Village Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. This is the Village Council regular public meeting. The date is September 9th, 2026. The time is 7.30. 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 and by submission to all persons entitled the same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting. Notice of this meeting was also posted on the Village of Ridgewood's legal notices page. Roll call.

Council Member Mortimer is absent. Deputy Mayor Perrin? Here. Council Member Weitz?

Here.

Council Member Winograd? Here. Mayor Baggianos?

Here. Will you all please join us in a salute to our flag.

and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And before we begin tonight, Friday, as you all know, marks the 25th anniversary of a very difficult day all around the country, all around the world. but especially here in Ridgewood where we lost 12 of our fellow citizens. So will you all please join me in a moment of silence to commemorate their lives and their families. Thank you all so much. And now let's begin our agenda. I move the bills, claims, and vouchers and statement of funds on hand as of August 31st, 2026 be accepted as submitted. Second.

Perrin. Yes.

White. Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vagianos.

Yes. I move the village council minutes of June 10th, June 24th, July 8th, July 15th, August 5th, and August 12th, 2026, having been reviewed by the village council and now available in the village clerk's office, be approved as submitted.

You have a second?

Second.

Perrin? Yes. Weitz?

I'm going to recuse myself. I can't remember which day, but one of these days I wasn't here.

Okay. Monegrad? I just want to say thank you to the clerk's office, and yes.

And Vaggianos?

Yes.

Yes. And now we're going to go to our proclamations. We're going to take them a little out of order here. So we're going to begin with one that I will be reading that is very near and dear to my heart. The Mayor's Wellness Campaign entitled this year, Tend to Thrive. Whereas the 2026 Village of Ridgewood Mayor's Wellness Campaign is launching an exciting new community initiative, Tend to Thrive, with a kickoff walk on Friday, September 18th, 2026. from 10 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. at the Cashier Shell at Veterans Memorial Field. And whereas this year's challenge embraces the idea that good health doesn't begin with dramatic changes, but rather begins with small choices made consistently and invites residents to find 10 minutes each day to walk and enjoy a piece of fruit a few times each week. And whereas a daily 10-minute walk can lower blood pressure, improve heart health, strengthen muscles and bones, regulate blood sugar levels, and support joint mobility, all while reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, aiding in weight management, improving circulation, and enhancing overall stamina without placing excessive stress on the body. And whereas eating fruit regularly improves immune function, supports heart health, promotes digestive health, reduces inflammation and chronic disease risk, aids in hydration, and may support mental well-being. And whereas the Tend to Thrive campaign is built around three simple connected goals, walk, eat well, and thrive together, encouraging residents to start where they are and build a healthier community one small step at a time. And whereas the Mayor's Tend to Thrive Challenge invites individuals, families, schools, businesses, and houses of worship to join around the shared goal of building a healthier community. And whereas the Village has partnered with village groups and businesses to help lead this challenge, including the Ridgewood Public Library, Stop and Shop, Ridgecrest Senior Housing, the Valley Hospital, and the Community Health Improvement Partnership. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood does hereby proclaim September 18th as the kickoff to the Mayor's 2026 Wellness Challenge, Tend to Thrive, in the Village of Ridgewood and encourages everyone in Ridgewood, individuals, families, schools, businesses, and houses of worship alike to join, it says Mayor Vaggiano, so I'm gonna say join me in embracing Tend to Thrive Because a healthier community is just steps away. I urge everyone, you don't have to get on an exercise bike for 30 minutes. You don't have to run two miles. You don't have to eat healthy every moment of every day. Instead of the cookie, pick up an apple or some grapes. And instead of sitting on the couch all night, take 10 minutes, walk around the block. That's all you need to do. So I hope you'll all join us. Thank you very much. And let's move on. The next proclamation, Siobhan, Fire Prevention Week.

Sure, so this is exciting because we have so many members of our fire department here, and for those who are not able to see them, we have everyone here, and it's exciting to be reading this. Whereas the village of Ridgewood is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our village, and whereas fire is a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and homes are in locations where people are at the greatest risk from fire. And whereas Fire Prevention Week is celebrated throughout North America every October and is the oldest public health observance on record in the US, entering its 103rd year. Fire Prevention Week works to educate people about leading risks to home fires and ways they can better protect themselves and their loved ones. Local fire departments, schools, and community organizations play a key role in bringing Fire Prevention Week to their lives in their communities each year and spreading basic but critical fire safety measures. Whereas the 2026 Fire Prevention Week theme is, quote, charge into fire safely, safe charging is a superpower, end quote, which focuses on everyday charging habits that can help reduce the risk of lithium ion fire batteries and keep homes and communities safer. And whereas the safety precautions which can be taken include using only rechargeable lithium ion batteries listed by nationally recognized testing laboratories, look for the UL, ETC, or CSA marks, charging original cords, on hard surfaces and unplugging devices that are fully charged, charging power tools, e-batteries, and scooters outside. Stop using devices that are very hot, making popping or hissing noises, or smoking, and when on a plane, keeping devices where you can see them when charging and recycling lithium batteries at proper facilities, never in the trash or regular recycling. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Village of Ridgewood of the Village Council does hereby proclaim the week of October 4th through October 8th, 2026 as Fire Prevention Week throughout the Village of Ridgewood and urges all residents to protect their homes and their families by heeding the important safety messages of Fire Prevention Week.

Thanks so much, Siobhan. Pam, would you read the proclamation for Gold Star Mothers?

Yes. Whereas the United States of America, through its armed forces, has had many heroes who have defended the lives and liberties of all their fellow Americans, and whereas many of these heroes have lost their lives in order to defend the virtues of our hard-won liberty and security. Whereas, Gold Star Mothers and Family Day is a solemn observance honoring families who have lost loved ones in active duty military service. It reflects the profound absence left at the dinner tables once filled by those serving, symbolized by the transition from a blue star to a gold star on service flags. And whereas, these Gold Star mothers and families have the courage and strength to comfort other families, support veterans, and give back to their communities. And whereas, the Congress of the United States, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936, has designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother's Day. And whereas, in 2011, President Barack Obama amended the designation in recognition of all Gold Star family members on this day. And whereas, the Village of Ridgewood's American Legion post-53 called Gold Star families the unseen part of Memorial Day and continues to advocate for their recognition. And whereas, on the evening of Sunday, September 27th, 2026, residents of the village of Ridgewood will observe Gold Star Mothers and Family Day at Memorial Park at Van Est Square, or by placing a luminary at the end of their driveway at sundown, away from anything that can catch fire, to honor and acknowledge the mothers and families of our fallen heroes. Now therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of Ridgewood, in recognition of this event, does hereby proclaim Sunday, September 27th, 2026, as Gold Star Mothers and Family Day in the village of Ridgewood, and does hereby encourage all Ridgewood residents to light a luminary at their homes in honor of the recognition of mothers and families of the fallen soldiers throughout the United States of America.

Thanks so much, Pam. Evan, would you take the National Breast Cancer Awareness Proclamation?

Whereas the Village of Ridgewood values the health of all of its citizens, and whereas the Village of Ridgewood supports awareness of diseases such as breast cancer, which affects the lives of all of its citizens, Whereas October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which provides education about the importance of early detection for breast cancer. And whereas since the inception of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985, coordinated efforts have contributed to a 44% drop in breast cancer death rates. And whereas the Village of Ridgewood would like to promote the use of mammography as the best available method of detecting breast changes that may be cancer. and whereas breast cancer deaths could decline further if all women ages 40 and older receive a mammogram at regular intervals. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood urges all women and their families in the Village of Ridgewood to get the facts about mammography and does hereby proclaim October 2026 as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month as we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of new and better ways to prevent, detect, and treat this devastating disease. Every year I ask to read this one because thankfully the woman in my life who's closest to me had one of these several years ago and caught this very, very early for which I am eminently grateful. And on a personal note, urge all of you to get a mammogram if you're over 40. Thanks, Evan.

