Matt's >> in Italy. >> Yeah. Here we go. >> Good evening. Good evening, everyone. >> All right, time to start. >> Hi, you guys. There are plenty of seats. If you can
grab whatever seats are available, that would be terrific. Doug, would you mention to the guys outside that we're starting? >> Thank you. >> Good evening. This is the village council regular public meeting. The date
is May 13, 2026. The time is 7:30 p.m. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, the record, by submission to all persons entitled the same as provided by law of a schedule,
including the date and time of this meeting. Legal notices have also been posted at on our website. Roll call. >> Council member Mortimer >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Pin here. Council member Whites >> here. >> Council member Winterrad >> here.
>> Mayor Bajanos >> here. Will you all please join us in a salute to our flag? >> 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. I move the bills, claims, and vouchers and statement of funds on hand as of April 30th, 2026 be accepted as submitted. >> I second. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrad,
>> yes. >> And >> yes. I move that the village council minutes of January 21st, January 26th, February 2nd, 4th, 9th, 11th, and 25th, and April 22nd, 2026, having been
reviewed by the village council and now available in the village clerk's office be approved as submitted. >> I second. >> I just want to u make one mention. And the reason why April 22nd is being taken out of order is because we need it for a grant that we've applied for and we must
provide um that section of the minutes where we had the hearing. So we do need to um adopt them at this time. So I have a second and uh Mortimer >> yes. >> Parn. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. >> And Bajanos.
>> Yes. And we have some proclamations to read. And so Pam, if you could begin with the proclamation for the green team. Let's kick it off. >> Whereas the village of Ridgewood adopted ordinance 3423,
the creation of a green team on August 13, 2014. And whereas ordinance number 3423 stated that the village council of the village of Rididgewood would pursue local initiatives and actions that would lead to sustainable Jersey municipal
certification. And whereas the village council of the village of Ridgewood created the village green team to serve as the vill's agents for the sustainable Jersey municipal certification process. And whereas the
green team is composed of individuals who are interested in advancing the efforts of Ridgewood in the sustainable Jersey municipal certifi certification program and they have been actively working as a green team since its creation. And whereas the green team has
been created and cataloging sustainability actions so that Ridgewood may maintain sustainable Jersey certification. Now therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of Rididgewood does hereby reaffirm and proclaim the green team of
the village of Rididgewood is active in the community and advancing sustainable practices and actions included in the sustainable Jersey municipal certification program. And the green team has been and shall continue to be composed of individuals who have
demonstrated interest in advancing the efforts of the village of Ridgewood to pursue certification through the sustainable Jersey municipal certification program and the role of the green team has been and shall continue to be to lead and coordinate the sustainable activities of the
community. >> Thank you Pam. Siobhan, would you read the proclamation for military appreciation month? >> Sure. And just because we have so many students and so many first responders, if you have or now are an active member
of the military, could you raise your hand? And to the students here, I just want you to look around and see how many people who work for the village before I read this have served our country. And thank you to everybody and most especially to them. [applause] >> [applause] >> Whereas in 1999, the United States
Congress designated May as National Military Appreciation Month to encourage all Americans to remember those whose lives who gave their lives in defense of our freedom and to honor all men and women who have served and continued to served in our armed forces as well as the family of those who sacrificed
support and supports them. Whereas the following national observations in May serve to highlight the dedication and contribution of military personnel and public servants. Loyalty Day May 1st, Public Service Recognition Week May 3rd
through the 9th, Victory in Europe VD May 8th, Armed Forces Day May 17th, and Memorial Day May 25th. Whereas the National Military Appreciation Month serves as an unifying declaration, encouraging all US citizens to recognize
and celebrate the service and sacrifice of our military and community. Whereas many men and women from the village of Ridgewood have served in the United States armed forces, and their bravery has helped preserve the liberties that enrich our community, our nation, and the world. Now therefore, it be resolved
that the village of council of the village of Rididgewood does hereby proclaim May 2026 as National Military Appreciation Month and calls upon all residents to join us in recognizing and honoring the services of current and former members of the United States
Armed Forces and to participate in all national observances throughout the month. >> Thank you, Siobhan. Frank, would you take [clears throat] the proclamation former emergency medical services this week? >> Whereas emergency medical service is a vital public service and whereas access
to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas the members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. and they engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas this year we recognize May 17th to 23rd, 2026
as the marking of the 52nd anniversary of EMS week and this year's theme, improving outcomes together. We recognize how EMS professionals bring advanced skills and innovative tools to the emergency situations. And whereas in
the past 52 years, the profession has made enormous strides in prehosp care, data collection, emergency management, and community-based healthcare. Now therefore be it resolved that the village council of the village of Rididgewood does hereby proclaim the
week of May 17th through May 23rd, 2026 as emergency medical service week in the village of Ridgewood and encourages the community to support Richwood Emergency Medical Services as well as observe this 52nd anniversary week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities. >> Thank you, Frank. And I am exceptionally proud to read the proclamation for Pride Month in June. And just for anyone who doesn't know, we will celebrate
Pride Month on June 6th at Vaness Square at 1:00. It's a big celebration. There's going to be a bizaar. There's going to be shops. It's going to be all sorts of things. Lots of fun. There's going to be bouncy houses for the kids. So, please join us. Whereas the village council of
Rididgewood affirms the human rights of all people and supports a community that is accepting and respectful. And whereas members of the LGBTQ plus community have long faced discrimination, marginalization, and
harm for living in accordance with our nation's core values of life, liberty, and freedom. And whereas many LGBTQ plus individuals have endured prejudice, threats to their safety, and pressure to
hide their identities. And whereas the village council stands united against hatred, violence, and discrimination in all forms. And whereas bigotry and intolerance have no place in our society and certainly in
this village. And it is the responsibility of village leaders and residents to foster empathy, understanding, and care. And whereas LGBTQ plus individuals contribute meaningfully to the village, the state,
and the nation, enriching our community, advancing and advancing a more inclusive world. And whereas LGBTQ plus people are our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family, all deserving of respect,
compassion, and the freedom to love whom they choose. And whereas the village of Ridgewood celebrates both our shared humanity and our diverse identities. Now therefore be it resolved that the village council of the village of
Rididgewood does hereby pro proclaim June 26 as LGBTQ plus pride month and encourages all residents to celebrate our diversity and embrace every member of our community
with love and acceptance. Thank you. Evan, will you take the proclamation for National Cancer Survivors Day? Whereas today more than 18 million Americans are cancer survivors thanks to advances in early detection, treatment and research.
And whereas surviving cancer can leave a host of problems in its wake with physical, emotional, financial hardship often persisting for years after diagnosis. treatment with challenges including access to cancer specialists and promising new treatments, denial of health and life insurance coverage, financial hardships long after the
initial diagnosis and treatment, employment problems, psychological struggles, and the strain on personal relationships, and the profound fear of reoccurrence. And whereas the village of Ridgewood has an active and productive cancer survivor population, demonstrating that cancer survivors can live active, productive lives even
though they still face many challenges. And whereas communities all across America will be celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day on Sunday, June 7th, 2026 as part of the world's largest annual Cancer Survivor event. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of Vidwood does hereby proclaim June 7th,
2026 as National Cancer Survivors Day in the village of Rididgewood and urges all residents to join in this joyous celebration of life. >> Thank you, Evan. Bam. You started off. Let's finish it up with National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
>> Thank you. Whereas gun violence kills 120 Americans each day and injures many more with the United States experiencing far higher gun-related homicide rates than other developed nations. And whereas the village council of the
village of Ridgewood is committed to public safety, supporting both the second amendment rights of law- abiding citizens and efforts to keep firearms away from dangerous individuals. And whereas June 2nd, 2026 marks what would
have been the 29th birthday of Hadaya Pendleton, whose life was tragically cut short by gun violence. Whereas the the National Gun Violence Awareness Day honors her memory inspired by friends who wear orange, a color
symbolizing the value of human life. And whereas the village renews its commitment to reducing gun violence, promoting responsible gun ownership, and protecting the safety of all residents. Now therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of
Rididgewood does hereby proclaim June 5th, 2026 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the Village of Ridgwood and encourages all residents to support efforts to prevent gun violence and honor the importance of every human life
and wear orange on November on June 5th. >> Thanks, Pam. And now we're going to come down into the well and do a bunch of fun stuff. Is this on? Here we go. All right. We have a lot of great things going on tonight. And we're going to begin with these amazing cheerleaders. We have
Erica Castler. Coach, will you come up and bring those great girls with you? >> She's not here. >> Here we go. Thank you very much. Thanks. Thanks for keeping me in the loop on this. Wait, I don't
Okay, we're going to get to that. We're going to get to that. So, for those of you who are unaware, these young ladies are the first ever state champion cheerleading team from Ridgewood. Give them a round of applause. [applause]
>> [applause] >> And since their coach is not here, I am going to read out their names and the deputy mayor is going to hand each of them a certificate from the village council recognizing their incredible achievement because we are so proud of them. You brought honor
and glory and fun to our village. So, thank you so much. Damn, you got you got that stuff. Just take the whole There we go. And I'm going to call you up and come on by and get your certificate. Yuna Aiba.
