Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Minutes of the regular meeting of the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees held at 7:30pm on Thursday June 11, 2020 at Nyack Village Hall, 9 N. Broadway, Nyack, New York Hon. Dr. Don Hammond Presiding: PRESENT Dr. Don Hammond Mayor Louise Parker Trustee Donna Lightfoot-Cooper Trustee Elijah Reichlin-Melnick Trustee Marie Lorenzini Trustee ALSO PRESENT Walter Sevastian Village Attorney James Politi Village Administrator Jennifer Hetling Village Clerk/Treasurer Meeting called to order at 7:30pm Pledge of Allegiance As we continue to address our respective challenges associated with COVID-19, Village government continues to operate. And as there are matters the Village must continue to address as part of keeping the Village operational, our June 11, 2020 Village Board meeting remains as scheduled. As Village Hall is closed, the meeting will have to be held remotely (see below). We will be keeping the Agenda (see posting on website) to essential items. On March 7, 2020, in Executive Order No. 202.1, Governor Cuomo suspended certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law to permit a Village Board to meet and take actions authorized by law without permitting in public in-person access and authorizing such meeting to be held remotely by conference call or similar service, provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed. The Village will be activating a remote meeting platform for the June 11th Village Board meeting, which will enable residents to phone in and listen to the meeting in compliance with the Executive Order. In the interests of the public's health and safety, the Village Board strongly encourages residents to utilize this platform. The Village Board appreciates your patience and understanding during this difficult and evolving situation. Please be sure to check in on the Village website for updates which will be posted on an ongoing basis. The Mayor stated during his opening comments that in order to keep the Village and community safe we all must wear masks, practice social distancing and wash hands frequently. Adoption of Minutes May 28, 2020 - Motion by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, seconded by Louise Parker to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed unanimous vote. Public Comment - None Action Items Resolution No. 2020 – 37 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to accept the Audited Voucher Summary #9-2020 Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2020 – 38 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to accept the 2020 annual report in accordance with the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) reporting requirements Motion by Louise Parker, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2020 – 39 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to authorize an agreement with Montefiore Nyack Hospital’s employee assistance program for use by Village employees and their families Motion by Louise Parker, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2020 – 40 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to recognize and approve the New York State Liquor Authority guidelines for the temporary extension of licensed service areas Motion by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to accept the motion as presented. Attorney Sevastian explained that the NYSLA has given authority to license holders to serve outside of their premises within set limits. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2020 – 13 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to approve the Nyack Housing Authority 2020-2021 budget – previously tabled Motion by Marie Lorenzini, seconded by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick to take the motion off the table. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Trustee Lorenzini stated that she feels there should be a plan in place to move in the direction the board would like to go and as long as that is the direction being taken she is ok with moving forward. Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper asked for an executive session related to personnel matters. Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick to hold an executive session for personnel matters. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Public Comment - None Department Reports to the Board of Trustees Orangetown Police Department – None Village Attorney – He has been working with the Village Administrator to work out the SLA requirements with they have done. Village Administrator – The water improvements project bids came in today and are being reviewed by H2M Engineers. The debt schedule projections for the safe routes to school project was sent out and reviewed by the board. Trustee Lorenzini stated we need to act today to secure the grsnt funding for future use. Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to set the design phase in motion. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Orange and Rockland is out putting down lines. Request for executive session for personnel matters. Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Louise Parker for executive session for personnel matters. Motion passed by unanimous vote. He stated he reviewed the park opening and although not everyone was using masks people were all social distancing. People were using the skate park so they will have to watch that closely. Village Clerk – Treasurer – Property tax bills have gone out. The new due date is July 21 and payment can be made by mail, through the Hall lockbox or online (fees do apply for credit card payments and e-check) Old Business Communications Request from #JustDanceForBlackLives to use the park on June 19th, 2020 from 12pm – 2:30pm for approximately 100 people. On 6/19, Juneteenth (also known as "freedom day") at 1pm EST, the dance community across the country will unite for exactly 8 minutes and 46 seconds to dance and celebrate the life of George Floyd - to gather our community, dance together, and live stream the event on social media. Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper stated that is sounds like a good event but worried that too many people will show up and the crowd will be hard to manage. The board agreed that it sounds like a good event. Village Attorney stated that the rights of freedom of speech and assembly cannot be taken away. The person that requested this BlackLivesMatter event did not need to come to the board but they did. The board approved this request. Public Comment JC Brotherhood – Asked if there were any questions on the park commission report that was given to the board by Jim Willcox. The board responded that they had received it. There are flight boards, hovercrafts, jet skis and such that are being used at the boat launch. Nikki Hines – Asked about painting the streets with “Black Lives Matter” as Washington did and when that would happen. Mayor Hammond responded that he would like to meet with the board before making a final decision. Nikki would like it done by June 19th (Juneteenth). Comments from the Village Board of Trustees Elijah Reichlin-Melnick – the protests that have happened in Nyack were wonderful moving remarkable experiences Louise Parker – Reverend Newton, Father Owen and Nikki Hines came to Don Hammond and Louise regarding the march that was had and some concerns came to light. They would like these issues to be brought to the attention of government officials and the police department. Donald Hammond – One of the goals is to honor and value the black community. We need to dismantle systematic and institutionalized racism. After meeting with the members of the community that Trustee Parker mentioned the board will put together a statement and it will be read at Veteran’s Park for the community. The board should put together policies and procedures regarding ___________ that will last beyond their terms. The board has been and will continue to work with the Town, police and the community to review ideas and set policy in place. The board needs to work together eliminate racism. Marie Lorenzini – Stated that she was very proud of Nyack for the BlackLivesMatters events that have been taking place. She is hopeful that the closing of the streets for restaurants to have more room for outdoor dining tomorrow night will be successful. Donna Lightfoot-Cooper – Was at the park last weekend when it opened and noticed that the park attendant did not have a mask on but was conversing with park patrons. Although masks are not being enforced, we should be setting an example by wearing it. Village Administrator Politi will speak to all employees about wearing masks while at work. She also stated that overall it was a good weekend. Executive Session Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick to move to executive session at 8:49pm. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Motion by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Louise Parker to exit executive session at 9:07pm. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2020 – 13 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to approve the Nyack Housing Authority 2020-2021 budget Motion by Marie Lorenzini, seconded by Louise Parker to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Adjournment Motion by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, seconded by Louise Parker to adjourn the Village Board meeting at 9:09pm. Motion passed by unanimous vote.