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 25, 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 (arrived at 7:41pm) Trustee Elijah Reichlin-Melnick Trustee Marie Lorenzini Trustee ALSO PRESENT Walter Sevastian Village Attorney James Politi Village Administrator Jennifer Hetling Village Clerk/Treasurer ABSENT Elijah Reichlin-Melnick Trustee 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 25, 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 25th 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. Adoption of Minutes June 11, 2020 - Motion by Donald Hammond, seconded by Louise Parker to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed with 3 votes. (Trustees Reichlin-Melnick and Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper absent) Public Comment - None Action Items Resolution No. 2020 – 42 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to accept the Audited Voucher Summary #10-2020 Motion by Donald Hammond, seconded by Louise Parker to accept the motion as presented. Motion passed with 3 votes. (Trustees Reichlin-Melnick and Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper absent) Resolution No.2020 - 43 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to approve the appointment of Linda Pappalardo to the board of the Nyack Housing Authority Motion by Marie Lorenzini, seconded by Louise Parker to accept the motion as presented. Mayor Hammond stated that Linda has been very active at Waldron Terrace and in the community as a reading specialist. He feels she will be a great addition to the board. Motion passed with 3 votes. (Trustees Reichlin-Melnick and Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper absent) Resolution No. 2020 – 44 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board to award Ground Control Excavating, Inc. the Water Distribution Improvements Contract Motion by Louise Parker, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to accept the motion as presented. Village Administrator James Politi stated that H2M put the bid out and received 9 bids back with a range of costs. Funding for the project is in place with bonding and a $3,000,000 grant. Jon Bodendorf stated that all the bids were reviewed and a summary letter was sent to the board. They checked 4 of 5 references for Ground Control and they all were positive. They were the low bidder and he thinks the Village is getting a good deal on the work to be performed. The bid price came in at just under $4.2 million. He recommends that the Village award the bid to Ground Control. The project has to be reviewed by NYS EFC before it can start which may take a little while due to COVID-19 but they anticipate a start time of late July or early August. Trustee Parker asked that the Board be keep informed on the progress of the project. Motion passed with 4 votes. (Trustee Reichlin-Melnick absent) Public Comment – Joe Carlin – The outdoor seating on the north side of Main St is very packed and the tables don’t seem to be 6 feet apart. He asked that the building department go out and measure the spacing. The tables on the sidewalks are inhibiting people from walking through. He understands that Main St will be closed on Friday night and the last time this was done there were many people walking around without masks and not social distancing. He asked if something was going to be done tomorrow to make people wear masks and practice social distancing. Village Attorney responded that plans are submitted to the building department for outdoor dining and the plans do adhere to this. He also stated that wearing masks outside are encouraged but not required so it would be hard to enforce. Mayor Hammond stated that there will be a table out tomorrow to hand out masks and people will be out to remind patrons to wear masks. Department Reports to the Board of Trustees Orangetown Police Department – None Village Attorney – He has been interfacing with the building department regarding permitted uses in relation to the Time Hotel. The parking garage construction at the hospital continues to be reviewed. He also has been working on a policy for installation of street art. Village Administrator – Memorial Park is open and seems to be going well and the footbridge is almost done. He has been managing the marina along with Bob Squeo. One thing that comes up a lot is jet skis. Other marinas allow them to be stored. He would like this to be discussed in the future to allow them to docked at the marina. They have gotten quieter over time since the original law was passed so he recommends that it be looked at in the future. Mayor Hammond would like to add this to a workshop at the next meeting. He and Mayor Hammond have been reviewing the strategy of bringing the parking authority back online. There is a recommendation for a change in the hours of enforcement. There is a memo of recommendations (attached). Mayor Hammmond asked that a public hearing be set for July 9, 2020 at 8pm for a change in parking regulations. Motion by Donald Hammond, seconded by Louise Parker. Motion passed with 4 votes. (Trustee Reichlin-Melnick absent) Village Clerk – Treasurer – None Old Business Leaf blower moratorium – Mayor Hammond stated that people have been complying and it’s working well. Communications Request from Nyack YMCA to use Memorial Park during the summer months for camp – Attorney Sevastian stated that this is prohibited in the Village Code. Request from Jules Quinn and Marcy Denker to pass a resolution against the Danskammer Pipeline expansion – Mayor Hammond requested that Marcy Denker send a sample resolution for the board to review. Request from Rachel Karwaski of UP Lounge to allow her to provide rooftop dining – Attorney Sevastian stated that this is prohibited in the Village Code. Public Comment Joe Carlin – The leaf blower moratorium ends at the end of the month. Will it be continued? The board replied that it will not but if it does come up again a discussion will have to be had again. Comments from the Village Board of Trustees Louise Parker –. Stated that the Village needs to start sending complaints to Nyack Plaza and The Pavion in writing since there verbal requests about the disposal of garbage are not being adhered to. Attorney Sevastian stated that the building department should handle this. She stated that doggie bags are costing the Village $2,400 annually and asked if this is necessary. The board agreed that it’s a quality of life issue and they think they should remain but maybe we can get them a little cheaper. Donald Hammond – The event on Friday will have no outdoor music.  It has been asked if a food truck from a Nyack business who is not in the footprint of the outdoor dining area can participate in the Friday event and they would park in front of a store that is not open. There was one at the last Friday outdoor dining event. Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper was not in support of the idea because of the issues that were had at the last event. Trustee Parker was in favor of the idea as long as they were placed properly and they maintained social distancing. Trustee Lorenzini agreed with Trustee Parker. He has been working with Administrator Politi and had many zoom meetings with the community so they are keeping the Village informed. Marie Lorenzini – James Politi and the crew have been doing an amazing job. Asked about the re-start of court proceedings – Attorney Sevastian stated that the courts are not open for many in person proceedings at the current time. Donna Lightfoot-Cooper – Hudson Ave. has a lot of litter. James Politi responded that they can do another cleaning. Adjournment Motion by Marie Lorenzini, seconded by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper to adjourn the Village Board meeting at 9:15pm. Motion passed with 4 votes. (Trustee Reichlin-Melnick absent)