By Joseph Cramer

Sen. Robert Menendez paid a visit to the Ridgewood train station on Monday to spread awareness and support of a new federal transportation bill that, if passed, would add substantial funds to New Jersey’s transit funding.

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U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (right) speaks with Ridgewood Mayor Keith Killion during a visit to the village to tout a new federal transportation bill.

Through additional funding, the bill hopes to provide existing transit-oriented communities like Ridgewood with optimal conditions for public transportation and encourage transit-oriented development in other municipalities.

“For over two years now, we have worked to craft a bill to improve public transportation in New Jersey and across America,” he said in an earlier statement about the bill. “By wringing out waste and earmarks, the bill provides New Jersey with more federal transit funding than it has ever received before, and does so when NJ Transit desperately needs money to address delays and rider complaints.”

Arriving by train at the village’s newly renovated transit hub, the Democratic senator was greeted by local officials who escorted him to the station parking lot under the auspices of the New Jersey Transit (NJT) police and officers from the Ridgewood Police Department.

Mayor Keith Killion, Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh and Councilman Paul Aronsohn joined Menendez at the podium as he touted the benefits the bill would bring to New Jersey towns, citing Ridgewood as an example of integration of public transportation into community life.

“[It is] a great community where public transportation is a critical part of the quality of life for residents,” he said.

The bill stands to give New Jersey $519 million in federal transit funding, amounting to a $63 million increase per year. According to Menendez, this would mean more funding per year than ever before in New Jersey, accomplished by “cutting waste and eliminating earmarks” and requiring no additional federal spending.

Provisions of the bipartisan bill include funding for programs such as: a $20 million transit-oriented development planning program; increased funding for the National Transit Institute at Rutgers University, which provides education and training in support of public transportation; increased use of clean fuel; transportation for senior citizens and disabled commuters; and the optimization of existing utilities and systems, rather than the creation of new ones.

“I have been working for nearly two years, across party lines, to help craft a bill that invests in our infrastructure and improves public transportation for New Jersey families, without increasing the federal budget, and we were able to do it,” Menendez said. “It means more resources to protect good paying jobs and to create more good paying jobs, and it provides more funds to make the improvements we need to ease congestion, mitigate delays and in the end contribute to making New Jersey more livable and more competitive.”

Representatives from the National Transit Institute, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group took the podium after Menendez to voice support for the bill.

According to his staff, Menendez sees Ridgewood as a community that has made the most of its relationship with public transportation.

“Ridgewood is a transit village,” said Olga Alvarez, press secretary for Menendez, speaking on the senator’s choice of venue for Monday’s event. She cited the economic development that could be fostered when communities work in tandem with transit hubs.

Village officials said they were pleased with the senator’s visit and looked forward to future improvements to public transportation.

“Sen. Menendez’s legislation would be good for New Jersey and good for Ridgewood‘s commuters,” Aronsohn said.

“Since a great number of our residents use the transit system, it’s always nice to see progress made toward that end,” Killion said.

Email: cramer@northjersey.com

By Herb Jackson

By Joseph Cramer

In the wake of two separate emergency situations in the village over the past six months, the Ridgewood Community Access Network (CAN) indentified methods of improving resident awareness to reduce risk during future floods and power outages.

“What we need to have is options and different contingencies,” said Councilman and CAN Chairman Paul Aronsohn.

Amid the discussion at the group’s first meeting of 2012, a more effective special needs registry, greater preparedness for emergency situations and establishing new lines of communication to residents emerged as crucial items to address in anticipation of future events.

Ridgewood Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Deputy Director Jeremy Kleiman attended the meeting to offer perspective on options and limitations when it comes to response from village government during crises such as Hurricane Irene in August and the unseasonal snowfall in late October.

The special needs registry, a program coordinated by Ridgewood OEM, needs enhancement, according to CAN members, a sentiment Kleiman concurred with.

“I’m not sure it has the visibility it should on the village website,” he said.

