Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees held at 7:30 on Thursday, March 9, 2023 Present Don Hammond Mayor Joseph Rand Deputy Mayor Marie Lorenzini Trustee Donna Lightfoot-Cooper Trustee Pascale Jean-Gilles Trustee Also Present Dennis Michaels Village Attorney Andrew Stewart Village Administrator Jennifer Hetling Village Clerk/Treasurer Meeting called to order at 7:30pm Pledge of Allegiance Adoption of Minutes – February 23, 2023 A motion was offered by Joseph Rand to approve the adoption of the minutes of February 23, 2023, seconded by Pascale Jean-Gilles. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-1(Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper abstained). Public Hearing (continued from 2-23-23)- Regarding Village Board consideration of amendment to Paragraph “B” (Terms of Office) of Chapter 28 (Elections) of the Code of the Village of Nyack, so as to extend the term of office of the Mayor from two years to four years, to commence at the beginning of the official year following the next general Village of Nyack election to be held in November of 2023. Mayor Hammond explained that this public hearing will remain open until the first meeting in October so that should it pass, it will not affect the upcoming election. This proposal has been brought up occasionally since July 2022. Joe Carlin – Thinks it’s a good idea to do a permissive referendum initiated by the board so that everyone can have a chance to give an opinion. Presentation: Proposed lease for cell tower construction at water treatment plant. Presenter: Klaus Wimmer, Regional Manager, Homeland Towers. Motion by Joseph Rand, seconded by Marie Lorenzini that the board of trustees resolves to issue a notice of intention (NOI) to declare itself to be lead agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and to send that NOI to all other involved agencies. Motion passed by a unanimous vote. Public Comment – Taylor Mandebaum – He would like to work with group that does the “Day in the Life of the Hudson” to publish the results for the Village residents. Resolution No. 2023-39 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board accepting audited voucher summary. WHEREAS, the Audited Voucher Summary was presented to the Nyack Village Board of trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting of March 9, 2023. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE NYACK VILLAGE BOARD AS FOLLOWS: RESOLVED, that General Fund Claims set forth on pages 1 through 14 in the amounts of General fund $41,806.61 Parking fund 16,779.85 Capital Projects – $97,317.66 Water Fund - $5,754.03 Trust & Agency - $1,248.34 as set forth on Audited Voucher Summaries and as submitted by the Village Clerk/Treasurer, are hereby approved. Motion by Pascale Jean-Gilles seconded by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2023-40 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board approving 21st Annual “A Day in the Life of the Hudson” event in Memorial Park on October 5, 2023 WHEREAS, the 21th Annual “River Day” is a science activity for Nyack School District students recognized as advancing NYS science school science curriculum standards and core curriculum that uniquely requires direct access to the Hudson River waterfront for gathering scientific data on water quality and wildlife; this event achieves the rigor involved in taking data, analyzing it, and deriving conclusions, while solidifying their relationship with the ecosystems within their own backyard, instilling in them the desire to be good stewards of their town, RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees approves “River Day” permit for Memorial Park for an event on October 5, 2023, subject to sufficient insurance indemnification and the Letter of Agreement attached to the permit. Motion by Marie Lorenzini seconded by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2023-41 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board rejecting all bids for the Burd St sidewalk project and re-bidding the project with a scope to include both the north and south sides of the street. WHEREAS, the Village issued a bid opportunity for the Burd St sidewalk that included only the north side of the street, whereas the scope of the grant includes both sides of the street, WHEREAS, bids were opened on March 1, 2023 (six bids were received), and the lowest responsible bids were equal to about half the available funding, much lower than expected, WHEREAS, the bid specs more properly would include both sides of the sidewalk in the project and bidding both sides as a single contract can be expected to yield a better price for the taxpayer through an economy of scale for the winning bidder, than bidding the sides of the street separately, RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees rejects all bids received and authorizes the re-bidding of the project to include sidewalks on both sides of the street. Motion by Pascale Jean-Gilles seconded by Joseph Rand to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution No. 2023-42 Resolution of the Nyack Village Board approving a the submission of a grant