Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • September 12, 2012 Ridgewood Village to request proposals for parking site by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council decided 3-2 to approve a request for proposals on the first parking site being requested by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce. “We have to put numbers out there or nothing will happen,” said Councilwoman Gwen Hauck. She joined Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli in voting in favor of the first request for a proposal to see what Ridgewood could get by leasing a spot on East Ridgewood Avenue to a private tenant in return for funding for a building to offer interior parking and exterior retail space. Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce President Tom Hillmann, who attended last week’s meeting to ask for the initial requests for proposals, thanked the council majority for the favorable decision, which Pucciarelli called “innovative.” A second building, not covered in last week’s request, would be located at Hudson Street. The plans so far are tentative, and those members of the council who were not elected earlier this year as part of the same slate both disapproved of action before the details were more substantive. Council members Thomas Riche and Bernadette Walsh, both opposed the RFP because they said they did not have adequate information. “I don’t want to release taxpayer assets until I have more information,” Riche said, noting that Ridgewood is collecting parking meter fees on some of the land that would be leased. “This has not been a local process, at least not a local process that I have been involved in. . .I think we’re putting the cart before the horse.” Walsh said she had not seen anyone’s signature on the paperwork the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce pro- vided to the village council, and that the matter had not been studied adequately to justify authorizing a request for proposals that would lease municipal land to private entities. The council majority, however, argued that parking is important to Ridgewood’s central business district and the village as a whole. They said parking had been studied for the past 50 years. They also noted that the request for proposals did not commit Ridgewood to accept the proposals. The request is about learning what might be available. “We’re not interested in it if it’s going to cost more taxes. We just want it to be fact-finding,” Hillmann told the council. Ridgewood Village Manager Ken Gabbert, responding to a question about cost from Walsh, said the drafting of the request for proposals could be substantially handled inhouse and would not cost a large amount of money. Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said he favored sending out the request for proposals and hoped that the project, if approved by the council, would bring more shopping to Ridgewood. However, he noted, “If the leases on the facilities went into default, then we would be the landlords.” On balance, however, Puciarelli said he thought at least the proposal was worth a try. “It promotes quality and it engenders quality and I am very much in favor of it,” Pucciarelli said. Walsh and Riche remained opposed. They noted that Ridgewood taxpayers are still paying off the bonding on the acquisition of land obtained several years ago for a somewhat similar, but larger, parking garage on Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue. That proposal was rejected by the previous council, which was headed by Mayor Keith Killion, because the council majority deemed the proposed building too large and believed it would be an eyesore. Pastor offers kids story time program Pastor Mary Stegink The Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church will offer a free, fun-filled “Stories Snacks & Songs” program from 10 a.m. to noon beginning Sept. 15. The program will be held on the third Saturday of the month. The program is designed for area youngsters, ages four through eight, and will be led by the church’s new pastor, Mary Stegink. Stegink will be assisted by Joyce Monsma of kidscookingcraft.com. Before completing seminary, Stegink spent 23 years as a storyteller, speaker, and evaluator of youth fiction for one of the Midwest’s major children’s bookstores, Pooh’s Corner in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The mother of three will draw upon her extensive library of children’s literature and her experience in presenting songs and stories to (continued on page 10)