Ho-Ho-Kus April 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 7 Borough DPW will continue North Field maintenance by Jennifer Crusco After analyzing the costs of maintaining the North Field, a board of education-owned property, Ho-Ho-Kus borough officials decided to have the department of public works continue to cut the grass at that site. In the fall of 2011, Ho-Ho-Kus officials advised the school board that the manpower shortage in the Ho-Ho-Kus DPW was making the borough’s continued maintenance of the field an issue of concern. School officials then began a review of their options for field maintenance. The property, which is partially bounded by Hollywood Avenue and Route 17, has been owned by the board since 1966 and has been maintained by the borough since 2001. One of the options explored by the school district would have called for the Ho-Ho-Kus Recreation Commission to cut the grass at the field. However, Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Administrator Don Cirulli reported that the commission was seeking additional funding to complete the job. “(The commission) said they needed an additional $6,000,” Cirulli said. “When we analyzed the numbers, it was far less – approximately half that – for the DPW to do it. The requested budget increase would have been over and above what the job now costs.” Cirulli explained that the DPW’s maintenance is limited to cutting the grass at the field. He estimated that the job must be done once a week for a few hours during the warmer months of the year. When the issue first arose, the school district explored several options, including the possibility of working with a local landscaper or with donated labor. At that time, Ho-Ho-Kus Recreation Director Edward Gartner noted that the school, the Ho-Ho-Kus Recreation Commission, and Ho-Ho-Kus/Saddle River Recreation use the North Field for baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, and field hockey. The field is used nearly every day. In recent years, the field became a major component of the community flood mitigation plan, which allows the field to be used as a retention area for storm water until that water can drain into the Saddle River. In 2009, HoHo-Kus Borough Engineer David Hals of Schwanewede Hals Engineering in Oakland, provided the Ho-Ho-Kus Council with drawings for the project, which addressed the construction phases, and soil erosion and sediment control. The site was leveled and the tennis courts were removed. A multi-purpose field and a softball field were then created on the property. Students at the Ho-Ho-Kus Public School will not be required to wear uniforms to class, but can expect more stringent dress code requirements when they return to school next year. After reviewing the results of a March survey of parents and guardians, the district found that 70 percent of respondents were not in favor of a uniform policy for the school, Trustees drop school uniform proposal Ho-Ho-Kus Superintendent Deborah Ferrara reported. As a result, the school board recently decided to pursue changes to the existing dress code. “We will modify the dress code to make it enforceable and appropriate for the kids,” Ferrara said. She explained that sweeping changes are not anticipated. (continued on page 29)