Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is the Village of Rididgewood Village Council regular public meeting, November 12th, 2025. The time is now 7:31. Adequate meeting notice of this meeting
has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, the record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.
>> Roll call. >> Council member Mortimer >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Parin >> here. >> Council member Whites is not yet here. Council member Winterrad >> here. and Mayor Rajanis is absent. >> Please join us in a salute to our flag.
And um Councilman Evan White just walked in. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. At one time, a man named Ronald Fiser started working for the village of Ridgewood in October of 1993, and he transferred to a position, permanent position in the solid waste
department in March of 1994. He passed away on November 6th, 1995 after he was struck and fatally injured on Godwin Avenue while performing his village duties. A resident on Godwin Avenue planted a
tree in Mr. Fischer's memory soon after his death. And that tree was recently audited and had to be removed by the shade tree division. It's been 30 years since Ronald passed away. A ceremony and
memorial that will honor the memory of our colleague in a more permanent way is being planned for the spring of 2026 in Habern Habernickl Park with the participation of village officials,
colleagues, community me community members and family if possible. Also, a plaque will be um laid in the Department of Public Works in the garage with his name on it in his memory. And we ask now
for a moment of silence to remember Ronald Fiser. Thank you. His daughter Melissa is here tonight and his wife Amma and we appreciate the diligence and the
dedication which with with which Ronald served our community. Thank you for coming here tonight. and we'll let you know as soon as we know the date for planting that tree in Habernickl Park. We thank you for his service to
Ridgewood. All right. Uh and now we'll go to the next item on the agenda, number five. Uh, I move the bills, claims, and vouchers and statement of funds on hand as of October 31st, 2025 be accepted as
submitted. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Taran, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrad, >> yes. >> I move that the village council minutes of September 9th. September 24th.
September 20. Did I? No. September 9th. September 24th, September 29th, and October 8th, having been reviewed by the village council and now available in the village clerk's office, be approved as submitted. >> Second. >> Mortimer,
>> yes. >> Harin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> And Wiggrad, >> yes. >> And now, is uh Anthony Farc here? >> Could you please come up and uh to the podium here? >> Do we have a mic for the podium?
Okay, Mr. Farc, you're the owner of Tony's Laundromat Services on at 88 North Maple Avenue. Can you tell us about your new business? >> Thank you. Good evening, everyone.
>> Uh, I start the business in >> Yeah. >> There's a green light. Look at the green light at the bottom. There you are. >> I started the business 12 years ago in Wick. Uh I have the Tony's Land Roat in Wick.
Then I opened the Tony's Land Roat in Ramsey and now in Ridgewood. So this is my third location. I hope you will like it. >> Okay. Well, welcome to Ridgewood. I hope your business does really well. Um and
we're glad to have you. Thank you so much. Thank you. >> And now we have a proclamation uh regarding National Diabetes Awareness Month. So I'll ask Councilwoman Mortimer to read that proclamation.
>> Thanks, Deputy Mayor. Um many people who know me know that my youngest daughter has type 1 diabetes. So this is special me. And the thing is this is a good thing because like anybody who's met especially a kid with type 1 diabetes
knows that they are warriors and so I'm very proud of my daughter and I'm going to see how many meetings in a row I can get choked up. Um, also too, my daughter was diagnosed when she was three years old and at that time
we had people from the Ridgewood community reach out to us and help us get established and understand because it's such a learning curve. And so I'd like to say to anybody that's watching this, if you're a newly diagnosed or have a family member that is, please reach out to me because it is important to have community and I'm here to help.
With that said, here's the proclamation. Whereas November marks the start of a month-long series of activities aimed at raising diabetes awareness and calling for urgent action to tackle the diabetes academic. And whereas type 1 diabetes,
which is also known as T1D, is an autoimmune disease which cannot be prevented or cured. It occurs when a person's pancreas stops producing insulin. Its onset is not related to diet or lifestyle as it results in a
need for insulin to survive. And whereas when you are affected with type 2 diabetes, your body does not use insulin properly which is referred to as insulin resistance and the recommended treatment is lifestyle changes, oral medications,
and insulin. And whereas more than 38 million Americans have diabetes and nearly 3,300 are diagnosed each day. And whereas World Diabetes is on Friday, November 14th, and it's led by the
International Diabetes Foundation and its member associations. And whereas during diabetes awareness month, we vow to combat this chronic life-threatening illness by standing with those with diabetes, honoring the professionals and
advocates engaged in fighting diabetes and working to raise awareness about type 1 and type 2 diabetes. And whereas the National Diabetes Education Program's 2025 theme is taking action to prevent diabetes related health
problems. To support this effort, the American Red Cross is offering free A1C screenings to all blood donors who haven't received their test in the past 12 months. And whereas as long as diabetes continues to burden our
village, we must press on towards tomorrow's promising breakthroughs in treatment, care, and education. Now therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of Ridgewood recognizes the struggles of that families face and want to show its
support by proclaiming November as diabetes awareness month and that this Friday, November 14th, 2025 is World's Diabetes Day. We encourage all residents of the village to join in this worthy observance. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Frank. Um, a bit about procedure for tonight. We have taken one matter off the agenda and that has to do with parking on South Pleasant Avenue. Based on feedback from the community, we want to do some more
discussion on that topic. And uh, so we're going to put it off for another evening. And then also um at the last meeting when we were discussing the uh proposed contract with Suburban
Consulting Engineers, there would seem to be some confusion and um and uh other aspects of that conversation that that prompt me to go back to two of our
ordinances that that govern the manner of addressing council and decorum during these proceedings. So first um in terms of the manner of addressing council uh our section 3-19
in our code says in pertinent part no person shall address any disruptive accusatory or threatening remarks toward or about any member of the council or any other person or pose a question to
any specific council member. And going further, no person shall at any time during any of the comments from the public sessions engage in any personally offensive, abusive or threatening remarks to council members
or any other person whether present at the meeting or not. And as to decorum, this is section 3-20. I'm going to read the whole of this one. Any person who shall disturb the peace of the council, make impertinent or
slanderous remarks, or conduct himself in a boisterous manner while addressing the council, shall be forthwith, barred by the presiding officer from further audience before the council, except that if the speaker shall submit to proper
order under these rules, permission for him to continue may be granted by a majority vote of the council. The police chief shall upon request of the chair designate a member of the department to serve as sergeant-at-arms at council
meetings. He shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for purpose of maintaining order and decorum at such a meeting. Therefore, if anyone speaking in this room
um engages in slanderous uh comments or or um attacking a council member or another me person in the room, I will as the presiding officer ask the person to refrain from doing that. Um on
the second uh offense I will ask the person to stop and on the third I will ask them to sit down and stop speaking. If the person persists I will then ask the police officer to escort that person from the courtroom.
And uh Matt, did you want to elaborate any further on that? Well, just to to say that um you know there was talk about your first amendment rights when it comes to a public forum. Um everybody should be aware and I've said this before from
medas that a council meeting is what's known as a limited public forum. And in a limited public forum um your right to speak at a council meeting is governed by the open public meetings act. Um but even the first amendment has limitations
on what you can say because you can't just say anything on your mind or anything that you that you want. Um this is and and the courts have also granted councils and and the uh and the public agencies the ability to control limit
certain aspects of of speech to the point so they can conduct their meetings in a proper manner. Uh they talk about the quorum. These are all backed up by cases that have been decided by the Supreme Court um US Supreme Court. So the the effort is to allow for the
orderly work to be done by the council or by the presiding body that is holding the public meeting. But again, um you're authorized to be here by the Open Public Meetings Act and um and rights and your
ability to say what you want is limited by issues such as decorum, the proper uh effect on the public business and uh things that have just been described by by Pam in terms of her introductory remarks. So that's the only thing I'd
add to it. >> Thank you, Matt. And then as to the substance of what we were talking about last week, uh whether there were wetlands or not on the Shedler property across Route 17, we did ask uh the
suburban consulting engineers to explain how they uh how this came about. So today, council received a letter from Suburban, and I'd like to read it to you all. It is addressed to Keith Casmark.
It's dated today's date and it says, "Dear Mr. It's from uh it's on suburban letterhead. Dear Mr. Casmark, the village of Ridgewood has requested a letter clarifying the isolated wetland identified by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection NJ
on the property located at block 4704 lots 9, 10, 11, and 12 within the village of Ridgewood Bergen County, New Jersey. The initial application submitted by our permitting department to the NJD
was for a presence or absence letter of interpretation LOI covering the entire Zabriski Shedler property as defined under New Jersey Administrative Code 7.7A-4.3. A presence or absence of LOI determines
whether any freshwater wetlands, state open waters or transition areas exist on a site or within a proposed disturbance area and assigns a resource value classification to any wetlands identified.