When we divvy these proclamations up, we try and take something that means something to us, as Evan just did. And I'm taking National Bullying Prevention Month because, as a boy, I was bullied year after year after year. And so this is important to me. Whereas National Bullying Prevention Month is observed every October to raise awareness, educate communities, and promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to stop bullying in all forms. And whereas bullying occurs in neighborhoods, playgrounds, schools, and through technology such as the internet and cell phones. And whereas various researchers have concluded that bullying is the most common form of violence affecting millions of American children and adolescents annually, and whereas research shows that bullying can harm academic performance, mental health, and school attendance, and whereas targets of bullying are more likely to acquire physical, emotional, and learning problems, and students who are repeatedly bullied often fear such activities as riding the bus, going to school, and attending community activities. And whereas children who bully are at greater risk of engaging in more serious violent behaviors, and whereas children who witness bullying often feel less secure, more fearful, and intimidated. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the village council of the village of Ridgewood does hereby proclaim October 2026 National Bullying Prevention Month and encourages the Village of Ridgewood schools, students, parents, recreation programs, religious institutions, and community organizations to engage in a variety of awareness and prevention activities designed to make our communities safer for all children and adolescents. And I thank you. we have several fun things to do for which we're going to do our favorite thing, which is we're going to go into the well and make some presentations.

This is very exciting to call up our first furry friend.

So this is Fenty, and she is a service dog through Canine Companions. We got her last July, and we'll have her until November 6th. What we do is we just do basic obedience and socialization for the dogs. And then the company itself has requirements that you need to do. But what she does is she's going to be trained after we have her by professionals. And she will either become a disability dog, a early alert dog, or a PTSD dog. And if she doesn't make it through that program, then they find other organizations that could use dogs that are already trained. In any case, this dog is from Canine Companions. They've been around for 50 years. And they are a well-run nationwide organization. They're desperate for puppy raisers And so if you have any questions or want any sort of information, please come up to me. Nancy was a past puppy raiser. She still babysits this one when we're on vacation and whatnot. But it's a nationwide network. They breed their own puppies. They have a great support system. They have maybe 15 centers nationwide that take in the dogs after the puppy raisers that do the training. give them out to the people for free after two years of training. And then they follow up with the people that have the dogs. And I don't know, do you have anything else to add?

Yeah.

And they are super, super great puppies to begin with. They just, they come out of the box sort of like really chill. They're like already super smart and they're amazing, amazing creatures.

So when we originally got contacted via social media, this was an excellent idea, and we're so happy you're here. As the access liaison, it's a shameless plug to also promote that the Ridgewood Library does partner with Seeing Eye Dogs. So when we have access week, if you're interested in this or you just want to be an observer, it's a great day when the puppies come. It's a rigorous amount of training. We do know that a disproportionate amount of Seeing Eye Dogs really don't pass. So it's a great opportunity for a family to gain a pet and be a part of the training. and we are so happy to read, I have one for Michelle too, but we're gonna read the official proclamation thanking Fenty and all these animals like this. So whereas September is known around the United States as National Service Dog Month, and it's aimed to educate communities about the benefits of service dogs and the laws protecting them, And whereas in the United States more than 70 million adults and children have a disability and only 16,000 service dogs from accredited training programs exist nationwide, which means there are thousands of people waiting for an expertly trained service dog to enhance their independence. Whereas all citizens are encouraged to celebrate service dogs and be respectful of the right to safe access, which will allow adults, children, and veterans lead more independent lives because of their assistance. Whereas the Canyon Companions is a nonprofit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing expertly trained service dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. The organization has more than 28 active teams throughout the country and have placed over 8700 teams since its founding. And whereas service dogs are integral to the independence of people with disabilities and their life-changing work deserves to be recognized, and whereas we celebrate 250 years of independence in America, it would be meaningful to celebrate independence and raise awareness for people with disabilities who use service dogs. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood does hereby proclaim September 2026 as National Service Dog Month in the Village of Ridgewood and asks all residents to join together in honoring these service dogs, volunteers, and the people whose lives they are helping to change for the better.

See, I told you this was going to be fun tonight. And now I want to call up the girls 14U Little League 2026 state softball champions. Give them a round of applause.

And your coaches.

Okay. Wait, where are the coaches? Coaches. Coaches, part of the team. All the coaches, let's go. So girls, I'm a softball dad. So we give out a lot of stuff like this for our other state champions, and I'm very proud of them and very happy for them, but softball. This is what it's about. And look, I always say, there's no story that's as good as a great comeback story. So I'm gonna read you guys a little something here. So for the second year in a row, Ridgewood's 14U softball team has won the Little League District sectional, and state championships. And this year, the team went even further, advancing all the way to the regional championship game. Remarkably, this historic run was accomplished by an almost entirely new roster with only two players returning from last year's championship team. That just doesn't happen. The Road to States featured one of the most dramatic comebacks in the program's history. Facing Elmora, New Jersey in an elimination game with both teams having already lost once in the tournament, Ridgewood fell behind five to nothing and was held hitless through four innings. Just so you know, it's only a seven inning game. In the fifth inning, the team exploded for 13 runs on 12 hits to seize the lead and win the state title 13 to 8. Let's give a round of applause for that. They did an amazing job. They almost, they came one game short of going to the finals in the state of Washington. So this is, let me tell you, These things don't just happen. There's gotta be talent, there's gotta be hard work, and then there's gotta be a little bit of magic. And they had them all, and we are all so incredibly proud of you. Thank you all so much. I wanna give your coach a moment to say a few words, whether you like it or not.

Okay, well, obviously Mayor Vaggiano said enough, but these girls worked their tails off. I think it's important to note that while we did win the state championship, this season started all the way back in January. These girls were coming to practice on Sunday mornings in January, February. In the cold months, they were getting up, they were putting the work in. Had games pretty much every day of June and July. They give up their social lives to play for this team, and they just absolutely crushed it. I know he talked about our comeback against Elmora in the state final, but I don't think I've ever coached a team that scored 13 runs. We had a home run, 10 singles. A couple walks and a lot of joy to win that game, seriously. And then going on to regionals, these girls did phenomenal. We went five and two in the regional tournament, which is fabulous. We're playing against all different states on the East Coast, and they brought it all. They worked their tails off, and what a memory for them to look back on, and they deserve it. So congrats, guys.

Excellent. So let's get a picture. Dylan?

Everybody get in a little tight. Here we go. Thank you. Thank you.

And now we have certificates for everybody. Just want to pull them away in line. We're going to hand them to you, and everyone's going to shake your hand because you're all so proud of them. Thank you so much.

You did an amazing job.

Amazing.

Here we go. Congratulations. Great job.

Thank you. Yeah.

