Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 27, 2010 Wyckoff Democrat, Republican compete for single seat by John Koster On Nov. 2, incumbent Wyckoff Township Committeeman Rudy Boonstra, a Republican, and Dr. Henry Velez, a Democrat, will vie for the single seat on the governing body. Boonstra has been a member of Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department Company since 1968. He was elected to the Wyckoff Board of Education in 1973, held every committee chairmanship on that board, and served two terms as board president. He was subsequently elected to the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education, and served in the regional board until 1994. When he was elected to the township committee in 2008, Boonstra left his seat on the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment, where he had served as a member for 19 years, including a dozen years as chairman. Boonstra, who is currently serving as mayor, received the official Republican spot on the ballot after fending off a primary challenge by Jeff Boucher. Velez is a physician who administers a medical board. He has lived in Wyckoff since 1989. He is a graduate of New York Medical College. “My life has been one of service to my patients, fellow veterans, and those who suffer from mental illness,” Velez said in a prepared statement. “I would feel privileged to serve the citizens of Wyckoff as a member of the township committee. “I’m a tax-paying citizen like everyone else -- not a politician. I have no ties to special interest groups. The few campaign dollars that I have raised came from family, friends, and independent taxpayers in Wyckoff. I will not accept money from individuals with business interests in our town or from political organizations, and pledge never to do so in the future.” Velez pledged to stop tax increases, saying he would investigate current spending and explore ways to share services with neighboring communities. “I pledge to work toward preserving remaining open space. I believe a substantial portion of the CHCC (Christian Health Care Center) site should be designated for public use, not a conservation easement, in exchange for re-zoning to high density housing. This is a win-win situation: open space plus senior residences,” Velez added. He said citizens have expressed special concern about the township’s growing traffic problem, and pledged to make this a top priority. “My only political aspiration is to serve the people of Wyckoff with integrity and full transparency,” he concluded. The township committee now has four Republican members and one Democrat, Brian Scanlan, the first Democrat to serve in Wyckoff since the Great Depression. Families recycle 77% of home waste Wyckoff Township Committeeman Brian Scanlan reported that three township couples have achieved a recycling rate of 77 percent. Scanlan said that the Nolan, Cascardo, and Scanlan families each weighed their refuse for a one-month period and determined that only 23 percent of their usual haul had to be committed to the commercial landfills. “We were interested in finding out what was achievable, taking advantage of all Wyckoff had to offer,” Scanlan said recently. “If we reach a 50 percent recycling rate town-wide, we’ll save $85,000 to $100,000 on refuse costs. With the governor’s two-percent cap coming, we need to be looking everywhere for savings.” All three families, Scanlan said, used composters, composting an average of 40 pounds of vegetable matter for the month in question. They also kept an average of 44 pounds of material per family out of the municipal waste stream, including branches and metal, which they took to the Wyckoff Recycling and Conservation Center on West Main Street. Wyckoff’s non-recycled material is hauled 85 miles to a landfill in Pennsylvania, at a cost of $69 a ton. Scanlan calculated the average figure as 79 pounds of garbage to the Pennsylvania landfill, 178 pounds of regular recyclables, 40 pounds of potential garbage composted, and 44 pounds of separate material recycled for a total of 341 pounds of household garbage per month. The three families said their large reduction in the municipal waste stream was due to Wyckoff’s extensive, user-friendly program of curbside comingled recycling, the curbside pickup of dry paper, and the fact that Wyckoff accepts TVs, computers, monitors, keyboards, fax machines, telephones, scrap metal, and branches at the West Main Street recycling area. Scanlan noted that Wyckoff has an average household recycling rate of 29 percent at the present time and that upgrading to the “Nifty 50” would require the recycling of an additional 1,958 tons around the township. Anyone who wants more information about recycling, or who wishes to purchase a composting container, may call (201) 891-7000, extension 101. J. 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