Town Board
June 19, 2018
Closed Session
Personnel (Police) and litigation and negotiations (Legal and Water)
Open Session
1. 2017 audit.
Supervisor Gilbert announced that the 2017 audit had been completed. The auditors will make a presentation at a future televised meeting. The unassigned General Fund fund balance as of 12/31/2017 was $7,365,889. (Unassigned means available for any use.) No other details were provided.
2. Safety at YCCC
Councilman Roker said she would report soon about safety issues at the building. She did not provide any details.
3. Police dog
The department’s second K-9m, Spar was introduced and the people who have contributed to the dog’s upkeep tanked.
4. School Resource officers
Lakeland School Superintendent Dr. Stone asked the board to hire and help pay for three new school resources officers for Ben Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools. Supervisor Gilbert acknowledged the value of having the officers and said that the town would pay only for certain expenses associated with the 3 officers, e.g., their uniforms and some “tangential” items that he did not identify. Councilman Roker said that the school district would have to pay the lion’s share of the cost. No more details were available. The board approved a resolution authorized the supervisor to sign the agreement.
5. Courtesy of the Floor
Honoring former Supervisor Al Capellini. Following up on Supervisor Gilbert’s comment made earlier in the evening about naming a town facility after Mr. Capellini, possibly the YCCC, Chamber president Eric DiBartolo said that outside funds were available to pay the full cost of naming the playground on the YCCC in Mr. Capellini’s honor and that the necessary work could be accomplished by July 1, in time for the first Lion’s concert while naming the building would take longer. No decision was made.
Hallocks Mill Sewer Extension District: Former Supervisor Michael Grace took exception to a comment he said he had read that the financing plan for sewers he proposed last year was not legal. Calling that “bad advice” he defended his plan, adding that if he was still supervisor, there would have been shovels in the ground. Supervisor Gilbert took exception to the shovel comment and said that Mr. Grace’s plan was not viable.
In response to his comments, Susan Siegel (the person writing this summary), advised Mr. Grace to watch the video of the 6-12-2018 meeting during which the town’s long time bond counsel said that his plan was not legal.
Highway garage/Depot Square: Mr. Grace took issue with the board for not moving forward on the plan, implying that the current board was not following through on his plans because of politics. He took special issue with Councilwoman Roker who he said had been a strong supporter of the project when she was town clerk.
In response Councilman Roker acknowledged that she had once supported the plan but that was when she believed it would not cost taxpayers anything.
Supervisor Gilbert didn’t address the highway garage project but listed a series of left over issues from the previous board that the current board had had to address, e.g., the JV Mall ring road and infrastructure agreements with Lowes. He also talked about the need to address many deferred maintenance projects in the town, questioning why there was talk of building new tennis courts when the existing ones weren’t being maintained. He also took issue with Mr. Grace’s comments about his not understanding town finances.
Councilwoman Roker said that she has been working with the person in charge of the town’s buildings and will come to the board in the near future with a plan for dealing with the leaking roofs in town hall, the court, and plice building. She was told the roofs can no longer be patched.
Dan Strauss and Ed Ciffone spoke against the highway garage project; Tony Grasso supported it.
Senior Center: Jennie Menton urged the board to build a senior center. (The issue has come up during Mr. Grace’s comments; if the Parks Department garage is moved out of Downing Park as part of the highway garage project, the site could be used for a senior center.)
DOT grant possibility. Susan Siegel, speaking on behalf of the Yorktown Trail Town Committee, urged the board to consider applying for a grant that could provide 80% funding for a traffic light at Route 118 & Downing Drive, upgrade the existing light at Route 202 and Strang Blvd by adding a pedestrian button, or constructing new sidewalks along Downing Drive. Given the August deadline for submitting the application, and because the Planning Department is busy with other projects, she asked the board to consider hiring an outside consultant to prepare parts of the application. The board discussed her request during the work session portion of the evening. Mr. Tegeder agreed that all three projects were worthwhile but advised the board not to apply for a grant because of the limited time frame. He said the board should consider the projects as part of next year’s capital plan. The board agreed with him.
6. Selected resolutions
Board meeting schedule. The board will meet Tuesday, June 26 and hold the July 17 meeting at Teatown Lake Reservation’s Croft Estate begining at 6pm. (Note: there is no board meeting on Tuesday, July 3.)
Hallocks Mill Pump station bid award: Approved an amendment to the resolution passed the previous week for the upgrade of three pump stations that corrected the total amount of $2,345,000.
Police: Authorized purchase of a Ford Utility Interceptor for $28,990.
Railroad station rehabilitation project: Authorized going out to bid. The building is a national, state and local landmark and the building will be restored to federal standards. No details were available. During the work session portion of the meeting, Mr. Tegeder advised the board that the DOT grant that will finance half of the project was awarded 10-11 years ago and would expire if the town didn’t act soon. He explained that once the project is completed, the board will have to discuss how the building will be used.
WORK SESSION
(This was televised)
7. High Meadow water bill
Roxanne and Joe Visconti, managing agent for the High Meadow condominiums, had an issue with a large water bill that included an adjustment for water usage that was underreported for possibly more than a year due to a defective part of the meter. The meter has since been replaced. Mr. Visconti questioned the new usage figure, saying he didn’t trust the company that tested the meeting although his wife added that they had hired the company. The meter is owned by the condominium and it is responsible for its maintenance.
At the suggestion of Councilman Lachterman, the bill will be held in abeyance and based on the more recent meter readings, a daily average usage will be calculated which will be used to adjust the past bill. It was agreed that the condominium would not have to pay any penalties.
8. CDBG.
The board authorized filing an application for a senior van, agreeing to pay 30% of the estimated $50,000 cost, or about $15,000. Mr. Tegeder explained that one of the requirements of taking the money was that the town not have any impediments to affordable housing, like in zoning restrictions but that the town didn’t have to have an affordable housing law. He said the same conditions allowed to all county funding, e.g., legacy.
9. Zino Barn. This was discussed as part of the Railroad Station project. Councilwoman Roker stated that much of the initial $50,000 that was given for the demolition of the barn has been spent and that there was no money to construct a foundation and slab and other parts of the reconstructed building.
10. Additional funds for culvert projects
The board approved three resolutions totaling $32,581 for the two culvert projects (Hill Blvd and Veterans Road.) The money will cover the unexpected cost of additional easements and inspection services.
11.Mohegan Avenue retaining wall
The discussion was postponed due to the absence of Mr. Paganelli who was dealing with storm related issues.
CLOSED SESSION
Legal