Emotional Township Meeting Brings Debate on Field Renovations, Solar Panels To A Head

By the time Mayor Kevin Rooney's gavel struck for the final time at Tuesday night's Township Committee meeting, the nearly four hour affair threatened to break into Wednesday morning.

Emotions ran high among the standing room crowd on hand to hear presentations from both PSE&G on the solar panel implementation and the Parks and Recreation Foundation on proposed renovations to Memorial and Pulis Fields. The raucous, at times contentious, meeting prompted Rooney to issue an early warning that the session would be cut short if all parties weren't on their best behavior.

The net result of the evening? After three official presentations The Parks and Recreation Foundation received unanimous approval from the township committee to begin fundraising efforts toward an expected $3.5 million renovation of Memorial and Pulis Fields. 

On hand to voice their continued displeasure of the proposal were dozens of residents from the Spring Meadows Condominium Association. Members of the retirement community have made clear their concerns about increased traffic, light and noise they fear will come with renovated fields. 

The concerns prompted emotional outburts from some. Spring Meadows resident Diane Haase chided members of the media and the township committee.  “Spring Meadow is a jewel. We pay high taxes. We pay for our roads. The town doesn’t. We pay for the plowing. We pay for our sidewalks. We pay for the streetlights. And you’re going to screw with us with this enhancement? That’s insane. The prices of our homes have gone down already. People have high blood pressure. You're going to kill us. "

Others, like Kathleen Smith, President of the Spring Meadow Condominium Association, simply expressed continued frustration over concerns they were being shut out of the process. 

"We love our community. We love the kids who play on the fields. Most of us had children in sports and now grandchildren in sports. But I'm very disappointed so little consideration has been given to us,” Smith said. “I have no objection to making the fields better. I have objection to the lighting and the additional traffic. I'm astonished consideration hasn't been given to the value of our property. For many of us this is our final home. It’s a terrible way to look at it but we've all retired to Spring Meadows. You're disturbing our tranquility if you approve this plan and also the sanctity of our homes."

After hearing from a lighting expert who discussed the impact of additional illumination on the renovated field, several other Spring Meadows residents and a  handful of residents who supported the plan, the board issued their final statements. Excerpts are below:

Thomas Madigan: "There are a lot of questions about where we're going to go and what's going to happen. But clearly the goal of the foundation, after their third visit,  they want to raise funds for the recreation of the town. We know that we're strapped so I recommend we allow them to initiate fundraising.”

Brian Scanlan: "When you look at the town budget and the property taxes that each of us is already paying there simply isn't money for the town to undertake this kind of project. So I'm grateful the foundation is interested in doing that."

Rudy Boonstra: "I see no problem endorsing raising funds, with the understanding that the full development of (the field closest to Spring Meadow) just may not be in the cards depending on how negotiations go."

Chris DePhillips: "We need to improve our fields and increase safety on the fields. Anyone that coaches on Pulis or has children playing on that field knows there are serious safety considerations. I saw kids just a few weeks ago at the opening of the soccer season injured flying through debris. It's not acceptable to me as a parent. Anyone that goes to other towns knows that Wyckoff is far behind when it comes to state of the art recreation facilities. To me as a Wyckoff resident it's embarrassing to see the condition of our fields. This group isn't asking us to spend taxpayer money on this project. They’re doing private fundraising and that benefits all of us."

Mayor Rooney: "This is the beginning of the process. There's a lot of concern from the folks at Spring Meadow and there's been conversation from the Y and how they want to work with you. The people at Spring Meadow should know we're not going to let any type of proposal go forward unless it's vetted in a public setting whether that means it goes before a land use board or comes back before this committee. We'll have a true understanding of any impact whether it's lighting or traffic in the neighborhood. They will be kept in the loop."

With the township committee’s official blessing the Parks and Recreation Foundation will hold their kickoff fundraiser at The Brickhouse on April 28.

Earlier in the evening the township heard an hour-long presentation from PSE&G's Al Matos, VP of Renewables & Energy Solutions. In explaining the Solar 4 All initiative, which mandates approximately 3 percent of all electric generation in New Jersey come from solar sources by 2020, Matos reiterated the utility had the legal authority to place solar panels throughout Wyckoff with no direction from township officials.

According to his presentation more than 87,000 solar units have been installed to date in over 150 New Jersey towns. He anticipates  Wyckoff will ultimately receive 50-100 solar panel dishes by the end of 2012, fewer than neighboring communities, because  many of the town’s PSE&G utility poles are in shaded areas. Matos also addressed concerns that the panels could impact property values.

"There is no evidence that these panels have any effect on residential property values," Matos said.

Yet later, prompted by a question from DePhillips, Matos conceded he wasn't actually aware if any studies had been conducted looking at the potential property value impact. He also fielded questions as to what if any added benefit residents who have solar panels placed on or near their property would receive. Matos said anyone that has these panels in the neighborhood would essentially benefit by having solar power going into their homes, “offsetting some of the fossil based generation that we usually have.”

“We have 800,000 utility poles across the state. We need to find 180,000 to meet our objective of 40 mw so every pole that meets our criteria we have to use,” Matos said. He added as a general rule the panels aren’t placed near trees because they need clear exposure to southern skies and they would not be placed in any registered historic districts.

By the end of the evening Matos conceded to consider a request from the town to place the panels on town-owned poles in non-residential areas, that the panels would not be placed in front of historically registered homes, and said no trees would be trimmed during the implementation process.