Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES September 27, 2021 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Senerchia Trustee Bennett Trustee Cataldi DeLillo Trustee Owen-Michaane Attorney Cornachio Manager Pierpont 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 opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. The Mayor said that a productive Coffee and Chat was held at the Four Corners this weekend. She thanked Police Commissioner Bennett, Trustee Owen-Michaane, Police Chief Tom Atkins, and Lieutenant Greg Sancho for attending. She said that it is part of our ongoing communication efforts to make ourselves available to the community. The Mayor and Trustee Cataldi DeLillo participated in a post Ida storm evaluation round table hosted by the Junior League of Pelham. She said that it was a very fruitful program with productive questions. The Mayor said that she and Trustee Cataldi DeLillo gave a summary of the Village’s program. There were other elected officials and concerned citizens in attendance. The Mayor said that the Junior League may make the roundtable discussion available to the public at some point. The Mayor said that she and Trustee Cataldi DeLillo were pleased to attend. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that it was a nice event and it was great that the Junior League put it together. Mayor Monachino said that the Village’s Storm Hub has dedicated portals for the storm and Covid. It is handy one stop shopping. The Mayor thanked Trustee Owen-Michaane who works on that and all the Trustees. She said that it was a group effort to get the portals completed. She said that people have begun receiving FEMA checks. She said that she and the Village Manager specifically lobbied for this, and President Biden did declare this area a major storm area. It comes through advocacy and she said that we were happy to play whatever part we did. The Mayor said that we are always honored to represent this community and lend our voices when we feel we need recognition at a higher level. The Mayor said that many have called Ida a one hundred year storm. Some models have shown this to be a five hundred year storm. She asked the Village Manager, who is also the DPW Superintendent, to give an overview on the two types of conduit systems the Village has and what we do proactively to maintain and improve them so that we are all on the same page. Manager Pierpont said that the Village has two separate collection systems the storm system and the sanitary system. They are two separate systems that are separated from one another. He said that we do a lot of work on both. The storm system is designed to capture direct runoff underground through pipes that are discharged into a receiving stream and collected through catch basins which are openings in the street. The basins are designed with a sump in the bottom to collect debris during the year. He said that there are more than three hundred sixty catch basins in the Village. He said that every catch basin is cleaned every year. They are vacuumed out and power washed. Every basin is inspected every year. Sometimes three or four need repairs and the Village has them repaired. He spoke about recent improvements to the storm system. Wynnewood Road, the road to the golf club, had damaged pipes replaced and manholes that were leaking were replaced. The Village Manager spoke about the end of Monroe Street. It used to flood on a more regular basis. The Thruway created a levy that cut off natural flow. The storm drains go under the New York State Thruway. The Village spent forty thousand dollars and created an intercepting drain at Monroe and Grant which intercepts water and takes it to another drain line. It intercepts water that would have gone down Monroe Street. This has made a tremendous difference. He has reached out to the Administrator in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx regarding maintenance of the receiving streams which is very important. The receiving streams are in Pelham Bay Park. So far, he has gotten mixed results. She has said that she doesn’t have the funds to maintain the area. He has tried to impress how important it is. He said that Senator Biaggi may be able to help with this problem. He also mentioned that during a prior hurricane, Reed Avenue was damaged and the Village rebuilt the storm drain system with help from FEMA. He also said that there is a balance between how large, or restricted, the openings for catch basins should be for the safety of children and how much water can be captured. He said that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent. The Village Manager said that ninety- six thousand dollars was spent last year. The Mayor said that the Department of Public Works has been proactive pre and post storm. The basins with the highest flood areas were cleaned before Ida and since Ida we’ve vacuumed out debris. The Manager said that in terms of Ida, eight to ten inches of rain fell in a short amount of time. From approximately eight thirty at night until eleven-thirty, more than three inches of rain per hour fell. This is an extraordinary amount of rain. He said that he hopes never to see this again. It was more than a one hundred year