Utility Site Maintenance Concern Lingers

Ridgewood Water will have to continue maintenance work at several of its installations around the township before the zoning Board of Adjustment votes on seven applications to install communications antennas at utility sites.

Hearings that initially began in the fall continued last week, with Ridgewood Water's attorney and engineer testifying before the board on the placement and sizes of antennas that will allow the utility to better monitor communications off-site. 

Agreement was largely reached on the placement of antennas after members had objected previously to some of Ridgewood Water's plans, concerned about the potential impact on residents. However, the winter's harsh weather and the fallout from last weekend's storm has prevented the utility from doing some of the work that zoning board members require as a condition of application approval.

Ridgewood Water, which serves Wyckoff, Ridgewood, Glen Rock and Midland Park, seeks antennas at the following locations: the Lawlins interconnection, 573 Franklin Ave.; the Ames wellfield, at the northeast corner of Hartung Drive and Covington Place; the Cedar Hill wellfield, between 416 and 466 Cedar Hill Ave.; the Lafayette well, between 437 and 451 Lafayette Ave.; the Franklin well, at 265 Voorhis Ave.; the Newtown well, at 276 Newtown Road; and the Vance reservoir, at the northeast corner of Vance Avenue and Evergreen Drive.

However, all of those sites have lingering maintenance issues, identified during a walking tour in the fall. 

Ridgewood Water engineer William Mowell testified that much work has been done since zoning board members criticized the utility's efforts at upkeep during a February meeting.

"There's about a handful of items that are non-weather related that aren't done," he said. "It will be done as soon as practically possible," he said, in reference to the coming mild weather.

An issue before the board has been the existence of barbed wire at several of the installations, with expert witness Joe Medici, the owner of Medici Appraisal Services and a member of the Franklin Lakes Planning Board, testifying that it has a negative impact on nearby homeowners' property values.

Mowell told the board last week that all barbed wire has been removed, with the exception of a stretch along a wellhouse at the Ames location. The wire will likely remain there, as board member Carl Fry, a firefighter, said it's necessary as a deterrent to those who could potentially access the site and come in contact with a nearby transformer.

Medici, who had been retained in the fall due to dissatisfaction with prior maintenance efforts, said work completed at the Vance site has gone a long way toward resolving lingering concerns. The zoning board had identified needed painting, the removal of barbed wire, shoddy fencing, barbed wire and sediment deposits in a catch basin among the items needing attention.

"They have taken steps to improve the site, and it looks considerably much better," Medici said.

The board had identified issues with fencing, shrubbery, broken windows, old paint debris and more at many of the sites and expects to only focus on maintenance when hearings continue in May. Mowell, who represented the utility with attorney Matt Rogers, is unable to attend the board's April hearing, which pushed the proceedings into May.

Before addressing maintenance, Mowell led board members through a recap of plans for each site, which included some changes in antenna locations in response to prior concerns.