Let's give them one more round of applause. And the night gets better and better. I don't know if you noticed the firefighters back there, the guys who are always watching our backs, who are always there for us every day. Well, I want to call up Marisol Romero, Melanie Downing, Lieutenant Vinnie Krug, Lieutenant John Young, Firefighter Christopher Eichen, and Chief John Judge. You know, it seems like just about every year we call them up because they saved someone's life. And this year they saved someone who we care about very deeply. Our own Dina Katt from the recreation department went over to the fire department, said she was not feeling great. They insisted that she go to the emergency room with them because she was showing classic signs of a cardiac incident. She didn't want to go. but they made her go. And I will let Chief Judge tell the rest of the story.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for coming over, and thank you for listening. I know you didn't listen initially, but we appreciate you listening. To everyone on my left, thank you for being there that morning. Thank you for the assessment of what you did. Thank you for your action that morning. I will fill in the rest, sorry. Kind of going to the thank yous before the rest of the story. So yes, came over that morning, wasn't feeling well, don't want to say too many specifics. Everyone here recognized what was going on. They strongly, strongly convinced her over many times to go, a little maybe arm twisting as well to get her there. Their assessment, their quick action, their physical bringing to the hospital as well, the checking in, the moving, the whole process along so she could be treated. I'm not going to go into details of what happened, but We're so thankful you came over and that you're here with us today and everything that happened. Your action, your dedication, what you do for this department day in, day out. I know we're here right now for this moment, but not everyone sees what you guys do every single day. For those who don't know, Marisol Romero is the assistant to the chief in the office with me. Melanie Downing is the head of fire prevention back there. Lieutenant Young is our fire official. And Firefighter Eichen is one of our fantastic members of our department as well. So they, as a team, worked very hard that morning. to make things happen correctly, and I just wanna thank you all for your service and everything you do for this community.

Give him a big round of applause.

Chief, how many firefighters do you have on staff?

46.

How many of them are certified EMTs?

44.

That's who you've got watching your backs. Give him another round of applause, please. And I'm gonna ask Dina to come and join us for a photo, if you wouldn't mind. Let me just say, on behalf of everyone, we're so happy you're here.

Amen.

Okay, let's go. Come on. I guarantee you the rest of the night is not gonna be as good as this. We're just paying bills and doing stuff. So again, gentlemen and ladies, thank you so much. One last round of applause.

Oh, wait a minute.

I was just traveling before him very, very well. Yeah. I didn't recognize his wife, but I'm gonna try to introduce myself to her, and it's like, oh, I know you.

I ran into Margaret on that night.

Can you bring up what citizens looks like?

Thank you.

Okay, let's pick up where we left off. Let's go right to public comment.

Good evening. My name is Amy McCambridge, Ridgewood resident. Tonight I stand before you and I speak to you as an indigenous woman.

Amy, just a moment. It's a little loud there. Let's see if we can get them to quiet down so that we can hear you better. No, we can't close the door. Yeah, we're not allowed.

I got it.

I know, peep.

So much better. Thank you, Amy.

Thank you. Go ahead. Amy, tonight I stand before you, and I'm speaking as an indigenous woman to you. For months, we have brought you environmental concerns, historical records, archaeological findings, and documentation. Documentation, you ignored the residents, you ignored the warnings, and you ignored the history. But now the Ramapola Not By Nation has spoken. Chief Vincent Mann and the tribal council did not send you a suggestion. They formally requested an immediate stop to physical work at Shedler, no further tree removal, No additional ground disturbance. They oppose synthetic turf on this indigenous cultural landscape and requested meaningful indigenous review. And you keep moving forward. Parking spaces, construction, ground disturbance, business as usual. So tonight I have a question. How dare you? Your own archaeological record documents pre-contact indigenous artifacts, approximately 27 pre-contact sites within roughly two miles, and a former native trail, later used by colonists. The colonists did not create that trail. They followed a path that was already there. We were already there. And we have seen this story before. For generations, colonization took indigenous lands, displaced nations, destroyed ecosystems, and shattered ways of life while you guys called it progress, development, expansion, convenience, progress. History doesn't always repeat itself wearing the same clothes. Sometimes it wears a suit, sometimes it sits behind a government desk, and sometimes it arrives with engineering plans, parking permits, and spaces. The nation's letter makes something painfully clear. The trees do matter, the soil does matter, the water matters, and the wildlife matters. This is living land. You cannot cut down mature trees, evacuate and compact the earth, cover living soil with synthetic material, put up a historical marker and call that preservation. That's documenting what you guys destroyed. I do not speak for the Ramapolinape Nation. I don't need to. They've spoken for themselves. The chief is expected before this council on the 23rd, and the nations are coming. And you may have to look directly at this Indigenous chief in his eyes and explain why his nation asked you to stop, and you continued. For generations, governments have taken Indigenous land, destroyed what they could not replace, and called it progress. And afterwards, you put up plaques telling everyone what used to be there. But this time it's different. The nation told you, the chief told you, we told you, you guys knew. So if another tree falls and another shovel enters that earth, don't you dare stand on this property. Point to a historical marker and tell our children how much Ridgewood values indigenous history because you had the opportunity to preserve the history and you chose a parking space. So remember this moment. You're not just deciding what happens to this land. You're deciding what history is going to say about you. Governments come and go. Politicians come and go. Borders come and go. We didn't come and go. We are still here. And someday, if you destroy this land and insist on putting up a plaque and telling people its history, make sure you put your names on it too.

Thank you.

Thank you, Amy. Anyone else?

John Fry, North Irving Street. So indeed, we all know this week we learned a lot about over at the Board of Education and the challenge with the fields. I know several of you were involved with the fields meeting, and now some cleanup is taking place on Stadium Field. And I think everybody, as far as, will appreciate the fact that we're getting the field back together for something to be used this fall. But I thought that it was interesting. The challenge, I think, is bigger than just the field itself. And when I look at it, I think about the flooding aspects of it I think about the synthetic turf. All these things that people 15 or 10 years ago, whenever it was that the fields were put in, thought about but said that this would be fine. So now when I think about the synthetic turfs going forward, I'm concerned of how are they going to impact things that we don't know about today, we don't have enough experience with. There seems to be some good questions about that, and I think that we need to work with the Board of Education as well as with the village, the council, and with Keith as the village manager. Everybody has to come together, and the fields people, and come up with some realistic and good solutions for the problem. The element of flooding, I think, extends a little bit further than the immediate problem on the fields. and we know that we have water and we can't control the weather. I mean, that's just a fact at this point. But so let us think about how we can control water that is going into the brooks and is coming down in the storm drains and so on, and development that's occurring within the central business district. Some of those pipes come down and they go right into the brook, and if you go out to the brook today, you can see where they're just at the brook level right now. So there's actually minimal ability for more water to be going through the Brook than there is today without it causing flooding into the areas. We need to think about that. We need to think about it as we develop the central business district, as the other towns upstream are also developing. I think that a cohesive effort in that direction would be very beneficial. It's going to benefit the fields. It's going to benefit all the neighbors. people downstream and upstream. Thank you very much, appreciate it. Thank you, John.

Cynthia O'Keefe, Ridgewood resident. So I just wanted to address a few points. First, you talked about the proclamation about bullying, and I appreciate that, and I think it's important for our community to understand that it's unacceptable. There should be a zero tolerance policy. But I do want to remind you that not that long ago, and there have been several instances of bullying in the village related to sports, as always, and that doesn't show good sportsmanship, but several of you have You didn't, in my opinion, do enough, and in the opinion of many residents, to actually stop it. I'm not gonna say you condoned it, but you kind of enabled it by your behavior. So I really would ask that you go back and you take a long, hard look at some of the past village council meetings and look at your own actions because And it's too bad the children aren't here to hear this because this was an adult that actually bullied someone in this room. It was shocking and polarizing for all of us that were here. And I hope that never happens again. And it should never be condoned. I don't care if they're friends with you, they donated to your campaign, or whatever the case is, it is unacceptable and it will not continue. And if it happens again, there probably will be consequences, and you should not be party to it, and I think it's offensive. In terms of the mayor's wellness campaign and eating fruit, you're talking about putting artificial turf next to private well water at Shedlar. I don't know how an apple a day is gonna help me when you poison our groundwater. I've heard stories from people that I guess have contacted the village engineer and had discussions that it's all covered. Oh, we're going to divert it. No chemicals. So I guess my question would be when we do have the discussion about the stormwater management plan, I hope that Suburban comes to the table and that they will contractually guarantee the absence of chemicals in our groundwater and that this will indeed be diverted. It's very concerning for people who were in that situation. And I think that's pretty much it. I'm going to wrap up, but I think these are important things to keep in mind. And again, about the bullying, I think it's just unacceptable, regardless of whether it's an adult or a child. It's bad behavior, and we're not teaching the younger people of Ridgewood what good citizenship is all about if we allow it to continue. Thank you.

