Written on 20 June 2018.

20180207 - Village Council Work Session

A REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD HELD IN THE SYDNEY V. STOLDT, JR. COURT ROOM OF THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE HALL, 131 NORTH MAPLE AVENUE, RIDGEWOD, NEW JERSEY ON FEBRUARY 7, 2018 AT 7:30 P.M.

CALL TO ORDER – OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT – ROLL CALL – FLAG SALUTE

Mayor Knudsen called the meeting to order at 7:36 P.M. and read the Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act. At roll call the following were present: Councilman Hache, Deputy Mayor Sedon, Councilman Voigt, Councilwoman Walsh, and Mayor Knudsen. Also present were Heather Mailander, Village Manager/Village Clerk; Matthew Rogers, Village Attorney; and Donna M. Jackson, Deputy Village Clerk.

Mayor Knudsen led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag as well as a Moment of Silence to honor the men and women serving our Nation and our first responders.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

Dave Sayles, 537 Nagle Street, stated that he has been a long-time member of Parks and Recreation and wished to voice his support for the Wi-Fi project. Mr. Sayles added that he has done quite a bit of research, and that multiple towns throughout the United States have been introducing Wi-Fi either town-wide or in specific areas, which have had very good response from the communities and the businesses. Mr. Sayles added that he hasn’t found any negative impact to the town offering a free Wi-Fi situation to the members in the town or those who visit.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Launch of Burbio App

Mayor Knudsen introduced Julie Roche who was going to explain the app and how it works, as well as what residents need to do, and what the benefits are. Ms. Roche stated that Burbio is a calendar platform that would bring everything going on in Ridgewood together into one place to make it easy for residents to find out what is going on and get updates. It can be available on a mobile device, the website, and even on Alexa. The app will allow any group organization in Ridgewood that wants to communicate their events and let the community know what’s going on with a free and easy way to get that information on the platform. Ms. Roche stated that Burbio makes it very simple for groups and organizations. As the information is pulled in; the event is already being promoted, whether it be a Facebook event, Google calendar, or website calendar; the information is streamed in. If a group or organization is interested, they should call or email: julie@burbio.com. For residents it is very simple. Go to the Ridgewood website and click the button that says Burbio, which will lead to their landing page. An idea of what the application has available is presented, including an idea of the different calendars that can be followed. Residents can sign up with a name and a password. Residents then enter their zip code which will show all of the different calendars that are available. Select the ones to follow, from that they will get a feed of all events going on that were signed up for. Then, simply tap the events. If using an iPhone calendar, Google calendar, or Outlook calendar, these events can by synched right to their phone or computer and receive updates if anything changes. Ms. Roche stated that the app has everything that is going on in Ridgewood. For individuals outside of Ridgewood who want to know what is going on, the app is available for them as well. So, for groups and community organizations in town that are trying to reach outside it is a great tool for them.

Mayor Knudsen stated that Ridgewood has officially launched their Burbio app on the Village website, and everyone can access it on their cell phones. She added that the Council is very excited about this opportunity as it allows the Village to streamline all of their calendars and is a great service for residents. Mayor Knudsen thanked Burbio for their time, energy and efforts to walk the Village through their tutorials.

PRESENTATION

New CBD Website

Councilman Hache stated that he wanted to take the opportunity to share with the Council what it is that they are trying to do with the new CBD website and shared with those present a screenshot of what the new website would look like. Councilman Hache stated that some visual elements have been improved. The name of the website is www.InDowntownRidgewood.com, with an intended purpose to promote the CBD and drive foot traffic into the downtown. This website will provide a platform for allowing businesses to have an online presence, as many businesses downtown are not big businesses and may not have the budget to allocate to SEOs, so this website will give them the opportunity to do that.

Councilman Hache stated that other communities that have made a similar website have done it well, and reaped some benefits from it, including Westfield and Montclair. This website was created at a cost of a few hundred dollars to the Village, most of which went to the purchase of a photograph to use on the website and the cost to register the domain. Councilman Hache stated that an RHS student did the programming for the website. The challenge in creating the website was avoiding stale data, such as a calendar that hasn’t been updated. So, the solution is that businesses will upload their information, so everything will be linked back to the businesses website. For example, the menu would be linked to the restaurants website. Councilman Hache added that there would be a link to the Burbio calendar on the website, and businesses will also be able to use that platform to promote their events or anything else happening.

The plan is for the website to go live at the beginning of March; an email will be sent by the businesses to Register@InDowntownRidgewood.com including the business name, address, website, phone number, profile photo they would like to use, one sentence describing the business, and five search terms or hashtags. Councilman Hache stated that Michael Velicu, a member of CBDAC and a local restauranteur, has already started gathering a lot of information from the restaurants; however, the information is needed from everyone before the month’s end.

Councilman Hache stated that this website is something that the CBDAC has been working on, and the business community was given a sneak peak at the first CBD Community Forum where the feedback was positive. Again, the website will go live at the beginning of March and will allow for things to be adjusted before the downtown gets busy during the Spring and Summer months.

Mayor Knudsen suggested having the RHS student come back and present on the website development he has done when he is feeling better.

Explanation of Complete Streets Program

Ms. Mailander introduced the presentation by stating that Complete Streets is defined as a means to provide safe access for all users by designing and operating a comprehensive integrated and connected multi-modal network of transportation options. In June 2011, the Village Council adopted a resolution indicating that all public street projects undertaken by the Village shall be designed and constructed with Complete Streets in mind wherever it is feasible to do so, the Village will safely accommodate travel by pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit, and motorized vehicles and their passengers. Special priority will be given to bicyclist and pedestrian safety, subject to the following conditions: pedestrian bicycle facilities shall not be required where they are prohibited by law; public transit facilities shall not be required on streets not serving as transit routes; and the desirability of transit facilities will be determined on a project specific basis.

Christopher Rutishauser, Village Engineer, stated that Complete Streets is considered a design philosophy for those that administer/travel the public right of way. The concept holds that all users of the public right of way are to be accommodated, not merely motor vehicles, but pedestrians, and bicyclists that belong within the right of way. There is a resolution that the Village Council adopted on June 8, 2011 supporting Complete Streets and it had also been presented to the Village Planning Board to be considered as an element in the Master Plan.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that he prepared a couple of slides to give a basic overview, explaining Basic Street Crossing Measures, where Complete Streets utilizes various techniques for improving the right of way for their users. Many of the items relate to pedestrian safety and pedestrian crossings including features such as: crosswalks, illumination, signs, striping, medians/pedestrian islands, signals, and over/under crossings. All of these items are present in the Village in one shape, form, or another.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that the Village has done a number of projects that qualify as Complete Streets. He displayed a picture of Grove Street which had been a very problematic road due to a speeding issue, where Westbound traffic came from Paramus as Midland Avenue has two lanes there was a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour. However, once the traffic crosses the bridge over the Saddle River, there was a very wide roadway that was ill-defined and then shortened down to a single lane of 25 miles per hour. In looking at this situation, Complete Streets reconstructed the road as it was in dire need of resurfacing, installed edge lines, and a double yellow centerline to help better channelize traffic.

Mr. Rutishauser displayed a view of Grove Street looking eastbound towards the traffic island, where a technique known as a ‘road diet’ was done, where asphalt was removed, and a landscaped island created because it was necessary. The island along with the striping helps better guide motorists into the single lane and to the lower speed limit in the Village as compared to the other side of Paramus. Mr. Rutishauser stated that the crosswalks were also enhanced, depicting a crosswalk that has new striping and illumination.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that another project where Complete Streets technology was used is where North Monroe Street was reconstructed. North Monroe had been a 30 and 35 mile per hour roadway until the Village adopted an ordinance a number of years ago that all Village streets under Village control use a speed limit no faster than 25 miles per hour. So, that lowered the speed limit on this road. To help get the motorists to drive slower, edge lines were employed, a double yellow centerline, creates a defined right of way which motorists can see, and generally causes them to slow down. Mr. Rutishauser stated that previously with the assistance of the police department a speed study had been done on Overbrook, where the police run radar and the data was logged. After a double yellow line was installed, another speed study was conducted and there was a significant reduction in the higher speeds on that street. Those higher speeds are the ones that are most dangerous to pedestrians, with greater instances of injury or fatality. Mr. Rutishauser stated that North Monroe Street has the edge line to keep cars off the curb and in the middle of the lane, and there are sidewalks on either side for pedestrians.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that one of the first projects, which started in 2005 before Complete Streets became known, the police chief at the time, Bill Corcoran, approached the Engineering Department. He stated that the long crosswalk between the Ridgewood Coffee Company and Van Neste was very problematic because drivers wouldn’t know when they could maneuver, and pedestrians were always in a portion of the crosswalk. The Engineering Department took a look at the problem and installed a refuge island, which serves several purposes. It gives the pedestrians a shorter distance to cross, only having to cross one direction of traffic at a time. As an added benefit, it became a nice garden spot where the Rotary then elected to install a clock.

Mr. Rutishauser presented another example of Complete Streets at the corner of North Broad Street and Franklin Avenue by the railroad tracks. A bump-out was done, which puts the pedestrian further out so that motorists can better see them while they’re still in the protected area of the sidewalk, which also shortened the crossing distance in the crosswalk to get from one side of the street to the other.

Mr. Rutishauser presented some design sketches which Complete Streets utilizes to get ideas from. The first sketch showed how a bump-out would work in traffic with parking tucked in behind, and how the crosswalk could be shortened for the pedestrian. Another example showed how a motorist approaching the crosswalk gets better visibility of a pedestrian before the pedestrian initiates their crossing movements. This third example showed how the arc doesn’t change much and the traffic can still maneuver around the bump-out. Mr. Rutishauser also presented an example of a bump-out not in the Village, showing how they could be made out of concrete with planters to protect the parked cars. Mr. Rutishauser also displayed an example of a bump-out that has been turned into a landscaping bed, as well as another bump-out showing how parking is protected and including a bike lane. An example of an elevated speed table at the crosswalk was displayed, which Mr. Rutishauser stated was done at Somerville school however it wasn’t done at the full height. The Fire Department had concerns that their automatic chain systems might get hung up on it. So, that was taken into consideration and the speed table was made lower. It still achieves the purpose that was sought.

Mr. Rutishauser presented two photographs showing a type of treatment that Complete Streets would like to have approved for the Village which shows a driveway exiting onto a busier street where currently it is asphalt. The next image showed making the sidewalk a differentiating color such as concrete, exiting from a parking lot so motorists would see there was a difference between the sidewalk material and a pavement or street material. Hopefully motorists will be more careful with pedestrians making a crossing. Mr. Rutishauser also added an article from ‘American Public Works Association’ Magazine which discusses Complete Streets and also the concepts for it.

Deputy Mayor Sedon questioned whether Complete Streets was a philosophy that was used to determine when a street is being redesigned what to do for the individuals who will be utilizing it, but not something that has to be implemented. Mr. Rutishauser replied that a cookie cutter approach could not be used on every street situation, for example bump-outs were explored at other locations within the CBD about 12 years ago. In the discussion, at that time, Captain Killian had some concerns about vehicle movement, so a test run was done with a sanitation truck. Unfortunately, with the model truck the Village had in it’s fleet, it was problematic. Mr. Rutishauser stated that Complete Streets looks at what can fit and is designed for the circumstances.

Councilwoman Walsh thanked Mr. Rutishauser and stated that the topic of Complete Streets came up at Citizens Safety and is a topic that the group talks about all the time. It was realized that maybe the rest of the Village doesn’t talk about this topic nearly as much, and the Council can have a conversation about planning better for the Complete Streets program. Councilwoman Walsh stated that there were so many other things that Citizens Safety does that are all part of the Complete Streets program. This really ties into the Master Plan that the Village has and what the Council is trying to do to make the Village safer, and more pedestrian friendly, to be able to connect public and private spaces, to connect the parks, and to connect everything that is done in the Village.

Councilwoman Walsh added that a couple of other examples of Complete Streets are the crosswalks with the handicapped pads, which are also a part of the Complete Streets program. Anyone with a disability will know when they cross a Village street that there is a crosswalk there. Mr. Rutishauser stated that the detectable warning surfaces are now a statutory requirement under the American Disabilities Act laws that had been litigated for about 20 years. A lot of the issues have been resolved now, and when the Village resurfaces a street it has to make sure that the curb ramps meet certain criteria. There must be the 2 foot by 4 foot detectable warning surface so that a visually impaired person can feel a textural difference and know that they are transitioning from a sidewalk to a street. When they cross the street, they can feel a textural difference to known they are back again on a sidewalk. Those requirements are now an obligation and any streets that are funded through New Jersey Department of Transportation Municipal Aid the Village is expected to make sure the ramps are to grade and have the detectable warning surfaces.