[applause] >> Grace Beckit. [applause] Okay. Raquel Block. [cheering] Avery Calendrillo. [applause] Georgia Carter,
Christina Chang, [applause] Caroline Coleman, Scarlet Fleming, [applause] Raquel Garcia, [applause] Sophia Gonclaves,
[applause] Molly Henrian, Bennett Holler, [applause] Isabella Jenowski, Taylor Karens, Emily Calfman, [applause]
Sua Kim, Maya Lake, [applause] Eleanor Leonard, Penelopey Malco, >> [applause] >> Joey Nakasonon, Leia Nich,
Brooke Pin, Pinacio, [applause] Julia Perutin, Victoria Reyes, Olivia Reyes, Liza Sadelene, [applause]
Kayyn Sullivan, who I will add is an intern on our shade tree committee. Kind of cool. Jordan Walker, Andy Wilkkey, Emma Grace Yates,
[applause] Juliana Ziggliara, [applause] and we are going to give the balance of these to Keelin so that she can hand out to the girls who were unable to make it tonight. Um, let's give them another big round of applause because this is so
cool. [applause] We're so excited. And now we do what's called the wedding line. You guys are going to file here and shake hands with Oh, photo. I always forget the photo. So, we're going to have to do this. We're going to have to Yeah, we're going to need a row up front.
Yeah. Come on. Come on. A We're going to need a lower row and a and a bigger row because there's so many of you. >> That's what I need. Yeah. Hold on. Here we go. Got everybody. Can you get everybody?
Okay, everybody over here, come back over here. [applause] >> Okay, wedding line. Congratulations, everybody. Thank you so much. You guys were terrific. So proud of all of you. Nice job. Nice job. Very good. Very
good. Thank you. Thank you so much. Great job. Nice job. I want to get a sweatshirt. Nice job. At least a t-shirt. Maybe a jacket would be the You guys are great. Very excited. Thank you so much.
Good job. Thank you very much. You guys are terrific. Okay, now as much fun as that was, I'm calling up Chief Lions of the Police Department and Chief Judge of the Fire Department.
I don't know if you noticed, there were a couple of guys wearing blue in the back here. Um, we had several members of our fire and police department work closely together to say to save the life of a local resident,
Frank Bennett. So, I'm going to now turn this over to the chiefs and they're going to take it from here. But this is a very big deal. The man is alive today because of the people who are here in this room tonight.
Good evening. I'm extremely pleased to be here, part of such a wonderful village with such wonderful first responders. It happens to be military apprec appreciation week. It's also um police officer appreciation week. It's just fantastic that we work in such a
cooperative environment and that all of our officers do such a fantastic job working with our community. I'm going to turn it over to Chief Judge who's prepared some words about this incident. >> Thank you. Good evening, Mayor, Council, Andrew Hazmark, and everyone who's
joined us this evening. For those who don't know me, my name is John Judge. I'm the chief of the Ridge Fire Department, and you just heard from Chief Lions from the Ridgewood Police Department. It's a notable coincidence that we're here on the same night you adopt the municipal budget. Every year, we come to budget hearings to ask for personnel,
for training, for equipment. Council, you trust our judgment on why we need those items. And tonight, we have the honor of showing you exactly what that support means in the real world. On March 19th, our departments worked together to perform the greatest act of first responder can. They saved a
life. That morning, police and fire received a call for an unresponsive party on a New Jersey Transit bus in town. The police department arrived within minutes to begin initial care with our fire department and EMS crew arriving immediately behind them. Both
departments worked hand in hand on that scene, seamlessly transitioning between compressions, ventilations, and multiple defibrillations. FD personnel then transported the patient to the hospital. CPR continued, defibrillation continued. Patient
regained a pulse. By the time he was transferred to the hospital staff, just 14 minutes from the original dispatch, he had a fighting chance. and I'm proud to say the survivor is here with us this evening. I want to quickly highlight that 14-minute window. In many areas, it
takes 14 minutes just to get an ambulance on scene, if not longer. Here, because of the FD-based EMS model and the collaboration we have together and what the village has supported, our patient was already through the hospital doors in those 14 minutes. Quick,
decisive care is what saved lives, and the system we've built here works. We now like to call forward the members of the police and fire department who saved the life that morning. Your actions were professional, appropriate, and textbook. First up, Lieutenant Michael Limbo.
[applause] Sergeant Doug Bush. >> [applause] [applause] >> Officer Kyle Scarpa, [applause] [applause] Officer Andrew Van Djk, [applause] Officer Edward Moody. [applause]
And from the fire department, firefighter EMT Christopher me. [applause] >> [applause] >> Firefighter EMT Matthew Bombay. [applause] Firefighter EMT Ryan Hart. [applause] Firefighter EMT Kevin Montton
[applause] and firefighter EMT Michael Rorman. [applause] Now, I'd like to bring up the man who is the reason we're all here tonight. Please welcome Mr. Frank Brennan. [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you. Um, I didn't prepare
anything. I'm having some surgery still, but I'm here. I'm alive because of these men. And all too often in a world of hatred and everything that's going on, we forget about the everyday people that
are there to save our lives. And these guys did just that. At 5:30 in the morning on my way to work, had no clue. Don't remember anything except no wonder I was so sore.
U but I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Seriously, you're in my prayers every day and uh I just can't thank you enough. God bless you. Thanks very much. [applause] [applause]
[applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay, stand here. As we conclude this evening, I'd like to thank the manager, the council for supporting our departments and providing us with the tools we need to complete our missions. Mr. Brennan, it's an honor to have you here this evening. You're
the reason we do what we do. To the crew standing in front of us, well done. Can't thank you guys enough for your actions that morning. As I said, textbook work. And finally, to the rest of our first responders, to everyone out there, the police and firemen in the back of the room. Thank you. The work
you do day in and day out, the training, the missed sleeps, and the thousands of calls that don't end in a ceremony is no less significant. The save is a testament to the system we have built together and the standards of excellence you all maintain for this village. Thank you. >> [applause]
>> Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to do our wedding line, but if you didn't know it, this is a standing ovation moment. Everybody up. Let's go. Give him a big round of applause, fellas. Come on down the line. Let's go. Come on down. [applause] Come on down. Nice job. Great
job. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. [applause] Thank you so much. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> was amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. For those of you who don't remember, this is not a new event. It
was only about two years ago. We had another lifesaver. They did this. They This is their thing. So, we are fortunate and grateful to have them. Thank you all. Everything else is downhill tonight. >> Yeah, it was too much fun.
>> I love the kids. >> Yeah. >> [snorts] >> should have done the firefighters first. >> It's amazing. >> Yeah. >> And a bigger audience and initiative. >> I love when the little kids are running. So cute.
>> I know. I really like trying. It's just such an adventure. Go. Well, that was kind of nice. >> Yeah. >> So, now let's continue and we're gonna go right to public comment. >> Yeah, there you go.
