Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • May 30, 2012 Groups discuss meeting space (continued from page 3) membership had turned out. Sager urged the governing body to reach out to the Chamber. “Businesses can help,” he said, adding that he was tired of having conversations at council meetings. “We need a liaison,” Sager urged. Velasquez also recommended that the council become more involved with the Chamber. “We need a voice so we don’t have to be at a public forum,” she said. Ho-Ho-Kus Garden Club President Debbie Lovett said, “A rumor was going around that the garden club had made a mess. We’re respectful,” she asserted. Lovett said she had visited the train station room, measured it at 14 by 18, and questioned the level of comfort that would be available in that space. She said the club could have 50 people at a meeting, given the number of active club members, joint meetings held with other garden clubs, and visitors from the public. Garden Club Vice President Lynda Byer asked the council to consider grandfathering the club into the use of the council chambers or accepting a security deposit. “We know the room is empty on Monday nights when we meet,” Byer said. She added that the club has been in existence for 100 years and has provided planting, mulching, and weeding services in town at the club’s expense. She said the club is rethinking its commitment to the borough, saying the members don’t feel there is any reciprocity. Byer said it would be a sad day if the garden club couldn’t meet in Ho-Ho-Kus. “That would be a sad day,” Mayor Randall agreed. “We are not rethinking our relationship with the club.” He later added, “We love the garden club. We are making appropriate use of our buildings.” Cackie Scott, another garden club member, asked why the club’s meetings would constitute an inappropriate use of the council chambers. Randall said he was referring to governmental boards’ use of the council chambers. Scott said it was a mistake to draw distinctions between governmental and civil functions. “This is an important use of this room. This is our room. It’s not the government’s room,” Scott stated. “I can’t help but be annoyed,” VFW Commander Stanley Kober told the council. “We’ve had a problem up at our post since 1994. Where have the clubs been to help us out?” Kober was referring to a restrictive lease with the Ramapo Valley Railroad Club that limits the VFW’s use of its own building on Cliff Street. The lease was signed before Kober spearheaded the revitalization of the VFW, but has remained a problem for the organization. The veterans have access to the building for meetings only once a month and one week before Memorial Day, and their meeting area is limited. “We tried to get the property next door (on Cliff Street to build a new building). We would have allowed the clubs to use different rooms. No one, except Gordon Hamm, who was on the council at the time, helped. “We can’t use this room (the council chambers). We’re locked out of here. I have a 12 by 12 room – an open area. I can’t fit more than 13 people by law. I have 90 people. Eight to 10 come to meetings, because who wants to come to a place like that?” He added, “I think we should be afforded some courtesy as well. We couldn’t buy the land (next to the existing VFW building) and that went into a black hole somewhere.” Kober said he had previously asked for the use of the train station as a meeting space for the borough’s historical association. “That was going to be investigated. Nothing happened. Now things are moving,” he said. Kober apologized to Timothy Conlon, 8, who was acting as Mayor for the Day. Shea said Kober should not apologize. “There are a lot of people here. It’s wonderful. He’s hearing everybody’s views.” Councilman Steve Shell asked how many other groups had been using the ambulance corps’ training room. Tyler said baseball, softball, Youth Activities Council, and the Policemen’s Benevolent Association were among the many organizations that have used the room. She said she could not name them all. The community room inside the Ho-Ho-Kus Train Station. “I’ve been too generous with something that wasn’t mine to give,” she said. Tyler also said, “I don’t want to point the finger at any group, but I clean up after everyone. Every group is a little sloppy sometimes.” (After the council meeting, the leader of another local organization said that group leaves the meeting space it uses in better condition.) Scott then returned to the microphone. She said the ambulance corps has been generous to the garden club and deserves their gratitude. She said space is the real issue for her group. Shea asked if the gardeners could use space in the public school. Lovett said the school cannot accommodate the club in September, and the club would be asked to modify its insurance if school space were used for a meeting area. Lovett also questioned whether the club could afford the rental fee the school charges. Lennon said she would contact the school superintendent regarding the question. Acknowledging Lovett’s statement that the club would need to know about a meeting space by June, Randall said, “We’ll be able to make a decision by June.”