here mayor valan here will you all please join us in a salute to our flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible
with liberty and justice for all sorry I move that the Village Council minutes of January 6th January 8th and January 15th 2025 having been reviewed by The Village
Council and now available in the village clerk's office be approved as submitted I second mimer yes pin yes because it is just amazing that the clerk's office has gotten so caught up on these minutes and
I'm really proud of you you you took the words right out of my mouth I was thinking exactly the same thing whites yes lrad yes I'm just going to can everybody in the audience hear me I'm on a different mic no can you hear me better
now okay well I'm going to vote uh yes with the exception that I wasn't here on January 6 but I did review them and they seem complete thank you heather okay andos get a vote on the minutes yes all right resolution number 2
5-13 I'll read it in full be resolved by The Village Council of Village of Ridgewood that Jennifer NATO B and she is hereby appointed Deputy Village Clerk of the village of Ridgewood effective January 6 2025 may have a motion so moved
second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos with great pleasure yes and now we get to do something really fun so we're coming down to the well everybody come on up this is a
wear in our new Deputy clerk uh who has been with us for a while and we are so fortunate to have her as our new Deputy clerk so we have a Bible and would you hold the Bible place your left hand on the Bible
no not yours that was a good one and raise your right hand please and would you repeat after me I Jennifer Natoli I Jennifer to 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 faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform all of
the duties and justly perform all of the duties of the office of Deputy Village Clerk of the office of Deputy Village Clerk according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God
congratulations and now and now as you know there's lots of paperwork you have to sign or it's not official you're telling me to sign for once yes yes no no no no over here up here
she probably drew it up today by the way herself great Jen we are so happy to have you on board and we're really looking forward to many years of you working with Heather to get all this really important paperwork and issues done for the village and we really appreciate it thank you I'm I'm thrilled
to take this position and um I look forward to many years of working together together and contributing great thanks again [Applause] always a nice part of the night and now we have several
proclamations so we have one for r Across America Frank shall I start please do all right so the um the read Across America is on March 2nd and that's to celebrate Dr Seuss's birthday and while we're familiar with Dr Seuss
as an author I was excited to read this because there's also a New Jersey connection to Dr Seuss he also had an imprint where he published other books so how many people know go Dog go or are you my mother those were written by PD Eastman who was a longtime Leonia
resident so it's doubly happy to read this because of the New Jersey connection whereas the National Education Association read cross America day will be conducted on March 2nd 2025 as a national celebration of reading and
the birthday of Theodore Seuss geel better known as Dr Seuss and whereas re Across America New Jersey will be observed Statewide by the New Jersey Education Association in partnership with the New Jersey state League of municipalities the New Jersey Library
Association and their local affiliates across the state to promote reading and adult involvement and education in our community students and whereas the citizens of the village of Ridgewood stand firmly committed to promoting reading as the Catalyst for our students
future academic success their preparation for America's jobs of the future and their ability to compete in a global economy and whereas the village of Ridgewood has provided significant leadership in our area of community involvement in the education of our
youth grounded in the principle that educational investment is the key to the community's well-being and long-term quality of life now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood calls on the citizens of the village of Ridgewood to
assure that every child is in a safe place reading together with a caring adult on March 2nd 2025 and be it further resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood enthusiastically endorses the nea's read
Across America day and recommits the village of Ridgewood to engage in programs and activities to make Americans children the best readers in the world thank you Frank and now we have another Proclamation for super science Saturday
which just to keep the alliteration going why don't we have syaban read it so whereas March 1st 2025 is the 36th annual super science Saturday which is a CommunityWide Family Fair dedicated to the idea that science is both exciting
and fun and whereas this event is built as quote the green greatest science extravaganja in northern New Jersey end quote and whereas more than 1,000 science lovers from Ridgewood and surrounding communities will flop to Rood High School to see a host of
science exhibits workshops and demonstrations and whereas students from all of Ridgewood schools will be participating in the Hall of Science and whereas the super science Saturday appeals to everyone from the Casual Observer to the
aspiring scientist sparking an interest in students adults and organizations wishing to further explore their passion and whereas some of the events will include science circus presented by Liberty Science Center exhibits from
Brooklyn robot Foundry Thomas Edison National Historic Park the ridgwood police fire and EMS and many many more whereas this annual event was started over 30 years ago by award-winning science teacher Mr Wallace Jim Wallace
to encourage families to share their scientific interest and talents and is now run by a parents Committee of dedicated volunteers and whereas this invaluable service to our youth has become a Hallmark of Good Will and cooperation now therefore be it resolved
that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does hereby Proclaim March 1st 2025 as super science Saturday in the village of Ridgewood and invites science enthusiasts of all ages to come to rwood high school to join in the festivities thank you
Shon and I'm now going to read a proclamation for Dad's night days which by the way super science Saturday and Dad's night are two of the reasons that this really is the Greatest Town in America because just the needest stuff
happens here and I am uh I am a proud but embarrassed sometimes of Dad's night Alum um it was one of my best experiences here in town since I got here so whereas the village of Ridgewood
Treasures its children and whereas our school system supports and nurtures our children and whereas dad's night has helped our schools by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over the the past 80 years and whereas dad's night is
dedicated to providing this service to The Village's children and whereas this year's event will be titled dad's night 881 dad boys now therefore the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does
hereby Proclaim Friday March 14th 2025 and Saturday March 15th 2025 as dad's night 81 dad boys at h Elementary School in the village of Ridgewood in honor of all the dads here this this evening as