Councilwoman Walsh added that in the area of Travell School, markings were done on the road where the crosswalk is. As well as the observable speed warning signs, which Mr. Rutishauser added will start to flash if your vehicle exceeds the speed limit and the intent is that the flashing message is registered by the motorist and they slow down. Councilwoman Walsh added that at Citizens Safety, these topics come up all the time, and the question arises how does the public find out what’s planned. Many of the projects that are going on in the Engineering Department are based on other projects that are going on. For instance, Franklin Avenue where Engineering is working with the County Developers, the Engineering team, and the Planning Board, but the public doesn’t really know what is planned for Franklin Avenue. Councilwoman Walsh stated that when Citizens Safety was discussing the topic, it was realized that the Council should find a way to start letting everyone know what the plans are, even though the projects may not happen until several years down the road. According to Citizens Safety, if more people were aware, then the conversation would probably be more productive in terms of what’s going to happen and what is currently happening.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that the prior Council dealt with Clinton Avenue and some of the safety and sidewalk issues there, and in the area Ridge School is actively involved with their safe routes to school. This ties into the Safe Routes to School grant that one of the Village residents, Jimmy Johnson, championed. A lot of these issues may be discussed one at a time, but the Village isn’t seeing the bigger picture of the Complete Streets. So, Citizens Safety wants to figure out how to get the word out, and how to commit different projects to the Capital Budget to begin fixing certain elements in the Village so that it is a better community. Councilwoman Walsh provided an example of Glen Avenue, where the sidewalk runs and then stops. She sees children walking in the street to get to the next piece of sidewalk. This would be an example where Complete Streets would finish that sidewalk and provide a safe route to school, a Complete Street, and a safe corridor. Councilwoman Walsh questioned how the Council would begin the process of getting the word out about Complete Streets.

Mayor Knudsen stated that her first thought is that if the Citizen Safety Advisory Committee were to list in order of urgency, because the sidewalk on East Glen is a great example, there is a pecking order of importance and if that list was able to be compiled with the help of Chris Rutishauser and the police department, then the Council could start to sort out and have a more rapid response to having those initiatives finalized. Councilwoman Walsh agreed and added that Citizen Safety was only one element, and the idea of Complete Streets is not just the safety but connecting parks to bike paths as it is on Grove Street. Mayor Knudsen stated that more important safety initiatives should be looked at because only so much can be funded. Mr. Rutishauser added that it was not just a funding issue, but also a time issue, as a number of feet of sidewalk on West Glen last year, but the concrete curb team was slow, and things had to get done in the school zones first, which is the priority. So unfortunately, work on West Glen is going to have to come into this year’s Capital Paving Program. There are constant priorities coming at one another, such as last year the Engineering Department was directed to get the work done in the school zone before school opened up, and the curb team had an excellent quality of work, but it was not very quick.

Mayor Knudsen questioned that in terms of Councilwoman Walsh’s request, is there a list of jobs that are in the works that could be placed on the Village website so that people will understand what projects are coming up and how things are being worked on. Councilwoman Walsh stated that she felt the list was born from what’s going on in the Village, for example Franklin Avenue is spoken about at Citizen Safety all the time because they know what is coming, and Mr. Rutishauser can give updates based on what Engineering is working on. All of that is a safety issue but it is also going to make the flow of traffic easier, and there are several other things that are connected with it and how is it balanced. Mayor Knudsen stated that another issue was if the work quality is excellent, but the work is moving too slowly, how can excellent become efficient and get it done. Mr. Rutishauser stated that was a challenge that the Engineers inspecting the work have, because they want the best product for the taxpayers, and sometimes they have to wait a bit because they have seen what happens when the contractor rushes, the work becomes sloppy, and concrete placed poorly doesn’t look good for a long time and they may have to have it ripped out.

Mr. Rutishauser added that there is a list of streets that are anticipated for resurfacing this year. However, there is no guarantee that all streets will be done because it is subject to how much the bids come in at and the finances. The Engineering Department just advertised its Capital Paving Bid. The bid notice should be in Friday’s paper, and bids should be received March 1^st. They will then be presented to the Council to get it moving in conjunction with the early introduction of the bond to support that. Mr. Rutishauser added that tradeoffs have to be made as well, such as sidewalks in one location or get a street paved, and that is a balancing act.

Councilman Hache commented that the Village can’t do enough communicating about what it is being worked on, raising the awareness, and talking about these issues drivers will be more aware of where there could be potential issues and pedestrians will be more aware, as well. The Council talks about aging in place and being a walking community, and the fact that most elementary schools are within 2 miles from their respective student populations. So, it’s very important that the Council gets its head around the pipeline of expected projects. He understands that it may change, but if there is a list of projects that are scheduled for repairs and adjustments it is important especially for a resident, who wants to know how the money is being spent and on what. Also, if they are affected and live near one of the troublesome intersections or streets, that they should know relief is coming at what point in time. Councilman Hache stated that the Council can’t do enough to make everyone aware in terms of what is important and what the Village is focusing on.

Mayor Knudsen added that she thought the Franklin corridor will be interesting because there is the possibility to add integrated curb extensions and lighting. This could be an ultimate project where the Village has a more comprehensive approach to safety, traffic flow, and congestion which gives a real opportunity to rethink the entire roadway. This is especially important where the crosswalks are incredibly long on Franklin. Mr. Rutishauser agreed that the crosswalks are very long, and one of the things that the Assistant Engineer, Jovan Mehandzic, has been doing is design work on Franklin. They are looking at a series of bump-outs from Broad Street heading eastward. Once they are finished, Mr. Rutishauser would like to present it to the Council. They also have to get the approval of Bergen County on it because it is their roadway. To the Mayor’s point, they would like to see if all parties can agree to, or modify, what is proposed and at the same time they’re also going to look at signals because Franklin Avenue has to be resurfaced by the County. It makes no sense for Ridgewood to tell the County to resurface Franklin when a year or two down the road they might be trenching across it to put in conduit for new traffic lights, and ripping it up to create curb extensions. Mr. Rutishauser stated that it has to be a coordinated effort between at least 4 to 5 different facets, the lights, conduit, and potential bump-outs. They are also looking at the possibility of using the Safe Routes to School grant to put in a very visible crosswalk such as the one on East Ridgewood where there is the dark red thermo-plastic because they seem to be catching motorist’s eyes. Mr. Rutishauser stated that over the years what he has seen is that the motorist gets jaded to the crosswalks that the Village used to have on East Ridgewood with the heavy crosshatch after about 8 to 10 years. So, there was a switch to the dark red thermo-plastic, and he fully expects that in 10 to 15 years they will have to come up with something else.

Mayor Knudsen questioned the speed warning signs, which she thinks are so incredibly effective, and what the rough cost of them would be. Mr. Rutishauser stated that he thought they were under $10,000 a unit. There was one on Ackerman on the approach to Bel Air that was taken down by a truck, and the Village is looking to replace it. Mr. Rutishauser added that there were temporary systems that could be used that could be strapped to a utility pole and moved around and was something that could be looked at and considered. Mr. Rutishauser added that he would certainly defer to the police department Traffic Bureau for locations that are best suited.

Customer Portal, Communications and Consumption Analytics Software

Ms. Mailander stated that this presentation was for Ridgewood Water’s new Customer Portal, Communications and Consumption Analytics Software, Dan Timmeny, Business Manager of Ridgewood Water, and Rich Calbi, Director of Ridgewood Water would both be participating in this presentation.

Mr. Timmeny stated that he was going to present on WaterSmart Software, which is a platform that Ridgewood Water is excited to bring to its customers as they think it will offer a lot in terms of transparency and insight into how people really use water, and it will offer Ridgewood Water some new and enhanced customer service tools and inform their analytics much better. Mr. Timmeny stated that what led Ridgewood Water to go down this path was consistent feedback from customers, Ridgewood Water is always looking to improve their operations and the feedback is universal that people want new technology tools, but they really want the information the utility has at all times. Ridgewood Water hasn’t had a great way to push that information out to customers. The addition of this new software stems from a desire for a customer portal akin to anything used for E-Z Pass, a cell phone bill, really a one-stop-shop for all things Ridgewood Water, and the biggest component of that is the seamless transition from information, how water is used, to how customers are billed and what that means, which will allow customers to really understand their consumption.

Mr. Timmeny stated that people have consistently told Ridgewood Water that they want a better interface with user friendly access tools to be able to see their consumption history and their billing history, and this tool definitely offers that. He added that people often ask Ridgewood Water, how much do people really use based on household size, property, seasonality, and instead of Ridgewood Water having to go through that over and over again with people being frustrated for being on hold on a customer service line, or not having any self-help tools to diagnose and frame their consumption, this software offers that capability on a rolling basis. Mr. Timmeny added that it offers ways to improve customer service and offer different ways of communication.

Mr. Timmeny stated that the goals with WaterSmart are to improve overall customer satisfaction, improve transparency by offering detailed accurate information on demand, encourage water conservation by giving people the tools to know that the little things they are doing day to day are making a difference, shift customers from print to digital communications and boost paperless billing as an option, and provide customer and utility friendly communication options as everybody chooses to communicate differently and this way there is the choice in how to receive messages.

Mr. Timmeny stated that WaterSmart is a software service platform, which takes data from the utility and hosts it securely. It offers Ridgewood Water analytics and communication tools where they have the ability to communicate directly from a dashboard that logs all communications and streamlines any interaction they have had with a customer. So, there is a record of it, they know how often the customer has been checking their information, and gives Ridgewood Water the opportunity to see exactly what the customer is seeking. Mr. Timmeny added that there is instant access to all functionality, including from a mobile phone, which Ridgewood Water is aware of as something that has to be done and are updating their website to be more mobile friendly. Lastly, customer feedback drives platform development, which works two ways. The more a customer interacts with this tool, the more they get out of it. With the opportunity to add information regarding household size and irrigation will give better tailored information on how to conserve water. Then as a platform, WaterSmart has learned lessons on what has worked in certain places and what has not, and it is constantly being refined. Anytime a change is made because it is mobile and not an app, updates will appear automatically without the customer having to download an updated version.

Mr. Timmeny stated that WaterSmart works through the utilization of utility data which includes billing, meter, customer information, external data which is census data, property information, customer surveys, and weather. All of those inputs feed into WaterSmart’s database tools and then spit them out to Ridgewood Water and the Utility Analytics Dashboard. The dashboard allows for Ridgewood Water to have a plethora of reports including, consumption by geography, consumption by season or by period. Any of those things are available to Ridgewood Water at any moment, and then them make that information available to customers in whatever form they choose. Ridgewood Water then learns how customers interact with WaterSmart. If people prefer using their mobile phone or are logging in on a desktop, do they like certain aspects of the portal, or are they getting information from all of the different aspects from the content that is being pushed out.

Mr. Timmeny stated that the key components of WaterSmart are: the customer portal which includes access to historical consumption and billing data which includes interim meter reads. This way people have good recent data whenever they want to access it; customizable communication preferences; single sign-on functionality and creating seamless functionality. Customers with an existing bill pay account will become the same with WaterSmart with those credentials migrated over. If WaterSmart sees an irregular rate of water is being used for a month with the leak detection assistance, an alert will be sent to the customer based on their chosen communication preferences and will also notify Ridgewood Water. Mr. Timmeny added that another nice tool is the ability to set custom alerts. If the customer wanted to know that their bill would be due in a 5-day period, or if they used a certain amount of water in a month or above a certain threshold based on historical irrigation figures, the customer can do that, and it can be tracked on an on-going basis.

Mr. Timmeny spoke about the Utility Dashboard, which is what Ridgewood Water views with profiles available for every customer account, consumption analytics across meter types giving Ridgewood Water a nice way to cut data into different fragments and to pull out and extract value from large data sets that can be curated and built out into analytic structures that they want going forward. The Utility Dashboard also allows the capability to communicate with and send notifications directly to customers right from the dashboard. Reports and maps by consumption levels can be viewed, so if Ridgewood Water is seeing something that might look abnormal, they can curate based on GIS data and see exactly what might be going on in an area. Ridgewood Water is also given the ability to view portal-use statistics, and leak detection analytics in terms of the aggregate.

Mr. Timmeny spoke about water reports, which are a hard copy mailing that goes out on a basis determined by the utility. Ridgewood Water asked for a price per unit for these reports to see how many to push out to customers on an annual basis. In addition to the Welcome Letter, water reports are sent, and are used to compare usage against the past and track conservation against goals that are set. So, if a customer sets a 20% reduction in water goal, the report would tell them where they are at for this period. It will give them ways to achieve that goal based on the number of people in the home and how water is being used, and how much money can be saved by not actually using that water in the relevant period. Water reports also display system-wide water statistics, which depicts your consumption as it relates to other customers for that given time period. Mr. Timmeny added that Ridgewood Water can choose the frequency for the Water Reports. Putting out more Water Reports upfront gets people engaged with the tool, so Ridgewood Water is thinking of putting out four in the first year. They will see what the uptake is and how people are responding utilizing the survey functionality and either maintain the four or tone it down to perhaps two per year.

