I was pleased to see that former Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell has agreed to assist resident Roger DeGroat in his battle to get Ringwood to remediate the major sinkhole in his back yard. After all, the borough received $238,000 in state funding to do the job back in August 2006. DeGroat has been patiently waiting ever since.

Mayor Walter Davison blames the prior council for the failure, accusing them of "redirecting the money." This doesn’t square with the facts.

In November 2007, the former council pledged to add $204,000 from an employment development grant to the $177,000 remaining from the original grant. This resolution was never acted upon when the new council, with Davison as mayor, took office in January of this year.

Surprisingly, the $177,000 is now "gone," as the grant was closed in April 2008 under Davison’s watch. The $204,000 employment development grant has been redirected again, without any public hearing or even a resolution. No work was done on the sinkhole between November 2007 and April 2008.

Where was that money spent? I would say the borough has some explaining to do.

Robin O’Hearn
Ringwood, NJ

Long-festering sore in Ringwood

It’s tragic that the residents of Upper Ringwood need legal representation in their dealings with their local government ("High-profile attorney joins fight against toxic waste," Nov. 12 ). But as Bradley Campbell — former Department of Environmental Protection commissioner and now attorney representing Roger DeGroat — states, DeGroat’s three-year struggle with the borough to fix the hazardous sinkhole in his yard is yet more evidence of the "pattern of neglect the entire community has suffered" for years.

Mayor Walter Davison, who previously sat on the Borough Council some 22 years, including several terms as mayor, blames "the prior administration" for redirecting the Small Cities Grant that was awarded to Ringwood in August 2006 to fix DeGroat’s sinkhole.

Davison’s statement is false. From the time the grant was awarded to Ringwood until November 2007, DeGroat’s sinkhole went unremediated. This failure was an ever-present issue at council meetings. DeGroat attended numerous meeting to plead his case. Promises were made but never kept. As a council member at the time, I was frustrated by this foot-dragging.

What we did not know was that there was a lack of will by the borough administration to fix the sinkhole and that it stonewalled the process by not complying with Department of Community Affairs regulations.

Wenke Taule

Ringwood, Nov. 13

The writer, a Democrat, is a former Ringwood mayor.

Ringwood Republican Cronyism Strikes Again
Four years ago, the Ringwood Republicans were voted out of office because people had enough of their running the town for the benefit of their friends and family while ignoring the rest of the residents. Developers ran rampant, clear-cutting acres of beautiful sections of town; projects were left unfinished, becoming expensive problems for the Borough; and hiring was done on a “who do we know” basis rather than looking for the best person for the job. Case in point, Ringwood had an Emergency Services head living in Texas while collecting a salary. Unfortunately, many people forgot that past at the last election and now they’re back. In their first 100 days they’ve already begun reminding residents of the bad judgment and secretive nature of past Republican administrations and are, once again, running Ringwood like their own “Mom and Pop” candy store. At the beginning of the year, Mayor Davison vowed that keeping property taxes down would be a priority for his administration but instead, he and his cronies on the council immediately began creating jobs, or increasing salaries, for friends of the “new” administration.

The first thing they did was hire the attorney for the Republican Club as Borough Attorney at a 35% increase over the former Borough Attorney, a top-notch lawyer whose firm was one of the top firms in New Jersey in government, land use and environmental law. They rescinded the Pay-to-Play ordinance, perhaps preparing for hirings to come? They gave pay increases of nearly 4% to the top two police commanders totaling more than $8,000 and lifted a hiring freeze that will allow for more higher-paid officers. Claiming to be saving money by not re-hiring the Borough Manager, a man with years of experience and education in public administration, they instead created a brand new position of Deputy Borough Administrator at a salary of $60,000, that’s right, $60,000. Having two people in the top spots doubles the amount of health benefit costs, and increases other benefits paid out as well. Is there a borough car in his future, too? The worst part is that they gave this custom-made job to former Republican Municipal Leader Scott Heck. Heck’s prior work experience was stated, in the official announcement, as “operating a locally based lawn-care service.” $60,000 for a person without any experience running any government agency, let alone the management of a town this size? There already is a Superintendent of Public Works making close to $100,000. Do we really another person to supervise public works or do we just need better management? If we need better management, maybe they should actually have hired a serious, experienced, manager instead of hiring a Deputy Manager without any. And they created this job without any public discussion, and filled it without any interview process. It’s a disgraceful use of taxpayer money and they should be ashamed of themselves.