well as all of those who have volunteered before them oh excuse me and that should be because we have two separate proclamations but I will just combine them it is H and Somerville elementary
schools and so with that we will move on and our next Proclamation is to Proclaim March American Red Cross month Pam would you do the honors yes I will but just going back to Dad's night isn't it being performed at Ben Franklin it is okay but
it is but it is um it is uh for the dads from H and H and and Sumer whereas the American Red Cross was established in 1881 and chartered by
Congress in 1905 to act in times of emergencies and whereas the American Red Cross is one of the nation's oldest and most recognized humanitarian organizations spanning more than 140 years and spread across nearly
200 countries and whereas the Red Cross born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination through its strong network of volunteers donors and partners is always there in times of need and whereas the American Red Cross
aims to prevent and relieve suffering with its every action the Red Cross shelters feeds and provides Comfort to people affected by disasters supplies about 40% of the nation's blood teaches skills that save
lives distributes humanit humanitarian Aid and supports veterans military members and their families and whereas in 1943 President Franklin deleno Roosevelt issued the first Red Cross month proclamation to honor local
community Heroes who help who help to ensure their neighbors never face crisis alone and whereas the Red Cross encourages everyone to join the annual Celebration by giving blood volunteering
or taking a lifesaving skills course now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does hereby Proclaim March 2025 as American Red Cross month in the village of Ridgewood thank you Thank you
Pam and our final Proclamation is a really critical one it's proclaiming March as colal Cancer Awareness Month Evan thanks so much Paul whereas coloral cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States claiming more than 50,000
American lives each year and is a major health concern for families in New Jersey and all and of all cancer death and people under 50 coloral cancer is number one in men and number two in women and whereas coloral cancer is preventable and treat able and about 55%
of chal cancer and death colal cases and deaths can be attributed to modifiable risk factors such as certain diets physical inactivity smoking and drinking alcohol and whereas in February 2000 President Clinton designated March as National col rectal cancer month to
raise the profile of this disease and encourage screening as many as a third of people who can are not being screened allowing colal cancer a chance to grow and become more dangerous long before symptoms appear whereas the New Jersey cancer education and early detection
program provides comprehensive education Outreach early detection case management screening and followup in all 21 counties whereas New Jersey Statewide Camp campaign to end coloral cancer encourages individuals organizations and health professionals in New Jersey to collaborate and partner on screening and
educational awareness initiatives and whereas this campaign is being conducted through the njc Eed program in the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services with the overall mission of reducing the in incidents and deaths of coloral cancer increasing coloral cancer awareness and prevention behaviors
developing support Partnerships and extending and reinforcing the core message for Behavioral change now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council the village of Ridgewood does hereby Proclaim March 2025 as coloral Cancer Awareness Month in the village of Ridgewood New Jersey and urges our residents to educate
themselves about and be screened for coloral cancer thank you Evan and now let's go to public comment Amy I'm not sure that that's on could you just check to see if there's a green light at the base at the
base oh hello much better awesome um good evening Amy M Cambridge Ridgewood residents um Frank I love how you bought off Dr Seuss um I suggest that everyone should start with reading The Lorax because it's a tale of environmental
stewardship and that brings me to I want to talk about nature nature is the greatest healer long before prescriptions and modern medicine the Earth provided everything we ever needed clean air fresh water and natural remedies for children nature is even more powerful it strengthens their
immune systems it reduces stress and improves their ability to focus and learn but with every tree that we cut down and every Green Space we pave over in every artificial turf field we install we are stealing something Priceless from them artificial turf does not heal it harms it emits toxins traps
dangerous Heat and suffocates the very ground that should be giving life it's not a solution it's a sacrifice one that prioritizes shortterm convenience over long-term health and now after the contamination at shedler was exposed not by The Village Council who said it was
completely safe but by concerned citizens we are at another cross roads you've admitted now only after the njd got involved that the contaminated soil was used to construct the burn that was a failure and oversight somewhere in the village council's leadership yet there
has been zero accountability and now in addressing that failure the proposed plan is to tear up every tree every plant and all existing life only to replace it with artificial turf that's not a solution that's a further betrayal again of our duty to this community and the en
ironment I also ask you to talk about the $2.6 million that has been put into this property let me remind you there's no price when it comes to the destruction of nature there is no amount of money that justifies replacing a living breathing ecosystem with plastic and rubber no dollar figure makes up for
the loss of trees pollinators Frank you should know more than anybody nothing can replace nature and the balance between humans and the environment cleaning up the contamination is now now an obligation thanks to those citizens who
did speak up but your responsibility doesn't end there you don't get to destroy a living ecosystem correct your mistake halfway and then cover it with plastic that is not remediation that is an abandonment of our duty to restore what was lost I find it extremely convenient that the contaminated soil
placed there by this village now so conveniently leads to the tearing up of every tree and all life impacted by the contamination a mistake now being used to justify more destruction cleaning up the contamination does not mean we throw artificial turf on top we need to restore the soil and the ecosystem that
we destroyed this cleanup should not be a gateway to another project that disregards nature for the sake of profit it's an opportunity to make things right that's why to me the only responsible course of action is to put a moratorium on everything until we fully assess the damage that we have done find out
exactly who is responsible for The Dumping of the contaminated soil not just on the BM but over all full 7 Acres and we would ask for an internal investigation we can't move forward with more destruction without fully understanding the consequences of our
actions the only responsible path is true restoration revitalizing the soil replanting native trees and committing to the ren regeneration of the land artificial turf is not substitute for nature shler deserves to heal not be buried by another mistake thank you
thank you Amy anybody else seeing no one we're going to go to our hybrid access Cynthia you're up hi everybody good evening Cynthia o'keef Bridgewood resident you can hear
