Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 9, 2014 Midland Park Fire truck reserve to stay After a spirited discussion, the Midland Park Borough Council last week decided to keep in the 2014 capital budget the original $150,000 earmarked for the reserve for the purchase of a new ladder truck for the vol- unteer fire department. The truck now in use was purchased in 1990 and has a 25- year life expectancy. A replacement would likely be delivered in 2016 or later, council members said. The amount was included in the 2014 capital budget introduced in February, but at the time of the budget adoption, Council President Nick Papapietro questioned the amount, suggesting reducing the set-aside to $100,000 so as to lower the tax increase for municipal purposes. The council has been putting aside $50,000 a year over the past few years for the eventual purchase of the truck, but decided to increase the amount when the fire department’s truck committee’s research determined the cost of replacing the 20-year-old vehicle would be substan- tially higher than anticipated. To date the fund has accumulated $350,000, according to CFO Laurie O’Hanlon. “When the money for the truck becomes due, if we don’t have enough, we have to bond. It’s less expensive to the residents if we put the money aside. The higher the amount we have to bond, the greater the impact in future years,” said Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan. “When we have the opportunity to pay rather than finance, we should do it rather than get into higher debt,” said Councilman Jack Considine. “If it’s up to me, $18 more a year is better than what we will have to pay to bond the $50,000,” Considine added. “It’s the responsible thing to do.” Councilman Scott Pruiksma said if only $100,000 were set aside this year, the other $50,000 could be made up next year by real- locating the moneys now being paid on the bonds for the previous fire truck purchase, which will be all paid up this year. O’Hanlon said those funds are part of the operating budget, not the capital budget, and could not be applied to the capital reserve. “If we take the money from the operat- ing budget, which pays for everything that goes on in the borough, it affects us differ- ently,” said O’Hagan. “It lowers our cap.” “If our budget is not at 2 percent, we hamstring ourselves over time so we can’t react to the needs of the borough,” said Con- sidine. This year’s budget is at 1.4 percent. O’Hagan noted that the pay-as-you-go philosophy has helped Midland Park deal with the reality that it has a lower tax base than neighboring towns. “We operate admi- rably compared to others with higher bases. They are in debt. I’m proud of how we have been protecting our values,” the mayor said. The council is expected to formally adopt the budget at its April 10 meeting. Relief fund to aid fire victims An emergency relief fund has been set up at a Midland Park church to help the vic- tims of an early morning blaze that heavily damaged the vintage Dutch colonial-style house at 288 Erie Avenue owned by the Vitez family. The fire was heavily engaged by the time firemen responded to a call from a neighbor at 3:36 a.m. A fireman and one of the residents of the home were treated for injuries and released from the hospital. An account has been established at The Church of God on Godwin Avenue to receive donations residents may want to make to help the family. A similar account set up earlier this year to help the victims of a New Year’s Day blaze at the corner of Godwin and Paterson avenues was closed two weeks ago, having served its purpose with many generous contributions, accord- ing to Councilman Scott Pruiksma. Persons who would like to contribute are asked to make checks payable to the \”Church of God Disaster Relief Fund” and write \”Erie Ave. Fire Victims” in the memo line. Please deliver or mail checks, cash or gift cards to the church, 400 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park 07432. Pastor Prui- ksma stressed that 100 percent of the dona- tions will go to those displaced by this fire. Park Windmill Free hearing workshop set Total Hearing Care, located at 600 Godwin Avenue, Suite 7 in Midland Park, invites the community to a free hearing workshop on Thursday, April 17. Attend- ees will receive a free hearing screening and a demonstration of the new Oticon Alta hearing device and the ConnectLine presented by Total Hearing Care’s certi- fied staff members. To make a reserva- tion, call the Midland Park office at (973) 939-0028. Fish & Chips Dinner set The Midland Park Christian Reformed Church will host its Seventh Annual Fish & Chips Dinner on Wednesday, April 16. The event will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the church at 183 Godwin Avenue. Dinner will be provided by Tastefully Brit- ish. Chicken tender dinners are available. Attendees may eat in or take out. Tick- ets are $14.50 for adults and $8 for chil- dren age eight and under. For tickets, call (201) 445-4260. The deadline to reserve tickets is April 14. Candidates Night announced Midland Park Parent Elementary PTA will host a Candidates Night on Thursday, April 10. The program will be held in the Highland School Media Center from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. There are four candidates seeking elec- tion to three seats on the Midland Park Board of Education. During the course of the program, attendees will learn about the candidates’ views on public education and why want to serve as trustees. agenda will include a discussion of officer elections, volunteer recruitment, equip- ment, and field maintenance. Online registration for the association’s fall season will continue through May 31. Visit www.midlandparksoccer.com. The fee for the in-town clinic open to children in kindergarten and first grade is $65. The in-town program open to students in grades two through nine is $75. The cost to join the travel league is $90. The fee for students playing in both programs is $100. A $10 discount is available to those who register before April 15. Family fees are capped at $225. A late fee of $20 will be imposed on registrations received after May 31. For more information, contact Jen- nifer Triolo at (201) 444-6835 or midlandparksoccer@gmail.com. Recipe Luncheon set The Midland Park United Methodist Church at 269 Godwin Avenue will host its Recipe Luncheon on Thursday, April 24. The event will be held at noon in Fel- lowship Hall. The cost is $8, and includes salads, main courses, and desserts. The dishes for this luncheon are made by the church’s excellent cooks. For details, call (201) 445-3787. Boys go ‘Scouting for Food’ Cub Scout Pack 157 and Boy Scout Troop 157 will be collecting food dona- tions for Scouting for Food, the annual Ramapo Valley District drive. Scouts distributed bags for residents to fill with canned or dried packaged food, toiletries, paper supplies, baby food, etc. Filled bags should be left in a highly visible location on Saturday, April 12 between 9 a.m. and noon. Donated items will be delivered to Social Services of Ridgewood. For more information, contact Kevin at (201) 951- 7071 or Lorraine at (201)-445-5967. Soccer association to meet The Midland Park Soccer Association will meet on Monday, April 14. The 7:30 p.m. session will be held in the Commu- nity Room at the Midland Park Public Library, 250 Godwin Avenue in Midland Press releases for this column may be Park. Families of children who are partici- pating in the in-town and travel leagues of sent to editorial@villadom.com. Deadline the MPSA are encouraged to attend. The is Wednesday at noon.