Wyckoff August 10, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Residents, governing body discuss maintenance issue by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee recently heard from two residents who asked about maintenance of the plantings and grass on the extended, curbed traffic islands on Sunrise Drive. “It’s a speed zone,” said Jennifer Kurtz, a neighbor of the traffic island. “Why can’t it be mulched? Why can’t it be weeded?” Mayor Kevin Rooney, backed by Township Committeeman Thomas Madigan, explained that the Wyckoff Department of Public Works is down one worker, cannot afford to replace him, and does not generally weed or mulch traffic islands. The traffic island contains some juniper trees, not in a very robust state, and mowing is not possible while the junipers remain on the island. The mayor and Madigan suggested that the neighbors might like to form a group, something like Partners in Pride, and maintain the traffic island themselves. “The DPW doesn’t go out and weed,” Mayor Rooney said. “The weeds are not as bad as you portray (them) to be. We’re down one person and we can’t afford to hire that person.” When Kurtz and Linda Lomberg, another neighbor, pointed out that their neighborhood probably pays $1 million a year in property taxes and should be entitled to some consideration in terms of municipal work, Madigan urged the neighbors to take the responsibility and plant or water their property themselves as a civic gesture. Mayor Rooney said that while the neighbor might indeed pay $1 million in collective taxes, only 13 percent of local property taxes go to the municipal government, which also has to pay for police, administration, and equipment for the volunteer fire department and volunteer ambulance corps. Township Committeeman Brian Scanlan said the township’s actual figure is 15 percent. He concurred that the budget is tight, but also said something should be done to address neighborhood concerns. “If it’s cheaper in the long run to plant grass and mow it after the junipers die, then we have to do that,” Scanlan said. “I think we have to figure out a way to deal with it.” Mayor Rooney maintained that the property owners technically owned the traffic islands up to the median of the road. Kurtz said that, because of road salt and a lack of moisture, the junipers are doomed in any case. She added that Wyckoff should assume the responsibility if Partners in Pride were not interested. Kurtz added that her garden hose couldn’t reach the median to water the plants and that sophisticated plantings would always be at risk due to road salt used on snow plowing. Mayor Rooney said that -- like Wyckoff -- Partners in Pride also has problems with adequate workers. “Everybody’s up against it now from a volunteer point of view,” Mayor Rooney said. “Why can’t they just mulch it once a year and mow it once a month?” Kurtz asked. The work session ended without a resolution to the debate.