>> Comments are limited to three minutes per person. >> Albert, just make sure the the mic is on. Press the green button. >> No, there it is now. And it should be on now. So,
good evening. My name is Albert Tucherelli. I'm a Rididgewood resident. As we approach Memorial Day, I think this is a good time to remember. I surely have lots of memories in in this room. 10 years on the zoning board, 10 years on the planning board, and four on
the council. That's 24 consecutive years attending events in this room. And thank for what I saw this evening. I now have one more wonderful memory to take away from this room. In this edition of the Ridgewood Ho Hocus Journal, there is a wonderful
story about a brave pilot called Rididgewood Sky Hero. It's about uh it's about Frank Thomas Maguire, Thomas B. Maguire Jr., a brave and skillful young pilot. And I must say, as a pilot, I am absolutely in awe of his accomplishments
as part of that greatest generation. Sadly, he lost his life at age 24 in a dog fight over the Philippines. And he should be remembered certainly along with so many other heroes on Memorial Day. But I'm here to remember another
Rididgewood hero whom to my knowledge we last honored in 2005 when we co-enamed a street on the west side in his honor, Varian Fry Way. I just read this book published
in German and I I read the English translation that came out recently published only in 2024 with the translation in 25 about this 30-year-old Harvard graduate who grew up at 25 Richmond Avenue while married and living in New York City. He
joined the emergency rescue committee to save money for artists and intellectuals who found themselves trapped in Vichi France after the Nazis had taken over France. Instead of simply raising funds from
afar, which he did at the beginning of his effort, Mr. Fry wanted to do more. He left his wife in New York City and he spent all of 1940 into 1941 operating out of a hotel room and then a house in
Marseilles. While there he managed to rescue more than 2,000 Jewish refugees by finding them safe passage out of France. They included celebrities such as the Jewish artist Mark Shagal, French surrealist author Andre Breton, French
artist Andre Messan, German artist Max Ernst, and hundreds of ordinary people who heard about him and went to his hotel room and later his room in the in the house to seek safe passage and he did everything he could to provide that
passage. He has been recognized in the Holocaust encyclopedia and I commend to you what is said about him in that encyclopedia. This was truly a heroic young man, a great son of Rididgewood and let's remember him too
on Memorial Day. Thank you. Thank you, Albert. [applause] Cynthia O'Keefe, Rididgewood resident. So, tonight I, you know, heard you recognize the green team for their sustainable activities. Um, we had
police and fire chief uh chiefs here and their staff who performed heroic acts. as well as um other people being recognized. And we talk about being united as a community. Um and I'm here
week after week coming taking time out of my schedule to fight for my neighborhood. And one of the things I wanted to remind you is that you passed the Green Amendment uh in March of 2023.
And I'm going to read you a little excerpt. The Green Amendment is a provision added to a state's constitutional bill of rights that legally recognizes and protects the inalienable rights of all people, including
future generations to pure water, clean air, a stable climate, and healthy environments. These amendments elevate iron environmental rights to the same legal
status as fundamental civil liberties such as free speech and officials need to prioritize pro protection of these rights over other
interests. So with Shedler in mind and your plan to and proposal to place artificial turf next to neighboring homes, I don't understand how you can vote. You
voted on the Green Amendment promising these things and then you're going to take them away. And as you said, Paul, marginalizing certain people when you read about LGBTQ um and you know, we should all have the
same rights to healthy water, clean air, right? And and why [clears throat] do we vote in the green amendment if we're not going like does that mean that every single thing that you say up here on the deis we should just say, oh well, they didn't really mean it. Like when does
the rubber hit the road? That's my question to you. And whether you answer it tonight or you never answer it, people in this village should know that you're voting on things. It's performative if you don't plan to act on it.
So maybe put that in your suggestion box to go home tonight, think about the Green Amendment. Why did you vote it in? Um it's too bad the cheerleaders left because I would have loved a go team at the end of my speech. But um you know there are a lot of people in this
community who are against artificial turf and I think what you're doing to this neighborhood. I talked about the microlastic pollution u and the many other ill effects of artificial turf whether it's eco or not.
It's a fossil fuel product with PAS and other chemicals. So I ask you to think about the green amendment and why each of you voted yes. Thank you. >> Thank you Cynthia. Good evening, Ann Loving Ridgewood resident. Um, I really appreciated all
the proclamations this evening. Uh, as always, I agree with them and they're fantastic. I noted that several of them have to do with June, such as Pride Month and a couple of others. um twice in two years I've come up and
asked you to please have a proclamation for June 12th which is loving day and I don't know if you're done with June proclamations as of tonight or if there will be another opportunity um to remind you loving day in is June
12th 1967 when the Supreme Court made it legal for people to marry whoever they wanted to regardless of the color of their skin nationality ethnicity This was not um for same-sex marriage, which fortunately was going to come
later, but this was for heterosexual marriage, enabling people who wanted to get married to get married. It stemmed from a case of a very poor rural couple who were childhood sweethearts that married and had children in Virginia. And one night they were seized from
their beds and thrown in jail because they were married and it was against the law in Virginia. Robert Kennedy, the elder, not the current one, Robert Kennedy took the case to the Supreme Court and won. And as a result, in this
country, anybody who wants to get married to anybody of any color can do so. There are people that work for this village that are in interracial marriages. There are people all over town in interracial marriages. Perhaps some of you are. I don't even know. But
um I hope that in June, which is a month of love and pride month and the month that so many young girls want to be June brides and so on, I hope you will recognize June 12th, which is a nationally recognized day. Although it's not a holiday, it's a nationally
recognized day of equality. And again, I've asked you this in for two years. And I'm hoping it's not too late. And if it is too late, I would appreciate an answer as to why you're not going to do it. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Ann. Anybody else? >> Seeing no one, we'll go to hybrid access. Rurick, you're up. >> Uh, [clears throat] do you hear me? >> Yes, we can. >> Yes, we can. >> Yeah. Roric Halib,
village resident. Uh last Sunday Cynthia took me on a tour of a children's sensory and butterfly garden which the conservancy for rigid public lands with the backing of our parks and wreck department has been developing for the
past 10 years. In one word a masterpiece made me think what makes Ridgewood Ridgwood to me the answer is easy. the thousand points of light. The thousands of re residents who spend countless
hours volunteering their time working on improving the lives of all of us. Who are these people? I can start with the five of you sitting on the dis. The board of ed, the many village committees,
[clears throat] excuse me, the various organizations that work with a disadvantage among us, the sports groups, the trade organizations and the gardening groups that expend blood, toil, sweat and tears, beautifying the
village. One of the secrets to the success of Bridgewood is the cooperation of the village with the volunteers. Excuse me. A good example is the beautifification
of the CBD. The village under the leadership of council member Shivon Wograd has done a tremendous job taking out the parking meter poles and replace the broken up garbage cans with beautiful new ones. >> [snorts]
>> Shibban ensured the replanting of trees. She has also succeeded in replacing the old planters and ensuring the village budget allowed for the plants that will go in them. These plantings will be done by the Ridgwood beautifification team, a
group of volunteers along with work the women gardeners of Rididgewood does at Van Ness bordering Richard Avenue and the work the conservancy does at the memorial and the Rididgewood steps on Broad Street. The
CBD will shine throughout the summer. Is Ridgwood perfect in all respects? Regretfully not. I was shown a photograph that appeared in a local social media of a dog urinating on a
garbage can in the CBD. How disgusting for an owner to allow their dog to do that. A dog urinating on the sidewalk is unsanitary, stinks and stains the concrete. What possess the owner to allow their dog to do that?
Well, for every irresponsible person like that, there are 100 thou there are more than a thousand wonderful residents who spend their time constructively doing good things. Thank God for that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Roric.
>> Thank you, Roric. >> Anybody else? >> Anybody else? >> Seeing no one, I'm going to close down the comment. >> Ask that the echo stop. [laughter] There it is. and give the council an opportunity to respond to any of the comments made tonight.
