The Week Ahead: Council, School Board Meet Under the Bloom of Spring

The village government bodies will be hashing out budget discussions this week while also tackling field issues and neighborhood issues.

Varsity sports games are kicking off and a number of fantastic concerts, theater productions and famous author book signings open the spring season. Take a look at what's going on this week.

Monday:

The Ridgewood Board of Education and the Ridgewood Village Council will be meeting at the Education Center to hold a , which will represent a tax increase of roughly $191 for the average Ridgewood home owner. If the budget fails to pass a vote, the council can designate how much should be cut.

• The school board will continue its Monday meeting and after storms led to a cleanup cost of over $20,000 for school-owned fields; as well as an update on the referendum. The engineering firm on most of the board's referendum projects, Disko, is under "Other Business" on the agenda posted. What that is in reference to at this point is unclear.
• The village council will also be meeting to discuss its ongoing budget talks with department heads as it nears presenting its budget to the public. The council will hear from the building department, parking utility, health department, finance department and tax assessor's office, among others. The meeting is in the board room on the third floor of Village Hall at 5:00 p.m.
• The Genealogical Society of Bergen County will be meeting in the at 7:00 p.m. to discuss The Ghost of Duffy's Cut, led by Dr. Frank Watson.
• The girls varsity, junior varsity and freshman softball teams will be playing Fair Lawn High School in Cutter territory at 4:15 p.m.
• The Venn Center will be holding a number of different discussions on Monday, . Check out the events page to see which ones may help you.

Tuesday:

The to put a 145-foot cell tower at Ho-Ho-Kus bordering Barnett Place, currently zoned for residential housing. Neighbors are furious over the proposal and plan to object to T-Mobil's application. The board meets at 7:30 p.m. in Village Hall.

• Girls varsity lacrosse will travel to play West Essex High School at 4:30 p.m. The junior varsity team will play West Essex at 5:45 p.m.
• Walt "Clyde" Frazier, the New York Knick great, will be at the Wyckoff YMCA for a Bookends-sponsored book signing at 7:00 p.m. Frazier was supposed to be by earlier in the winter but bad weather forced a postponement.
• There's from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday:

The village council will hold a special monthly public meeting at 8:00 p.m. at Village Hall. The public meeting portion will discuss the just-received COAH draft ordinance while the work session will feature discussions on sidewalk cafes, fast food, liquor license transfers, the parking saga and more. The work session begins at 7:30 p.m.

• Two big names will be in the village on Wednesday, though one is usually around. , a village resident, will be having his book signing for his new young adult novel at 6:00 p.m. at Bookends. , better known as a Real Housewife of New York, will be arriving at Bookends at 7:30 p.m.
• The boys baseball team will take on Westwood at 4:15 p.m. at home. The boys lacrosse team will scrimmage Bridgewater-Raritan at 4:00 p.m., which should be a good test for the Maroons as they get ready to take home a divisional title.
• The American Red Cross Northern NJ chapter in Ridgewood from 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Thursday:

Somerville will be holding its Children's Theater Show of an original production with a twist on The Wizard of Oz. “WWW DOT” is an original production written here in the village. The show opens on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Somerville and tickets cost $10.

• of The Trouble with Chickens at 4:00 p.m. Cronin will be discussing her humor book in this partnership with Bookends. Cronin will be signing books at the event, which will be available for purchase at Bookends.
• Rocco Dispirito, celebrity chef and television personality will be at at 7:00 p.m. to sign his new book The Now Eat This Diet.
  
• The girls varsity softball team will be playing a scrimmage against Pascack Valley High School for an away game at 4 p.m.
• The YMCA will be having a at its Oak Street facility at 7:30 p.m.
• The library is also and the pros and cons of franchising at 7:00 p.m.

The Weekend:

The Ridgewood Concert Band will be holding an 'old and new' concert with guest artist Caroline Stinson, a cellist. The show will be held at West Side Presbyterian Church on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

• There will be an 8th grade mixer at the Anne Zusy Youth Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. There will be a DJ, games and light refreshments.
• will have performers Uptown Band on Friday night and New Power Soul on Saturday night.
• The Unitarian Society will be at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The film showcases some of the immigration and customs raids on illegal workers in an Iowa slaughterhouse in 2008 and the toll it took on the small town.