During NJD's field review, the department identified a small a single small isolated wetland feature on the property. This feature was not assessed as a regulated wetland
during Suburban SEC, SCE, that's their I their abbreviation for their company. uh during Suburban's field assessment due to its size, location, and disturbed condition within the existing mulch. The
location was next to an existing parking area and within an area of a known previous water mane break. Specifically, the depression is assessed as less than 0.01
acre in area. That's um a 100th of an acre appear. It appears to have formed as a result of prior disturbance or the known water mane break and is situated on the portion of the property
associated with the existing residence. It is not within the designated park area. Due to that feature's dimminimous and isolated nature, no members of the Rididgewood Village Council or the town manager were informed of its presence,
while Suburban corresponded with the DP to question the findings and determine next steps forward. Given the small overall size and isolated nature of this feature, the NJD advised that the
project would qualify under general permit six uh parenthesis nontributary wetlands closed PN which authorizes filing which authorizes filling of isolated wetlands that do not provide
significant ecological functions or services. Suburban anticipates proceeding in accordance with this guidance. Under NJ administrative code 7.7A-7.6, a general permit six for the filling of
isolated wetlands may be issued for wetlands that meet the following criteria. The wetland has no hydraologic connection PN overland or via pipe closed PN to any
state open water or other wetland confirming that it is isolated and nontributary. A water service pipe is not considered a hydraologic connection. Next, the the wetland is less than one
acre in size. The wetland is not class classified as an exceptional resource value wet as an exceptional resource value wetland. A state open water open water uh a US EPA
uh environment environmental protection agency priority wetland or part of a special aquatic site. According to the NJD landscape project version 3.4 4. No state listed
threatened or endangered species or their habitats are known to exist on the property. Based on these conditions, the feature meets the criteria for authorization to fill in under general permit 6. The the
NJ is currently awaiting suburban's formal determination to proceed with this general permit. This decision rests, however, with the village now that with the village now that Suburban
has informed the administration as to the status of wetlands at the Zabriski Shedler property, Suburban Consulting Engineering remains committed to maintaining transparency and open communication throughout this process and welcome any questions or concerns
you may have. If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. And it is signed by Robert Gregoria, the um uh engineer and um
and green associate for Suburban. Um I'd say there are a few takeaways from this. Uh first the village received not only the opinion of suburban consulting
engineering. They also had a separate engineering company which is dealing with remediation which also found that there are no wetlands on the shedler property. Um there are two reports, one from Suburban in August of 2024 and the
other one from from Matrix in October of 2025. So um this was the information that was provided to the village and that we had reported out at several meetings. Uh, also
the suburban staff corresponded via email with staff at the DP regarding this small um 100th of an acre area at Shedler and um, which the DP considered to be
wetlands. In speaking with the permitting experts at Suburban this week, we learned that identifying wetlands can be very subjective. um it's not necessarily black and white.
Also, because the DP never issued the letter of interpretation, the village was never made aware of the correspondence between suburban and the DP.
At last, this area, this depression, uh, that's been identified by the DP was man-made, likely from construction or the broken water man that Suburban mentioned.
Um, and now I'd like to ask Gabriella, could you pull up the map of the area so people can see what we're talking about? >> Okay. Can you uh pull out a little so they can
Yeah. A little Yeah, that shows. Okay. So, you have the the house is the small shaded area along West Saddle River Road and then you can see above that the green square is the area that we're talking about.
>> You should clarify that. And next, if you could give us the photograph. That area in the foreground is what we're talking about. This is looking south. You have the burm in the background
beyond the fence. So in the foreground is this area that D identified as wetland. >> Through you, deputy mayor, could we just go back a slide, Kev? So, just to be clear, the the square is the description. It's the lighter green
um area to the left that actually identifies um the wetland from the D. Okay. Um so, I just wanted to bring that all that to your attention before public
comment. Um, and now we can go on to public comment. >> All right. I always screw this up, but can you hear me now? >> Yeah. Is it Is it on? >> It should be on. >> I think we're hear you now. Just get a little closer.
>> How's this? >> There you go. >> There we go. All right. Uh, my name is Jim Bosler. I'm the chairman of the open space committee and I'm here really to say thank you to the rigid voters and to you as a representative for the passing
of the open space referendum. I'd also like to thank the committees and the boards who added me to their agendas. And as an aside, as I was talking to Evan, uh I'm always impressed with the
volunteers in Rididgewood. Um at these committees, you know, there was never any animosity. There was always a give and take and their intelligence and their propensity for volunteering is incredible. And I've run into that so many times at Rididgewood. It's really
tremendous. Um, as a as a chairman of the open space committee, I want to say and pledge to you that we will operate with three things in mind. We operate with the guidelines of the
open space ordinance. We'll operate with the recommendations from the master plan and we'll also use from the permissible use and the grants that you can receive from the green acres.
We have a group of four. Well, we should have four. We're down one person, but we have three people on the committee and the two additional Alex and Matt have been terrific and I want to take out praise for those two. And then as an
advisory committee, because we do not have direct responsibility for the funding and I will say we will not go gently into the night. We will continue to make our recommendations and with the extra funding that we have, it's given us
additional flexibility and the opportunity to make Rididgewood a better place. So again, thank you all. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else for public comment? >> You don't have to give your address, but uh let us know if you're a Rididgewood
resident. Give us your name and whether you're a Rididgewood resident. >> Good evening. I'm a Rididgewood resident. My name is Sean Sweeney. I'm also the co-president of the Hall Elementary Home and School Association. Haw Elementary always applauds forwardthinking students, especially the
ones who originally proposed this bike lane project, which I know you took off the agenda. I apologize. We love the create uh creativity and advocacy for safety that they demonstrated. Unfortunately, when the adults got involved in the advancing of this project, we may have overlooked some
critical details. When the project was approved, was any consideration given to the fact that parking is already limited in that area? Uh, we had been told numerous times that parking restrictions would not be
necessary, so this change has caught many of us by surprise. If the lane now requires eliminating parking, can you clarify how the project was presented and approved without that information? Additionally, if cars are permitted to park in or near the lane at any point,
how does that enhance bicycle safety? A bike lane that is regularly blocked by vehicles are compromised by obstructions seems to counter the stated goal of improve of improving safety. In fact, it was stated at an August 6th public works session meeting that bikes that come
across an obstruction like that would simply have to go around the obstruction, taking them therefore out of the bike lane. The uh for awareness, New Jersey law generally prohibits driving or parking in a bike lane. In practice, this means
vehicles will inevitably be entering and crossing the bike lane on South Pleasant, especially in a school zone with drop offs, pickups, deliveries, turning movements, regular traffic, and yes, piles of leaves that sit there for months at a time. This raises legitimate
questions about the effectiveness and safety of a painted lane in that location. On a related note, will there also be enforcement regarding leaf piles and other seasonal debris? I drove up South Pleasant to get here this evening. You cannot see the bike lane, not
because of cars, because of leaves. Uh that's just as hazardous, if not more so, than parked cars. Also, South Pleasant is not a high volume cycling area to warrant its own bike lane. The people who are using these bike lanes or or use their bicycles to get to
Hall Elementary School are seven, eight, nine, and 10 year olds. They are not riding their bikes in the street. They are on the sidewalk where they belong. Meanwhile, parking in and around halls is extremely limited. I counted tonight
59 spots and two handicap spots. Two for 250 plus families, 356 children. It's inadequate already. It's inadequate. By removing the parking on South Pleasant would be a detriment and an
additional hardship for our families. It was mentioned that police and parking enforcement would not enforce the parking ban during large events such as graduation. Can you clarify whether that same exemption applies to the many other events hosted at halls by the school by
the HSA? Uh, will the bike lane extend all the way up to the cemetery as originally planned? And will Somerville Elementary also have to uh replan their pickup and drop off points if the bike lane goes through their their property?