Mr. Timmeny added that in terms of mobility, there will be a portal built for every single customer in the system, with no downloads, it is constantly updated and refreshed. If a customer visits the site they are getting the newest product. Mr. Timmeny also stated that the portal will be utility branded, so all logos, information, content and messaging are customized, and it is recognizable that WaterSmart is a partner going forward. Features include a mobile household profile survey getting people to weigh in on who is living in their home, how many residents, the size of the yard, and people can get the feeling for what it means to save water. Consumption charts will be available, detailed water-savings recommendations, and then any email and leak alerts can be received by SMS or text.

Mr. Timmeny stated that the next steps this Spring include a Welcome Letter to the customers with information on how to access their portal. Profiles will be built and then the customer will have to actually register and sign up with WaterSmart. Then implementation for Ridgewood Water is typically 6 to 12 weeks. However, the thought is that they will be on the shorter side as they have a billing provider that is capable of getting the data to WaterSmart to implement quickly. Training for all Customer Service and metering staff is also necessary.

Councilman Voigt questioned the cost of the software, Mr. Timmeny replied that there was a fixed element and a variable element, including a one-time step up fee of $45,600.00, and the annual subscription fee per customer account is $1.32, which equates to $27,720.00. Also, Ridgewood Water elected to choose some additional functionality such as group messenger, survey functionality, and bill presentment, and that totaled $8,920.00, so the fixed costs in total come to $36,640.00 per year. Councilman Voigt asked how long this system would be used for. Mr. Timmeny responded that this was a three-year term with a renewable option two years after that. Councilman Voigt stated that it seemed to make sense to him especially for the outliers who use a lot of water. He asked how Ridgewood Water intends to communicate with those who are using excess water. Mr. Timmeny stated that they want people to be aware of how much water they are using and often people don’t know. The Water Portal will depict the system average so these over-users can see that their number is way above average. Obviously, Ridgewood Water has gone with the permanent adoption of two day a week watering, but they absolutely want to inform customers and make them aware of how much water they’re using. This will make those efforts easier, especially through preferred communication methods.

Councilman Voigt agreed this software is a good thing and that it makes sense. He asked if there was any sort of goal to reduce the water usage to a certain level of reduction that this software would help Ridgewood Water to achieve. Mr. Calbi stated that this is where the reporting comes in. Right now, Ridgewood Water has no means to equate usage versus the property, and now they will know the property size, how many people live in the dwelling, what their usage is, and then that can be equated on a zone by zone type of comparison.

Councilman Voigt questioned in general based on water consumption in Ridgewood, is there any sort of goal to reduce that consumption each year. Mr. Calbi stated that he did not believe there was any benchmark that was set, but total usage by municipality is monitored each year. A per capita usage on a daily basis is created based on the census data that they have for each community. Councilman Voigt questioned whether Ridgewood Water had a feeling for how much excess water the residents are using per year. In other words, there is probably adequate consumption and then there is over consumption. Mr. Calbi stated that was the per capita number, because the State puts out a number such as 75 gallons per person per day, so Ridgewood Water knows by community on average what people are using, which is certainly more than that 75. Mr. Calbi stated that he did not have that number on hand but would forward it. Councilman Voigt questioned whether the 75 gallons was a requirement, to which Mr. Calbi responded that it wasn’t a requirement but a benchmark study that was done by Rutgers. Mr. Calbi stated that Rutgers did a study across the whole state and using census data they looked at low density, medium, high density communities and how their different usages vary across the state. They then used that as a tool to see where usage would be in 2040 because they predict that New Jersey will have an influx of residents and question whether there will be enough water for them. So, that report is something that Ridgewood Water is starting to look at.

Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that it looked as though WaterSmart would be a useful tool especially for analyzing data personally.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that her current bill shows her usage and her prior year and questioned what the difference would be. Mr. Timmeny stated that she would have access to analytics, and one of the things that the bill limits is the time period of the look back. For example, over three to four years of the summer months, it spells out in a cleaner fashion what a customer’s monthly consumption is. Rather than making the focal point the aggregate number of what your thousands of gallons figure is for that quarter, it is really breaking it down by month. It allows the customer to see how consumption drops after repairing, for example, a toilet leak. Mr. Timmeny stated that in addition to seeing that figure, it is very likely that WaterSmart would have alerted the customer of abnormal water usage and those individual components can be attached to the bill. He stated that customers would have the ability to transition over and pay their bill, when their bill is due, when they last paid, when the last read occurred, and there are a lot more pieces offered through WaterSmart than would be seen on a standard bill.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that she has a sprinkler system with a rain sensor, and her bills have been very consistent over the past 13 years, so for herself, she doesn’t see the added benefit. Because she knows what she uses, and she was trying to see what the benefit was other than the data that the customer would already have. Customers already get the bill which shows consumption, and this is more of the public information and the learning piece for those that don’t have the rain detectors when the Village is in drought situations. Councilwoman Walsh questioned what the big push was for the change. Mr. Calbi stated that the change in her scenario was to have everything mobile and available on your phone and at the same time to try to get the customer to move to paperless billing, which as stated by Mr. Timmeny from 2014 to 2017 has gone from 2% to 13% of customers paying online. Councilwoman Walsh questioned how much that would save the Village, to which Mr. Timmeny responded, paper costs, production, past due notices, mailing costs, and calls coming into customer service.

Mr. Timmeny added that Councilwoman Walsh was only seeing her bill on a quarterly basis, and to have access to a monthly read there is no tool that could give that to her right now outside of the dashboard that is being proposed. He added that people sometimes feel that their bill is building but they don’t know until the quarterly statement. This dashboard would give them access to the monthly data, giving transparency to Ridgewood Water’s operation. Mr. Calbi stated that there was one additional benefit for the future. Currently the meters are read by radio, and in the future, they hope to move to fixed network whereby a series of antennas are in constant communication with the meters. Councilwoman Walsh questioned whether that was something that the system could handle. Mr. Calbi responded that it was, and that antennas would need to be put up in strategic locations to get the valleys and the ridges. At that point, it wouldn’t be monthly readings, but probably daily, so the customer could know instantaneously if there was a problem in their home.

Councilman Hache stated that obviously this system has a number of bells and whistles, and the addition of the new potential readings was interesting and added that $1.32 per account doesn’t seem like a lot. He questioned how that compared to competing systems that were looked at, and how does this rank in terms of cost versus functionality. Mr. Timmeny stated that in the past Ridgewood Water has done demonstrations of a couple of other options which are the pre-eminent versions of the current software. These systems started on the west coast where there is a huge push for water conservation and have since moved to the northeast and launched a number of new accounts in Connecticut and Massachusetts and become the prominent go-to software tool. Ridgewood Water would be the first in New Jersey to be using WaterSmart.

Mayor Knudsen stated that there was a water issue that popped up on her radar yesterday, which prompted some other investigation into how things work. Mayor Knudsen questioned what percentage of Ridgewood Water’s existing customers have past due accounts roughly. Mr. Timmeny stated that he did not have the number on hand but could get it to the Council. Mayor Knudsen added that the interesting thing about water bills is that they are quarterly, and when you are not doing something month to month it falls off your radar. She asked if this system would be set up to send the customer a message when payment is due. Mr. Timmeny replied that it would. Mayor Knudsen added that perhaps this system would, in theory, produce a more efficient payment of bills by customers. Mr. Timmeny responded certainly, and added that Ridgewood Water thinks that as people migrate to paperless billing, and receive electronic reminders, people will get in the habit of paying electronically, and that is certainly something that could happen. Mr. Timmeny added that currently 80% of their customers send a payment through the lockbox. So, the hope is those customers can be changed quickly by pushing this WaterSmart system and the more people work with it they are seeing and getting accustomed to when their bill is due by setting reminders.

Mayor Knudsen added that another question she had was regarding the communications platform, and how that would work in terms of a Swift Reach message. If there was some kind of a situation, as there was last summer, how does that interact with WaterSmart in that regard. Mr. Calbi stated that it was a system that could be utilized for that type of message, but it would come down to participation and the number of people that subscribe. There would have to be enough consumers that are participating to get the messages. Otherwise, it couldn’t be used for those purposes because Ridgewood Water has to certify to the State that a certain percentage of consumers has been reached with that message. Mr. Calbi added that with a number such as 90% participation in the software, certainly Swift Reach could be eliminated at that point and utilize one platform for everything. Mr. Timmeny added that another example would be hydrant flushing. As it is being done and people want to know when their area would be done. Getting that message out to people through the software would be great, whereas right now Swift Reach is being used and people sometimes don’t like getting an automated phone call. Ridgewood Water would need to get to that point in terms of participation before SmartWater would be a replacement.

Councilwoman Walsh questioned what the total was for the 3-year term for the SmartWater software. Mr. Calbi stated that the first-year cost is $157,840.00. Mr. Timmeny added that would be less the software service which is up to $45,600.00. That assumes the Water Reports at 84,000 for the year, which is 4 reports per year, at $75,600.00 which could be wound down over time. Mr. Timmeny added that the Water Reports are actually the most costly driver of the platform, and those costs could be scaled down as more people were using the platform. Councilwoman Walsh asked whether a report could be shared with the Council describing those costs.

Explanation of Purchasing Process

Bob Rooney stated that currently there are New Jersey requirements for all governmental agencies throughout the State that have to be adhered to, and then there are Village requirements that a fine-tuned to satisfy it’s needs and make sure there is compliance with that as well as its own internal policies. Mr. Rooney stated that his presentation was broken down into State of New Jersey purchasing policies and Village policies.

Mr. Rooney stated that N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 delineates all of the State’s requirements as it relates to purchasing compliance, and in that statute, are definitions for a contracting unit, a contract year, responsible individuals and responsive individuals. So, it gives a delineation of all of the factors that are described throughout the law. The current bid threshold is $17,500.00, and the Village can work its way around that by having a qualified purchasing agent which is allowed by the State of New Jersey. Currently the Governor has allowed that limit to go to $40,000.00, and a significant amount of time and effort has been eliminated to put together proposals, now that the Village is up to the $40,000.00 limitation. Mr. Rooney stated that the Governor would come out with either an increase or a decrease on March 1^st. Contract periods for the most part are two years, except for Professional Services which are one year.

Mr. Rooney stated that the concept is to award a contract to the lowest responsible bidder, and just because it is the lowest doesn’t mean they are entitled to the award. There are factors that have to be included to determine whether the bidder is responsible or responsive. One other aspect of the policy is negative experience. If the Village has had negative experience or it knows from other municipalities of contractors that have not performed, the Village can determine that it has had negative experience with them and not accept their bid even if they are the lowest by thousands of dollars.

Mr. Rooney stated that the State Contract also allows for competitive contracting, which is done in lieu of bidding and does require a Council resolution. There are specific areas, such as proprietary computer software and related hardware, health services, and laboratory testing services, some of which are used. The Village goes through a competitive bidding process for competitive contracting. This also applies to other exempt services. For the most part professional services, that are not required to be bid as they can be negotiated and do not have to be advertised. Mr. Rooney added that other classifications are tax maps, legal notices, election services, and towing and storage. If a request for proposal is issued, information needs to be included that would allow a company full and free competition between vendors. So, it is laid out that there has to be a free and open market that vendors can respond to. Mr. Rooney added that the methodology that would be used to evaluate the proposal has to be included, in addition to how the proposal will be ranked. A request has to be published in the newspaper 20 days prior to proposal submission, and a reasonable person that is going to do the evaluation needs to be identified. This should be someone that has knowledge of the type of services that are being bid on.

Mr. Rooney added that a Council resolution is required, and the CFO also must determine that funds are available to award the contract, and there is usually language that states the contract will not go into effect until such funds are obtained. Mr. Rooney stated that the Village has had situations in the past couple of years where bids have had to be rejected. There are two occasions where if on two occasions no bids have been received for a proposal that has been requested, or if it is determined that the pricing is not appropriate, both bids can be rejected. Negotiations can take place with the competitors, which would require a 2/3rds vote from the Council, and that amount that is negotiated has to be lower than the amount that was submitted.

Mr. Rooney stated that there are situations where emergencies arise, such as a break in a water main or sewer line, something that requires immediate action. The policy in this case would be that the individual in charge, in this case Heather Mailander, would be notified by the Department head as to the emergency and a description of the situation. Ms. Mailander would then give concurrence for the emergency, and it would be required that the service be rendered expeditiously.

Mr. Rooney stated that the State allows for a QPA, and Ridgewood has the benefit of having one as the Council appointed Steve Sanzari, who is Village Treasurer. Mr. Rooney stated that he and Mr. Sanzari work with many department heads when they are going through a process as to what works and where there are some grey areas and how that would be handled. There are required courses that Mr. Sanzari had to take, Principles of Purchasing I, II, and III, and Municipal Finance Administration. Since 2010, the Village has to have an environmentally preferred procurement practice, which means there has to be continuing education of 20 CEUs every year, which also includes going green. Mr. Sanzari also had to pass a written exam.

