Town Board
August 1, 2017
1. Presentations
The Trails of Yorktown video. Liz Gmoser, a recent graduate of Yorktown High School, showed the video she created as part of the school’s civic internship program. (Note: the video is available on the town’s web site.)
Purple Heart. The Board issued a proclamation in support of its Purple Heart veterans.
2. Section 8 Administrative Plan/public hearing
The board opened and closed the hearing that amends the program’s Administrative Plan to conform to current HUD regulations regarding domestic abuse. There were no comments from the public. The amended plan was adopted.
3. Wetlands hearing/1481 Maiden lane
The hearing was opened and closed without any comment from the public. A new house is being built on the footprint of the house that burned down many years ago. The board approved the permit.
4. Granite Knolls Sports Complex
In a 5-0 vote, the board awarded the $3,850,000 construction bid to Montesano Brothers. Before the vote, Councilman Patel expressed concern that the supervisor had not been honest about letting him or the public know what the full cost of the project that included the artificial turf, lighting and building would be. However, he said that despite this reservation, he believed there was a need for the fields and he wanted to do something for the youth of the town. Supervisor Grace took issue with some of Mr.Patel’s comments which he took as an insult and which he called “absolute nonsense.” He criticized Mr. Patel for his 2013 vote that killed a plan to build the fields during the first phase of the pipeline project.
During Courtesy of the Floor, after Lanny Gilbert also questioned what the total cost of the project would be, adding that the board should let residents know the full cost before going forward with the plan, the supervisor stated that he had quotes for the turf for the three fields from two vendors that were in the $1.1 million range which he called a “worse case” scenario.
The board awarded a $69,500 bid to A.DeVito & Son, for the renovation of some of the YCCC bathrooms. During Courtesy of the Floor, Gil Kaufmann, a member of the Senior Advisory Group that has been lasking for the improvement for several years said, “Hallalujah.”
6. Tax Certiorari Settlement
The board approved a tax certiorari settlement for three parcels owned by George Roberta on Front Street for the years 2013- 2016. (Note: An application to rezone the parcels is currently before the Town Board.)
7. Miscellaneous resolutions
Street sweeping. Approved a $10,000 budget transfer from the Highway Fund salary line to outside services to complete a town-wide st4ree seeping program.
Senior buses: Authorized the Planning Department to apply for a federal grant in the amount of $109,565 to purchase two new senior buses. If the town receives the grant, it will be required to provide a 20% match, or $27,391.
Dog licenses: Authorized the Town Clerk’s office to utilize an online payment processing service for do license renewals.
Stormwater permits. Following a brief discussion at the July 25, 2017 work session, the board authorized the town engineer to issue two stormwater permits for the construction of single family homes on Broad Street and Crystal Court.
8. Courtesy of the Floor
Demonstration at the Post Office.
In response to a resident’s question as to the legality of a pro Trump demonstration at the post office on Maple Hill Street, Supervisor Grace and Town Attorney McDermott stated that the demonstration was legal and fell squarely within the First Amendment right of free speech. They added that under the Town Code, the demonstrators had obtained the required “assembly” permit from the Police Department and that it didn’t make a difference whether the demonstration was on the sidewalk or the grass.
Amazon Park Association: Several members of the group’s board thanked the board and town staff for their help in facilitating repairs to their building.
In an item not on the agenda, Supervisor Grace said plans are progressing for the relocation of the highway garage and construction of Depot Square. He said that soil borings had been done at the existing highway garage site to test for its stormwater infiltration potential and that a site plan for the new highway garage was being prepared.