me okay we can great I wanted to share with the council and for those of you who might not attend ridgewood's Board of Ed meetings um that last week's session Dr Schwarz stated that it's important for the board to make informed decisions and that the Boe are open to
reading any kind of literature in order to make a science based approach and most of the information if you could speak a little more slowly we can hear you I'm having trouble hearing every word though so if you could speak a little more slowly and a little louder too if possible louder is that even a
thing with me gosh I'm usually pretty loud anyway okay so um I attended the Board of Ed meeting and listened to Dr Schwarz talk about a science-based approach that they were taking to artificial turf basically everything that they were
using for educational purposes were derived from the advice from Dr Sarah Evans and the Mount Sinai letter Dr Schwarz went on to say that while they were not going to engage at this time in ripping up the existing Turf he wanted
to make it clear that the only discussions they were currently having um were basically to undertake putting natural Turf playing surfaces at Benjamin Franklin which would be used as an overflow field
Dr Schwarz said that he respected the fact that residents may be concerned about health and well-being where turf was concerned and he thought it was great to have the active engagement from the community in this regard his closing remarks were very
direct and he didn't mince words and said that when we are talking about artificial turf the literature is very clear that artificial turf is made up of chemical comp compounds that are not good for the environment and not good for people to ingest or absorb into
their skin so you know I guess my ask would be that it would be great to have all of you keep an open mind um you know right now we only have Pam as the only person who's really vocally come out and taken a stance against the harmful nature of turf and you know that's a
little sad to me and other people who believe it's harmful um so you know i' just like to remind everybody just like we read that oath to the young lady who's going to become the assistant Village clerk everyone took an oath to faithfully impartially and justly serve
so one can only hope that maybe one day you'll change your stance at some point in the future or that you'll at least keep an open mind to other studies and maybe a presentation that we can put together with real experts who can talk about this and you know perhaps give you
information that you were not armed with before what we don't need from any of our elected officials is you know maybe clever marketing or to have you redirect our attention to a more favorable set of details that support another narrative one narrative that maybe you know leans
towards special interests let's keep that in mind because these decisions are serious and they require your careful attention from all of you so this doesn't only extend to artificial turf but it extends to what Amy was talking about with the terrible soil
contamination the potential remediation and other matters where he health and safety are concerned thank you thank you Cynthia anyone else seeing no one I'm going to close public comment does anyone have any comments from the
de yeah I do I'd like to start by saying that um using uh government agencies both the federal government as well as European government their data is not special interest groups additionally at the last meeting Keith read off the
number of sports um kids playing sports in this town and I think it's not correct to say that the sports is a special interest group when the majority of Ridgewood residents their families have kids playing some sort of sports so I just think that that narrative needs
to be correct and that's it anybody else yeah I just have one thing Cynthia if you're still listening can you send the Tim stamp of um Dr Schwarz statements to the Board of Ed I believe uh we should have those statements read to the fields committee which would be interesting and
I also think that Paul and Evan should touch base in the collaborative meeting as to the statement so if someone could forward the time stamp not not to be lazy I'm not going to watch the whole Board of Ed meeting I'd love to see the statement and then we could bring it to some of our committees and I assume that was the Board of Ed meeting last
Monday um so if you could give us the the date and the time stamp that would be very F because I certainly want to read Dr schwarz's comments and again we going back we did entertain the idea of a panel we've been unable to engage with some of the people who reached out to us
so if anybody else is having success with that Pam and I are running you know the yin and yang on this uh we like to go together to meet with the Eco people but we also want to hear for the detractors together and so we've still been unable to context them unless you
you haven't heard from anybody I have not okay I haven't tried actually everybody good good let's move on manager report and uh our village manager Keith could not be here this evening so Heather yes we are so
fortunate to have her who can step into this role without even blinking twice so mayor Mr kasmar cannot be here tonight as you indicated as his son is swimming in the state tournament semi-finals we have one item to report tonight and some announcements we're currently scheduling
a date weather contingen to remove the bus shelter near vaness square at Dayton Street Public Works will be placing a temporary shelter at that location for now and we will be meeting with the historic preservation commission to review various polygon structures for
placement there council member winegrad has also been in touch with the city of Boston regarding their green roof program at top their bus shelters a concept we are also exploring for the new veness bus stop there will be more discussion on this project but we are
pleased it is finally moving forward and we will have a useful bus shelter for communs I want to give a reminder about snow removal that all sidewalks and residential districts must be removed um all side all snow from sidewalks and residential districts must be removed
within 24 hours of the snow falling uh reminder of garbage pickup during snow and ice events if it is snowing when you leave home in the morning or it is icy please place your garbage cans at the end of your driveway and until you have a clear path to them we appreciate your cooperation in keeping our village
employees safe all Village offices and departments will be closed on February 12th and February 17th in observance of Lincoln's birthday and president day there will be no garbage or recycling pickup and the recycling center will also be closed on these days please
check your village calendar for garbage and recycling pickups for these two weeks as they will change due to the holidays February is American Heart month the Ridgewood health department will be hosting a blood drive on February 28th from 12:00 noon to 6:00
p.m. at Village Hall in the youth Lounge on level 1 to sign up please call or text 646 656 5798 or email SS AEI D nbc.org the department of Parks and
Recreation will be holding a seasonal summer job fair on Wednesday March 12th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the community center of Village Hall all the summer job fair is for young adults ages 16 and older explore the uh positions available
learn about the requirements and job descriptions for each uh position and speak with supervisors who can answer all of your questions for further information please call 20167 5560 Village Council upcoming meetings are broadcast live from the