How many other borough employees make $60,000 a year? How many other people did they interview? Is it possible there was no-one else in New Jersey with better qualifications to help manage Ringwood than a novice who ran (and apparently still runs) a small, local business? Mayor Davison stated that probably nobody “at this table” (referring to the sitting council) has more knowledge of this community than Scott Heck does. Is that how they hire for a high level management job…the most Ringwood-savvy person in a group of 9 Republicans gets the job? How many courses in budgeting, environmental and land use issues, community development, staff and municipal management, or grant writing has he taken? Apparently, to their way of thinking, just living in a community and “knowing” it is all the qualification one needs to be a Borough Manager, Deputy or otherwise. Using their logic, Councilwoman Schaefer, who has been a school secretary for years and “knows” Ringwood, could be a teacher, principal or even the Superintendent. At the end of the April 17 council meeting, all the council people gave their overwhelming endorsement of Mr. Heck, patting themselves on the back for being so “brave” to hire him. Deputy Mayor Anderson, Councilwoman Schaefer and Councilman Marsala, all veterans of the last council, said how much better everything is running now than it had the past few years. Well, for the last two years, after an alliance with Mayor Atlas, Anderson, Marsala and Schaefer were with the majority in charge. They can’t be the ones to drill a hole in the dam and then praise themselves for sticking an expensive finger in the hole to fix the problem.

Serious problems call for careful, deliberate thought and discussion. Creating a new, high level management position is a decision that should be made by the entire council, in a public forum. Ringwood is not Mayberry and they shouldn’t run it that way.

To the Editor:

In December 1982, the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site was added to the National Superfund list. The reason it was placed on the national priority list was the the toxic waste dumped in Upper Ringwood by Ford from 1964-1974 threatened the safety of the residents living at the site and the Wanaque watershed. The Wanaque Reservoir is less than a mile from millions of gallons of toxic sludge, which was dumped in mines, shafts and throughout the surrounding area. Two streams originating near the mines feed into the Wanaque Reservoir, a source of water for over 2 million people, including Ringwood residents.

Instead of supporting the Upper Ringwood Community and demanding that the site be vigilantly monitored and cleaned up, in an article in the West Milford Argus on May 1,1983, then Deputy Mayor Walter Davison lamented, " We are not going to succeed (in marketing our industrial land) as long as we are on the Superfund list. We have a stigma attached to us." He continued to explain that he had encountered federal Environmental Protection Agency people at the dumps while showing a "very interested" industrial client around. The client's interest evaporated, Davison said. The article then states that Davsion desperately suggested a lawsuit against the federal government to try to remove Ringwood from the list. Councilman Ernest Schwesinger disagreed, saying he wanted the DEP-EPA to determine what the problem is, if there is one.
In other words, the health of his constituents and the water supply of over 2 million people were less important to Deputy Mayor Davison than building in the "so called" industrial area.
Fast forward 24 years, the industrial area brings in less than 3% of Ringwood's rateables, the superfund site has been re-listed (the first re-listing in the history of the superfund program) and the residents that were ignored are suing the borough. Now, Mr. Davison wants to be elected again as a borough councilman to "get Ringwood back on track." This is a very frightening thought.

The Mines/Landflll site was de-listed in 1994 with absolutely no opposition from the Ringwood Borough Council, whose members included Walter Davison and Ted Taukus. The initial clean up removed 6000 tons of sludge, recently over 12,000 tons have been removed and it is still not clean! As Congressman Scott Garret stated in his Garret Gazette, "It really doesn't take much more analysis than visual inspection to recognize that the initial clean-up had been incomplete...a thorough walk-through of the site would have led to a more complete effort in 1994. It is simply inexcusable that the citizens of Upper Ringwood have had to deal with years of living in a unclean and inhospitable environment." By taking a simple walk with their constituents Mr. Davison and Mr. Taukus would have seen that the site was still loaded with visible toxic sludge.

