##VIDEO ID:weQwh5dopRs## I own uh corkran Infinity Property is part of the corkran group in New York City uh they're the largest real estate company in Manhattan I own their burken County rights um we went into business about a year and a half ago and we have four locations now um all in luxury neighborhoods um it's important to us you know which communities we affiliate ourselves with the same as probably you feel about new business owners in your town um we're in Alpine I'm in Edgewater Rivervale and soon to be at 195 South Maple in Ridgewood um we do support the community the best we can we do different charitable things in the neighborhoods we're in um an example of some stuff that we do like every year we do a coach drive through uh the beron county cares organization we support them a lot and I think we did 700 coachs this year um and what's nice in the neighborhoods we're in you'd be shocked at how nice they are when they come in some of them with the tags on them but we know we clean them we make sure and we get them to families in need but we do other things around the neighborhood to support the same thing we become part of the community um that's what we believe my agents all a lot of them live around here some in Ridgewood you know to surrounding neighborhoods so you know they want to be a big part of uh you know the town um I don't know what else to say I've never done this before well welcome you'll make a great cont contribution to our community thank you for coming and I thank you for having me most towns don't do this so it's it's really nice that you're doing it and I appreciate everyone and I look forward to it welcome thank you thank you and welcome [Applause] welcome I move the bills claims and vouchers and statement of funds on hand as of December 31st 2024 be accepted as submitted I second Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes and winr yes we have no minutes for approval at this point and we'll go on to proclamations um councilwoman winegrad will read the proclamation for the Lunar New Year Festival so just before I begin if you can't hear me because we're demoing new mics give me the thumbs down if you can hear me I just is this better thanks Nancy okay great oh good thanks and and do the same for Evan too um whereas the Ridgewood Asian-American Pacific Islander aapi Alliance is collaborating with the Ridgewood Chinese American Association the Korean community of Ridgewood and the Ridgewood Indian Community to jointly produce the Lunar New Year festivals in the village of Ridgewood and whereas the Lunar New Year Festival celebrates the diversity in the village of Ridgewood promotes Asian culture and uplifts the experience of aapi friends in the village and whereas 2025 is the year of the snake symbolizing wisdom and transformation and offering opportunities for personal growth and change and the aapi and their Partners welcome their neighbors to share this significant holiday with them and learn more about what Asian culture more about Asian cultures and history whereas the Lunar New Year Festival will be held on January 29th 2025 in the Ridgewood High School campus center now therefore be resolved that the village of Council of Village of rdwood does hereby Proclaim I think it's January 26th uh as the Lunar New Year Festival in the village and thanks the Ridgewood Asian American Pacific Islander Alliance the Ridgewood Chinese American associations the Korean community and the Ridgewood Indian Community for sharing their cultures their history within the village of Bridgewood and wishes them a successful event um I we had a typo on this and I just want to say thank you for the invitation I know it's the 26th because sadly it's my mother's birthday um and she wished you a happy Lunar New Year as well and may it be wonderful thank you so much for being here and I would caution everyone I know you guys sell it every year so folks want to go you should get tickets now I'm sorry I have not responded I will absolutely positively be there I'm just figuring out who my family can accompany me but this is one of my favorite events of the year and like I said if you want to go you should get tickets soon because it's always a sellout and I just want to let you know we'll correct that error in the um proclamations and we'll have um copies of that for all of you after the mayor is back and he can sign them okay so I'll contact you okay thank you sure we can sure yeah lock sure day yeah yeah so I was like oh this doesn't sound right because I knew it was the 26 so I switched it you got you got the 26 then the 29th yes how you doing you how the babies I have a live mic you know oh you in the middle no no no no side ladies in the middle be side how you doing good yeah we got the uh pration there we go thank you thank you [Applause] 269 but the festival is the Sunday okay thank you thank you very much thank you see you I'm sorry yeah definitely after I'll be waiting for you well we'll get you a corrected copy okay all of you the next Proclamation has to do with jamere days and as an alumna of jamere I'm going to read it whereas jeree was established in 1947 by Ridgewood residents in order to raise need based scholarships funds for Ridgewood High School students and and whereas jambur is an annual musical theatrical production that this year will have over 150 parent and guardian participants working on scene construction painting Journal production filming photography cooking serving props costumes vocal choreography behind the scenes and Performing and whereas many volunteers including producers script writers photographers musicians choreog graphers jambur board members and other work behind the scenes throughout the year to create Unforgettable jambur Productions and whereas the primary source of scholarship funding is through the sales of jambur Journal advertisements and the annual Journal is produced by dedicated volunteers many of whom no longer have students in the school system and whereas jambur participants generously and selflessly volunteer and donate time talent and services to ensure the production is not only entertaining but also generates appropriate funding in support of need-based scholarships for graduating seniors to attend college and whereas it takes countless volunteers to make jambur successful including current parents of students many jeree alumni dedicated members of our village community and student volunteers and whereas the theme of the 4 9th Cheree this year is Viva Las Vegas celebrating the Dazzle and excitement of the entertainment capital of the world now therefore be it resolved that the Village Council of the village of Ridgewood does hereby Proclaim February 6 7 and 8 2025 as Jamboree days in the village of