village hall courtroom on the Village website and Channel 34 onos um the next uh Village Council work sessions February 26th March 5th and March 26th and then March uh 12th is
actually the council public meeting they all begin at 7:30 p.m. in addition we have two more budget meetings one of February 19th and the second one on February 27th and those begin at 5:00 pm here in the courtroom that's all I have
thank you Heather and let's go to council reports Frank got nothing nothing sioban Evan this is for you I have nothing wow see we if we can go Pam Pam's got notes just you
know it's only been five days that was what I was about to say it's only been so my communties have not met in the five days since we last met so I have nothing oh three for three soam okay green ridgew held a brainstorming session to get residents input on the on
energy conservation and um and moving to uh nonfossil fuel energy that sort of thing and this is in an effort to satisfy the requirements of the community energy planning Grant which we received and we also held a
meeting on Thursday that covered a wide range of issues um and uh the minutes will be posted uh jamere happened this weekend and it was a hoot I I mean there were just so many
funny points uh Viva Las Vegas was really terrific and as usual there was an Acappella number there was a men's number there was a tap number a couple's number it's just a wonderful tradition
um and uh they raised over $225,000 crazy for need-based SP scholarships for kids who are graduating from from Ridgewood High School so it's just oh oh and there were new AI features in this one so it was really
cool all the way around um the central business district advisory committee will be meeting this Thursday via Zoom at 8:30 in the morning uh to learn about next steps at the Town garage site and at the North Walnut Street parking area
um Chris rudish Houser will be speaking with us and ke Keith kasmar will also be talking about the bus station uh which you just heard is going to be raised um let's see if you would like to join the link is in the agenda which is posted on
the Village website the Interfaith Community is celebrating Black History Month with a salute to mtown um and that's going to be on February 18th in the youth Lounge here in Village Hall at 10:30 it sounds like
a lot of fun and uh Happy Valentine's Day Thank you Pam um and I just have a brief report I just came from puzo's Family Restaurant on the west side where they open their doors they're normally closed on Monday nights to have another
of the sensory friendly dinners they've been such a great sponsor of this families with special needs children come there to have a family dinner out and it was absolutely lovely um I just
want to I want to thank Jamie Davis who puts this together with access um I want to thank puos uh next month we are having our next sensory friendly dinner I'm checking my
calendar M McMurphy at McMurphy's on Patrick's Day on March 24th um at uh 5:30 and anyone with a special needs child whether you live in Ridgewood or not please come have a wonderful dinner with your family um
you'll have a special section uh because we know that bright lights loud music Big crowds make it hard for special needs families to go out and uh there's going to be another dinner in April at uh Raymond's so I want to thank all of
the sponsors who do that please please go thank them yourself and that's all I have and now we can get to our regular agenda Heather take it away so the uh we have a resolution my question is do you want me to read it in
full or are you willing to uh vote on it on a consent agenda I'm I think we're good with it on a consent agenda everybody yeah okay okay so um resolution 25-14 will be read by title only there is a brief description next to it uh authorized
temporary water capital budget and temporary General capital budget may I have a motion so moved second okay um sorry Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes windrad yes vaganos
yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4032 second Mortimer yes pin yes white yes windrad yes yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4032 by title an
ordinance appropriating $350,000 from the water Capital fund Surplus for scada and security upgrades at various facilities in and by the village of Ridgewood in the county of Bergen New Jersey I move that ordinance 4032 be adopted on first reading and
that March 12th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes parent yes whites yes lrad yes vaganos yes there no public hearings the
following resolutions number 25-105 through 25-13 will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by title only award contract qualified end user soil removal testing and disposal of
Ridgewood Waters soil spoils award emergency contract emergency construction water main break award Soul Source contract exchange of granular activated carbon car treatment plant and 20 treatment plant award Soul Source
contract control wave rtu panel design and Fabrication for the lywood well award Soul Source Contract Furnishing corrosion inhibitor award contract under Educational Services Commission of New Jersey security improvements of various water facilities award Professional
Services contract professional Engineering Services designing per mitting West Glenn booster station accept Ridgewood water annual maintenance fee and establish interest rates for delinquent payments to the water utility for 2025 and set grace period for payment of water utility
bills may I have a motion so Mo second Mortimer yes paren yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes the following resolution number 25-14 will be considered separately and
read in full whereas on January 18th 2025 Richard water declared a water emergency at 187 sikac Avenue in Midland Park due to a water main break and whereas the Chief Financial Officer and Village manager
approved of the emergency Declaration on January 18th 2025 and whereas as a result of the water main break it was necessary for rid water to procure the services of tree removal professionals to remove a large tree over the broken water main line and whereas Downs Tree
Service 65 Royal Avenue hawthor New Jersey provided the tree removal services needed to repair the water main breake now therefore be it resolved by The Village Council of the village of Ridgewood that the provision of emergency tree removal services for water main break be awarded to down
Street Service Inc 65 Royal Avenue Hawthorne New Jersey in an amount not to exceed $4,850 and being further resolved that the Chief Financial Officer has certified that funds are available in Bridgewood water operating budget account 5-5-5
5-5-5 36 may have a motion so moved second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes winegrad yes and vagianos I'm going to recuse myself from this matter thank you and so I move the first reading of
ordinance 4033 I'll second it morer yes parin yes whites yes one grad yes vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance
4033 by title an ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of Bridgewood vehicles and traffic as section reading and that March 12th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes
parin yes whites yes wad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4034 second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes Winograd yes vaganos yes so ordered will
the clerk please read ordinance 4034 by title a bond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements and by the village of Ridgewood in the county of Bergen New Jersey appropriating 2,765 550 therefore and authorize the
