Town Board

October 30, 2018

CLOSED SESSION

Personnel: Town Comptroller, Human Resources, Environmental Consultant. Litigation

OPEN SESSION

1. Appointment

Irving Breitbart appointed to Senior Advisory Committee

The board voted to create a committee made up of the planning director, town engineer, Phyllis Bock representing the Conservation Board, Bill Kellner representing the Tree Conservation Advisory Commission and Linda Miller representing Advocates for a Better Yorktown to flush out the issues raised at the October 23 joint meeting.

At the request of Councilwoman Roker, Mr. Tegeder said that the committee’s meetings would be open to the public and the meeting times posted on the town’s web site. She also indicated that the board would like the committee to report back to the board by the end of the year.

3. Solar Law

The board decided that more information was needed on the draft solar law before any further action was taken.

4. Mohegan Highlands Property Owners Association

(See Town Board 7-17-2018.) In response to questions from representatives of the association about the cessation of garbage pick-up, the town attorney explained that because the park districts were not part of the refuse district, the town’s refuse vendor could no longer pick up garbage and recycling – even if that had been done in the past as a mistake. After adding that that he wasn’t sure if the park districts could even be added to the district, it was pointed out that contracting with a private vendor for three months might actually be cheaper than paying the yearly tax to be in the refuse district.

The representatives also asked for clarification as to whether the park district could bond the expense of rehabilitating its tennis courts. The town will research the issue.

5. High Meadow Condos water bill

(See Town Board 6-19-2018.) Based on current meter readings, Mr, Visconti again disputed the water bill that included a look back to the time the meter was not working properly. After a lengthy back and forth, the board agreed to wait for another billing period before resolving the issue and gave Mr. Visconti the option of paying a portion of the current bill now without any penalties for the unpaid portion. Based on the next billing, he will either pay what is owed, or get a credit if it is shown that the units actually used less water. The water superintendent advised the board that the inside meter readings were accurate and Mr. Visconti insisted that there were no leaks.

6. Hallocks Mill Sewer pump stations

The board approved Town Engineer Michael Quinn’s request to advertise an RFP to hire an engineering consultant to study and design the upgrade of four additional pump stations in the Hallocks Mill Sewer District. At the request of Councilwoman Roker, the RFP will be advertised to a broad list of consultants and not just the ones the engineer is familiar with. The decision to proceed with the actual construction of any of the upgrades will be made at a future date and will depend on the availability of funds. Taking steps to upgrade these aging pump stations will help the town in its future negotiations with the DEC regarding a larger SPEDES permit for the treatment plant.

7. Hallocks Mill Sewer O&M Revenue

The discussion of a proposed local law changing the town code regarding the collection of O&M revenue was postponed as some board members hadn’t seen the paperwork prepared by the town engineer.

8. Allan Avenue request for a stormwater/excavation permit

(See ZBA minutes dating back to early 2018 for background on this lot.) Because the permit application involves moving a total of 750 cubic feet of earth, the town code requires a town board public hearing. However, the town engineer was asking the board to allow him to handle the permit application for this difficult lot on an administrative level. Under current codes, the lot would not be considered buildable but the ZBA issued a variance earlier this year that paved the way for the 10,0000 sf lot to be developed. In response to questions from Councilwoman Roker, Mr. Quinn advised the board that the ZBA had not referred the application to him for review. Concerned about the extent of the earth moving, Ms. Roker asked the issue to be put on hold until she could gather more information.

9. Algonquin Pipeline Extension of Agreement

In an item not on the agenda, because Algonquin will not complete the project within the time limit set by the original agreement with the town, the board voted to extend the agreement that allows the company to work on town property through January, 2019 in exchange for $1 million. If the work is not finished by then, the company will pay the town $350,000/month for every month through Octber 31, 2019 when the agreement will expire.

10. Roma Building

The applicant advised the board that a formal application for a rezoning to a transitional zone has been submitted, followed by a review of the same site plan that had been discussed at the board’s previous meeting and a presentation by traffic consultant Phil Grealy about the process for the eventual DOT widening of Routes 202/ 118/35. He explained that once the site plan includes the dedication of the land for the future construction of a third turning lane and the appoicant has an approved site plan, the applicant should be able to proceed with construction while the paperwork involved in the state’s acquisition works its way through the bureaucratic process.

The board indicated that at its next meeting it will approve a resolution declaring its intent to become lead agency for SEQRA and refer the application to the Planning Board. Once the Planning Board has completed its review of the site plan, the applicant will return to the Town Board which is the approval agency for the rezoning and the ite plan.

11. Selected resolutions

ACCC: approved a series of lease agreements with various tenants.

Hallocks Mill Sewer District Extension Project: Adopted a SEQRA negative declaration, a procedural step needed before applying for the EOC sewer funds being held by the county.