>> Sean, could you wrap it up? >> Yes. Sorry. We all support safety, but we also need transparency, predictability, and realistic understanding of how these changes impact an already constrained school community. Any clarification you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
And as a type 1 diabetic, thank you for the proclamation tonight. >> Thank you, Sean. >> Good evening. I'm Pam Welch, um, Ridgewood resident, and, um, I just found out about the, uh, flood water
fountain, and I just wanted more information about what's happening there. or is it just going to be uh 3 ft permanent all around the village hall and who is the vendor that's doing the job? I would love to have that at my
house but I've already gone to engineering and they say I can't do anything and since I'm down by Marshall Irving that corner flooding I'm always worried what's happening any building
around this area. So that's my only question. I felt like the uh app didn't really say too much about this and I hadn't heard about it. So I was a little bit surprised since I've been on the uh flood advisory committee one time on
Zoom. So that's my question. Thank you. >> Thank you, Pam. Anyone else in the room here before I go to remote commenters? Okay. Uh we'll go to Denise. Go ahead, Denise.
Uh, you might be on mute. >> Can we come back to her? >> Yeah, let's come back to Denise a little later. Jan Phillips, you're up. You need to um unmute yourself. Na Jan
Gabriella, can you check to see why um these these speakers are not able to um connect with us? Gabriella. Yeah. Denise, can you let either Denise or Jan
Phillips speak? They both have hands up now. Sounds like one of them is on. Denise, can you hear us? Are you Are you on? Gabriella, >> is there anybody else we could try on that? >> Yeah.
>> All right, let's try uh Roric is next up. Roric Alibabe is next up. Can we try Roric now? What? Uh what's going on, Gabriella? It looks like we could hear from Denise.
Denise, could you give it a a whirl? We're not hearing Denise either. Not sure what the problem is. Um, >> really? >> Oh, they can hear the mom, too. Oh, >> because we're not hearing Denise. That's a problem.
Denise, see if you can uh say something so we can hear you. I think she gave up. I don't see her. Oh, well, she's further down. Uh, sure. How about Jan Phillips? Let's try Jan. Jan Phillips.
Her hands up. Wow. >> Jan, can't hear her either. >> Do Do you want me to go get my phone and call them? >> I hope that's a good idea. Maybe the Paul thing. >> I don't I don't have my phone here. >> I have >> No, I have my phone.
>> You have You have their numbers? >> Deputy Mayor, while you're doing that, if you'd like me to respond to the two speakers in the room. >> Give it. >> Yeah. Uh, well, let me just see if I can pull up Denise Lima.
Gabrielle, do we think it's a computer here or is it back there? >> Okay. >> All right, Denise, I'm calling you now. >> So, turn off the speaker on your Zoom, Denise. >> And I'm going to put her on speaker.
>> Hi there. >> Hi, Denise. So, >> I think Can everybody in the audience hear Denise? You're going to have to hold it to your mic. >> Okay, Denise, say something. >> Well, thanks for calling me, Pam. First of all, >> okay. Yes, people in the courtroom can
hear you. Go ahead, Denise. >> Super. I I'm sorry about this. I don't know why I have this problem. Um, Denise Le, Ridgewood resident. Thank you very much for calling me, ma'am. Um, sorry I was not at last week's tribute to Tony. I thought that was beautifully well
done. Uh, it was great to have the town key. Um, great to watch everybody. So, I just want to say thank you for that. Uh, also in the last week or so, the food drive for the people in town that needed it, I thought it was very successful. I
know we had a lot of people that were um donating as well. Uh just a little few cleanup items for myself is that I believe that there are close to 50 village council meeting minutes that are not available between
last year and this year. Uh hopefully either um Keith or somebody can kind of speak to that. Um uh thanks for Jim uh B for getting up about uh open space. Uh now that it's passed, I hope that we do
uh things that are in the master plan uh to make the town even more beautiful. I like that. What's not in the master plan is actually there's specific language about no turf. So I hope Jim uh incorporates that as well. There was a
promise a few months ago that um all the major projects in town would be listed on the portal and I noticed that um that promise and those communications are not updated. So whether it be Shedler or the water or even the King's Pond
information, everything under the project session hasn't been updated. And it would be great for residents that can't attend meetings um to go and look at what what's happening there. So maybe just a quick update and the last thing I I'm sure everybody has seen me comment
on is the PAS in the water. Um there was a promise first of all it's been years since we've had PAS. There was a promise that in 2026 when all the facilities got up and running uh we would be done with POS. We've gotten grant money. Um, now
it looks like it's pushed to 2027 and I don't see that on the agenda or on the projects list. It would be good to get an update on that. And because we continue to have POS, I think it's a little misleading and a little unempathetic if we keep accepting awards
or photo op for shovels and, you know, breaking the boundaries for these new facilities when we're still kind of all suffering with POS and having to get either filters or, you know, uh, reverse osmosis and spending money to avoid the POS. Uh, we even have fees, you know,
for POS as well. So, um, any updates on that would be great. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Denise. >> Thanks, Pam. >> Okay. Uh, next I'll pick up with Jan
Phillips. Um, >> it's nice, Deputy Mayor, that you have most of the Richard res. >> Yeah, just happen to have these people's number. Um, do you need it? Jan. >> Yes. I put you on speaker phone.
>> Wonderful. >> Jan Phillips, Union Street. >> Go ahead. >> I want to thank you for being a constant whether it's access weekend, Pride Saturday,
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday or most recently Sunday evening village Thanksgiving Days. Your steady presence remind us of what true public service looks like.
Right now, we live among hungry neighbors, Ryan White recipients on the verge of losing health care and housing, and seniors who face eviction because of a messy apartment or a cell phone used
at the wrong place or maybe the wrong time. These are our neighbors. They depend on compassion, not convenience. They remind us of what presence matters. While anonymous posters
post alternative facts, steer fear, and will some of our neighbors in overgrown abodes, plant signs that warn about the overdevelopment in our village.
I am proud and grateful for each one of you council members. and to you keep your walk is with grace, humility, and a commitment to community. I thank
each every one of you for reminding us that leadership is not about privilege, but it's about service. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jan. Um, now is Roric available on on our system?
Because if not, I'll pull him up too. Hi. >> Hi, Rurick. >> Hi, Rick. >> Okay. >> Uh, we'll take your comment now. >> Tell them to turn off. >> You got to mute your computer again.
>> Yeah. >> Do you hear me now? >> Yes. >> Oh, just one second. I need to mute the Uh, >> you're good on our end. >> No, >> maybe walk away from you.
>> Walk away from >> echo. >> Echo. >> Yeah, I'm I've left the Zoom. I get back on. But anyway, Roric Holiday, Richard resident. Uh last Wednesday's meeting
was a tale of two cities. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Uh it started out with the wonderful accolades to Tony Damiano who has done so much for our village over the years.
Yes, Tony Damiano who is best described as Mr. Jud. Regretfully, the meeting ended up with the worst of Rididgewood. So, so sad. Keith, for every insult that is hurled
at you, there are a thousand residents who stand in awe of you as a person of high integrity and who stand in awe of what you have accomplished in the past two years. Keith, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I'll hang up. >> Thank you, Rurick. Uh, next up we have Janet Riley. I do not have her phone number. Janet, can you uh Okay. Uh, well, she doesn't want to give her phone. You could put your phone
number in the group chat and we could access her that way. If Janet Riley does that rather than you give your number out to the whole public. >> Yeah. I don't know if she wants to share it with everyone. >> Right. So, if Janet Riley could put her phone number in the group chat, Deputy Mayor Pin will add her you to her address
book. >> And apologies to everyone is online. Obviously, the the sir coming here is on our part and we apologize for that. >> Yeah. >> You got it. You got her number. >> I got her number. >> Can we borrow your phone? >> If you want to just hold it up to the microphone, Sean, so you don't have to
get Yeah, you can do it from there. >> Yeah. high-tech stuff. >> I'll go back there after this. Okay. >> Hi. >> Yes. >> Janet, you're on speaker phone with the village council. >> Hi. Thanks so much.
