e e e e e yes where's Charlie where's Charlie good evening this is the Village Council regular public meeting the date is January 17th 2024 the time is 7:35 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in village by mail to the Ridgewood news the record and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting roll call Deputy Mayor pin here council member Reynolds here council member whites here council member winegrad here mayor Banis here will you all please join us in a salute to our flag I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all I move the bills claims and vouchers and statements of funds on hand as of December 31st 2023 be accepted as submitted second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winterr yes Vos yes I moved at the Village Council minutes of October 25th November 1st November 8th December 6th and December 13 2023 having been reviewed by The Village Council and now available in the village clerk's office be approved as submitted second parin yes Reynolds um I just realized I forgot to bring this up I was not here on November 1st so I can vote Yes for all of them except for that okay whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes will you all please join us in the well as we recognize several important items tonight proclamations to begin with and we're going to start with Lunar New Year thank you mayor whereas the Ridgewood Asian-American Pacific Islander aapi Alliance is collaborating with the Ridgewood Chinese American Association the Ridgewood Korean parent community and the Ridgewood Indian Community to jointly produce the Lunar New Year Festival in the village of Ridgewood and whereas the Lunar New Year Festival celebrates the diversity in the village of Ridgewood promotes Asian culture and uplifts the experiences of aapi friends in the village and whereas 2024 is the year of the dragon symbolizing strength power wisdom nobility good fortune and success and the aapi and their Partners welcome their neighbors to share this significant holiday with them and learn more about Asian cultures and history and whereas the Lunar New Year Festival will be held on February 4th 2024 in the Ridgewood High School campus center now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does hereby Proclaim February 4th 2024 as lunar New Year Festival day in the village of Ridgewood and thanks the Ridgewood Asian American Pacific Islander Alliance the Ridgewood Chinese American Association the Ridgewood Korean parent community and the Ridgewood Indian Community for sharing their cultures and history with the village of Ridgewood and wishes them a successful event and um the time it starts is 1 :0 program starts at 2 [Applause] congratulations thank you look forward to it and this is why I'll miss you excellent okay so I I have the next one uh and I have to warn everyone I'm sorry oh I'm sorry oh want to all right got it great thank you very much thank you guys all right now now am I good we're good all right want to make sure don't kind so um I have to warn you I have a long one to read because we're honoring Audrey uh Audrey fin tonight and it's going to take a while because how much he's done for the village so let me see if I can do this Justice here so whereas Audrey fin has lived in the village of rwood for 24 years with her husband David and her daughter Samantha and gab Gabrielle and she's been an active volunteer member of the ridgwood Arts Council the rack since 2015 serving as the chair for six years and where whereas during her time on rack Audrey spearheaded Ridgewood Central business district holiday window decorating contest which brings a festive atmosphere for all to enjoy and she established the rack Salon style artist talk Series in 2016 where artists representing the visual art music and Performing Arts are invited to share their craft with our community and whereas Audrey helped to create the R's first augmented reality artist exhibit through the CBD in collaboration with rdwood public school's youth Arts month which displayed over 50 pieces of Student Art and she assisted in Pres presenting Arts offering in Ridgewood to the Bergen County division of disability services and whereas during her time volunteering on the rack RG assisted with the open air Beatles Festival come together an afternoon of Beatles music and Community engagement in the streets of the CBD as well as overseeing the installment of original artwork donated by talented artists with a connection to Ridgewood in Village Hall and whereas Audy has also been involved in other volunteer aspects of rdwood life including decorating barricades for rid's pedestrian plazs during covid serving as the former vice president of the rwood high school band parents Association and serving as the treasurer of rwood art Arts Institute for eight years and whereas aie is an artist in her own right creating oil paintings some of which are displayed in local businesses now therefore be it proclaimed at the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood this hereby recognize Audrey fin for her nine years of active volunteer membership and her leadership on the rwood Arts Council and extends appreciation on behalf of a grateful Community for a dedication and bringing many forms of art to the residents of the village Bridgewood for their enjoyment thank you so much [Applause] Audrey two you go right in the middle right in the middle yeah absolutely [Applause] I do have a resolution has to be adopted so I'll read the resolution whereas njsa 48 colon 9141 requires every municipality to have a municipal tax collector appointed whereas njsa 48 9-1 145. 7 requires set appointed tax collector to hold a certified tax collector certificate issued by the New Jersey Division of local government services and the Department of community fairs and whereas Nicole compesi has fulfilled the requirements for a tax collector and hold a certified tax collector certificate now therefore be it resolved by The Village Council of the village of Ridgewood Bergen County New Jersey that Nicole compesi be and she is hereby appointed tax collector of the village of Ridgewood to a four-year term which shall expire December 31st 2027 so I need a motion and a second second okay so Deputy Mayor parin and council member whites parin yes Reynolds whites Winograd yes vaganos yes and so we need somebody to hold the Bible why don't the three of you can the three of you hold the Bible okay hold it a little high for Mom that's it good and if you'll place your right hand on the Bible and raise your left hand please and repeat after me I Nicole campesi I compy do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will faithfully impartially and justly and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of the office of Municipal tax collector of the office of Municipal tax collector according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you my pleasure congratulations good job that's it good job good job pleasure much great thank you so much than you and what I realized Nicole you have to sign this detailss and now we will be swearing in one of ridgewood's finest Shannon Greer will you come up and join us please nice to meet you my pleasure my pleasure who would you like to have hold the Bible here we go here we let's let's move you off to the side a little bit because everybody wants to see her all right will it's good will you raise your right hand please and repeat after me I Shannon Greer I Shannon Greer do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will faithfully and that I will I will faithfully impartially and justly impartially and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of the office of police officer of the office of police officer according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God [Applause] congratulations need the same great [Applause] than and now we will open public comment all uh speakers are limited to three minutes please state your name and address hi hello Mike would you just tell them okay let's give it a shot hello my name is hju quak I'm speaking as a resident and as a member of the Ridgewood Asian-American Pacific Islander Alliance I want to first thank the Village Council for recognizing the hard work and the generous sponsors that allow an event like this to happen that really does celebrate the diversity within our village again I want to thank you so much for the recognition and we hope that everyone can join us thank you thank you thank [Applause] you no can't close the door okay all right uh my name is Yan and and I'm here as a resident of Ridgewood and also on behalf of the uh Ridgewood Chinese American Association as a co-president um I thank you everyone for proclaim the Luna New Year celebration in the second year and this the year of the dragon is very important to the Chinese and the and the Asian culture uh as a Lun year because that's a very big zodiac uh and then as a second year we really welcome everyone in the village of Ridgewood to come and celebrate with us and we want to bring more of the diversity um to this Village and together we will stay strong thank you very much thank you very much um I would like to thank you son for his service on the open space committee I realize that with all your new duties uh for the um um Ridgewood American Chinese community can't do both things but we really enjoyed having you on open space you were such an active member thank you good evening Ann loving 342 South Irving Street I have a question about the tunnels underneath the train tracks um I know that that probably belongs to NJ Transit but I also know that in past years the council has discussed whether to have murals or whether to have Billboards or whether to have advertisements so I think that you have something to do with it there are no longer convex mirrors when you come down the ramps and the staircase that enable you to see what's around the corner and um I walk through that tunnel uh multiple times um well a month multiple times a month and I I would prefer it if we could get those mirrors back up I don't know if that's your jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of NJ Transit but it's kind of a safety issue to be able to see what's around the corner especially in the evening thank you thank you an anyone else from the audience let's go to our hybrid access residents can can I just say thank you for bringing that to our attention we are looking into refurbishing the tunnel and have hired um Conelly and hickey to plan that and we hope to be moving forward with that next well this year in terms of planning at least and um that is with an initiative of a subcommittee from the central business district advisory committee through through you mayor to Mrs Ling the um the jurisdiction is a little blurred there so I'm going to have to do some research um my gut is is that it's probably the signal department so I will check with Chris and rich tomorrow to see if we can't get those mirrors restored if in fact it is Under The Village's jurisdiction but as the deputy mayor indicated we have already had a kickoff meeting uh with Conley and hickey and our engineering department to begin the process of design for The Pedestrian tunnels um under the train tracks so um we're hopeful to have a design generated uh Sometime Late summer early early fall um that will have to go uh to Transit make sure that they are um in concurrence with what the village plans um we're also looking to pursue multiple uh state grants um and possibly a Bergen County historic trust Grant um to pursue that project uh so hopefully we'll be