Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES October 12, 2020 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Senerchia Trustee Bennett Trustee Owen-Michaane Attorney Cornachio Manager Pierpont ABSENT: Trustee Cataldi DeLillo 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 safety exits were located. OPENING REMARKS The Mayor wished a Happy Columbus Day to those who celebrate the day. She hoped they enjoyed a great day off. She said that the Board continues to meet during holidays. She said that Trustee DeLillo would not be attending tonight’s meeting, because she is attending her father in law’s wake. The Mayor said that she has had three deaths in her family, her mother in law, her aunt and father in law, in quick succession. She said that our thoughts and prayers are with the extended DeLillo family and we wish her the best. The Mayor said that there are four confirmed Covid 19 cases in Pelham Manor that have been confirmed by the state. She said that it is important to follow health and safety protocols and hygiene protocols such as wearing a mask and maintaining a distance of six feet while in public. The Mayor said that she has received some questions about who is administering the upcoming election and asked Manager Pierpont about who is administering the election in November. The Manager said that unlike the Village election in March, the Village Clerk has no responsibility for the November election. The November election is conducted by the Town and Westchester County Board of Elections. In the past, the November elections have been here on the apparatus floor of the Firehouse and at OLPH. This year all election districts will be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Mayor said that if there are questions, people can contact the Westchester County Board of Elections or the Town Clerk in Pelham. Trustee Owen-Michaane asked if all Pelham Manor residents would vote at OLPH on Election Day and was told that was correct. Trustee Owen-Michaane reminded residents to stay up to date on items like voting you should follow and like the Village of Pelham Manor Facebook page online or go to the Village website at pelhammanor.org. He said that you can sign up for Nixle alerts for timely and critical information or go to the website at pelhammanor.org. Trustee Owen-Michaane spoke about FIOS and the possibility of web streaming the Board meetings which would only need internet connection. He spoke about expanding the access to the inner workings of our government. Mayor Monachino Lapey thanked him for taking a fresh look at this and said that he put an e- subscribe feature right into his posts so that people can elect to sign up. Manager Pierpont gave an update on Altice. He said that the talked to the Director of Intergovernmental Relations during the storm. He had a crew here last year to run fiber into the Police Department. They will be able to run it into this room and will be able to split the signal. ------------ MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 ANNUAL MEETING AND SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 REGULAR MEETING The Mayor asked if there were any questions, comments or edits. There were no questions, comments for edits. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the minutes from the September 28, 2020 Annual meeting and the September 28, 2020 Regular meeting be and hereby are approved. ------------ REPORTS Police Commissioner Bennett thanked the Police Chief for his time. She spoke about the hours of meetings over the past two weeks and for bringing her up to speed on police issues. She said that we are continuing to review Executive Order 203 and all that’s been done in the Police Department over the past five years. The Police Commissioner spoke about Officer Luiso who saw a man really struggling in the Eastchester Creek. He jumped in and saved him. She thought that the Police Chief might want to talk about this act of courage. The Police Chief said that he thanked Officer Luiso and congratulated him. Officer Luiso didn’t hesitate. He jumped into the creek and pulled the man above the water. The officer put him in a bear hug against a piling until help arrived and they could get him out. The Police Chief then spoke about shoplifting and identity theft. He said people should not give out personal information. He said that people should not respond to phone calls or e-mails. If they are concerned, they should call the police. Police Commissioner Bennett said that when car doors were locked they got nothing. She said that people with cameras were very helpful in identifying the people trying to get into cars. The Chief said that locked cars are not being entered. He said if you have a Ring camera, that helps the police. He reminded people to lock their cars. He said that car windows are not being broken. If the car doors are locked, they will probably pass it by. The Police Commissioner gave an update on the Governor’s Executive Order 203. She said that we will be meeting within the next two weeks. She said that we were fortunate with the number of people who want to be involved. Natalie Marrero, Darryl Jackson, Chris Gampat, Steven Shekane and Kevin To will be on the committee. Chief Carpenter, former Police Commissioner Louis Annunziata, Trustee Owen-Michaane, Police Commissioner Bennett and Village Manager John Pierpont will attend the committee meetings. She said that she is looking forward to it. The Mayor and Board thanked the Police Chief for his report. The Village Treasurer said that we’re one quarter of the way through the fiscal year, and expenses are right on track. He said that some accounts are completely spent for the year and others are on track where they should be. He pointed out on page fifteen of the report that twenty one percent of the sales and use tax was received in August. The Village gets four payments per year. This represents sales tax collected in May, June and July. He said that we’re pretty conservative about sales tax revenues and said that he will keep an eye on this. Trustee Senerchia said that he thought that the percentage would have been lower. The Treasurer said that he didn’t know where it was going which is why it was budgeted conservatively. He said that he was glad we were as conservative as we were. The DPW Superintendent said that the report was for August and September. He said it included the standard streetlight repairs. These repairs are for the photocells not the fixtures. He said that he is looking at replacing fixtures on Boston Post Road with LED lights. He said that the lights on that road are beginning to fail. The lights would be replaced with the three thousand kelvin which is the cooler number. Trustee Senerchia said that we went a little cooler on main thoroughfares and a little warmer on the side streets. Some residents had complained about the brightness and that was adjusted with the warmer lighting on the side streets. The DPW Superintendent said that pothole repairs are continuing and said that leaf season starts on October Fifteenth. He said that paving will start around Prospect Hill School. He said that he has been in contact with the school principal about the paving schedule. ADA ramps will be done on Clay Avenue, Washington Avenue and Oak Lane. He said that Suez has done the curb work. There was jackhammering which was disturbing the students. The contractors will not continue doing that until after noon dismissal. Suez is currently working further down on Clay Avenue. He said that we pushed Suez to finish and now we were telling them to delay the work. The Mayor said that this is not an easy dynamic. She said that the windows at the school have to be open because of the pandemic. He said that we’re working closely with the contractors. This was a case of legitimate complaints and they were happy to accommodate our request. