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COMMON GROUND - 5/21/2008
(by Anita Yarossi - OpEd Columnist - May 21, 2008)
Common ground?
If you had a chance to watch the last Ringwood borough council meeting, it was full of contrasts.
The Borough Hall was packed to overflowing to witness the swearing in of our new Police Lieutenant Joe Walker, who after much contention finally got his due. After that, the hall emptied out. Other than the regulars, the public consisted mainly of some folks from Upper Ringwood and some people there for the usual reversals in the appeals of their tree removal decisions. Pretty soon, these appeals will only be heard by the acting borough manager’s office.
During the public portion Jeanine Mann – who was displaced when her family’s home was condemned because of the instability of the ground on which it is sitting – spoke to the fact that the money to cover her rental is running out in July and she and her family have nowhere to go. She cannot return to her home on which she pays taxes to the borough. The HPP Agency refuses to continue to pay and the Borough Council gave no indication that they had any positive solution for her and her family, despite their meeting with members of the Governor’s office staff.
Paul Van Dunk got up and spoke about his property on Van Dunk Lane that has methane gas bubbling up in his yard from the garbage that was dumped there by the borough before and during the period that his home was built in the 1970s in conjunction with the Federal How-To Program. This problem was also present in the 1980s. The property on which he lives was sold to the How-To Corporation by the borough, with the full knowledge that it was part of a municipal dump. The council had nothing to offer him on this issue. He asked why his and several other properties were not included in the geophysical testing that had recently taken place. The council did not clarify if his home is scheduled to be tested, even though the testing of his and four other homes are part of the DEP directive.
Mr. Roger DeGroat once again politely spoke to the fact that the sinkhole in his yard on Sheehan Drive still has not been remediated after being cited as a safety issue for nearly three years. Apparently the money for that has dried up as well and the Council has not succeeded in finding the funding to fix this problem.
Vivian Milligan got up and spoke about the fact that the interpretation of the geophysical testing report on the roads and areas around the homes in Upper Ringwood has not been shared with the residents. As taxpayers, we have all paid for this report. This testing was mandated by the NJDEP to the borough for the safety of the residents. Mr. Clemack, the borough attorney, offered the explanation that the report is being held up by the DEP. However, earlier at a CAG meeting on Upper Ringwood, the group was told that the attorneys had advised the council not to allow the mine engineer to explain the testing results to these same affected residents. Every day there continues to be risks all around these properties and the residents have a right to know what will happen to their properties in the future.
The council was once again self congratulatory on the money it is saving the taxpayers of Ringwood by funneling all of the legal costs attached to the lawsuit connected to Upper Ringwood directly to their insurance carriers; but on other hand they seem to be less concerned with their success in dealing with the continued issues and problems that every day beset the lives and welfare of the Upper Ringwood residents. There has been little direct communication with the residents on the part of the borough since they hired the new attorneys. I implored the council to override the red tape on some of these issues and be more forceful with the state and its agencies in resolving them. I think it is time that they hear from more than the few people who come to the council meetings to speak on the Upper Ringwood residents’ behalf. This is supposed to be a community that pulls together for each other. Where are your collective voices on these urgent issues?
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