>> Turn your speaker as well. >> I did turn it I turned off my computer. This is just my >> I'll try to Is this better? >> No. No. Okay. Um which one? Sorry. My husband helping
turn something off here. Um, just one comment. The group chat does not work. It's disabled. So, I can't put my phone number in there, but thank you, Sean, for giving them my number. >> You're on my phone, so your your discretion is safe.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. Um, okay. Thanks. Um, and um, sorry, I have to collect my thoughts. Um, I I see that you moved the agenda item for the bike lane. Uh, so I I hope that means it's not being decided on yet, and if so, I
appreciate that. Um, I was just calling uh to follow up on my comments from last week. Um, as it it's as Sean said, I I really applaud, you know, the the activism of the students who um took this initiative, but looking at the proposal
that was submitted by them, um it it didn't didn't say that the parking wouldn't be allowed in the bike lane. So, it seems that I know it's been mentioned at the council meeting that um it did, you know, it was cleared with the BOE and stuff, but I I'd like to know, you know, what point it was
decided that there would be no parking allowed in the bike lane because there certainly was never any outreach to the residents. Not one resident was ever informed or consulted about this. Um, and so I really urge you to reconsider. As I've mentioned before, most of those
houses don't have a space to turn around in their driveway. You know, the parking on that street is very important to the residents. Um my, you know, I my parents live in another part of Ridgewood where you're discussing, you know, Brighton Place, you know, the um the new part
regulation there and they were just part of a meeting, you know, a neighborhood meeting with the um I think the police and the council. And so there there seems to be outreach done in other parts of the, you know, town and and it wasn't done in this part of town. Um, and so I
I'd really like you to reconsider. Um, I also went back to that October 22nd meeting to see when it was discussed and there were some things that were mentioned that aren't correct. Um, we can't just park in the back parking lot at Haw. Um, that is used for pickup and drop off and it's a continual line of
moving cars. it is completely unsafe and there's no room for students to walk out to a car um in the parking lot there. That would not be a safe thing for them to do. Um so we rely on parking on that South Pleasant Street. As I mentioned, my concern especially is that if you
start taking parking from there, people will go into the surrounding streets which are not equipped to handle that kind of traffic. They're windy. The lawns are like windy and narrow. And if you have cars parked on both sides of like my street on Dorchester, it's creates visibility problems. There's a
middle school bus that drops off right at the corner there. Um, so I don't want children getting off the bus and having to dart between cars. Um, it was also mentioned at the October 22nd meeting that residents could just park on the other side of the street. There's a good stretch of South Pleasant across from the bike lane that does not allow
parking. So that's just not possible. Um, again, you know, the the proposal showed that this bike lane was going to go to all the way to Valow Cemetery. And so I ask like Sean did, does this mean that Somerville parents are also not going to be able to park, you know, for pickup and drop off in front of
Somerville? Um, if it's not being extended, then it just seems like, you know, it's completely useless. Um, in general, bike lanes aren't needed in residential areas. you know, like this was already mentioned, our kids are biking on the sidewalk where they
belong. Um, and I think those are all my points, but um, just I I really, you know, I I would just urge you to rethink this. I know it was part of the grant. It seems that you received $270,000 on this um, you know, DOT grant. Um, so I
don't I just like to hear what can be done. Like I don't know if it involves giving part of this money back or whatever, but it it really despite the fact that it was a well-intentioned proposal. >> Janet, could you please wrap it up? >> Yeah, sure. Um it it really seems very
unfair to the residents and to this community to do this um without any, you know, thought or really extensive research put into the impact that it has. Thank you. >> Thank you, Janet.
Okay, I don't see anyone else on remote and therefore uh I'm going to u ask if anybody on the deis wants to respond. >> Close it first. >> Close. I'm going to close public comment and ask if anybody on the deis would like to
>> I have a few comments. Um first of all to both Sean and Janet, we hear you. Uh just to give a little history on this South Pleasant Street project. Um, this was a grant that was applied for back in
2023, I believe. Um, I can't speak to the public outreach that occurred when the grant was prepared. Um, I don't know if there was some, I don't know if there was any. Um, but I can tell you that, um, you know, the evolution of this has
obviously brought these concerns to the forefront. Um, I had a long conversation uh yesterday with the deputy mayor in light of the the mayor being out of the country and we made the decision to take it off tonight's agenda um in response
to the resident's concerns. Uh there are a few factors that are involved here. Um we've already made uh contact with the NJ DOT who granted us this money to do this project. um we have to really do a um thorough
assessment with them of how the grant would be impacted if we eliminated the bike lane. Um we also need to have conversation with the police department and with the engineering division um which we are slated to do at our next
ordinance working group meeting which the mayor and the deputy mayor both sit on that committee. Um so we will have more on this in December. Um but I can assure you that right now it is not moving forward until we have further discussion. So I hope that that helps in
that regard. Um to Pam there there is nothing being constructed here at village hall. Uh we have had flood dams that have protected the first level of this building at each of the entryways all the way around the perimeter of the building. Those flood dams are being
replaced. Um I want to say it was approved in the spring. Um, I know a resident reached out to me and and asked me specifically what the dates were, but it was discussed at a work session. It was approved at a public meeting by resolution. Um, it's these flood dams,
the flood dams that we had um were outdated. They were worn out. They were used even when it didn't flood as a precautionary measure. Um, these new flood dams um are state-of-the-art technology. um and they're being installed this week and next week um so
that we do have flood protection moving forward. With regard to flood dams at your residence, um I would reinquire about that and I only say that because we actually referred some residents during the three successive flood events
we had when I first arrived here at Ridgewood to a flood dam company. And I know that at least one, if not more, residents who live along the Saddle River have um outfitted their homes and their garage entrances with these types of flood dams. So, if you want to reach
out to me, um I can find out who the who the vendor was uh both past and present. Um there may be a vendor who's more specific to residential flood dams, but we can certainly have that conversation if you want to reach out because we did share that information with residents uh back in 2023.
Um to Denise, I unfortunately because I I went to talk to Gabriella, I didn't hear all of your comments tonight, so I apologize for that. Um but I can tell you that with regard to the projects being posted to the website, um all of the Shedler documents are there um as
long as they are not deliberative. Um right now we're planning to post the uh the um soil mitigation plan um as soon as we hear back from the D, which we're hopeful that will be tomorrow. Um, and all of the PAS status information is up
on the Ridgewood Water website. As a matter of fact, if you if you go to the Ridgewood Water website, um, there is a specific page um that takes you through all of the construction projects relative to the PAS buildout. Uh, the
tab is called PAS treatment construction update. Um and with regard to the time frame of completing the PAS projects in total, um we have a consent order that is signed with the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection to have that work effort complete by the end of 2026. That consent order still stands. However, the same New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection required us
to do a cultural resource study at the Cedar Hill location. Uh that was the bid award that was made at last week's council meeting. Um so the bid has been awarded for that. However, because there were was an archaeological study that
was required um and some significant uh cultural awareness issues that needed to be undertaken with the DP that has put that project behind. So, tenatively um contingent upon the how quickly the contractor can work um and get all the
necessary materials and equipment and perform the construction uh there is a chance that that may run into the first quarter of 2027. That is not something that was in the control of the village. That is something that was mandated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection. But every other PAS facility is slated to be completed in 2026. Um, and I think that's all I had. Deputy Mayor. Um, Keith, I just want to thank you on the um on the uh pleasant on the issue.
Um, I know I was contacted by some folks. Um, appreciate the thoughtfulness. Um, I think the grant process was great, but clearly we've got some more consideration to do and very much appreciate you pulling it off and want to make sure as I know you will obviously have ongoing discussions with the folks who are most affected by it and we figure out the best way forward,
but I appreciate you you pushing ahead on that. >> And it should also be noted that I I received a phone call from Dr. Schwarz this morning on this uh issue as well and he he and I are meeting on Friday to discuss uh how it affects the hall school specifically. That's great.
>> Anyone else? All right, we're going on to item nine in the agenda. This has to do with the budget for the Ridgewood Business B business alliance. Um, will the village clerk please read 20 uh
the 2026 Ridgewood Business Alliance budget? >> This is the 2026 Ridgewood Business Alliance budget. That's the title. >> Oh, okay. Uh the public hearing on the 2026 Rididgewood Business Alliance
budget is now open. >> Good evening. >> Good evening everybody. My name is Robin Goldfisher and I'm the senior vice president and general counsel for the Valley Health System. Um, I want to acknowledge the village's goal of supporting the Ridgewood business
community and enhancing the vitality of the downtown area. The hospital has been a proud member of this community for decades and contributing to its economy, public health, and the quality of life. >> Can you pull the mic a little bit? >> Of course.
