Garage Can Only Fit Ridgewood DPW, Not Glen Rock, Study Finds

A study of a proposed municipal garage shared by Ridgewood and Glen Rock has determined that a garage is possible, but will not be able to house the public works vehicles of both towns.

The jointly funded feasibility study reviewed by representatives of both towns last Thursday determined that the Prospect Street site, which also contains Ridgewood’s water treatment facility, could only fit the village’s needs due to limited available space, according to officials present at the meeting.

“It let to the conclusion that there is ample space for any facility that Ridgewood could envision going forward,” Ridgewood Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said during a village council meeting Wednesday night. “It gets a little more complicated when you combine two communities.”

Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren told Patch on Thursday that officials there have dropped the idea of relocating operations to the property from the borough's current public works garage, located on Doremus Avenue.

“We had a joint meeting and went over the space and our needs… and I think it’s fair to say we jointly concluded that the space wouldn’t accommodate [Glen Rock’s] needs,” van Keuren said. “And I guess we more or less abandoned the idea of sharing that space.”

Ridgewood officials have said the village's maintenance garage on Chestnut Street has come into disrepair, and focused on the Glen Rock property after finding another location on Route 17 would not be possible. Van Keuren said Glen Rock's needs are not at the point where a new facility is necessary.

“It just seemed like an interesting and innovative joint solution to situations we both had to varying degrees,” he said. “I think they want to get out of their space more than we want to get out of our space.”

Pucciarelli said the study, which he noted came in at a cost of $4,000 – less than the $5,200 originally expected – included a “complex analysis” of the environmental issues on the wetlands property, located along the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook.

Savings had been cited as a benefit of sharing the new facility between the two municipalities. The village’s Financial Advisory Committee, said Pucciarelli, its council liaison, is exploring the project further, including outsourcing possibilities. 

“They don’t want to see us just simply reproduce what we have now,” he said.

Few residents have spoken publicly about the potential project, but whispers of opposition to new construction have been heard. When an environmental project was unveiled at the water treatment facility in November, signs critical of the proposal hung along the fences entering the site.

Van Keuren said he believed that, should Ridgewood pursue the project, it would be reviewed by the Glen Rock Planning Board.