15 15 2023 the minimum bid was 1,200 per month and November 22nd 2023 the minimum bid was 750 per month and we didn't get any nibbles yep so do we want to I support 500 sounds like 500 is a good number good there were more people coming to the train station since then in May of 2022 so we'd likely get something at 500 and listen and at 500 if if it is that attractive a number you will get I mean you had six people pick up packets it's a bid process so you it's meant to be competitive yeah and then when that's over if we don't get anybody we can call all six of them after we've hit the three times okay great yeah we um are officers trying to contact the biders to find out what their reasons are for not responding I haven't gotten that data back I hopefully I'll get it back by next Wednesday for the Council I do love the idea of a local v a local Merchant getting the business sure okay good Chris thank you you're welcome okay um item 20 is resend and replace resolution 23371 award contract under State contract for computer equipment um this is to purchase new desktop computers monitors and webcams for the village uh through the it it Department not to exceed 17 thou um I'm sorry 65 695 yes sorry about that questions good okay uh item 21 is to confirm endorsement of Community Development block grant for West Bergen Mental Health Care the installation of ADA approved automatic doors they are requesting a grant for $40,000 great okay good and um 22 authorize uh refund and cancellation of property taxes for a disabled veteran on Meadow Brook Avenue all set okay all right moving to policy under item d uh we have a communication from Joan monton who I've been working closely with um on the military banners program I know this was something that the village started last year the banners were up from Memorial Day through the 4th of July uh so they were up for the parade this year Joan is requesting that the banners stay up from May through Veterans Day uh which is customary and traditional in in communities throughout Northern New Jersey um that the Banners are up for that duration of time um she's requesting the use of 75 polls which would allow for 150 placements since there's two banners on each poll and they would be spread out through the central business district and we'll coordinate with Rich Charlton and Signal um as to how they'll be placed throughout the uh throughout the business district and then aren't there lamp uh Street lamps that beyond the 75 that also have um places for banners yes so somebody else wanted to put up banners on a different topic there's room for them there there would be there would be capacity yes and and I think that we we have some pedestrian banners that typically are up and uh there could be other groups and and listen we're going to speak about the said in just a few minutes but if the Sid um becomes um a viable option here in the village I'm sure this is something that they would want to look at too so there would be capacity for that so there's about the the room for about 200 to go up when pre my time on Council when we did the secret double probation senior Banner project Heather's team went out and counted so it's about 200 so Jones 200 200 banners yeah that that's like our maximum capacity I think there's 137 poles except I don't have it in front of of me but I think that was the number that we discussed so they were say and and that means like we can't do rid High School seniors because there's always too many and so we did and I sent Rich that whole breakdown of what we did then that's why we moved to the fences so we have support for this good okay yes um item D is the I'm sorry D2 regulations on electric bicycles electric scooters electric skateboards and nonhuman powered vehicles there were some revisions that were requested to be made the last time the council consider considered this uh Chris uh revised the memo on November 22nd um and there is one addition that we discussed today between myself Matt and the deputy mayor um Matt do you want to just speak to that language that was just to identify that that the operator or whoever was using the the U powered vehicle needed was somebody that needed to have it and someone who was recognized as a person with a disability right so we're going to add that language to what's proposed for next week thanks and and have we sent this to the board of ed because the last time this came up they had requested it after our first introduction Once Matt makes the change Matt if you'll share that document with me and then I'll I'll send it to the superintendent thank you okay make a note okay um under operations item e uh appointment of special improvement district steering committee I'll turn it over to the deputy mayor yeah we had a meeting on November 17th and we invited as many people who either own commercial property in the village or have uh businesses in the village to come and hear about what a special improvement district is and what it could do for our economy and um uh in the next step is to create to create a steering committee that would come come up with the mission the goals the services that a special improvement district would Supply and so after the meeting we had a number of people volunteering to be part of the steering committee and and attend the meetings that'll be like twice a month for the next maybe six months and um this is just phase one uh phase two is