>> Closer. We value our long-standing partnership with the village and with its many small businesses that make RI Ridge Ridgwood unique. I must however express significant concern regarding the application of the special improvement district assessment under
the Ridgewood Business Alliance ordinance. We've compared a list of a few Ridgewood nonprofit entities to the property assessment role provided by the village and didn't see any other than the V hospital um not for profofits
assessed under this special improvement ordinance. This creates the appearance of selective enforcement and raises both fairness and legal compliance issues under New Jersey law. The state of New Jersey authorizes municipalities to
create special improvement districts under the pedestrian mall and Special Improvement District Act. This law allows local governments to impose special assessment assessments only on properties that are specifically benefited by the improvements financed
through those assessments. Importantly, the statute provides that a governing body may exempt properties that in its opinion do not benefit from the improvements. This is not only a discretionary option, it's a recognized
um a recognition of the principle that special assessments must be tied to specific benefits. Given the Valley Hospital's operations are medical and charitable in nature, not commercial or retail, it's difficult to see how the
hospital will receive any special benefit from downtown marketing or business promotion activities. As such, applying the assessment to Valley appears inconsistent with both the statute's language and the statute's intent.
The New Jersey Constitution mandates uniform treatment of properties within the same class. And both the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the New Jersey Constitution prohibit arbitrary or selective application of
government burdens. By imposing a levy on some nonprofits while excluding others, the village risks violating these uniformity principles. Courts have consistently ruled that government assessments must be rationally related
to the benefits conferred and applied consistently to all similarly situated properties. Taken together, selective or inconsistent enforcement or application as to nonprofits, particularly in this instance where we receive no special
benefit, is contrary to both the statute and the case law. Accordingly, we request that the village council, number one, clarify the criteria used to determine which entities are included and which are exempted from this
assessment. Number two, review the ordinance. >> Goldfisher, you'll need to wrap it up pretty soon. >> I'm almost done. review the ordinance's application to ensure that all similarly situated nonprofit organizations are treated the same and suspend or def
defer the assessment as to valley pending that review. We remain committed as a hospital to being engaged and a constructive partner in Ridgewood's economic and civic life and partnership depends on fairness, transparency and adherence to the rule of law. We believe
it's both reasonable and responsible for the village to revisit the issue to ensure compliance with the state statute and equal treatment for all. Thank you for your time and your consideration. Thank you, Mr. Fisher. Any other um
persons who wish to be heard? We have here several of the directors from the Ridgewood Business Alliance. Would any of them care to speak? Good evening everyone. My name is Glenn Carlo. I am the president of the board
of directors of the Ridgewood Business Alliance. Um, very nice to meet you, by the way. Um, I believe there, correct me if I'm wrong. Is there a current litigation
between the hospital and the village as to tax status? >> Okay. Well, actually, actually, we can't get into that litigation. >> Don't ask questions. Just give your statement if you want.
>> Okay. >> Should wait, can I just also procedurally should we start the clock or Oh. >> Um, yeah. >> Just understood. >> Don't ask questions of the public. Just give your give your comments. >> Understood. Understood. Um, so we are
aware that there is uh we're under the impression that there is a a a litigation in process. Uh, and I would simply say that the Rididgewood Business Alliance supports um the hospital's
um ability to uh request a review on part of the village council and we have no objection to that. Thank you. >> No. >> All right. Any other commenters
or speakers? Okay. Um got one. >> Oh. Oh, there you go. >> See, Glenn, I didn't know you were that tall. >> Good evening, U council members and audience. Uh I am Stu. My name is Stuart
Capoise. I am the uh uh president of economic development strategist, the consultant who uh brought about the uh improvement district with everybody. And I just wanted to say that is now two years. This is the culmination of two years of work that was being performed
by a variety of different individuals. Um, uh, Glenn Carlo, Tom Hillman, Nina Milanos, uh, Deputy Mayor Peron, Angela Cortillo, Bill Gil, Gillson, Joan Groom,
Gary Kasari, Lisa Blass, Ron Rosen, John Sarosino, Stacy Cesparis, and Mayor Faganos, as long as well as Katherine Schmidt. Um these people worked diligently over the last two years to put together the improvement district,
the ordinance that was approved and also the budget that you stand before you. um now that being for the public hearing and in response to other non forprofits I know that there were uh there were basically uh I think 22 let's see 20 uh
29 that's 29 49 different um uh I don't know about non for profofits but certainly tax exempt status properties that are within the district and of those there were one two three four five
six properties that was uh uh decided to be included within the district uh for the uh improvement district for the Rididgewood Bid business alliance. Um I want to thank again thank you for all the time. I want to thank the staff. I would like to
thank the uh the council for all the work that they have done. Uh as far as the um the uh specific benefits, I do I would say that point blank that obviously um if anybody wants to challenge the improvement district
ordinance uh and be exempt from it, they need to do so by uh asking the council to exempt them. Uh but basically that would have to be to reopen schedule A and also redistrict the map of of the improvement district at the same time.
Uh we do believe that the u the hospital is involved with a variety of for-profit entity organizational structures and consequently that was the decision decision by the board to include them in the assessment. Thank you very much. I thank you again for all the time and
that that I spent here with you and for the board members to be involved. Thank you. And I'd like to thank uh Stuart Copperw Weiss for his guidance here and uh uh the budget itself is thoughtful
and and helps us get the business community to um uh an enhanced position and the deliverables are there in the budget and uh we we appreciate all his
service over these many months. Are we closing? >> If I may just correct one statement, >> um there we are not a for-profit. We are a not for profofit and there is no forprofit work going on on that campus.
>> Thank you. Thank you. >> I move that the public hearing on the 2026 Ridgewood Business Alliance budget be closed. >> I second that. Mortimer, >> yes. >> Perin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrand, >> yes.
>> Okay. Um, do you like me to read the resolution? >> Yes, please. >> Where is the Ridgewood Business Alliance, Inc., the District Management Corporation for Rididgewood Special Improvement District, submitted its first annual budget to the Village Council of Village of Rididgewood in accordance with NJSA456-84.
And whereas officers of the Ridgewood Business Alliance, Inc. presented their 2026 budget to the village council at a regularly scheduled work session on September 24th, 2025 to explain how the 2026 budget contributes to the Ridgewood Business Alliance, Inc.'s goals and
objectives. Whereas the Village Council of Village of Ridgwood adopted resolution number 25-412 on October 8th, 2025, which introduced and approved the 2026 budget of the Ridgwood Business Alliance, Inc. and set November 12th, 2025 as a date for the public hearing on the budget. And
whereas the budget for the Ridger Business Alliance, Inc. as well as the date, time, and place of the public hearing was advertised in the Rididgewood News and notification of the public hearing on the 2026 budget and a link to the assessment role was sent by US mail to all property owners in Rididgewood who will pay an assessment
to the Rididgewood Business Alliance, Inc. And whereas the public hearing on the 2026 budget for the Ridgewood Business Alliance, Inc. has now been held. Now therefore be it resolved by the village council of the village of Rididgewood that the 2026 budget for the Ridgewood Business Alliance Inc. being is hereby adopted.
