HILLSDALE, N.J.—In ranging remarks at the recent Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce Mayors Breakfast, Mayor John Ruocco said the borough is waiting for expressions of interest from developers following the passage of the borough’s Patterson Street Redevelopment Plan.
He said the borough was thinking about rehabilitating its downtown area and said the council was in the “very preliminary stages” of exploring what that process should be.
He did not dwell on the council’s December 2020 defeat of his veto of the plan, by a vote of 5–1, and stressed a need for transparency.
Ruocco’s remarks touched on further investments for athletic fields; shared services; local infrastructure; Stonybrook Pool; the ideal return of in-person council meetings; the status of the state and county vaccination programs; and the need for volunteers on the fire and ambulance services.
According to Ruocco, residents would likelier embrace downtown rehabilitation than they would the redevelopment plan. He said the next topic for residents would be a community center, noting a study was completed in 2020 on potential sites and costs.
He said that study “was based on a pure plain box model” and the council indicated it wants recreational facilities included.
“So we’re going to be re-looking at that and it’s uncertain how that’s going to proceed in 2021. It would be a major project and one that would involve some considerable expense as we go forward and that will be a council decision,” Ruocco said.
He said next would be further investments for athletic fields, including Memorial Field, which received a grant and another is due soon. He said Centennial Field needs drainage upgrades, which were put out for bid, and a “larger issue there” to be decided will be wether the council wishes to install artificial turf versus natural grass.
He said costs might range $2 million to $4 million for new turf, and decisions are yet to be made. He said either one or both projects may involve bonding to finance. “So we have to think carefully how we want to move forward with that.”
He said shared services are another ongoing concern. He said Hillsdale is engaged with “another town” in potentially merging court operations and emergency dispatch operations. He said the council is likely to approve a state grant application soon to “study opportunities for further shared service arrangements.”
He said PSEG was installing new, taller utility poles in town and would soon hook up Dumont and Paramus to the Hillsdale substation, which would help harden local infrastructure and make Hillsdale less susceptible to power outages.
He noted new PSEG gas pipes are being installed in town, and are now 70% completed. In addition, he noted Suez will start removing lead goosenecks, or connecting pipes, that connect its water lines to homeowner lines, sometime in later 2021.
He said most rec programs had been cancelled over Covid-19.
Ruocco noted the borough cancelled the Stonybrook Pool season in 2020 due to covid. He said for 2021 “it really depends on how the vaccination program goes and what our estimates are for attracting a membership. So it’s uncertain but we’re hopeful.”
The mayor said 99.2% of property taxes have been collected recently despite Covid, although revenues were down $400,000 due to less fees and permits.
He said the OEM staff was able to secure reimbursement for all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) costs.
He said he hopes in-person council meetings are allowed soon in 2021, which “are a little more robust, more realistic, and he suggested the borough find a way to involve the Zoom platform so residents can participate more fully rather than only watching on cable television.
He said it was likely to be months before any local vaccination site might open due to a lack of vaccine supply. He said the issue of fire and ambulance readiness has to do with available volunteers, which have increased due to less people commuting to New York.
However, he said “very few people” over 25 have volunteered for either fire or ambulance service duty due to the training required.
“There are differences among the towns for ambulance response patterns. I think regionalization is probably the answer to that but that would depend upon the individual ambulance corps groups. The model may have to be revisited by them,” he said.
He said fire departments face similar volunteer issues and suggested that the local fire department think regionally in terms of acquiring big ticket items.
For related coverage, see “At annual ‘breakfast,’ mayors speak to a brighter year ahead,” Feb. 1; additional stories this issue.