Mr. Rooney stated that our policies are to comply with all State of New Jersey Public Contract Laws, and to comply with its own guidelines as the Village does have a purchasing manual which was updated in 2016 and it is maintained whenever there is a change in law or a change internally. It was felt that the process would be strengthened to be certain that the gap between $17,500.00 and $40,000.00 was covered and the Village is confident they are going through the right processes to comply with the law.

Mr. Rooney stated that goals and objectives are to promote ethics, efficiency, economy, and effectiveness using a full, fair, and open competition with sound procurement practices and policies. The Village needs to balance the centralization of the purchasing function to what the various departments needs and timing are. The Village makes every effort to obtain the lowest cost in savings, every attempt to facilitate the process, and also maintain vendor relationships as prompt payment and timing are critical to vendors to continue to provide services. The Village encourages departments to utilize a State or cooperative venue when practical, and quality of goods and services are all very important in what the Village receives back from its vendors.

Mr. Rooney stated that the Village does have cooperative contracts, which is when one government agency or jurisdiction performs solicitations and awards for several others. The three largest ones that the Village uses right now are Bergen County, Middlesex County, and the Galveston Houston Cooperative which is where a firetruck was purchased by the Village and saved thousands of dollars. Chris Rutishauser suggested the Houston Cooperative as he had used it for other purposes and when he saw that the Village was going out to bid the Village was able to save a lot of money. Mr. Rooney stated that the Village encourages Departments to use cooperative contracts because a lot of the vetting has been done already. As companies come to the co-ops and get a set price, which is normally substantially lower than competitors as they make their money on volume. Mr. Rooney added that if the companies do not perform and the municipalities or agencies tell the State, they will be removed as the State does not tolerate non-performance.

Mr. Rooney stated that the Village has a form of accounting which is generic to governmental entities called encumbrances. The Village encourages its departments to encumber their funds after the budgets are adopted for those recurring items that they may have during the year. For example, a lease agreement on a copier paid monthly, the Village would encourage the department to put that money aside and save it for that purpose so they know that money is still there because of the contractual commitment for services. The department is responsible for inputting that information into the Village’s accounting system, Edmunds. Once the department determines that amount they want to draw down, their vouchers or requests have to be submitted to Mr. Rooney who signs off on them to make certain that they are appropriate. In this manner everything is timely and the appropriate documentation is on file.

Mr. Rooney stated that if an area is determined where bidding is required, and if it is a purchase in excess of $40,000.00 or if the Village determines that it wants to go out to public bid, its an open and competitive process. There is a boiler plate of documents that the State requires that the Village has to adhere to to make certain that there are business registration certificates in compliance with laws, affirmative action programs, and there are many forms that are filed that the Village needs to make certain are sent out and the respondents comply with these. Mr. Rooney stated that professional services can be negotiated and awarded without public bid. They are defined as services by a person authorized by the State to practice a recognized profession regulated by law and are best defined as having a license that is issued by the State. The law requires that the Village obtains pay to play forms if a service is rendered to be in excess of $17,500.00.

Mr. Rooney stated that the internal process the Village has in place has several levels of approvals that are needed. If an expenditure is less than $50.00 the departments are asked to use their petty cash funds which is authorized by Council. If the expenditure is between $50.00 and $1000.00 the departments are asked to submit a voucher and also provide the documentation. This is preferably the lowest possible price that could be obtained, but documentation of solicitation or quotes is not required for that gap. If the expenditure is between $1000.00 and $6000.00, as determined by the bid threshold. If there is a $40,000.00 bid threshold the law says 15% of that is the max on which quotes can be collected but they have to be verbal. The departments must get three verbal quotes and they provide a certification to Mr. Rooney that they did seek the quotes and that they signed off on it. Mr. Rooney added that most of the time these bids will be the lowest; however, there are occasions where they are not and that might be because of the quality of service, the goods that the company provides, or timeliness. The amount that a department gets on their quotations can also be used for other purchases that are made during the year if it’s the same type of goods or service. So, if a department gets a quote for hand tools and six months from now they find that they need more they can go back to the same vendor that provided the quote, which is good within the contract year.

Mr. Rooney stated that for any expenditure that is $6,000.00 up to $40,000.00 the department is required to get three written quotes. They are to solicit from the various vendors that the Village uses, get the quotations, and attach it to the documentation that they enter into the Edmunds system. When it comes time for Mr. Rooney to approve the requisition, he can see all of the information that is attached and determine that it is the lowest bid. If it is not, a conversation can be had as to why, and it is ensured that everything is documented in accordance with the Village’s policies.

Mr. Rooney stated that the departments are responsible for entering their information into Edmunds along with the supporting documentation, and the quotes. If they have a co-op or State contract they are using, they just have to make reference to that vendor’s contract number and the date of expiration. There are cases where a resolution has been passed by Council, which will also be entered to support that purchase or service that is rendered. No payments will be made to any vendor without a signed purchase order which is necessary for all expenditures made by the Village.

Mr. Rooney stated that the Council process is that the departments are required to submit to Council the memo or the recommendation of award. They also provide that information to the Village Manager and Mr. Rooney. Mr. Rooney then determines that the funds are available so that when the resolution is prepared, reference can be made to the account number that it is drawn upon. If there is any question regarding the process that is used, it is also made certain to be documented in a memo to Council if the QPA had to get involved in any type of certification and what the outcome was. Once the recommendation of award is submitted to Council, the packet includes a draft resolution and if there are any contract or lease agreements they are also provided. Those lease agreements and any other contracts are only allowed to be signed off by the Mayor and Village Clerk and/or the Village Manager; Department heads are not allowed to sign off on any types of agreements unless given permission by Council or the Village Manager.

Mayor Knudsen thanked Mr. Rooney and stated the reason behind this presentation was due to questions from residents regarding the bid process and how things work. As stewards of the taxpayer dollars, the Council needs to be cognizant that things work the way they should and that the best outcome is received for taxpaying residents. Mayor Knudsen questioned the three written quotes, whether they were being entered into the system so that Mr. Rooney could see them and have a level of confidence that the information is being presented properly. Mr. Rooney stated that when a department head enters the information into the system, identifying the account number, how much it’s going to cost, they also have to scan in a copy of the written quotes that they have obtained. In some cases that may come off of the website if they are able to find the product that they are looking for and it gives them the basis for the cost. Mayor Knudsen stated that as a rule, the Village Council doesn’t always see those quotes, and she wonders whether there is some benefit to having the Council see the three quotes that were written. Mayor Knudsen stated that a memo prepared by Rich Calbi was so well done and wondered whether it was a hardship for anyone to provide that information in a grid. Mr. Rooney stated that it was Council’s choice and he would suggest that a dollar limitation be placed on anything they would like to see written quotes for. He added that, every year, the Village is audited and one of the requirements is that they test and review the Village’s process as it relates to compliance with the bidding statutes.

DISCUSSION

Ridgewood Water

Award Contract – Pipes, Appurtenances and Service Materials

Ms. Mailander stated that a total of five bid proposal specifications were picked up with five proposals being submitted. The award of bid is based upon the low bid category, on a per unit basis and the lowest unit price for hydrant items. Each of the five companies will be used for various categories, which include: pipe, valves, fittings, clamps/sleeves, hydrants, boxes, brass, and copper tubing. Ms. Mailander stated this resolution would award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder for each of those items.

Award Contract – Customer Portal, Communications and Consumption Analytics Software

Ms. Mailander stated that this was for the award of the contract which Mr. Timmeny and Mr. Calbi presented to the Council. One bid was picked up, with one bid being received. The sole bidder was Rio Supply, Inc., of Sicklerville, New Jersey. The bid is for provision of a software-as-a-service provider for a web based, user friendly portal for Ridgewood Water customers. This is a three-year contract, but it is one-year and renewable each year by resolution. So, this would be included in the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Water Utility Operating Budgets.

Award Contract – Tree Maintenance Services

Ms. Mailander stated that this contract was for the Water Department and was awarded last year as the first year of a two-year bid to Downes Tree Service of Hawthorne, New Jersey in the amount of $40,000.00.

Property Easement Agreements

Matt Rogers stated that this was a project that the water utility took on based on a complaint from a multi-family residential area in Midland Park where several of the residents there were having some discolored water. It was looked into and determined that it had to do with the pipes and the infrastructure of the water supply there. Mr. Rogers stated that the Village has entered into easement agreements to install new piping so that the issue gets cleared up. In conjunction with the attorney that represents the property owner, the Village has entered into and executed easement agreements with meets and bounds, descriptions and surveys with locations for the new piping. Mr. Rogers stated that the Village would like to record these with the County, and the County requires a corporate resolution from the property owner and a resolution from the Village Council. Mr. Rogers stated that these were resolutions giving the authority to enter into these easement agreements with the property owner and these will be recorded and made part of the property history moving forward.

Councilman Voigt questioned whether the easements were going to cost the Village money. Mr. Rogers stated that putting in the new lines would cost money, however for the easements themselves there is no payment to the property owner for providing access to put in the new lines.

Parking

Coinless Parking

Ms. Mailander stated that for coinless parking, similar to Parkmobile, the proposals have come in and are still being reviewed. The Village does have a verbal agreement with Parkmobile that it will be able to continue month to month until such time as the Village decides which proposal it would like to go with. Ms. Mailander anticipated having the results ready by either February 28^th or March 7^th so that the Village could hopefully award the contract sometime in March for perhaps an April 1^st start date.

Councilman Voigt stated that he read the proposals, and as part of the analysis he was assuming that some sort of table would be put together as to the features and fees and explaining the compatibility with the current system so the Council has a clear understanding.

Mayor Knudsen requested that this be reviewed February 28^th to cut to the chase so the Village is not giving away more revenues, so the Council can determine which way it wants to go on that date. Ms. Mailander stated that March 7^th was a Work Session so it would have to be a Special Public Meeting. Mayor Knudsen added that the Parkmobile situation took the Council by surprise with the number and the commitment to 3 years, and it should get done as quickly as possible.

Budget

Declare 2006 Ford Focus Surplus – Building Dept.

Ms. Mailander stated that this resolution was to declare a 2006 Ford Focus to be on the surplus list. The vehicle requires more repairs than it is worth to the Village at this time, and it would go onto GovDeal where the Village has had great success with sales.

Increasing Amount of Petty Cash for Fleet Service Dept.

Ms. Mailander stated that currently the Fleet Services Department has $50 in petty cash, and they would like to increase to $200 because the average cost to register a vehicle is $60.00 and that is done through this department.

Turf Replacement at Maple Park Field

Ms. Mailander stated that Nancy Bigos and Chris Rutishauser would be presenting an update on the turf replacement at Maple Park Field.

Nancy Bigos stated that she was presenting a proposal for the replacement of the turf at Maple Park East. The Department of Parks and Recreation staff has listened to the concerns of residents, and there is a serious need for the resurfacing as the field was installed originally in 2006 and is in need of replacement as there are divots, a loss of cushion, and also some tears in the actual turf surface itself. Ms. Bigos stated that administration and departments have met with the two top leaders in the industry, Field Turf and Shaw Sports Turf, on several occasions and they feel thoroughly versed on the industry standards and the options available to the Village. Together, the Parks and Recreation staff has established a brief synopsis of the process to share with the Council.

Ms. Bigos stated that first, verification of the sub-grade base would need to take place which is done through a perk test, she spoke today with an expert at SportsCare who does maintain the Village’s fields professionally and he reiterated the process for Ms. Bigos. Five, six, possibly seven locations are located on the field itself, where the carpet is removed, and a perk test is done and then timed, and that data is then recorded. The expert at SportsCare felt that he knew the facility very well, and he felt confident that the majority of the silt that has been trapped has been in the carpet. He feels those silt and small particles that got through would be trapped in the backing that holds the carpet fibers together. SportsCare mentioned that if a drainage problem is visible, in puddling or excess standing water would be obvious, and Ms. Bigos stated that none of that has been seen.

Ms. Bigos stated that 4 days are required for the scheduling of the test and it costs approximately $800.00. Ms. Bigos added that the selection process is next, which multiple individuals have met about and discussed. This selection includes carpet fibers and backing, infill selections, cooling additives, organics, different filaments, height of the turf, the weight of the fibers, alternatives offered, and more. Ms. Bigos stated that the team has come together and has narrowed down the choices to include a slit and mono-filament fiber carpet that is 2.25 inches in height with an infill of 50/50 sand and treated rubber. The product serves the multi-purpose use of the field for players and users of all ages.

Ms. Bigos stated that installation was the next area to be discussed, which takes about 21 calendar days once all of the approvals and permits are obtained. The first choice for the Department of Parks and Recreation would be early spring, the next choice would be later in the summer or early fall. Ms. Bigos added that these times are based on availability of the supplier and also the great demand of the fields.