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Deputy Mayor met with two Trustees from the Village of Pelham about a food scrap program. The Village of Pelham Board is going to consider their game plan tomorrow. She said that we will know more after tomorrow. The Mayor questioned whether the tipping fee is commensurate with the food scrap fee and was told that the fees are equal. The Mayor said that one of our concerns was the price point and said that we are always looking for efficiencies. Manager Pierpont said that we will know more after the Village of Pelham meets. He said that we have no immediate answers from the City of New Rochelle. Their plan is still taking shape. The Village Clerk said that it was a typical month. Nineteen Letters in Lieu were issued for homes that were selling or refinancing. Thirty- six building permits were issued and Notices of Violation will start to tail off once leaves can be put in the street. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that there were thirty- six building permits issued in September. He asked how many were for commercial properties and asked how this month compared with building department activity in September 2019. The Village Clerk said that one commercial permit was issued in September. It was for Flour Power, the bakery at the Four Corners. All other permits were for residential work. There were between thirty-five and forty permits issued and the building permits are tracking about the same for 2019 and 2020. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that in light of the pandemic, holding par with what we were doing a year ago speaks volumes. The Village Clerk said that it does speak volumes. He credited the staff with understanding that they are essential workers and they came into work every day. We had strict protocol standards. We had a sign-in sheet and were cleaning and disinfecting twice a day before those standards were required. He said that the Village has been aggressive with cleaning. He said that contractors and their staff were also coming into the office. We looked at what needed to be done and tried to serve that need. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that forty-nine Notices of Violation were issued. He thought that there should be a process to educate lawn care service providers. The Manager said that we send Notices of Violation to the homeowner and the residents should educate their contractors. He said that he would like to create a list of the clients of the lawn care providers so we know who is doing the work at addresses in the Village. We would know which company is not acting responsibly. It takes a bit of work to do that. Mayor Monachino Lapey said she has received a lot of complaints that people are not following the leaf blower law. The Manager said that gas powered blowers are regulated but electric leaf blowers, which can be powerful, are not. The Mayor said that with the change of season it would be good to have information for residents on the leaf blower law, refuse collection and organic yard waste collection. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Police, Village Treasurer, DPW and Village Clerk reports be and hereby are approved. ------------- 4400 BOSTON POST ROAD The Mayor said that a pizzeria has been proposed for 4400 Boston Post Road at the corner of Boston Post Road and Spring Road. She asked the Manager to give additional details on this proposal. Manager Pierpont said that 4400 Boston Post Road is the old Knuckleheads Tavern. A coal fired pizza restaurant is being proposed for this site. The site plan attempts to meet the zoning ordinance to the extent it can. They will have to go the Zoning Board of Appeals because they don’t meet the requirements of the zoning law. They can’t get fifteen parking spaces on the site. He recommended that the Board also send the site plan to the Planning Board for review. He said that this is an opportunity to take that site and make it look better and have more greenery at the site. Trustee Senerchia asked if squaring off the building needed a variance and was told that the variance was needed for the other side of the building. The Manager said that the issues are going to be the number of parking spaces and greenery. There are eight parking spaces. There were six in the original plan and they found two more spaces. He said that there aren’t that many seats in the restaurant area so it is something that will be reviewed. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Planning Board would review the proposal, make recommendations and bring it back to the Board of Trustees. It would then go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for review. The Mayor said that the Board tries to stay neutral, but she thinks this is a good use and said that she would be happy to see it in this climate. Trustee Bennett said that it would be wonderful to get that area spruced up and thought that a nice pizzeria would be a good use. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the site plan proposal for 4400 Boston Post Road be and hereby is referred to the Planning Board for review after which it will come back to the Board of Trustees. ---------------- RESOLUTION TO AWARD BID FOR TREE PRUNING AND REMOVAL The Village Manager said that five bids were sent out for tree pruning and removal. The Village received responses from Almstead Tree and Shrub Care and Manor Tree Company. The results of the bid are listed below. A. Palmieri Co. No Bid Almstead Tree and Shrub Care $22,869.00 Emerald Tree and Shrub No Bid Manor Tree Company $ 8,350.00 The Care of Trees No Bid Trustee Senerchia asked if they were given a list and was told that all the potential bidders were sent the same list of trees for pruning and removal. The list is created from notices of concern from residents and from driving around the Village and evaluating trees for pruning or removal. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that Manor Tree Company, the low bidder, be and hereby is awarded the bid for tree pruning and removal at a cost of eight thousand three hundred fifty dollars. -------------- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTRACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 27959-28006 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 27959- 28006. ------------- PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey asked if anyone wanted to offer thoughts or ask questions. There were no comments. -------------- EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor said that we have a personnel matter regarding Collective Bargaining and the Proposed Monopole. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Board be and hereby is authorized to conduct an Executive Session to discuss the following: A personnel matter regarding Collective Bargaining and the Proposed Monopole. No action was taken in Executive Session. -------------- ADJOURNMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey wished everyone a happy Columbus Day and asked people to stay safe. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. . -------------- Clerk