Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES September 9, 2019 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Annunziata Trustee Senerchia Trustee Cataldi DeLillo Attorney Cornachio Manager Pierpont ABSENT: Trustee Bennett PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND FIRE SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance and notified those in attendance where the fire exits were located. The Mayor said that Trustee Bennett was out of town and travelling. The Mayor said that school has started and children are excited. She asked that people be mindful of driving habits. She said that the Village’s new initiative with a crossing guard at Four Corners has worked out well. The Mayor mentioned that the Town and American Legion will host the annual 9-11 service to remember the Pelham and Pelham Manor residents who died. She and Village of Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen will read the names of those residents who lost their lives. The public is invited to attend the ceremony at eight thirty on Wednesday morning. Manager Pierpont said that the Suez water main replacement on Pelhamdale Avenue is done. Sidewalk restoration has to be done. He met today with the contractor and the week of September Twenty Third that will start, weather permitting. He said that a note was sent to the school advising parkers that they will not be allowed park on Pelhamdale Avenue during the project. It is anticipated that the work will be done by the end of the week. Gas main replacement is continuing. It is being done from Clay Avenue to Grant and Esplanade. It involves twelve streets. Suez will come in after that. That work will probably happen in the spring. The Village is re- lining its own sewer lines. The Village is spending approximately a million and a half dollars on problems that were identified in the Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Survey. The Village has a contract and got a very favorable rate and also applied for a municipal grant. The Mayor said this was very good collaborative work. She asked the Village Manager to speak a little about solar panels at BJ’s. Manager Pierpont said that the solar panels on BJ’s is a big job. It will generate about seven hundred thousand kilowatts a year in power for BJ’s shopping center which is probably as much as all the big green initiatives in the Village. The Mayor said that tonight was the second night of live broadcasting using FIOS. A link should be available tomorrow. The Village is working with Altice to broadcast the Village Board meetings on their public access channel. ------------ MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR MEETING ON AUGUST 26, 2019 The Mayor said that she had one administrative edit. On page one paragraph five it should be clarified to read that she and the Board advocated for the public comment period on the proposed monopole to be extended. Crown Communications granted the request for additional time. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the minutes from the August 26, 2019 Regular Meeting be and hereby are approved as amended. -------------- REPORTS Police Commissioner Annunziata discussed the Police report with Chief Carpenter. The Commissioner spoke about the fast response to a shoplifting incident at CVS. The police were there within eighty seconds. He said that speaks to the benefit of local control. It was great police work. Police Commissioner Annunziata said that there was one arrest for a domestic incident. The Chief said that the officers try to ameliorate if possible. Commissioner Annunziata said that the police chased a person over the Eastchester Creek Bridge. The person tossed a bag into the creek. The Chief said that the traffic detail on Manor Ridge Road has concluded and a number of summonses were written. Trustee Senerchia said that he can listen to the police radio and he said the officers handled things very well. The Mayor and Board thanked the Police Chief for his report. The DPW Superintendent gave his report. He said that this is the first DPW report of the new fiscal year. Recycling is at forty percent. Prep work for painting was started. Tree pruning and park maintenance are being done. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Police and DPW reports be and here are accepted. --------------- STREET CLOSING REQUEST Carla Grammatica, 442 Manor Ridge Road, requested that Manor Ridge Road be closed from its intersection with Boston Post Road to Colonial Avenue, for a block party on Saturday, October 5, 2019 from one o’clock in the afternoon until nine o’clock in the evening with a rain date of Sunday, October 6, 2019. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the request from Carla Grammatica be and hereby is granted. -------------- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 26673-26702 After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Mayor be and hereby is authorized to sign abstract of vouchers numbers 26673-26702. -------------- PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey had a few announcements before opening the meeting for public comment. She said the Village was working very hard on collaboration with Mount Vernon. She spoke briefly about the concerts in Mount Vernon that were permitted during the summer and what happened with the Labor Day concert. She asked the Village Manager to give additional details on the situation. Manager Pierpont said that on August Second he and Chief Carpenter met with the first Chief of the Mount Vernon Police Department. They were informed that there would be no more events at Hutchinson Field. There was an advertised event that did not occur so there was not reason not to trust the information. On Labor Day and Monday there were two events that were permitted by the Recreation Department and ok’d by the Police Department. Commissioner Morton and the Police Chief have assured us that there will be no more events this summer. