Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-June 10, 2009 Issue

Area June 10, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 25 Mailander named interim manager in Ridgewood Heather Mailander, long-term municipal clerk for the Village of Ridgewood, has been named interim village manager. She will retain the manager’s duties held by outgoing Village Manager James Ten Hoeve and the appoint- Letters to the Editor (continued from page 22) welcoming out-of-towners to Wyckoff. Across the street are abandoned single family homes. What will go there, more multi-storied commercial buildings? Boulder Run may well be a white (actually cream colored) elephant of a shopping center, pre-leasing and under construction with a 50.2 percent vacancy rate, according to commercial database provider CoStar. You would be hard pressed to find a shopping center of comparable size in Bergen County with such vacancy, even in today’s economy. Large vacancy rates can take years to fill up, unless the developer is lucky enough to attract more big boxes to a center. Often, centers that open with more than 20 percent vacancy get a bad reputation in the retail industry. As the center ages, they become known as “delicate centers” and never fill up. Will this happen at Boulder Run? Time will tell. But look on the bright side: There will now be plenty of parking in what had appeared to be an overly intensive parking lot, where seven acres of trees once stood. Oakland has exhibited professional expertise in reviewing architectural design in accordance with their new master plan, and has approved construction materials in concert with the community. Unfortunately for their residents, the Wyckoff Township Committee and their appointed planning board appear to be out of their element when reviewing design standards for commercial development. Mark Simpson Wyckoff ment of a full-time manager by the Ridgewood Village Council. Mailander is graduate of Midland Park High School and of Smith College and took courses for certification as a registered municipal clerk at Rutgers University. She and her husband Steve, who is in international banking, have three children. The new interim manager sat in the manager’s seat at last week’s council session and maintained the momentum of the meeting with her usual skill and organization. Mailander is highly regarded both by the council and the staff for the diplomatic skill and the consistent efficiency with which she runs the clerk’s office, where she has worked for more than two decades. Ten Hoeve, who had served as an interim manager four times in two decades, took over as official manager after the resignation for retirement of Larry Worth. Before that, Ten Hoeve had served as chief financial officer. J. KOSTER School superintendent (continued from page 7) “The measure of his contributions, however, can be felt beyond just bricks and mortar,” Monte continued, pointing out that, during his tenure, the district instituted cutting edge programming for its children including the Discovery Science Program, The Young Consumers Program, Curiosity Corner, and the FAMS TV Studio. She also pointed out, that during that time the district’s special education autistic program was extended to FAMS, and a pre-K program has been added. “We have seen test scores improve with more children demonstrating higher levels of proficiency throughout the district,” Monte said. “His vision and his ability to work with the various stakeholders has made Franklin Lakes a school district we can all be proud of. And through it all, we remain thankful for the respect that he has always exhibited to parents, teachers, staff and board of education members during the most difficult of circumstances. We wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement and we hope he will enjoy the next precious chapter of his life. We will miss him.” Bayersdorfer holds a doctorate in education from Columbia University Teacher’s College, a master’s degree from William Paterson University, and a bachelor’s degree from the College of New Jersey. He was named to Who’s Who Among Top Executives in 1998 and received the Family Life Education Leadership Award in 1996. He has also presented educational workshops and has written for professional magazines. In 2005, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Bergen County School Administrators Association. Bayersdorfer has been the president of the Bergen County Association of School Administrators and he is a past president of the Bergen County Principals’ Association, and the Rotary Club of River Edge, Oradell, and New Milford. He has also been a member of the Advisory Council of the Buehler Challenger and Science Center in Paramus and of the Executive Board of the Metropolitan School Study Council. ��