Ringwood must face this issue once and for all as a united community, we must protect our neighbors, protect our water supply and demand that Ford take full responsibility for the damage they have done to Ringwood.

Wenke Taule

Councilwoman, Ringwood

The Record- November 26, 2006

"Delay sought in health plan cutoff" (Page L-1, Nov. 13), on the move to curtail borough health-care benefits to Ringwood Borough Council members, requires some history.

It states that former Mayor Jerry Holt severely criticized the current council for not cutting benefits in 2006. Holt was on the council for more than 12 years and never saw fit to question what he called the council's "dirty little secret."

It seems as if council benefits were established years ago with a wink and a nod and not with the appropriate council vote. I have asked twice for information that would shed light on when the benefits were instituted. So far, no records can be found.

In August, I called for the council to discontinue health benefits. On Oct. 10, I moved a resolution to establish an ordinance to discontinue health benefits. The Republicans voted no.

On Oct. 24, I moved the same resolution adding that the ordinance establish Jan. 1, 2007, as the cutoff date to save taxpayers the maximum $100,000. It passed, 6-1. Deputy Mayor William Marsala voted no.

On Nov. 9, Councilwoman Donna Anderson, pleading personal insurance problems, joined Marsala in asking for an extension of health benefits. They said their new insurance will take time to kick in.

I would gladly have voted yes to push back the cutoff date to February if affected council members offered to reimburse the borough. After all, it is not the taxpayers' problem if Anderson and Marsala cannot put their health benefits in place in a timely manner. They have had months to do so.

as the 2007 budget process begins, Ringwood taxpayers should watch what their elected officials do, not what they say.

Wenke Taule

Ringwood, Nov. 16

To the Editor:

Re: Ringwood's 2006 Budget and Extraordinary Aid Application

When a community applies for extraordinary aid, the budget process stops! To receive aid the budget increase must register in the double digits. Once Mayor Atlas made the self serving decision to go for extraordinary aid, the budget process came to a screeching halt, since any serious cuts would have jeopardized the aid application. Because Ringwood received aid with an artificially inflated budget we will be in a difficult budget position in 2007, starting off with having to make $500,000 in spending cuts for the missing aid. Additionally, when Ringwood really needs extraordinary aid the State might not be so accommodating considering the unnecessary application this year.

In retrospect it does appear that the Republicans supported Ringwood's application for extraordinary aid from the beginning and worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Contrary to their assertions, the Republicans never participated in any of the 7 budget hearings and Deputy Mayor Marsala's grand standing claim of $800,000 in cuts were simply bogus. The heart of those cuts were simply to bond away what are normally "pay as you go" items. His numbers never added up. Former Councilman Scott Heck played the same game last year proposing cuts that he never voted on. Last year also, the Republicans blasted a 2.9% tax increase under the still intact Democratic majority but they show no embarrassment over the 5% tax increase they have stuck us with this year. The true state of events is best revealed by the fact that the council unanimously passed a resolution on March 21, 2006 directing the manager to come up with $800,000 worth of cuts which was ignored by the manager who obviously understood the intentions of the new majority.

We predict that next year, being an election year the budget process will be déjà vu all over again.

As in 2006, the new majority will be putting on a show of keeping the budget flat, but once again they will inflate the budget to obtain extraordinary aid. The Republicans are bent on protecting their turf and they will obstruct any and all attempts at streamlining the borough bureaucracy.

The Republicans will continue to tout their slogan Ringwood 1ST, meaning Republican council members and cronies first. The three Democrats will continue to put Ringwood tax payers first and are committed to a tight, honest and fiscally responsible budget for 2007. We will have to make hard choices, but that's why you elected us!

Ringwood Council members

Tom Mac Allen
William O'Hearn
Wenke Taule

Suburban Trends
To the Editor,

The convoluted posturing made in the editorial by Ringwood's three Republican councilmembers in the 10/8/06 Trends rendered it almost unreadable. Their attempt to distance themselves from the bizarre budget process this year is laughable. It is most definitely a fact that those three had made a pact with Mayor Atlas from "Day 1". How else do they explain that Republican Marsala became Deputy mayor? For Marsala, the most senior councilmember, to complain now after sitting quietly thru the budget hearings claiming $800,000 worth of cuts he had in his pocket, which he never wrote down and presented to the remainder of the Council is pure grandstanding. On the day of the budget adoption vote, when asked about this he put his head down, began mumbling about a "10% cut across the board", still nothing in writing. Earlier Councilwoman Anderson said that she did not feel qualified to comment on the budget (why become a member of the council?).