more Outreach to the entire business Community with whatever proposal the steering committee comes up with uh so they have a lot of work to do in the steering committee and it also includes um people from the village staff uh to help with mapping and and to understand the tax assessments and work that into the formula for Sid assessments so um this is what I'm asking you to uh the list of people that I would ask to be appointed to the steering commiss committee and I think I have called each of you before to go over this so I didn't respond to you I'm sorry okay um I know it's going to go through it's fine no offense but taken I do think it's a conflict of interest I know I spoke to Matt it may not be legally a conflict of interest but I think it just doesn't look good if you know as a council member we hired this company and now you want to be on the steering committee to something that I mean I think it's a fabulous idea to have a sit absolutely um and hopefully it's going to benefit all of the property owners and the and the stores financially so to me that you shouldn't be on it there's so many Property Owners I don't know why you know you need to be one of them but and and Matt I'll let you address this yeah I mean I I did have a discussion earlier you know the rain was kind enough to give me a call and discuss it and I told her that to the extent that the the matter has been reviewed and the um uh looking at the local government ethics law and the New Jersey conflict of interest law it's pretty clear in the section 48 colon 9- 22.5 I that says that you know if if the government official is a member of a group and there's no benefit occurring to him that's different than the rest of the group there is no conflict and they've given several examples of how to apply that to the specific facts uh this clearly is at this stage of the game a a development committee or a steering committee and uh at this point participation would be allowed it's not a conflict because he's just a member of that same group of people that May benefit from it but they all benefit equally because of the way that it's going to be done he's not going to be singled out he's not going to be individualized and um he fits into the group aspect of what the statute allows I also discussed it with steuart copper Weiss and he said that um Paul won't be conducting the meetings he's not leading the charge here he's just a participant like the other property owners I I get that I I'm just saying to me it just you know legally I understand it's not a conflict I don't think it I just think it doesn't pass the smell test it doesn't look right but you know I'd like to say a couple things um first thank you Pam and thank you to everybody on this committee who said yes and what doesn't look right right now is our town we have vacancies we have litter we have issues and at some point I really want all of us to get on board behind Pam Who's down the line share of this and make sure we move forward Town's looking better right I really feel that way but we need to be when we talk about town this is just my opinion a little honest about where we are for every store we open another one closes this week um in a super sad moment I went to Town and Country um town and country has been here since my mother was a child um they they're all disappearing you know some of the the last of the long-standing stores we were going over because Town and Country is one of them and I think the oldest existing business is actually the funeral home because my dad always used to make the joke that people are just dying to get in there um our town is changing we need to be responsive I think this is nothing more than a good thing so I know we're trying not to talk a lot but we need to all five of us be on board with that our town needs help these people want to help it um things like the garbage cans were so great the plantings that you and pride did is so great but we we need to get really um Innovative creative and aggressive with downtown because it's it it's it needs help and I think it looks better but I think everybody hears it we have these young newcomers who write us lovely letters but it's all about what's missing what's not there and um I just want to say thank you and I think the Sid is going to be such a good thing but SIDS from what when I met with Stewart and went to the thing in Atlantic City they're what we make of them so I just want to say thank you to everybody on here thank you to this Council and town has to look better Town's got to be better and I hope this is the first step in making it better and and I want to thank um Pam for doing this she has um I mean look I'm the central business district guy but this is this Sid is 100% Pam's project um I am happy to support the project um I will note in term for for your concern and again obviously if if Matt said that this was an actual conflict I wouldn't be involved in it I'm going to pick a number out of the air I I don't know how accurate it is but there's probably 80 or 100 property owners in town there are seven names on this list that's all we could get to volunteer so again if there was if there were 25 I'd bow out there's not that many people willing to participate because this is a Time intensive um project this group will probably be meeting once every two weeks for the next six months um I can understand why everyone doesn't want to do it um