August 11, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 11 Ridgewood Residents’ advice taken under consideration by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council heard what council members said they would consider as potentially good advice from two residents at last week’s work session. Paul Woodburn said Ridgewood could relieve a safety hazard at no cost if the village swapped traffic signs to the opposite sides of North Irving Street. He said that if the no parking signs were placed on the west side of North Irving Street, and the signs that permit limited parking were taken from the west side and placed on the east side, children being dropped off would not be tempted to run across the street, endangering their own lives and inflicting consternation on motorists who worry about hitting the children who dart out onto the road headed for the Ridgewood High School field. “This would not cost the town anything,” Woodburn said. “Just move it from one side to the other.” “Have you surveyed your neighbors?” Mayor Keith Killion asked. Woodburn said that he had not taken a formal survey, but that neighbors he had spoken to informally had supported the concept of swapping the signs. Resident Alan Plage urged the council to spare the venerable 1820s house on the Schedler property and a large tree that could be 200 years old or more. He suggested the house be used as a municipal office and the land for passive recreation rather than as a sports area. Plage also asked the council to encourage tree planting in general, noting that there seemed to be fewer trees in the village than he remembered from past years. “There’s been a net decrease in the number of trees in Ridgewood,” Plage said. “I’m a tree person. I love to see a lot of trees.” Mayor Killion, who had stated in approved the purchase of the Schedler Property that he would not approve sports field construction until a way was found for youngsters to cross Route 17 safely, said the idea seemed worth looking at and that no action on Schedler was likely to take place in the near future due to lack of available funds. “It’s going to be a long thought out project, and we’re going to look at all aspects,” Mayor Killion said. He asked Plage to leave his contact information with Village Clerk Heather Mailander and to drop off any information about the quality trees on the Schedler Property, including an approximation of the age, size, and species of the tree Plage had mentioned in particular. Gift restrictions (continued from page 5) conflict of interest.” Like Killion, Aronsohn expressed surprise that the first three gifts – services rather than items or money – had already been accepted, ostensibly without the knowledge of the council members. Killion noted that the ordinance had been adopted before Village Manager Ken Gabbert’s watch. “You can understand my dismay after adopting an ordinance to forbid this and finding out that it’s been done anyway,” Mayor Killion said. The mayor, a former police captain, abstains from voting on any expenditures for the police department, as he said he would when he ran for a seat on the Ridgewood Council. The matter of the flagpole was set aside for further study. Deputy Mayor Thomas Riche said he wanted to see a dollar amount associated with the gift, with the idea that a fiscal limit on spontaneous gifts might prevent the alienation of potential donors while protecting the perceived integrity of local government. A second gift offer – free power washing of Broad Street by a local company– was also thwarted when Killion noted that the offer came in four or five days after that company had received a minor summons from the village. Gabbert said the $46 summons had already been paid, but Killion still held to the principal that offers of donated goods or services had to be free of any real or perceived conflict. “I think right now we should hold off,” the mayor said. “If somebody wants to support the village we don’t want to lose it, but we don’t want to go outside the ordinance.” ���������������������������� KEANE FIT & WELLNESS ��������� Sheila Keane ������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ������������������������ ��������������������� ���������������������������������������������� • EDUCATED - MA in exercise science • CERTIFIED - ACSM, NASM, Post Rehab Specialist, MAT Specialist • EXPERIENCED - 15 years one-to-one personal training NOW OPEN! entire purchase with this ad. 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