He said the greatest challenge with the registry has been getting the word out to residents who may need it. The registry contains contact information for residents with special needs so that OEM staff can reach them during emergencies to see if they need special assistance.

Aronsohn proposed adding a volunteer component to the program, in which CAN members and anyone else who wished to participate could call periodically during emergencies to check in on the registry’s roughly three dozen residents, reducing the burden on OEM staff and potentially enhancing communication. Only contact information would be provided to the volunteers, eliminating privacy concerns.

Kleiman suggested creating a map that would identify where members of the special needs registry live and could be updated throughout an event to keep track of who is or isn’t home and who needs assistance.

Aronsohn said the registry was an important initiative in need of some refinement.

“I’m still a believer in it,” he said. “We just have to get it right.”

He then addressed infrastructural issues, pointing to the strain on village staff and equipment during emergencies that often involve whole regions and not isolated municipalities.

While the village has generators, they are used to power traffic lights, the water pumping station, and other crucial areas of village infrastructure. Because of this, staff cannot loan out individual generators to residents in times of village-wide emergencies.

Shelter is another issue due to staffing concerns, Kleiman said. Bergen County officials established shelters at Bergen Community College and Fairleigh Dickinson in August and October, and Kleiman pointed out that “they’re much better equipped than we are at the village.”

“Sheltering generally is a problem,” he said. “The reason it’s a problem is we don’t have resources at the village level to activate and staff a shelter.”

The village’s current sheltering plan is to utilize school buildings and equipment from the Red Cross, but in times of region-wide crisis, the Red Cross has a responsibility to other towns in addition to Ridgewood.

Liability issues are associated with operating a formal shelter, Kleiman said. Since not all village staff has the medical training needed to properly run a shelter, the village could be held liable if it were to direct residents to a place with inadequately trained staff.

CAN members agreed that educating residents about proper preparedness for times of emergency was a viable solution. Aronsohn proposed that CAN could sponsor and coordinate an initiative to disseminate a checklist of ideal items and equipment to have on hand in cases of power outages and other crises, thus making special needs residents, and all residents, more proactive and self-sufficient. Members also proposed reaching out to local businesses and professionals to compile contact lists of their clientele which owners and employees could use to provide updates on power status, closings and changes to hours of operation.

According to Kleiman, establishing multiple lines of communication to and between residents is crucial in times of emergency when any one of those lines could be temporarily cut.

“The key is hitting people from all different angles, because you don’t know what’s going to go through,” he said. To that end, village officials are exploring options for improved notification systems, he added.

Ultimately, members agreed that much of the solution to weathering emergencies lies in advance notice and preparation.

“Let’s be proactive,” Kleiman said.

For residents interested in contributing to these initiatives, Ridgewood CAN will meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the lower level of The Stable.

Email: cramer@northjersey.com

Ridgewood News

The Village Council’s agenda is always full. The issues range in size. They range in cost. But all the issues are important to someone … somewhere, and they all vie for the same increasingly limited set of resources.

With that in mind, the Village Council should seize the occasion of the New Year and establish a set of priorities for 2012 that reflect the needs of our community and speak to our obligation to provide good, responsive, effective government.

The greatest priority should be given to those things that we “must” do – those things that affect the public safety and financial security of the Village. And to the extent possible, we should also pay close attention to those things that we “should” do – those things that have a direct impact on residents’ quality of life.

Below are my top three priorities in each category.

The “Must Do” List

Pedestrian Safety: The number one public safety issue in our village is pedestrian safety. Dangerous drivers pose the greatest threat. Dangerous walkers pose a close second.

We need to take concrete steps to address the situation. That means moving more aggressively to restripe downtown crosswalks. That means a zero-tolerance policy for people who brazenly violate our road rules. That means devoting the needed resources – time, attention and money – to continuously try new approaches until we get this issue right. (For example, blinking crosswalk lights could be part of the solution.) With a long-standing citizens’ safety committee in place, we already have the forum to generate new ideas and jump start action on this priority issue.