able to not only work on the design this year but also work on the funding mechanisms this year and then hit the ground running in 25 for actual construction so tentatively that's the game plan thank you both and now let's go to our hybrid access residents uh Susan you're up you're on mute Susan there we go hi I'm Susan rad 705 Kingsbridge Lane um I I just um I just want to um remind you that I sent an email last week in regard to my public comments and I have yet to receive a response from anyone regarding that email um in this p in my public comments I want to um just draw more attention to the deputy mayor's mention of the blue Acres Program and I just want to see if um The Village Council is actively pursuing that for residents that are getting flooded along um the waterways and um I know in my email I asked how would that impact other values of homes that don't participate in the program as well as a few other questions so again if you can respond to my email be greatly appreciated um I also want to follow up in regard to the US Army Corps of Engineers if they're going to be looking at flooding as well as at Saddle River I know that they're looking at hokus Brook and I just want to confirm that they're looking at Saddle River and also um if they're also going to be looking at shedler because of the removal of the trees um that poses a problem and again in my email I mentioned that the locations of the new planted trees as well as the age of them is vastly different from what's already there and and also um finally it was it was just a follow-up email in regards to the trees that are um after storms what is the procedure because I you know I there were plenty of Facebook post over the weekend about down trees and I was told that the engineering Department's parks and um another one we looking at down trees but it doesn't seem like anything was done other than they're looking at them I know that they have to go through the state agencies and stuff but with these storms coming very frequently how can that be expedited because um there's a lot of low-lying um or flat Bridges around here and those logs can get stuck very easily or those big trees can get stuck very easily and cause um a dam like effect all right that was pretty much it thank you thank you Susan next up I don't have a name but I I think it's it's a it's someone on an iPhone and yep that's you and you're on mute perfect hi this is Christine fman 518 East Saddle River Road uh and I just I just wanted to thank Keith for Distributing those flyers on eastle River Road I'm sorry I missed you uh regarding the flood and trash debris I am waiting to hear back from be I believe to schedule that meeting we discussed at the last meeting I would like to bring up uh the visit the previous visit with the Army Corps of Engineers the meeting with the village I know that that was there is a meeting set to happen I believe in the future however I'm referring to the 2010 meeting where the Army Core of Engineers proposed the rip wrath uh rocks on the on the Riverbanks to slow down the erosion charging the families or homes 15,000 per per house um but specifically I was inquired ing about the meeting where they also discussed the flooding of the Saddle River and that it was suggested and I'm still working with my neighbor to collect the emails he saves everything so I will produce them uh that they were going to look into putting a reservoir for the Saddle River uh near soulless Court which would not really impact residents South it would actually slow down the flooding and I know that all of these things take time I do understand and appreciate that however that meeting I believe was in 2010 so is there any progress on that proposed Reservoir um thank you very much also wanted to congratulate Shannon thank you thank you Christine next up Leo oh excuse me no it's another gentleman another person named fleshman you're on mute on mute now hi you hear me yes hi Ed fleshman 518 East salver Road um yeah so to follow up on my wife's uh comment uh you know we live Al the river for 27 years and we're paying taxes on the property we have a half of our yard in the backyard we we can't even use we're not allowed to put anything down there and it's over the years it's continuing to erode away um I guess my question is is a t Township a village given any consideration to maybe doing uh property tax reductions based on the fact that we're on the river like that and the land is not usable and um you know it's it's it's we're hitting we're getting hit with uh you know uh flood insurance and all the things that are are we're paying for but we can't really fully use it and as far as the Army Corp engineers and I know I know the town the village is kind of hands are kind of tied and using them but I kind of I kind of have and I appreciate your sympathy and everything I kind of have this feeling that you know the Army Corps is going to do a stud and it'll take 10 years and then they're going to come up with a plan it's going to take 10 years and then maybe they'll do something and that'll be 10 years more and it'll be 30 years I'll be close to 90 and or dead and um you know probably flooded multiple times after that if we're still living here so I was just I guess that's what I'd like to say during this report is there anything uh regarding the uh property taxes for those properties thank you thank you Ed next up Leo you're on mute Leo good hi can hear me hi can you hear me we can hear you Leo okay hi good evening name is Leo Ruan 705 Kingsbridge Lane um I just want to to uh follow up um on Saddle River and what the council can do for removing a lot of the excess logs that accumulate and big long branches and lots of debris that are going there um is is the town going to do anything to help is there any way to any efficient means of reporting logs um that are down or a debris that's available and and that the town can remove um I just want is there any program in place or if a program can be put in place for that or is it just a matter of Leo we're we're losing you we need to keep your your need close the phone counil any yeah that that that's all I just wanted to to bring up was the um the the trees and and the debris on on Saddle River if we can get an efficient means of Leo I'm sorry we we we can't quite make you out if you could speak a little more clearly um yeah oh sorry I I don't want to waste people's time I just I just want to bring up uh the fact of the debris on the sadle river and if it can be cleared um more efficiently and a more timely basis thank you got it thank you so much John John you're up thank you can you hear me we can hi my name's John Flanigan at 512 East Saddle River Road and I'd like to comment on the ongoing threats regarding flood water related to the Saddle River and its tributaries such as a hocus Brook the Hocus Brook is also directly in my backyard and we were severely impacted by Hurricane Ida uh roughly two years ago and endured significant personal property loss during that storm it's a matter of fact that many of our neighbors experienced loss well exceeding our own as well as others during storms that have taken place since Ida so I'm here to show my solidarity and voicing such concerns the severe trauma that can be induced by such natural disasters and the increased frequency of such a threat of recurrence cannot be understated particularly when there's a feeling um in the community that remediation steps Technologies and tools are readily available but the response to this seems to be delayed or deferred I'd urge this Council to do all within their power power to continue to make a concerted coordinated and clearly commun uh communicated plan of action to address these life altering concerns for its residents thank you thank you John John what's your address again he's gone sorry 512 East Saddle River thank you anyone else seeing no one I'm going to close public comment and we'll proceed with our agenda Keith oh first does anyone want to respond to anything anyone said I would I would like to um through you mayor uh first of all to Susan um we received yesterday a flyer from the state with regard to the blue acers program that'll be distributed later in the week uh we are seeking some guidance um from the D on that program uh so that we're putting out good information but you will see that uh pushed out by the village uh before week's end um I think I have confirmed this for you Susan a number of times before uh but the charge of the Army Corps of Engineers as it's been requested and I will get a little deeper into that when we get to the manager's report is for both the Hocus Brook and the Saddle River so I've confirmed that a number of times um and I will again tonight with regard to trees that are down in the Waterway whether it be the Hocus Brook the Saddle River or any of the tributaries uh we have to get a perm um we have to do it through a process called uh permit by rule I had indicated uh to Chris ruthazer that anything that we could get out of the brook prior to any of these storms we without having to go for a permit uh we have been doing and we will continue to be doing uh but the trees that are actually in the Waterway after a storm there is a process that we must go through to seek approval in order to remove those down trees and other debris from the actual ual waterway that process is underway uh Chris actually put out a correspondence uh to both parks and um Fleet today um about how we will proceed with that um and as soon as we have those approvals and the weather is cooperating obviously right now we're in the teens at night we're not going to send staff into uh waterways in order to clear trees when it's this cold but when the weather is appropriate and when we have those approvals uh those actions will be undertaken I also want to stress that some of the properties where there are down trees um are adjacent to private property along the waterways and we need to talk to those property owners and we have already spoken to at least two of them I believe um about privately having those trees removed from the banks of the river where they're down uh with regard to Christine and Ed Christine and I have been corresponding frequently uh by email um I do not have a copy as of yet of any corresponden or or report or preliminary plan from the Army Corps dating back to 2010 but I have made that request and I await their response with that document with regard to Ed's inquiry about a tax reduction uh this Council nor the village has any ability to reduce somebody's property taxes because they are susceptible to flooding or even if they appear on the repetitive loss list um that reflects insurance claims and FEMA claims that have been filed um during past flood events the only way that you can seek a property tax reduction is to try to reduce your assessment through the property tax appeal process um I don't want to counsel anybody in that area um you should speak to a tax appeal attorney um however I do know with the current market I think that could potentially be a challenge for any property owner um in the village or anywhere in northern New Jersey uh the Army Corps of Engineers uh has been engaged as I mentioned I'll I'll talk to that I'll speak to that during the uh the report tonight um and with regard to John at 512 12 East Saddle River Road I believe he said he was on the Hocus Brook I believe he's probably actually on the Saddle River um but um again we have a plan our plan is to engage the services of the Army Corps of engineer and solicit the support of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as