>> I just want to thank you, Albert. Um really, really salient points about Barry and Fry. Um really one of the heroes of Ridgewood. Um I know when I moved to Ridgewood, I didn't even know he was from here. I knew his name. Um and I believe you were on the council when it was voted to rename the street
right by his church um very in Fry Way. Something that I pass a lot. My son goes to school caddy corner. Uh and every time I see it, I smile. I want to thank you personally as a resident and as a Jew for taking that action and for reminding us that there really are heroes within Rididgewood. Not just some
of the heroes we we saw tonight as well, but also some historical heroes. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Evan. I apologize for being I'm totally out of order, but I did want to supplement what I said by saying there is for anyone who doesn't want to read Marseilles 1940 the book. There is currently a Netflix series just came out called Transatlantic and it's all about
Varian Fry and his exploits. Seven episodes worth watching. Will someone explain to Mr. Puchelli how the meeting >> deputy mayor? No, no, deputy mayor Puchelli. [laughter] He's gone out of turn. >> Four years. I learned nothing.
>> The memory gets short as we get older. Anybody else? >> All good. Let's get to our regular uh No, we're going to go to our manager report. Forgive me. >> Thank you, mayor. I'd like to begin tonight uh speaking about the remediation work at the Zubriski Shedler
property. Happy to report that Northstar Environmental has been moving at a steady pace removing the burm and we are ahead of schedule. As of this afternoon, 82% of the burm has been removed based on the linear feet with 215 truckloads
removed thus far from the site. Gratefully, the dust has not been an issue and the monitors have not gone off since the project began. We anticipate Northstar transitioning to the balance of the property sometime next week. The Vaness Square bus station is progressing
as well. The knee wall was completed today and we are anticipating delivery of the 12x10 structure in the next few weeks. Again, I want to thank our legislators in District 40, Senator Curado, Assemblyman Christa Phillips, and Assemblyman Al Baras for helping to
secure the grant funding to build this new bus shelter through the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The design also lends itself to the possibility of adding restrooms to the bus station area, which will be a consideration for the 2027 capital budget. Yesterday, the
Ridgewood Police Department held an active shooter tabletop exercise with members of the police, the fire department, our OEM, village staff, and staff from the Ridgewood Public Schools. planning, scenarios, incident command,
communications, and information sharing were all discussed. I want to thank Chief Lions and Lieutenant Chuck for their work in putting this program together. Along those lines, this week is National Police Week. We celebrated International Firefighters Day back on
March on May 4th and next week, as per the proclamation, this evening is EMS week. I want to thank our Ridgewood Fire Department and our Ridgewood Police Department and all our law enforcement and public safety personnel for the work
that they do each day. I think tonight's presentation um in that save was truly a testament to the work that they do each and every day here in the village of Ridgewood. The new playground has been installed at Kings Pond Park. This project was part
of the long- awaited clearing of the open space diversion with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The playground surface is scheduled to be laid next week, and we are awaiting the arrival and construction of the new pavilion at the park as well.
Dining corral have been installed for outdoor dining at participating restaurants in the central business district. We're looking forward to the warmer weather and enjoying our downtown from now through the end of October. Many thanks to Mike Ja and his staff at the streets division for their over
overnight setup of the dining corrals. Concrete work has started along Maple Avenue in preparation for the paving of the roadway this summer from the Hokus border to the Glenrock border. This project was held over from last year due to the installation of new storm water
lines by Bergen County along Maple Avenue. The county has also advised that in addition to their paving of Maple A, they will also be paving Prospect Street and Van Ember later this year. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission mobile
unit will be here at Village Hall in the parking lot on Thursday, May 28th. Appointments will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Services will include license plate returns, registration transfers, registration renewals, and the
replacement titles and registrations. Unfortunately, the Real ID license appointments filled up very quickly. I think it was a few hours before they were all taken on the first day that registrations were being accepted. But appointments can but appointments for
the other services mentioned can be set up through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission website. Just a few announcements tonight. Uh the village has launched its downtown parking survey for the central business district. We're asking folks who use the CBD to please
take five or 10 minutes out of their schedule to complete the survey. You can find the survey on our homepage on the village website as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and through the my vi my Rididgewood app. The survey closes on Friday, May 22nd, and we encourage
everyone to participate so that Walker consultants are who are conducting a comprehensive parking review here in Ridgewood have the best information possible from the folks who actually park downtown. Online registration for grade and pool and tennis and pickle
ball is ongoing. You can sign up through community pass. Preseason badge distribution is available at the stable during res regular business hours Monday through Friday and at the Graden badge office at the pool on Saturday, May 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. As a
reminder, the two-day per week irrigation schedule is in effect. Oddnumbered addresses for irrigation are Tuesday and Saturday and even numbered addresses for irrigation are Wednesday and Sunday. Rididgewood has an updated senior bus
schedule. Our new hours are 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. If you'd like to make an appointment to use the senior bus, please call Beth in the manager's office at 2011-670-5000 extension 223.
The bus has added hours that can get you to a medical appointment, the grocery store, and we will now have visits to stop and shop in Whiteoff each Wednesday. uh touch a truck tomorrow unfortunately is cancelled due to the projected
inclement weather. The Chamber of Commerce spring fling days starts tomorrow, May 14th through Saturday, May 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or while the businesses are open downtown. Project Pride Planting Day is Saturday,
May 16th, beginning at 7:45 a.m. with a rain date of Sunday, May 17th. This is a 2 to three-hour commitment to help plant downtown in the central business district. Please contact council member Winterrad if you are interested in participating. The 49th annual Ridgewood
Run will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th. The course starts at Veterans Field and is sponsored by the North Jersey Masters. All participants for the event must be registered beforehand. You can visit njmasters.com for more information. The Memorial Day
holiday will it on Monday, May 25th will be observed in Memorial Park at Vaness Square at 11:00 a.m. in conjunction with American Legion Post 53. They have planned a patriotic program and welcomes the public to attend and remember the
sacrifices that our veterans have made, especially those on Memorial Day who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. The Village of Ridgewood offices will also be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th. There will be no sanitation, recycling, or yard waste collection on that day. Please check
your village calendar for the adjusted garbage, recycling, and yard waste schedule that week. And lastly, upcoming village council meetings. May 27th is a work session, June 3rd is a work session, June 10th is the public meeting, and June 24th is a work session. All begin at 7:30 p.m. And that
concludes my report. Mayor, >> thank you, Keith. Let's go to our council reports. Frank, you want to kick it off? >> Yes. That uh the Rididgewood Arts Council met on Monday and what we discussed was the Ridgewood Art Council um art reception at the library on
Tuesday. It was a fantastic event. And for those that don't know that the um all this art is exhibited in the library at the end of the month and it's all from local Ridgewood um seniors um and it's just it really is beautiful and I would encourage everybody to go over
there and as a um uh seek and find I will say that somebody on this deis has their art displayed and see if you can find it as well. Um, I'd also like to say that uh the reason we're not having a meeting next Wednesday is because it's World Bday and
so just remember your pollinators and the way to do that is either practice the waggle dance in your backyard or hug a pollinator. And that concludes [laughter] it there. >> Is that like your is that like your Super Bowl for you? Like the world be day. >> Are you a pollinator, Frank?
>> And with that, let's go to Siobhan. >> Sure. So, um, well, I had a couple meetings since last week. Um, last night we had our meeting with Shade Tree. Um, and we had a lovely all-around meeting discussing many things. Um, unfortunately, I have a call to action.
We are sapling light this year. We have focused on the Ridge School area. Um, so the adopt a sapling program is that you adopt a sapling, not yet a tree, and you care for it. It's much cheaper. volunteers plant it and it's been very
very successful. We we like to get better every year. We did Orchard, then we went to Somerville, then we went to Willard. Um so we are going to extend the deadline by two more weeks to June 1st. Um this is the updated flyer where it says last call. You'll see that in
the E-News, but if you have friends in the Ridge School area, if you have an alumni of Ridge, anybody who can talk about this, we'd love it. Um, and the real reason we do this so early is because we want to make sure that we secure the appropriate sapling. So, everybody should be talking about what
an awesome experience it is owning a sapling and promote it in Ridge. We also had um visitors from Fairlon who does not have a commission and they came because they've been impressed with their social media and that was a huge compliment. We got to meet their council
um members and they we generated some ideas with them and ironically not just promoting it they love the novelty and the cost of adopt a sapling. So um thank you to Fairlon for being such great neighbors. It was a really wonderful meeting and if anybody has any questions
or needs a copy of this you know digital posting or any links we have that pretty much everybody in the village has it now because I sent it to about 800 people today. Um, that's one. Uh, two, yesterday I had um along with the council I had the opportunity to go to a
tree dedication at Habernickle for a man named Ronald Fischer. And when I was a senior in college in 1995, Ronald uh Fischer worked for the village and he worked for the DPW um and was struck and killed by a car. At that point in time, the woman who it was on Godwin Avenue,
the woman whose home it was in front of a planted a tree. Last year that tree fell ill and had to come down and to replace the tree that she had planted herself. We had his family. We had a proclamation and they came to habern. Um I want to thank his family. It was truly
inspirational to see them. I want to thank the parks department, Sean Hamlin for the speech he gave. And I just want to say thank you to every one of our employees that works really hard. Um for those people who were in the village, I mean we all remember this was a tragedy
and yesterday [clears throat] it every the tragedy was very much still there for this family but it was also a tiny bit celebration. So um thank you to everybody who made that happen Keith and everybody in every department. Um I want to give another plug for Richard
beautifification team. It is this s Saturday. Um meet at the war memorial and come prepared with gloves, a shovel and a good attitude. The plants are going to be beautiful. We hope if we get enough volunteers, we're done in an hour and um Deputy Mayor Perin will be there.
