Midland Park October 12, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 The Midland Park Volunteer Ambulance Corps will have a new home in the near future, courtesy of David Bolger, the Ridgewood philanthropist who totally refurbished the old recreation barn in town into a community center three years ago. Bolger plans to acquire the vintage storage barn on the Marlow Park property at 445 Godwin Avenue and refurbish it for the use of the ambulance corps and the community at large. “We’re genuinely excited and looking forward to it,” said Dr. Alan Kooreman, the corps’ president. “The location is better and the space Bolger to give historic barn a new lease on life will be much more functional, since it will be designed for our use from the outset.” The corps headquarters is presently located on a small lot on Pierce Avenue, a residential area. Once the move is completed, it would be sold for residential use, returning it to the tax rolls. Dr. Kooreman said the larger quarters will give the corps the ability to better organize its functions, to provide showers with decontamination capabilities and to accommodate larger ambulances, if necessary in the future. Earlier this year the corps had to refurbish its existing building to allow for the rigs’ greater height. Bolger’s plans call for the two-story 5,000 sq. ft. barn to be remodeled to accommodate the ambulance corps’ needs – vehicle storage, bathrooms with showers, office space, meeting room – on the first floor and an open meeting room on the second floor. This room could be used for ambulance needs, such as training, or for community functions. Bolger had originally proposed that the second floor could accommodate some borough offices, but both the borough council and the ambulance corps discouraged that use. “The town does not need additional office space,” said Borough Administrator/Clerk Addie Hanna during last week’s council meeting. She noted that the municipal building is The Needlecraft School in Midland Park has received hundreds of thank you letters from US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan expressing their appreciation for the pillows the school’s students have made and sent overseas, along with toiletries and other essentials. “I cannot begin to express how thoughtful this gift was. I will cherish it always as a reminder of the great folks back home who keep us in thoughts and prayers,” wrote the mother of two children who is an Army officer stationed in Afghanistan. “You would be surprised how much comfort the pillows bring us, not to mention the sense of fulfillment we get just knowing that we are remembered,” said an airman in the US Navy whose family hails from Little Falls. “It made me very happy to know the East coast has such caring patriots,” said a Philadelphia native. Since operation “Adopt a Soldier” began in 2003, Fawcett and her students have sewn, stuffed and delivered thousands of pillows to American soldiers overseas. The program gained national prominence earlier last year when it was featured on NBC’s Today Show, followed by a sizable donation from the Texas Road House restaurant chain to help sustain the Soldiers appreciate pillows Inspections nearly complete Representatives of the appraisal firm contracted to perform a revaluation of Midland Park’s real estate properties are in the final stages of gathering the data necessary to establish market value. According to Midland Park Tax Assessor Marie Merolla, all 2,194 residential properties have been visited, and 90 percent have been inspected. Of the 177 commercial properties, 120 have been inspected, with 45 of the 56 exempt properties in town also visited. But she is urging residents whose properties have not been inspected to reach out and make an appointment before Realty Appraisals, the revaluation firm, prepares its final report at the end of the month. “We are making sure everyone has the opportunity to have an inspection. We are giving them another chance,” she said last week, explaining that when inspectors were not able to gain access to a home, they left a notice to which some residents have not responded. Realty Appraisals is currently studying undergoing renovations at the present time for better office space utilization. Dr. Kooreman said while the ambulance corps is behind the use of the second floor for community use, members would not be in favor of having any municipal offices on the second floor. “We are concerned it would become a borough hall, too. It would change the character and intended purpose of the property. It would make us look like a government agency,” Dr. Kooreman explained. The corps is an independent organization with its own charter supported by citizen contributions and fundraisers. Bolger said he is hopeful the project can be completed within six months. Ginny Fawcett, director of the Needlecraft School in Midland Park, reads over one of the letters. program. One of Fawcett’s students even suggested that she be featured in a US Post Office stamp. Anyone interested in further information may contact Fawcett (201) 444-2976 or stop in at the school, 216-A Godwin Avenue, Midland Park. Further information may be found on the website, www. needlecraftschool.org. the most recent sales so that the appraised values will reflect current market conditions. For properties which are sold based upon their income-producing potential, the appraisal firm has mailed forms to owners requesting detailed income and expense information. This data will be analyzed in order to appraise commercial, industrial and apartment properties. When the appraisal process is finished, each owner will receive a letter from the firm stating the appraised value and how an appointment may be made with the firm’s representatives to discuss the findings informally. The revaluation will not affect local tax bills until mid year 2012, when the tax rate is known and the second half of the year bills are issued by the borough in the summer. Residents whose property has not had an interior inspection and who would like one are asked to call Realty Appraisal at (201) 867-3870 to arrange for an inspection. Cellular tower bid (continued from page 4) The monopole behind the police headquarters building was approved by the borough in 1998 when a maximum of three tiers of antennas was permitted: one tier for the borough and two tiers for future co-locators. In addition to the municipal antennas, the monopole currently includes antennas from Sprint, Nextel, and Metro PCS New York LLC antennas, which were added in 2010. When Metro PCS added its tier of six antennas on the existing monopole, its height was increased to 140 feet with the municipal whip antenna extending to an elevation of 157.1 feet. That height is now permitted as a result of a new ordinance that was adopted in September 2010 by the borough council. The ordinance was prompted by the application by Metro PCS, which required an increase in the maximum height permitted on the monopole in order to add its antennas. The ordinance increased the allowable height of telecommunications towers and antennas that are permitted in the borough from a maximum of 130 feet to a maximum of 170 feet, including all antennas. The ordinance also permits the towers, antennas, and facilities located on property owned by the borough to be located within 300 feet of a residential zone. The borough’s code permits wireless telecommunications towers, antennas, and related facilities as conditional uses, but only on properties owned by the borough, and those properties in the RB retail business district; OB-RL office research laboratory district, which includes the Medco property; HOB-RL highway office building, research and laboratory district, which includes the Becton Dickinson property; the I-1 and I-2 industrial district zones; and properties consisting of 30 acres or more which are used solely for recreation and open space, but only during the time period these uses continue to be the only uses on the property. F.J. MCMAHON