storm. The Manager said that we weren’t at high tide which helped. On September 2nd, the Village experienced Ida. A week earlier we experienced tropical storm Henri. The Village got approximately five inches of rain. The rain fell over a longer time period that during Ida. The Village’s system handled the rainfall from Henri very well. The devastation caused by Ida didn’t just happen in Pelham Manor. He said that for the first time Westchester County modified its dispatch system. It told local departments to handle their own calls because they didn’t have the capacity to handle the volume of calls. In 2015, the Village entered into an Inter Municipal Agreement with Westchester County because there were allegations that our sanitary sewer systems were contributing to overflows of the retention facilities that the County uses. Those facilities serve the City of New Rochelle, Town of Mamaroneck, the Village of Larchmont and the Village of Pelham Manor. Communities in this district worked together. In 2016, the SSES was started. In 2017 the SSES, the Sanitary System Evaluation Study was completed. In the interim, repairs were being made. More than nine hundred thousand dollars was spent on sanitary system improvements such as pipe lining and manhole rehabilitation. Another six hundred thousand dollars worth of work is scheduled to take place in Phase 2. The Consortium received a municipal grant that will reimburse us forty percent of what we spend. That grant money is being put back into the sewers. More than two million dollars is being spent on sewers. The Village cleans and televises twenty per cent of its sanitary system every year. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that these numbers are not just arbitrarily given out. Village uses the PACP which is an international standard system. The numbers tie to a time line on where work needs to be done and this helps the Village rank its asset management program. The Village Manager said that the camera operator is trained on the PACP system. Westchester County’s system has two overflow retention facilities. Since April 2014, it has not discharged into Long Island Sound. The OFR did not overflow even during Ida. The effort is making tremendous progress and protecting the environment. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that during the storm, it did not overflow. All sewage was treated and it did not go into the Sound. Manager Pierpont said that was correct. The ORF did not tip. All sewage received tertiary treatment. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo spoke about a one hundred year storm and a five hundred year storm. With sanitary sewage, you could stop people from connecting to the system to reduce the flow, but with the storm water you are at the mercy of Mother Nature. She said that for a one hundred year storm the probability is one percent. For a 500 year storm the probability is .02 percent. She said that there is a lot of consideration given to how often these things are going to happen and said that with what our infrastructure is designed to do, there will be flooding. The Mayor said that we’ve given attention to the system and have invested and continue to move along that path. Paving in Pelham Manor is high level work. Pelhamdale Avenue was done. We started at Manor Circle so we could keep areas open and not cut neighborhoods off. We used three thousand tons of asphalt which is a big deal for us. We tried to minimize the impact. We are waiting for the oils to come up before striping. The tail end of Grant Avenue, Monroe, Edgemere and Oak Lane were also paved. Trustee Owen-Michaane asked how long this investment lasts. The Village Manager said that it will last ten years. The Mayor asked if it would last fifteen years and was told some paving does last fifteen years, but those are lightly traveled roads. -------------- MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 REGULAR MEETING The Mayor asked if there were any questions, comments or concerns on the minutes. There were no questions, comments or concerns. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was RESOLVED, that the minutes from the September 13, 2021 Regular Meeting be and hereby are approved. ------------ REPORTS Fire Commissioner Senerchia discussed the August report with Fire Chief Ruggiero. The Fire Commissioner spoke about Tropical Storm Ida and took a moment to thank the Fire Department for the hours they spent pumping out houses and performing water rescues. The Fire Chief said that there were two hundred seventy calls in a five-hour period. Of the two hundred seventy calls, two hundred thirty- five were pump outs. The Chief said that this was in addition to trees and wires being down. There were sixty-eight calls in July compared with sixty- one last July. There was a loss of a vehicle onI-95. The Chief said that the Fire Department responds to calls on The Hutch as well as the Thruway. The Fire Commissioner said that in August inspections continued. Chief Ruggiero said that the Department responded to a chemical spill in New Rochelle on Bayard Street and Weyman Avenue at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club. He said that Pelham Manor works and trains with the City of New Rochelle and the Village of Larchmont. He said that chemicals for the pool were mixed incorrectly and many people went to the hospital. Pelham Manor went to the scene at the request of the New Rochelle Fire Department. He said that our group suited up and set up the flushing station. He said that this was the first real incident in our area. He said that the years of training paid off. He said that the Fire Department usually goes to D’Onofrio Field or Iona College in New Rochelle to run scenarios. He said that the response to this incident went well. