New Year Blog- Council Meeting from 1/18/22
By: Deputy Mayor Jaime Landis
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that this blog finds residents happy and healthy! Last night, we had our first council meeting of the New Year. It was positive and productive. During the last election cycle many residents expressed that they really liked the blogs because they were easy to read and informative. As Deputy Mayor, I have made the commitment to try to maintain blogging since it was so well received.
At the January 18th council meeting we welcomed Michelle Kerr to the team appointing her to temporarily fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mike McCracken for the unexpired term until the next general election. Ms. Kerr has both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from the New York Institute of Technology. Community servitude is very important to Michelle as evidenced by her prior role as a Board of Education trustee. She is also a tireless supporter of our veterans and active service members. In 2018 Michelle was named VFW Teacher of the Year in Nutley for her patriotic efforts. Ms. Kerr exhibits qualities that are essential for an elected official and we are excited to add her to our team.
There were a few noteworthy items on the agenda last night. The first was an initial reading of an ordinance to revise the liquor license fees. Our current fees for consumption and distribution licenses are low when compared with neighboring communities. We are seeking a 20% increase which still puts us well below the maximum allowed by the state of NJ. An example is our current consumption license is $621.00/yearly and the new proposed amount would be $745.00/yearly. The max allowed by the state is $2, 500.00 so we are still well below. This increase will bring us in line with neighboring communities. The last increase to this was in 2014 which was 8 years ago.
The council also authorized a design for a project at the Stonetown field for improvements that will allow people to safely drive up to the field and access handicap parking at the field level or to drop off family members in a designated area. This is a big win for the families and goes a very long way in ensuring that individuals with physical disabilities will have easier access to watch their family members play a sport at the complex. We have applied for a reallocation of funds for this project through an open space grant that was awarded to Ringwood.
We also authorized the shared service agreement with the Borough of Pompton Lakes. Within this agreement the Ringwood DPW provides stormwater system cleaning to Pompton Lakes. We maintain the Jetter/Vacuum truck and send our crew to Pompton to perform this service. Ringwood receives a daily rate of
$1, 500.00. This is just one example of the creative way that our municipality brings in revenue. There are many shared services within the Borough which are wins for Ringwood.
Ringwood’s Green team also gave an end of the year presentation highlighting some of their accomplishments. One noteworthy accomplishment was the Trex bench that was made from recycled plastic bags collected from residents. The bench sits outside of the Ringwood Public Library for all to enjoy.
As always, we would like to thank the employees at Borough Hall who continue to work short staffed due to Covid-19 protocols. We thank our DPW crew and first responders for continuing to navigate challenging situations and weather emergencies while also facing continued Covid-19 measures. Our roads are continually the best around during and after snowstorms and that is because of the hard work and dedication of the crew and their leadership.
Please stay healthy and safe and I hope to see you around town!