She will be in in command. I also want to say while you're there, you should definitely check out what's happening at the bus station because it's going to be iterative. And I want to thank HPC for helping um beautifification pick the colors and insist that it be the way
that it's emerging to look so great. I also would welcome anyone's opinions on how they feel about a public restroom because next year we did leave space for that and we've heard discussion about it and it's a really nice space for a public bathroom but I know that the
public often has opinions on that. Um, I wanted to say to a big thank you to Heather and just acknowledge that I have been very warm on this Real ID ban and I know that there's people who are disappointed that they didn't get it, but I very proud of our clerk's office
for putting it out there. Um, and we're hoping to get more. I also want to thank Jamie Kitty who was a citizen who was pretty intent on making it happen. And I wish everybody who got an appointment congratulations. And again, we'd love to hear feedback on that because that's a service and we know it's something
that's missing in Ridgewood. Um, and thank you again, Heather. It's awesome. And two last things. Um, tonight with the CPR, I want to remind the community that the fire department does offer classes in CPR if you're not CPR certified. Last year, we did a challenge
and in like two weeks, many people, including many of the council members, have become CPR certified. It's a very easy thing to do and it's very important. So if anybody should want to do that, reach out to John Judge. We'll set up a class. You need a minimum of five people. And I want to thank the
fire department for offering that service. And lastly, um I'm pleased to announce that thank you Albert for your words of Varian Fry. We're going to dedicate another street on June 5th. As many of you know, Basil Pudo passed away
um several years ago and he was a longtime guidance counselor, vice pre principal at Richard High School. The board of ed and our signal department have worked together and on June 5th we're going to be together dedicating her man's way to be Basil Bazudo's way.
Um, it was super touching because lots of people who work for the village grew up here and the people who actually physically made the sign, wrote a beautiful note to the high school saying that Basil was one of their favorite teachers. So, I hope everybody joins us. Um, it's going to be a beautiful event
and I just wanted to say thank you to everybody in the signal department who made this happen for the board of ed and our community. That's it. >> Thanks, Siobhan. Evan, >> great. So, fourth of July committee met earlier this week. Uh Cashelle met earlier today. HS HPC met uh met on
Monday as well. That was a somewhat long meeting. Um they did want me to share with the council and I guess the public. We did consider or they did consider uh the ordinance tonight on sidewalks and um displays and merchandise for sale. Um they are not for it. Um we had a pretty
um a pretty robust discussion on on you know on the pros and cons. Um ultimately HPC um expressed their concern that um it would it would not benefit the overall um character of the village and would not really benefit the um benefit
our our merchants um by displaying goods and wares on the street. So they did want me to share that with everyone else. Um great group of folks. Um really pleased to be there. Uh there's about three other applications as well as we cons we considered. Um just going back to cash our shell um performances do
kick off again to this month. Please go to the website, the village village website. Um the committee does a tremendous job getting great bands all free to the public. Uh we'll be going all summer uh right out here on uh on Betsfield. >> Great. Thanks, Ev Pam.
Green Reedwood met last week and um that includes the green team and I we had um robust discussion about green team's um various initiatives to uh to get credits
with sustainable Jersey as I read in the proclamation tonight. Um, it's whatever your your passion may be for an environmental improvement, Sustainable Jersey has a roadmap for it, for
accomplishing that. So, um, if you're interested, there is a vacancy on green team right now and, uh, it's open until May 15th and you can still apply. The application is on the website. Um, the
tree dedication was both sad and and celebratory. Um, at the I want to thank Paul for reading that lovely proclamation regarding Ron Fiser. I didn't know him, but um, his daughter
and his wife were both there and they're lovely people. And when the um ceremony was over, we walked across the bridge and looked for turtles and tadpoles in the water. And it was just such a nice way to end. Um let's see. Uh Central
Business District Advisory Committee meets tomorrow morning in person, 8:30 a.m. in the garden room, open to the public as all our committee meetings are. Um and we will be discussing things like the new ebike law etc. Um the
reception for the Rididgewood Arts Council and the senior uh artworks was very interesting. It's the first time I've seen a connection between the artists and their work. Um because
Gloria Holmes who is what the co-chair or chair >> is that >> okay of of the RAAC she um interviewed the artist many of the artists and showed a video of their explanations of
how they learned their art, why they do their art and what their considerations were. And I thought it really added a lot of depth to the exhibit and I appreciated that. Um, with regard to tree street trees in Ridgewood, if you
have a street tree that was planted within the last two years in front of your home or your business, please irrigate that tree because the council was unable to um author uh contract now
for irrigation because uh the lowest bid came in higher than what we had budgeted for. So, we're going out to bid again, but it may be until mid June when we can actually start have a contract and start
irrigating street trees. So, again, if you have a a young tree in front of your home, less than two years since it was planted, maybe it has a bag around it, one of those gator bags, make sure the gator bag is filled. If it has a pipe
next to the tree going into the into the roots, that's where you put the hose or or pour in the water. I know carrying a bucket is heavy because I do it all the time, but irrigation is really important
for young plants and this and that heat can come up so quickly in at this time. So, I urge everybody to look at the trees out in front of your property. And that's all I have. >> Great. Thank you, Pam. And um uh I just
want to announce that um the community center advisory board that is leading the charge on the expanded senior center will be giving a tour on June 11th at 5:00 um right here in this building on
the first floor. And I'm just checking the time, forgive me. Is it five o'clock or six o'clock? >> Five. >> Five o'clock. Thank you. Um, and it is also a fundraiser, but this was an easy fundraiser. $25
which will go towards equipment and supplies for the expanded senior center. Um, I will be there. I know many members of the council will be there and I would love to see everybody else come and join us for even just a few minutes. And that's all I have. And now let's move on
to our regular agenda. Keith, >> thank you, Mayor. Um, tonight the village council will consider the adoption of the 2026 municipal budget. While there are three amendments that will be addressed briefly by our CFO Bob Rooney, there is no change to the bottom
line. As a matter of fact, Bob, if you want to come forward. This budget carries a 3.98% increase over the 2025 spending plan and the impact on the average home in Ridgewood estess at $715
remains at $195 for the year. As was mentioned back in April, um in my 25 years of being involved in municipal government across multiple municipalities, this has been without question the most challenging
budget year that I have seen. We've seen these challenges in our neighboring towns, in school districts, and even at the county level this year. Many North Jersey towns are experiencing increases anywhere from 6% all the way up to 12%.