Thank you, Cynthia.

Ann Loving, Ridgewood resident. First thing I wanted to say is that the fields meeting this week, somebody, a member of the committee, brought up something about developing Lunid Park to be a field. And the village manager mentioned that a while back a citizen had suggested putting a picnic table at Luned Park and that the residents were greatly opposed to that. They wanted it to remain a bucolic, peaceful park. And I don't even think it went for a vote. I think it was just dismissed as an idea. I think there's three houses on Rose Court and those three residents were heard. which is a good thing. But over at Shedlar, there has been so much pushback against the development that you're doing there, which is way more than a picnic bench, and you don't listen to them at all. And I really wonder what the difference is and why the Shedlar neighborhood, and I am not part of the Shedlar neighborhood, although I'm totally opposed to your plan for AstroTurf, but the Shedlar neighborhood They have fought against it over and over and over for years, and you don't listen to them. But on Rose Court, which came up this week, Lunuk Park, a picnic table was, can't have it. Another thing I wanted to mention is a while back, some soft sidewalks were put on portions of South Irving Street. This was done as a trial in order to see whether trees could be saved along the swale. because they're soft, so they're not pushing the concrete up. And a couple of times, I would ask about it at the mic, and our former engineer, Mr. Rudishauser, would say, oh, well, we haven't been through enough cold weather, enough hot weather, or whatever, we can't make a judgment yet. Well, he's gone, and the temperatures have gone up and down, and those soft sidewalks are still there, and I really do wanna know if those are offered as an alternative to people that are having to replace sidewalk panels, because they were formulated in order to save trees so that the roots wouldn't have to be cut, which, as we all know, ultimately kills a tree if you cut a major root. Maybe not that day, that week, but it's not good for the tree. And the final thing I'd like to say is I'd like to acknowledge what Ms. O'Keefe said about bullying. I am one of several people who has been bullied in this room, and I am one of several people who was flat ignored. And in fact, one of the people on the day is flat denied that it even happened. So maybe people that are bullied as young people grow up to be bullies. I don't know. But thank you, Ms. O'Keefe, for bringing that up.

Thank you, Ann.

Good evening. Michael Rosen, village resident for over 40 years. I'm not here to make any criticisms. I'm here to thank you so much for providing so much entertainment tonight. I had no idea these meetings were so much fun and I intend to attend many more in the future. The presentations were beautiful. I'm here to speak for the ordinance permitting residents to opt into a no-knock registry for door-to-door solicitations, having had the unpleasant experience several times of being disturbed in my home by door-to-door solicitors, and I want to thank you all for hearing my distress, I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and bringing this matter to a vote tonight, and I want to urge you to please vote in favor of it, and also to make it absolutely clear it would not apply to either the Ridgewood Fire Department or the Girls' Championship softball team. Thank you, Michael.

Anybody else? Seeing no one, we'll go to our hybrid access. Susan, you're up.

Hello, Susan Ruan. I am a Ridgewood resident. I'm calling for two things. And one is today when I was driving up past Shedler, I saw that there were parking spots being cut out at the Shedler property. And I just wanted to know how that is related to soil remediation, because I wasn't certain that was part of soil remediation and why the cutouts were occurring. And two, I heard through the grapevine through something for disability housing or inclusive housing. So I wanted to thank you guys. And that was pretty much it. Thank you.

Thank you, Susan. Rurik, you're up.

Excuse me. Rurik Halaby, village resident. Two items. One, I disagree with the mayor on one thing, which is if you're reaching for a cookie, go for an apple. I say, go for a cookie if this is what you want, but then walk. Ridgewood is blessed by being a walking town. I have walked over the 56 years we've lived here, I have walked... thousands of miles around the village. It's beautiful. It is safe. It is... It's just wonderful. So, Paul, I disagree with you on one issue. If you do want to... Reach for a cookie, do that. That's okay. And then reach for an apple. The second point is I'm sick and tired of listening to the idea of wells on... of the wells' water being poisoned by what you're doing on Shedler. You have cleared Shedler of all this toxic waste. And so the people who own wells should be thankful to what you're doing. So... I wish people can say whatever they want to, but I can tell you, you are the environmental angels, as I mentioned last time, for doing all what you've done for cleaning up Shedler. Thank you very much. Thank you, Rurik. Thank you, Rurik.

Anybody else? Anybody else? I'm getting some feedback. We're good? Okay. Okay. Seeing no one else, I'm going to close public comment, and I'm going to remember to ask the dais if anyone would like to respond to any of the commenters this evening.

You want to go first? I'll go first, if I may, Mayor. To Ms. McCambridge, we are in receipt of the letter from the Ramapodinapi Nation. I've been in touch with the State Historic Preservation Office. They are the regulatory... group down at the state level that manages these types of concerns, and they have assured me that they will be responding on behalf of the State Historic Preservation Office in short order. With regard to the comments made by Mr. Fry, John, just so you are aware, and I know we don't talk about this at every meeting, and listen, the weather patterns have changed dramatically. We're now seeing flood events that are affecting our infrastructure, that are affecting residential homes throughout the village, not just along the Hohokas Brook, on a regular basis. We're seeing it during a summer evening thunderstorm as opposed to a Hurricane Floyd or a Hurricane Irene. So we are... working through a number of initiatives to try to address these issues. There's been a lot of talk about the Army Corps of Engineers. We were successful bringing them in. We were successful having a meeting with them. We were really successful in having a congressional authorization to study flooding along the Hohokas Brook and the Saddle River. Unfortunately, and this is not a political statement, it's just a fact, when the new administration came in down in D.C., a lot of the staff that was associated with these projects at the Army Corps of Engineers was cut. So internally, we made a conscious decision that we were not going to get the return on the time investment that we made with the Army Corps, and we pivoted to working with NJIT. So James McGrath, our new engineer, is an alumni of NJIT. He had contacts within the university to be able to start a flood study that will be substantially similar to the study that the Army Corps would have conducted had they had the staff power to be able to do that. So we are underway. There are cameras that have been posted. Data collection has already started. They have access to the residential data collection that we set up through our GIS system with Neil Gallone over at Bridgewood Water, and we are working through that. In addition to that, we will be going out to bid later this fall with a desilting, desholing, and desnagging project that will likely take place in the spring. Between old capital funding that was appropriated before I arrived here and some capital money that the village has put aside over the last few years, we probably have about a half a million dollars off the top of my head to invest in that project. So our engineering division has already gone out. They've already identified the areas most in need that affect residential flooding and also affect some of the village infrastructure. So those are sort of our two main work efforts. And then, as Pam will tell you, our engineering division is also working to study some of the neighborhoods that are most drastically affected. We've been able to make some improvements to the Hope Street area, and we are working down by Franklin and Marshall to map out that system a tough area because that water drains into the the brook that's flooding so where do we take that water off residential property and displace it to um but that is something that our engineering division is looking at currently um so maybe that was a little long-winded but just to give you some perspective on on where the village is on on these issues um mrs loving just to correct you i just and i i think i put this out there in a response on social media The gentleman who was at the fields meeting who made the suggestion about Looning Park is not a member of the fields committee. He was there as a member of the public, and he spoke at public comment at the end of the meeting. So just so we're clear on that. With regard to the soft sidewalks, and I will follow up. with James McGrath. I honestly think that's one of the few conversations we haven't had since he's been here because that was an initiative, as you suggested, under Chris Rudishauser. But I will follow up with him and see if we have an assessment of the success of that endeavor. To Mr. Rosen, thank you very much for being here tonight. I know you and I have communicated quite a bit over email on the No Knock Registry. I appreciate your persistence. You are one of the driving reasons that this ordinance was brought to the ordinance working group and ultimately will be considered tonight for final adoption by the council. So thank you for your work in that space. And lastly, with regard to the work at Shedler, I will report tonight about the conclusion of the soil remediation project. But now that we have our contractor set up for road resurfacing and concrete work throughout the village. We will be pivoting to some of the hardscape that SHPO has already reviewed and given authorization on. So we will be working through that during the fall season to support the house, the access road, the parking lot, the walkways into the house, because during this calendar year, we're obligated to have that house up and running. and be functioning to support library programs, historical society programs, and village programs. And that's especially important because the library's auditorium is going to break ground to be renovated in the next few weeks. And in the beginning of October, we anticipate that we'll be breaking ground with the community center on level one of this building. So both of those facilities will be closed, and both the recreation department and the library are looking forward to hosting programs at Shedler. And Mayor, I think that's all I have. Thanks, Keith.

