20221110 - CBDAC Minutes

Central Business District Advisory Committee (CBDAC)

 Minutes of November 10, 2022 Meeting

Members present:  CBDAC held the 11/10/22 meeting via Zoom.  In attendance were: Jordan Kaufman, Pamela Perron, Stacey Tsapatsaris, Phil Davis, Michael Pickholz, Glenn Carlough, Tom Hillmann, Anastasia Bamberg, Stephen Del Percio, Chief J. Luthcke and Steve Aspero.

Guests present:  Paul Vagianos, Kathryn Schmidt, Justine Kaufman, Jeanne Johnson.

Minutes:  Members present unanimously approved the Minutes of the October 13, 2022 CBDAC meeting.

Council Update:  Pamela advised that the newly elected Village Council members, Siobhan Winograd and Evan Weitz, will take their seats the first week of January.  Village Council accepted a donation from the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands of new landscaping on N. Broad Street next to the train tracks.  The Village has begun removing unhealthy trees from CBD tree-wells and will replant by December.  Council voted to have free parking on the four Saturdays in December in the Hudson Garage on the second and third floors limited to four hours.  The Village has repaired the corners on Franklin Avenue, so the County will now start paving.  The Planning Board adopted the Master Plan.  Pam investigated the underside of the train trestle, which is rusted and drips stalactites.  NJ Transit owns the trestle.  The Village Engineer has repeatedly complained to NJ Transit, but the agency has not remedied the situation.  Steve offered to draft a letter to NJ Transit. 

Chamber of Commerce Update:  Phil reported that Downtown for the Holidays will be December 2, 6:00-9:00 p.m.  The tree lighting will be earlier than in past years, i.e., at 6:15 p.m.

Citizens Safety Advisory Committee Update: Anastasia reported that the County is going to pave Franklin Avenue without the safety measures that the Village had requested.  The County will also pave Prospect Street.

Pedestrian Tunnel Update: Steve D. has a connection to NJ Transit who might be able to help.  Jeanne would like to hire professional artists to paint the five stairwells and ramps.  The design might cost ~$1,000.  The Historic Preservation Commission would have to approve the design.  She prepared and submitted a grant request for $500 for murals and a muralist. Rossi Paints (Matthew Rossi) is willing to donate paint for the project.  Jeanne also agreed with Jordan that more than $500 would be needed for these tunnel improvements.  She is thinking about a tree motif (four seasons), since Ridgewood is designated a “Tree City.”  To raise funds for the project, Jeanne suggests painting scattered leaves along the walls in the tunnel between the ad posters.  Sponsors could buy leaves painted with their names. 

Ridgewood Guild Update:  Trish could not attend but advised that the Guild is hosting its annual WinterFest in Van Neste Square on Saturday, Nov. 26, 12:00 -3:00 pm., with hayride, trackless train and music.

CBDAC Summit NJ Field Trip:  Members discussed the October 15^th field trip to Summit NJ to visit with Nancy Adams, Exec. Director of Summit Downtown, the Summit Special Improvement District.  Stacey presented a PowerPoint of photos of what the CBDAC group saw.  On street parking is limited to 90 minutes.  Parking in the lots is permitted up to 5 hours with the first hour free.  The town featured attractive murals, some sculpture.  Michael pointed out that a SID, as a 501(c)(3), could apply for grants to pay for bollards.  Summit’s Pedestrian Plaza was open on a Friday on a side street rather than the main street.  Downtown Summit plays a very important role, finding tenants for vacant retail spaces.  Paul mentioned that while a SID will bring in new tenants, the key to our CBD’s retail success is to attract people. We need to keep the stores.  Glen was impressed with the unifying effect of Summit’s downtown string lighting, benefitting all retailers, not just some.  Jordan expressed his view that CBDAC should eventually collect in one place what a SID can do for the Ridgewood’s CBD so that there can be a broad understanding by all stakeholders of the process, implementation and activity.  Jeanne mentioned that the Committee might want to urge the Village Council to hire a professional experienced with the operations of SIDs/BIDs.  Perhaps someone like Joe Getz. 

Implementing the Master Plan:  Members discussed the Implementation Action Matrix for the recently adopted Master Plan that Pam circulated following the 10/13/22 CBDAC meeting.  Drawing from that portion of the Action Matrix that deals with the Village Downtown, Jordan expressed his thought that the Village Council may want to consider an Ordinance that zones “exclusivity” instead of “inclusivity” of business uses.  We did not have time to finish this discussion.

Miscellaneous:  Steve agreed to do a Memo on “Main Street Designation,” a subset category of a BID/SID.  Finally, the Committee discussed having an in-person December meeting that was generally agreed to by all. 

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Aspero