Ridgewood Mayor Highlights Initiatives In 'State Of Village'; Turf Fields Still Debated

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Ridgewood Mayor Paul Vagianos touched upon many initiatives in a "State of the Village" address last week.

"Ridgewood is, without question, the greatest town in America," he said Thursday, "and this council is the greatest council I could ever hope to serve with."

In the address, he mentioned accomplishments and initiatives including:

• Paving 32 miles of roads, some in conjunction with the county.
• Trying out new initiatives to help businesses in the Central Business District, and re-evaluating for the future.
• Opening the pool last year amid a lifeguard shortage, and hiring enough guards to expect to be fully staffed in summer 2024.
• Hiring new officials including Cienzo Lyons as police chief.

Some residents said too much was left unsaid about the future of a historic property. Debate has raged for several years about the possibility of turf fields being installed at the historic Schedler property on West Saddle River Road. MORE: Turf War Over Ridgewood Historic Site

Vagianos said Thursday, "The Council approved a plan for the property at Schedler Park, which was acquired way back in 2008. As was the intent of the Council that purchased the property at that time, the plan includes a much needed full sized playing field and a passive recreation area.

He added, "Approval of this plan was not an easy task. Some residents in the neighborhood were not in favor of a full sized field, while others thought the property had revolutionary war significance. Out of respect for the potential of such historical significance, this council conducted a full scale archaeological study of the property. That study concluded, unequivocally, that there was no Revolutionary War significance at Schedler. The need for playing fields in our community is undeniable.

"Unfortunately, every one of our 4 major fields—Maple Park, Veterans Field, Stevens Field and Stadium Field at the High School—are all in a flood plain. As the last few months have shown, flooding is getting worse and more frequent. The proposed field at Schedler Park, which is not in a flood plain, is essential to the recreation of the thousands of children and adult residents in our town who utilize our fields every day...I am proud to say that this Council is now moving it forward and we hope to break ground this year. Building this field in this location is truly a once in a generation opportunity that we cannot afford to miss."

Residents responded to the issue of the fields.

One wrote, "There is a notable omission in this post: your plan to install artificial TURF on the historic Schedler property listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. This raises significant concerns about transparency, especially considering the proximity to families on private water wells and the homes along the Saddle River (feet from Schedler), which are already grappling with flooding issues."

Vagianos said, of public meetings, "Whether it’s because our residents are working late, have small children at home or are physically unable to attend our meetings, the input we receive through hybrid access makes our Council a better Council and our Village a better Village. Hybrid access is emblematic of this Council’s focus on resident involvement."

Read the full address below or on Facebook.

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