Ridgewood and thanks and thanks the current and past volunteers who have participated in jeree and distributed over $2 million raised for scholarships since 2008 to numerous graduating Ridgewood High School seniors and if you would like to purchase tickets you can do so online by going to rhs jambur and that's where you can also sign up to be a sponsor if you would like um if you have students in the high school jambur is a wonderful production regardless of whether you have no Talent as I did not um but I did learn how to walk on stilts so you learn all kinds of things in Cheree um all right we will go to comments from the public now all speakers are limited to three minutes um all you have to do is identify if you're rigid resident hi my name is Hu quak I'm a resident of Ridgewood um on behalf of the Ridgewood Asian-American Pacific Islander Alliance and you can see just a snapshot of the volunteers who work so hard and so tirelessly to bring this celebration to the Village thank you so much for recognizing us thank you so much for the proclamation and your support and we look forward to celebrating with everybody in the village on Sunday January 26th at the Ridgewood High School campus Center thank you so [Applause] much Cynthia o'keef Ridgewood resident so I just wanted to address a few points but before I get started I want to congratulate um this group so much for their dedication and look forward to attending the lunar new new year I couldn't go last year I'm going to do my best to make it this year and also I did want to take a moment to just acknowledge uh and I'm grateful that you acknowledge po Paul marosi and he was a friend he was somebody I met um you know when I first got involved in fighting the shutler overd development and he was very supportive of our neighborhood he was a good guy always a smile on his face and it's a real loss for for our community I was just texting with him last week and you know I'm still a little bit in shock that he's gone um but I wanted to address uh a few points from last week we were talking about artificial turf and my concern that we now have a new council person who um you know and again not to pick on you Frank but you did say you wanted to create environmental standards and other things that other communities would look to you know Ridgewood and and respect maybe use us as a model so I'd like to hear a little bit about you know what that entails because I really don't understand if the council is still approving Turf and not backing down and not you know falling on the sword so to speak um and you're still marching forward despite you know doctors and other medical professionals who have cautioned against it and you listen to Pam um lay out some of the negative you know Health impacts how are we still marching in this direction and why are we calling oursel green Bridgewood um because it's greenwashing in my opinion um so that's number one you know Shaban you mentioned getting tenants for the house um I don't think you know the overdevelopment plan and getting tenants for the house are mutually exclusive I think you know um they can be done you know you've already I get think expressed interest um with the um the Bergen County Historical Society hopefully you know that would be a good fit um you know I would love to see that as a neighbor what we didn't want to see and we expressed vehemently is that we didn't want to see a you know a a large field that would take away all almost all of our trees as I mentioned last week we call ourselves the tree City I don't understand that um if having a the number 38 Ballfield number 38 is more important than preserving a beautiful space that could really be turned into something that would be special for Ridgewood where everybody could enjoy it because that really is the goal um I don't understand why it has to be a giant turf field and the field size actually doubled um and having said that you know I do attend all the field committee meetings so I quickly want to add that Suburban engineering I believe in the shipout application said that Benjamin Franklin could not be further developed now we know that's not true and that's not the case so I'd like to hear a little bit more about that thank you thank you any other public comment in the room good evening An Loving Ridgewood residents I'd like to say something about the power of changing your mind and how there's no shame in doing so infant botulism was first identified in the 1970s prior to that it was common practice to dip a baby's pacifier into honey to quiet the baby down then we learned that honey could carry claustrum botulinum spores which could kill a baby which will kill a baby so subsequent to the 1970s we don't dip anything in Honey and in fact honey bottles have warnings on them at least most of them do saying that you cannot give honey to a child under one year of age Minds were changed because of new information car seats were first introduced in 1962 at least ones with safety features prior to that there were no car seats if you were to ask my grandmother she'd say what car seat you know the baby just lies in the back seat or on the floor of the car now you wouldn't go anywhere without a car seat for your baby and just two weeks ago I learned that conventional wisdom was always that you get the baby in the car seat let them go to sleep let them stay there in definitely now I find out that babies under 3 months can't be in a car seat for longer than 30 minutes maximum and under two years they can't be in it for more than two hours in a 24-hour period because of spine development as well as possibility of positional asfixia AstroTurf was introduced in the 19 1950s and that was considered just an awesome new invention everybody loved it but now we know and as one of our four elected officials reminds us constantly we know that it is not safe there is no shame in changing your mind when new information comes forward in fact if four out of the five of you that are supporting Turf would change your mind you would be applauded you would be remembered forever as the council that took a stand when things changed when knowledge changed and information changed just as you wouldn't put your kid in a car without a car seat you should not be putting astro turf down we know this now you know just as you your grandmother and probably my mother put honey in my mouth you would never do that now because we know better and now we know better about Turf and I really hope you'll consider changing Minds because we'll all applaud you thank you good evening hello everyone Nancy Brennan Hill Ridgewood I came to say thank you and I just looked up the number it's 4030 tree protection removal and replacement ordinance the shade tree commission