Town Board
May 16, 2017
Closed session
Open session
1. DARE program
(See Town Board, 5/9/2017.) Police Chief Robert Noble explained that when the 8-week program moves to the 8th grade in September, it will encompass drugs, cell phone use, texting and other issues appropriate for the age group. The program will continue to be offered in the 5th grade in a modified form.
In an item not on the agenda, the board okayed spending $2,000 to hire an architect to develop plans to renovate the bathrooms in the YCCC.
3. Tax certiorari settlements
The board approved two assessment reductions: for 1347, 1363 and 1357 Spring Valley Road and 1696 and 1700 Route 6 and 1645 Strawberry Road.
4. Courtesy of the Floor
Mohegan Lake: Ken Belfer, president of the Mohegan Lake Improvement District advised the board that the district’s weed harvester was on its last leg. In response, Supervisor Grace invited Mr. Belfer to a future work session to discuss the possibility of the town cooperating with MLID and possibly another park district to share the cost of a new harvester. Mr. Belfer updated the board on other issues involving the lake. Earlier in the evening, the board approved a MLID contract to apply copper sulfate to the lake.
Mohegan Auto & Tire (aka Hilltop Service Station): Mark Lieberman commented on the fact that the station owner had not complied with the landscaping requirements that were part of the site plan previously approved by the board. When Supervisor Grace failed to address the issue, Mr. Liberman asked again. This time, Councilman Bernard explained that the property owner had just gotten his permits and paid his fees and that he would be proceeding with the required planting.
Weyant rezoning: Several neighborhood property owners and other residents spoke out against the proposed rezoning as being out of character with the Hamblyn Street residential neighborhood and also citing potential traffic and parking issues. Supervisor Grace assured the residents that they would have an opportunity to voide their concerns at a future public hearing on the rezoning. He added that as the town no longer has an affordable housing law, there will not be any restrictions on the planned 36 rental units. He added that Yorktown was not party to the county’s affordable housing lawsuit.
Pied Piper Preschool addition: Hamblyn Street resident John McDonald also spoke in opposition to the proposed addition to the school that’s currently before the Planning Board, citing mostly traffic and parking problems. Supervisor Grace noted that there were some issues with the plan’s overall lot coverage.
Sewers: In response to a question about when the town would move forward on replacing two pump stations in the Hallocks Mill Sewer District, Supervisor Grace said the town was still fine tuning what areas would be included in the plan to sewer 450 homes, adding that he would reach out to different neighborhoods. He said that NYS had a new grant program that could potentially lower the cost to homeowners and that since the town has a plan, it was way ahead of other municipalities in the competitive grant process. He also said that the town was taking a look at moving some of the 361 properties in the Birch Street focus neighborhood into the Peekskill neighborhood and hooking them up to the Chelsea pump station. (Note: the supervisor never answered the question about the status of the pump station upgrades.)