October 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Franklin Lakes Borough to limit non-residents at VFW parking lot by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Council has decided to reduce the number of park- ing permits it will issue to non-residents to avoid potential overcrowding at the Veterans of Foreign Wars parking lot at Pulis and Franklin avenues. The council is concerned that more non-residents might apply for tags to park at the VFW lot due to the proposed increase in Wyckoff’s parking fees. According to published reports, Wyckoff has proposed a $250 fee for its residents who use the Park and Ride facil- ity at the Wyckoff Community Park, which is located at Wyckoff and Russell avenues, and a $500 fee for non-residents. The pro- posal calls for a summer work program fee of $25 a month, or $75 for the season. Park and Ride permits are currently $65 for residents and $200 for non-resi- dents. Township officials say the proposed increase is meant to offset the cost of maintaining the parking lot property. At the last work session, the Franklin Lakes Council reviewed Borough Clerk Sally Bleeker’s study of the current fee structure at the VFW lot. According to her report, the cost to purchase a VFW park- ing lot tag is $35 for residents and $160 for non-residents. The number of nonresident tags issued is limited to 35. Vehicles must have a tag to park in the lot between the hours of 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. The borough provides the Franklin Avenue Middle School with unlimited tags at no cost. Members of the Franklin Lakes Senior Citizens organization also get unlimited tags at no cost, while the VFW was given 20 tags years ago and never asked for more. In addition, the Office of Emergency Management has four tags. Bleeker reported that 24 tags were sold to nonresidents in 2014, while 214 tags were renewed and 107 new tags were sold. “A parking tag does not guarantee a space,” Bleeker pointed out, “but we never had someone complain that they could not get a space.” The parking lot is open to anyone, including school visitors, after 2 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends, and the park- ing tags must be hung from the rear view mirror of the vehicle and must be clearly visible. After a brief discussion, the coun- cil agreed to reduce the maximum number of tags that would be sold to non-residents to 25 in order to prevent an increase in the number of non-resident tags that are issued. Since 2008, parking at the VFW lot has been the subject of several ordinances that restricted commuter time parking to residents only and then allowed non-resi- dents to park in this lot during commuting hours. At the end of 2008, the borough council adopted an ordinance restricting the use of the VFW parking lot to residents with the understanding that the use of the lot would be reviewed in six months. That review was conducted in 2009 and showed that the lot had 110 parking spaces, but only about half of the lot was being used, leav- ing room to open up the lot to non-resi- dents. In November 2009, the council adopted an ordinance that allowed non-residents to park in the VFW lot. A certain number of parking tags, as determined by the council, were to be issued at no fee to the Franklin Lakes Board of Education based on the daily parking needs of employees at the Franklin Avenue Middle School, VFW Post 5702 members and others attending events in the VFW building on the site, and members of the Franklin Lakes Senior Citizens organization for use only while attending meetings or events. This ordinance restricted the number of residents who could obtain a parking tag for the VFW lot. Parking tags may be obtained by all Franklin Lakes residents by submitting an application and providing satisfactory proof of residency and paying an annual fee of $35. Non-residents must also submit an application and pay the parking fee of $160 if a parking tag is available. Applica- tions are available in the borough clerk’s office and the parking tags expire as of Jan. 1 each year.