and Siobhan put an awful lot of work into getting this thing together and I understand that you're on the verge of making it a reality and um my appreciation to all of you for that and for all that you've done for trees in the last few years we've I think we've had a big change in Ridgewood in um you know the number of trees that are planted and also in how we're you know realizing how valuable they are and and and just doing things to support the canopy thanks and I did like the story about changing your mind a lot thank you Nancy anyone else hello um I'm Amy from Ridgewood um they were so nice I don't mean to come AC I'm sorry your last name mbridge um after last week um hearing you guys speak you've repeatedly dismissed environmental risk you've pushed false narratives and ignored your responsibility to be truthful and transparent with your constituents I'm just going to start it last week because there's just so much um Winograd you claim that the council's efforts to reach out to Dr Sarah Evans regarding the Mount Si reports um that you guys reached out and you tried that's not true I spoke to her she said nobody has reached out at all I will be meeting with her next week and I will let everyone know what she has to say and I will be setting up a meeting for the public to make sure that that they get to hear from her um also you stated that the council uses Shaw industry for turf fields as if that somehow makes them safer than any other vendors let it be known to the public that Shaw Industries is currently involved in multiple lawsuits due to past contamination in their products choosing a vendor tied to such litigation doesn't make this decision any less dangerous and makes it even more irresponsible mmore and Evan you claimed turfield are because the EPA doesn't have any federal regulations let's be real this is the same EPA that allowed lead paint asbestos tobacco and pest to harm millions of people before finally acting what you did fail to me mention however that is in March 2024 the EPA officially classified two past compounds pfoa and pfos as hazardous substances under the super fund law so what is that let's look at Love Canal what happened in the 1940s a Chemical Company buried toxic waste in the area by the 1970s homes and schools were built upon that site toxic chemicals began leaching into basements and groundwater causing widespread illness birth defects and Cancers the disaster prompted the creation of the super fund program in 1980 let's look at the Hanford site where radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project is still leaking into the environment decades later why because leaders ignore the risks and they fail to act rwood is heading in the exact same path and here's the kicker you guys don't even know how bad the contamination is because you have never tested the three rivers that flood the three fields that flood directly into our Rivers so you have no idea if there's those two compounds which would make this if they are present in that soil and in that River this becomes a National Emergency that's how serious this is Mort Mor and Evans you also claimed that Turf is safer for kids than grass that more injuries happen hung I'm a soccer trainer I'm here to tell you I have three eighth graders who torn acl's I had kids tonight um caught on the turf turf Burns it's just a flat out lie I'm going to quote Travis Kelce who said I would rather practice in thunderstorms with a chance of getting struck by lightning than to run inside on the turf Roger Goodall who's the NFL commissioner is saying that they want to go on science over 90% of our players this is what he said preferred to play on grass these are NFL players with access to the best data and their demand in grass fields because of the risk Turf poses if you could wrap it up please okay we have seen the story play out before in places like Hamford and every community that ignored warnings before it was too late they accumulate be fast accumulates in our bodies causing harm we may not fully understand for decades but then it will be too late don't let rwood become the next cautionary tale do the testing clean up the contamination and stop pretending that these fields are anything but a direct threat to our health and our future thank you [Applause] anyone else okay we'll go to uh remote comment rurick halby you're up next you're still on mute there you go we're not hearing anything mark wait no okay we should be hearing roric any second now do you hear me yes now we hear you go ahead okay uh roric halbe Village resident H first let me thank you for reintroducing hybrid meetings they allow an octogenarian like me to participate without braving the elements uh uh second regarding the quality of sound in the courtroom yes it's a problem that has been discussed before many many times before and I think it is the Acoustics in the room and the speakers not necessarily the mics I do have a problem listening when I'm physically in the room but I have no problem when I attend by Zoom I I cannot explain that by the way I wrote to Dylan in early December and he mentioned how the vendor will be addressing the problem in early 2025 and I urge you to uh go ahead with that I also mentioned to Dylan how it would be great for FiOS channel 34 at least we get files not Optimum to be broadcast in HD and to cover more meetings such as green Ridgewood also to cover select cultural events in the city in the village like the uh jambur and Friends of Music uh Etc I think it would be great and frankly for the channel to be uh to be uh renamed uh the uh the rid uh Channel or something to that effect I have some ideas about shedler but I will you have a long agenda and I'll wait to towards a second uh series of public comments to to make comments if you will thank you very much thank you Eric uh anyone want to respond here are we closing public comment yeah we'll close public com comment now any responses I do does anybody want to go first go ahead okay so um I just want to say a couple things in order um so with respect to shedler the plan has to go in totality so they're not exclusive but we need to start focusing on the the other elements of the plan regarding the plantings around the house how much driveway we cover the access to that that's all in the plan we won't send a part for the field to be approved and then go to The Walking path it's going to go as a complete and total comprehensive plan so I too love the Bergen County um proposal I also love the newcomers proposal and Keith we're going to get those on the agenda soon I feel that the plan for the public will be more Bonafide if we have a future use for the house that being said an a significant spend has occurred it's $2.6 million both