August 19th, 2025 Council Meeting Blog

Written By Ringwood GOP

On August 19th we had the meeting of the Ringwood Borough Council. We began the meeting with a proclamation presentation awarded to Wendy Sandford, Director of the Ringwood Public Library, celebrating her retirement. 

  • Mary Ellen D’Elia has been promoted and will be the new Director of the Ringwood Public Library. She discussed how the library works in partnership with the Borough of Ringwood, and welcomed all to the library. 

Manager Scott Heck gave his monthly Manager’s Report:

  • The Ringwood Board of Education is requesting a shared service agreement with the Borough to provide the Ringwood School District with a Class III Special Law Enforcement Officer for school security during regular school hours, and mutually agreed upon events.  

  • Planning for camera upgrades, utilized for Borough Hall meetings, is currently in progress.

  • High Friction treatment has been applied on the s-turns on Skyline Drive to help prevent skidding.

  • Pedestrian crossing on Skyline Drive, along with a 6 foot wide crosswalk,was approved by the county and  funded with a grant . 

    • There will be a speed radar sign placed at the bottom of Fieldstone Drive, notifying drivers to be aware of the crosswalk and pedestrians..

  • The Borough will purchase a  250kw generator for $39,500 from Ridgewood, which they no longer need. This will be utilized at  the Skyline Lakes Pump Station. 

  • Skyline Lake Drive: We plan to install the war memorial and landscaping at the site of the former triangle on Skyline Lake Drive this Fall. 

    • In addition, the Borough Engineer is reviewing pedestrian safety alternatives in that area.

  • West Brook Road: The Borough has been complaining to Verizon about the low-hanging wires for quite some time.

    • Verizon was unresponsive, so the Borough had to involve the Board of Public Utilities. 

    • Verizon has now assigned an engineer for a solution to address the issue and it has been determined that the wires are old copper lines that Verizon will remove over the next coming weeks.  

  • Mr. Heck asked the auditor for a description for the segregation of duties.  Mr. Gibbons, an auditor from Nissovaccia, explained  that there aren’t any errors in the audit, but segregation of duties are applied to minimize risk and to have checks and balances, and further explained that  this practice is common in about 90% of municipalities with similar Borough sizes.

  • Bussing: 

    • Mayor Landis and Councilman Rubacky worked tirelessly with Mr. Heck to try and fix the Lakeland bussing issue on the LC1 bus route.

    • The Borough and Council first became aware of the discontinuation of courtesy  bussing by the Lakeland administration on Friday, August 8, 2025 and the Borough has been in constant contact with the administration as well as the BOE ever since. At no time did the Borough decide to discontinue courtesy bussing.    

    • As a remedy, Lakeland BOE will pay for the first bus bill of $42,000. The Borough of Ringwood will take on the remainder of the costs for the school year. 

    • We thank the Lakeland BOE president, Rob Adams, for working with us through this compromise and accomplishing this great outcome for impacted residents and students.

New Business:

Ordinance No. 2025-#09:

  • Copies of birth, marriage, civil union, and death certificates are now $25 for the first copy and $10 for additional copies.

Board of Health Ordinance No. 2025-#01: 

  • License fees for food establishments have changed.

Board of Health Ordinance No. 2025-#02:

  • These are annual fees for licensed septic pumpers and installer’s.  This is not a fee for residents.

Board of Health Ordinance No. 2025-#03:

This is a new chapter of the Board of Health ordinance to now include electronic smoking devices under our tobacco license. 

Resolutions:

2025-153- Ringwood is joining Revolution NJ in the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

End of Meeting Comments:

  • We want to thank Kristen Holton, Mr. Heck, as well as the DPW for working hard on scheduling, setting up, and cleaning up our concert series and we look forward to our next two concerts at the grassy area by Fieldstone.

  • At our June meeting, Michelle Kerr did mention the idea of adding a speed radar sign on Skyline Drive. We’re so happy to hear that there will be  a speed radar sign with flashing lights installed on Skyline Drive at the bottom of Fieldstone before drivers approach the  new pedestrian crosswalk.

  • Save the Dates: 

Warm Regards, 

Ringwood GOP
Next

July 15th, 2025 Council Meeting Blog