To the editor: The attendance at the West Milford council workshop meeting of August 22 was sadly representative of most council meetings. The audience consisted of the usual handful of regulars, myself included, and some members of the press. For the most part, the substance of the meeting was fairly characteristic of a typical meeting as well. However, unlike most meetings, there were a few notably cooperative efforts made by the members of the council that night. The council discussed a draft of a new ordinance concerning the hiring practices for attorneys to be utilized by the township. The once heavily-debated attorney ethics ordinance will be seemingly embraced by all members of the council when a final version is presented in the near future. The council also agreed to fast-track the drafting of a new well-testing ordinance. This ordinance will help ensure that there is sufficient ground water to support any new development and will help prevent any negative impact to existing wells in the area. The final actions taken by the council after meeting in executive session further demonstrated the positive outcomes that are possible when partisanship is disregarded. The council unanimously agreed to make its very first purchase utilizing a combination of County Open Space Funds, West Milford Open Space Funds, and New Jersey State Green Acres Funds. If all goes as planned, these properties include Apple Acres and a 63-acre property adjacent to Valley Ridge on Union Valley Road. I’d like to thank the council members for these collaborative efforts and Fred Semrau for his work on the attorney ethics ordinance. Furthermore, the residents of West Milford should be commended for their referendum vote two years ago to once again preserve our Open Space funds. This important voter decision speaks volumes about what is truly precious to our residents and has made the current purchases of these critical properties possible. If you honor me with your votes, as your mayor, I pledge to do my utmost to see that this type of progress continues. Bettina Bieri West Milford