of those entities won't pay us any rent so at best what we would have is a tenant to help defay um maintenance make sure that the house is okay because that's a a serious concern for me is that the longer it's empty you know the more likely something is to happen so um the plan will go to in its totality I believe future uses are going to be comined I'd like to you know just spoil alert have the village discuss Bergen County Historical and newcomers you know because it was originally when you read back it was supposed to be a meeting and Gathering Place um the other important part of this is that since the Inception of the purchase of the property it was never to preserve it was never to be a preservation um at that point in time the purchase of the property and the shop Meer property was all expressly the everything that we went for to Bergen County was for recreational use so it will be used for recreation and it had a balance of passive but it was never to be a preservation piece so we we can't turn it into kind of King's pond because that wasn't what the public used public funds for in 2009 um Suburban engineering is our firm the Board of Ed has hired a supplemental architect I don't know their name you the study that was referenced at the fields was from a board of AD update and while I sit on that I can't speak to the board of Suburban engineering is ours the BF is the board of Ed's property so I'm not even sure what the name of the vendor is but I would contact the board ofed and find out who that engineering firm is um we did reach out to Sarah Evans in fact at Fields the idea was discussed of having an event at the library with you know multifaceted discussion Pam was the key Point person there and we haven't heard from her so if you are able to get in touch with her um with shedler we're very mindful that there's different positions here and to be fair to the process Pam and I go in together and so each position is represented in a side meeting so it would never just it would never be me and Evan because we're both Pro so when we meet with people we go in so Pam we have not heard from her we would like to hear from her um we would love the idea of the discussion at the library in public information but balanced with with two people there and we discussed that with the Board of Ed at the fields meeting as well um so we would welcome any help in making the connection and Pam will speak to that um with with respect to Shaw and what was said um sometimes it's very hard for a general taxpayer to distinguish the land between the bard of Ed and the village so I was making a statement we do not use field Turf from the village that's just a statement of clarification because it was coming in this way our vendor is Shaw that being said because there'll be public bidding when this goes forward we have not chosen a vendor for shedler yet because we don't have approval so um that's that and then lastly um I do want to say to ver point if anybody ever has I went home last week and listened to it it is true the audio at home is so much better so if you're ever here and you miss something we do record these you can go back to it and it it's sort of fascinating that the sound is better at home but I'm hoping this has improved I'm hoping Evan and I are doing better and I want to thank our staff for providing this it so that's it yeah I guess the one thing I just want to say is that I'm quoting studies so when I talk about my position it's not my opinion it's actually peer-reviewed journals that I'm quoting so for instance like it's maximizing the durability of athletic fields by Miller um from North Carolina Cooperative education publication blah blah blah and he States that's who says a th000 hours a year in significant grass loss Field Services damage and increases the potential of athlete injury so I respect that we have different opinions but I'm quoting scientific studies so we can disagree on where we stand but I'm not a liar and I'm not making this up and with that we're going to close public comment again and we'll go on to the Village manager's report thank you Deputy Mayor and good evening everyone um I don't have too much on the manager's report tonight um I will just note some highlights on the agenda uh we do have 38 resolutions tonight on the consent agenda from Ridgewood water this will enable Rich CI calby and his team um to hit the ground running in 2025 uh most importantly I think is the uh Award of the contract for hydraulic services and also uh for replacement of water service lines um this is going to move us forward uh in both of those areas try to up the pressure especially up on top of the hill in Midland Park in addition to uh our lead service line project so just want to thank the council uh for their um tolerance at the last work session I know there was a lot on there for Ridgewood water but this is certainly going to propel us forward uh this year on the regular consent agenda um and under ordinances as uh Nancy Brennan Hill pointed out already we have the introduction of the tree ordinance which I know the shade tree commission and the council have been working on for many months now glad that that is finally getting introduced on the consent agenda uh we have now the approval of the Board of Education and concurrence from the county to place the bus shelter in front of Ridgewood High School uh so that project is going to be moving forward with the approval of that resolution tonight um in addition uh we talked at length last week about stationing a fourth paramedic response team from Valley Hospital at our EMS building on Douglas place so that when our residents do call 911 they're receiving a much faster response from a paramedic unit coming from Ridgewood rather than coming from pamis um and finally um as we talked about in closed session also added to tonight's agenda is the Social Services Association lease uh they've agreed to all the terms that the village put forward I want to thank Heather and Chris ruteshouser uh for their work in that space um but we will be able to approve that tonight as it was presented in the prior Clos session uh one other item before I get to the announcements um I do have four letters each from the sports organizations in Ridgewood we have the maroon soccer club uh this is all relative to the field lighting project here on vets field um there was a lot of discussion last year about the possibility of extending this project to The Varsity girl softball field I know mayor vaganos has had number conversations with the leaderships of the sports groups in addition to speaking with uh representatives from the Board of Education about contri contributing to this project so that we can extend the field lighting to the