Politics & Government

Ridgewood BOE Outlines Concerns with Potential Valley Construction

School board requested that conditions be imposed to protect children during construction should the hospital's expansion be approved.

The Ridgewood Board of Education on Tuesday night presented the village’s planning board with a series of requests designed to mitigate the impact of construction on nearby students if the Valley Hospital expansion is approved.

Sheila Brogan, the president of the school board who testified on its behalf Tuesday, asked that the planning board attach conditions on the project, if approved, to deal with air quality, noise pollution, pedestrian safety and other security concerns.

According to Brogan, the requests mirror those made in 2009, during planning board consideration of another slightly larger expansion proposal from Valley. The planning board approved the proposal in 2010, but the council rejected it the following year.

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Stop94, an opposition group not formally participating in the process, which focuses on what it contends will be harmful effects of the renovation on neighboring schools, penned an open letter to the school board a week ago urging district officials to oppose the project.

The group alleged that Valley contributions to the district, including a $500,000 donation to the board of education in 2012 to be spread over five years, represent a conflict of interest.

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“Right or wrong, there is the perception that Valley has bought the silence of the BOE,” the group wrote.

Unlike the municipality, the school board is not subject to Ridgewood's “gift ordinance,” last revised in 2010, which provides for scrutiny of donations made by applicants before the municipality. Though the ordinance no longer bars such donations altogether, the council declined a donation from Valley shortly before hearings on the expansion proposal began.

But, Brogan noted, the school board is not responsible for considering planning matters, and she dismissed the accusations of Stop94 Tuesday night.

“At no time did Valley Hospital or any other entity buy the silence of the board,” she said. “Our concern for our students, the staff, and the education offered is not for sale.”

“The planning board has the expertise to evaluate the impact of Valley’s request to amend the master plan,” Brogan added. “Our expectations are that the planning board will keep the safety of our students and staff in the forefront and that you will value the importance of our work in providing the appropriate environment for our students to receive a high quality education.”

Among the requests that the board made were that a system be put in place during construction to monitor air quality at the site, and that the hospital erect buffers to prevent the noise of construction from impacting the learning environment at the adjacent middle school. Demolition of existing structures, Brogan requested, should be completed during the summer.

The board of education also requested that construction trucks be barred from traveling the perimeter of BF when students are present, and from coming and going during school pick up and drop off times.

Brogan also presented the planning board with requests that additional crossing and security guards, with background checks, be present at Valley’s expense during construction, and that guards be posted 24 hours a day at the site to prevent children from accessing it.

Brogan noted that almost every school in the district has undergone construction at some point, often during the school year with students present – though none of the projects matched the scope or duration of the hospital’s proposal, several residents pointed out.

“I think if managed properly there will be less of an impact,” Brogan said.

Brogan asked that, should the master plan amendment be approved by the planning board and council, the board of education’s concerns be incorporated into the developer’s agreement.

“We reserve the right to further outline our concerns and to be a part of discussions should the process proceed to site plan review and the writing of a developer’s agreement,” she said.

But for Stop94, the board of education’s statement did not go far enough. Following the meeting, the group released another letter blasting the board for its "neutrality" on the issue.

"The BOE members are the overseers of our children's education, and the stewards of the BF property, and despite the moral, legal, and fiduciary responsibilities that come with those roles, can't stand up and say what is so plainly obvious; that the Valley amendment poses clear and substantial risk, with zero benefit, to the school children of Ridgewood," the letter stated.

The planning board will continue hearings next month with testimony from other municipal agencies and village-hired consultants.


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