I'm not quite sure why I am willing to do it because I have all this free time so um and again I I I do appreciate your so many other the other property owners were all asked no everyone everyone that we could get our hands on was invited to this meeting um we got a fraction of them and only a fraction of the people who showed volunteered to do this because again if you have to meet for a couple of hours every two weeks no it's a lot you're not goingon to you're not going to get a lot of people so again the Pickins are slim and I'm part of the slim Pickin I mean I also struggle to figure out where there would be a conflict where the interest of the sity would diverge from the interest of the village um so I'm okay with it I mean again Len I hear your point but you know an actual conflict where Paul would have to put the interests of of the property owner head of the village like I I'm I'm struggling to come up with a scenario where that would happen and listen I'll be I'll be blunt I want this to succeed so I can raise your taxes Paul like I mean that's what I want yeah let's let's let's let's be clear about one thing um I'm going to be on this committee and hopefully endorse an increase in the property tax tax es for those people who are Property Owners which is by the way why you must have Property Owners on this list because they're the ones we're the ones who are going to be footing the bill and so without them you don't really have much of a committee so they're they're the most critical component here and just I mean obviously I'm being factious well not really but I want more business means more valuable property means more taxable income that we can use to The Fray What the residents pay so we're kind of all aligned on what we all want here maybe for different reasons so you know I hear what you're saying and it's certainly not a reasonable Arin but I I I don't have an issue with this and and again I I I completely agree with the rest of the council is a wonderful thing everybody agrees on that and Pam thank you for taking a leadership role on this really and and I would also just point out that in phase two the steering committee has to sell the whole idea and the formula and the the the framework of the Sid to the enti to the entire business community so Paul's voice at that point becomes even more diluted um so yeah I'm very excited about this good any other questions anyone good let's move on um item E2 is the ordinance considering the appointment of the village historian and I will yeld to the Council on further discussion on this particular ordinance thoughts opinions ideas uh I made a statement at the beginning of the meeting so you get off you get off the hook yep um I mean listen my my my view is I have you know and I EO you've said I have a tremendous amount of respect for Joe and Peggy I've had the privilege of working closely with Joe uh over the last few months on the HPC um they're both wonderful wonderful sources and and a treasure to Ridgewood where I come at on the is issue though is I I don't believe and I can't believe the 20 years ago when the initial ordinance was passed that this was supposed to be a lifetime appointment um I do think it makes sense that we have new people in um I do agree with the idea that you know I know when when Peggy got this she was in the same role that the new person that we're giving it to you know uh you know is in now and I think that makes a lot of sense that should go to a village employee and the village employee that oversees the history room at the library is just a perfect example for as perfect I think person for it but again I come back to I don't think any appointment should be for life um and um you know I think I like the idea of a 5-year um period um I like the idea of it being someone who is a village employee um you know and I you know listen again I I can't say enough about Joe and and Peggy and their work and I I know they'll continue to be a voice for for uh Ridgewood history but I do think it's we should have a little more governance around this we should have something that makes sense and again not a lifetime appointment which is what struck with me when this is you first came up you know over the last couple of weeks and months others I I do want to thank Joe for his wonderful tours of the graveyard at at old pamis church and of valow cemetery and um and Peggy for spectacular exhibit at the schoolhouse Museum of gorgeous Bergen County Historical quilts I mean just inred incredible educational beautiful exhibit um so I really have appreciated their tenure and their wisdom and their their historical knowledge I too want to thank Joe and Peggy they have been a tremendous resource to everybody in Ridgewood they're you know so knowledgeable it's it's incredible I've gone on some several tours which is great um I remember I picked up I ordered a a map you know with your uh your house on it and when I went to pick it up at the schoolhouse Joe was there and he's like where do you live I told him and he told me like several stories of you know my house or my nextd door neighbor so it was it it's amazing how much information and knowledge he has um and I do agree with Evan that I don't think it it was meant to be a lifetime term um and you know it's always good to have a new new set of eyes on things and I you know I I wish Peggy and Joe well I know that they'll still stay in touch they'll