Flood Mitigation: Our flooding situation requires immediate attention. This is an issue driven by public safety as well as human and economic imperatives. As Hurricane Irene demonstrated in compelling fashion, flooding can be dangerous and expensive – carrying both personal and financial costs. Yet, precious little has been done in the six months since the storm to mitigate further flooding. We have walked the flood areas. We have talked about the flood areas. Now, to the extent possible, we need to fix the flood areas.

Relatedly, as last year’s storms also made clear, we need to establish a “shade tree commission” to address the many wonderful, potentially dangerous trees that line the streets of our community.

Budget Discipline: Getting pedestrian safety and flood mitigation right requires that we get our budget right. Last year, several questionable budget decisions were made. From the $12,000 Wibit raft for Graydon Pool to the retroactive pay increase of senior village staff, Ridgewood residents were not well served by some of the budget decisions taken this past year.

To help remedy this, we should undertake a top-to-bottom audit of the village budget. one that would employ zero-based-budgeting and take a close look at each and every line-item. Village officials should be made to justify each and every service, expense and fee. The parking utility. The capital budget. The use of official vehicles. Everything should be looked at.

To help lead this effort, we should draw on the tremendous reservoir of expertise and good will that exists in the village. Ridgewood has more than its share of financial experts and people willing to serve their community. We should tap into that reservoir to fix our budget situation. Give them a copy of the budget. Give them a timeline and mandate. And let them give us their best advice for keeping expenses and taxes low, while maintaining a Ridgewood-level of service.

The “Should Do” List

Business District: In many ways, Ridgewood’s Central Business District is an engine of village life, driving tax revenues and playing an important role in the economic health of our community. And while the Village Council is limited in its ability to affect the greater economic climate, we can and should be more of a partner to our local businesses.

Simply stated, we need to be both smart and thoughtful in our approach to our business community. We need to eliminate outdated ordinances. We need to stop demanding seemingly unjustifiable fees. And we need to make it easier and less costly – both in terms of money and time – to open and run a business in Ridgewood.

In other words, we should do everything possible and reasonable to support our local businesses.

Ridgewood Library: Similarly, the library is at the center of village life, providing a community space like no other. Yet its budget and hours of operation have steadily declined since 2009. In fact, without a change of course, the trend will accelerate this year, forcing the library to close every Sunday and many Fridays.

This must not be allowed to happen.

Our library budget – like all public libraries in New Jersey – is determined largely by a mandated formula that ties its funding to the fluctuation in property values. So, as property values have decreased, so has the library budget. This has forced the library board of trustees to find savings and efficiencies, which is a very good thing. It has also forced the library to close several days per year just to absorb uncontrollable increases in health care and pension costs, which is a very bad thing.

This year, we should return the library to its 2009 funding level – something that would allow it to remain open all year round and continue providing its excellent level of services. The library board has learned how to do more with less, but further cuts would hurt the community. The state-mandated formula provides a floor for the library budget. It is well within the council’s purview to exceed that floor and provide the necessary funding. We should do it.

Accessibility: Ridgewood has made great strides to make this a truly accessible community, one open to and welcoming people of all abilities. We just need to maintain the momentum.

This would include repairing the ramps at Graydon. This would include fixing and flood-proofing Village Hall’s first floor, home to many of Ridgewood’s senior programs. This would include further integrating people with disabilities into our emergency planning. This would include continuing to move forward on a host of significant, albeit low-cost initiatives that can improve the quality of life for so many of our children, neighbors, family and friends.

* * *

Again, there are many important issues that will inevitably come before the Village Council this year, only some of which I have listed here. But in my mind, we need to establish priorities, and we need to follow through on them.

The New Year provides us with a unique opportunity: to think big, to stay focused and to make a meaningful difference in the life of our constituents. We should seize this opportunity.