I'm proud of our team here in the village who has worked very hard to keep this increase to residents under 4% for 2026, even while facing a 36 12% increase in health care benefit costs, soaring gas
prices due to the issues in the Middle East, and significant costs related to snow removal for two large storms earlier this year. Today, I was happy to receive word that the Division of Local Government Services down in Trenton gave
us the approval to adopt a municipal budget as presented tonight. And at this time, I'll ask Mr. Rooney to take the council and the public through the budget amendments that are up for consideration tonight as per the state's direction. Bob, >> thanks, Keith. So, you have four
resolutions in front of you this evening. The first three for consideration are amendments to the budget that was introduced back in March. Uh resolution 122 is a reclassification of revenues based upon the um unavailability of the
state aid for municipal relief funds of 29,181 and an item that had to be reduced to agree to a resolution that was introduced last year. So, the offset is a $20,000 increase in fees and permits anticipated and 10,596
interest on investments. No effect to the bottom line. Um, so there's no impact from that resolution. Second resolution number 123 is a revision to the water capital budget. Last year, um, the state required that a
reconciliation to the WQAA capital improvement report that is submitted by the water utility fund to the BPU um be included in the capital budget and that all amounts that are reflected in that report also be reflected in the village
report. Again, no impact on um any operations of the village by the amendment. The third amendment is the result of review by the state. The calculation for the amount for dedicated um amount to be
raised by taxation for the open space trust fund was $400 short. So we increase the that amount by $400. Again, no impact on the budget. And last but not least is the resolution for consideration for the adoption of
the 2026 budget. Again, no impact on taxation for what was initially introduced and the only change is the slight modification of of revenues that I identified in the first resolution. >> Questions, members of the council,
comments, >> much gratitude. Thank you, Bob, for working with us. I know we're not easy and thank you for making this all happen. >> Not a problem. And thanks for explaining it in terms of can understand. I appreciate you always being there. So, with that, Mayor Heather will take us through the respective resolutions
unless there's any questions or comments for the council. >> Um, I have a comment. Um, I know as we've all walked through this budget that what Keith said about his 25 years in municipal government that this was
this was an impossible budget. It wasn't difficult. With the increases in gas prices and especially health insurance prices, it is astounding to me that we were able to wrangle this to a 3.98%
budget increase. I will tell you, I meet with I'm a member of several mayor's groups in Northern New Jersey, and [clears throat] they have budget increases of between 6 and 12%.
many in the 8 n 10% range. Um, I want to take a moment to commend our staff, our department heads, our senior staff, and this council who I I will say that
Siobhan Winterrad and Evan Whites have been instrumental in keeping this budget increase to I I I I almost can't say it, under 4%. Um, it's really amazing to me and and I am
very very impressed. I know that a tremendous amount of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of sleepless nights went into this. So, thank you Heath, Bob, Heather, council members, and again those who are not here this evening, our
department heads, the rest of our senior staff, um, and our staff who are always working to ensure that our residents tax dollars are spent wisely. And and if I can just echo some of those comments
which I think were very well said and I want to again thank also all of our staff. Um first of all I am very pleased that some of the media is starting to report on some of the healthcare issues. Um it really always bothered me that you know so much of what we do here doesn't get reported and so much um of what we
have to react to from Trenton never gets really appreciated. um the fact that we had an over 30% increase um you know from a from a health care plan that we're beholden to um we have to eat that and swallow that and that's not a Democrat that's not a Republican issue that's just a mismanagement issue and so
I encourage all citizens to talk to their state reps about fixing the disaster that is the healthcare problem right now that's why our colleagues at um at at the school board have had to raise taxes and that's why as Keith pointed out lots of surrounding towns have had to go 6 7 8 9 even 12% %. The
fact that we've been able to keep ours at below 4% is a testament to the work you, Bob, the work you, Keith, and the work everyone in the village has done over the last several years getting our fiscal house in order. It was not only about getting creative this year. And again, Keith, I will commend you for the plan that you had that brought our
health care cost down to only 1.3 million increase. Again, the fact we had to swallow a 7 figure increase and we're celebrating that is ridiculous, but again, it would have been far worse for your creativity on that while at the same time having the perfect storm of fuel costs and snow. Um, again, it
speaks to the stewardship and I think just the the the how well this village is being run. In addition to keeping us below 4%, we were able to do this with no cuts to services. Every um every essential service was maintained. our police and fire at full strength. Um,
you know, we're spending 2.75 million on paving. We're buying a fire truck, a street sweeper, a sign truck, a hydro sewer truck. Trust me, they sound funky, but they're really important that we get them. Um, and we're also at the same time doing all the boring stuff right, including the sinking fund, something that I'm immensely proud of that we've
seen over the last couple years, which to me is the definition of fiscal responsibility of investing money in the village so we don't stick a future council with a $2 million bill for a firetruck when it comes due. Um, again, I want to thank all of the staff that did the heavy lifting and the hard work
of figuring out um what we need to do. I know for me, I am always always aware of the fact that for every dollar we spend, that's a dollar that's not going into some kid's college fund. That's a dollar not going into someone's 401k retirement fund. Every dollar we spend, even on
righteous things, is one more push against a senior citizen who can't afford to live here. So, the fact that we were able to do what we're able to do this year while keeping the services that we provide and keeping our tax increase incredibly modest, there are few things I'm prouder of in my professional service than doing what
we're able to do here. And while I'm not happy about 4%, I'm incredibly proud that's where we wound up. >> Thanks, Sam. Anybody else? >> All good. Take it away, Heather. >> Okay. The following resolutions number 26-122
through 26-125 will be adopted by a consent agenda. It will be read by title only. Amendment to current fund budget. Amendment to water capital budget. Amendment to open space trust fund and adopt 2026 budget. May I have a motion?
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. >> Whites. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. >> Vaganos. >> Yes. >> Ordinance is Richard Water. We don't have any introductions or public hearings resolutions for rigid water.
The following resolutions number 26-126 through 26-127 will be adopted by consent agenda with one vote by the village council. They will be read by title only. >> One second. Thank you, Bob. >> Bye, Bob. >> Safe home.
>> Authorized change order. Lead service line replacements contract one not to exceed $433,333. Authorized final retainers payment and project closeout construction of raw water mains phase one contract two. I have a motion.
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin. >> Yes. >> Wipes. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. >> And Vaganos. >> Yes. >> I move the first reading of ordinance 4097. >> I second. >> Mortimer. >> Yes. >> Parin.
>> Yes. >> Weiss. >> Yes. >> Wiggrad. >> Yes. >> Andos. >> Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please read ordinance 4097 by title? >> An ordinance to amend chapter 145-4 of the code of the village of Ridgewood entitled departmental fees to mend the
fees charged by the police department. [clears throat] >> I move that ordinance 40977 be adopted on the first reading and that June 10th, 2026 be fixed as the date for the hearing. Now >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Parent, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes.
>> Windrad, >> yes. >> Yes. I move the first reading of ordinance 4098. >> I have a second. >> Frank. >> Oh, second. Sorry. >> Apologize for falling asleep there. Yes.
[laughter] >> It's not even that late. >> Frank, just so you know, you've got old seconds tonight. I'm just saying. Just, you [laughter] know, >> kept it easy. >> Just saying. >> Okay. Parn. >> Yes. Whites? >> Yes. >> Wiggrad? Yes. Vaganos? >> Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please
read ordinance 4098 by title? >> An ordinance to amend chapter 145 fees of the code of the village of Rididgewood as section 145-10 fees for use of fields by sports camps. >> I move that ordinance 4098 be adopted on
the first reading and that June 10th, 2026 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Parin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Winterrad, >> yes. >> Vagianis, >> yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4096 by title on second reading and that
the public hearing thereon be opened. >> I second. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Perin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrat, >> yes. [clears throat] >> Majanos, >> yes. Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4096, >> an ordinance to establish a new chapter
entitled sidewalk displays? >> The public hearing is now open. Good evening, Baron Council Boyd, a loving Rididgewood resident. Uh, Councilman White spoke before about an ordinance that the HPC was not recommending but did not mention an
ordinance number. I just like to know, is this the ordinance in question? >> It is. >> So, any of you who vote for this ordinance tonight to approve this will be voting in opposition to what this HPC has recommended. Is that correct? Okay.
Thank you so much. Just for the record. >> Thank you, Boyd. Anybody else? >> Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. >> A second. >> Mortimer, >> yes. >> Parin, >> yes. >> Whites, >> yes. >> Wonderrad, >> yes. >> Vaganos,
>> yes. >> I move that ordinance 4096 be adopted on the second reading in the final publication as required by law. >> I second the motion. >> Mortimer, >> yes. Karen, >> I think this is a very important step to
help the retailers in Ridgewood. However, there are sections of this version that I think are counterproductive. The idea of a display
is is so fuzzy here and has expanded to mean tables that are six feet long, which to me doesn't mean a display. It means a flea market.
