Ridgewood February 15, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 School district plans to install solar panels by John Koster Ridgewood will be installing solar panels to generate electricity for most of the public schools at no direct cost to the village’s taxpayers. Based on last week’s vote of the Ridgewood Board of Education, Glen School, Hawes Elementary School, Orchard Elementary School, Ridge Elementary School, Somerville Elementary School, Travell Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Middle School, George Washington Middle School, and Ridgewood High School will be fitted with solar panels. “The quid pro quo is that the solar company uses our roofs to generate the electricity and then sells the electricity to us,” Ridgewood School Business Administrator Dr. Angelo Di Simone said after the vote. The Verterra Renewable Energy Company, he said, will receive subsidies for clean electricity from outside the district, and the electricity generated will be sold only to the schools on which the panels are located. There is no direct cost to local taxpayers. The Ridgewood Board of Education’s approval noted that the project had not been included in the 2005 Long Range Facilities Plan, and thus the plan does not need to be revised. The board also approved $15,217 in change orders for additions to the Willard School. The fees paid to JG Drywall of Elmwood Park include $7,719 for demolition of the existing lathe and plaster ceiling of the first floor bathrooms and the installation of new material, $3,300 for new wall installation on the second floor student bathrooms, $2,356 for removal and disposal of the steel roof overhang above the main entrance doors and curtain wall, $1,253 for modification of piers and footing to the existing underground sanitary line, and $589 for a haunch added to a stairwell to support a firewall. Change orders for construction on the Ridge School were also approved. The Riefolo Construction Company of Belleville will receive $8,222. The original change order of $8,991 for the dumpster area fence, removal of hard surface playground equipment, and additional painting and excavation in the school courtyard to troubleshoot for existing building leaks was reduced by $769 due to credit for an electrical upgrade to the new kiln and credit for bollards not installed at the transformer. The board also accepted a Ridgewood Education Foundation grant of $1,600 for a club at the Somerville School, the only donation at the Feb. 6 meeting. The Ridgewood Education Foundation uses voluntary contributions to defray the cost of enrichment programs for students to enhance public education at no added expense to the taxpayers. The Ridgewood Police Department has reported a number of thefts both from the inside and the outside of local homes. On Feb. 1, police responded to reports that a woman was knocking on doors on South Van Dien Avenue. The police located a 44-year-old Paterson woman who was in possession of an open container of alcohol and of drug paraphernalia. The woman was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and alcohol possession, but was not charged with larceny. However, she had outstanding warrants against her from Paterson and was turned over to the Paterson Police Department. The same day, a Little Falls resident reported that her purse was stolen while Police Department Report she was at MacMurphy’s Restaurant. The Ridgewood Detective Bureau is investigating. A contractor working for the Village of Ridgewood on Solas Court reported on Feb. 3 that his storage locker had been cut open and a number of items, including a compressor, had been taken. The same day, a Melrose Place resident reported that someone had entered his garage and had removed a considerable amount of alcohol. The police investigated and found the bottles of alcohol, still unopened, located on the resident’s property. The case is under investigation by the Ridgewood Detective Bureau. J. KOSTER