January 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Ridgewood Council moving toward fire engine acquisition by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council moved one step closer to the purchase of a new mid-mount platform ladder truck for the Ridgewood Fire Department. At the first meeting of 2012, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said the formal vote of the council to authorize competitive bidding on the new truck was expected at this week’s public meeting, but the council concurs that the new truck is important both to the safety of the residents and the firefighters. Ridgewood’s paid fire department, the only one in Northwest Bergen, is backed by a contingent of volunteer firefighters. The bids, if acceptable, will establish the actual cost of the truck, which Gabbert said was estimated at $1 million to a maximum of $1.4 million. Fire Chief James Van Goor has recommended that the truck be purchased, despite some questions from residents who are concerned about taxes. The purchase of five more modest vehicles for the Ridgewood Water Utility was also approved at the Jan. 4 meeting. The council also voted to continue operation of Central Dispatch at the Pease Library for the next 10 years and to extend the leases for private tenants in those sections of the Pease Library available for commercial use, as part of the comprehensive renovation plan that took the Pease Library out of retirement and restored it to Ridgewood’s inventory of useful buildings. Ridgewood Philanthropist David Bolger stepped in when all other options had been exhausted and restored and renovated the venerable Pease Library, which was the village’s library from 1923 to the mid-1960s, and an adjunct library until the verge of the 21th century. Bolger, with Ridgewood’s approval, devised a plan in which the front foyer and one front wing of the Pease Library would be available to Ridgewood residents and the rest of the building would be leased to acceptable commercial tenants. The Bolger plan forwards the money from the leases to the programs and services of the main library on North Maple Avenue. The plan has worked successfully for the past several years. The Pease Library had also been pressed into service as the village police station for six years starting in 1999 after Tropical Storm Floyd flooded the police station located on the ground floor of the old municipal building. The council decided that Ridgewood will contribute $25,000 in 2012 and an additional $25,000 in 2013 to the traditional Fourth of July Parade, which draws bands, floats, and spectators from all over the region. The council also approved a shared service agreement with Ho-Ho-Kus for an adult health clinic and a shared service agreement with Fair Lawn for a health officer.