Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees Held at Village Hall at 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 27, 2024 Present: Joseph Rand, Mayor Pascale Jean-Gilles, Trustee Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, Trustee Nathalie Riobe-Taylor, Trustee Joseph Carlin, Trustee Also Present: Andrew Stewart, Village Administrator Dennis Michaels, Village Attorney Linda Donnelly, Deputy Village Clerk/Treasurer Absent: Jennifer Hetling, Village Clerk/Treasurer Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm Pledge of Allegiance Mayor’s Introduction – • Congratulations to the Nyack Center on the successful Community Cooking Event • Thursday, July 4th, Fireworks at Memorial Park – Fireworks will be set on a barge off- shore; Farmer’s Market is having Customer Appreciation Day at 11:00am – 1:00pm • Friday, June 28th, Memorial Vigil for Shawn Harris at Hezekiah Easter Square • Saturday, June 29th, Native American Pow-Wow at Memorial Park in Upper Lawn PUBLIC HEARINGS ADOPTION OF MINUTES – 06/13/24 Motion by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles and unanimously carried. The minutes of the meeting held on 06/13/24 were unanimously accepted. PRESENTATION Ira Emanuel, representing Nyack Hotel re: zoning amendment. - Seeking potential alternative options for hotel use ACTION ITEMS RESOLUTION NO. 2024-96 – ACCEPTING AUDITED VOUCHER SUMMARY Page 1 of 6  WHEREAS, the Audited Voucher Summary was presented to the Nyack Village Board of trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting of June 13, 2024. RESOLVED, that General Fund Claims set forth on pages 1 through 11 in the amounts of GENERAL $61,883.21 PARKING $21,465.43 WATER $11,671.05 CAPITAL $24,175.71 Motion by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-97 – APPROVE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH JOULE ASSETS WHEREAS, the Nyack Village Board previously adopted a local law and authorized an agreement with Joule Assets to create a Community Choice Aggregation program through the Public Service Commission of New York; WHEREAS, participation in a Community Choice Aggregation program by the Village enables all local residential and small business entities to combine their purchasing power to obtain the cheapest price for electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro; WHEREAS, according to the NYS law authorizing Community Choice Aggregation, a community may opt its residents into the program only if the competitive procurement process results in one or more bids that offer fixed rate electricity at a cost that is at least 15% cheaper than residents would be able to obtain if procuring renewable energy individually; WHEREAS, Joule Assets will shortly issue an RFP to electricity suppliers, analyze the responses and recommend the most competitive bid whose products, pricing and terms are described in the Energy Services Agreement and parameters for which are described in the Memorandum of Understanding (with Conditional Authorization to Execute Electricity Supply Agreement) (“MOU”); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE NYACK VILLAGE BOARD AS FOLLOWS: That the Village Administrator is authorized to execute an Energy Services Agreement approved by the Village Attorney with Joule Assets to manage the Village’s participation and administration of the CCA program, as long as the Agreement meets the threshold of 15% lower cost to village residents than residents would pay if they procured renewable energy on an Page 2 of 6 individual basis, and meets the requirements set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding (with Conditional Authorization to Execute Electricity Supply Agreement) (“MOU”). Motion by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-98 – SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON JULY 11, 2024 AT 8:00 PM TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW EXPANDING THE RESIDENCY OF THE VILLAGE CLERK AND REPEALING RESOLUTIONS CONSOLIDATING THE POSITIONS OF CLERK AND TREASURER RESOLVED, Nyack Village Board of Trustees approves the scheduling of a Public Hearing on July 11, 2024 at 8:00 PM to consider a Local Law expanding the residency of the Village Clerk to include not only Rockland County, but Westchester, Orange, Putnam and Dutchess counties, and repealing resolutions consolidating the Clerk and Treasurer positions. Motion by Trustee Jean-Gilles, seconded by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-99 – A SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON JULY 11, 2024 AT 8:00 PM TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW EXPANDING THE RESIDENCY OF THE VILLAGE TREASURER REPEALING RESOLUTIONS CONSOLIDATING THE POSITIONS OF CLERK AND TREASURER RESOLVED, Nyack Village Board of Trustees approves the scheduling of a Public Hearing on July 11, 2024 at 8:05 PM to consider a Local Law expanding the residency of the Village Treasurer to include not only Rockland, Westchester, Orange, and Dutchess counties, but also Putnam County, and repealing resolutions consolidating the Clerk and Treasurer positions. Motion by Trustee Jean-Gilles, seconded by Trustee Carlin to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-100 – OBTAIN RECOGNITION BY NEW YORK STATE