The point is not that Ringwood is less deserving than a Chatham or a Newark, but that the grant was to be the SECOND step, not the crutch in place of an initial scrutiny of the budget. Were it the case that the Republican $800,000 in cuts was real, this would have eliminated the need to even ask for a state grant. Those three and Mayor Atlas formed the majority that ran the show. So what happened?

As for obtaining monies, our current "mayor plus three Republican councilmembers majority," by placing restrictions on the County engineering staff, has managed to take Ringwood from a situation where without reservation, the entire Freeholder board was solidly behind the County paying $500,000 for a roundabout at Skyline and Erskine roads to a situation where the County says, "do it yourself". We still have the dangerous intersection and no money.

The sad but true fact is that neither Atlas nor Marsala as mayor and deputy mayor exhibit leadership. One needs only to watch the Ringwood Council meetings going from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., frequently with little sense to large portions of time.

The "Ringwood First" slogan of the Republicans has me wondering:

Marsala as a Councilman and attorney sat for a year in closed council meetings failing to disclose that his sister was suing our Boro - was this a lack of "family values" or a lack of awareness on his part? Next Marsala wants to put astro-terf on ball fields, then backtracks. Councilwoman Anderson said that she did not feel qualified to comment on the budget (why become a member of the Council?).

The Republican also have taken control of the local Ringwood School Board, first wishing to spend $54 million on a new school, then simultaneously allowing the Board Secretary to quit with 60 days pay, overlappingly paying the replacement $500 per day, then saying none of this can be explained since it is "a personnel matter" wasting $30,000 paid by taxpayers.

If this is "Ringwood First", God help us.

Ted Williamson
Ringwood

Letter to the Editor- The Record

Ten members of the Assembly have recently introduced a bill that would repeal the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. While acknowledging that the legislation has no chance of passage, they have defended the proposal by saying that they are "sending a message."

Fortunately, there is no need to read the 59-page bill in order to understand the message; in fact, the public and the Highlands Council are better off ignoring it.

For starters, the Highlands Act will not be repealed. After many public hearings, the Senate voted 34-2 and the Assembly voted 69-10 to pass it on June 10, 2004.

The bill is called the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act for a reason: More than 5 million New Jersey citizens, including the 750,000 who live in the Highlands, drink water from the Highlands. And, according to the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, the act's restrictions on development will save $5 billion in water treatment costs over the next 50 years.

So why are these legislators seeking to overturn the Highlands Act? This "repeal" bill appears to be designed to intimidate Highlands Council members into preparing a Regional Master Plan that maximizes development.

Fortunately, the council will not be so easily distracted or intimidated by a vocal minority. Our response to the council is this: Stay focused on your task of preparing the best possible Regional Master Plan, and plan to be in business for at least the next 25 years.
That's a message we all can hear, every time we listen to a glass fill up with cold, clear tap water.

William P. O'Hearn
Ringwood, March 15

The writer is New Jersey regional plan director for the New Jersey State Committee of the Highlands Coalition.

'Priorities'

Suburban Trends
February 22, 2006
Dear Editor:

Someone please explain to me the wisdom of spending valuable Council time with the following agenda items put forth by Mayor Atlas and the Council Republicans at the recent Ringwood Borough Council Meetings...

- Proposing extensive rework on the previously passed Water User's Tax Resolution to be lobbied for in Trenton. This resolution was already passed unanimously in the Fall of 2005 which included the support by current Mayor Atlas and Deputy Mayor Marsala. Let's move on...

