March 13, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 21 Officials want to keep polling locations out of schools by John Koster Members of the Wyckoff Township Committee heard the concerns Joel Winton expressed for school safety, and told the long-term resident that these issues are now being addressed in discussions between Superintendent of Schools Richard Kuder and Police Chief Benjamin Fox. Township Committeeman Douglas Christie, functioning as deputy mayor in the absence of Mayor Rudy Boonstra, said the one empowerment township officials have will be addressed: How to keep the polling place out of the schools on Election Day in November. “We’re planning to keep the polling places out of the schools,” Christie said at the work session before the March 5 public meeting. “You don’t know who’s going to walk through the schools on Election Day, so we’re taking a proactive stance to pull the polling places out of the schools.” “It’s a major question that needs to be asked -- how to protect the schools 24-7,” said Township Committeeman Kevin Rooney. He added that the township committee and the local and regional boards of education are all autonomous bodies. Winton had urged that an emergency plan be devised beyond having a lockdown and calling 911, which he said could lead to a response that took 15 minutes. Some township officials heard the resident’s comment askance, though in general they praised Winton for his concern. Because school security involves surveillance, and because surveillance involves the ability to function unobtrusively, neither the township committee nor the police were at liberty to provide specific details. Chief Fox said separately that no specific details would be disclosed. The three committeemen present at last week’s meeting -- Christie, Rooney, and Haakon Jepsen -- said the authorities understood the concern of Wyckoff parents for school safety. “I can assure you that behind the scenes there is a lot of discussion going on,” Jepsen told Winton. Jim Savage, another long-term resident, had a separate safety concern for the township committee: speeding and disregard of stop signs at the Spring Meadow Drive approach to the YMCA. Savage said that just a day or two before the meeting, a van had cut him off and disregarded the stop sign turning onto Spring Meadow Drive. He praised the township committee for reducing the speed limits on several local roads last November. Jerry Goetting, another resident, agreed and praised Chief Fox for his proactive stance in reducing speed limits. Savage urged that the safety of Spring Meadow Drive also be considered. Specifically, he asked for signage reminding drivers of the speed limit. Rooney acknowledged that speeders are a problem and thanked Savage for his concern, but said there are limits to the township committee’s powers. “Obviously we can’t reduce the speed limit below 25,” Rooney said. Wyckoff Township Administrator Robert Shannon said that next time Savage saw a scofflaw or a speeder, he should take action. “When you see a car go through a stop sign, get the license number and call the police,” Shannon said. The township committeemen nodded agreement. Long-term resident Sue Winton also inquired after the status of Maple Lake and was told that negotiations with the owners of the 25-acre wooded site, three members of the Sarno family, were at a temporary impasse, but negotiations might be improving soon. The resident said she habitually opposes use of state or county grant money to acquire recreational land, since the ultimate source of the grant money is the taxpayers. She said the land might be better used to produce ratables. Rooney replied that, due to the slope of the ground and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection wetlands stipulations, the use as a ratable was debatable, and that once the owners understood that the land was not available for cluster or multi-story housing, a reasonable price might be negotiated. Township Committee members Jepson and Brian Scanlan have explored the site on foot. Once acquisition moves closer to reality, future plans will be devised.