>> So so moved. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> So as many people know that I've um been very involved and asked a lot of questions. Um, I do appreciate all of Stuart's answers and since the when we
voted on this um there's been additional movement uh within the the board and so because I'm seeing them continue to move to where it needs to be then I'm going to vote yes. >> Parent. Yes. Whites. >> So I have a message here from Paul that
he asked me to read and then I'm just going to comment myself. So this one is from Paul. I've worked in Rididgewood Central Business District for about 30 years. Along with our nationally ranked schools, beautiful treeline neighborhoods. It is one of the crown jewels of our village. Through the years, I've watched and felt firsthand how the peaks and valleys of the
changing economy have impacted our downtown shopping and dining community. As we have all seen, however, today's business climate is changing faster than ever. And while a city is by no means a panacea, it will provide us with the tool and resources necessary to better complete compete in this everchanging
landscape. Consequently, I wholeheartedly support the establishment of a special improvement district in Richmond and want to take this moment to personally thank Deputy Mayor Pam Perin for her efforts and vision in bringing this much needed resource to a village. Uh for me personally, I too want to
thank uh my friend Pam. Um I think this is a wonderful thing. Uh it is not perfect and I'm sure it will evolve and we'll figure out ways to make it better and certainly Miss Goldfisher, we hear you. Um, but sir, I'm prepared to vote yes tonight because I think it's a great thing on balance and I look forward to
seeing all the great things that you're going to do with this new endeavor. >> And we're going to grab. >> Sure. So, I too want to thank Pam, the committee, and all the business owners because you make Ridgewood truly great. I'm so grateful for you outside of this and then inside of it as well. Um, I'm
also very much looking forward to partnering with beautifification and adding more lights, more flowers, and more beautiful elements to our main street. So, congratulations, Pam. Congratulations to the Richard Business Alliance, and I vote yes. >> All right, we will go on to the village
manager report. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Um, first I want to start tonight by thanking Sean Hamlin, our supervisor of sanitation and recycling, and Rich Calby, our director of operations, uh, for their efforts in
acknowledging uh, Ronald Fiser, someone who worked for the village 30 years ago and who really gave their life for the village um, in service to our residents. So, we certainly look forward uh, to honoring Ronald further next spring. um
and acknowledging acknowledging the sacrifice he made uh here in the village of Ridgewood. I also want to thank the American Legion Post 53 and all who participated and attended yesterday's Veterans Day service in Vaness Square. While in many communities, services like
this have dwindled or stopped completely. Ridgewood does it right with many residents attending to honor our veterans. Coming from a Gold Star family myself, it's meaningful and much appreciated. On Monday, construction began on the new
flood barrier system here at Village Hall. The project is expected to take three weeks with the majority of work occurring this week. Both the main entrance and the community center entrance will be impacted. However, one entrance will be closed at a time so
residents, employees, and customers can continue to access the building throughout the duration of the project. And just to be clear, these gates are in front of each door at the ground level. As I previously stated uh to Pam, there is no concrete wall being installed
around Village Hall. I'm also pleased to announce that the Ridgewood Police Department, Central Dispatch, and my office have been working collectively together to create an online parking request portal which is scheduled to
formally launch on December 1st. We did a trial run last week and we have a few changes to make, but we are confident that this will make notification to central dispatch for overnight parking easier and more convenient for our residents rather than having to call in
each night. So, we are looking forward to that. On November 6, the new bus shelter in front of Ridgewood High School on East Ridgewood Avenue finally arrived. I want to acknowledge the engineering division, the signal division, and New Jersey Transit for their partnership in this project. While
it took a while, this new shelter will provide cover from inclement weather and a safe place for riders, especially our students. Our vendor, Audio Directions, will be installing a hearing loop here in the courtroom this Friday, November 14th.
You may recall that we received a state grant to install this technology, which allows people with hearing loss to clear sound regardless of background noise or distance. Also, this Friday, November 14th, at
3:30 p.m., we invite all Ridgewood residents to attend the grand reopening of the new ADA playground at Habernickle Park. This upgraded playground, which is designed to be accessible for all children, was partially funded through a $68,000 state department of community
affairs grant pursued by our parks and recreation department. I'm also pleased to report that the upper halls baseball field upgrades, which were made over the NJA teachers convention break, are now complete. Again, a big thank you to the Ridgewood
Baseball and Softball Association for their generous donation and investment into this field and to our parks and recreation department, the Ridgewood Public Schools, and New Jersey Sports Fields for working together to get this done. Tomorrow night, we will hold a community
meeting on the Zubriski Shedler property soil remediation plan. Matrix New World Engineering will present the details of the soil remediation plan for the Subriski Shedler property to the community. A plan has been submitted to the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection and representatives from Matrix will be available to answer questions from the public. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the youth lounge on level one of this building. Residents may all also participate via Zoom. This past Sunday
was the first time I had the opportunity to attend the Ridgewood Elder Dinner and it was simply an amazing event. Sincere thanks to our parks and recreation department, the Community Center Foundation, the Health Barn USA, age friendly Rididgewood, the Civic Youth
Corpse, the Scout Troops, and all the talented students from Rididgewood High School who shared their vocal talents. All the volunteers and the Kapoor family. It was truly a coming together to show our thanks for our senior residents. This award-winning event is
something special in the village and for that we should all be thankful. As we discussed at the October 29th village council meeting, the village has entered into an agreement to offer the difference card along with the state health benefits high deductible plan to
cover out-ofpocket expenses for our employees health benefits. This change was elected for all employees eligible and would provide a significant savings to both the village and the employees, especially in light of the pending 36.5%
increase in insurance premiums, which goes into effect on the state health benefits plan effective January 1st. With that, we received a report today indicating that 176 employees have moved from the traditional plans to the high
deductible plan and will be able to take advantage of the difference card. Just under a 100 employees chose to stay on the plans that they have today. Finance is working on the savings calculations as it relates to the impact on the 2026
municipal budget. On tonight's agenda is the salary ordinance setting the PBA and PBA SOA for 2026 through 2029. We have a memorandum of agreement outlining the agreed upon items for this
new contract. Salary adjustments will be set at 1.5 in 2026, 2.5 in 2027, 1.75 in 2028, and 2.5 in 2029.
We also negotiated changes to comptime banks, healthc care benefits as it relates to the high deductible plan, as just mentioned, and cleaned up language to bring the contract up to date. I want to thank the PBA and the S SOA negotiations committee led by Kyle
Montton and Jay Chuck for their efforts in coming to an agreement that both benefits our police officers and the taxpayers of Ridgewood. I am also pleased that we were able to come to terms on the new contract prior to the existing contract expiring
with the suspension of SNAP benefits on October 31st. The village partnered with the social services association, the public library, the YMCA, and multiple churches, and the Rididgewood public schools to collect donations for families impacted. I am super proud of
the community coming together and donating hundreds of bags of food and toiletries. Thank you, Rididgewood, for your generosity and care. Social services will now transition to their annual Thanksgiving food drive, which benefits more than 100 local families.
Just a few announcements tonight. The 1 million minutes of wellness challenge um has now hit over 500,000 minutes logged. This 12-week challenge is a cornerstone of the 2025 Mayor's Wellness Campaign.
The challenge is open to anyone who lives, works, or participates in programs and services here in Ridgewood. And we encourage you to simply go on and log your minutes between now and December 5th on the Wellness Challenge web page on the village site.
Leaf season began back in October. Uh please keep checking the mailer that was received at all residential households. It's also posted on the village website. Please remember that those dates that are listed are placement dates. They are not the dates that the leaves will be
collected. The next Bergen County Utilities Authority h household hazardous waste event will be held on Saturday, November 15th from 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bergen County Utilities Authority in Munaki. Residents must stay in their vehicles at all times and staff
will remove the materials from your vehicle. Village Hall and all Village of Ridgewood offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th in observance of Thanksgiving. The recycling center will be open from 8:00 a.m. till noon on
Friday, November 29th. The East Side rear yard garbage pickup and area number eight recycling will be picked up as well. The 40th annual donate downtown for the holidays and tree lighting will take place on Friday, November 5th from
6:00 to 900 pm along East Rididgewood Avenue. The Chamber of Commerce will have a touch a truck, trackless train, nutcracker dancers in store windows, and Santa in his moving golf cart. There will also be s'mores in Vaness Square. Contact the Ridgewood Chamber of
Commerce for more details. And finally, uh, the village council upcoming meetings are December 3rd, a work session. December 10th, a public meeting. Both start at 7:30 p.m. And finally, as this is our last meeting in November, I just want to wish everyone a
happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. And that concludes my report, Deputy Mayor. >> We'll go on to council reports. Thank you. Uh, Frank, >> thanks. Um the Richmond Arts Council met
on Monday and uh so on November 20th, which is next Thursday, that we're having um a jazz coffee house um at the Sugar and Spice. This is a free event where you can go in, listen to some tunes, have some uh great snacks. And so
I would encourage everybody to head down to Sugar and Spice next Thursday, November 20th, and it starts at 7 PM. Also, as Keith mentioned, downtown for the holidays. And what the Ridgewood Arts Council is doing is that they're already gearing up to um get the businesses to do the holiday window
displays. And then that'll also be judged before the tree lighting and open space meets tomorrow. And uh I think we're going to be celebrating something. So that's it. Thank you. >> Uh Councilwoman Winter. Sure. So, um I
too want to say thank you to the elder dinner which occurred on Sunday. Um I was a member of the original inception team and about 10 years ago I received a phone call seeing if my middle school students would wish to be involved. If you've never attended, it's a lovely
event. It underscores um for senior citizens were thwarting hunger and also loneliness. It's a chance to build community and I want to thank our partners at Health Barn and the Old Premis Church Age Friendly and everybody who made it happen. I especially want to thank the Capor family who donates the
meal. Um about nine years ago, their father-in-law passed away and they wanted to see their volunteer dollars in action and their boys have grown up. One of them is now officially taller than everybody in Rididgewood. Um, and this model has gone as far as it was adopted
in Glenrock this year and Fair Lawn has reached out. So, thank you to everybody who makes these beautiful events happen. Um, especially from the council who showed up. I know Keith and his wife uh were servers and Pam was working extra hard as well. So, thank you for being there. Um, last night we met with
Shadree. It was a very productive meeting. I want to again mention that our school for next year for adopt a sapling will be the Ridge School. This is great. So, we're looking forward to partnering with Ridge and if you have any friends there that are interested in saplings, start talking them up now. Um,
we're also continuing our ongoing program of creating an awareness of what ivy can do to a viable tree. And we're pleased to announce that um our search for additional large trees and potentially liberty trees, which is a tree that's over 250 years old and could
possibly be honored by the state of New Jersey during our 250th, have been identified. So stay tuned for that. And thank you to Shad Tree for all of their hard work. Um we I too attended the Veterans Day celebration or memorial at
uh the park. And I want to thank um the American Legent, Sally Anne, and the speaker, Bill Golden, who was a Ridgewood resident, is a Ridgewood resident. I want to say um you know, yesterday was a bitterly cold day. As the lead speaker said, it was a solders's day. It reminds you how lucky
you are that we're celebrating our holidays in a home with food and with family and so many people are deployed and their families are home serving in their own way way raising children alone. Um it was truly beautiful and I'm grateful each and every day for those
who have kept our our country safe. On a more personal note, I want to thank and wish um my father and my brother who are both Richard residents a happy Veterans Day. My brother was in the US Navy and my father was a Marine. Um tonight we had access um the dinner at Stella. We
had a little shift in plans and it was very well attended. The fire department was there. I want to thank Jamie Davis and Jesse Schwarzman for another successful dinner. I also want to remind everybody that the silent Christmas tree lighting, which is an event that occurs the Monday after the Christmas tree
lighting, um, with very little stimulation, if you're neurode divergent, attending a parade, attending a celebration is very hard. So, for those families, often siblings sit out. Um, the entire access committee is excited that this event will occur.