Ms. Bigos stated that cost estimates for this field replacement is approximately $480,000.00. There is a possibility of participation in the NJPA Coop and also the Middlesex County Coop, both guaranteeing the lowest price possible to the Village. Ms. Bigos stated that the standard warranty for this product is 8 years. Ms. Bigos stated that funding for this product was proposed by her predecessor and is as follows: $100,000 from the Village of Ridgewood Open Space Trust Fund, $284,000 Capital Budget request, $100,000 Bergen County Open Space Grant which was applied to in July of 2017.

Ms. Bigos added that the safety of Village park users is paramount, and with the Council’s approval Parks and Recreation is able to refine its product specifications and begin the process to move forward. Ms. Bigos stated that the field was originally installed in 2006 and is 4 years out of its warranty.

Councilman Voigt questioned the amount of the new warranty at 8 years, and whether there was a lifespan as to how long it would last. Ms. Bigos agreed that it was the 8-year warranty and then the Village is on its own and would have to replace the field. Councilman Voigt questioned the perk test and what it was. Ms. Bigos stated that it was percolation, to see whether water goes down to the sub-base which is gravel of different textures where the water would be permeable through the carpet and it goes into the sub-base for drainage. Councilman Voigt questioned how many times this particular field had flooded. Ms. Bigos responded that it had flooded three times. Councilman Voigt questioned what happened each time the field was flooded, for instance was the permeability of the turf itself harmed. Mr. Rutishauser stated that with the flooding, they are surmising that a great majority of the silt is transported by flood water and captured by the fabric on the field. After each flood event the field is cleaned, and that silt is removed, however given the complaints of the hardness of the field it would make sense to just ensure that the underlying stone mat hasn’t been compromised by any infiltration, hence the recommendation to do the perk test.

Councilman Voigt questioned the $100,000.00 grant from Bergen County for this project. Ms. Bigos responded that the grant has been submitted and Parks and Recreation is waiting for approval. Ms. Mailander added that the Village is not guaranteed $100,000.00, as the County may reduce it. Councilman Voigt questioned whether there were additional opportunities for grants. Ms. Mailander stated that the Village was working with Millennium Strategies; however, she didn’t know if they had found anything yet that would help with this particular purchase, but they would continue to look.

Deputy Mayor Sedon questioned if there was any reason why more money couldn’t be used from the Open Space Trust Fund versus Village of Ridgewood money for this project, asking if there was any statute that only a certain amount could be used for field maintenance or turf replacement. Ms. Mailander stated that she didn’t believe there were any statutory requirements, however it’s just up to the Council to decide how they use the Villages Open Space Trust money, as it can be used for the purchase of open space, and also for maintenance of open space properties. Ms. Mailander added that the Open Space committee is an advisory committee and can certainly give their recommendation, but ultimately it would be the Council’s decision as to how that money is spent. The hope is that there would be enough money left that if other property on the ROSI came up for sale, that would facilitate the Village in purchasing that piece of property. Ms. Mailander added that the Trust money helped the Village purchase properties earlier. Hopefully, going forward as larger parcels of land become available it would allow the Village to purchase them. As time goes on, that trust is replenished through the Open Space contribution from the Village’s tax base; however, it takes time for it to build up.

Deputy Mayor Sedon questioned whether this project could be followed up with some type of a savings plan. The field is going to have to be replaced every 8 to 10 years and it can’t be ignored because it is a cost that is going to come up. If this was compared to the cost of maintaining a grass field, and then we created a fund and put aside the cost, it could be offset and could cover the replacement of the field 8 or 10 years down the road. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that the argument at the time was to put a field in that location to save a lot of money, maintenance, and time on a yearly basis, but there is this cost that appears every 10 years. Ms. Bigos stated that she agreed with Deputy Mayor Sedon, that there have been times when funds were requested in the Capital Budget, like a sinking fund. Parks and Recreation could put $100,000.00 away and hold it, but unfortunately there were more important priorities in front of the Department Directors and that money was not allocated. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that it would then be up to the Council to make sure that happens because there are things that come up. Then again, once every 10 years this is going to be repeated and it is a very big expense, so to have nothing prepared for it doesn’t seem like a good choice.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that she didn’t have any questions but was wondering about during the percolation test, were they going to strip everything down to the gravel and then do the perk test. Ms. Bigos stated that yes, that was the case. Councilwoman Walsh questioned if it is replaced with a warranty of 8 years, was there any extension of the warranty that could be requested for the installation company maintain it, for example. Ms. Bigos stated that she felt that with proper maintenance the shelf life of the field would be able to be lengthened, as the equipment to do some of the regular maintenance was purchased. Ms. Bigos added that she knows that Mr. Rutishauser’s expertise upkeep of the fields will be a priority, and that is something the Department would stay diligent with.

Councilman Hache stated that this was something that has come up plenty of times in fields and in Parks and Recreation, and the heavy use of this field needs to be put into context. He added that the Village is in short supply of fields as there is a very busy recreational sports program in town. Based on the concerns that are being voiced, there are two big issues with the field. One being the hardness of the field which was alleviated some time ago with a decompacting of the field because there was some of the silt that had hardened underneath. The other problem is that the blades are so short now that the field is worn down almost to the mat and the blades aren’t long enough to hold the necessary infill that is needed to make the field softer. At the same time, because the blades aren’t long enough there isn’t much traction which leads to injuries.

Councilman Hache stated that one of the things that was done and continues to be done is g-max testing, which is a scale of hardness where a reading of 200 means unsafe to play, and this field is currently reading at 185, whereas NFL fields are at 140. Councilman Hache added that there was now enough concern that the high school has pulled the programming that they had scheduled for that field, which puts a significant strain on the scheduling of the fields that are currently available.

Councilman Hache added that he understands the concern from the parents and the coaches, because “safety first” is what everyone is concerned about at the end of the day. Councilman Hache referred to Deputy Mayor Sedon’s point about the creation of the sinking fund, and he agrees that is a must, going forward. He believes at the time the field was installed, that there was a theoretical savings of about $33,000 a year in maintaining turf versus grass, and the thought process at the time was that that money would be set aside. Had that been done, 12 years later the field could have paid for itself. Councilman Hache stated that he felt the funding options that were presented were pulling from wherever available. He has heard from the sports teams that there is a willingness to try to help the Village, as well. He thinks that the Village could start to talk to them about starting to contribute towards the sinking fund, and spreading out the contribution over the life of the product. We would end up in a much better place the next cycle around.

Councilman Hache understands the timing of the project, as well as the urgency from the sports teams, are that they want the field done now. However, realistically covering this project through the various mechanisms, he feels it is more realistic that it could be done during late summer/early fall. Councilman Hache questioned whether this turf replacement project came before Open Space and what the recommendation is in terms of priorities. Mr. Rutishauser stated that as far as the expenditure, there was about $760,000.00 in the account, and then questioned whether that money had to go towards the diversion or if it could be used for anything. Ms. Mailander responded that the money could not go towards the diversion. Mr. Rutishauser questioned whether in order to fix the diversion something had to be bought. Ms. Mailander agreed but added that also a piece of property on Ridgewood’s ROSI that they currently own that is not already on the ROSI, which is the Open Space Inventory.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that one of the issues Ridgewood has with the diversion is that it cant get any money from Green Acres until a piece of property is bought, which is one issue. It was up to the Council to decide what to do with the $760,000.00 in the Open Space account. If they decided it was better to go ahead and pay for the field, then that’s what is done. Deputy Mayor Sedon wanted to confirm if there were any projects that had been prioritized, because obviously the turf field was expensive and we don’t want to disrupt any other priorities. Mr. Rutishauser stated that the only priority was the diversion issue. Mayor Knudsen added that she felt the diversion issue was unrelated, and as Councilman Voigt stated, the Village needed money that was held up until it purchased something. The Village doesn’t have to purchase anything as it has properties already discussed with the DEP Green Acres. They indicated that there was opportunity to just convert property the Village currently owns and resolve the diversion issue without spending any money. Councilman Voigt questioned if anything had been found yet, and Ms. Mailander responded no, but the Village was still looking. Mayor Knudsen added that because the property could not be purchased out of the trust fund, that it would then be the Council’s choice how to use the money.

Ms. Mailander stated that Ms. Bigos indicated, to her, that the Open Space Committee is meeting next week. This could certainly be discussed at that meeting and, then a recommendation could come back to the Council as to what their feelings are.

Mayor Knudsen questioned what the cost was to clean the turf field after each of the flooding events. Mr. Rutishauser stated that he believed it was around $50-60,000.00. Mayor Knudsen stated that 3 times over 14 years that cost has been incurred. Mr. Rutishauser agreed but stated that times when the flood was related to a declared FEMA event. The rehabilitations costs for the field were submitted to FEMA for reimbursement and the Village has a very good track record in getting those types of reimbursements from FEMA.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that she remembers when she was on the Parks and Recreation Committee and there was the first flood. FEMA reimbursed for the full first cleanup, and then a machine came through and did a fluff which was normal maintenance, but cost about $25,000.00. Mayor Knudsen questioned what the cost of decompacting was. Ms. Bigos responded that she was unsure. Ms. Mailander stated that the information could be collected and shared with the Council. Mayor Knudsen stated that she felt it would be helpful understanding the real cost involved. Saying $33,000.00 was saved over maintaining a grass field, but then that same amount is being placed into a sinking fund so that the turf can be replaced, technically nothing is being saved.

Councilman Hache stated that it was not intended as a way to save money, but rather for the use. Mayor Knudsen stated that the purpose of implementing a turf field was to save a certain number of dollars each year in maintenance over grass, but it now becomes a wash as that money is being taken for the sinking fund. Mayor Knudsen stated that if the Council could be provided with those costs that would be great.

Mr. Rutishauser stated that there was one other major factor that wasn’t discussed on a turf field, which is that a turf field can support much greater use than a grass field, and the Village’s grass field cannot support the need for fields and that’s where the Village is married to a turf field that provides that greater use for sports. Mayor Knudsen stated that she absolutely agreed that an overused grass field would have to be taken out of use, however she was just trying to understand the other costs involved.

Wi-Fi in Memorial Park in Van Neste Square and Graydon Pool

Ms. Mailander stated that the Village asked the IT Department to come up with a plan to provide Public Wi-Fi at Graydon Pool and Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Questions have come up about liability, costs, maintenance and functionality. Ms. Mailander stated that she was aware that Dylan Hansen, Director of Data Processing, had reached out to various companies that do public Wi-Fi in malls, the Bronx Zoo, or Central Park, and he has done various research.

Mr. Hansen stated that this project has been going on for a couple of years and as more companies are seeing a need for public Wi-Fi, more applications are being developed that are cloud-based and the hardware to support the system. Mr. Hansen stated that one of his biggest initial concerns was the fact that anyone could connect to the Wi-Fi at any time, however the newer application will allow for a certain amount of bandwidth to be allotted and gives priority status. If this system is installed, bandwidth can be allotted to the locations but if the Village needs that bandwidth for its day to day operations it is used by the Village first before being available to the public. Mr. Hansen added that the time can be controlled as well. Public Wi-Fi can be available from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. One of the other benefits is with the capability. The Village can expand the Wi-Fi into the parks, so when the July 4^th celebration is taking place, where the coverage for Verizon phones is very minimal, from a public safety perspective, individuals would be able to jump onto the public Wi-Fi network for the Village and be able to conduct their operations utilizing these access points. Mr. Hansen stated that there were a lot of benefits in expanding a system.

Mr. Hansen stated that the one application or device that he found was in the range of $5,000.00 and then the access points which would get put up in various locations run between $600.00 to $1200.00 depending on size, range, and power consumption, and each device would handle a multitude of networks at one time, so there would be the Village network and then Guest networks. Village Networks could include one for the police, one for Village Hall operations, and different Departments, and that would all be controlled by this device and the Village’s firewalls.

Mr. Hansen stated that another thing about the application was that reports could be run to see the types of usage, the peak times, what type of services are being used such as YouTube or Facebook, and limits can be put on those types of services as well if they are being overused.

Ms. Mailander added that one aspect the Village would like to have is a sign-in for people that use the Wi-Fi. Mr. Hansen stated that as he has gone to different locations, for example the Bronx Zoo, an individual must register their device by entering an email address. This then sends an email to that account for verification, and then the device is on the network. Mr. Hansen added that Central Park was the same, as was Westfield Shopping Center and the Bergen Mall. At Sheraton Crossroads, there was a $5.00 charge for the day or a 3-day pass for $10.00. This device allows for that to be done.

Councilman Voigt questioned the cost of the appliance at $5,000.00 and the antennas costing $600.00 to $1200.00. Mr. Hansen stated that the costs were correct, and the use of the access points would not just be used for the public Wi-Fi network alone. They would also be used by Village employees that are out in vehicles or have laptops to conduct day to day operations. Councilman Voigt questioned if there was any monthly fee, to which Mr. Hansen responded there was no fee; however, he did add that there was a warranty for 3 years.