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that she and the Village Manager had an open dialogue with former Mayor Thomas. The Mayor said that County representatives have worked with Commissioner Morton. She said that we operate as people of good faith and when we’re told something we tend to believe them. The Mayor said that the noise level has become untenable. Trustee Annunziata wanted to confirm that no more concerts are planned for this year. Manager Pierpont said that he has been told that there will be no more concerts this year. Kim Jaimes, 10 Bonmar Road, said that the residents are no longer interested in having the post and chain for the narrow island. She said that it’s a moot point. She said they have purchased the plants. She also said that she was also opposed to the monopole. Tommy O’Hare, 657 Francis Street, said that the noise from Mount Vernon was negatively impacting his property values. He said that the Village is not taken seriously and expressed his frustration. He asked the Village Board several times for its plan on how to deal with the noise issues. Trustee Senerchia asked how long Mr. O’Hare had been a resident and was told nine months. Trustee Senerchia said that there’s been an absolute turnover of key people in the City of Mount Vernon. Manager Pierpont said that the truth is that they haven’t had these concerts except for the last two years. They were the brainchild of the outgoing mayor. He said that the mayor who advocated this is leaving office. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that it’s offensive to all of us. She said that there are constraints. She likened the situation to the arms race with Russia when there is no real authority and you have to use diplomacy. She said that the Village has been incredibly successful with diplomacy. She said that the Board has advice of counsel and a memorandum of law. The Mayor said that the Village will keep working on it. Julie Fair, 119 County Club Lane, thanked the Board for the crossing guard at Four Corners and the work on the traffic patterns and intersection. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo, thanked her for her patience and said that some things take time. Samantha Hinton, 6 Bonmar Road, spoke about the traffic and traffic patterns surrounding Prospect Hill elementary school. She said that that there has been policing to get people to park in the correct direction. She spoke about people making three point turns and suggested that a section of Plymouth Street be made one way to avoid people making three point turns. Mayor Monachino Lapey thanked Mrs. Hinton for coming to the meeting. She said that driving has degenerated in that area and traffic enforcement has been hugely successful. She said that sometimes other consequences occur when a traffic regulation is put into effect. She said that Manager Pierpont and Police Chief Carpenter will go into the field and will weigh in on this. She has the information and will get it to the Chief. The Mayor said that governments can’t address everything. She said that you would be surprised at who is committing the infractions. She commented on the rushed behavior and said that it is busy. Trustee Annunziata had four daughters who attended Prospect and has two granddaughters who currently attend the school so he is very concerned with safety. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo, said that AAA looked at the area around the school and re-routed the traffic. The traffic pattern was done in thoughtful way. Manager Pierpont said that people live on the block. Those things need to be considered. It will affect them all the time. Samantha Hinton said that between eight ten and eight twenty in the morning people are going into other people’s driveways. Toby Marxuach Gusciora, 901 Plymouth Street, asked if the Board meeting was going to be held on November 11th and was told the Board meets on holidays and it will meet on Veterans’ Day. Ms. Marxuach Gusciora asked about the status of the fulfillment company – the e-commerce proposal. Manager Pierpont said that the developers are meeting with the City of New York. The building straddles the line with New York City and the Village of Pelham Manor. The City wants to use the New York City Building Code. The Mayor said that Trustee DeLillo is an engineer for the City of New York and she will be recusing herself on this matter. Toby Marxuach Gusciora asked about the status of the monopole, Amy Paulin’s grant, FIOS broadcast, and the signing power of the village manager. The Mayor said that the Village is waiting to hear from Crown Communications. They received comments from the public which they will review, and then they will respond to the Village. We are waiting for their response. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has money available. The money has been allocated for us. The Village has done its design work. There was a glitch going from a podcast to the video. The video will be up on the website so it can be viewed after the meeting. The Mayor said that she doesn’t believe she has ever used the term signing power for the Village Manager. He is vested with administrative and executive authority. The Mayor said that the we have had the Village Manager sign on the Board’s behalf. The Mayor said that a Village Manager is a higher level than a Village Administrator. Manager Pierpont said that it is not unusual for a municipality to have a Village Manager. He said that Scarsdale and Mount Kisco have managers. It said that it depends on the form of government the municipality has. Kara McLoughlin, 511 Manor Lane, asked if there was a plan to repave Pelhamdale Avenue and was told that ADA drop curbs will be done first and then milling and paving will take place. The work will start September 23rd weather permitting. Amy Goodman, 1243 Pelhamdale Avenue, also thanked the Board for the new crossing guard and said that the new signage on Esplanade is great. She said that she is a cyclist and cycling down the Esplanade is a pleasure. She said that there was a three-car accident on the Esplanade on Saturday at three o’clock in the afternoon. She asked if the State gets this information. She was told that the DOT gets a record of every accident on a State road. Maggie Klein, the PelhamPlus, commended the Village of Pelham Manor Police on the use of Nixle while Altice/Optimum service was out in the area. She noted that some areas got service earlier than Pelham Manor and thought that the Village should get better service from Altice. Manager Pierpont said that the Police and Fire Department were out of service. The Village used Facebook and Nixle to communicate the problem and update the residents. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Village will work on that and pass it along to Chief Carpenter. ---------- EXECUTIVE SESSION No action was taken in Executive Session. -------------- ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. -------------- Clerk