February 23, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 21 Show of school spirit Students at Ramsey’s Eric Smith Middle School recently showed their school spirit. During the month of February, the Student Council sponsored a week full of activities to promote spirit and unity among the students. Events included school color day, school team day and sports jersey day. (continued from page 3) by all the retailers at the site at $10 per square foot, and the office space and hotel owners at $5 per square foot. Council President DaPuzzo explained his support for the rezoning, claiming that he did not think the traffic created by the rezoning would be as bad as some predict. He emphasized that the existing Route 17 traffic problem cannot be fixed by this project and may never be fixed. He also said the traffic drawn to this retail center would be traffic that is already in the area, and he reiterated that the rezoning would generate a couple of million dollars in tax revenue and a minimum of $2 million in construction code permit fees to the township. DaPuzzo has also pointed out that the developer could now apply to the board of adjustment to expand the site under the current zoning of the property. If they did so, he said the township would not get the benefit and protection proposed in the rezoning ordinances. Other council members who voted for the introduction of the ordinances claimed the alternative to this rezoning would be more office space at the Crossroads site, which could bring thousands of additional vehicle trips to the area each day during the commuting hours. In addition, they cited the potential for the site to be used for affordable housing, which would bring more children into the township’s school system. Those who opposed the introduction of the ordinances expressed concern about the potential traffic the redevelopment could cause and the potential negative effect that traffic could have on the character of life in the township. Most of the members of the public who have attended the public meetings oppose the rezoning. Last week George Cimis, who has been a township board of adjustment member for about 40 years, addressed the council and urged the governing body to hold a nonbinding referendum to let the residents be heard on the rezoning issue. “You’ve been elected to the highest office this town has, and thousands of people voted for you, which was an expression of the extreme confidence and faith they had in the good judgment of each and every one of you that you would reflect the opinion of the citizens of this town,” Cimis said. He emphasized there is no sense of urgency, and he cautioned the council that their opinion on this matter will be their legacy. “What you leave behind will not be modifiable,” he said. “I ask you to give serious consideration to a non-binding referendum. I’d like to see the council represent the majority of the residents of Mahwah.” At the end of the meeting, after Councilman Spiech made a motion to hold a non-binding referendum and Councilwoman DiGiulio provided a second, the motion failed 5-2, with only Spiech and DiGiulio voting in favor. If the town center is fully built out, it would reportedly produce $6,750,000 in impact fees from the owners of the individual businesses at the site, with about $2.7 million going toward infrastructure improvements that would be required on the site by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The balance of the fees would go to the township to use at its discretion for any infrastructure improvements that may be needed as a result of the development. Crossroads Market Your Business Through The Villadom TIMES TIMES! ● Newspaper ● Internet ● Fliers & Inserts The Villadom TIMES is 100% mailed to 12 north west Bergen County towns with a total circulation of 56,300, and now you get the exposure of thousands of additional readers online! ADVERTISE 201-652-0744 Independently Owned & Operated for Over 20 Years YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSPAPER www.villadom.com