I stated at last week's meeting uh these are not local Solutions yes we can get in there we're in the process of putting a budget together for a d snagging operation uh that hopefully can commence uh when the weather breaks after the winter um and that is something that we can locally do again we have to solicit those same permits by rule in order to uh get approval to do that type of work but beyond that any major infrastructure project any type of creation of a reservoir Basin any riff raff in the in the banks of the the Hocus book or the Saddle River those projects are going to need to be undertaken uh by the Army Corps of engineer with the support of the D so that's my response to public comment thanks Keith anyone else good let's get to our manager's report okay thank you mayor um first I want to publicly congratulate both Nicole and Shannon on Nicole's appointment as our new tax collector and Shannon uh as she embarks her police career uh here on the ground with the Ridgewood Police Department I also want to thank Audrey for her uh time with the Ridgewood Arts Council um we certainly have a tremendous amount of volunteerism and engagement in this community it is something that I continue six months into this job uh to Marvel at each and every day um and I want to thank her for her service uh to the Arts Council as I mentioned uh we issued a letter to Colonel Young from the Army Corps of engineer he is the district commander in the New York District um with your permission mayor I'd actually like to read this letter into the record um dear Colonel young please accept this letter as a formal request to engage the United States Army Corps of Engineers in a study and design of an effective flood mitigation project in the village of Ridgewood and surrounding area relative to the frequent flooding along the Hocus Brook and the Saddle River the Hocus Brook impacts dozens of homes along its banks posing a threat to both life and property it also affects multiple Village and Board of Education properties including Village Hall the police department other essential offices parks and athletic fields the saddle river floods additional homes on both the east and west side of its banks at multiple locations throughout the village the same threats exist devastating flood events from severe storms such as Floyd Irene and Ida in addition to more localized r events have led to flash flooding creating great hardships for our residents repetitive loss data which your office has requested from FEMA will substantiate these impacts three extensive flood events on September 29th 2023 December 18th 2023 and January 10th 2024 only further confirm the inability for our community to sustain this constant flooding on behalf of the Village Council and all residents of the village of Ridgewood we are requesting your assistance and intervention in developing a long-term plan to mitigate flooding thank you for your consideration and I look forward to a productive partnership between the United States Army Corps of Engineers and our village best regards Keith kmar Village manager uh this was sent to Colonel young yesterday after the holiday I did receive a receipt from the Army Corps today uh that the uh letter was received and would be presented uh to Colonel young for his consideration with that um one of the requests when we met with the Army Corps the last time uh was the collection of data um especially photos from past flood events so today I met with Dylan Hansen um our director of it and I asked Dylan to work with his team to set up a portal where residents who are affected by flooding um are able to go in and submit five photos of the damage for each of the different storms that they have experienced um when it come when it came to flooding in their residence so we will have more information in the next week to 10 days about what that submission process looks like it'll be a portal that will be set up through the new Village website so folks will be able to submit that information um we are working through some oah request issues um in case people Oprah request some of the things that are submitted I need to solicit Heather's expertise in that regard over the next couple of days um but we will be announcing this most likely by the end of next week so folks can submit um this information and it can be reviewed by the Army Corps as we undertake this process um I want to thank publicly um all of our staff members who helped us navigate both the recent snowstorm and the icing effects that we experienced yesterday and this morning um and also the flood of last week uh this is a team effort the employees in this Village are second to none uh they were out throughout the flooding event uh from an oem standpoint police fire uh EMS our signal division our streets and Fleet division our Parks division um all of these men and women were out throughout all of these weather events that we've experienced um I have to say the month of January and it's only the 17th has not been the easiest um for our crews um I could tell that there's a little fatigue in their face um and I'm hopeful that moving forward maybe the weather subsides we have some cold temperatures we have to deal with um albeit they are calling for another snowstorm this coming Friday night so we will see how that goes um other news we've started our internal budget meetings this week uh this is the second round of meetings the first um the first set of budget meetings occurred in October uh this week uh We've started budget meeting after budget meeting uh throughout the course of the work day our first budget meeting with the council will be Monday January 29th um we've set up a pretty um rigid schedule that we would like to try to follow uh with the uh budget hearings and then ultimately the introduction and adop adoption of the budget um I want to thank Bob bruny um Olivia and his office and Steve sanzari uh for all their work in making sure that we shepher this budget through in a timely fashion as we go from Winter into spring want to announce that the Clinton Avenue meeting which was scheduled with the residents of that street and some concerned citizens uh with regard to pedestrian traffic on that roadway which was scheduled for last night and was cancelled in light of the um the icing effect that meeting will now be this coming Tuesday the 23rd at 8:00 P.M uh downstairs in level one of Village Hall um I know councilman whites will likely uh talk about the rescheduled meeting for the Ridgewood Arts Council because that meeting was canceled as well last night um I want to welcome uh Carol Bowski uh she will assume the role of communications director and special projects director um effective February 13th uh this is a position that existed in the village manager's office office um we restructured it to put an emphasis on Communications which I think is very important uh we need to be able to properly communicate with the people that we represent on this dasas um so I want to welcome Carol I look forward to working with her she has an extensive uh background in Communications she is a Ridgewood resident so she's in tonely um aware of this community um and what the needs are here and I look forward to working with her as we move forward uh to communicate all the good things that are happening here in the village um on the Personnel side we reissued we updated and reissued our human resources manual I want to thank Heather uh for her efforts in that regard we also reissued our sick time policy um and we are in the process of updating all of the forms um and processes for doing employee evaluations here in the village uh we actually have a staff training this coming Monday morning where we will be training our directors um on some of the formal processes for evaluating all employees that are on our payroll moving forward uh starting this calendar year in 2024 um and finally I just want to thank the folks from the Interfaith Council um I had the opportunity to attend the Martin Luther King service um on Monday it was truly an incredible moving event um I thought the sermon that was provided um was um right on point especially in light of the celebration of Dr King's birthday um and I just want to thank that group uh for including me and having me uh there on Monday and that concludes my report mayor thanks Keith and we're going to do something a little different tonight um it's been a year since this Council took office and uh we've been we've had a very busy year and so at the urging of several residents um we're going to do a state of the village and what's happened and so if you'll indulge me 2023 was an eventful year for the village of Ridgewood I would like to take a few minutes to recount some of those highlights that made this year an exceptional one for our town let me Begin by saying how incredibly honored I am to be serving on this Village Council Bridgewood is without any question the Greatest Town in America and this council is the greatest Council I could ever hope to serve with they are all hard-working people who care deeply about their community and are ready to sacri sacrifice the valuable time they spend with their families for the good of their neighbors all of the accomplishments of this Village rest upon the foundation they have provided and while I can never thank them enough I will take a moment to thank them each individually I will begin with our Deputy Mayor p H perin without whose guidance and collaboration it is fair to say that we might not have achieved anything at all this past year she is always my first call on every issue and the person I want with me at every meeting that I attend next up Siobhan winegrad who is without any question the hardest working member of this Council she knows and understands the residents of this Village and the issues we face better than anyone I know and she is always ready to roll up her sleeves to find solutions to those issues Evan whites his insightful approach to every issue is one of the crown jewels of this Council he has an innate ability to get right to the heart of every problem we face I rarely make a decision in most matters until I've heard from him Lorraine Reynolds whose input on every issue is as critical as anyone's on this Council she has a direct line to many in our community that is essential to what we do that she and I disagree from time to time is perhaps the most important part of the process you'll never get anywhere if you just listen to those people who agree with you make no mistake about it she cares deeply about the residents of this Village overdevelopment and safety and I am fortunate to serve with her we are five completely different people who are all rowing this boat in the same direction the betterment of our village I have learned much from each and every one of my colleagues and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to serve with them will you all please join me and take a moment to give them a heartfelt Round of Applause thank you and now I'd like to take a few minutes to review some of the accomplishments that these individuals have achieved in 2023 the very first item on our agenda last year was the establishment of hybrid access attendance at our Council meetings hybrid access has allowed our residents to attend meetings from the comfort of their own homes at our last work session alone 15 people utilized hybrid access to discuss issues affecting them in our town whether it's because our residents are working late have small children at home or are physically unable to attend the input we receive through hybrid access makes