Councilman Voigt questioned what the total cost would be for the system. Mr. Hansen stated that if the Village were to start with Graydon Pool, the antennas are already there. So, it would cost $5000.00 for the device, and if two antennas are added at Memorial Park in Van Neste Square, plus the cost to run fiber to the location and power the units by hooking them up to electricity. Councilman Voigt questioned how much that would cost. Mr. Hansen stated that he did not know the cost, because the distance from the current fiber loop going up to that location hasn’t been measured. Councilman Voigt asked if that information could be provided at a future date, and Mr. Hansen responded that he could talk to the department and find out what that cost would be.

Ms. Mailander stated that she felt the recommendation would be to start at Graydon because that is the easier system to install, and where residents have asked for it to be provided. The cost will be lower at Graydon as more connectivity does not have to be added. Mr. Hansen added that if a network is set up at Graydon Pool it would also provide a guest network at the Stable and Village Hall as well. Councilman Voigt questioned whether the Graydon network would be for the entire year or just for the summer. Mr. Hansen stated that during the fall, winter and spring the device would be shut off. Village Hall and The Stable would be kept active for events that go on at those locations.

Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that he was also going to ask about running fiber to Van Neste. Since it was already running to Graydon, he agreed with starting there and seeing how it works and then moving out to Van Neste or other parks if it has been requested or seems like a good idea. He added that once the numbers are received for the cost of running the fiber to Van Neste possibly it could be completed this year as a Capital Project.

Councilman Hache stated that one of the things that has been talked about a lot is the enhancements to Graydon Pool and dealing with the reality of life today. By providing this type of amenity, he thinks will attract more people, as having this option will make going to Graydon that much more appealing. He added that the Wi-Fi would not cover the entire park, but rather by the pavilion and concession stand, and then also by the canopy. Councilman Hache stated that it was a great way to attract people to the park and improve quality of life by giving them that option. He added that adding the Wi-Fi at Van Neste, as the center of downtown, would enhance the experience.

Councilman Hache questioned the access, and whether the registration link was a one-time thing or something that would have to be done each time an individual connected to the network. Mr. Hansen stated that according to the appliance it was a one-time login registration, however if something is violated in terms of policies, then the device would be red flagged and the next time that person logged on they would be denied. Councilman Hache stated that when travelling with children and there being a shared computer and questioned whether the types of websites could be restricted on the Wi-Fi network. Mr. Hansen stated that there was a control to the appliance, so categories could be set for what is and is not allowed.

Mayor Knudsen stated that as an Optimum customer she has free Wi-Fi almost everywhere she goes, so she is paying for a service to have Wi-Fi access, and she was questioning if there were service providers that do not have that feature. Mr. Hansen stated that the Wi-Fi network would probably be for out of town visitors or families, or someone on a different subscriber. Mayor Knudsen also questioned that if she was to go into the Village Guest Wi-Fi and she did not have to go through the step of registration would her device register. Mr. Hansen stated that her device would not automatically register, rather it would connect to the Wi-Fi and then prompt her to enter a name and an email address. If that is not entered it will not go any further with the connection. Mayor Knudsen questioned whether it would be possible that she didn’t have to go through the registration as every device has an identification number. Is that something that Mr. Hansen would see, or could he set up the system to see the identifier if it was connected to her name. Mr. Hansen stated that the identifier would only be connected to her name if she registered it that way, and if no name was connected to it, the system wouldn’t know it was hers. Mayor Knudsen questioned whether that was an option. Mr. Hansen stated that one of the permissions in order to get onto the Wi-Fi would be that a name, an email, and a device ID is associated with the device. Mayor Knudsen questioned if someone made up an email address and logged in and were doing something wrong, even if they registered with their email there still would be that identifier for the device. Mr. Hansen agreed.

Release of Bid Bond for Public Valet Parking

Ms. Mailander stated that with public valet parking over the Council just needs to determine the bid bond and as long as there is a release from Mr. Rooney, the Council can do so at a public meeting with a resolution.

Policy

Discuss Donations to Parks and Recreation Department – Screens for Somerville Tennis Court

Ms. Mailander stated that there were Village residents, the Bowley’s, who live on Kenilworth who have made an offer of donating two sets of windscreens, with installation, to be used at the Somerville Tennis Courts. This is valued at $110, and the couple does not have any applications before any Village Board at the present time, and that is one of the criteria for donations. Ms. Mailander stated that the Village would like to accept that donation.

Mayor Knudsen questioned how high the screen would be, and Mr. Rutishauser stated that they were 6 feet tall by 50 feet long. Ms. Mailander stated that the screens would help create more privacy for the garden surrounding the tennis courts from private property.

“No Knock” Solicitation Ordinance

Ms. Mailander stated that this was discussed previously by the Council, and she was aware that Mr. Rogers looked into various legal issues.

Mr. Rogers stated that this was a continuation of the discussion of last week. He stated that there was discussion about the potential to exempt certain organizations such as school and municipally sponsored organizations from the “No Knock” list. Mr. Rogers did some research and went through some of the other ordinances in other communities in New Jersey, and he found it prudent to state what was discussed last week. He stated if a “No Knock” list is set up, from a Constitutional standpoint, it is very difficult to exempt certain charitable or other organizations and leave out the commercial type solicitations. The prudent way to approach it would be similar to a “No Knock” list that would prevent someone from coming and leaving it up to the homeowner to be able to identify someone who may violate that. They may not want to disallow the high school band or baseball association from coming to the house, but certainly the ordinance itself can’t speak to any specific exemptions.

Mr. Rogers stated that he provided the Council with a no solicitation list that was done by Hanover. He also showed other towns that have exempted areas from their registration requirements. As the Council is aware, there is a peddling and solicitation ordinance, or a code section that deals with registering and making sure that they have proper registration before going out in the street. Mr. Rogers stated that Hamilton Township in Mercer County took a more aggressive stance and set up a “No Knock” registry with exemptions in 2017. They haven’t had any challenges to it yet; however, Mr. Rogers feels they are taking a chance by putting those exemptions in there. Mr. Rogers stated that it would be a matter of which way the Council wanted to go on this, but he has two suggestions at this point. First, the Village ordinance is a bit old and in terms of the registration, there are some organizations that could be exempt that are not exempt presently. Second, looking at Hanover’s “No Knock” registry, he would caution the Council writing exemptions into the ordinance only to avoid a potential challenge later on down the line.

Mr. Rogers added that Ridgewood is a relatively sought after commercial area for a number of solicitation groups and he can see that there would be some scrutiny placed on a “No Knock” registry and the enabling ordinance that sets that up.

Councilman Voigt questioned theoretically a homeowner claims they are a “No Knock” house and have accepted the band. Then Verizon comes in a couple of weeks later and they don’t accept them. Verizon complains and who would be liable. Mr. Rogers stated that the property owner would be liable, because if the band is not exempt then the Village would have no liability.

Mayor Knudsen questioned whether school programs or charitable organizations would have to register. Mr. Rogers stated that when looking at the list, persons or activities that are regulated by the State are exempt. Subscriptions for the delivery of newspapers are exempt, and that any charitable organizations or school sponsored are not necessarily exempt. Mr. Rogers stated that it should be looked at from the standpoint of which of those the Council may want to do, if they want to do it. Mr. Rogers added that he thinks solicitors are required to register but he doesn’t think they are necessarily required to pay a fee, and that is something that the Village has done for awhile. He thinks it is a healthy way to approach it, but it could be included from a fee standpoint like other ones in the ordinance, even though they probably wouldn’t be charged a fee anyway. Mayor Knudsen added that it did come up this weekend because the band is selling fruit.

Ms. Mailander questioned whether the Council would like to move forward with a “No Knock” ordinance. Mayor Knudsen agreed to move forward, however Councilman Voigt stated he was not in favor of it. Mayor Knudsen stated that this was something where the resident would have a personal choice as to whether they want solicitors at their door. Without that registry individuals are subject to whoever comes knocking and if they want that privacy this would be an option for residents if they prefer not to have solicitors at their door. Mayor Knudsen stated that the idea for the ordinance came from multiple people complaining about solicitors who actually wouldn’t even leave. Then a resident emailed and said the Village should consider this, and it has come up even before that. Mayor Knudsen stated that it was something that she supported because it was optional for a resident.

Deputy Mayor Sedon questioned whether a “No Knock” ordinance could turn into a lot of paperwork for the Village to try and maintain, or would it be an overuse of staff time. Ms. Mailander stated that she was hopeful that it could be a fill-in form on the computer, and most ordinances that she had read stated that it went to the municipal clerk and then that person then forwards it to the Police Department on a quarterly basis, but it can be updated at any time. Ms. Mailander added that the list would be generated from those people who have registered, and it would be given to the Police Department. So, when solicitors come in they would be given those houses where people have requested that they don’t get solicitation as they are given their permits.

Deputy Mayor Sedon questioned whether there was any benefit to someone who would want to run a scam or do something going door to door, so they obviously wouldn’t be looking for permits or “No Knock” lists from the Police Department. Ms. Mailander stated that if solicitors are found going door to door who don’t have permits, usually residents will call and say something, and the Village could be on the look out for that. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that he was on the fence about the ordinance and suggested having something put together to consider.

Councilwoman Walsh suggested that if a “No Knock” ordinance is done that there should be some other added reinforcement, such as how there are resident stickers, something that can be placed in the window that the house is a “No Knock” house. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that something like a sticker might actually deter someone trying to do a scam.

Ms. Mailander requested that Mr. Rogers create a sample ordinance, and the Council would look at it February 28^th or March 7^th prior to their March meeting and then the Council could look at it and see how they feel at that time.

Property Tax Refund

Ms. Mailander stated that in Ridgewood, over $21,000,000.00 in pre-paid property taxes were collected during the month of December. This is a result of recent IRS guidance on the deductibility of prepaid 2018 property taxes some taxpayers are taking refunds of payments made towards the 3^rd and 4^th quarter of 2018 property taxes since there is no bill for that. The Division of Local Government Services has promulgated guidance after consultation with the Attorney General. They are indicating that the Village Council should consider a resolution authorizing the taxpayers to refund 2018, 3^rd and 4^th quarter taxes not yet billed when requested by the taxpayer. Therefore, authorizing the refund as a policy.

Ms. Mailander stated that in addition, in the event a mortgage company makes payment on a quarter already paid by the property owner, the refund should be issued to the mortgage company. The Village Tax Collector provided the major mortgage companies and servicers with an updated payment file in January. Taxpayers were also advised to notify their lenders if they prepaid. Regarding the issuance of a 1099 in the event the taxpayer received a refund, the Auditor, Village Attorney and CFO are in agreement that a 1099 should not be issued. Ms. Mailander stated that if the Village is going to authorize any refunds, this resolution should be adopted.

Mayor Knudsen questioned whether it was known how much of the collected money was from 3^rd and 4^th quarter. Mr. Rooney stated that it was about 23% that were second half payments, as a majority were first half.

Councilman Voigt questioned where the $21,000,000.00 was being put for any kind of investment and did the Village expect any additional type of income off of it. Mr. Rooney stated that $2,000,000.00 has been invested with the New Jersey State Management Program where the interest rate was about 1.57%. He approached Valley National Bank as well as 3 others, with Valley giving a return of about 1.65%. Councilman Voigt questioned how much incremental income was anticipated from this. Mr. Rooney stated that it would be drawn down quarterly, so he was looking at about $150,000.00. Councilman Voigt questioned whether that would be extra income this year just based off the interest. Mr. Rooney said yes, and that it would go right into surplus because he couldn’t anticipate it until next year.

Ms. Mailander stated that a resolution would be written allowing for the refund of the 3^rd and 4^th quarters, if requested. Mayor Knudsen questioned if it was known how many requests were made. Mr. Rooney stated that so far there have been about 10 or 15 requests.

Operations

Liquor License Transfer – FISH Ridgewood to Oak Street Liquors

Ms. Mailander stated that resolution was for a liquor license transfer from FISH Ridgewood to Oak Street Liquors, adding that she was waiting for the final memo from the police department and she wasn’t sure if it was ready to go yet, but if it wasn’t ready for next week the resolution for the transfer would have to put off until March.

Explanation of Bergen County Police Services

Ms. Mailander stated that annually the Village has adopted a resolution to allow it to participate in the Rapid Deployment Force, called the Bergen County Police Chief Mutual Aid Plan and Rapid Deployment Force, and is submitted by the Bergen County Police Chief’s Association. There are several different kinds of police responses throughout the County. Ms. Mailander stated that Captain Forest Lyons had put together a chart for the Council which describes what each of these teams does which he would explain to the Council and hopefully after there was an understanding a decision could be made about moving forward with a resolution.