And I don't think that serves the retailers or the community. Um, I think we do really need to help the retailers, but this version doesn't
accomplish that. Moreover, I think if it is enacted, it invites violations by setting out merchandise outside when
the sidewalk sales uh ordinance says there shall be no sales on the sidewalk unless it's sidewalk sale days. This will undermine the enthusiasm and the um uniqueness of
sidewalk sale days. Um and lost my train of thought. Oh, it will be unevenly um the in application it is uneven because of the distance
in variable distances and measurements of the sidewalks. As you go towards Maple, the sidewalks are wide. Those people won't have any problem putting out a table. But over closer to the
train station, the sidewalks are narrower. Those people are not going to be able to put out as big a display as their colleagues five blocks away. Um
so for that reason, I vote against it and I'm disappointed. Whites. So to be clear, um my council my fellow council members um are motivated are motivated by the same motivation we all have to help our downtown. And this is absolutely a topic that reasonable
people can disagree on. Um I am voting notes as well. Let me say I hope I am wrong. I hope a year from now I'm apologizing to the mayor and that this works out well, but I share many of the reservations that a deputy mayor does. So I respectfully vote no as well. >> Okay.
Uh wiggrad. Sure. So, um, Evan, if you could circulate the minutes from HBC so we could see what some of the sentiments are just for future, that would be helpful. Um, and I want to say I fully support HPC's recommendation and I hear
them and I hear Pam and I hear Evan and the concerns. That being said, when I took my seat, um, downtown is in trouble for all the reasons we know. Amazon lack of support uh COVID and the people who know their business best are the people
running their business. We've done a lot of modifications for the restaurants and retail is literally rare on our main street. Um our code officials unable to enforce and I think this is needed. Uh I hear you. I'm not here to argue about
what you've said. I understand it. But I plan on voting yes and if there are amendments to be made, we'll make them. Um, I think to echo what Evan said, everybody up here wants the best for our town. We want the vacancies to be lower. We want foot traffic to be increased.
And, you know, the people who know their business know how to promote it the best. And, um, I'm voting yes. and Dianos. >> I'm going to vote yes because um the Amazon economy has crushed local
retailers and if we don't [clears throat] make attempts to adapt to that to help our retailers um we won't have any retailers left. So that's why I support this ordinance. >> Okay. >> Yes.
>> Thank you. Uh resolutions. The following resolutions number 26-128 through 26-154 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 ground yard waste
and ground clippings. Title 59 approval road resurfacing and repairs of various streets. Award contract road resurfacing and repairs of various streets. Award contract under state contract Ford Maverick hybrid pickup truck clean communities program. Award contract
under state contract Ford F350 pickup truck recycling division. Award contract under state contract sign truck signal department. Award contract under source cooperative purchasing program. Street sweeper streets department. Award contract under source cooperative
purchasing program. Plow blade and mount kit for Ford F350 pickup truck. Award contract under source cooperative purchasing program. Lift gate for Ford F350 pickup truck. Award contract under source well cooperative purchasing program truck mounted sewer jet water
pollution control facility or professional services contract architectural and engineering services for preparation of contract documents for interior renovation and alterations for construction of emergency operation center at the office of emergency
management building award professional services contract archaeological monitoring protocol John Als brrisky house award professional Profal services contract archaeological avoidance and protection plan John alriski house and
surrounding property or professional services contract architectural historian the produced historic American building survey documentation John alriski house and surrounding property authorized shared services agreement use of styrofoam densifier with the burough
of Waldwick resend and replace resolution number 26-82 award contract under educational services of New Jersey. Design, supply, and install pavilion shelter at Kings Pond Park. Reject bids 2026 treat
irrigation services throughout the village of Rididgewood. Authorize supplemental I bank financing. Authorize application for NJD hazardous discharge site remediation fund grants for the Shedler property. Endorsed community development block grant for Sher Inc.
Replacement of air compressor for sprinkler system. Authorize transfer of liquor license PRM liquor to Lucky Family Liquor for Quick Stop wine and liquor. Declare property surplus recycling division. Declare property surplus solid waste division.
Establish senior parking program in the central business district. Appoint member to historic preservation commission. Appoint members to Green Ridgewood. Appoint student intern to green team advisory committee. May I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second.
Mortimer. >> Yes. Parents, >> yes. Whites, >> yes. >> Wiggrad, >> yes. >> And Vagos, >> uh, yes. But I want to just take a moment and highlight there are a lot of important things going on in these resolutions. But the new senior parking
program in the central business district allows for anyone 65 and older to purchase a senior parking permit to park anywhere in the senior in in the central business district except the 15-minute
spaces and the commuter commuter lots for $75 a year. I and this is part of our larger effort to help our seniors age in place, stay
here where they have friends and family and and they get to shop at their same stores and go to the same restaurants. So, I am exceptionally proud to vote yes uh for this and all of the other resolutions. Thank you.
And with that, we will go back to comments from the public. >> Good evening again, Mayor and Council Boyd, a loving Rididgewood resident. Mr. Mayor, you said commuter lots. As far as I know, there is only one commuter lot. >> A a mis misstatement.
>> Okay. Just wanted to clarify that that >> there wasn't a commuter lot put in that I didn't know about. Thank you so much. >> We would we would never do that without you. [laughter] Anything can happen in Rididgewood. Anything can happen. Which my first point, I was quite surprised when Councilwoman
Winterrad said tonight that you were thinking about putting in bathrooms because that has been a subject that nobody has wanted to talk about in Rididgewood for a long time. Every every time the subject comes up, people say homeless. Every time that subject come up, people say homeless. At least that's
what I hear people say. Uh, I would like to ask you to do yourselves a favor and don't reinvent the wheel on the bathrooms and go down to Hoboken and see what they've done with bathrooms down there. They have a prefab bathroom and it's working well. And if you don't
think that Hoboken has a homeless problem, you haven't been to Hoboken in a while. So, they manage it. Take a look at what they've done. I have a picture that I will send all of you tonight. We are in Hoboken quickly because we own property in Hoboken and our grandchildren and our daughter and her
husband live in Hoboken as well. So, uh we see what's happening down there and we do think that you should take take a look at it before you reinvent the wheel. Uh, another uh, subject for tonight is that a friend of mine who used to live in Pamis asked me to look up something
in Pamis for him and um, it involved going on the SDL portal for the building department. And I note that in paramis there a they have restricted the amount of public information or the amount of information that is available to the public on that site specifically and we
don't do that in Rididgewood and I'm asking you to take a look and see if maybe we should do it specifically in Pamis they don't allow the public to see what the fees were for any building permits and they don't allow the public to see what the estimated cost of the
project is. Now, when you think about it, does my neighbor really need to know how much I'm spending on a building renovation? And the answer, in my opinion, is no, they don't. So, I don't know why when you go into the SDL portal in Ridgewood, the amount that you pay
for a fee is available for anybody to look at. And the amount that you paid for a renovation or a repair, anything that you needed a permit is available for anyone to take a look at that. Uh, I don't mean need my neighbors seeing it and I don't need any contractors seeing it also to give me a call and say, "Hey,
I could beat that price." So, if it's legal to get that information off the SDL portal, please let's take that off information off the portal. Um, there have been a couple of mentions made tonight about the bus terminal construction. There is a rumor floating around and I
would just ask the manager to confirm this tonight that there is a problem with that and that there were no footings put in and that the building department is a little bit concerned about that. So, are we on schedule or does something have to be done to bring that up to code? Again, rumors. Somebody
called me, somebody sent me an email and asked me to check it out. The only way I can check it out is to ask you if there is any fact, any truth to that information or whether it's just nonsense. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Boyd. >> Good evening again, Ann Loving Ridgewood
resident. Uh, I have a question about the Burm. I'm really happy that that the removal is proceeding ahead of schedule. That's great. Um, you've probably told us, but if somebody could clarify, once the burm is completely removed, is there going to be additional soil testing or
drilling down underneath the newly exposed bare dirt? Um, the other thing I wanted to mention is something that will make me very unpopular, I'm sure, but I have been reading that instead of using
a cut pine tree for a Christmas tree, you can make a a pyramid-shaped uh Christmas tree using ai deciduous tree. And there happens to be a beautiful, very tall deciduous tree up
at the top of the avenue exactly next to where you normally put the Christmas tree. And um I can send you information on how this is done. And I'm sure that you know this is possible. You put, you know, you start at the top and then the lights come down and it, you know, looks
like a conventional pine tree without cutting a tree down. I think that would be something to consider since there is a tree right there in that location. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ann. Anybody else?