AS A “PRO-HOUSING COMMUNITY” WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack has prioritized housing development and affordability as a critical community need, taking a range of actions including Page 3 of 6 adoption of inclusionary zoning, creation of an affordable housing fund, administration of a rental housing vacancy survey, and consideration of Good Cause Eviction legislation, WHEREAS, the New York State “Pro-Housing” certification program rewards communities that demonstrate housing growth with greater opportunity for much-needed external funding, for example, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative annual economic development awards, RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves the submission by staff of an application, including extensive building permitting and zoning data, to New York State for recognition as a Pro-Housing community. Motion by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles to accept the resolution as presented. Motion approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-101 – APPROVE MAYOR’S APPOINTMENT OF PEARL GRAY TO BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves the Mayor’s appointment of Pearl Gray to the Board of Water Commissioners to fulfill the unexpired term of Eileen Colarell, for a term to end December 31, 2026. . Motion by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles to accept the resolution as amended. Motion approved by a vote of 5-0. RESOLUTION NO. 2024-102 – APPROVING A PERMIT APPLICATION FOR A STREET CLOSURE ON S. FRANKLIN STREET FOR OCTOBERFEST ON OCTOBER 19, 2024 RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves the closure of S. Franklin St, between Main St and the M&T Bank driveway, for an Octoberfest event hosted by the Local Bar, on Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:30 AM to 6 PM, contingent on sponsor providing adequate insurance indemnifying the Village and reimbursing the Village the costs of event support staff and lost parking revenues. Motion by Trustee Jean-Gilles, seconded by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper to accept the resolution as presented. Motion approved by a vote of 5-0. Page 4 of 6 DEPARTMENT REPORTS (based on availability) Orangetown Police Department – Continuing to walk and engage with public more; monitoring marina for excessive activity at night; will patrol park more to move indigent individuals; will make introductions to those involved in ambassador program; potential cameras in the downtown area for safety precautions Village Administrator – Park project is in final stage (grass growing); irrigation system working well; DPW re-striping, painting light poles, etc.; a thank you to North River Ship Yard for providing the barge for the fireworks. Village Clerk – None OLD BUSINESS - Community Solar Campaign No cost to join; discount on your utility bill; helps the village get points for future clean energy grants - ETPA Recent vacancy study did not show a 5% or below vacancy rate so program could not be implemented; Landlords agreed to a substitute agreement to certain restrictions on their ability to raise rent; would set aside a certain amount of units for affordable housing; would also restrict their renewal percentage of how much they can renew existing tenants, as well as how much they can raise rents on vacancies - Zoning Revision to Waterfront and DMU-2 Still working on language NEW BUSINESS - October 10 meeting rescheduled to Wednesday, October 9, 7:30 PM Motion by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles. Motion approved by a vote of 5-0. COMMUNICATIONS - Patricia Opia re: handicap parking should be free - Quisha Joacin re: permit application for yoga in Memorial Park, July 12 and August 9 - RuthAnne Visnauskas, NYS HCR, Nyack certified as “Pro-Housing” Community PUBLIC COMMENT Phyllis Stewart – No one is talking about the “Black Budget” and missing money; ban aerosol spraying; smart meters affect human heart Page 5 of 6 Frieda Robins – Disturbing flyer being circulated to be at this meeting for ceasefire resolution Bernard Robins – Village should not consider getting involved in foreign affairs Joy Pell – Motion or discussion for ceasefire should not be entertained - not the place Linda Vinecour – Ceasefire not the place for the village to address Ari Rosenblum – Boycott list being circulated if ceasefire is not supported - not the place Rabbi David Beckman – Ceasefire resolution discussion does not belong in the village Aimir El-Amir – Would like village to consider putting up a guard rail to prevent people from entering creek Kyle Ryan – Wonderful job village has done by implementing ban on gas blowers - please don’t reconsider any type of modification to the ban Sara Halawa – Pass ceasefire resolution Rouda – Village shouldn’t walk away from ETPA EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles to enter into executive session. Motion by Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper, seconded by Trustee Riobe-Taylor to end executive session at 9:50 pm. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Trustee Jean-Gilles, seconded by Trustee Carlin to adjourn the meeting at 9:51 pm. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0. Page 6 of 6