- Creating an issue where one never existed over the Borough sponsored Highlands Fair. Much contention was created when Atlas and the Council Republicans refused to provide the same budgetary support as was given the last 2 years (and less by the way than the previously Borough sponsored 'Ringwood Days' 16 years ago). Given the current focus of promoting eco-tourism and outdoor recreation in Ringwood, the Ringwood Highlands Fair is a perfect example of appropriate investment in our community and, amounts to less than $3 cost per household. This event is a nominal and valuable investment in our community. Let's move on...

- Instituting a pre-meeting Council meeting initially proposed as being a non-televised 'practice' meeting to help shorten the length of regular Council Meetings. Not televising this public meeting was in direct conflict with the Democratic platform of open government that Mayor Atlas ran on and was elected on. After a public outcry, she agreed to televise them. The first Council Meeting with the new pre-meeting format ran a whopping 7.5 hours long to 2:30am! Maybe window-dressing agenda items like those mentioned above and the proposed new 'codes of conduct' are not the best uses of valuable Council time. (None of these items have been resolved yet by the way.) Let's move on...

Being fiscally responsible does not mean being penny-wise and dollar-foolish, and searching for those pennies in the parking lot of the Ringwood Highlands Fair is a perfect example. Rather, Mayor Atlas and the Council Republicans should focus their efforts on resolving other more significant issues and cost saving benefits for Ringwood such as the roundabout traffic solution for Skyline Drive. Per Mayor Atlas'
own research, there are at least 7 traffic engineers and experts that recommend the roundabout as the most effective and SAFEST solution to our Skyline Drive traffic problem. Passaic County is willing to pay for the feasibility study AND installation, which means NO additional cost to Ringwood taxpayers. Councilpersons O'Hearn, MacAllen, and Taule have been poised and willing to move forward on this solution for months. It's time for Mayor Atlas and the Council Republicans to stop the hand-wringing, make the informed decision, and move on.

Here's a web site for more info on roundabouts for anyone interested...
http://www.roundabouts.net/roundabouts.html

John Klemek
Ringwood, NJ

In 2002 there was a special borough election to fill Walter Davison’s council seat. Tony Torchia was running unopposed, which I found disturbing, because I felt it was only right that Ringwood residents had a choice. Through a write-in effort my name was placed on the ballot. One evening as I was handing out literature at the Stop & Shop, a woman asked me how many women there were on the Ringwood Council, and I said “None!” She was astounded. She stopped another woman and loudly asked, “Do you know that there are no women on the Ringwood Council?” Well, I hope she's watching this reorganization meeting. I think I started something. The Ringwood Borough Council is now a majority of women. We've come a long way in a short time!! I want to thank all the residents of Ringwood for giving me the opportunity to be Ringwood's first woman mayor

When I became mayor in 2003, I would tell everyone I went from mother to mayor in a split second. Raising three teenage daughters was and is at times hair raising, but presiding over the council meetings for the last two years at times set my hair on fire!

In spite of all the political wrangling, this council can be congratulated on its accomplishments. We passed a fiscally responsible budget even as our garbage, pension and health care costs increased dramatically We improved our recreation fields and facilities, bonded for two new fire trucks, continued our aggressive road paving program, and will build a new borough garage which will incorporate solar energy. We requested and received over one million dollars in grants. Thanks to Councilman Mac Allen's persistence, now have 25 MPH speed limits around our lakes.

In response to Sam Close and Ray Dwyer's neighborhood action committee, we resolved the second MTBE spill on Skyline Drive and together lobbied NJDEP to obtain a $4 million reimbursement for a new water line for the affected residents. We passed ordinances to protect our environment and water supply. We wholeheartedly supported residents in their quest to get Ford Motor Co. to clean up toxic sludge at the former Superfund site in Upper Ringwood. And I want to thank Wayne Mann, Viivan Miiligan and Jay Van Dunk for the tremendous work they do. We completed the Upper Ringwood playground with a basketball court on the way, acquired Martini field as open space, and Deputy Mayor O'Hearn has encouraged a development of a five year plan for Ringwood Recreation. We provided residents with more information than ever through our borough newsletter and webpage, Channel 77, and special open public meetings on important issues. We enjoyed the fun-filled Ringwood Highlands Fair and earth day hike, and we are well on our way to solving the Skyline Lakes dam problem with the help of Jim Martucci and the SLPOA board- Thank you Jim!
Hopefully, in the new year a decision will finally be made on the the Skyline Drive traffic debacle. I tried extremely hard to move this forward, but met with considerable partisan resistance.

