August 13, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Midland Park Shared dispatch service agreement to come to an end Midland Park will not be getting dis- patch services from the Wyckoff Police Department as of Dec. 31. Wyckoff has been providing the service on a contract basis since December, 1998, when the three-way joint venture with Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch in Ridgewood was terminated. “I am disappointed. I thought we had a nice working relationship for the past 15 years, but I understand Midland Park is doing what it thinks is best for them; I wish them the best of luck,” said Wyckoff Mayor Douglas Christie. Midland Park Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan said anticipating the end of a third five-year contract with Wyckoff, Midland Park decided earlier this year to seek proposals for the service from other northwest Bergen towns. He said Mid- land Park emergency services personnel had been evaluating the various proposals and visited several towns willing to pro- vide the service, but Wyckoff indicated it needed a decision by July 31. “Our EMS people were not prepared to make a recommendation on which community to go with, so we had to let the deadline pass,” said O’Hagan. “Other towns didn’t have a deadline.” In correspondence sent to O’Hagan in mid-July, Christie said the mutually- agreed deadline for notification had orig- inally been set for June 30, and said that if “no written reply (either accepting our offer or declining)” was received by July 31, “Wyckoff will no longer provide dis- patch services through a shared service contract,” the letter said. “I respect your commitment to the res- idents of Midland Park to provide the best and lowest cost of dispatch services, but I too have a responsibility to the employ- ees of our town to make them aware of any changes in their future employ- ment,” Christie said. He said a full-time dispatcher had recently been hired as a patrolman, and his replacement would depend on the long term situation. “We need to know what to do with our own employees,” he said. Wyckoff Dispatch currently has six full-time dis- patchers and seven part timers. Christie said Wyckoff would now look at its operation and what is required to continue service to their own residents in house, or see if there would be savings elsewhere. “We will look at other potential options regarding our own dispatch, redesigning internally with manpower for ourselves, or perhaps outsourcing our dispatching,” said Police Chief Benjamin Fox. “With this change, and given our small size, it’d be foolish not to do so. We’re on a fact finding mission to see what works best for us.” Chief Fox said he was proud of the ser- vice his department had provided Midland Park. “Our dispatch did an exceptional job with an extremely minimal number of problems,” said Fox. “If you look at a shared fee for service, it’s for government to decide what they want to pay for that (continued on page 16) West Summit to get drainage improvements West Summit Avenue in Midland Park will get major improvements this year. The borough council started the process at its last meeting by authorizing Stantec Engineering, the borough engineering firm, to prepare the plans and specifica- tions for the project, as well as provide construction observation services. The project will include the installation of curbs and drainage work. The drainage pipes will connect directly with an exist- ing pipe into the Donna Lane drainage system, according to DPW Superinten- dent Rudy Gnehm. Gnehm said the work is necessary because excessive water constantly washes out the roadway and causes flood- ing. There are about 30 homes on the two- block dead-end street. “We’ve constructed asphalt berms through the years, but the work needed to finally be done long-term,” Gnehm said. The project is expected to cost about $200,000, Gnehm said, with the money coming from the town’s capital budget. He said Parker Place, Wostbrock Lane and Cyphers/Hill Street were improved in a similar manner over the past few years. Gnehm said he hopes the work can be completed before year’s end, depending on when the engineering work is final- ized and when the project can go out to bid.