Captain Lyons stated that he broke out the three major teams that are available to the Village through the County. First there is a Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) which is an anti-terrorism team that would be used if there was a pre-planned event and the Village would want extra people there as they are trained in behavior patterns, and things of that sort. A lot of times they are not in aggressive gear such as SWAT outfits, but they are there to view the crowd and focus on specific indicators of hostile intent. They are out of the Bergen County Prosecutors Office and the Village does not have anyone on that team. Next was the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) which is more for a riot or a large-scale incident, such as a plane crash, where massive numbers are needed to cordon off or search a large area. This group is from the Bergen County Police Chief’s Association and the County Office of Emergency Management. There are no Ridgewood personnel currently on that team. Captain Lyons stated that finally there is the Regional SWAT Team (RST) which would be called out in the case of a barricaded suspect or active shooter. There are two Ridgewood Officers currently assigned to this team which is from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. The commitment for Village officers training with RST is 8 hours per month, and they are on call every third month and there is no set time to when they will be called out as it is on an as needed basis.

Captain Lyons added that the RST has a new initiative called the SWAT truck which is an emergency response truck. People are rotated through that, so it is an extra resource that is available to any town in Bergen County as there is a North truck and a South truck. The Village officers are on it one time per month, then two times, and back to one time that following month. While that truck is in service and the Ridgewood officers are on it, that truck is in our area.

Captain Lyons stated that there are no requirements that Ridgewood officers participate in any of these teams, however, the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association recommends 10% of your police department be allocated to County-wide services. Ridgewood is currently at about 9% participation, as there are 4 people on teams, 2 on the SWAT team and then 1 on the fatal accident team and another on the computer crimes task force.

Captain Lyons stated that the benefit in having people on these teams are that they get extensive training that the Ridgewood police department cannot provide, whereas the County can. The County SWAT team provides monthly training and brings in outside contractors that are used to train SWAT teams in various other locations such as LA, Dallas, New York City. Captain Lyons added that when there were 2 Ridgewood police department members on the RDF team they learned a lot about protests and hostile target negotiations.

Councilman Voigt questioned what participation on these teams was costing the Village per year. Captain Lyons stated that he could get the amount for the two members on the SWAT team, however he did not currently have the exact figures. He added that the only thing that is recouped for the Village is $3,000.00 per year per officer and that can be used however the Police Department chooses, whether it be for overtime or gear or anything like that. Councilman Voigt stated that he did some quick math and figured about 215 hours per year, and whatever they are paid per hour would be what the Village was paying for. Captain Lyons stated that a lot of times they are on duty, so the trainings they are on duty for, the Village is not incurring any overtime to cover them. The Officer is lost for the day but there is no additional cost incurred in hiring someone to cover them. Captain Lyons added that the times when they would have overtime would be call-outs, such as in the middle of the night doing a raid on a house. Councilman Voigt asked to clarify, as the officer goes for 8 hours and someone would take their place in Ridgewood. Captain Lyons stated that was not always the case as a lot of times the Village does not have to backfill that. A discussion ensued about how the police department allocated their time when on call with the team. Councilman Voigt asked for an amount of what it was costing the Village additionally. Captain Lyons stated that those figures were broken out already and could be provided.

Ms. Mailander stated that the resolution that has been done annually for about 8 years is for the RDF, and that is $1,000.00 per year from the municipality regardless, but that is just used on an incident basis. Captain Lyons stated that he believes that amount covers mutual aid in general. Ms. Mailander stated that he was correct. Captain Lyons added that if the Village did not have enough units to go to a burglar alarm because they were tied up on a major car accident, Midland Park or Glen Rock would send a unit down and vice versa. Captain Lyons added that he felt the mutual aid agreement was very key to areas like this where the Village has to rely on other towns as they do with the Village. He added that the $1,000.00 is actually a mandatory thing just to fund the RDF because it is always available to the Village whether there is anyone on it or not. So, in case anything catastrophic were to happen in Ridgewood, RDF could be called and there would be another 20 to 50 people here to assist. Captain Lyons stated that the SWAT team was separate from the $1,000.00 for mutual aid.

Councilwoman Walsh questioned whether the regional SWAT team was going to be added to the resolution. Ms. Mailander stated that no, she wanted to explain what the RDF was because Councilman Voigt had some concerns about it because he didn’t want to adopt it because he was concerned about cost, but she thinks possibly what happened is that some of the different teams were confused. Councilman Voigt stated that he only wanted to understand what the costs were. Ms. Mailander stated that this presentation was done so that the Council was clear on what the costs are for the different teams, and what the resolution has always been done for is the RDF and mutual aid plan which she believes is beneficial, and every municipality in Bergen County adopts it every year so that they can participate if there is a need for mutual aid.

Councilwoman Walsh questioned whether there were different options. Ms. Mailander stated that with two officers on the Regional SWAT Team, the Village was involved in it. Mayor Knudsen stated that in other words, this resolution is only for the Rapid Deployment Force, and it doesn’t have anything to do with what the Village is already participating in. Captain Lyons stated that it was only for the RDF, however he was asked to shed some light on the different teams.

Ms. Mailander stated that she wanted the Council to see that there were 3 different teams and 3 different types of responses, and that this resolution which has been an annual resolution is for the RDF which is a force multiplier and also provides for mutual aid from the other towns.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that she must have been confused, if there was an officer on this team they are being paid by Ridgewood. Captain Lyons stated that was correct. Councilwoman Walsh questioned that if that was the case, Ridgewood was not getting the benefit of the salary that it was paying during their shift; it was a cost to the Village. Captain Lyons stated that the cost was when the officers were training there, and the only thing that the police department gets back is the $3,000.00 per officer. Councilwoman Walsh stated that if the number could be provided because she feels that residents need to know what they are contributing by way of man hours, because while they are gone their shoes have to be filled in the Village so there is a dramatic cost. Ms. Mailander stated that Captain Lyons had stated that wasn’t always the case because one officer is administrative so that work waits for them to get back. Councilwoman Walsh stated that she would like to know what that cost is, and she felt that residents would like to know as well. Ms. Mailander stated that she wasn’t saying the cost couldn’t be provided, she was just pointing out that that person doesn’t always have to be back-filled. Captain Lyons stated that it was something that was tracked in the new system, so it can be provided to the Council, however it was not a fixed cost because most times that person does not have to be replaced so there is no actual monetary loss.

The Council was in agreement that it was ready to move forward with the RDF resolution.

Pre-Qualification Regulations – Public Hearing – February 28, 2018 – Roof Restoration for Zabriskie-Schedler House

Ms. Mailander stated that on February 28^th there would be a Special Public Meeting to hold a public hearing on the pre-qualification regulations for the roof restoration for the Zabriskie-Schedler house. The Village of Ridgewood is embarking on a restoration project for the Zabriskie-Schedler House, and the first restoration project will be the roof of the house. The Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust Fund is providing 50% of the funding for this project and requires adherence to specific historic preservation knowledge and skills.

Ms. Mailander stated that the Village is taking the required steps to “prequalify” contractors who want to bid on this project, this was also done with the train station roof. Prequalification requirements include review and approval from the NJ Department of Community Affairs and adherence to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Ms. Mailander stated that the plan has already been submitted to Paul Thomas Urbish at the N.J. Department of Community Affairs and the Village is awaiting the results of that review.

Ms. Mailander stated that a public hearing on February 28^th will take place and prequalification requirements are available for inspection in the Village Manager’s Office, individuals can request that a copy be sent to them or they can come in and look. At the public hearing if there are any comments about the prequalification requirements, that’s what the purpose is as it is required to be held. Following that public hearing, in addition to holding the public hearing, there is a resolution which will indicate that the public hearing was held and that that part of the requirement has been completed.

REVIEW OF FEBRUARY 14, 2017 PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA

Ms. Mailander stated that next week there will be two Proclamations: Dad’s Night Days – Hawes School and Somerville School; and Read Across America Day.

There is no introduction of ordinances for Ridgewood Water.

The scheduled public hearing for Ridgewood Water includes: Bond Ordinance – Granular Activated Carbon Treatment System – Carr Well Field.

Resolutions for Ridgewood Water include: Award Contract – Sole Provider – Furnish Corrosion Inhibitor; Award Professional Surveying Services – Elks Club Property; Title 59 – Pipe, Appurtenances, and Service Materials; Award Contract – Pipe, Appurtenances, and Service Materials; Title 59 – Customer Billing Portal; Communications and Consumption Analytics Software; Authorize Signing of Water Utility Easement Agreements; and Award Contract – Tree Maintenance Services.

The following ordinances are scheduled for introduction: Amendment to Municipal Complex Parking; Amend Chapter 145 – Fees – Significant Sewer Discharger Fees; and Amend Chapter 145 – Fees – Sewers and Sewage Disposal – Connection Fee for Residential and Non-Residential Development.

The scheduled public hearings include: Bond Ordinance – Street Paving and Streetscape.

The scheduled continued public hearings include: Amend Chapter 190 – Land Use and Development – Allow Certain Illuminated Interior Signs in the Central Business District.

Resolutions include: Approve Budget Reserve Transfers; Award Professional Land Surveying Services – Surveys of Intersections for Upgrade of Traffic Signals; Title 59 Approval – Reconfiguration of Intersections along Franklin Avenue/North Maple Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue; Award Professional Services Contract – 2018 Land Surveying Services Retainer for Preparation of Tax Assessment Map; Award Contract under State Cooperative Purchasing Program – 2018 Parts and Related Services; Title 59 Approval – Horticultural Supplies; Award Contract – Horticultural Supplies; Authorize Designation of Acting Municipal Court Administrator; Title 59 Approval – On-Call Traffic Engineering Services; Award Professional Services Contract – On-Call Traffic Engineering Services; Accept Donation for Community Center from North Jersey Masters; Authorize Execution of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Treatment Works Approval (TWA) for Multi-Family Housing Projects; Declare Building Department Vehicle Surplus Property; Authorize Increase of Petty Cash Account for Fleet Services; Authorize Installation of Public Wi-Fi at Graydon Pool and Memorial Park at Van Neste Square; Authorize Release of Bid Bond for Public Valet Parking; Accept Donation – Windscreens – Parks and Recreation; 2018 Prepaid Property Tax Refund; Approve Transfer of Liquor License – FISH Ridgewood to Oak Street Liquors; Approve Shared Services Agreement – Bergen County Police Chiefs Association Mutual Aid Plan and Rapid Deployment Force; and Authorize Application for Sustainable Jersey PSE&G Grant.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Expanded Hours – The Police Records Department has expanded hours and will now be open every Thursday, from 8:30 A.M. to 8:15 P.M. This is a court day, so if anyone has to get accident reports or police reports they can do so more easily.

The Building Department is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

When There is Snow – When there is snow and ice on the ground Ms. Mailander reminded residents to bring garbage cans to the curb and if it is snowing in the morning please bring the cans to the curb for pickup as the weather conditions will continue to worsen, and sidewalks are required to be shoveled within 24 hours of snowfall. If there is a fire hydrant near your home, ice and snow from around the hydrant must be removed.

Holiday Closures – Ms. Mailander stated that Village of Ridgewood offices would be closed on Monday, February 12^th in observance of Lincolns Birthday, and Monday, February 19^th in observance of Presidents Day. There will be no garbage or recycling collections and the recycling center will also be closed on these days.

COUNCIL REPORTS

Planning Board – Councilman Voigt reported that the Planning Board met on February 6, 2018. The Planning Board memorialized the KS Broad Development, and the Enclave. The Mountainside Major Subdivision was rejected. The Planning Board also memorialized two generators for the Water Department. The subdivision of East Glen was discussed, and there was testimony given by one of the residents about the history of this particular subdivision and additional deed research that is being done. So, the discussion of the subdivision was put on hold until April 3^rd.

Reverend Tom Johnson – Councilman Voigt stated that he had the opportunity to pay respects to the Reverend Tom Johnson last Friday evening at Mount Bethel Church and the types of people who were at this service spoke volumes of what this person has done in his lifetime and has meant to other people. There were tributes by Mayors, Mayor Knudsen was there, and ex-Mayors, Police Chiefs, ex-Police Chiefs, Clergy from in and around Bergen County, and congregants from Mount Bethel Church. Councilman Voigt stated that all of the tributes that were paid to Reverend Johnson were extremely laudatory in nature, speaking volumes to what this person has meant to this community. The one that resonated with him the most was a tribute by Mahmoud Hamza from a Muslim community who stated that during 9/11 the Muslim community unfortunately was ostracized throughout the New York City area. Reverend Johnson through the Community Relations Advisory Board welcomed Mahmoud into the community and supported him through all of this and it really was an act of unmitigated acceptance and sent a very strong message to other people that we are all in this together which spoke again of what this man meant to many people in this community. Councilman Voigt added that he wanted to thank Jan Phillips for putting the service together and stated that it really was a nice tribute to a very well-respected man.