I want to thank Ken Hetrick for his help and his knowledge of municipal government. His professionalism is unparalleled. I want to thank all the employees at borough hall, for the great job they do, the police department for their excellent work in keeping Ringwood safe, all the emergency services for their selfless dedication to our town and all the volunteers on our boards and commissions who give so unselfishly of their time for our community. And a special thank you to my husband Peter Sando and my three daughters; Britt, Breeze, and Bliss for their support and love.

I want to thank Joe Maraziti, our borough attorney, for his hard work and expertise over the last two years. Joe has been a real asset to the borough and we are fortunate to have him representing us. And a special “shout out” to the Cable TV Committee for staying tuned in at those long council meetings where public input was accepted as never before

My tenure as mayor will be linked to the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act that became law in 2004, which I strongly supported; and also my support of the Upper Ringwood residents in their quest to finally get Ford to clean up the toxic sludge in their backyards. If you think about these two major developments, they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but connected. Ringwood as host to the second largest reservoir in New Jersey, where Ford dumped toxic chemicals. virtually on its banks. I think the Highlands Act will be a force that will compel the DEP and hopefully the EPA to direct ford to finally clean up this superfund site so that we can put this behind us once and for all. The Ford issue looms large in Ringwood and we are very fortunate to be represented by Joe Mariziti's law firm, experts in environmental law.

My work as mayor is finished, but I will continue my duties as Councilwoman with the same diligence as always. Ringwood, as part of the Highland Council's pilot planning program is in the process of designating redevelopment areas, which will enable Ringwood to look for an area that would be right for a senior/teen recreation center, connect our shopping centers with the library, and plan to incorporate our natural beauty and history in a tourism plan. I learned over the holidays that Skylands Manor will become a bed and breakfast, which will be a great addition to our tourism plan.

As a community working together we can overcome the challenges that face us and make Ringwood even better than it is today.

The next order of business will be the nomination for mayor for 2006. During the council meetings it always made me a little more secure to see Bill O'hearn sitting to my left. During his time as Deputy Mayor, he worked very hard behind the scenes, working with recreation to solve outstanding problems, attending Lakeland and Ringwood Board of Education meetings as the council liaison, as a member of the Ringwood Education Foundation, the Skyline Dam Committee, as a basketball and soccer coach and as our “in house” open space expert. Many times Bill was voice of reason at our council meetings. His clarity of vision helped us focus, when situations seemed confusing. His integrity and his ability to listen and find solutions to problems is an asset that will serve him well as mayor.

That brings me to the next topic, the selection of mayor and deputy mayor. I’ve thought long and hard about this. I know that there has been a lot of talk around town about this, speculating on political deals and back room negotiating, but there's only one way to make this decision, by looking at the qualities and qualifications of the candidates and voting your conscience. For this reason, I intend to nominate Bill O'Hearn for mayor and Joanne Atlas for deputy mayor.

Comments following Record's "Toxic Legacy" series

I followed the "Toxic Legacy" series (Oct. 2-6) very closely. I hope that the publicity given this environmental travesty might be the spark needed to finally, after 30 years, compel Ford Motor Co. to find its conscience and clean up the toxic waste they left in people's back yards and virtually on the banks of the Wanaque Reservoir.

This Superfund site may be the only one in the nation on which families actually lived. I congratulate The Record for taking on this issue.

It is true that without the help of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., the Ramapough people's legal firm and Catalano and Plache, Edison Wetlands and the state Department of Environmental Protection, this prematurely delisted Superfund site would never have gotten the attention it deserves.

But the real heroes of this story are the Ramapough Mountain Indians. They have lived this nightmare for more than 30 years and have decided after years of intimidation to unite behind their eloquent leader, Wayne Mann, to say, "Enough!"

Because of Wayne and community leaders like Vivian Milligan and Jay Van Dunk, the residents of Upper Ringwood have found their voice, and they will not be stilled until justice is done.

Wenke Taule

Ringwood, Oct. 11

The writer is mayor of Ringwood.