application for $1,000,000 to the federal Community Project Fund Program for rehabilitation of the Nyack Senior Center. RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees approves the submission of a grant application for $1,000,000 to the federal Community Project Fund Program, via the offices of Congressman Lawler, for a much-needed rehabilitation of the Nyack Senior Center building, including a new furnace, new HVAC, new roof, upgraded bathrooms, and an outdoor patio for Covid-safe social activity. Motion by Marie Lorenzini seconded by Joseph Rand to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Public Comment – Joe Carlin – Requested the board change the free 15 to a free 30 program with the Nyack Fresh Market in mind. Roger Cohen – The parking near the Nyack Fresh Market needs more signage Catherine Cutbill – Asked for fencing/ screening/wall in the Artopee Parking Lot to protect the members of Depew Manor from accidents (cars going through current fence) and vehicle lighting going into the apartments. Department Reports to the Board of Trustees Village Administrator – The Broadway TAP project will resume on March 27th to address the flooding issue at First Ave. We will also be using Broadway TAP project money to install new trash bins and tree pits. The building department will be purchasing a new copier for about 7,000 and maplink software for the cost of $8,000. Old Business Discussion of Work Session on ETPA – The village board discussed the next steps to the process including doing a vacancy study and numbers. Kayak rack donation – BOCES – see memo – Motion by Donald Hammond, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to approve spending up to $1,000 for the construction of a new kayak rack. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Hotel tax tourism grant RFP/Contract – see memo – The board decided that the contract should be for a 2 year period. The board also decided that the Nyack Business Council will act as the tourism grant review committee. New Business Ice Cream Truck license application – John Monahan – resolution will be added to the next board meeting. Parking metering: Install 15 min meters on S Midland by El Cunao to replace “Grab and Go” and add a meter by Tarentella’s on Bridge St. (see memo) Motion by Marie Lorenzini, seconded by Joseph Rand to approve the parking meter installation as described above. Motion passed by a unanimous vote. Communications Nate Soule, Congressman Lawler’s Women of Distinction event May 19, Memorial Park – resolution will be added to the next meeting agenda Mr. Kaufman supports 4 year term for mayor but wants a referendum vote on the matter Volunteer firemen association “thank you” for tax exemption Lin Barnhardt, Hopper House sculpture donation – The board did not accept the donation based on no available space. Town of Clarkstown GML review Catherine Cutbill, request for fence/screening on Housing Authority property between Senior Housing and Village parking lot – The board will bring this to the next Nyack Housing Authority meeting for review. Public Comment – Joe Carlin – Offered another option regarding the Nyack Fresh Market parking – validated parking Catherine Cutbill – Stated that the fence or screen between Depew Manor and the Village parking lot could be funded with CDBG monies. Taylor Mandebaum – Reminded the board that on March 27th there is a climate action workshop. Comments from the Village Board of Trustees Joseph Rand – Hudson Valley Magazine did their “Hudson Valleys Best” and there are many businesses in Nyack that are now finalists. Donna Lightfoot-Cooper - None Pascale Jean-Gilles – None Marie Lorenzini –The Penguin Plunge was a fantastic success. She participated in the Meals on Wheels event. Rockland Municipal Planning Federation is having their annual dinner with a guest speaker of Adam Bosch. Motion by Joseph Rand, seconded by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper to approve the car show rain dates subject to availability. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Donald Hammond – The Board has asked OPD to do more patrols in the area of S Broadway at the request of business owners. He is happy that the police are in the Village and doing more community policing. The ribbon cutting at the Rock Shop was a blast. April 22nd there will be an affordable housing forum at the fire training center from 9am-1pm. The Sherriff’s Office has requested a slip in our marina for a rescue boat. Motion by Donald Hammond, seconded by Marie Lorenzini to hold an executive session related to personnel. Motion passed by a unanimous vote. Executive Session A motion to move into Executive Session at 9:33pm to discuss personnel was offered by Pascale Jean- Gilles, seconded by Joseph Rand. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. A motion to adjourn Executive Session was offered by Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Pascale Jean-Gilles. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Adjournment Motion by Marie Lorenzini seconded by Joseph Rand to adjourn the meeting at 9:41pm. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.