It'll um, it'll be at the Rididge Station this year and please join us if you've never been a part of it. It's a truly beautiful event. And we also want to from the access community who wrote dozens of letters for the ADA compliance um and improvements at Aernnickel. We
all plan on being at the ribbon cutting on Friday. So, please join us 3:30 at Habernickle. And lastly, as Keith mentioned, I want to wish everybody a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. And I want to say how thankful I am to live in Rididgewood, to serve on this council,
to work with such smart, thoughtful, kind people. So, whatever you're doing to you and your family, I'm thankful to be a small part of this community and I wish you all the best. >> Evan, thanks so much. Um, I will be brief. Um, HBC Historical Preservation
Committee met earlier this week, uh, had five applications. Um, I remain thankful to all the folks in the HBC for their guidance in protecting the integrity of our community. Um, want to echo Siobhan's comments as well as everyone else. All uh all the council members attended the Veterans Day um Veterans
Day presentation at Ben Square. Um it was uniquely uniquely uniquely well done. Um the lead speaker Bill Golden was um incredibly moving. Um and the Legionnaires as always put on a remarkably great event and something worthy of our veterans. So I want to
thank the Legionnaires as well. Um and as everyone else, just want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you all in December. >> Thanks Evan. Um I too attended the Veterans Day ceremony. It was very inspirational. Our speaker spoke about
um don't allow fear to command your your actions. Don't let fear get in the way of your accomplishing what you dream to accomplish. And I really appreciated that. Um Green Ridgewood met last week. uh our subcommittees all reported in on
finances, grant applications, student events like pumpkin smashing, which the students are staging this weekend. Um and oh, I'll reiterate what what our sanitation director said. Don't put
pumpkins in the street. Don't cover them up with leaves. They are very dangerous when they rot and they become slippery. Uh the elder dinner was really we get more and more people every year uh coming to this event and it's it's just
so much fun. I meet so many new people and I also wanted to thank old parameus reform church for bringing people together and hosting this event. Uh they have been doing that for 300 years and
this is their 300 annivers 300th anniversary and to celebrate this Saturday at 7 o'clock there's going to be a benefit concert at the church to um to uh which will be put on by um angle
winds. It should be mostly classical music and uh it I I intend to attend um and I hope many of you will as well. The Ridgewood Arts Foundation continues to meet to draft the grant application and
hopefully um uh win the EDA grant from the state of New Jersey to refurbish the Warner Theater into a performing arts center. The central business district committee meets uh tomorrow morning via Zoom at
8:30. The link is on our agenda and the agenda is posted on the village website downtown for the holidays. Uh I did want to mention that Santa and Mrs. Claus will be welcoming families a little
earlier than the rest of the program at uh 5 to 6 o'clock. Uh they will be greeting families uh at the other end of Ridgewood Avenue. Uh it won't be as crowded, so it should be a little more relaxed. And uh that's
all I have. I'll wish everybody a thank uh a good great Thanksgiving with family and friends. And we'll go on to uh Rididgewood Water. There are no ordinances for introduction or public
hearing. So we will go on to our consent agenda. That's item 13 on the agenda. So the following resolutions number 24 25-423 through 25-438 will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by the village council. They
will be read by title only. Award contract purchase of fiber cable for Wyoff buildout project. Award contract construction of Cedar Hill POS treatment facility. Award contract under New Jersey state contract 2026 Ford F350 super cabab. Award contract under source
cooperative purchasing towbehind air compressor. Award contract under source cooperative purchasing mobile light tower. Award contract under source cooperative purchasing walkbehind trench roller. Award professional services contract public policy consulting. Award
professional services contract budget model review. Authorized change order security improvements at various water facilities. Authorized change order concrete pavement and sidewalk restoration. Authorized change order asphalt trench patching. Authorized change order east side water main
replacement project. Approval of final payment Pacific Valley Water Commission interconnection. Approval of final payment and closeout. East Side Water main replacement project. Authorize application for grant agreement from New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. construction of POS treatment facility
in Glenrock and declare property surplus for the water department. I have a motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> And grad. >> Yes. >> Okay. I move the first reading of
ordinance 4068. >> Second. >> Second. Sorry. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. Whites. Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please read ordinance 4068 by title? >> An ordinance to fix salaries, wages, and
other compensation of and for police officers and police superior officers of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey. >> I move that ordinance 4068 be adopted on the first reading and that December 10th, 2025 be fixed as the hearing the
date for the hearing thereon. I second the motion >> through through you, deputy mayor. >> Yes. >> This ordinance ties back to what I reported on under the manager's report with the settlement of the PVA and PBA superior officer salaries. Um, so everything in this ordinance is tied
back to the memorandum of agreement. >> Yes. >> Parent. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Warigr. >> Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4063 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened. >> Second.
>> Okay. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Aaron. Yes. Whites. >> Yes. >> Wonder. >> Yes. Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4060? >> An ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of Ridgewood vehicles and traffic as section 265-65.
Parking prohibited at all times. The public hearing is now open. >> Seeing no one, uh, I I move that the public hearing be closed. >> I second that. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrad,
>> yes. >> I move that ordinance 4063 be adopted on the second reading and the final publication as required by law. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Perin, >> yes. Whites, >> yes. I want to grab. >> Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance
4064 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be open. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Perin. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Wonder. >> Yes. >> Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4064?
>> An ordinance to amend chapter 145 of the code of the village of Ridgewood fees and section 145-6 fees related to code chapters. The public hearing is now open. >> I move the public hearing be closed. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes.
>> Perin. >> Yes. >> Whites? >> Yes. >> Wiggrad? >> Yes. >> I move that ordinance 4064 be adopted on second reading and final publication as required by law. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parent.
>> Yes. Whites. >> Yes. >> Wiggrat. >> Yes. >> I move the clerk read ordinance 4065 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be open. >> Second. >> Uh Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Karen.
>> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. >> Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4065? An ordinance to amend chapter 145 of the code of the village of Ridgewood fees and section 145-6 enumeration of fees relating to code
chapters. The public hearing is now open. I don't see anyone wishing to to speak and therefore I move the public hearing be closed. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Morningrad.
>> Yes. I move that ordinance 4865 be adopted on the second reading and final publication as required by law. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Parin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wonderrad, >> yes.
>> I move the clerk read ordinance 4066 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Heron, >> yes. >> Whites, yes. >> Wiggrat, >> yes. Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4066?
>> An ordinance to amend the salaries, wages, and other compensation and to establish the employee agreement of certain non-union officers and employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey for the year 2026. The public hearing is now open.
