DRAFT GREEN RIDGEWOOD MEETING MINUTES DRAFT

May 4, 2023 7:30-9:30 PM RIDGEWOOD STABLE, LOWER LEVEL

Administration

1.  Member Introductions: David Refkin, Pamela Perron, Justin Manger, Nurhan Ezik, Tessa Florida, Jill Fasano, Caitlin O’Leary, Mike Faherty (GT)

Invited Guests: Thomai Andreopoulos, Sonia Berman

Other Attendees: Adam Peterseil (GT), Justin Jonsson, Walter Rothang, Caitlin O’Leary, Carolyn Jacoby, Sophia Florida, Diane Kidwell, Nick Andreopoulos, Miles Luo, Alina Mordkovich

2.  Approve April 13 Minutes: approved unanimously.

Updates/Discussion

3.  Chair Report – David

●  Updated the group on Green Ridgewood related activities at the last Village council meeting and informed them that the next council meeting is going to be held on May 10th at 7:30 P.M. when it is expected there will be a discussion about adding public space recycling in the Central Business District (see below).

●  Updated GR members on Bergen Hub Meeting that was hosted by Green Ridgewood.

4.  Village Council Liaison Report – Pam

●  Two PFAS treatment plants are constructed and in use. One additional treatment facility construction contract was recently awarded. The next treatment facility construction contract will be bidding this month.

●  Village Council will vote on May 10th to select two more residents as Green Ridgewood Committee members.

●  Garbage and recycling cans for the central business district: Council will approve the purchase of 110 garbage cans and 12 recycling cans (as a pilot program) for the central business district. However, these will not be Big Bellies due to weight issues.

5.  Green Ridgewood Committee Membership –

●  The Council vote on two more additional members will be next week

6.  Ridgewood High School Student Presentations:

a.                        Sonia Berman – Compostable Utensils

●  Sonia had a phone meeting with Java’s Compost. They would agree to pick up used compostable utensils and lunch leftovers at GW middle school. However since minimal contamination is required, bin monitoring staff is needed. She talked to Green Club leaders and Dr. K about how this could be done. Since students need to fulfill 10 hours of community service, they can volunteer in shifts of 10-15 minutes, which would help prevent unwanted materials ending up in these bins.

●  Since the school is outside of Java’s Compost service area, the price for this service is very high. One alternative suggested was for the school to use reusable utensils and have the food scraps be picked up by another company called Neighborhood Compost.

●  Sonia shared these quotes with Dr. K

●  Green club offered to purchase the bins inside of the cafeteria since they raised funds for $1,200 and will raise more in the near future. They need to use this money by the end of this year.

b.                       Thomai Andreopoulus – School Lighting

●  Thomai, a junior at RHS, noticed that the lights were constantly on at RHS even overnight. She questions whether these are LED lights or not and will have to find out from the facility manager if LEDs are being used.

●  She proposed to use LED lights and facilitate motion sensors/smart lighting systems to be eco- friendly, while saving money for the school.

●  RHS’ current annual electricity spending is close to $180K.

7.  Daffodil Festival &Earth Day Fair (DF&EDF) –

●  David: Estimated raised money from the event is a little over $9K. These funds will be shared with the Ridgewood Conservancy for Public Lands (organizes the Daffodil Festival).

●  David raised an issue concerning the connection that table sponsors may, or may not have to sustainability at DF&EDF. Should they be able to justify how their services support environmental sound practices the application form? The concern was agreeable among attending members. The issue will be discussed by the DF&EDF Organizing Cmte.next week.

●  Mike suggested keeping copies of event spending receipts to justify ANJEC grants.

●  Pam suggested using the Village Certificate when members use GR funds to purchase approved items in order to be exempt from sales tax.

●  Pam: 255 sign-ups for NoMowMay so far.

8.  School Earth Day and Other Activities –

●  Miles: 17 trees planted at Steven’s field

●  Student volunteers running out of ideas for environmental projects and asking if GR needs help from volunteers.

9.  No Mow May –

●  Mike: 300+ residents expected to signed up

●  Village of Ridgewood (including Parks & Recreation support) standing behind the movement and good PR efforts helped achieve a higher number of homes signed up than expected.

●  Need similar ideas for the fall season

10. Bergen Hub Meeting

●  At the hub meeting, Rich Calbi, Director Ridgewood Water talked about efforts and challenges towards reducing PFAS for the drinking water in the 4 communities that Ridgewood Water serves

●  Sean Hamlin, Director Ridgewood Recycling talked about styrofoam compactor, the end product, its uses and coordinating efforts with other communities in Bergen County.

11. Planning Board/Master Plan/Subcommittees

●  Since GR last met, the planning board has not met since February, however the next meeting is scheduled on May 16th.

●  David spoke to the Planning Board Secretary, reminding them the board is responsible for implementing the master plan. It’s on agenda for the May 16th meeting.

●  David and Pam are planning to bring in an environmental checklist (possibly Sustainable Jersey checklist) to the meeting and suggest that the checklist be filled out by applicants, applying for variances.

●  They will also be communicating to the board, how Green Ridgewood Committee operates with its entirety and by its subcommittees.

·      Sustainable New Jersey, Grants & Applications - Mike: we are at 140 points, need 10 more points to stay at “Bronze.” We need to come up with two more open innovative projects unique to our town to update.

·      Communications - Caitlin went over spending detail and responses on ads posted on social media.

12. Deer Forum – May 31

13. Agreed on scheduling field trips to Ridgewood composting and sewage treatment facilities.

14. Agreed to meet with NJIT Asst. Professor - Dr. Genoa Warner on issues concerning health and safety issues of artificial turf.