softball field we have a $10,000 commitment from the maroon soccer club we have a $10,000 commitment from The Ridgewood Lacrosse Association we have a $10,000 commitment from uh rjf the Football Association here in the village and we have a $177,000 commitment from Ridgewood baseball and softball associ iation so with the council's Indulgence uh we do have a special public meeting on January 29th uh embedded in the work session um I'd like to ask Heather to put a resolution together accepting these donations uh we should also have some response from the Board of Education by that date they meet on the 27th and we will be able to uh finalize the proposal with musco for the extension of the lights on the softball field so I'm hoping that with a little luck on our side we'll be able to wrap up that whole discussion on the 29th with action and while musco is mobilized on Veterans Field we can finish the job and add the lighting to the girl softball field um under announcements tonight uh we have the annual parking permits which are being sold daily in the lobby downstairs here in Village Hall please bring your driver's license and your registration for each of the vehicles in which you wish to purchase a permit Christmas tree pickup is ongoing Tuesday on the east side and Thursday on the West Side through the end of the month if you would like you can also drop your Christmas tree off at the Gren pool parking lot the Chamber of Commerce restaurant week uh continues week one through tomorrow night and then next week Monday through Thursday please come out enjoy a delicious meal at a reduced price while supporting our restaurants here in the village the village of Ridgewood and all Village offices will be closed this Monday January 20th for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday the recycling center will be Al also be closed and there will be no curbside bulk pickup this week uh the legal documents program will be held here on Village Hall on Thursday January 23rd at 10:30 a.m. in the youth Lounge uh we ask people to go on and sign up through Community pass just some reminders if we do get snowfall or an IC storm all sidewalks in residential districts are to remove the snow within 24 hours the snow falling and garbage pickup during snow and ice events we ask people to please place your garbage cans at the end of your driveway until you have a clear path to them this keeps our village employees safe upcoming Village Council meetings we have January 29th as a work session February 5th is a work session February 10th is a public meeting February 26th is a work session all begin at 7:30 p.m. I also want to add that we have solidified our budget meeting schedule uh we will be meeting on Wednesday Wednesday January 22nd Monday February 3rd Wednesday February 19th Thursday February 27th and we will if needed meet on Monday March 3rd all those meetings will begin at 5:00 pm here in the council chambers and we plan to introduce the ordinance tentatively at our public meeting on Wednesday March 12th and adopt the 2025 Municipal Budget on April 9th that's all I have Mar Deputy Mayor Keith what were you saying was the event with legal documents so Heather I don't know if you have more information about this no um this it's a legal documents program I believe it's sponsored by the recreation department because it comes through Community pass um but what they will talk you through is you'll learn more about the four legal documents that everyone should have um handy and available um and they will walk this through and I think this is a targeted program for our senior community okay so a will a power of attorney blah blah okay um thank you you're welcome that concludes my report and councilman Mortimer do you have reports yes I uh attended my first committee as leison was open space which was last Thursday um which it was exciting to be there um that after um just getting to know everybody that um we celebrated that the Town garage came down um and we had a special secret handshake to celebrate that um and what's interesting and this is what's exciting to me uh as the council will be able to figure out what you go there next and we actually had a resident come in that um and the the Catalyst for him coming was the garage came down and he spoke about um how great it would be if we had a permanent skateboard park um like a cement one and went on about the benefits of that versus what's available at the skate rank um additionally that uh we talked about what park walks will be going on for 2025 and uh what our goals will be for 2025 I also last night uh with Evan I went to the Ridgewood Arts Council um and talked about they're they're going to have an event again called children in the Arts which will be on March 30th and that'll be at the stable and it'll be uh children that are actively involved in different aspects either um dancing or singing or acting just how they got there and why they enjoy it so much um there's going to be an event with John luckenbill um at the library so it'll be more to talk about again his passion for music and all that uh and um tomorrow is my first citizen safety meeting which I'm looking forward to as well and then last I wanted to say that um this past weekend that my one daughter needed her passport renewed and we went to the library to get it done and it was awesome so I was going to say to all the residents if you're looking for a a quality experience to renew your passport go to the library because it was great it was called in and it was just it was so much different than going to the post office and that concludes my report Deputy thank you and if I recall correctly you can renew your passport at the library but you can't get one uh I don't know that I just know we renewed hers you know from the beginning I think that's right but I yeah I don't think you can apply for one but you can renew ex but they can take your picture there and everything so it was it was perfect good um council member winegrad thanks Pam um so I want to begin by thanking the members of the fields committee for their generous donations that's $47,000 to a project that will ensure our girls play Under the light so thank you to them and thank you to Keith and everybody who made it happen um Nancy and the fields committee it's really exciting to see that much money come in from people who are users of the field um I have a couple committee reports uh last evening uh Deputy Mayor parin and I went to the libraries event sponsored with access to see a documentary called Patrice um So currently in the state of New Jersey and in the United States there's um a marriage penalty Clause when two members of the special needs Community want to get married um the documentary was