Town Board

December 18, 2018

Note: The public hearing on the cell tower on the Quinlan Street water tank scheduled for December 18 was canceled. No new date has been set.

1. Enbridge (Pipeline)

Supervisor Gilbert announced that construction will continue thru February and possibly longer. He has asked the company to provide an update at the January 15 board meeting.

2. Lowe’s

Supervisor Gilbert explained that the developer is paying the cost for local police to provide traffic control.  He added that he expects the traffic issue and the timing of the existing traffic lights to get better in about a week as the developer and Verizon have come to an agreement about the relocation of the latter’s existing  utility poles.

3. Granite Knolls Sports Complex

During courtesy of the floor, a representative  of  the Yorktown Athletic Club (YAC) advised the board that his group needed confirmation on the fees for field use next spring before it begins its spring registration which was slated to begin January 1st.  In response, Todd Orlowski,  Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, advised the board that the Recreation Commission had been reviewing the new fee structure  and he anticipated a decision at its January meeting.  He said the proposed fees would be about $5 or $10 more per hour than what was currently being charged for Legacy and that the increase was needed in order to meet the Commission’s goals.  When he suggested that a special meeting could be held before January 1 so that the YAC would know the exact fee schedule, Councilman Lachterman, supported by Councilman Diana, suggested that the fees for town clubs for 2019  be the same as the current Legacy fees and that the Commission had time to work out a different fee structure for non-town group use.  Councilwoman Roker expressed concern that by charging the lower Legacy fee, the town would not be able to meet its goals.

On Councilman Lachterman’s motion, the board voted unanimously to have town clubs pay the same fees in 2019 as they paid in 2018.

There was a brief discussion about whether sports teams from the town’s two school districts would have to pay to use the fields. Mr. Orlowski advised the board that the Yorktown School District has shown some interest. In the past, the town has not charged the school district for use of Legacy, although the Yorktown School District does charge the athletic cubs for use of school fields while the Lakeland School District does not. The general sense was that the free use of the fields should be reciprocal and that a dialogue between the town and school districts was needed.

Later in the meeting, the board adopted  two resolutions: one  to pay DeVito Builders $34,500 to install the pavilion and  a change order in the amount of $51,902 to provide some additional protective fencing and install a safety net system. The later amount will be offset by a credit for an unused line item.

4. Town Board room issues

During courtesy of the floor, Ed Ciffone asked the board to return the telephone extension that had previously been in the room so that residents could call the board while it was in session. Councilwoman Roker supported the idea.  Mr. Ciffone also asked the board to change the policy adopted by the previous board that limited the ability of community groups to use the room for its meetings.

5. Recreational marijuana

At courtesy of the floor, a resident urged the board to oppose the governor’s announced plan to legalize recreational marijuana.  The board appeared to be unanimous in opposition to the idea. If the change becomes law, Councilman Lachterman suggested that the town might want to adopt a local law banning the sale of marijuana within the town. The town attorney advised that the town couldn’t restrict the use of marijuana but could restrict where it was sold.

6. Solar Law

Paul Moskowitz urged the board to proceed cautiously before adopting a proposed solar law. Citing the many benefits of trees in addition to capturing carbon dioxide, he said it would be counterproductive to cut down a forest to make way for a solar farm. Instead, he suggested that locations like parking lots and golf courses were more suitable locations for solar installations.

7. Senior services

Supervisor Gilbert advised the board that the town wasn’t eligible for subsidies for adult day care facilities because the subsidies are income based and Yorktown was considered a “rich” community. He added that Yorktown gets 6% of the county’s allocation of federal funds for senior services.

8. Celestial Route 6 Rezoning/public hearing

The applicant reviewed the details. A Shrub Oak resident expressed concern about the increase in traffic. Dan Straus wanted to know if the applicant’s traffic study took into consideration proposed new developments in the area. Mr. Tegeder explained the earlier traffic improvements the applicant had made to the intersection of Route 6/Mohegan Ave/Lakeland Street as well as the long range plan for a Route 6 bypass which  would need the cooperation of Cortlandt as well as money from the state that isn’t currently available. Asked when he thought the bypass might became a reality, he said, when the situation gets “too unbearable.” The applicant said that its traffic study has included new developments in the area but did not include proposed developments that are still under review.

The hearing was closed and the board reserved decision.

9. Fluoridation

In an item not on the agenda, and as a follow up to a discussion during the budget hearing, the board passed a resolution to set up a capital projects line in the Water District Fund and transfer $209,000 from the district’s fund balance to pay for the consultant hired to design the system. Supervisor Gilbert said that he was glad to be able to move forward with the project using a state grant and without jeopardizing any other town funds.  He added that after some additional discussions, he now understood that adding fluoride to the water was important for seniors and not just young children.  Town Engineer Quinn advised the board that actual construction would “be a few months down the road.”   

10. Selected resolutions

Vehicles. Awarded a bid to purchase three new low mileage SUVs at a cost of $20,900 each.

SEQRA: Declared itself lead agency for the Roma Building and Hill property rezoning applications.

Library: Awarded a bid totaling $114,000 for the renovation of bathrooms.