our Council a better Council and consequently our village a better Village hybrid access is emblematic of this council's focus on Resident involvement in this regard one of our most important achievements has been the Improvement in Communications to our residents overall transparency is just a word that people use communication puts transparency into action by actually getting PE information to the people who need it our residents this past year we began a process here we go of getting information to our residents that has never been done before it all started with hybrid access so people could more easily participate in our discussions but then we also improved the Acoustics in our meeting room and moved our meetings to an earlier start time so our residents didn't have to stay up too late to catch the entire meeting and thanks to sh Siobhan winegrad it continued with The Village's new website that went live just a couple of weeks ago our new Village managers focus on Communications and getting information out quickly and accurately these past six months has brought a new dimension to our work and now we will bring be bringing that communication to a new level with the hiring of our communications director Carol Bowski and as Keith said we have restructured an existing position in the manager's office to focus on Communications her Mission will be to get information to our residents quickly and effectively she starts next month and we're very very excited about it and what's next so we hired this new guy maybe you've heard about him his name is ke his name is Keith kasmar and he's our new Village manager and now everything is different he's a premium guy with premium skills he comes to us with over 20 years of experience running municipalities large and small he is practical experienced Dynamic and responsive don't get me wrong I have no idea how Heather Mander was able to handle two of the toughest jobs in our village manager and clerk for so long this Village will for ever be in her debt for her dedication hard work and calm in the eye of every storm but now we have the leadership troa of Keith Heather and Rich calby our director of Ridgewood water and the director of operations with Keith at the helm this team will be running this $60 million Corporation we call the Village of Richwood we now have the best leadership ship team in the state of New Jersey and make no mistake about it leadership is everything but this year we also hired a new police chief chenzo Lions who like his predecessor Jackie ly is making our Police Department one that we can all be proud of you've probably seen him around town he is out in the community every day connecting with our residents and ensuring that our village is one of the safest towns in the country chenzo is another great leader we have serving our community and what's that I just said oh yeah leadership is everything we are raising the bar in who we bring in to run this town in our wonderful Village our Central business district like our amazing schools and treigned neighborhoods are part of the heart and soul of where we live as the world of retail evolves in this Amazon economy navigating a path for our CBD is critical to our success as a community which is why this Council has started on a multi-pronged approach to helping the central business district Thrive for the benefit of the village it started this past summer with the reintroduction of dining Corrals to provide for more outdoor dining in warm weather which we all love and it continued with allowing that outdoor dining to go year round as had been done for many many years so that when we get a warm day in the cooler months we can all get out and enjoy some sunshine with our meal and while we tried to bring back the incredibly popular pedestrian Plaza it didn't go as well as we'd hoped this past summer we'll take another look at it and with the input of our Central business district advisory committee see what we can do to make it work again this was an important time for us I want to point out that this Council has the ability to acknowledge when an idea doesn't go as well as planned we evaluate assess and adjust when the SI situation calls for it and we admit it but we also planted new trees throughout the CBD to make it prettier and are revising our zoning ordinance to make it easier for new businesses to open up in town and with Pamela perin's firm hand on the wheel we are beginning a new Venture something called a special improvement district in our CBD to provide the funding it needs to thrive without burdening our taxpayers at all next up pasas remediation is something we didn't see coming 10 years ago but behind the leadership of of Rich calby we are closing in on putting that issue behind us permanently let me Begin by saying that this isn't a Ridgewood water problem it's a nationwide and worldwide problem Ridgewood water is now more than halfway through the construction of a hundred million posos remediation project that will lower peas to undetectable levels in our water supply undetectable we now have two P Foster mediation facilities online and last year broke ground on two more we are slated to complete the entire project in 2026 when we do Ridgewood water will be the Envy of every water provider in the country that's because new pending Federal Regulations will be lowering the posos standards Nationwide and they will adhere to the standards that we have set here in in Ridgewood in the meantime we've worked with all four towns in the Ridgewood water Community to dramatically reduce water consumption during this past critical summer season by doing so this has helped keep our pasas levels as low as possible until our remediation project is complete next in our tiny little town and in collaboration with the county and PS We paved over 32 miles of roads in 2023 I don't know if that's a record but it is more miles than we have paved in any single year in the last 20 years we are grateful to Chris rudish Houser our village engineer and and his team for this accomplishment that we are all so proud of and that the and that the suspension of my car is incredibly grateful for right now in America there is a national lifeguard shortage that had affected our beloved Gren pool in years past I am proud and happy to say that Graden pool no longer has a lifeguard shortage with a aggressive recruiting and recognizing that the market for lifeguards has changed we adapted to the changing Marketplace and were able to fully staff Gren this past summer and hope to do the same in 2024 our thanks go out to Nancy Bigos and this parks department for their work on this incredibly important project next under the opes of ridgewood's American Legion and with the help of of the nationally renowned designer and architect team of Tess Giuliani and Linn Brady this Council approved the establishment of a gold star Monument to those families who've lost a loved one defending our country its anticipated completion date is September 2024 it will Adorn Van Nest Park as a monument and a moment worthy of the sacrifice these families have made that we can all be proud of and behind the efforts of one of our military family residents Joan monton this past summer our CBD was adorned with banners of Village residents who have served our country it was so successful we are expanding it this year to include even more of the veterans who have called Ridgewood their home but there's more this year the council Al also recognized Jun juneth As A Date to Remember for its significance in the African-American community and our community as a whole and while this recognition is significant as the events of this past weekend commemorating Martin Luther King remind us we have many miles to go before we rest and just in case you might have missed it the council app approved a plan for the property at shedler Park which was acquired way back in 2008 as was the intent of the council that purchased the property at that time the plan includes a much-needed full-sized playing field and a passive Recreation Area approval of this plan has not been an easy task some residents in the neighborhood were not in favor of a full-sized field While others thought the property had Revolutionary War significance out of the resp out of respect for the potential of such historical significance this Council conducted a fullscale archaeological study of the property that study concluded unequivocally that there was no Revolutionary War significance at shedler the need for playing fields in our community however is undeniable unfortunately every one of our major Fields Maple Veterans Field Stevens Field and Stadium Field at the high school are all in the same flood plane as the last few months have shown flooding is getting worse and more frequent the proposed field at shedler Park which is not in a flood plane is essential to the recreation of the thousands of children and adult residents in our town who utilize our Fields every day the last time a full-sized field was brought online in this Village was Maple Park that was 1980 and yet despite the pressing need shedler has been undeveloped for more than 15 years I am proud to say that this council is now moving it forward and we hope to break ground later this year building this field in this location is truly a once in a generation opportunity that we cannot afford for to miss so in a nutshell those are the highlights of 2023 but we have lots more in the agenda for 2024 this Council has recognized as priorities the construction of sidewalks on West Glenn Avenue the repair of the Footbridge on Kingsbridge Lane the renovation of the bus station and pedestrian tunnel in our Central business district lots more Paving projects and the passage of an anti-nepotism ordinance just to name a few as important as any of these priorities will be an effort to formulate a plan with the Army Corps of Engineers to address the growing problem of residential flooding in our community but perhaps our greatest achievement is the establishment of a respectful dialogue here at Village Hall we are all neighbors who want to make this Village that as I've said is the Greatest Town in America even greater but as we know we all have different ideas on how to do that and that's okay that's what our democracy is all about but when we can do it respectfully there is no limit to the accomplishments we can achieve together we can't let every disagreement on an issue turn into a war of personal attacks if we do we can never move forward as I said earlier every me member of this Council and every Council that came before us and will follow us in the years to come are hardworking people who care about their community and are ready to sacrifice the valuable time they spend with their families for the good of their neighbors treating each of them with respect is critical to getting things done and getting good people to serve on the C Council there will always be disagreements on issues large and small the manner in which we disagree however will determine how and if we move forward at all and personally while I am appreciative of those who agree with members of this Council on issues I am especially grateful to those who disagree with us because we can't just hear from those who like what we do we have to be open to those who will will point out to us those things that we may not realize need to be done two excellent examples of that are the much needed sidewalks on West Glenn and the repair of the bridge at Kingsbridge Lane your input as a community has been invaluable to us every day we see the divisiveness that has gripped this