incredibly moving funny vibrant it was not just about the marriage equality and the need within the special Community but but a lot of hurdles um and the lack of dignity in the process for special needs um Patrice is a local crossing guard in the state of New Jersey um there were several members of Ridgewood featured because we have a young couple that participated in the commitment ceremony they were there last night um and I just want to um it's available on Hulu and I know that because I left and I watched the rest of it from home today and Pam stayed for the discussion because I had chatry it it's a very valuable film it's very well done um and again I I think everybody should watch it and think about it and begin to have a discussion cuz love is is truly amazing it really is and it was a beautiful event and I'm just very grateful again to the brid of public library and the access committee who keeps these discussions um really tactile and personal so that's it it's right here if you want a copy of it I can give it to you um after Patrice I went to shade tree where we went over a lot of things one I want to thank Nancy left but um most especially shade tree and George Wolfson of highlight and the ordinance committee who put forth this wonderful Amendment to the shade tree protection or the tree protection ordinance um we discussed a lot of things with the budget season coming up there's still the clamoring for the tree Sheriff just everyone it you know the ordinance is great but they really want to talk about enforcement we have centered around the fact that uh shade tree is doing many good things from saplings to whips to trees and we're going to on Arbor Day with Communications launch a full eblast highlighting how to get any of these things or all of them a sapling a tree what's the difference additionally um the shade tree commission wants to present two planning so IND planning focuses a lot on personal trees but we want to talk about the importance of some of the planning and driveway placement that we've seen and some of the new developments so um thank you to everybody on shade tree they keep me very busy and um there's going to be a lot coming out of that on Monday night I had a meeting with project Pride um project Pride discussed many things uh in the downtown for the winter we're going to be demoing um wrapping the lamp posts um in white lights so you know rather than have sort of a bare Stark lamp post with a kissing ball on top we're looking to get more lights in there um we're also looking to upgrade I brought it we're going to create 3600 new bows for the kissing balls um in conjunction with the heist school and we're going to replace them um we had a lot of ideas about winter which is circulating P we'll get that for CBD and then um we talked about summer we're going to be looking at and partnering with the police department to upgrade some of our pots uh so you know the larger the pot the less likely it needs to be water because it'll retain the water and um I want to thank everybody who took part in it if anybody has any ideas we're welcome you know we'd love it the more beautiful our downtown is the more vibrant is and the more economically like robust it will be so um I think that's it for me and that's it okay councilman Weiss great a couple of things to um I can update the public on so last week attended the Board of Ed meeting um that we have between the council um and uh representatives of the Board of Ed or representatives of the council with representatives of the Board of Ed um really great meeting I know Keith you talked about some of the lighting um more to come on that I know there's going to be a vote by the Board of Ed on the 27th um look forward to being able to kind of brief everyone on all the behind the scenes stuff going on um but um you know I think everyone when they know what's going on will be very proud of I think a lot of collaboration that's going on in the community in order to find the money to make sure that we not only light um the soccer fields but also the girls softball field and I think we're gonna get it done this year um and as I've said before just really good boring government just really good stuff um historical preservation committee met this week um really great meeting um two new businesses coming into town and then two residential applications um I I'm always impressed by the quality of our volunteers and HBC is really no exception to that um as Frank mentioned I did the handoff last night for Richard Arts Council uh I've had the privilege of being leaon to the rack for the last two years um as part of the reorganization meeting I took over cash Rell from um from Lorraine um and then had to give up RAC in favor of Frank as I've told Frank you're inheriting a wonderful organization with wonderful people um I know they'll do really well and um Frank really glad that you're stepping up and taking over the rack and again just a wonderful group that I will absolutely be attending um maybe not the meetings but I will be at all their events because they're always really really good and then finally as some of you may have picked up I am super excited because as Keith said we're kicking off budget season soon and yes I am a huge nerd but I'm always amazed at how little attention our budget meetings get um in my view they are probably more important than most of our actual Council meetings I encourage all of you to come see how the sausage is made tune in come in person ask questions find stuff that we don't find in that massive budget um this is the most important thing in my view that we do as a council uh and I am not embarrassed to say that I am incredibly excited for Budget season kicking off next month but it'll be a lot of fun thanks Evan I also enjoy the budget meetings because you get to meet the the heads of departments and you really see who who creates this living breathing municipality that we have um this week was my last meeting with the open space committee and I'm proud to be leaving it in very good hands uh green Ridgewood which I'm keeping uh is met this week and with the Green Team and um we talked about the Town garage what could possibly go there next um that the Corp of Engineers work for us has been funded we will be meeting with other Bergen County um environmental commissions on the 28th uh they're called called the Hub and uh that should be a very good meeting I think uh rich calby and Sean Hamlin will be speaking along with Lois Krauss uh who heads the um advocates for transitional Landscaping um we also talked about Rutter's extension can help us figure out a way to we're asking them to figure out a way to measure uh what what effect rain Gardens have and also um the what takes priority