February 29, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 Midland Park Board to continue hearing on conversion of old barn This week, the Midland Park Planning Board will continue its hearing on the application to convert the vintage storage barn at 445 Godwin Avenue into a headquarters for the borough’s volunteer ambulance corps. The barn conversion plan is expected to save the structure from demolition, since its present owner has tried unsuccessfully in the past to sell it for development. The barn does not qualify for historic designation even though it is part of the historic Granite Linen Mills property. The 14.6-acre site is zoned for office/research and industrial use. The barn conversion plans, which were proposed by Ridgewood philanthropist David Bolger, call for the two-story 5,000 square foot barn to be remodeled to accommodate vehicle storage, bathrooms with showers, office space, and a meeting room on the first floor and an open meeting room on the second floor. The upstairs room could be used for training or for community functions. The original concept included borough offices on the second floor, but the council was not interested in maintaining additional space. The corps wanted to continue to run a headquarters that would be entirely separate from space used by the governing body. The organization is independent, and is supported by citizen contributions and fundraisers. When the proposal was outlined, an ambulance corps spokesman said the new location would be more functional since it would be designed specifically for use by the corps. In addition, the spokesman said the larger quarters would give the corps the ability to better organize its functions, to provide showers with decontamination capabilities, and to accom- Tax increase (continued from page 7) a decrease of $5,523 from last year while “other expenses” increased $146,420 and debt service costs increased by $36,100 although the reserve for uncollected taxes remained the same at $1,035,000. Hart said that operating expenses increased by $140,897 or 1.16 percent. Anticipated revenue, excluding the local tax for municipal purposes, increased by $497,782. That includes the increase in the use of the surplus and the reserve to pay debt service. The total number of employees in the borough government remains the same at 56 and the outstanding debt on bonds, notes, and loans as of Dec. 31, 2011 was $14,456,575. The borough’s total tax rate is established by the county, usually in July, after all the budgets are completed and certified. It is that total tax rate that must be used to multiply by the assessed value of a property in hundreds of dollars to determine the total amount of property taxes that a property owner in the borough must pay. F.J. MCMAHON modate larger ambulances in the future, should they become necessary. Last year, the corps had to refurbish its existing building to allow for the rigs’ greater height. The Midland Park Volunteer Ambulance Corps headquarters is presently located on a small lot on Pierce Avenue, which is residential. If the move is approved, the current property would be sold for residential use and returned to the tax rolls. In addition to planning board approval, the project will require a nod from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection because the barn is located near a stream. supervisor of special education and school psychologist for the Saddle River School District. She has a bachelor’s degree from New York City University Queens College and a master’s degree in public school administration from Montclair State University plus a master’s in educational psychology and a professional diploma in school psychology from Kean University. She and her husband Michael have two sons. One son is an Indian Hills graduate who now attends Stevens Institute of Technology. The other son attends Ramapo High School. Pierce has been an Oakland resident for 23 years is seeking her second term. She has a master’s in business administration and is retired from AT&T where she was a business executive responsible for a $6 million budget. Pierce has been active in town in the Cub Scouts and in the Oakland Recreation Department where she was a baseball coach and coordinated the baseball program for a number of years. She has also been active in the Heights and Valley Middle School PTOs and was vice president of the Oakland Education Foundation. Gebhard is completing his first term. He has two children who graduated from Ramapo High. He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Lynchburg College and is employed as a senior account executive with a division of MeadWestvaco, a packaging and printed plastics company. He has been active with the Boy Scouts and in coaching in Wyckoff, where he was the baseball commissioner for four years. He also served on the Ramapo High School Sports Boosters for five years and was vice president of the organization for four years. He helped build the concession stand at the Ramapo football field and oversaw that operation for four years. Fall election (continued from page 6) Urciuoli said it was wrong to take the right to vote on the budget away from the public. He urged the board to wait until next year to decide on moving the election so it would be possible to see the effect of the move on those districts opting to move the date this year. “I caution you to go slowly,” Urciuoli said, “you’ll be better educated next year so go slowly.” Bennett supported the change, claiming districts will be impacted by increasing curriculum demands in the near future. She added, “I hope you vote to protect as much of your resources as possible, because you will need them.” The seats of four members of the regional school board will be available for election this year in the November election. They are Belsky, a Franklin Lakes representative; Debbi Strauss, who also represents Franklin Lakes and was appointed last year to replace trustee Wayne Peterson who moved out of the district; Elizabeth Pierce, an Oakland representative; and Robert Gebhard, a Wyckoff representative. Belsky is completing his third term on the board and is currently the board’s president. He has previously chaired the Education Committee and served on the Personnel/Goals/Evaluation Committee. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford Law School, he is a semiretired attorney and business executive who practiced law for 25 years and was involved in a number of businesses. Strauss is seeking election to the final year of Wayne Peterson’s term. She is