nation and ruined so many communities Across America we must all all work together to make sure that never happens here we have come so far this past year let's continue to make the discussion better in our town let's continue to show the country why Ridgewood is the Greatest Town in America thank you all so [Applause] much and now we will continue with our agenda okay there are no um ordinances for um introduction or public hearing for Ridgewood water we're moving to the resolutions for ridgwood water the following resolutions number 24-4 through 24-9 will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by title only authorized withdrawal of bid raw water main phase one contract one connection to Prospect treatment facility reject bid raw water mains F phase one contract one connection to prospect treatment facility award contract raw water mains phase one contract one connection to prospect treatment facility award a contract under ner Cooperative purchasing Alliance emergency and Non-Emergency Mass notification services or contract under North Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing system pic Valley sewage Commission reject bid Lin stop and valve insertion Services may I have a motion so moved second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes the following resolution number 24-10 will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will it will be read by title only authorized temporary capital budget may I have a motion so moved second perin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3981 second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes avanos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3981 by title a bond ordinance providing for the paving of various roads in by the village of Ridgewood in the county of Bergen New Jersey appropriating $2 million therefore and authorizing the issuance of $1,900,000 bonds or notes of the village to finance part of the cost thereof I move that ordinance 3981 be adopted on first reading and that February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parent yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes vagianos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3982 I'm going to recuse myself from this okay so a second I second okay parin yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganas yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3982 by title and Order ordinance to establish regulations for inspections of certain rental dwellings for lead base paint I move that ordinance 3982 be adopted on first reading and that February 14 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes whites yes wad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3983 second parent yes Reynolds yes whites yes monrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3983 by title an ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of Ridgewood vehicles and traffic as section 26538 deposit of money required overtime parking prohibited I move that ordinance 3983 be adopted on first reading and the February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes Vos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3984 second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3984 by title an ordinance to amend salary ordinance 399 fixing the salaries wages and other compensation for White Collar employees and to amend salary ordinance 3908 fixing the salaries wages and other compensation for the blue collar employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey and to amend salary ordinance 3971 fixing salaries wages and other compensation of non-union employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey I move that ordinance 3984 be adopted on first reading and that February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes wiad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3985 second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3985 by title an ordinance to amend chapter 145 fees of the village code for Gren pool membership fees tennis pickle ball membership fees and summer day camp fees I move that ordinance 3985 be adopted on first reading and that February 14 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3986 second perin yes Reynolds yes whites yes lrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3986 by title an ordinance to establish a new chapter of the code of the village of Ridgewood entitled anti-nepotism policy I move that ordinance 3986 be adopted on first reading and that February 14 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3987 second paren yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3987 by title and ordinance to amend chapter three of the code of the village of Ridgewood at section 6 2 entitled alternative hiring civilian titles to establish a new section c entitled entrylevel Police Department hiring I move that ordinance 3987 be adopted on first reading and then February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move to the first reading of ordinance 3988 parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3988 by title and ordinance to amend Chapter 3 of the code of the village of rdwood administration of government at section 3-43 Police Department I move that ordinance 3988 be adopted on first reading and that February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing there on I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes rrad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 3989 second pin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes vagianos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3989 by title and ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of Ridgewood vehicles and traffic at section 26569 time limit parking I move that ordinance 3989 be adopted on first reading and that February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes vagianos yes before we get to the next one I'd like to have a little discussion the next one is talking about General capital for a sanitation truck that is desperately needed um the sanitation department has had a Calamity of errors this year we were down like four trucks and I think three of them went out the last week in December so we're we're in a bad situation um they want to rent a couple of trucks and they want to purchase a truck the truck costs $437,000 approximately so you know we raised taxes 6% last year which is a tremendous amount I I don't know the last time we ever raise taxes that much certainly going back more than than 10 years if not you know longer than that I'm sure so I was trying to think how could we you know creatively not put us in the hole for 2024 with this 400 30 something, right off the bat and I've talked to the you know CFO and there is so last year during the budget meetings this Council decided to put $500,000 into the shedler property at that point a year ago in February I said the money is going to sit there we are not going to use it in 2023 we need to use it for other things I was outvoted so the money did go to shedler but the money has even though it was appropriated it wasn't funded some of the money was spent we have $428,000 left just from that 500,000 we still have $1.9 million there from previous years but I'm just talking about 2023 so we have almost the exact amount that this truck is going to cost and I asked the CF if we could reappropriate the funds and the short answer is yes um that we could cancel it it it would be no no fine to the Village nothing because it hasn't been bonded yet we could just reappropriate it to say a sanitation truck if we need it so I thought that was a great idea I brought it up um to my council members and you know it was said I was grandstanding I always want to use the money from shedler blah blah blah which is true I started last year in February saying this 500,000 should go to the east Glenn sidewalks and if I if we did that last year East Glenn would have their sidewalks already but we didn't and the money has been sitting doing nothing for a year I feel like nothing's going to happen this year in 2024 if it is it's not going to happen till towards the end of the year we have a total of 2.3 million so I believe it is the important the the the right thing for us to do to use part of that money $437,000 to fund this sanitation truck and not further burden our residents at the beginning of 2024 2024 I mean we are just going to go into budget hearings on January 29th we really have no idea what is going to be asked of us this year but I'm sure there's going to be very tough decisions and I think it starts here I think this is a very tough decision we absolutely need this truck but I do not want to burden our residents with $437,000 off the bat when we've had this money sitting in a different location for the past year and have had even more money sitting in that same location for several years before that now is it possible we're going to spend $2.3 million on shedler this year I guess it's possible but I think it's highly unlikely and I think we have to make a decision and we H in my opinion at least I have to go with our our our safety of our residents our health of our residents the you know the sanitation we we need a garbage truck we can't live without a garbage truck so I'll stop now I know everybody else is going to chime in but I also just want to tell anybody who's listening who's watching please stay tuned for the budget meetings speak up come down tell us where you want your tax dollars spent please last year we had very few people come and speak their mind this is It's Your Right to come and tell us how you feel how you think we should be spending your tax dollars so January 29th 5:00 pm is the first meeting thank you thanks lorine yeah no I I'll I'll be brief on this what we need to do here is put the good of the village ahead of politics um we absolutely we do agree we absolutely need a garbage truck there's no doubt all of us receive phone calls um I believe from Heather explaining the dire need this is absolutely this has to happen the idea of using an alternate source of funding was first raised to me about 90 minutes ago um to delay the purchase of this truck and potentially um not be able to pick up garbage um in order to make a political statement is it's just not in the best interest of the Village um I think what we're doing here is we're conflating issues um we're trying to use the need for a garbage truck to raise again issues around shedler which we've discussed at length we have agreements and disagreement on on on that and this just seems to be a somewhat inconvenient time to now use this as a cudgle to raise this issue once again it's the second time this argument has been raised um I feel like if you know we're going to go by office supplies the question will be asked well why don't we just use shedler money to buy office supplies um you know they're very different issues they're they're two different things that we can conflate and I think the idea of now potentially holding up a garbage truck which everyone agrees that we need in order to make a political statement is just not in the best interest of the of the um village and I certainly will be voting in favor of making sure that the villagers have um service from having their garbage picked up and ensuring that we don't have any issues with our sanitation department sure so um I want to say a couple things um one this is odd to me because this is a voting meeting and we did discuss this with the director of DPW and Rich last week two I was not party to any mean-spirited conversations with councilwoman