Ho-Ho-Kus May 30, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Groups discuss meeting space by Jennifer Crusco The issue of public meeting space remained at the top of the agenda at last week’s Ho-Ho-Kus Council meeting, with Ho-Ho-Kus Chamber of Commerce officials, the VFW Post 192 commander, and members of the Ho-HoKus Garden Club providing input. Earlier this month, the garden club’s concerns about the paucity of meeting space led to the borough’s push to open the train station to the public. The club had been meeting in the ambulance corps training room, which had been open to various groups over the last decade. That room, which was recently renovated with donated funds, will no longer be open to local clubs and organizations. While the training room had been open to the public over the years, that arrangement sometimes left the corps members meeting in another area, rather than in their own training room. Last week, Ho-Ho-Kus Ambulance Corps Captain Carol Tyler returned to the council with an update on the space at the train station. Tyler reported that she and Councilwoman Maryellen Lennon had visited the building and prepared the room for a meeting that would include 35 participants. Tyler presented the council with photos of the room with rows of chairs, and said there would still be approximately nine feet of space available for a speaker. She added that the room could accommodate up to 49 people. Tyler said the room is now usable. It has been cleaned and the floor has been painted. She said someone offered to make a donation to facilitate the installation of an air conditioner. Because the unit would be located in an area nine feet high, she said a remote control would be necessary. Tyler also pointed out that the building features barrier-free access, parking spaces that become available after 6 p.m., a bathroom, and heat. “It’s not the biggest room in town, but no one has claim to it,” Tyler said. She acknowledged that trains would be passing by, but said, “It’s all we have…and we’ve gone out of our way to get it ready.” “I’m perplexed,” Ho-Ho-Kus Chamber of Commerce President Steve Sager told the council. He said he was nonplussed by the meeting space issue and “how quickly everything snowballed.” Sager and Chamber Vice President Kelly Velasquez both said no one had called them regarding the issue. Velasquez said the Ho-Ho-Kus Chamber of Commerce had used the borough council’s meeting room and, when the group tried to arrange another meeting in that space, Velasquez said a borough employee told a Chamber member the Chamber had left coffee stains behind after a previous meeting. Velasquez expressed her dismay that no one had contacted the Chamber about that issue. “I’m disappointed,” Sager added. “No one (from the HoHo-Kus Chamber) had food that night. Why isn’t this room (the council chambers/courtroom) being made available? Was it because someone spilled coffee? What about getting our input?” “I offered to come and clean it myself,” Velasquez said. “So did I,” Sager added. Mayor Thomas Randall told the Chamber officials that the council chambers/courtroom is primarily for the use of the local boards. Sager asserted that the room is a public space. Councilman Kevin Shea asked Velasquez for details about the coffee stains. She said she was surprised to hear of a cleanliness issue. She said the group’s members are respectful and pick up after themselves. Mayor Randall said he has heard of cases of people not cleaning up. “You’re not being singled out. Don’t connect the two issues,” Randall told the Sager and Velasquez. Councilman Doug Troast asked about the organization’s use of the council chambers. Velasquez said her group had used the room twice. She said they had been using the ambulance corps training room and had used the borough hall conference room, which would have been too small if the Chamber’s full (continued on page 18) Learning the ropes Timothy Conlon, 8, a second grade student at the Ho-Ho-Kus Public School, had the privilege of serving as Mayor for the Day at the May 22 Ho-Ho-Kus Council meeting. This honor was an auction item at the Ho-Ho-Kus Education Foundation Dinner Dance. Conlon, who is pictured with Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall, hit the gavel to open and close the meeting, and led the council, administration, and several members of the public in the pledge of allegiance. The Ho-Ho-Kus Education Foundation raises funds to support enhanced programs and events at the public school without the use of taxpayers’ dollars.