issuance of $2,627 bonds or notes of the village to finance part of the cost thereof I move that ordinance 4034 be adopted on the first reading and that March 12th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing now I second the motion wer
yes Haren yes yes whites yes winegrad yes vagianos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4035 second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes
winegrad yes and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4035 by title and ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of Ridgewood vehicles and traffic section and section 265-4283 being adopted in the first
reading and that March 12th 2025 fixed as the date for the hearing there I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4036 I
second Mortimer yes yes whites yes winegrad and vaganos yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4036 by title an ordinance to amend chapter 145 of the code of the village of Ridgewood
fees uh at section 145-40 36 be adopted on first reading and that March 12th 20125 be fixed as a date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes yes I'm sorry white yes okay winterr yes
and Vos yes I move the clerk read ordinance 4028 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened second Mortimer yes Haren yes whites yes
wad yes and vaganos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4028 an ordinance to menend salary ordinance 3908 and ordinance to fix salaries wages and other compensation of four blueco collar employees of the village of
Ridgewood County of Bergen in the state of New Jersey salary ordinance 4021 and ordinance to fix salaries wages and other compensation of non-union employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey for the year 2025 and salary ordinance
4022 fixing the salaries and wages and other compensation and to establish the employment agreement of certain non-union officers and employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey for the year 2025 the public hearing is now
open seeing no one I move the public hearing be closed I have a second I second the mo the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes winegrad yes and vaganos yes with that
ordinance 4028 be adopted on the second reading and the final publication as required by law I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes windrad yes vaganos yes I move the clerk read ordinance 4029 by title on second
reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes winegrad yes vaganos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4029 an ordinance to amend chapter 265
of the code of the village of Ridgewood vehicles and traffic as section 26559 schedule 9 stop intersections the public hearing is now open seeing no one I move the public hearing be closed
second Mortimer yes Baron yes whites yes winegrad and vagianos yes I move that ordinance 4029 the ad on the second meeing and final publication require ased by law I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes grad yes
vaganos yes I move the clerk read ordinance 4030 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened second will the Excuse me yes parin yes
whites windrad yes vaganos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4030 an ordinance to resend and replace in its entirety chapter 260 of the code of the village of Ridgewood trees and shrubs and previously adopted ordinance
number 3682 which amended chapter 260 and to establish a new title for chapter 260 tree protection removal and replacement this ordinance is being further reviewed and Modified by our village attorney there are substantive changes that will be made to this
ordinance so it will be defeated this evening and the revised version of the ordinance will be introduced at a later date the public hearing for ordinance 4030 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 so Paul I just wanted to let everybody know um after introducing the ordinance which has some great things in it you receive you can't hear you you can't hear me nope going on
um just so you know we're experimenting with new mics just wanted to make it clear to everyone who is not aware who might be listening we're experimenting with new mics so that we can have better Acoustics in the room and it's just so happens that Siobhan is the one who has
been tasked with that this evening and they are not going as smoothly as we would have otherwise hoped and again whenever somebody can't hear me I've asked twice before Just Give Me A Sign so can you hear me now yes yeah just raise your hand when you can't when you can't hear and yeah this might we're all
working together on this to make it better and Dylan the batteries out on this that's so um so shade tree um introduced this the council did it and after we published it out we received s um I would say a lot of feedback on how
to better enforce it which was honestly the mission of Shad tree so we will be going back with the changes Matt has them Pam I believe has a couple more and we felt the best thing to do was to reintroduce it with those modifications and changes that will lead to better enforcement if anybody wants to talk
about it more um Shay Tre is getting all the Amendments tomorrow night and it will be at 7:30 in the Garden Room any other comments seeing none I move the public hearing be closed have a second I'll second
second Mortimer yes paren paren yes whites yes wad yes vaganos yes sorry I move that um sorry I move that ordinance 40-30 be defeated I
second the motion mimer yes par uh uh yes vote is to defeat Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes I move the
clerk read ordinance 4031 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened I second it morer yes parin yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes will the clerk please read the title of ordinance
431 an ordinance to amend Chapter 3 of the code of the village of Bridgewood administration of government Article 5 departments in section 3-43 Police Department the public hearing is now open seeing no one I move the public hearing
be closed I second Mortimer yes pin yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes I move that ordinance 4031 be adopted on second reading and final publication as required by law I second the motion
Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes windrad yes and vaganos yes the following resolutions number 25-15 through 5-43 will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by
title only award contract disposal of recyclable materials award contract 2025 concession refreshment service Gren pool award contract annual maintenance for software for finance department award contract under sourcewell Cooperative
purchasing contract rental of two trucks sanitation department award contract under State contract do ol olved oxygen sensor system for aeration tanks water pollution control facility award contract under State contract 2024 Ford
F550 chassis and dump body streets department award contract under State contract 2024 Ford F550 truck with dump body streets department award contract under sourcewell Cooperative purchasing contract snow plows for Ford F550 truck
streets department award contract under North Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing system B Valley storage commission additional storm cleaning and TV inspection of sewer Mains award contract under North Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing system through pic
