NJDEP Permit Application Plans

Kings Pond Construction Plans v2-Page 1 conceptual plan

Kings Pond Presentation Plan Kings Pond 11x17 - conceptual plan

Attendance:

Green Ridgewood: Bob Upton, George Wolfson, Christine Amundsen, Yvone Nava, Beth Creller, Saurabh Dani (School Board Rep), Pam Perron (Village Council Liaison), Jill Fasano (Village Staff Rep).

Green Team: George Wolfson, Bob Upton, Anthea Zito, Diala Pharaon, Tony Mauriello, Abby Clothier (Student Liaison), Michael Sedon (Village Council Liaison)

Additional: Miles Luo (RHS), Dianne Kidwell, David Refkin, Carolyn Jacoby (Shade Tree Commission), Ian Hertzler, Ralph Declet, Dianne O’Brien (Planning Board), Sean Hamlin (Ridgewood Recycling/Sanitation).

1. Welcome/Introductions:

Apologies had been received from Ellie Gruber, Mary Mogerley and Justin Manger for being unable to attend.

The Green Ridgewood Committee welcomed Jill Fasano, a Senior Engineer, with Ridgewood Water for 5 years, as the newly appointed Village Staff representative.

The Village Council, at its February 24^th Special Public Meeting created the position of Student Liaison Representative to the Green Team and appointed Abby Clothier to that position. She was also welcomed.

The committees also extended welcome to the exceptionally large number of well qualified guests and expressed appreciation for their presence and contribution to our conversations.

Again, we extend thanks to Dylan Hansen for hosting us on Zoom.

2. Approve February meeting minutes:

Pam proposed and Christine seconded approval of the draft minutes from the February meeting which had been e-mailed to members on 2/12. Motion passed with no objections.

3. Membership/Recruitment:

Mike advised that the Village Council will fill the open Green Team resident member position shortly.

4. Communications: Website, Social Media, Sustainable Ridgewood, etc:

No update.

5. Green Team/Sustainable Jersey

Silver Recertification: Justin was not present for an update but Mike advised he has been updating our application. It was again emphasized that we need the owners of SJ Actions to work on them.

Wildlife Action Plan: Mike confirmed the resolution was passed by the Council at the February 10th Public Meeting.

6. Sustainable Bergen Hub:

(a) Ramsey hosted a Hub meeting on Zoom on February 22^nd. Topics included a presentation about Ramsey’s newly implemented Adopt-a-Drain program. Next meeting will be hosted by Allendale in March, date to be determined.

 (b) The Single Use Plastics sub-committee met via Zoom on February 8^th. Guest speaker Gary Sondermeyer spoke about the recycling industry, emphasizing the need to continue to aggressively reduce plastics use and reduce waste overall. The committee meets again on March 8^th.

(c) The Hub Styrofoam Sub-Committee met on March 2^nd. The upcoming Hub/Ridgewood collection event was reviewed (see below) and various proposals discussed for creating permanent collections and densifying locations in the County.

(d) Creative Bergen – Anthea has held a Zoom meeting to plan the Ridgewood component of the June Arts Amble. She has created a proposal document which she will distribute to committee members. So far she lists George, Pam, Mike, Ellie & Abby as offering to work on the project.

7. Green Ridgewood Styrofoam Sub-Committee:

The planned Ridgewood/Bergen Hub Styrofoam collection is confirmed for Saturday April 17^th, rain date April 24^th, in the Graydon parking lot. Yvone hosted a planning meeting on Zoom with Ridgewood and Hub members. Each will provide one truck. Collection starts for Ridgewood residents only at 10 am and opens up to all County residents at 11 am until 1 pm or when trucks are full. We need as many volunteers as possible and Yvone asks committee members to advise her of their availability. The suggestion of collecting donations at the event was viewed favorably.

8. RGEA (Renewable Government Energy Aggregation) sub-committee:

Pam, Christine, Beth and George are gathering information to present to the Council and plan a Town Hall meeting for residents for April 29^th.

9. Earth Day

Following our last meeting Diala explored the suggestion to create a virtual Earth Day event with the board of the United Nations Association of the United States, Northern New Jersey Chapter where she leads the Youth & Community Engagement Committee. The committee will create “Earth Day 2021”, a multimedia presentation celebrating NNJ towns and Diala e-mailed a project outline to our committee members already.

Another Earth Day suggestion of a walking tour has now been merged into the Creative Bergen June event described above.