Reynolds discussing this this is the first I'm hearing of it I was not at the pre-meeting just to be clear this is not a Calamity of errors this is a requirement for a public health for a division that in my opinion this Council myself included Short change last year and when we talk about the budget this year we all because Evan and I were new last year should have an idea of what capital items we're willing to vote on and I want to reiterate some of the ones I think were in agreement last year we owed Sean Hamlin and his division a million dollars worth of garbage trucks that is in all of our notes we all felt bad about it we've all gone on the record that was something as a new council person that was a difficult decision for me because we only have about $7 million of capital and it was unfortunate at that time that we couldn't move forward with it there's also the un fortunate situation that is not a Calamity of errors it's that we've pushed them too far and prior councils and us last year failed to invest in that Department's Capital infrastructure so I want to be clear we all knew last year we owed him a million dollars worth of garbage trucks the second thing is that out of last year's Capital there's definitely a clear consensus at least for me and the public that we owe the residents of Ridgewood a bridge and a million dollars of sidewalks that you've advocated for heavily lra so I think as we go into the budget for me being new um I have a pretty good idea where at least $3 million of capital is going um similar to Evans Point bonding is significant you know Bond lawyers no offense to bond lawyers in general take about 5% right off the reason that the bond lawyer does take a percentage off the top no I realize that but we haven't bonded this money so it would cost us yes but when we Bond money we pay 5% off of it so so I want to make sure that the public understands that and that money that we've earmarked for a park that's been long overdue until we develop the park there's $7 million that's been sitting for approximately 10 years that we failed to return to the citizens of Bridgewood that is our second largest Capital effort right now second to water so we need to make that a priority and we will this year um and lastly prior to my time on here um Evan and I were both very dismayed with you know the onetime spend of covid relief we received $2.6 million in covid relief and I have news for you garbage trucks would have been good because they serve every single one of the residents here so I want to thank Shan and the DPW and I hope everybody Echoes this we've voted them two garbage trucks since the first day that Evan and I joined here so I'm going to vote Yes for this I have no idea why we're having a discussion on a voting meeting but I plan on voting yes and ensuring that our staff is safe and that people have their garbage picked up and we all know how I feel about garbage okay yes I would say councilwoman Reynolds puts forward a plausible argument however as uh Sean Hamlin explained to us with so few trucks they are having to make repeat trips and I am concerned about our employees safety and for that reason I'm not in favor of of um redirecting money I just want to get this done and um In fairness to Lorraine um when we discussed this last week at the work session we left here with the impression that we were only leasing two trucks we were not talking about buying a truck at that time it kind of got lost in the conversation and our village manager reached out to us during the week to um clarify so this was the first opportunity that she's had to raise this um that being said um this project as I said earlier has waited more than 15 years um I cannot support anything that could endanger it being delayed another 10 minutes and so we're not exactly sure how much it's going to cost to build this park um so we need to keep that funding in place in the event that as we hope we break ground this year and we spend that money um Siobhan is absolutely right we owe Sean Hamlin and the and the U Solid Waste Department a million dollars and and a couple of garbage trucks and it it's like Sean is at the door with his hand out saying time to pay me because he told us this was going to happen and he was absolutely right um uh but something I do agree with Loren on completely is at the last two years budget meetings that I have been here there have been many moments when there was not a single person in the audience not one this is where we decide how we're going to spend $60 million if that's not a time for residents to attend then I don't know what time is is that's where the whole year is laid out we need to hear from you I said it before I'll say it again it is as as as Lorraine said speak up come down it's your right and I'll take it one step further it's your responsibility it's your money we all talk about the weight of taxes that's when the taxes are decided come on down and with that mayor if I may just for clarification purposes because I want the public to have full disclosure here so we are leasing the vehicles that were discussed last week in addition to that during the course of that discussion Sean had acknowledged that there was a vehicle that was available for purchase in an effort to try to avoid any long wait times or having to order a sanitation truck Heather myself rich cby and Shan Hamlin sort of caucused after that meeting and we made the decision to to pull the governing body to see if it was wise to not only lease the vehicles that we so desperately need but also to make this purchase now so that we aren't in a on a list somewhere waiting to uh be able to procure a sanitation truck so I just want to be clear that we are doing both but it is inherently inherently needed yeah and and and and I don't believe and correct me if I'm wrong you you didn't mean to say it was a Calamity of Errors was it was a situation of a lot of things that went wrong WR at the same time no one made an error and I know you meant that but I just want to be clear no one could predict that we'd have this many trucks down simultaneously right although although I think Sean might have predicted it a year ago um and he might have actually said it but be that as it may with that um I move the first reading of ordinance 3990 second pin yes Reynolds the first reading okay Whit yes windrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 3990 by title a bond ordinance providing for the acquisition of a rearload packer garbage truck in and by the village of rdwood in the county of Bergen New Jersey appropriating $437,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of $45,600 bonds or notes of the village to finance part of the coost there of I move that ordinance 3990 be adopted on first reading and that February 14th 2024 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion parin yes Reynolds I just want to clarify um that I did hear about this on Thursday afternoon I called the CFO Friday morning we spoke he would for whatever reason he couldn't talk he said I have to has to hold off till next week I only got his answer this afternoon that's when I knew that it actually could work what I was thinking so that that's why it it wasn't brought up before then and on another clarification if we voted no on this tonight we could have a special public meeting to appropriate the funds it wouldn't delay anything it would you know so we could do it if people wanted to do it so I'm G to say no whites we need the truck right away reopening the shedler argument to delay getting a a trash a garbage truck for us doesn't make any sense to me it's not in the best interest of the village I absolutely vote in favor of this uh of this ordinance as requested by Solid Waste windrad yes and vaganis yes I move the clerk read ordinance 3978 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be open second second paron yes Reynolds yes whites yes wira yes and vaganos yes will the clerk please read the the title of ordinance 3978 and ordinance to amend chapter 212 of the code of the village of Bridgewood Parks and Recreation areas at article 6 section 22-24 definitions and section 212-2 Vehicles prohibited exceptions Mr Rogers our village attorney has spoken with psng and they would like to have this ordinance worded differently the change to be made is a substantive change so ordinance 3978 will be defeated this evening and a revised version will be introduced in the future the public hearing for ordinance 3978 was advertised for this evening so anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance may do so at this time the public hearing is now open good evening mayor and councel boy a ling 342 South Irving Street uh just to confirm with the clerk Miss mander the ordinance that is being heard tonight is the same ordinance that was advertised on December 22nd 20 23 uh this is it was it was introduced in December so yeah it's the one that was advertised in December okay um first of all I would like to thank the manager and Mr Rogers I had communicated some of my concerns about this ordinance to them and they have acted on them um I will say that I am very disappointed this ordinance was even introduced because I had communicated some concerns about this prior to the introduction of the ordinance yet it was introduced anyway the my major concern was that six of the properties that are advertised in this ordinance are owned privately by Public Service Electric and Gas they are not village properties yet they are included for some reason as park lands and recreational lands as the ordinance is written didn't understand that at all and I also didn't understand when I spoke to Mr Rogers why the owner of the property had not been contacted prior to my concerns being expressed that there were ordinances that were going to be introduced that were going to be affecting their property so again I thank Mr Rogers for acting on my concerns and contacting the property owner regarding this uh there are some other issues with this ordinance that uh seem very critical to me uh one of them in particular is that the Village Hall property and the librarian property are included in the ordinance and it specifically states that the only reason that you can come into the parking lot is to park your car there are many other reasons that you would enter this parking lot that are legitimate you could enter the parking lot to drop off your children at vets field a delivery truck could be entering the parking lot so there are a number of things about this ordinance that really need to be taken a very close look at um one of the properties that is being advertised in the ordinance or being met specified in the ordinance is the right of way that is between North Irving Street and Ridgewood Avenue which is the property that for some reason even though it's unlawful people are allowed to park there for athletic events so I would remind the council that when you were revising this ordinance coming up with the new ordinance you need to think about whether you are going to allow parking there or not it is unlawful to park there now but yet people are parking there every weekend when there is a athletic event for some reason the police are not enforcing it I don't know whether they're not enforcing it based upon an order from somewhere but if you are going to permit parking there or want to permit parking there don't include that piece of property in this ordinance because this ordinance basically says that you cannot park there so I'm looking forward to taking a look at the the revised ordinance as I said my major concern was that