Valley sewage commission uh two anerobic digestor mixers for war water pollution control facility a war contract under North Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing systems through P Valley sewage commission to return activated sludge
pumps water pollution control facility award contract under North Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing systems through P Valley sewage commission one skid Mount mounted nonpotable water booster system water pollution control facility award contract under North
Jersey Wastewater Cooperative pricing system through Pake Valley sewage commission trailer mounted diesel bypass pump for clarifiers water pollution control facility authorized shared services agreement maintenance of fire and traffic signals with hocus establish
interest rate for delinquent taxes and non-payment of Assessments and other Municipal leans for 2025 and set grace period and due date establish interest rates for delinquent payments for significant sewer discharger bills for
2025 authorize electronic tax sales authorize cancellation of tax overpayments and delinquent amounts authorize tax collector to charge for mailing of tax sale notices accept donation Natural Stone bench authorized
2024 budget Reserve transfers authorized execution of Bergen County trust fund project contract grant for Municipal Park project Veterans Field installation of energyefficient LED lighting appoint members to planning board appoint
members to Zoning Board of adjustment appoint members to Green Ridgewood appoint members to Green Ridgewood Green Team advisory committee appoint members to Central business district advisory committee appoint member open space Recreation farmland and historic preservation committee appoint member to
Historic preservation commission may I have a motion so moved second wwor yes parod yes whites yes wad yes and vaganos yes and we will now return to public comment good evening mayor and Council
boy a loving Ridgewood this is my second trip to the microphone regarding the audio problems in this room quite frankly Mr Mayor I am somewhat Disturbed at the fact that you got a little bit testy with me for calling out there is no other option that we have you say to
raise your hand but I've seen people raise their hand in the room for various things perhaps to call your attention that something is going on and the comment is that public comments are over please hold your comment so basically we for for to to speak out when something
like this happens I also remember an incident when my wife was assaulted in the room and we spoke out and we were chastised for speaking out then at times it is appropriate to speak out when something is happening Miss winegrad seems to have a problem with the
microphone and it is a constant problem with meetings she turns her head to speak to the you down there and we can't hear what are we supposed to do it's somewhat disrespectful to the people in the room when we can't hear what's going on in the de I don't know why you don't
call a specialist in to try to resolve this issue it doesn't seem to me that it's going to cost a lot of money you spend a lot of money on various things please fix this and again we are left with no other recourse if we raise our hand you don't have any idea what we're
raising our hand about if there's some other signal that you want us to give you that we can't hear please advise us because raising our hand just doesn't do seem to do anything I've seen people in the room raise their hand for various things than they're ignored so please advise us as to what you want us to do
if we can't hear what's going on in the deas thank you very much thank you Boyd good evening and loving Ridgewood resident um councilman Mortimer tonight you said something and I don't have the exact quote something along the lines of
the majority of Ridgewood families have children in sports um I I'd like to know what your source is for that you know it would be helpful if you could quote your Source because the 2024 us sensus Bureau says
that 28.1% of households in Ridgewood have children under 18 years of age now granted there are some adult sports going on but you said children in sports so um you know you want us to believe
you but how how am I supposed to believe that when the Census Data says otherwise thank you thank you Ann no one else in the room so we will go to hybrid access Cynthia
you're up hi everybody can you hear me again yes we can okay I'll try to talk slowly and loudly thank you um please identify yourself Theo Keef Ridgewood resident um
and and I will send you the Board of Ed um time stamp for that meeting with Dr schwarz's quotes um so uh you you can look forward to an email from me I did want to address um the point that Frank mentioned when I talk about special
special interests I'm talking about um that you're not looking at all residents you're looking at you know you're making comments basically Frank and I'm going to you know you're the one who answered the question so I'm going to direct this towards you um and you said last week
you went to a seminar from the league of municipalities that you know were giving you the tools on how to optimize your performance as a new council person a little feedback from me would be you know you've made comments you know decisions made on the de affect your
family because your daughter is a jock um you've made some really declarative statements about how important Sports is and how you know important parks and wreck is to you and nobody's taking that away from you but you've also come to Ridgewood telling everyone you're this
environmental bee guy uh people are confused um you know and now you're Pro Turf it's just like a little mindboggling in my opinion and and you know others seem to share this um you know from what I've heard in town that
you know it's a little disingenuous of you to come and tell us to create pollinator Pathways and then you want to put our slap down you know an impervious surface like Turf it makes no sense and you know you cherry-picked from a
document that Pam later that the following week clarified there were disclaimers it was not a risk assessment you cannot tell people the EPA told you Crum rubber is safe and that we just like pack up and go home you didn't read the report then that's what I would have
to say about that and I did read it and I'm assuming Pam read it because she seemed to have a lot more information than you did when you were quoting that EPA told you it was safe I don't know what reports you're reading in Europe but we live in America so I choose to
listen to The Experts who live here and who are telling us it's made up of chemicals and it it is negative to our environment and as a b guy I would expect you'd appreciate that but you have a seem to have a very closed mind
about this topic and and it's I don't know I mean I'm a little riled up right now just because I I'm like I find it so hard to believe um that's really all I have to say I have plenty of information on microplastics and bees I'd be happy to share about it with you uh maybe you
haven't read them you probably should um if we're a b City and a tree City uh you know I don't know I don't know where we go from here but I really hope that you'd have an open mind and you'd be willing to listen to research and people who are professionals who are telling us
like doctors who are telling us Turf is dangerous thank you thank you Cynthia anyone else seeing no one I'm going to close public comment and Boyd if I was if I sounded the least bit testy my deepest apologies I thought I had detected a
note of impatience in your tone both from your chair and from the deas but that would not give me any cause to be be testy with you my deepest apologies however we are all trying to work on this problem together we brought a
