Ridgewood December 12, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Graydon Pool access ramp approved by 3-2 vote by John Koster The vote to fund construction of a 40-foot handicapped access ramp at Graydon Pool that some council members like and others dislike has been approved. The 3-2 vote split on the 2012 election fault line, as Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli, and Councilwoman Gwen Hauck voted for Option One and Council Members Thomas Riche and Bernadette Walsh voted against it. The council previously voted to spend $95,000 on a ramp for Graydon Pool using $55,000 from Bergen County funds and $40,000 from Ridgewood’s capital budget, but the specific plan was not determined until Dec. 5. “I’m concerned about the aesthetics,” Councilman Riche said of Option One. “This is nothing but a slime collection basin for all the water that flows over the spillway... We shouldn’t be asking for $40,000 from the people of Ridgewood in times like these.” Councilwoman Walsh said she preferred Option Two, which would have been set in a different location. Some residents, including those who said they had concerns for the rights of the handicapped to swim, said the most plausible option was to do nothing at all. Ridgewood Recreation Director Tim Cronin said he was happy with the Option One ramp. The council majority said that, while the 40-foot ramp was not perfect, it would accommodate the needs of the largest number of handicapped swimmers at the lake-like Graydon Pool. Sally Brandes, a resident and regular swimmer, disagreed. She said the 40-foot walkway on the ramp would actually discriminate against those handicapped swimmers who use hand-held walkers or canes, as opposed to the chair-bound, and said chair-bound swimmers would be dropped off in dangerously deep water at the end of the 40-foot ramp. “This is a structure,” Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli said. “It is not the end of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accreditation. It should not be construed as the last time we’ll ever have an ADA issue at the pool.” Brandes also said the entire council should have been invited to a prior information session at which Marcia Ringel, a leader of Preserve Graydon, had produced five experts on handicapped recreation whom Brandes said were critical of the option the council majority approved. “This is a very serious breach to me, and you have done it on several other occasions,” Brandes said. Mayor Aronsohn said that the meeting with Ringel was useful, but it had to be called on short notice. He noted that, if the entire council had been convened, public advertising would have been necessary and the time parameters would have made that impossible. “Make sure you involve the entire council in future decisions,” Brandes urged. “I feel very well informed through that meeting,” Puciarelli replied. “I’m not going to apologize about being informed.” Pucciarelli said the end of the 40-foot ramp would allow handicapped swimmers to lower themselves into 27 inches of water, which he said was not a dangerous depth. Mayor Aronsohn agreed to disagree with Brandes on whether the ramp is ADA-compliant. Brandes said it was not. Aronson, a long-time advocate of inclusion of the handicapped, said that the ramp is ADA-compliant. In other business, the council considered a proposal to ban students from parking their cars off-street at the small Heermance Place parking lot, even if they arrive before the teachers. The topic will be on a January workshop agenda. (continued on page 19)