Sports Teams Honored; Open Space Tax Resolution Adopted at Township Meeting

Local sports teams were recognized, an appointment to the Library Board of Trustees and a resolution to create an ordinance placing the Open Space Tax on the November ballot headlined Tuesday night's Township Committee meeting.

• The 2010-11 Ramapo Boys Fencing Team and the 2010 Indian Hills High School Boys Varsity Cross Country Team were honored with proclamation's from the township committee. The fencing team is the 2011 Bergen-Passaic Division II Champion for the 8th consecutive year after dominating the league with a perfect 10-0 record. All three of Ramapo's sabre starters, Charles Copti, Gaspar Lesznik and Josh Chang were selected All-League 1st Team, as were epee starters Sam Judd and Scott Zellers, while epee starter Kevin Kim and foil starter Tyler Clarke were selected to All-League 2nd. Copti also won the New Jersey State Individual Sabre Championship on his way to All State 1st team.
  
  The Indian Hills Boys Varsity Cross Country Team was honored as the 2010 New Jersey North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Champion which they won by virtue of a dominating performance on November 6 at Garrett Mountain, where their average time of 16 minutes, 56 seconds was better than the second place finisher by over 30 seconds. The team, which includes Hee Tae An, David Dorsey, Adam Frank, Evan Prizzi, John Prizzi, Scott Savage, Peter Tuohy and Nicholas Ward, won four major invitationals including the season opener, the Great Adventure, the Shore, and the Brett Taylor Invitationals during the fall.
  
  
• The Township Committee unanimously adopted a resolution to create Ordinance 1540 which will place a question on the November 8th General Election Ballot for residents to vote on whether to establish an Open Space tax. The current Open Space Tax is set to expire on December 31. Since 2006 Wyckoff has raised $1,028,000 according to Township Administrator Robert Shannon by charging residents a half cent per $1,000 of assessed property value which amounts to roughly $39 a year. The funds are to be used for the purchase of properties like Russel Farms, for which Shannon said the township received a $1.9 million grant last year. The township, Shannon added, is also in negotiations to purchase Maple Lakes from Cantebury Development Corp.
  
  During the work session the question was raised as to the disposition of the funds that have already been raised if residents vote against extending the tax. Mayor Kevin Rooney said Township Attorney Robert Landel was investigating the issue.
• The Township Committee appointed Margaret Chagares to the Library Board of Trustees.