prototype in to try it not working so well we are trying to work through this as best as we can and because you are such regular attendees here your assistance without impatience would be greatly appreciated because all we're
ever trying to do is make sure people hear us and I think you know that that is something that I personally focus upon both for myself for the members of the de and everyone here we all want to make sure and Siobhan to her
credit raised the issue that can you hear me she's just trying to make sure so let's all just try and work together on this one okay so um could could I add to that I'm not done okay well I am I'd like to go back to me because I was the problem okay go ahead um so since taking
when I was a citizen the audio is a problem and upon taking my seat in 2023 we Evan and I did ask for a an assessment we moved that over there we did several things the cost that was delivered us to improve all the audio
was too high of a capital spend we've been diligently trying and trying and and I'll be clear I'm going to throw you under the bus with myself it's me and Evan we are the two problems and there's reasons for that to our credit we keep trying things um what would work best
for the the hearing in general is to do the universal sign if I can't hear or raise the volume which we've gone over I truly apologize I'm going to keep trying but for all the audio to be upgraded in 2022 we didn't have the money I knowing
my friend Devan he's not going to spend the money um I want to say thank you to Our IT staff because I'm the only one up here with this mic uh not everybody wants to try it and it appears the battery died so these things will happen and um by no means do I I feel that what
everybody has to say up is here important I was just a little bit taken aback because if anybody can't hear us that's a reasonable thing just let us know tap your ear we're constantly looking out or raise the volume that way some kind of sign because clearly the
audio had fallen off before I asked um and it's just a shame I just want to say I apologize if people haven't heard anything that we've said um it's just a shame that we're trying and I I I'd like more ideas of how to do it and because people if you're here and you can't hear
me just let me know I I guarantee you I'm watching and if you get make a sign we will I'm sure Evan and I because it's going to be you next well I was going to say for what it's worth I know I tried the lapel mic twice didn't quite work out I met with Dylan before tonight he told me he ordered some new ones that he
thinks will help which is why I didn't bother with the blel tonight because I the ones we have just aren't working um so he did find some that weren't terribly expensive so I'm hoping that'll that'll help help I agree we got to get better on this um so hopefully those new mics when they come in will will help I
will note I am literally almost eating the mic tonight uh in Defence to you Boyd so I'm doing my best good so we're all on the same page on this um now Cynthia um you know I I I have to jump in here um you you accused
Frank of being closed-minded and cherry-picking information um there's been so much cherry-picking from the audience from about pieces of information um Frank has not had the opportunity to even vote on this because
the council has already voted on it and unless and until it comes back to the council for a vote it doesn't matter and as far as being closed-minded frank is I I am so grateful he is refreshingly open-minded and the fact that he he or
anybody on the council dis agrees with someone does not make them close-minded it just means they disagree and it just means Frank who does a tremendous amount of research on this and every other topic just disagrees yeah I mean I I to
you you kind of be beat me to it I did think those comments tonight were a bit pointed um it is absolutely consistent with being an environmentalist to want children outside playing and for me one of the defining factors why I support Turf is that it means more kids will spend more time Outdoors as as opposed
to indoors playing video games or doing something else and to say that you're non environmentalist because you don't want kids out there I I I again I think it was a bridge too far I also want to remind folks that that as much respect as I have for my friend Cynthia and my friend Amy was here before you're asking
us to Advocate or take a position that has not been adopted by the EPA it's not been adopted by any state at the state level and it's only been adopted by a handful of municipalities I'll continue to listen to the arguments and hear them but sort of phrasing it as if this is a
foregone conclusion or this is wildly accepted science I don't think is a fair characterization of of the facts that are out there and and again you know Paul beat me to it on the closed mind piece I'll say it before I'll say it again we've listened to all the facts those of us who voted on it um it's not
that we don't have a closed mind we just disagree we've heard the arguments we have a reasonable difference of opinion say we're closed-minded we're not listening again I think is is somewhat disingenuous thanks can I jump in well you first i' like to thank uh mayor and
councilman whites for uh speaking up uh first I want to address the Audio I agree even like sioban I couldn't hear you when you the mic wasn't working down here so I can imagine back there and having sat in the audience I know it's a problem and I do think that we should make it a focus and I know Dylan has
some plans and maybe we should have a presentation on that as soon as possible second and I my source and I apologize if I overstated it but then in the um when they the last submission to shipo that there the consultant that was and
I'm doing this off the top of my head so excuse me for not being specific the consultant that the village hired um had pulled how many children were in the various Sports and it was like over 5,000 so I was basing it on that as well
as when Keith at the last meeting um talked about how many uh different leagues in baseball there was so my point being so to be more specific there's a large and a significantly large population in Ridgewood that plays
Sports and that's why we spent money on U the lights at at uh vets Etc and because of that large population of students in here in town it it's I don't think it's right to call them a special interest group special interest in my
definition means small and I don't think that the number of Sports a play and continues to grow look at our girls flag football twice state champions is an example of a new sport and I think that that's you know says how important Sports is not just in Ridgewood but
across the country and so that's what I was trying to say um I'd like to address some of the comments I think saying I'm disingenuous is completely unfair I've read that survey multiple times and it it's there's specifics in there about
how none of those chemicals get absorbed into a person who plays on it it specifically says people that play on it when they breathe it doesn't get into them it's the same as being on the turf field so as I previously said and I don't want to constantly repeat this but
if you're if the general population if it's the same as playing on the field or just sitting at home that equals safe I'm sorry the other thing to say that because I wanted impervious surface two things one if that were a grass