Anybody else? Siobhan?

Sure. So as the field draft, because we've gotten several emails about this, to echo what Keith said, because it's bound by OPMA, we do have public comment. We have representatives from all the sports committees, and then we move to open comment. The sentiment within the community and some of the users is extreme frustration, obviously. It's a meeting dedicated to fields where we talk really nothing more about... all fields all the time. The resident had an idea, which was an idea that we could rip up Northern Parkway and because looning is somewhat adjacent to Maple Field, extend our parkland. It's a creative idea. I just want to say this because there's been so much discussion and we really love when people come to meetings and have an idea so i'm grateful to this resident i'm grateful for the idea um adjacent property is always appealing you know that's how we bought the bozos property at citizens it's uh we definitely need more parkland we need more field space and that was the idea he was not a member there was no vote and had that ever been voted on it would have been agenda and everybody would have had ample time who was a voting member The several problems that came out of this was people were sort of discussing it, and I think it went back to the whole picnic discussion, which I just want to belabor. When the picnic tables became a request, we were given assurances that the neighbors were aware of the request during the budget process. During, when it came to light, you know, during public discussion, none of the neighbors were supportive of it. It wasn't just Rose Court. It was Meadowbrook as well. And we received what I would say a swell of lack of support for making changes to Looning Park. And I don't want to go back and belabor it, but when Shedler was first purchased, and I do feel this story is worth telling over and over, the residents and the sports team, it was like a wedding. Everybody was so happy. The property was purchased at the direct request of the residents and the sports group. And we actually received over a million dollars in grant funding because those two groups went to Bergen County and said, we want this. We want this to be a park and a field. In that time, there was no house discussion. I don't think the house showed up on a plan until 2014. So the very reason, I'm not defending any of my actions, but in fairness to, I believe, Dave Fond and Mr. Mancuso, the very reason the property was purchased and a park development plan came was because there was an absolute loud noise clamoring from the neighborhood to purchase it. So we are listening and we are recognizing that. And then Mr. Frye, I just wanted to make sure you can write me tomorrow, but we have residential flood advisory and we do have two elements. We have two reps from your neighborhood. I don't know if they're circulating I can connect you with them. But we have, just for everybody who's watching and listening, we have compartmentalized residential flood into three separate areas. The Saddle River, the Hohokas Brook, and then stormwater. And prior to my arriving at my seat, there's been an enormous amount of investment in time with the stormwater drainage project. more from the Hope Street area by Renato's, and we have two members for stormwater drainage. So if you ever want to connect with them, we welcome it. We're aware that stormwater drainage is a huge issue in Ridgewood, and we are addressing it. We have a very robust ordinance that Pam was the architect of, so we're very grateful for that. And lastly, to Suzanne, it's going to be in my council report, but I will jump the gun. We are having community options, so as the access liaison, there has been, obviously we just went through the fourth round of housing, and we heard repeatedly about softer uses and better fits. We have a significant percentage of our community is neurodivergent, and we had reached out last year, well, me mostly, and Keith, to an organization called Community Options, which does two things. They either take new land and develop a home, through United Way, or they take an individual house, which we have many, and they restore the house and it becomes group living. We had been meeting with them. We have this new group that I've talked about with young adults. I reached out to them and we met with them and they are coming here on September 23rd to present to the full council. I don't want to clip some. It was a very exciting meeting. We looked at some of the properties, some of the zoning, and it's an exciting time. So if you're interested in looking at that type of housing, which I hope the whole entire community joins us in being excited about, they will be here. We're also going to bring to the council, because I can't tell you guys all this because we're not allowed to have these meetings unless we're out here. we're going to bring Beth McManus in because we have now immunity for 10 years, but I want to make sure, you know, obviously for me, it's special needs housing and that's a win, but there may be credits that we can get in future forward steps. And I know Evan and I had spoken about this. So September 23rd, it's going to be here. And if I missed any questions, sorry, that was my best shot.

Thanks so much, Yvonne. Anybody else?

And Mayor, just to piggyback off that, we actually met with Community Options yesterday. They were blown away by the advocacy within the special needs community and the programming that occurs here and the opportunity for partnerships, whether it be with West Bergen or with Joy Do or with the STEPS program. They essentially told us that none of the other communities that they work with, and there are dozens of communities in New Jersey that they... that they do work in, none of them were even close to the advocacy and the opportunity for partners if they were able to find the right piece of real estate here in Ridgewood and convert that into special needs housing. So it was a really encouraging conversation that Councilwoman Wintergrat and I had with the representatives, and I think it'll be most interesting when they make their presentation to the full council on the 23rd.

Thanks, Keith. And listen, the truth is that Siobhan takes the lead on our special needs community, and I've gotten on board with Team Siobhan and Jamie Davis, who she introduced me to, to do some really, really significant work. And believe me, I am... a big player in all of this, but Siobhan really takes the lead and does a really great job. Thanks so much.

I do want to give a shout out to Suzanne's group, which doesn't have a name, too. They've been fast and rising, and 18 to 26 is a tough age to be within our community, because when you're in school, you have school. And so I'm grateful to them, because I've been having these meetings, and I was like, it's thrilling to see someone embrace it. And so thank you to Suzanne and all the other women who pushed us to put it on the agenda, and please join us on the 23rd.

Well, good. Let's go. Keith, manager's report.

