20220323 - Village Council Special Public Meeting Minutes

A SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING 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, RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ON MARCH 23, 2022 AT 7:30 P.M.

 

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

 

Mayor Knudsen called the meeting to order at 8:24 P.M. and read the Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.  At roll call the following were present:  Councilmembers Perron, Reynolds, Sedon, Vagianos, and Mayor Knudsen.  Also present were Eileen Young, Deputy Village Clerk; Matthew Rogers, Village Attorney; and Richard Calbi, Director of Ridgewood Water.

 

2.         SCOPING HEARING – GREEN ACRES DIVERSION AT MAPLE AND GRAYDON PARKS

 

Richard Calbi, Director of Ridgewood Water, introduced Chris Colley of Topology, a consultant who is working on the Green Acres application.  The application requires a public scoping hearing for the Linwood replacement well, which is located in a public park listed on the Village’s Recreational and Open Space inventory.  The Linwood replacement well requires a diversion of approximately 100 square feet.  The well is required to be replaced as part of a USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) Administrative Consent Order, with fines incurred if no action is taken.

 

Mr. Colley indicated that he works for a planning firm called Topology, based in Newark, New Jersey.  There will be a public hearing this evening.  Anyone not able to comment this evening will have the opportunity to do so until April 6, 2022.  This is a scoping hearing for a major Green Acres diversion.  The State of New Jersey is very specific about actions which need to take place in the scoping hearing.  Mr. Colley explained that the purpose of this hearing is to accept public comment on a major disposal or diversion of parkland.  The State requires him to explain the scope of the area that is being diverted and the parkland from which it is being diverted, as well as setting forth a compelling public need and benefit and describe any alternatives that were considered in lieu of a diversion.

 

Mr. Colley said that the subject diversion regards the construction of a new well (Linwood Well) located on portions of Maple Park and Graydon Park.  The lands affected by the diversion include approximately 1/100^th of an acre of Maple Park and approximately 1/200^th of an acre of Graydon Park (Block 239, Lots 1 and 3, respectively).  A portion of that affected area is a subsurface easement, which is required as part of the Linwood Well project.  Mr. Colley will speak about the major element of the diversion, the new well which has already been installed by Ridgewood Water.  There is also a minor diversion, which is the subsurface easement.

 

The areas affected by this project equals approximately 1,466 square feet.  Mr. Colley described both the major and minor diversion areas.  The major diversion equals approximately 100 square feet (the new Linwood well).  This new well supports the existing Linwood well house, which is located south of the new well.  He described the subsurface main which is required for the operation of the new well to connect to the existing well house.  The minor diversion equals approximately 1,366 square feet of subsurface easement. 

 

Mr. Colley explained that the existing Linwood well house was built in the 1930s.  He indicated that there is an Administrative Consent Order by the EPA requiring the Village and Ridgewood Water to make improvements to the existing Linwood well, dealing with changes of standards and changes in water quality.  The Consent Order includes timelines for implementation, which were met by Ridgewood Water.  There is a need for proximity to the existing well, which is why the new well is located on the same parkland.

 

Regarding the public need/benefit, Mr. Colley explained that the replacement well is necessary for Ridgewood Water to continue to service community needs with an adequate supply of quality and compliant drinking water.  Mr. Colley explained that no alternatives exist in light of the Consent Order guidelines established in approximately 2016.  Ridgewood Water had commissioned an alternatives analysis to be performed in 2017.  This analysis considered a variety of different alternatives, such as rehabilitating the existing well house at the current location, drilling a new well within a 50 foot radius, drilling a new well and rehabilitating and relocating the well house elsewhere in the park, converting a different Graydon Pool well into a productive well, or abandoning the Linwood Well.  Mr. Colley explained that alternatives are limited or nonexistent because the well has already been constructed, described by him as an “after the fact diversion.”

 

Mr. Colley spoke about the compensation required to satisfy this diversion.  Given the scale of the diversion, they have engaged in discussions with Green Acres and there will be cash compensation to the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) to resolve these major and minor diversion components.

 

Mr. Colley indicated that written comments (concerning alternative sites or alternative means of satisfying the project objectives) can be submitted to Mr. Calbi at Ridgewood Water, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, or emailed to him at rcalbi@ridgewoodnj.net.  A copy of the email should also be sent to Maude Snyder at Maude.Snyder@dep.nj.gov.  Alternatively, written comments made be mailed to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres Program, Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship, P.O. Box 420, Mail Code 401-07B, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420, Attention:  Bergen County Steward.  Public comments will be accepted until April 5, 2022.  In addition, a public hearing will be held this evening.

 

Mayor Knudsen asked if the presentation could be posted on the Village website, and Mr. Colley replied in the affirmative.  Mayor Knudsen opened the public hearing on the diversion of Green Acres property.

 

Jim Bosler, 821 Newcomb Road, indicated that he is the Secretary of the Open Space Committee.  He wanted to make some cautionary remarks, due to the fact that there have been problems in the past with diversion issues.  He spoke about the last diversion matter in which the size of the property was miscalculated, below the size needed in order to qualify for State funding.  Mr. Bosler asked if anyone has spoken with Councilwoman Perron or Ralph Curry regarding the specifications of this project, as it relates to a percentage of the total open space available in Ridgewood in order to qualify for funds.

 

Mayor Knudsen spoke about the last diversion issue (which was discovered accidentally) in which the process was not followed correctly and a public hearing was never held.  She felt that the process followed this evening was very different from the way the last diversion issue was handled, and she asked Mr. Rogers for confirmation that the diversion issue for the Linwood Well was handled in a correct procedural way. 

 

Mr. Rodgers spoke about the last diversion issue in which the Village had difficulty locating an appropriate property to satisfy the diversion, which is one of the reasons it took so long to resolve.  He indicated that the Linwood Well project is much different, and it appeared that the correct procedure has been followed by bringing the matter before the Village Council and conducting both a scoping hearing and public hearing.  He did not foresee the Linwood Well diversion issue taking as long as the other diversion issue.

Councilwoman Perron remarked that there is a distinguishing factor between the Linwood Well diversion and the older diversion, whereby the Administrative Consent Order of the EPA mandated Ridgewood Water to replace the well.  Mayor Knudsen asked why the original Linwood Well had been closed.  Mr. Calbi replied that it was closed due to the age of the well, since it malfunctioned over time.  The well pump was stuck in the well and could not be removed, so the existing well had to be abandoned and a new well drilled.  Councilwoman Perron thanked Topology for this clarifying presentation.

 

There were no further public comments and Mayor Knudsen moved that the public hearing be closed.  Councilwoman Reynolds seconded the motion.

 

 

 

Roll Call Vote

AYES:          Councilmembers Perron, Reynolds, Sedon, Vagianos; Mayor Knudsen

NAYS:         None

ABSENT:    None

ABSTAIN:   None

 

3.         ADJOURNMENT

 

There being no further business to come before the Village Council, on a motion by Deputy Mayor Sedon, seconded by Councilwoman Perron, and carried unanimously by voice vote, the Village Council’s Work Session was adjourned at 8:42 P.M. and the Public Work Session was reconvened.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                Susan Knudsen

                                                                                                                     Mayor

 

 

 

                                                                       

Eileen Young

Deputy Village Clerk