field bees aren't going to it either because we're not talking about a an unblemished Meadow we're talking about a sports field bees don't pollinate nothing pollinates grass and when it comes to impervious surfaces bees and
pollinators also don't visit roads and I am 100% in favor of asphalt roads and parking lots that again does not make me less of an environmentalist it makes the reality of it I mean it's like we talked about the the bus terminal that we're
going to be putting in and we're looking at Grassroots a grass um surface on top on the roof and there's many ways to be an environmentalist but you have to be practical and in the bottom like the Crux of this whole argument again that
are that the that this previous Council hired Consultants that commented on this that for the amount of hours per year that our Fields get used the fields if their grass become dangerous at a th
hours grass deteriorates and it gets pitted and that's a danger to the students so the reason we're talking about Turf is so that we can maximize its use here in town and there's still plenty of ways for pollinators to pollinate and I just again say
beekeepers are practical and to because this one little field that that some of them some in Ridgewood don't like doesn't mean that those of us that are in favor of it are any less environmentalist we're practically trying to help the Active Sports as well
as the passive with the other parks and there will be passive and other Park portion of shedler and I would ask that those who do not support the plan for this park open their minds to support
the kids and the families who want to get out and play sports for all of the Health and Social benefits that are there and not look at it as Frank just pointed out and say well just keep
playing on grass fields we don't have enough and with that no wait a second so sorry so sorry I did want to say one more thing the European studies that I quote are quoted in the EPA studies that what the way scientific articles are
written as they find primary sources the European studies that I quoted are the primary sources and are in the EPA as well when you look at their references so I'm not just pulling those out of the air I'm sticking to the EPA to show that that they also are going to Europe to
look at those studies now I'm done thank you Pam okay uh the EPA study had to do with crum Rubber and Ridgewood is not going to is not not planning to use
crumb rubber the substance that Ridgewood is considering purchasing is Cork and uh coconut which has two sep options which hasn't been studied at all
so we're putting kids at risk and and without knowing what the effect is and um it is just for those kids who play athletics that that we want to keep them
healthy and and here you're taking a big risk with their health and I just can't see why we would do that um I had another point which escapes me right now can I
talk and you can maybe rethink Pam the reason that I bring up that study is every study that's quoted by somebody that opposes Turf is using the Chrome rubber or so the the tire rubber argument equ equals what they're saying so it's it while I hear your point but
please understand that you can't say well these studies against TI Tire crumb rubber is is works but when you try to defend it it doesn't work there that both Sid should not use it or both sides should use it so I don't know what
you're saying I'm saying that the mount C and all those other there studies that are are that people bring up it when you dig into those cuz I've read all those as well it's all about uh crumb rubber so the EPA is it's it's it's the same it's Apples to Apples which is why we
should wait and that's what I was we have not tried um organic um maintenance of grass field in such a way that that we will get more playtime and there is work done out
there and I've gone to webinars where they explain how you can get more more playtime out of natural grass and it doesn't have to get pitted and we should try that first so I just want to add some information here um and and excuse me
I'm just going to ask that we bring this to a close soon because this has been discussed countless times it has already been voted upon so this is a discussion that should continue but again if we can move it along so just because there was
an idea of how many people and the percentages um we've had a significant increase with covid and during my time of being involved we've seen uh softball expand into kickball and for anybody who watched uh the Super Bowl last night there's a national movement now to do
exactly what Ridgewood did with the girls flag football I don't know if you all saw the commercial but sports are very important to Ridgewood right now and historically they're so important that our high school's Mantra has four pillars of which one is Athletics
equally in size and shape as academics the Arts and extracurriculars um so that's very important it's a cultural symbol of how our school identifies they're very important sometimes as too much important placed in them yes but that's to give you an idea of our town and what
they value and our education system it's one of the four pillars when we speak about sports um we're not just speaking about kids um as many of you know since covid we've had a lot of adults recreating a lot of adults who we want to stage and play in place we have um as
you've all met Rossa Ridgid adult soccer which is growing so when when I vote on the fields it's not just for the kids or the high school it's for the adults that we hope stay and play in place so um and then to Frank's Point all the numbers
that we've collected are in the report that we've if anybody wants to represent them to shipo the other thing that I want to say is that Turf is not impervious it has an undercarriage it's actually perious um so the turf here and at the high school has an undercarriage
as a filtration system and the turf that we're not putting in is astro turf on top of concrete and the goal of the project is it would be pervious and lastly what Paul was echoing is that we voted on this a long time ago we've all talked about New Year's resolutions and
everything we need to take this project and move it forth and you have four votes for Turf and we need to move it forward we need to get to the next step of shipo and keep progressing and I mean we just we keep going back and back and I think the next best step is to focus
on the shipo application getting a tenant into the house and taking our next step forward with that but I hope that I just want to add that information thank you and I'm going to move this forward uh and entertain a resolution to go into closed session so moved second
wait I have to read it be resolved by The Village Council of Village of ridgewoods as the Village Council Meet close session on February 10th 2025 at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as a matter of the agenda can be reached in the set Clos session be held in the caucus room on the fourth floor of the Ridgewood Village Hall 131 North Maple
Avenue Ridgewood New Jersey and be further resolved that the matter to be discussed in Clos session is limited to legal matters to include contract with economic development strategist LLC this matter is allowable under ajsa 10-12 at SEC be further resolve that the minutes of this meeting shall be made available
to the general public when such matters have been deemed completed by resolution of the Village Council may have a motion actually uh can we amend the motion I think we may meet in the um uh green room downstairs I think HBC we might meet right here or actually can we stay here okay so we'll meet in the courtroom
may have a motion so moved second all in favor I anyone opposed thanks so we we close the door right