Thank you, Mayor. Just two items tonight and a whole lot of announcements, but Graydon Pool had another successful summer. Revenue collected this year was just over $386,000, which almost matches to the penny the revenue that was collected last year. with 2,478 memberships. Last year, we had 2,459 memberships, so we're up by a handful. Non-resident memberships, interestingly enough, were up from 223 to 260. The current membership count is again consistent with our pre-pandemic numbers and just about the same as we had in 2019. We received a lot of complimentary feedback this year from residents about the clarity of the water, the well-maintained facility, and especially about the new concession vendor who is going to be back with us next year. I want to thank the Parks and Recreation Department for all they do, along with the seasonal staff who make creating such a wonderful experience for residents and visitors alike to make memories during the summer. On Shedler, I'm pleased to report that the soil remediation project is complete. North Star Environmental is working to remove their equipment off-site. Matrix has conducted all the necessary testing during the remediation process and has indicated that we have a clean bill of health. All testing and closeout paperwork will now be submitted to the DEP and Matrix will quarterback that work effort. I want to thank North Star for their quality work and professionalism during the project. When we found additional material that was buried on the old Schottmeyer property, they addressed it quickly. brought Matrix on site, communicated with the DEP, and had a path forward about how to abate those issues almost immediately. I want to thank Joe Lazarus specifically from North Star. He was on all of our weekly Shedler calls. He was in touch with Matrix and with the representatives from the DEP each day. He's a true professional and a difficult project, but a job well done. Our next step, as I mentioned earlier, is to begin the access road and the small parking lot the walkways to the historic house which have been previously approved by SHPO the plans and specifications for the park development project are before SHPO now and we are awaiting their response just a few announcements because there are a lot of things happening in Ridgewood over the next two weeks so buckle your seatbelt but first of all as the mayor mentioned at the top of the meeting this Friday is the 25th anniversary of 9-11 Ridgewood will remember the victims whose lives were taken that day. We will assemble Friday morning in the courtyard in the rear of Village Hall at 845 for a moment of silence. We encourage residents and visitors alike to take some time to head over to the Ridgewood Public Library to honor the 12 Ridgewood residents who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. The library will host the portraits exhibit in the main library throughout the month. to see the photographs of the victims and learn more about their lives and family. The Chamber of Commerce will also present their 34th annual car show on Friday, September 11th, from 6 to 9 p.m. This year's car show is dedicated to 9-11. We ask that everyone join us at 7 p.m. as we pay tribute to the courageous firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, first responders, and all those whose lives were forever changed on September 11th, 2001. Our two-day watering irrigation schedule is still in effect. Odd-numbered addresses for irrigation are Tuesday and Saturday, and even-numbered addresses are Wednesday and Sunday. The chamber will also continue to host their farmer's market on Sundays through November 1st from 8.30 to 2 p.m. at the train station on the west side. Music in the park will continue on Saturday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30 in Van Ness Square. Concerts will take place on September 12th, September 19th, and September 26th. Speaking of September 19th, we have many things happening in the Village on that day and that weekend. Coffee with the Council will take place on September 19th from 10 to 12 at the Stable. New residents are invited to join with Village Council members for coffee and refreshments. It's an informal gathering, but it's a great opportunity to meet your elected officials and ask questions and learn more about the Village. Please call the Village Clerk's Office to RSVP. The Shred Day that the Recycling and Sanitation Commission Division sponsors each year will take place on Saturday, September 19th from 8 a.m. till noon or until the trucks are filled. The event will take place at Graydon Pool in the parking lot, limit of five boxes or paper bags per vehicle. The event is for confidential documents only. Please stay in your vehicle, no walk-ups allowed, and place items for shredding in the trunk, in a paper bag or cardboard box, and someone will take it from your trunk. No plastic bags will be accepted. The town-wide garage sale will take place on Saturday, September 19th and Sunday, September 20th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location maps will be posted in the town-wide garage sale Facebook group and will also be available for pickup at Keller Williams on Godwin Avenue. The Ridgewood Guild will be hosting Art in the Park on Saturday, September 19th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Van Ness Square. Ridgewood's second annual Porch Fest event will take place on Saturday, September 19th. It'll kick off on the east side at 1 p.m. along Brookside Avenue with the Ridgewood High School Marching Band, followed by performances throughout the neighborhood. The west side gets underway at 2 p.m. on the south lawn of Westside Presbyterian Church with more live music throughout the afternoon. In recognition of National Hunger Action Month, PorchFest is partnering with the Social Services Association of Ridgewood and Vicinity. Attendees to PorchFest are encouraged to bring grocery store gift cards to donate in support of local families. The Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department will also sponsor their annual Fall Festival Street Fair on Sunday, September 20th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. along East Ridgewood Avenue between Maple Ave and Oak Street. We encourage everyone to attend, and if you have questions about that event, or would like to inquire further, please contact the Recreation Office. Upcoming village council meetings, September 23rd is a work session, October 7th is a work session, October 14th is a public meeting, and October 28th is a work session. All begin at 7.30 p.m. Mayor, that concludes my report. Thanks, Keith.

Let's go to council reports. Evan, want to kick it off? Absolutely. I'll be somewhat brief. First, to anyone who is celebrating, I want to wish you a Shana Tova and a Happy New Year. I just want to talk really quickly about 9-11, and I know we talked a little bit about it, but I'd be remiss if I didn't touch on the subject as well. So first and foremost, to the mayor's point, I want to encourage all of you to keep the families of those 12 people we lost 25 years ago in your hearts and in your minds. Secondly, I do want to take a moment to talk about first responders. On 9-11, I was one week into my first full week as a baby prosecutor in the Manhattan DA's office, and I got off the 405 train at the Brooklyn Bridge stop right next to City Hall about five minutes after the first plane hit. One of the things that I recall most vividly about that day is that as I, along with millions of others, were being evacuated from lower Manhattan, either going north or going across the bridge to Brooklyn, as we were leaving, the number of first responders that were going towards the danger and towards the fire they were doing so with a complete and utter disregard for their own well-being. Many of them never made it home to their families. We encourage all of you, as we should always, if you see a first responder, thank a first responder in our community and in everywhere else. And then finally, one of the other things that I take with me from that day and really the days after was the unity that we all saw as a nation and as a community after 9-11. I pray it doesn't take another tragedy like that to remind us that we're all one country and one community, and would ask all of you over the next few days to maybe just think about that, think about that time, and maybe do away with some of the divisiveness and pettiness that unfortunately plagues, I think, our community and our country as a whole. With that, God bless Ridgewood, and God bless America.

Evan, thank you so much. Your words, especially about unity and divisiveness, really hit home. Siobhan.

Sure, so we had the fields meeting yesterday morning. It was well attended. We had several members of the public attend as well because we run it hybrid. I want to thank all of our community partners for the work that they did together to accommodate the high school. Clearly, this has been a tough time for many of the kids, particularly the seniors, and what they're losing out, as I've said before. Our shade cheer liaison is the captain of the cheer team, and I'm grateful to everybody on the village side who made things like Super Soccer Saturday happen for these kids. And I want to thank the Board of Ed for their ultimate partnership, and I wish them the best of luck with the restoration. It was a long meeting, went on for about two hours. Like I said before, a lot of frustration with the current situation. and I am grateful again to the people who participate in public comment and that ideas and I just would encourage people even if your idea doesn't prevail, it's always nice to hear a good idea or something to think about other than just general unhappiness. It's nice to see people in the game at the fields meeting. I'm equally as pleased to say that Beautification is exercising some new holiday options. This is more for Heather. We have been partnering with the Steps program to give the kissing balls a little bit of a facelift. We need 3,600 bows, which are made by a reverse stapler. And we're going to go and see them, which means that they'll have a little bit of a facelift because they've been around since I was a kid. And I'm grateful to the STEPS program for helping us with that. And we're going to participate this year in some new holiday decor, more of a Courier Knives look of garland being wrapped around in the Central Business District. And we're going to include commuter parking. So it'll serve as like nice soft light, you know, when you're going to work at 5 a.m., I want to thank everybody who helped make that happen, including the SID and RBA, and that's great. I already gave the update on community options. If anybody has any questions, let me know. I, too, wanted to wish everybody a happy Rosh Hashanah, and if you're fasting this year on Yom Kippur, an easy fast. I told my 9-11 story last week, but with the police in the room, I do just want to echo that. I lived in New York at that time. I lost a cousin who my daughter is the namesake for. So I hope everybody takes the time to thank first responders. Remember, so many people. It went on for weeks. And just be grateful because this is a beautiful country and this awful day should remind us all. That's it.