there are private properties six of them that are on this and the owner of those properties was not contacted until I express my concern about whether or not the owner was notified and as it turns out the owner had some concerns about the way the ordinance was being written so I'm glad that I spoke up thank you very much and again I'm looking forward to seeing the revised version of this thank you Boyd anyone else seeing no one I'm going to close public comment I'm going to excuse me I'm going to close the public hearing second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganis yes I move that ordinance 3978 be defeated second parin yes a yes vote is to defeat pin yes Reynolds yes whites yes windrad yes and Vos yes I move move the clerk read ordinance 3979 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 3979 an ordinance to establish a new chapter entitled Village of Ridgewood historian the public hearing is now open seeing no one I move the public hearing be closed second Haron yes Reynolds yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move that ordinance 3979 be adopted on second reading and final publication as required by law I second the motion paron yes Reynolds no whites yes winegrad yes and I say thank you and congratulations to Sarah geir and V Janos yes I move the clerk read ordinance 3980 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened I second parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes lrad yes Vos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 3980 an ordin instrument chapter 190 of the code of the village of Ridgewood land use and development at section 190106 R3 single family residence District the public hearing is now open seeing no one I move the public hearing be closed second I move the ordinance hold on pen yes Reynolds yes whites Yes W grad yes and vaganos yes I move at ordinance 39 80 be adopted on second reading and final publication as required by law I second the motion parin yes Reynolds yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes the following resolutions numbered 24-11 through 24-30 will be adopted by consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council each resolution will be read by title only authorized tax assessor tax collector to file appeals and or settlement stipulations adopt 2024 temporary budgets award contract under County contract janitorial cleaning services award contract under Source ball Cooperative purchasing program rental of two rearload Packer garbage trucks award Professional Services contract land surveying Services retainer authorized shared services agreement removal of trees on County Roads Bergen County authorized Shar Services agreement school resource officer not to exceed $100,000 rwood Board of Education authorize shared services agreement for the services of a health officer with MAA authorized shared services agreement TV inspection of sewer Mains Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority not to exceed 92 cents per foot minimum payment of $500 a day authorized Bergen County Police Chiefs Association Mutual Aid plan and Rapid deployment Force declare property Surplus adopt form for not notice of tort claims certify compliance with federal civil rights requirements accept donation purchase of public shade trees appoint joint Insurance Fund commissioner appoint public agency compliance officer appoint members to Zoning Board of adjustment appoint additional members to special improvement district steering Comm committee appoint members it does say green Ridgewood it is actually Green Team um and the people are correct and we will confirm the um term of office however um it is the people who are listed will be appointed as well as a student intern which does have an actual correct date of expiration appoint members to open space Recreation farmland and historic preservation committee may I have a motion so moved second parin uh one of these resolutions was accepting a $1,000 donation from councilwoman Siobhan winegrad $1,000 to the Ridgewood shade tree commission and I wanted to thank her for that um and with that yes I vote the following resolutions number 24-31 and 24-32 will be considered separately and read in Full Resolution 24-31 whereas The Village Council of the village of Ridgewood adopted ordinance number 3979 to establish the position of Village historian who shall assist in preserving celebrating and enhancing the long and detailed history of the village of Ridgewood awas the ordinance states that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood shall appoint the village historian to take office on January 1st 2024 and every fifth year thereafter and whereas the ordinance explains that the individual who currently holds the position of local history librarian in the boulder Heritage Center of the Ridgewood Public Library may be appointed by The Village Council as a village historian now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does here by appoint Sarah kefir the current local history librarian in the boulder Heritage Center of the viral Public Library as a village historian for a term of five years which shall begin on 20 sorry January 1st 2024 and shall end on December 31st 2028 or upon her separation from the position of local history librarian in the boulder Heritage Center of the Ridgewood Public Library I have a motion so moved second okay paren yes Reynolds no whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes okay one sec resolution number 24-32 be resolved by The Village Council of the village of Ridgewood that Julia Buckley Liz clo and Richard Brooks are hereby appointed to the parks recreation and conservation board for three-year terms which I'll expire December 31st 2026 to be a further resolve that these appointments be made effective immediately may have a motion so moved second parin yes Reynolds No Whit yes wad yes and vagianos yes we're done with our agenda and so now we will go back to public comment a good evening again mayor and Council boy a loving 342 South Irving Street just a comment I'm a little bit puzzled about 24-24 and why Miss winegrad voted on that when her name is included in it thank you did if you want me to respond certainly it's not a conflict to vote on that there's uh an offer to uh give a gift and uh certainly something that she supports because she's making the gift there so there really isn't a conflict with regard to that I'd also like to add there's no conflict I am not a voting member of shade tree it's a gift and it was disclosed so there's there's no conflict ready ready thank you oie 542 West Saddle River Road I just wanted to quickly read something that I posted on um social media about Martin Luther King day and you know it's not just a day off it's a day of deep reflection for many people and I think it's a great time for Inward and out outward reflection and maybe to change behavior and really see how our actions affect everyone in our community and the world Martin Luther King Jr's Dream speech was a call for equality it identified the faults of America and what measures were needed to make a make it a better place and you know I think when when um obviously I live in the shedler neighborhood so um you know when I listen to the conversation and the achievements from the past year I would like to add a few things to that timeline the shedler neighbors asked to meet with a number of you and you complied so for that I would say thank you however I don't believe and I mean this from the bottom of my heart please do not take offense I don't think you actually listened so you know I why I don't know because over 400 people signed a petition saying they did not want the overdevelopment of a sports field in a small neighborhood where we can barely drive safely down the street now and we've had two children hit by cars um other towns are implementing something called Vision zero that might be something you want to look into um safety is a major concern um a number of you moved forward and you know continued to talk to Turf vendors we told you we have private wells in that neighborhood so we can't talk about Martin Luther King and equality and say all these great things are happening and we are patriotic and we love everybody in Ridgewood when you actually are not showing us any of that love you listen to all these people 15 I believe last week call in and cry and beg and plead about the flooding and now their tax dollar you know like their homes are not going to be worth what they were and you know many of the people in the shedler neighborhood are also worried that when they can't drive down the street and every single one of those little offshoot streets are culdesac so there are many many many homes and if you look at the map of that whole shedler area almost every single neighbor signed the petition we asked you for a small field we asked you for a grass field you had the head of green Ridgewood the chair of green Ridgewood asking you to sit with him so that he could talk to you about Turf artificial or Eco as Pam said it's greenwashing so you can't take money from various entities and sustainability and all that those great buzzwords which really sound great and then you're not walking the talk so as Keith said last week he would never prioritize a ball field over people some of you have and I mean that in the most respectful way possible the way you have treated the shedler neighbors is not fair and it's a crime against humanity and and I'm really sorry that you know you didn't see that any of what we had to say was important and we basically ripped our hearts out and served a on a silver platter so thank you very much for listening and maybe just maybe you will dig deep and reconsider some of the options that you are planning for that shedler land thank you thank you Cynthia good evening again uh Ann loving 342 South Irving Street a couple of comments first of all regarding the train tunnel I'm happy that uh mirrors may be put in I actually looked up the price of them on Amazon um earlier this week and they're pretty inexpensive um it strikes me as really odd when we're trying to reduce taxes that you've hired somebody to help redevelop the train tunnel I mean I don't think it needs Redevelopment I don't think it needs money spent on uh um somebody to design it I mean a couple gallons of paint probably now and then and mirrors and lights just my opinion regarding what councilwoman Reynolds said about the truck I think it was really unfair to suggest that she was doing this for political reasons one thing we can say for sure about councilwoman Reynolds is she's not a politician she's serving the people she's not a politician we could get this truck right away tomorrow using that money to suggest that her suggestion would delay getting the truck is ridiculous because bonding it you've got to have another hearing you've got to go out for the bond and so on we could get we could order the truck tomorrow with councilwoman Reynolds plan so it's really political to suggest that she was trying to delay the purchase of the truck so there's so much smoke and mirrors coming from this St is regarding the tree donation people donate trees a lot I know people who have donated trees I do not know of any time when a resolution was read reading the name of the donor that seems political to me that that happened tonight thank you thank you an anyone else in the audience no I just let's go to i' just like to quickly respond when we're done when we're done we'll respond to everything um uh we have someone on hybrid access Susan you're up um hi um hi again um Susan Rowan 