Bloomingdale Residents Oppose Recycling Spot

A handful of residents came out to Tuesday’s borough council meeting to protest the consideration of a recycling facility being built by the senior center.

The senior center was one of two locations – the other being the property –discussed at the meeting as possible locations for such a facility, although Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy explained that the idea is still in the research and discussion phase.

Resident Lorraine Wienbrock said that she was saddened to hear about the location possibility of the senior center after the Master Gardener Association of Passaic County had worked to “turn a veritable wasteland into a miracle garden.” Additionally, she said the mayor had denied the location as a possibility last July during a council meeting, a statement he admitted to making back when the recycling center itself was not yet in serious consideration.

Dunleavy explained the recycling facility idea is now officially on the table and is completely revenue-driven, estimating it could garner $60,000 to $100,000 in additional money for the borough to offset the municipal budget.

“If we don’t start doing things like this, the senior center and all other ancillary things would be closed,” Dunleavy said. “[The governing body’s] job is to provide basic essential services. We’re getting to the point where that’s all we’ll be able to provide.” 

The residents who spoke on the issue said they liked the recycling idea and what it would represent in terms of revenue. The real problem, they said, was the location.

Wienbrock said she was worried about the negative aesthetic impact the recycling facility would have on by the Master Gardener Association of Passaic County and located by the senior center. However, Dunleavy said the goal would be to block the facility’s visibility using a solid fence and trees. The mayor also tried to ease the public’s mind regarding the safety of seniors by explaining that there would not be any access to the facility through the senior center parking lot.

Resident Sunny Brennan, also a Master Gardener, said she is worried about the amount of parking spaces that would be taken away to accommodate the recycling facility, saying there are times when the lot is full.

Herb Califano’s major concern was the traffic that will be coming through Bloomingdale.

“I applaud you for going out and trying to make money [for the borough],” Califano said. “To put it on this site without consideration for the traffic flows and the number of cars coming through here, that’s where we fall short.”

DPW Site As Option

Dunleavy said he and other council members toured the DPW facility to see if there is any room to place such a facility there. He said it is clear there is not sufficient room and that there would be a safety issue with constant traffic in and out of the property due to multiple department contracts.

“To add residential traffic for a recycling center, I don’t think that would be safest for the borough,” he said.

Councilwoman Linda Shortman echoed the opinions of various members of the public, saying she wants to be “terribly convinced” the facility will work next to the senior center before giving her vote. Shortman thanked DPW Superintendent Al Gallagher and Borough Administrator Ted Ehrenburg for their work on this project so far, but said that she is not done exploring the DPW yard and would like to see the property site plan.

Dunleavy said he will ask for action from the council at its June 26 meeting.