WOODCLIFF LAKE—Mayor Carlos Rendo told residents Jan. 25 that he hoped officials “could find other avenues to fund the (Tri-Boro) ambulance corps that don’t involve taxpayer dollars” during his first Facebook Live question and answer session.
The January social media broadcast, part of Rendo’s 2023 transparency initiative, is a mayoral effort to keep residents in the loop on vital town matters, he said.
Rendo, whose term expires this year, and the lone Republican on an all-Democrat council, has not yet announced whether he will be a candidate for mayor.
Rendo said all three towns — Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge and Montvale — currently contribute $20,000 each for Tri-Boro Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ yearly budget.
The corps, struggling to recruit and retain volunteer members, requested another $100,000 from each town last fall to begin a new volunteer stipend program, offering volunteers who contribute 60 hours monthly a stipend of $750.
Recently all three towns passed a resolution to appropriate $5,000 each to fund a consultant’s study of Tri-Boro VAC by EMS Consulting Services to assess options to help the volunteer squad to recruit and retain members, plus sustain itself as a volunteer organization in the future.
A consultant’s report is due back by mid or late March, according to EMS.
Rendo told Facebook Live viewers that initially officials from the three towns found the $100,000 request “quite high” even though they all agreed that something needed to be done. He said the corps was in a “critical stage” now.
He said officials were not sure if they could accrue a small state pension via LOSAP (Length of Service Awards Program) if the volunteers received a local stipend and that would need to be checked.
“Maybe we could find other avenues to fund the ambulance corps that don’t involve taxpayer dollars,” Rendo said, noting the consultant study was “due diligence” on how best to fund and assist the corps.
Rendo said councilors Benjamin Pollack and Jennifer Margolis, along with administrator Tom Padilla, are meeting with other towns’ officials on the issue.
Rendo asked for more volunteers, suggesting that medical students might be interested in the corps. “It’s very important that we get those volunteers” and keep this vital service running.
During his 72-minute broadcast, Rendo touched on diverse topics from the Tri-Boro’s situation and affordable housing to the new reservoir walkway, Galaxy Gardens Park, and the Broadway Corridor. He read from emailed questions, but had no back-and-forth with viewers.
Rendo said the updated Fair Share Housing settlement — which agreed to 24 affordable units at a North Broadway site and for Bergen County United Way to build the housing — was recently approved by the state Superior Court.
The original 2017 agreement had called for 16 affordable units at the North Broadway site, but due to delays, Covid-19, and that developer dropping out, that did not happen.
However, Rendo noted the borough was able to solve litigation over 188 Broadway’s development by agreeing to build its eight affordable units on North Broadway, and limit the 188 site to 46 units (37 condominiums and nine townhomes).
He said had the borough not been able to craft a new Fair Share agreement, the Fair Share Housing Center had threatened to take it back to court and go back to an original demand for 386 units. He said the borough was able to dramatically reduce that number.
“Some residents are upset about development and Fair Share housing… but it’s a mandate from the state,” Rendo said. He said Park Ridge raised its residents’ taxes to fight Fair Share Housing “and guess what. They’re stuck with affordable housing.”
Following a yearslong lawsuit with a developer, Park Ridge agreed to a 448-unit apartment complex, including 68 affordable units, on a 30-acre former Sony site adjoining Montvale’s border. (See “Judge vets 448 rental units in Park Ridge; 68 affordable.” Michael Olohan, Jan. 18, 2021, Pascack Press.)
Rendo called the borough’s small number of affordable units “a victory for the municipality and a victory for you.” He said the new Master Plan, a blueprint for future development, was passed to help avoid builder’s remedy lawsuits.
He called on the state Legislature to tackle the “builder’s remedy” lawsuit option that allows builders to sue towns to build needed affordable housing. He said 2025 starts the next round of affordable housing obligations.
(Currently, only Montvale in Pascack Valley is part of a multi-town lawsuit against Gov. Philip Murphy to reinstate the Council on Affordable Housing, the former agency responsible for determining affordable housing obligations. It was declared “moribund” in 2015 by the state Supreme Court who appointed Superior Courts to determine future affordable mandates.)
He said while the borough is “fully built out,” officials need “to look at what can happen in the future” at possible sites such as BMW, the egg farm, and a parking lot near Jehovah’s Witness center.
He said the local affordable housing trust fund has about $425,000 to assist construction of required affordable housing, if needed.
He said the Hilton remains closed after a December water main break and anticipates after some renovations, that it will open soon.
He said he looks forward to breaking ground on a long-awaited passive park this fall. The borough purchased the site for $1.65 million in early 2018 and spent over $400,000 to remediate soil contamination from prior uses as a gas station and garden center.
Nearby, the Werimus Road–Woodcliff Avenue intersection requires close examination to determine whether a red light needs to be put there, especially once the new park is opened, said Rendo.
He told Pascack Press that a resident requested a functioning light there and administrator Tom Padilla has reached out to the county about a possible light.
He said he looked forward to the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir walkway, or nature trail, being opened to celebrate Earth Day, on April 22.
“You wouldn’t even know you’re in Woodcliff Lake, you’re in the middle of some forest with a lake,” said the mayor. He said he hoped the town would organize another SpringFest similar to years past, and maybe an Octoberfest.
He also noted “Broadway is going to be beautiful” as the streetscape along Broadway improves. As for rundown properties, Rendo said he was “taking a no tolerance stance on this…(we) need to keep our properties tight and pretty.”
He said the borough recently took down the barn by the train tracks as it “was dangerous and falling down.” He said the borough was determining what might best go there in the future.
Rendo said his next Coffee With The Mayor is set for Saturday, Feb. 11, from 9 to 10 a.m. at Whole Foods Market, Chestnut Ridge Road. Coffee and pastries are free to residents coming to chat with Rendo, courtesy of Whole Foods.
He said he plans to hold Facebook Live sessions a day or two after the regular council meetings.