be available if we have any questions they're just that kind of people and they will always be willing to talk about history and you know thank you very much so I want to Echo the thanks they've both been incredible resources and the house thing is real um while this was being discussed this week so many people said oh they told me this about my house they pulled the report about that I'm the third family to own this house um so thank you very much to both of them I think it's the ultimate compliment to them that the decision being made here is it's you know T it's just on repeat it's the same cycle I want to thank the library and Sarah kefir for agreeing to this um we have such wonderful resources and you know as a lifetime user of that Library whenever I have a question I know Pam does the same you go and you ask them and these Librarians are awesome because they rely on facts and they no longer have Micro fish but they um they're just amazing so thank you to them and thank you to the library and I think this is just a nice next step that honors and expands upon the you know the importance of a historian so that's that and I want to say thank you to Matt Rogers I I now know the difference between May and sha and it's all perfect here and I love it and uh I think this is going to be a good thing for all of us I I agree um when I came to Ridgewood um about 30 years ago um josei was one of the first people I met and worked with um because we were renovating the old Woolworth's building um to put three restaurants in there it had been vacant for more than five years and he was a font of knowledge he was a great guy to work with and I was very appreciative to have him at a time when um if you think that that Council meetings can be tumultuous try renovating a 10,000 foot building and opening a restaurant in it um you know he was he was um a solid touch point for me and I really appreciated that and and further to Siobhan's point that um this this ordinance is based upon the experience that we had with Peggy it is exactly that it has worked so well um that we designed the ordinance around um what she did and what was done with her so um this is the we can't say enough tributes about both of them and again I I say it all the time many hands make light work and um and these guys been making it light work for decades so so we really appreciate it and mayor lastly on my portion of the agenda um E3 which is the correction to ordinance 3973 uh amend various sections of chapter 190 land use and development and sections of chapter 145 enumeration of fees so I'm going to turn it over to Matt on what has been corrected on this yeah Max buies ISS if we are in favor of this will get introduced over plan for comments and come and and this is one of the issues that came from the board of adjustments annual report and recommendations to the Village Council and I'd just like to add that um this particular one was in the large um ordinance that we just adopted last month and the issue was that in number 11 25% was a typo in that big ordinance at 20% we checked with John Barry he confirmed that it should be 20 it was 25% originally it should remain at 25% so that's actually the only change and to that big ordinance it was probably 30 pages right this was the only typo that we found so far but probably the only typo in the entire document I missed it and this is and this is to correct that you're losing your touch there Deputy Mayor didn't want to Pam escap but if you remember that was the the one that as as Keith pointed out that was the one that came over from the Zoning Board in their annual report that included a number of issues that were addressed and this is one of them and I just want to thank Greg Brown and um uh who's a chairman of the planning board excuse me the uh zoning board um and all the people who work tirelessly um at a very difficult place um zoning Board of adjustment for making recommendations to make um to make applications to the zoning board easier for our residents because that was the goal of this so so thank you all very much mayor that concludes my portion of the agenda and with that we will return to the public comments section of our meeting seeing none wow I will close public comment and we will entertain a resolution to go into closed session be resolved by The Village Council of the village of Ridgewood that the Village Council meet and close session on December 6 2023 at 7:30 p.m. or soon thereafter as the matter on the agenda can be reached and the set Clos session will be held in the fourth floor caucus room of the ridge of Village Hall 131 North Maple Avenue New rwood New Jersey be a further resolve that the matter should be discussed in Clos session or limited to to legal matters to include rquest and Personnel matters oh I'm sorry am I reading the wrong one I am uh no to sorry will include Personnel matters to include Village Council appointments to boards and committees appointments to boards and committees and appointment a village auditor which we actually completed at our earlier meeting so we don't need that any longer these matter are allowable under njsa 10 colum 4-12 at SEC and be further resolve of the minutes of this meeting shall be made available to the general public when such matters have been deemed completed by resolution of the Village Council may have a motion so moved second all in favor I I anyone oppos okay thank you