10. Planning Board:

The Planning Board met on February 16^th and March 2^nd. We appreciated Dianne O’Brien providing comment on their discussions about the requirement to incorporate Climate Change into the Master Plan and the input from several of our guests on this topic. Mike noted that the Village had already invested substantially in infrastructure upgrades. A Planning Board Master Plan sub-committee will be working on this project starting on Open Space with the Land Use element incorporating climate change to follow. Questions about the timeline for this process will need to be addressed at the sub-committee. Comments on this issue noted that communication will be critical and numerous disciplines will need to be involved such as architecture, building codes, etc.

11. Grants:

Sustainable Jersey has announced that their annual PSEG Foundation grant cycle is now open for applications. There will be an informational webinar on March 16^th and the deadline for applications is April 9^th. No projects have been identified (except perhaps a EPS densifier). Bob will contact Parks & Rec for suggestions.

12. Food Waste Pilot:

It was noted that the Recycling Dept has started the pilot program. It is believed there are still some places open to participate.

13. Leaf Blowers:

Pam reported she & Ellie are researching what ordinances have passed in other towns. Focus appears to be on the noise abatement aspect.

14. Ridgewood Library Sustainability Series:

The latest Library newsletter lists events in this series in March, April & May. The April 21^st event will be a presentation “Geothermal Energy Demystified” which Green Ridgewood has been asked to promote and assist.

15. Adopt-a-Drain:

At our last meeting Pam had introduced information, suggested at CBDAC, about the State Adopt-a-Drain program and Westfield’s participation. We now know about Ramsey’s similar program as noted above. Bob asked if any of our members had an interest in creating such a program in Ridgewood. It was noted that the Village Engineer said such a program would be helpful to his department.

16. Schools:

It was noted that Miles had inquired as whether the grant money previously given to RHS could be redirected to a different project. It was agreed that he should provide a proposal which we would expect to view favorably.

17. New Business:

The Village has paid our annual ANJEC membership which includes 7 individual memberships. It was also noted that the ANJEC virtual training sessions, in place of their usual “2021 Fundamentals for Effective Environmental Commissions” in-person training, are ongoing.

Bob had forwarded an e-mail about CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) and asked members to review it for our next meeting.

18. Next Joint Meeting will be Thursday April 1^st at 7:00 PM, venue to be advised.

Open Space Committee

Did you know that open spaces (and especially green open spaces) have a strong impact on suburban economies?  Open space enhances the value of nearby property and makes the community more attractive overall as a place to live and work.  Our vision, therefore, is to ensure that Ridgewood achieves the right balance between a vibrant economy, recreational areas, and preservation of our ecological resources, history and cultural assets.

Goals of the Open Space Program Identify properties the Village of Ridgewood may acquire or maintain as open space and advise the Village Council as to necessary funding Assist and advise the Planning Board in preparing the Open Space and Recreation Plan as it relates to the Village Master Plan Encourage the public’s understanding as to why open space is important and to build support within Ridgewood organizations for an Open Space Preservation Program Make recommendations consistent with the Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, Farmland and Historic Preservation Act, N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.1 et seq. and the purposes of the original Village Ordinance No. 2773; and Coordinate with similar committees in neighboring communities.

Committee Members Nancy Bigos (Village Staff Member) Frances Barto (Planning Board liaison)James Bostler (Secretary)Ralph Currey (Chair)Fred JubitzRobert Lasky (Fields Committee liaison)Pamela Perron (Village Council liaison) David Sayles (Parks and Recreation Conservation Board liaison)Yu Sun

Please share your ideas with the Open Space Committee at: nbigos@ridgewoodnj.net or (201) 670-5560 The Open Space Committee meets remotely via Zoom on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m.  Visitors are welcome.  Please contact the Open Space Committee at the above e-mail address with any questions or concerns regarding your participation in our meetings.

A Brief History In November 2001, Ridgewood residents voted to approve a supplemental real estate tax of ½ of one cent per $100 of assessed property value (~$40 a year for the average home) to fund the preservation and acquisition of open space in the Village.  The Ridgewood Village Council created the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Committee in January 2002, which has been instrumental in the acquisition of active and passive recreational areas for residents, e.g., Habernickel Family Park, the Schedler property, and the expansion of Citizens’ Park.  The Open Space Committee continues to monitor properties and address funding in pursuit of its mission.

Additional Links to Information Visit www.facebook.com/RidgewoodParksandRecreation for rotating highlights and videos of each of our open spaces.