Mayor Knudsen noted that Reverend Johnson’s “Homegoing,” the celebration of his life, was absolutely beautiful, and he is truly a person who will be missed. She agreed that Mahmoud Hamza spoke eloquently about the kind of person that Reverend Johnson was.

Sustainable Jersey – Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that Sustainable Jersey held its Mayors Climate Summit, Saturday at Rutgers University. There were various speakers that discussed the science behind climate change and there was discussion of the State’s goal of reducing emissions by 80% of 2006 levels by 2050. Sustainable Jersey recently rolled out its Gold Star Standard in Energy and they have calculated in order to meet the State’s goal that municipalities would have to reduce their annual emissions by at least 3.6% to meet the State’s goal. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that the overall point was to have Mayors sign up that they would work with Sustainable Jersey to work towards attaining a Gold Star Standard in Energy and thus reducing the emissions that towns and eventually the State are putting out.

Ridgewood has already been doing this since November when the Village was certified at a Silver Level through Sustainable Jersey. Since the award came out, for years and years there has only been Bronze Level and Silver Level. That’s why the Gold Standard in Energy is new, and having done all of the leg work and documentation to certify the Village at a Silver Level leaves us nowhere else to go. Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that the Village has a very active Green Team and they are already looking at ways to move the Village forward and actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a meaningful way.

Special Projects Task Force – Deputy Mayor Sedon stated that the Special Projects Task Force met on Monday, February 5^th at Village Hall. The evaluation of regular electric use versus electricity generated by solar panels was completed and submitted to the Finance Department. The Task Force is continuing to frame different scenarios with the Budget, trying to map out what services cost. That would be helpful in a scenario of depending on what happens with the tax overhaul, if there is a big hit to the Budget, the Task Force could put out what things costs and what might have to be cut to meet that particular situation. Or, if there was a financial crisis as there was in 2008 and 2009, would the Village, at least, have a menu of what things cost if the Budget had to be drastically reduced because of some crisis outside of Ridgewood.

Ridgewood Arts Council – Councilwoman Walsh stated that the Ridgewood Arts Council had their meeting February 6, 2018. The Arts Council asked Councilwoman Walsh to confirm with Ms. Mailander that Millennium Strategies is going to source grants for the Arts Council, and the Arts Council would find out about them and decide whether they want to submit for those grants and then if they have any grants that they find they will submit them to Ms. Mailander who will see if Millennium Strategies can work on them. Ms. Mailander agreed that was correct.

Councilwoman Walsh stated that they were working on their next artist series, so they are trying to figure out who the next artist will be and when it will be held.

Site Plan Exemption Committee – Mayor Knudsen stated that the Site Plan Exemption Committee met to review the new frontage of Bareburger at 15 East Ridgewood Avenue, and the only remaining question is the requirement for an air curtain as required by the Department of Health.

Historic Preservation Committee – Mayor Knudsen stated that on the Historic Preservation Committee agenda for their meeting on February 8^th is an application for proposed signage at Oliver ‘R Twist which is an olive oil store and will be located at 34 Wilsey Square. She also stated that Bareburger’s application is now subject to the Historic Preservation review.

Interfaith Religious Leaders of Ridgewood – Mayor Knudsen stated that the Interfaith Religious Leaders of Ridgewood met yesterday, February 6, 2018. The group was joined by special guest Patricia Whitehead of the Holmstead School on Hope Street. She shared programming overview highlighting offerings for the students 13 to 18 years old who find the traditional school setting challenging to navigate. The Holmstead School builds confidence in a family-like setting and anyone can visit their website to learn more at Holmstead.org. Mayor Knudsen stated that the Holmstead School is also sponsoring a Princess Breakfast at Christ Church on March 24, 2018 with a special appearance by Spiderman, photos with princesses, breakfast, 50/50 raffles, sing-a-longs, manicure, tattoos, so lots of fun.

Community Peace and Justice Forum with Reverend Arturo Lewis, Associate Minister at Emmanuel on Hope Street, on Tuesday, February 20^th at 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. Everyone is welcome, and the forum will include a non-fundraising community pasta dinner at 6:00 P.M. and if anyone is interested in joining the dinner, please call Emmanuel at (201) 444-7300.

Community Access Network – Mayor Knudsen reported that there was a Community Access Network meeting this past Monday, February 5^th, to work out details of the April 23^rd Job Fair for our special needs community. Access is seeking potential employers of members of our special needs community to participate in the fair, so if anyone is interested please contact Mayor Knudsen at her email address sknudsen@ridgewoodnj.net. Mayor Knudsen stated that she knew the Central Business District Advisory Committee shared some information to see how the Central Business District employers might avail themselves of the opportunity of our special needs community as employees.

Governor’s Roundtable – Mayor Knudsen reported that the Governors Roundtable with Governor Phil Murphy and County Executive James Tedesco was on February 5^th at noon in Teaneck which she had the opportunity to attend. Governor Murphy discussed COAH, Transportation Infrastructure, New Tax Regulations, and Mayor Knudsen found him to be very thoughtful, listening and interested in what was being said. Promising that he was going to be on the COAH issue and the tax issues. It was appreciated that he organized this Roundtable very quickly and there was the opportunity to share our specific Bergen County needs and how we see things Statewide.

Fourth of July Committee – Mayor Knudsen announced the Fourth of July Committee theme for 2018: Rockin’ Ridgewood Celebrating All American Music. There were many suggestions received which is very appreciated.

Sycamore Tree Ad-Hoc Committee – Mayor Knudsen reported that there was a suggestion to form an ad-hoc committee for the sycamore tree to allow residents who have an interest to actually investigate some of the opportunities and the cost involved. Mayor Knudsen stated that she felt it was a great idea and Marcia Ringel would be wonderful on that committee and they would complete all of the research and the background.

Jamboree – Mayor Knudsen reported that the Jamboree nights were February 8^th, 9^th and 10^th for a wonderful show supporting the need-based scholarship fund for our own Ridgewood High School Students. Mayor Knudsen added that she won the Jambo-Social Super Bowl Third Quarter Box.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

Rurik Halaby, 374 Evergreen Place, stated that this afternoon he was forwarded an email from Councilman Hache which was his monthly write-up and he was so impressed by it as it covers all of the issues facing the Village in a very succinct way and he thought it was the kind of thing the Mayor should have been writing. Mr. Halaby stated that he thought the write-up was the kind of thing that should be on the Village website, which made him think of the Village website which he finds to be out of date, user un-friendly, and confusing. He stated that instead of wasting time talking about another ordinance such as the No Knock ordinance, he felt that time and effort should be spent on something useful for the Village which is to clean up and come up with a new website.

Mr. Halaby added that he thought the meeting tonight was very good and he enjoyed the presentation by Councilman Hache about the CBD website, the Burbio app, and the WaterSmart. He stated that all of these, for them to work, they have to have a common platform which is the Village website, and he has no idea how much it costs as he is not in IT, but he feels that money could be put into coming up with a website that works. Mr. Halaby added that the website continues to be talked about and then nothing happens, and time is spent on ordnances that never pass, for example the chipmunk ordinance, and the tree ordinance.

Mr. Halaby mentioned the “No Knock” ordinance, that Council should stop telling people what to do. That it is silly, and he doesn’t remember the last time that someone came knocking on his door aside from a kid from the RHS band. It isn’t like people are knocking on doors day in and day out, so why have another ordinance that people have to enforce.

Mr. Halaby stated that he liked the Village Engineer’s presentation about Complete Streets and he can see many of the streets improving, the quality, etc. He stated that he had to admit that regarding the Complete Streets, three years ago the big buzz words were “calming lanes” and now the buzzword is “Complete Streets.” To him as the victim of a traffic accident, where to avoid an oncoming car he fell backwards and ended up spending three days in the ICU at Valley Hospital, he is really concerned about safety. Two things are missing, however, one being intelligent stoplights as there are in Europe. Mr. Halaby stated are fantastic because when driving up, if there are no cars on the other side the light automatically changes to green, and when you are walking the lights change if there are no cars coming. So, everything moves so much more quickly. Mr. Halaby added that he knows that if he is crossing Maple Avenue at Franklin he is taking his life in his hands and he feels it has been this way throughout Bergen County for years, questioning when it would stop and get done. Mr. Halaby stated that second, in this Country all over there are 4 way stop signs except for in Ridgewood and Mr. Rutishauser is dead-set on 4 way stop signs. As someone says people do not obey them, but he doesn’t see that and one place that should have a 4 way stop sign is the intersection of Ridgewood Avenue and Broad Street. As people head west on Ridgewood Avenue and turn left and right without stopping and Mr. Halaby fears that someone will be killed there.

Mayor Knudsen thanked Mr. Halaby and stated that he reminded her about the website and the audio. It occurred to her that the Village asks their IT person to do the website and look at the audio, but IT is not web design as they are two very different animals and IT is not an audio person. Mayor Knudsen stated that Mr. Halaby reminded her that she wanted to ask the Village Manager to start to look for an RFP because she so agrees with him that the Village website is really bad, and she feels it is an unfair burden to place on someone who is IT and not a web designer.

Mr. Halaby added that as an aside, every year he gets his parking permit, and he has to fill in all of the forms again and the receptionist at the Village was fantastic, but he felt that he shouldn’t have to fill in all of the forms again. Mayor Knudsen stated that she promised that the Village is working on all of this technology.

Boyd Loving, 342 South Irving Street, stated that the Manager mentioned that the Village has a verbal agreement with Parkmobile and he was shocked that the attorney would allow a verbal agreement for something as serious as this to happen and he felt that the Village needs some sort of written agreement with Parkmobile with respect to this because we know what’s going to happen on February 28^th. A new clock is going to start and the Village will be engaged in a new contract with them that it will not be able to get out of as that is the way the contract was written, he believes. Mr. Loving suggested that the Village engage in a written agreement rather than a verbal agreement with Parkmobile that it can continue on a month-to-month basis because he doesn’t trust them, and neither should the Council.

Mr. Loving stated that the yellow binders have the memo from Mr. Calbi and also the proposed resolution for this new software, and both the memo and the proposed resolution indicate it’s $157,000.00 a year every year but that is not what was said in the room tonight, so before that resolution is approved next month, if the Council so chooses, the cost needs to be clarified because if a resolution is approved saying that it is $157,000.00 per year, the Village is going to wind up spending $157,000.00 a year. Mr. Loving urged the Council to clarify those figures if there is an intent on moving forward with the resolution. Mr. Loving also added that he found the new software to be a lot of money, as he did his own 10-year analysis on an excel spreadsheet and he does not need a $157,000.00 a year piece of software so that he is able to plot out his bill for the last 10 years, it was done on a spreadsheet and a copy was given to the Village Manager and Mr. Calbi, and he is still waiting to hear back as he found something that he thinks was wrong. Mr. Loving stated that anyone who wishes to take a look at their water usage he thinks there is a much cheaper way to do it and that is to plot it out on your own chart in word or excel. Mr. Loving’s other concern about that is the $157,000.00 in addition to the person who is currently being paid to do the billing, questioning if this was more software, if there would be two pieces of software with a billing software and this analysis software, or is this everything rolled into one. Mr. Loving stated that this was something for the Council to determine prior to approving that resolution because it is not clear to him whether it is an add-on, an extra, or the person who is currently doing the billing is still going to do it.

Mr. Loving stated that regarding the turf field, he had asked at a previous meeting if there was any money available from the class action lawsuit, as the Council talked about spending taxpayer dollars, two grants, but there has been no mention made of any money available from this lawsuit and he doesn’t know whether the Village got involved in or not. Mr. Loving said that he would rather have money that is coming from the lawsuit than pay taxpayer money on this project. He added that the original field was paid for by donations, and questioned why not start a GoFundMe page, or ask the Lacrosse Association and the Football Association for money. Why is the Village spending taxpayer dollars on this without asking others to contribute as this is for the benefit of the athletes. We had an athletic group that was willing to give the Village a few hundred thousand dollars for a 90-foot baseball field and questioned whether any of these people have been asked to contribute to the turf field or was it just decided to have the taxpayers spend $280,000.00 for this. Mr. Loving encouraged the Council to find out if there was some more money available before funding the resurfacing project. GoFundMe seems to work well for many people and Councilman Hache is connected with the athletic folks.

Mr. Loving added that he agreed with Mr. Halaby that Council should stay away from the No Knock ordinance as people who don’t want anybody to knock on their door don’t want anybody to knock on their door, period. So, if you start saying its ok for this person to knock and have a registry there would be a lot of trouble.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Village Council, on a motion by Deputy Mayor Sedon, seconded by Councilwoman Walsh, and carried unanimously by voice vote, the Village Council’s Work Session was adjourned at 11:06 P.M.

______________________________

Susan Knudsen

Mayor

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Donna M. Jackson

Deputy Village Clerk

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