Citizens for an Informed Yorktown

 

Town Board

March 15, 2016

 

Closed session

Interview for a volunteer advisory board

 

Before the regular meeting began

At about 7:15pm, before the scheduled 7:30 starting time, the board voted to go into open session and without any discussion, voted to schedule two public hearings:

1. Repeal the Affordable Housing Law. (See Town Board, 2-24-2016.)

2.  Create a sewer district for the proposed Orchard View Subdivision on Sherry Street

 

Regular meeting

1. Roma Building

Supervisor Grace announced that the attorney for the building owner will be meeting soon with the construction company that will be handling the project. Mr. McDermott added that he anticipates that the “hole” will be filled in 2-3 months.

 

2. Appointments

Town Engineer:  After voting to re-establish the position of town engineer, the board voted to appoint Michael Quinn, a White Plains resident to the position at a salary of $145,000 effective April 11. Mr. Quinn is currently employed in the county’s Department of Environmental Services.  (Note: For about  the past 15 years, engineering services were provided by an outside engineering firm on a contract basis.)

 

Conservation  Board: Peter Alduino was reappointed

 

3. Award bid for blacktop for road paving

After the board awarded the bid to Peckham Materials, the lone bidder, at a cost of $81/ton, Highway Superintendent Paganelli explained that the price represented a 5% increase over previous prices. The price is tied to a DOT asphalt index and will change as fuel and labor costs change.

 

4. Tax Certiorari settlements

The board approved settlements that reduced the assessed value for one or more years and authorized refund payments for the following properties:

  • Taconic Office Park on Strang Boulevard
  • ToysRUs on Bank Road
  • Bauman Bus on Front Street

5. Hunterbrook Field Improvements

The board authorized paying Site Design Consultants $14,300 to prepare a site plan and related documents for the creation of a new athletic field located adjacent to the existing baseball field.

 

6. Conference Attendance

In two separate resolutions, the board authorized the town clerk to attend two conferences in upstate New York.

 

7. Courtesy of the Floor

Senior issues. Gil Kaufmann asked about the status of the plans to use a state grant of $100,000 to fix the bathrooms at the YCCC and also why only one van was available to transport seniors to the YCCC.  In response, Supervisor Grace said he hoped the bathroom plans would move forward as soon as the new town engineer came on board.  About the vans, he indicated that three vans were out of service and awaiting repairs. A new van is on order but will not be d3elivered for a couple of months

 

Laurel Court no parking: Fred Gulitz, a resident of Laurel Court, asked the board to repeal the recently enacted No Parking restricition at the corner of Laurel Court and Hallocks Mill Road. Citing safety concerns, he explained that parents, waiting for their children to be picked up by the school bus,  now have to park further up Laurel Court and children have to rush down to the corner once the bus arrives. Previously, the children were able to wait at the corner, on his property.  In response, Supervisor Grace said he would look into the issue. He said that the board made the change in response to requests from residents and that no one spoke up at the public hearing in opposition to the plan.

 

Business development: Joe Canini asked what was happening at the JV Mall, Trader Joes and what else the board was doing to promote economic development.  In response, Supervisor Grace said that renovation plans at the Mall were moving forward and that the Mall was reaching out to potential restaurant tenants and that he could not publicly discuss pending lease negotiations. On the issue of business development,  he explained  the 485B tax incentive program that would be the subject of a public hearing on April 5. (See Town Board, 2/24/2016.)  In response to Mr. Canini’s question about the Chamber of Commerce proposal to make Commerce Street one way, the supervisor said that the idea would not be moving forward at this time.

 

County Tax Rate: County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz advised the board that the 2016 county tax rate for Yorktown will be doing down 6.32%. The reduction is a result of Yorktown’s total assessed value having gone down relative to the county’s other towns.

 

Hallocks Mill Sewers:  In response to the board’s earlier vote authorizing an additional $65,000 to GHD Consulting  Services for work associated with the design and construction of new pump stations, Susan Siegel, the person writing this summary, asked when the bid documents would be ready for advertising. In response, Supervisor Grace said that would be somet hing the new town engineer would be working on.

 

SPECIAL NOTE: Due to the presidential primary vote on April 19th, there will be no Town Board meeting that night.