>> Kathy, no resident. Um, I'm concerned about what's going to happen once the burm is removed. I know you've talked about putting a guard rail up and I know a couple of weeks ago on Route 17 South there was a rollover with a car next to the wall in Hocus. Thank goodness the
wall was there. Um we're going to have kids playing on that field. We're going to have cars, people walking, and we really need to have something there that is going to protect people. Um a guardrail isn't going to do that.
Especially if a truck something happens with a truck, there's no way an 18-wheeler isn't going right through it. Um, but even a car, I I don't know what's happening with people driving, but you see all the time rollovers. All of a sudden, that's a lot of the accidents there's rollovers. Um, so I'm
just concerned about that. I did ride over by Shedler the other day and it was a beautiful day. The trucks were going in and out. It was well monitored by a police officer. There was someone uh in a a cart that was sweeping the road to
keep the dust down, but still the amount of dust and I know you said that it's meeting the standards. Um the police offer officer was there in the street with just the dust coming out, no masks on anybody, anybody working there. And even if the d the ground is not toxic
that they're taking some of it may be the dust was flying and I wouldn't want to be out there breathing that in. me, I'd have a mask on, but I was concerned for them. And uh mostly though, the guardrail I I really think something else should be done. I know it's costly,
but you're talking about lives. And that's it for tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you, Kathy. Anybody else? Seeing no one, I'm going to close public comments. >> Mayor, if I may. >> Wait, can can I go first and just say this? Bathrooms STL. The word deciduous.
This is like I've [snorts] been driving I'm hoping everybody appreciates this joke. I The reason why I put the bathroom out there is because it's always been discussed in my lifetime and I feel the same way. It's always [clears throat] shut down and I feel very strongly we have a lack of public bathrooms in our parks and downtown and
we've debated this and they're expensive. So I appreciate that people I know somebody will probably write me tomorrow and feel differently. the bathroom. It we left a space at the bus station because I feel strongly if you're a commuter, particularly a pregnant female, which I once was, it's
very hard to commute and not have access to a bathroom. Um, every year Heather and I, I'm going to I'm going to give her up on the bathroom expedition. We go to Atlantic City and we go to see the modular ones and see the improvements and the concerns. So, any examples of
any um we are very warm on the modular idea. We're not going to reinvent it. Any ideas, any companies, please just send them to me or to Heather and we'll be looking into them. Um, and that was just my first exciting thing that I want to say, but we're very sincere. Well, at
least I am on the bathroom. And I'm going to sway the rest of my council at some point to be into it hopefully next season. >> So, Siobhan, just in your defense, so people don't think she's been talking about bathrooms for four years. I've been hearing from you about public bathrooms. So, it has definitely been front and center with you. And I just
when people see the space of the bus shelter, you know, the fact that this council and HPC, um it's smaller and we could open that, that's great. The police are aware of the discussions. Um downtown's been hearing me talk about it and it's really nice because it's the bus station, but it's adjacent to a
park. Anyway, I was just very excited to actually say that almost as excited as I was about the goats. And you can read about this tomorrow. I'm sure someone will quote me about it. So, mayor, if I may, >> um, >> are you done?
>> Oh, yeah. [laughter] >> I don't want to get in the way of that. >> Do not do not get in the middle of that. >> You know what? We never to There are issues in Ridgewood that have gone unresolved and this is one and you've all heard the conversation. You've heard the reference to vagrancy. You've heard the reference. It's an important issue
and it goes to commuters quality of life every single day. And now I'm done, but >> No, you got to round two. Paul, >> you're going to hear more about it. The chair recognizes Mr. Casmar. >> Um Boyd, if you could share the location in Hoboken with me, that would be >> okay. If you and and the photos, if you
could email them to me, that that would be great. Thank you. Um with regard to the SDL portal, um I will look into that. I I'm sure that there are solutions that we can come up to uh come up with working with it um and with our team in the building department uh to take some of that information that's not
necessary for public view um off access. With regard to the bus station, um it's my understanding that only the knee wall has been put in so far. Uh the structure itself has not even been delivered. Um so I have not heard anything from the building department or engineering. I'll
look into it tomorrow. Uh, but I think until we have the structure actually arrive and be able to install those footings at the base of the of the structure, I think we're in in decent shape. Um, to Mrs. Loving, with regard to soil testing, matrix is testing as
the burm is being removed. Uh, so the answer to that question is yes, that was testing that has always been planned. Um, as I mentioned at the last meeting, NJD is out there and on site. Um, and they are just following the removal and conducting that testing as they go.
Uh with regard to Mrs. No uh with relative to the Burm I can tell you that um we have had many conversations with Suburban who is the engineer who is planning the development of the park. I can tell you that there is going to be
redundancy when it comes to various safety improvements that are made along the highway to protect the park users. Um, I don't want to get into the specifics of that publicly because Suburban is still working through those um, solutions. We're also going to
interface and makes have some discussion with the New Jersey Department of Transportation before we make those um, presentations public. U, but I can assure you that the safety between the highway and the park is is the primary objective before anything within the
park is planned out. Um, and regarding the dust, I can tell you that surprising to me, um, I think I maybe planned my plans for the worst. Uh, but the units for action to be taken is the number is
150 units have to measure out on the dust monitors in order for them to take action to wet down the soil. We have not at any point since we started exceeded 50 units on those dust monitors. Um,
Northstar Environmental has done dozens if not hundreds of remediations throughout the state of New Jersey and and in the northeast section of the country. They know what they need to do based on why the soil needs to be
removed to protect their employees and to protect the people on the job site. So I have every faith and confidence based on their vast experience that if there are any types of safety precautions that need to be taken to protect the workers on that site that Northstar will make sure that those safety precautions are taken.
>> Keith actual threshold you said we haven't you could understand. Could you repeat that number? We haven't exceeded what threat. >> So the units the units the the dust is measured by the dust monitors in units. Don't ask me to explain the science
behind it because I'm going to fail that test. But the units as they're measured would need to exceed 150 for >> Northstar and Matrix to take action to wet down the soil. >> From the start of the project through
this afternoon's meeting at 2:00, we have never exceeded 50 units. >> 50 or 15? >> 50. 50. Yeah, that's what I want to clarif. >> So, we're not even close to the action stage. Now, Northstar has taken the
initiative at times to wet down the soil, not because there is a dust issue, but because they're prepping the soil for proper removal. Um, and they're just making sure that they're keeping those numbers down. But we have not even come close to the action level of 150 units
on those dust monitors on the Shel property. >> Thank you. You're welcome. Um, I would like to say something that I forgot to say before and leads into one of the public comments. The display ordinance application for a permit will
be available sooner than the ordinance takes effect. The ordinance takes effect in 20 days. However, in order to make your permit application, there are paper there's paperwork that has to go along with it. there's a a
drawing, there's insurance, there's consent from the landlord. So, it takes time to get those things together. And we have um come up with a permit application and that's going to be ready
sooner, not quite sure when, but uh sooner than the 20 days. Um, and one thing we hear from the retailers is they need foot traffic. And if we are going
to try to increase foot traffic, which the CBDAC is always talking about and we want to invite humans to Rididgewood, we need public bathrooms as I have said many times before.
So, and I think I had I got from the League of Municipalities literature and the pictures of the modular units that they are purveying. So, I will give that to you Keith if I can figure it out. >> Heather Heather's got a wish list. She's been collecting.
>> Okay. Listen, I know that tomorrow someone's going to make a joke out of this, but this is how conversations get out there and they're they're important just like the goats. Out we go. Anybody else? >> Goats and bathrooms. Said [laughter] it
all. Motion to adjurnn. Anyone? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> go. >> No.