affordable housing or the environment and our next meeting will be February 6th in the senior Lounge the planning board will be holding a reorganization meeting on January 21st um and that's all I have in terms of updates so now we will go on to uh ordinances we have no ordinances from Richard water for introduction or for public hearing and we'll go on uh to the resolutions for Ridgewood water these are on a consent agenda Heather the following resolutions number 25-38 through 2576 are to be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by title only award Soul Source contract Cube software for Ridgewood water automated customer collection ction process award contract East Side distribution water main replacement title 59 approval replacement of water service line main to curb award contract replacement of water service line main to curb title 59 approval tree maintenance services award contract tree maintenance services title 59 approval Furnishing and delivering sodium hypochlorite award Contract Furnishing and delivering sodium hypochlorite title 59 approval Line stop and valve insertion services award contract Line stop involve insertion Services title 59 approval servicing and repair of portable water wells and pumping facilities award contract servicing and repair portable water wells and pumping facilities title 59 approval piping impertinences award contract pipe in impertinences title 59 approval infrared asphalt surface repair award contract infrared asphalt surface repair title 59 approval concrete pavement and sidewalk restoration award contract concrete pavement and restoration title 59 approval cold water meters and accessories award contract cold water meters and accessories to title 59 approval asphalt trench repair award contract asphalt trench repair title 59 approval annual P fos laboratory analysis Services award contract annual P laboratory analysis Services title 59 approval annual laboratorial analysis Services award contract laboratory analysis Services title 59 approval landscaping services award contract landscaping services title 59 approval servicing and repair of electric Source award contract servicing and repair of electric source title 59 approval water billing and data collection Services no contract water billing and data collection Services award contract under Source while Cooperative purchasing material and supplies facilities maintenance repair operating supplies and joral supplies award contract under County contract materials and supplies for water m repairs award contract under State contract field service for equipment for monitoring and Reporting water quality testing award Professional Services contracts SK system software and support award Professional Services contract Hydro geologic Consulting Services authorized change order water service line Replacements M to curb and refund water overpayment 345 Mana Road may have a motion solved I second it Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes and wgr yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4028 have a second I second it Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes grad yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4028 by title an ordinance to menend salary ordinance 3908 an ordinance to fix salaries wages and other comp compensation of in four bluecolor employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey salary ordinance 4021 and ordinance to fix salaries wages and other compensation of non-union employees of the village of Ridgewood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey for the year 2025 and salary ordinance 4022 fixing the salaries and wages and other compensation and to establish the employment agreement of certain non-union officers and employees of the village of rwood County of Bergen and state of New Jersey for the year 2025 I move that ordinance 4028 be adopted on the first reading and that February 10th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes and wiad yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4029 I second it Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes and wonder grad yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 402 9 by title an ordinance to amend chapter 265 of the code of the village of briwood vehicles and traffic at section 26559 schedule 9 stop intersections I move that ordinance 4,29 be adopted on the first reading and that February 10th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes and windrad yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4030 zero I second it Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes andrad yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4030 by title an ordinance to resend and replace in its entirety chapter 260 of the code of the village of Bridgewood trees and shrubs and previously adopted ordinance number 3682 which amended chap chapter 260 and to establish a new title for chapter 260 tree protection removal and replacement I move that ordinance 4030 be adopted on the first reading and that February 10th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I proudly second this motion Mortimer yes Terin uh this is a big step forward with each iteration of this ordinance it gets better and better for the environment and for our community so yes I vote in favor whites yes I'm going to grad of course yes I move the first reading of ordinance 4031 second I second it Mortimer yes parin yes whites yes wiad yes so ordered will the clerk please read ordinance 4031 by title an ordinance to amend chapter three of the code of the village of Bridgewood administration of government Article 5 departments at section 3-43 Police Department I move that ordinance 4031 be adopted on the first reading and that February 10th 2025 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon I second the motion Mortimer yes I I vote Yes with a statement that I think it's great that we continue to make our school safer parin yes Whit yes and windrad yes the following resolutions number 2577 through 25- 95 will be adopted by consent agenda with one vote by The Village Council they will be read by title only authorized tax assessor tax col CED to file appeals Andor settlement stipulations award contracts 2025 recreational program instruction title 59 approval landfill disposal of solid waste award contract landfill disposal of solid waste award contract under State contract purchase installation and repair of vehicles and Equipment Police Department authorized change order additional restoration of pavement at Chestnut Street Garage award contract Diamond SE trailer parks and recreation authoriz shared services agreement maintenance and repairs police motorcycles with paramis authorize installation of New