Seeing no one wishing to speak to this issue, I move that the public hearing be closed. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Pin. Yes. Whites. >> Yes. >> Or negat. Yes. >> I move that ordinance 4066 be adopted on second reading and final
publication as required by law. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Wonderrad. >> Yes. >> I move the clerk read ordinance 4067 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened.
>> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. Lights. Yes. >> Grd. >> Yes. Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4067? >> An ordinance to fix salaries, wages, and other compensation of non-union employees of the village of Rididgewood
County of Bergen, state of New Jersey for the year 2026. The public hearing is now open. I'll just say thank you to our village manager for negotiating all these contracts. I know it was a lot of work.
I don't see any other uh people requesting to speak. Therefore, I move the public hearing be closed. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Haron. >> Yes. Whites. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> I move that ordinance 4067
be adopted on second reading in the final publication as required by law. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Perin. >> Yes. Whites. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. Well done, Frank. Yes. The following resolutions number 25-439
through 25-468 are to be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by the village council. They will be read by title only. Award contract transplant arborite at Shedler property. Award contract removal and replanting of memorial trees in 911
Memorial LA. Award contract professional recreational program instruction. Title 59 approval, furnishing laboratory analysis services, water pollution control facility. Lake Lake Lake View Compost Facility and Graden Pool Facility. Award contract furnishing
laboratory analysis services, water pollution control facility, Lake View Compost Facility and Graden Pool Facility. Award contract under Bergen County contract. Removal of existing trees on site plan on north side of Shedler property. Award contract under Bergen County contract. Restoration of
fire department ladder tower truck award professional services contract employee assistance program or professional services contract engineering permitting and bidding services development of Schidler Park property or professional services contract geotechnical
investigation and deliverables and retaining wall design and construction drawings award professional services contract physician for child health clinics award professional services contract public health and nursing services. Authorized shared services agreement. TV inspection of sewer mains.
Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority. Authorized shared services agreement. Tax assessor services. West Milford. Authorized shared services agreement. Use of styrofoam densifier. Burough of Fairlon. Authorized shared services agreement. Use of styrofoam densifier. Bur of Hokus. Authorized
shared services agreement. Use of styrofoam densifier. Burough of Oridel. Authorized shared services agreement. Use of styrofoam densifier. Burough of Glenrock. Authorized shared services agreement. Use of styrofoam densifier, City of Garfield. Request approval to
change title or text in 2025 budget. New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addictive Services Grant. Authorize Chapter 159 2025 budget amendment, Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Grant from State of New Jersey Department of Human
Services. Authorize entering into and execution of community development block grant agreement. Carl Lyle Terrace sewage pipe road improvements. Authorize application for and accept grant funding from Bergen County Municipal Alliance grant. Authorize settlement agreement
outstanding insurance claim. The New Jersey Environmental Risk Management Fund. Authorized membership and Payic County Cooperative Pricing System and execution of membership agreements. Accept donation planter pots for central business district. Establish 2026 dates
and fees for dining corral. Declare property surplus fire department. Authorize minor encroachment agreement 914 Elaine Terrace. Authorize planting of memorial tree and placement of memorial plaque in department of public works garage to commemorate village employee Ronald Fischer on the 30th
anniversary of his untimely passing. I have a motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. Parent. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> And yes. >> And with that, we will go back to public comment not to exceed three minutes.
Good evening. Bob Ferman, Ridgewood resident. I just wanted to thank the council and village manager for all of the excellent work that you do for all of the village residents. You know, you could go on and on a big long list, whether it's the improvement at horse
school field, the the Kingsbridge Lane pedestrian bridge, uh the bus station improvements at Vaness Square as well as the high school, uh the Elder, etc., etc. Uh and and and in closing, I would just like to say in confidence based on
the last few council elections, I can tell you that the silent majority in this village supports you all. Thank you. >> Thank you, Bob. >> Good evening. Uh Hansen Layman, Rididgewood resident. Uh I had the
displeasure of watching your last council meeting and especially uh in reference to a public comment and just for myself personally I wanted to thank the council and in particular the village manager for the good work that
you're doing and I hope to see Shedler completed sometime before I pass from this earth. Thank you. >> Thank you Hans. I hope we get it done well before then, for what it's worth. >> Boy, a loving Rididgewood taxpayer and
Ridgewood resident. I've got a concern about the $79,000 expenditure for the repair of the ladder truck, uh the fire department tower ladder truck. Um I believe that that truck is probably a 2012 2013. I don't know uh what the
repairs are that that we're paying $79,000 for, but I'm just wondering if any of them should have fallen under a warranty and for some reason we're not able to collect money from the manufacturer. Uh perhaps I should just contact the fire chief and talk about this, but again, just a concern about
that amount of money uh being spent. Uh, I know it's a lot cheaper than buying a new truck, but I'm just concerned as to whether something wore out that shouldn't have worn out and why the taxpayers are now have to spend almost $80,000 to get it straightened out. Um,
so if there could just be some followup just to let me know what in particular is wrong with that truck that's going to require that amount of money to fix it, I'd appreciate it. Uh, I was did not want to interrupt the public hearing. I believe it was build as a public
hearing. uh earlier, but it's my recollection that typically at public hearings there is no time limit imposed on speakers. And I was just curious to know why there was a threeminut time limit imposed tonight on each speaker uh with respect to that public hearing. As
I said, it's been my experience that typically there is no time limit imposed. I don't know if this is a change or if it was because an ordinance wasn't involved, but I'm part particularly concerned that the attorney for Valley was kind of cut off uh at the
3minut limit when there was no announcement ahead of time that there would be a three-minute limit. Uh as you know, typically three-minute limits are imposed on comments, but a public hearing is not a comment. people can ask questions and comment and it's been my
experience that there's never been a time limit associated with that and I was sort of surprised that a time limit was imposed tonight. If you have changed the policy with respect to public hearings and are now going to impose a threeminut time limit on that, I believe that should be formally announced so
people know it. Thank you. >> Anyone else? Okay. Uh, I'm going to close public comment >> online. >> Anybody online? I don't >> No, there's nobody online. Uh, and um I
would like to respond. Um, that was my mistake. There is no change in policy during public hearings. Uh, people can talk as long as they need to. And indeed, the attorney for Valley Hospital did get up and speak a second
time. So, I don't think she was uh cut off in any of the things she needed to convey. With respect to the um ladder truck, the things that need repair, and I'm only going to tell you some of the big ones,
uh the heat shields are coming off and need to be replaced. The steering wheel horn button works only intermittently. Um the fuel tank is severely rusted and
grease fittings are missing um in the yolk and the split joint whatever that is. Uh the cradle scuff pads are bent and the right cradle pad is damaged. Uh the platform waterway swivel will not
take grease. Um and uh in speaking with the there that's just a few of them. I mean it's a long list uh that you can see in the Sunshine binders, but in speaking with the with
Chief John Judge, he said a new ladder truck would cost 2.1 to 2.3 million to replace with a three to fouryear wait. and we can't wait that long for the purpose of safety and there are no
grants available. So for that reason we are opting for this rather expensive repair. >> Yeah, just to add boy because I actually had a lot of the same questions you did when we met with the fire chief. There's about 10 more years at least on the life of this of this rig. Um so we feel it's
a worthy investment. Um given that the truck was already 10 years old, I'm going to assume that there's no warranty. Um when we asked the chief about, you know, this level of um of wear and tear, he said it was unusual. You never have a great answer for it, but clearly we need the truck. Like we need, you know, this is the, you know,
the the um the tower truck that we use for high buildings. Um but we did leave that meeting with um with the chief judge talking about trying to get more grant money um from the state and the federal government. Apparently the rising costs of fire trucks is a problem nationwide and it's being addressed potentially even in Washington. But he
is looking at the grant money too to offset some of these costs. Um, but it's a it's a good question you asked and like I said, we were we were had a very spirited discussion on this. >> And with that, are we ready for a motion to go into closed session?
>> I'll make the motion. >> Hold on. Let me read it. be resolved by the village council of the village of Rid village council meet in close session on November 12th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. or soon thereafter as the matter on the agenda can be reached and the set close 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 matters to be discussed in closed session are limited to legal matters to include easement at 535 Eastwood Avenue. These matters are allowable under NJSA 10 called 4-12 that second be further resolved that the
minutes of this meeting shall be made available to the general public on such matters have been deemed completed by resolution of the village council. I have a motion. >> I'll make the motion. >> I'll second. All in favor? I. >> Anyone opposed? Okay. Thank you.