Thanks so much, Vaughn. Pam.

Green Ridgewood met last week. We discussed the situation with the fields and also how to beef up Green Ridge Woods communications regarding their quarterly newsletter and possibly more frequent social media. We are gearing up for submitting our request for credits to Sustainable Jersey for all the environmental things that we do here in Ridgewood. We are also considered the possibility of starting an Adopt-a-Catch Basin program for our stormwater drains. We have addressed that before and ended up not going forward with it. The Ridgewood High School students reported that the new roundabout that the village built at the corner of Here Man's Place and Beverly Road is blooming more colorfully than anybody expected in the first year. Our next meeting will be October 1st at the Stables. at 7.30 in the evening. Central Business District Committee did not meet over the summer, although the Ridgewood Historic Society did invite us to hold our August social at their schoolhouse museum, and we did that, and it was really wonderful to see the exhibit that's up right now, 250 years of progress. There's so much to see there. You really could spend hours just appreciating that exhibit. The Central Business District Advisory Committee meets tomorrow morning, 8.30, in the caucus room across the hall from this courtroom. The planning board has not met this month. If there are no applications, we will also not meet on September 15th. If you go down to Venice Square, you'll see the yarn bomb is mounted again. That was put on by the open air group. That is open space art in Ridgewood open air. And it really is a charming exhibit. Several trees you'll see are covered with granny squares that many members of the community crocheted and then put together for this exhibit. Firebox painting is happening also on September 19th from 9 o'clock. Probably, we usually go two hours and then we go for lunch somewhere. If you are interested, there are flyers downstairs on the table in the lobby of Village Hall, and we do ask that you pre-register, so there is a QR code to do so on the flyer. And if you're not comfortable with QR codes, please email me, and I can help you sign up. That's pperron, P-P-E-R-R-O-N, at RidgewoodNJ.net. Let's see. The Ridgewood Business Alliance met and they are almost done with establishing a business census for all businesses in Ridgewood and there are over 700 of them. and this will help them in future work. The word is getting out about the RBA and they've had, at last count, 47 businesses that requested the RBA's assistance in either getting grants or improving their social media presence and other sorts of business advice. We also had a presentation from a group called Retail Strategists, who are business recruiters. And we voted to support the village's holiday decorations, that is the snowflakes and illuminated garland, for up to $14,000. And so we look forward to working with the village on that. Also, you'll be glad to hear that our vacancy rate for storefronts is 4.5 to 5%, which is considered normal and nothing like other towns in New Jersey that have a vacancy rate of 12%, 15%. So I'm pleased to hear that. We also discussed free parking for the holidays, and the RBA will be working up an analysis of when that could happen and when it would be most effective. We also voted to sponsor the Chamber of Commerce in their various activities. for Downtown for the Holidays and their other presentations for up to $10,100 and to the Ridgewood Guild up to $3,000. So that is what each of those organizations requested us to sponsor. We also voted to hire a local company to design the RBA website. The RBA's next meeting will be October 13th, 915 at their new offices at 75 North Maple Avenue. And I think the suite number is 301. And to those who observe.

Thanks so much, Pam. And now let's get on with our regular agenda. Takes a while to get there. Heather.

Okay. We have no introductions or public hearings for Ridgewood Water for ordinances, resolutions. The following resolutions, number 26-264 through 26-265, will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by the village council. They will be read by title only. Award contract under source while cooperative purchasing contract lease a Ford Maverick hybrid pickup truck. Authorize change order security improvements at various border facilities. May I have a motion?

So moved.

Second.

Perrin. Yes. Whites. Yes. Winograd. Yes. Vaggianos.

Yes. And now we'll go to our ordinances. I move the first reading of ordinance 4122. Second.

Perrin. Yes. Whites. Yes. Winograd. Yes. Vaggianos.

Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please read Ordinance 4122 by title.

An ordinance to amend Chapter 3 of the Code of the Village of Bridgewood, Administration of Government, Article 5, Departments, as Section 3-42, entitled Fire Department.

I move that Ordinance 4122 be adopted on the first reading and that the October 14, 2026 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon.

I second the motion.

Perrin. Yes. Weitz. Yes. Winograd. Yes.

Vagianos.

Yes. I move the first reading of Ordinance 4123. Second.

Perrin. Yes. Weitz.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vagianos.

Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please read Ordinance 4123 by title.

An ordinance to amend Chapter 137 of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood Emergency Medical Services Third Party Billing Plan at Section 137-1 entitled Establishment, Operation, Administration, Fees.

I move that Ordinance 4123 be adopted on the first reading and October 14th, 2026 be fixed as the date for the hearing thereon.

I second the motion.

Perrin. Yes. Whites.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. And Vaggianos.

Yes. I move the first reading of ordinance 4124. Second.

Perrin. Did you say Perrin? Yes. Yes. Whites.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vaggianos.

Yes. So ordered. Will the clerk please read ordinance 4124 by title.

An ordinance to amend chapter 249 of the code of the village of Ridgewood entitled Streets and sidewalks at section 249-1, ice and snow removal.

I move that ordinance 4124 be adopted on the first reading and that October 14th, 2026 be fixed to the date for the hearing thereon.

I second the motion.

Perrin. Yes. Weitz. Yes. Winograd. Yes. Vagianos.

Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4117 on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened.

The second.

Second.

Perrin? Yes. Weitz? Yes. Winograd? Yes. Vagianos?

Yes. Will the clerk please read the title of Ordinance 4117?

An ordinance to amend Chapter 190 of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood, Land Use and Development, to rescind an ongoing moratorium and amend regulations related to recreational facilities for single-family, detached, or two-family residential uses.

The public hearing is now open. Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. Second.

Perrin? Yes. White?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes.

I move that ordinance 4117 be adopted on the second reading and final publication as required by law.

I second the motion.

Perrin?

Yes. White?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4118 by title. on second reading and that the public hearing they're on be opened. Second second parent.

Yes. Whites.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes.

Yes.

Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance for one one eight and ordinance to men chapter one 45 of the code of the village of Ridgewood fees at section one 45 dash nine entitled rental fees for use of village facilities and it's section one 45 dash 10 entitled fees for use of fields and park pavilion.

The public hearing is now open. Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. Second.

Perrin. Yes.

White.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vaggianos.

Yes.

I move that ordinance 4118 be adopted in the second reading and final publication as required by law.

I second the motion.

Perrin. Yes.

White.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vaggianos.

Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4, 1, 1, 9 by title on second reading and that the public hearing there on be open to second parent.

Yes. Whites.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes.

Yes.

Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4, 1, 1, 9 and ordinance to rescind and repeal chapter two 12 parks and recreation areas at article eight Lester stable section two 12 dash 30 use of village facilities. Lesser stable of the code of the village of Redwood.

The public hearing is now open. Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. Second.

Perrin? Yes.

White? Yes. Winograd? Yes. Vagianos? Yes. I move that ordinance 4119 be adopted on the second reading and final publication as required by law.

Second. I second the motion.

Perrin?