Jersey Transit bus shelter at Ridgewood High School and authorize execution of agreements authorize execution of agreement for use of 33 Douglas place by the Valley Hospital paramedics accept donation enhanced programming at the Ridgewood Community Center authorize application for New Jersey Department of Community Affairs local Recreation Improvement Grant and execution of Grant agreement agement enhanced Graden Park Skate Park authorized endorsement of Community Development block grant share Inc roof repairs 130 Prospect Street authorize endorsement of Community Development block grant share Inc roof repairs 104 Cottage Place authorize endorsement of Community Development block grant Children's Aid and Family Services installation of generator 29 Washington Place authorized endorsement of Community Development block grant Children's Aid and Family Services replacement of HVAC system 29 Washington Place authorized endorsement of Community Development Block Grant Family Promise of Bergen County accelerating family Futures with job Readiness authorized execution of lease for social services associations use of Ridgewood train station for food pantry and appoint member to shade tree commission may I have a motion so moved I second it okay Mortimer yes whites yes winegrad yes I'm sorry I perin I apologize yes okay thank you heather I think you did more speaking tonight than all of us did yeah I think so and with that we will go back to public comment uh good evening Deputy Mayor and Council boy a loving Ridgewood uh I'd like to thank the council and Mr Hansen who I believe is in the back of the room the manager for uh addressing promptly addressing my comments concerning the audio in the room that I made during last week's meeting I did notice an improvement tonight I could uh hear councilman uh councilman whites a lot better than I had been able to hear was that a good thing or a bad thing we'll talk about that later and uh I noted that the councilwoman whr was able to stand up and I could still hear her fine even though she was away from the the permanent microphone so uh it does sound like maybe you've got to fix uh I respectfully disagree with um the gentleman who called in and said it's not a microphone problem I do think it's a microphone problem when the audio from the Callins is played it's it's heard perfectly but for some reason the audio that's being picked up by the microphones isn't being broadcast in the room uh not sure what it is whether it's a microphone the amplifier but it appears as though you're working your way to addressing that issue and I do appreciate that because it is it is extremely difficult to hear uh in the room what is what is being said uh the other comment I'd like to make is with respect to the bus shelter there are three Homes located on East Ridgewood Avenue that their front doors will be able to see that shelter and I'm just wondering if you would do the courtesy of providing those three homes with uh what they're going to be seeing now uh they're going to be looking at into a little bit different of a landscape perhaps you can get some photos of what the shelter is going to look like and pass it along to the three homeowners there so they're not shocked when this thing goes up thank you so much thanks I see you're taking notes Keith anyone else uh we have one person on remote where calibby you're on H do you hear me yes yes yep yeah r h Village resident uh just a brief comment about changing our minds I do hope the four of you stti to your guns because you are right and people will come to your position I can't believe that the four of you are irresponsibly ignoring the safety and health of children playing or the environment uh I know two of you have young children who are very in sports uh one of you has uh a son who is a champion soccer player who cut his teeth uh playing on the Rood Playing Fields uh you have thousands and thousands of children and the sports groups who represent them who are so much in favor of turf uh the turf fields and these are not irresponsible people they are not uncaring or about the environment Etc so stick to your course you're doing the right thing there's a lot of fear-mongering a lot of Twisted facts a lot of uh half truths that are being baned around but you are four strong people and I say stit to your guns thank you very much James your name and res town of residence please James yes hi this is um Susan Ruan I'm a Ridgewood resident um I'm calling um in regard to the residential flood committee um which I was excluded from even though I advocated for it um was the initial person um I realized on the ite there's no information about it nor any meeting dates so when will that be posted thank you all right does anybody want to respond here from the de sure do you want to do flood or you want me to uh I will okay you going to close public comment first oh sure excuse me let's close public com comment and now we'll take responsive statements so we um we've established the date um the first meeting which we just established at the end of last week the first uh flood committee meeting will be 4 o'clock on January 22nd um again we're establishing this so this is going to be a step-by-step process council member winegrad is the uh liaison from the council to that committee um so we are going to meet with them we're going to talk through what the best schedule is going to be I think the intention initially is to meet quarterly um so that we can prepare our advocacy plan uh with the Army Corps with the Congressional office with the State Legislative offices um and we will establish the rest of the meeting dates uh once we meet on January 22nd and I will make sure that Carol post that on the website um she was out last week uh due to Vacation uh but I'll make sure that that committee meeting is properly posted and that concludes our agenda except for a resolution to go into closed session be resolved by The Village Council of the village of Bridgewood at the Village council meeting Clos session on January 15 2025 at 7:30 p.m. or soon thereafter as the matter on the agenda can be reached and the said Clos session be held in the caucus room on the fourth floor of the Ridgewood Village Hall 1:31 North Maple Avenue Ridgewood New Jersey be further resolve that the manage to be discussed in closed session limited to personel matters to include appointments to boards and committees these matters are allowable under njsa 10 colum 4-12 that's SEC be a further resolve that the minutes of this meeting shall be made available to the general public when such matters have been deemed completed by resolution of the Village Council may I have a motion I second all in favor I anyone opposed okay thank you thank you Evan okay 37