705 Kingsbridge Lane um I listen to most of the meeting tonight and I just want to um I want to politely correct the mayor um in regards to the last field that was built in Ridgewood it was not Maple in 1980 it was hper nickel which was built in 201 um2 the only difference is hper nickel does not have lights which I know the Maroons complained about tremendously but that's because the residents didn't want lights um okay and I I commend the r Ridgewood for Paving so many roads but West Saddle River Road hasn't been repaved for 30 years and I would like to know any other Road in Ridgewood that hasn't been repaved for 30 years and I know um The Village mayor I mean the village manager has promised us to be have it repaved in 20 um 24 so I really hope that um comes true and as for the accomplishments and I'm really not trying to sound nasty when I say this but does that accomplishments also um include broken c campaign promises from the newest um Village Council Members because both sent out and promised to honor the shedler 2017 plan but as soon as they took office they um did a bait and switch um so I don't know if you you would include that in your um accomplishments because I really do think um a bait and switch isn't is something that should be um you know put down as well um thank you for your time bye thank you Susan seeing no one else I'm going to close public comment and I just have two things to say first Susan to your remark uh excuse me to your comment about um Hackle being the last field that was put online you're absolutely right what I said was a full-sized field Maple was the last fullsize field so I just want to clarify um and Cynthia you are always respectful when you come up here and we appreciate that every time you and I have had that conversation out on the street and we do appreciate that I do beg to differ I was the very first one who came to sit with the neighbors the very first one that I did not agree with your position does not mean that I did not listen I listened I listened for hours I discussed I commented and I told you my reasonings and what I thought to say that I didn't listen is inaccurate um and and while you are always respectful to say that building a field that you don't want in your neighborhood is a crime against humanity maybe that went a little far what we see going on in Gaza may be a crime against humanity The Taking of the hostages a crime against humanity building a field is something you feel strongly about and you have very solid reasons for that but I think that that's the kind of thing that we don't want to use that here in this room that's all I have anyone Siobhan I know you sure yeah I I several things um any gift has to be publicly disclosed by resolution uh in addition to being a council member I am a citizen so it could be if I had a planning board application if I was putting an addition on my house and didn't disclose it that would not be above board so the donation is disclosed when we receive donations from groups it's disclosed and it's just to show the community that the Don is coming in so it's all above board and it's not seen as undue influence because in addition to being council member I am a resident um with respect to the train station the train station has um some different lines there but it is historic the train station in Ridgewood is governed by not only Ridgewood but um the state historic preservations office and conell and hickey is the same firm that we've utilized for the um the historic shedler house and they will be beneficial in helping us restore it making sure we're in historical guidelines and I think it's money well spent we do need help with that and prior councils have always heavily relied on these so that's good with respect to shedler I want to at at the point of being redundant in the original plan from the ad hoc committee was Turf there were multiple residents from the shedler neighborhood the recommendation Not only was Turf but a specific branded Turf called coolplay and there was no dissent there was no disagreement prior councils put budgets forth there has been budgeting how we got to this point where there was so much funding is that the funding was for Turf so the 2017 plan regarding Turf there is no switch from Evan and I the plan was Turf it was approved as turf it was noted a public record is Turf and the neighborhood had specific members of the neighborhood on the committee so I just I want to be clear on that one thing I do understand that the the small-sided has been changed and that's simply because the flooding has changed during our campaign season in 2021 we saw massive flooding in the state of New Jersey and that was a game Cher because if we were going to spend the money we need a long-term plan for the assets that are here we so yes did I change my mind on the size absolutely because the village needs long-term planning but I want to I want to say it and say it again the 2017 plan it was widely adopted had massive input from the public and the community was Turf and it went as far as to recommend a vendor and a specific brand and everybody else up here funded it because that was fully funded across other bonds Evan and I the most we've moved towards shedler is 500,000 so I understand that people I am listening I'm available for you but I I don't know how that fact keeps coming up that we've switched it from grass to Turf it was always Turf and I you know I know we disagree on this for all the reasons we voted yes for Turf they were the same reason then you know so I just want to be clear there was no switch from grass to Turf in my campaign I also want to plan light acknowledge that I did change my commitment to the size of the field because of the persistent flooding that we've seen so I hope that helps anyone else yes um I read the proposal from the ad hoc committee at page 10 to say potentially Turf not definitely Turf so I think that was left up in the air we read it differently I also would like to point out that Mahmud Hamza donated um thousands of dollars toward at least $1,000 doll towards a tree or a couple of trees and um we want to encourage that kind of charitable donation and um our our CFO says that in order for a generous donor to um take a tax deduction for that charitable donation there must be a resolution and that's why I followed that when I made a donation and there was a resolution with my name on it and I think that is true for any Resident the only thing I can add is i' it's been explained both by sioban and by Pam it is the practice to accept monetary donations with the identification of the donor unless a donor wants to be completely specifically Anonymous with regard to it and even then we have to make uh a statement that they don't have any pending items before any of the boards or committees in the village so it's common practice oh the other thing is with respect to The Pedestrian tunnel there are several things that need to be fixed it is not just a coat of paint um there's brick work that has to be redone and made to match the existing 100y old brick work and also take a look at the ceilings um there are leaks there's substantial amount of of restoration and if Redevelopment is the word I'm not offended by that um and also at this point in time we have a donor who is willing to give us all the paint provided that we have an artistic uh uh um treatment of the hallway down there and that does have to be dealt with to um to harmonize with the historic designation of the tunnel and um last go round we found that New Jersey Transit does not own it and does not have a say in that so if if mayor I may um just to expound a little bit on what the deputy mayor said Miss Loving You indicated that you travel through that pedestrian tunnel frequently it's hard to miss the um wood structure that's holding up the structural side of the tunnel when you enter from the west side so as the deputy mayor indicated there is more going on here than the aesthetic piece um as you know we've talked about I've talked about shipo more in the last six months than I had my entire career before coming to Ridgewood so we all know that the as Siobhan indicated that the uh train station and the tunnels um are in need of approval for any type of work element that we do um there by the state preservation office so we need to deal with structural issues at that location um I want to stress to people there is no danger it's shorted up it's been looked at by engineering engineering monitors that area frequently um my fact Chris rues haser was the person who introduced me to those tunnels initially um but um you know we have some structural long-term structural issues that we have to deal with we also have ADA compliance that we have to deal with there uh the ramps that currently exist at The Pedestrian um tunnel um underneath the train station are not Ada adequate for today's standards um we need a longer Runway um and we're working through those discussions uh with Conley and hickey and we'll continue to do so as we're moving forward so there is a lot more than a coat of paint uh that's needed um Under The Trestle there um in addition and I was reluctant to bring this up under the uh first public comment in response to uh but I did reach out to a um friend of mine who is uh a consultant uh with FEMA and um with the blue Acres Program to answer Susan's question there is no Municipal approval that's necessary for residents to apply to the blue Acres Program I know the deputy mayor mentioned that at the end of last week's meeting um there is some correspondence that we received from Blue Acres yesterday we are going to push that out um but I I just hope that no resident feels that they need to look to the town in order to apply for blue Acres relief if they are interested in even open up opening up a dialogue with no final decision made about potentially selling their home to that program returning that plot of land to open space the arduous thing about that is if a resident does go through that that property does become open space in perpetuity and it becomes The Village's responsibility to maintain it um but we have no say at the onset if any Resident in New Jersey wants to apply uh for a blue Acres flood buyout so I just wanted to make that clear with regard to that topic um it I did did invite residents to let me know if you are interested in selling your house because we have a flood acquisition plan whereby the village could reimburse uh homeowners for the fair market value and that's a separate program from from Blue acres and the program that the the deputy mayor is referring to are two I think they both serve substantially the same goal um of buying out and returning uh plots of land to open space uh where there's repetitive loss uh but the blue Acres Program again just sent out corresponden this week and we'll push that out to the public in the coming days I apologize if I confused anybody but and also it is entirely voluntary for whoever wants to be a seller and I just want to say one more thing to my fellow council members because shade Tre is going to make me say this donations are always welcome from all four of you because they're coming we've done our internal budgeting and I know that we always tell them no next year so donations are a wonderful way to offset giving them less than what they want this year nothing like peer pressure yeah there are other people on this day es Keith just so you know anyone else or shall we call it a night let's may have a motion to adjourn so moved second all in favor I anyone opposed okay thank you okay I have to call Chuck anyway