April 10. 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 7 Allendale Residents to receive help with uprooted sidewalks by John Koster The campaign will not happen all at once, but Allendale’s residents will receive some borough help with sidewalks that have been uprooted by borough-owned shade trees. At the most recent public meeting, the Allendale Council adopted an ordinance that will allow the use of borough money to repair sidewalks that have been disrupted by the roots of trees the borough planted, or trees the borough recognizes as municipal shade trees. Before the unanimous adoption of the ordinance on March 28, all repair of treerelated sidewalk damage was the responsibility of the homeowner or landlord. The council has now altered the local legislation so to allow the aforementioned exceptions. When borough trees cause the sidewalk to break or buckle and a summons is issued, the borough will now cover the reasonable cost of sidewalk repair or replacement. The broken sidewalk replacement program is expected to be ongoing over the several years. Residents are advised that trees planted on residential property by former or present property owners are not involved. In these cases, the homeowners will continue to pay out of pocket for sidewalk damage. The council also voted, basically as a cor- Mayor Barra visits BH-R Rotary Club rection, to include the term “warehouses” in the permitted uses in the E industrial zone, essentially Boroline Road. The term had been intended but was omitted and represents a change in wording rather than zoning intentions. Bergen Highlands-Ramsey Rotary Clubs President Marcelo Gloria (left) welcomes Allendale Mayor Vince Barra. (Photo courtesy of Tom Grissom.) Allendale Mayor Vince Barra was the guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Bergen Highlands/Ramsey Rotary Club. “The first order of business for me was to get our property tax increases under control,” said Barra, who was elected mayor in 2007. “With a lot of hard work and negotiation, we were able to make progress. In 2011 and 2012, there were no property tax increases, and I am hopeful that we will not have an increase in 2013.” During his visit, Barra was presented with an Honorary Rotarian plaque. Rotary International is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Local clubs like the Bergen Highlands/Ramsey Rotary Club also actively (continued on page 10)