Ridgewood, N.J., Eyes $6.98M, 20-Year Water Tank Deal With 1 Bidder

Bergen TV Exclusive: RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Ridgewood Water is moving toward a 20-year, $6,980,926 public-private contract with Utility Service Co., Inc. (USCI), doing business as USG Water Solutions, to maintain 10 water storage tanks across Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff after receiving only a single proposal—and after posting a lawyer’s track-changes redline on its website that showed a hazardous-materials testing sentence struck out of the public hearing notice.

In written responses to Bergen TV on Oct. 19, Ridgewood Water Director of Operations Richard Calbi Jr. confirmed that only one proposal was received on Sept. 10, 2026, stated that the final contract still requires USG Water Solutions to test tank coatings and materials for hazardous content, and explained why the sentence was deleted from the public notice.

What the posted Litera Compare redline showed

Ahead of the Village Council’s Oct. 14 public hearing under the New Jersey Water Supply Public-Private Contracting Act (N.J.S.A. 58:26-19 et seq.), Ridgewood Water uploaded a PDF to its website titled “Litera Compare Redline – Ridgewood Water Tank Maintenance Contract 14 Day Notice of Public Hearing” (`4918-8533-4740-v1`, generated Sept. 29, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.). Instead of a clean legal notice, the PDF displayed four red strikethrough deletions and two blue insertions:

• Hazardous-content testing sentence struck out: In the paragraph describing USG Water Solutions’ maintenance duties across the 10 storage tanks, the redline struck through the sentence: “The Service Provider will be responsible for testing the current materials in place on the tanks for hazardous content.”
• Two 20-year price totals: The redline struck through an aggregate figure of $7,031,273 and replaced it with $6,980,926 over the 20-year term, noting that the total includes a $50,000 annual allowance ($1,000,000 over 20 years) for tank mixers if directed by Ridgewood Water.
• Ratepayer cost added in blue: The redline inserted a final sentence stating: “The average cost to be paid for the Services by each water user in Ridgewood Water’s service area over the 20-year term of the Agreement is approximately $17 per year.”

How Ridgewood Water Director Rich Calbi Jr. explained the redline and single bid

Before publishing, Bergen TV sent five written questions to Calbi and Village Manager Keith Kazmark asking whether USG Water Solutions is still required to test tank coatings for hazardous materials such as lead paint, why the sentence was removed from the notice, why the Aug. 6 Notice of Intent and Aug. 7 Request for Proposals listed two different submission dates, how many firms bid, and what the $7,031,273 figure represented. Here is what Calbi told Bergen TV:

1. Does the final contract still require USG to test the tanks’ coatings and materials for hazardous content, such as lead paint?
   Calbi: “Yes.”
2. Why was that sentence removed from the public notice?
   Calbi: “The line was removed because RW undertook a major rehabilitation on all of the tanks starting ten years ago and removed any lead paint.”
3. How many proposals were received, and on what date? (The Aug. 6 Notice of Intent listed Sept. 14 at 4 p.m., while the Aug. 7 RFP listed Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.)
   Calbi: “One proposal was received on Sept. 10th.”
4. What did the struck $7,031,273 figure represent?
   Calbi: “An optional pricing proposal that evenly spread costs into two ten year, annual and equal installments.”
5. What is the deadline for written comments, and when is the next council action?
   Calbi: “The deadline for comments is October 21st.”

10 water storage tanks holding 14.37 million gallons across four Bergen towns

According to the Notice of Intent and RFP, the 20-year contract covers full-service asset management, engineering design, annual washouts and inspections, rehabilitation, repairs, and interior and exterior repainting across 10 ground storage tanks with a combined capacity of 14,370,000 gallons serving ratepayers in Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff:

• Tank 1: 525,000-gallon welded steel ground storage tank
• Tank 2A: 635,000-gallon riveted steel ground storage tank
• Tank 2B: 635,000-gallon riveted steel ground storage tank
• Tank 3: 1,080,000-gallon welded steel dual-stack ground storage tank
• Tank 4: 2,000,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank
• Tank 5: 2,000,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank
• Tank 6: 2,250,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank
• Tank 7: 2,000,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank
• Tank 8: 1,250,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank
• Tank 9: 2,000,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage tank

The notice states that USG Water Solutions will not pay any concession fee to Ridgewood Water. Over 20 years, the $6,980,926 aggregate cap averages $349,046.30 per year, or approximately $17 per year per water customer (~$340 over the 20-year life of the deal).

Homeowners in Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff can check their property tax assessment and local utility/tax carrying costs with the free GardenState.ai Property Tax Calculator and estimate current home values with the GardenState.ai Home Value tool.

Contract kept in hard copy only at Village Hall; Nov. 9 & Dec. 9 votes ahead

During the Oct. 14 Village Council public hearing (`YouTube` video at `0:17:55` and `0:32:42`), residents pointed out that while the 14-day hearing notice was posted online, the actual proposed 20-year contract with USG Water Solutions was not posted on the village website and could only be inspected in hard copy at the Village Clerk’s office at 131 North Maple Ave. between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Village Manager Keith Kazmark replied at the hearing (`0:36:01`) that state law only requires the hearing notice to be published online.

Under the timeline outlined by Calbi at the Oct. 14 hearing (`0:25:48–0:26:20`), after the Oct. 21 written-comment deadline, the Village Council is scheduled to introduce the authorizing ordinance and Local Finance Board (LFB) application resolution on Monday, Nov. 9, submit the application to the state on Nov. 18, and hold the final ordinance vote on Wednesday, Dec. 9, alongside reviews by the state Local Finance Board, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Public Utilities, and the Office of the State Comptroller.

Bergen TV asks: Should Ridgewood Water post the full 20-year, $6.98M USG Water Solutions contract online and rebid the project to attract more than one bidder before the Nov. 9 ordinance vote? Share your take in the comments.

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Sources

• Ridgewood Water Litera Compare Redline 14-Day Notice of Public Hearing (compared Sept. 29, 2026) and Clean Notice v2.
• Ridgewood Water Notice of Intent (published Aug. 6, 2026) and Request for Proposals (published Aug. 7, 2026).
• Village of Ridgewood Council Regular Public Meeting Agenda, Oct. 14, 2026 and Oct. 14, 2026 Village Council meeting video.
• Written responses from Ridgewood Water Director of Operations Richard Calbi Jr. (`rcalbi@ridgewoodnj.net`) to Bergen TV, Oct. 19, 2026.