Yes. Weitz?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes. I move the clerk read Ordinance 4120 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be open. Second.

Perrin? Yes. Weitz?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes. Will the clerk please read the title of Ordinance 4120?

An Ordinance to amend Chapter 212 of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood entitled Parks and Recreation Areas at Article 9, entitled Use of Village Facilities, Village Hall Meeting Rooms.

The public hearing is now open. Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. Second.

Perrin. Yes. Weitz.

Yes.

Winograd. Yes. Vagianos.

Yes.

Any motion? I move that Ordinance 4120 be adopted on the second reading and final publication as required by law.

I second the motion.

Perrin? Yes. Weitz?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes. I move the clerk read ordinance 4-1-2-1 by title on second reading and that the public hearing thereon be opened. Second.

Perrin? Yes. Weitz?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. Vaggianos?

Yes. Will the clerk please read the title of ordinance 4-1-2-1?

An ordinance to amend Chapter 218 of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood, entitled Peddling and Soliciting, at Section 218-2, entitled Definitions, and to create a new section entitled No Knock Registry.

The public hearing is now open.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Boyd A. Loving, Ridgewood resident. Just to get this out of the way right up front, I am in favor of this. so we don't have any mistakes like we did last week. However, I am concerned, and I'm concerned if you turn to page two of the ordinance, B, registry. It says that registration shall be made on a form supplied by the village clerk and shall include at a minimum the name of the registrant, the street address of the property, and any apartment unit or lot number necessary to identify the premises. What I am concerned about is that this would create a document that could be available by Oprah to somebody who is in the solicitation business. So what can we do to prevent the people who have registered that they don't want to be bothered from having their names wind up on a list that somebody could Oprah and use to send them junk mail? Is there any way that we can eliminate the name from this so that no commercial contractor can wind up with a list of names. And you would think that perhaps, perhaps, the people who would want to be on this list are people like my wife and I who are elderly, people who have more money than I do, people who don't want to be bothered. So why have a list of people who don't want to be bothered available for people to get via the OPRA process and do something with it that we don't want them to do. In fact, my wife reminded me just today, somebody knocked on my door, and when I opened the door and found out that he was selling home improvements, I said, I'm not interested. So why now am I going to subject myself to get a mailing from that person? So again, I am in support of this, but I am fearful that keeping this registry will create a situation where people will be able to grab that list of names and say, this is the cream of the crop. These are the people we really want to get to Enridge with, the people who don't want to be bothered in the first place. So if you could just work on an idea to prevent that from happening, I'd appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you, Boyd.

Anybody else? Yeah. Oh, Keith wants to talk about it. I'll wait till you close, Bob. Seeing no one, I move the public hearing be closed. Second.

Perrin. Yes. White. Yes. Winograd. Yes. Vaginas.

Yes. So just to address that inquiry, the list that's generated is going to be given to the solicitors so that they don't approach those residents who have asked not to be disturbed. So those lists are going to be given out to solicitors who come and apply for a permit from the police department so that those residents are not disturbed. I will defer to Matt on the release of the names. However, it's not going to stop an OPA request or a solicitor who comes in and applies for a permit from the police department because they are going to have at minimum those addresses. So whether the junk mail is addressed to resident of or whether it's addressed to the Smith family is really irrelevant because the mail will still be delivered. As far as the disclosure under Oprah on the names, I'll defer to Matt on that.

There have been other towns that have established through ordinance no-knock registries. And this issue has been dealt with because it's been challenged by municipalities, excuse me, not by municipalities, but the refusal to provide this information as being confidential to persons that may want to act through solicitation on other aspects of it. I believe from the courts have found that the confidentiality is not something that can be kept from an OPA request. However, one of the things that can possibly be done And you need the no-knock registry list so that whoever is going around and has a permit knows to stay away from a particular location or house. Maybe what can be done, and we can talk about this in-house, is a way to make sure that the name doesn't get in there or just the address gets in the list that's provided to the permittee. So we'll take whatever steps we can to make sure that it isn't, but I know... that the registry has been looked at from courts, litigated, and been required to be released.

So that kind of information is going to be... And keep in mind, too, that form that the clerk's office administers will have to have a checkbox for Daniels Law, too, as police and judicial employees, and even retired police and judicial employees, have the ability to have their names redacted from any type of public disclosure, even through OBRA.

Listen, I mean, I'm certainly not going to slow down the implementation of this statute. I think we all agree this is a great thing. Certainly, Boyd, if this becomes a problem, I think maybe we could revisit if there's something, even in light of all the background we just got, that could be done. Although, candidly, I find it unlikely that somebody would take a list of people that don't want to be bothered and then send them a bunch of mail. Like, that strikes me as not likely. I would think if people want to be left alone, why waste the postage on people who are not looking to be solicited? But if I'm wrong, which does happen from time to time, we can always revisit it afterwards. But I certainly want to move forward with this tonight, and we can always course-correct later.

And through you, Mayor, to Councilmember Weitz, really what was suggested here tonight is not a legislative change. It's an Oprah change. decision and that's at the discretion of the village clerk with the advice of the village attorney so obviously as case law comes through and GRDC decisions come down as to this very issue Heather will monitor that and will act accordingly but at this point the form is necessary to accomplish this disclosure of the addresses at minimum to the soliciting company so that they don't knock on those doors is necessary. And again, if it's requested through Oprah, whether you give out the names or we don't give out the names, the mailing addresses are going to be available and the junk mail will be able to be sent to those locations.

To be clear, Keith, I completely agree and I'm persuaded by everything you might have said and I'm a firm yes vote on this tonight and we're moving forward with it. I'm just saying that if this does manifest itself as a problem, we'll see if something else could be done in light of what we have done. But I, again, you know, I think we've moved forward tonight as planned. Understood.

So I'm a firm. Yes. I just, Heather, I just had a question when this in 20 days, are we going to send this out in e-news to let everybody know?

Yes.

And two, are you going to be overwhelmed? Is it going to be one-to-one or is there going to be a Google doc that we can maybe have a link to?

It'll, it'll be a online that they'll register.

I love it.

Carol's already working through the development of the form.

And can we send that out sooner, or do we have to wait the full 20 days?

I think it's best to wait the 20 days.

Okay, so this is great. Good luck, Heather.

Yep. So, Siobhan.

I move that, Mr. Rosen, this will make you very happy, I move that Ordinance 4121 be adopted in the second reading and final publication as regarded by law. Don't knock on our door.

I second the motion.

Perrin?

Yes. Weitz?

Yes.

Winograd? Yes. And Baggianos?

Yes. And Mike, thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. It's a pleasure.

Thank you so much.

All good. Let's move on.

The following resolutions, number 26-266 through 26-277, will be adopted by a consent agenda with one vote by the village council. They will be read by title only. Award contract, grant awards management tool. Award contract under state contract, tri-band radios for police vehicles. Authorized shared services agreement, use of styrofoam densifier with Allendale. Authorized shared services agreement, use of styrofoam densifier with River Edge. Declare property surplus, oak table and garden room of Village Hall. Declare property surplus, anti-vandal heavy duty trash receptacles. Accept 2025 annual audit. Authorize 2025 corrective action plan. Declare property surplus bulletproof vests. Declare property surplus vehicle building department. Title 59 approval, tree planting throughout the village of Ridgewood, and award contract tree planting throughout the village of Ridgewood. May I have a motion?

So moved.

Second.

Perrin? Yes. Whites? Yes. Winograd? Yes. And Vaggianos?

Yes. And let's go back to public comment. Seeing no one, I'm going to close public comment and entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second. All in favor?

Aye.

Let's go.