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that this is a shared service scenario. She said that mutual response was in place when the car went into Eastchester Creek a few months ago. The Fire Chief said that mutual aid pays off when needed. Fire Commissioner Senerchia thanked Chief Ruggiero for keeping him in the loop while the chemical spill was going on. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that she and the Manager were in contact. She said that we have a great team. We keep local control. She said that she was proud to be part of a program in operation. The Mayor and Board thanked the Fire Chief for his reports. The Treasurer said that most expenses and revenues are tracking as anticipated. He said that Workers’ Compensation and casualty insurance were large invoices that were paid early in the fiscal year. On page fourteen of the report, it shows property tax collected. He said that ninety- eight point four percent of property tax has been collected. He said that it is usually ninety-nine percent. On page nineteen it shows that the Village is collecting one third of what was budgeted for the year for building permits which shows the scale of activity. He said that sales tax represents more than one quarter of what we budget. Page twenty-three reflects the mortgage tax. The first payment of the mortgage tax is usually less than half of what we receive. This year, one hundred sixty-eight thousand dollars came in the first payment. The Village budgeted two hundred thousand dollars. This shows continued real estate activity. He is hopeful that we will meet this number. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Fire and Village Treasurer reports be and hereby are approved. ----------- ACTION ON LOCAL LAW NUMBER 3 OF 2021 Mayor Monachino Lapey said that she was prepared to vote on Local Law 3. This gives the Village of Pelham Manor the greatest amount of flexibility and the ability to see how this works elsewhere. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that Local Law Number 3 of 2021 Opting Out of Licensing and Establishing Retail Cannabis Dispensaries and On-Site Cannabis Consumption Establishments be and hereby is adopted. ----------- RESOLUTION TO AMEND THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC CODE – TO REMOVE A STOP SIGN ON PELHAMDALE AVENUE AND PLACE A STOP SIGN ON SOUTHBOUND PELHAMDALE AVENUE MOUNT TOM ROAD The Mayor said that the Board has been looking at this area for some time. Manager Pierpont said that we have been looking at Pelhamdale Avenue. We heard from residents about pedestrian attractiveness and made some changes to add ADA ramps. The question has been how to get across safely at Pelhamdale Avenue. We asked a traffic engineering firm to look at the best alternative and mark visual cues for drivers. There’s a stop sign at Mount Tom (north) and the other one is at Roosevelt Avenue a half block away. At Mount Tom there would be an all way stop. We would remove the stop sign at Roosevelt. This will accomplish something similar to Black Street. People will take turns and, if there are pedestrians, they will have to wait for them. He said that’s what we’re planning to achieve. The Mayor said that we normally take public comment later in the meeting, but said that we will take public comment on this issue now. Nick Childs, 1309 Pelhamdale Avenue, said that his wife Sue grew up on Mount Tom. He said that they have lived in their house for twenty years. They are concerned that putting a stop sign in front of their house will make it almost impossible for them to get in and out of their driveway. He said that this directly impacts them. He said that he believes cars will speed and it will be dangerous. He asked the Board to consider delaying this action to determine a better solution. Adam Gerber, 1317 Roosevelt Avenue, read section 1172 of the Vehicle and Traffic law on stop signs. He questioned the percentage of people that stop at the stop sign. He used his phone to film cars on Pelhamdale Avenue in various stages of stopping. He shared the results. Of the four minutes he filmed, from six twenty- eight until six thirty- two, he counted seventeen cars. Of the seventeen cars going southbound, three stopped, ten did a “ California roll” and four didn’t stop at all. He filmed thirty- three cars for four minutes going northbound. Thirteen cars stopped, fifteen cars rolled through and five didn’t stop at all. He said that one third stopped and two thirds didn’t stop. He thought that there should be better enforcement. The Mayor said that we have an active traffic enforcement program. She said that the Village got a grant for Safe Routes to School and has traffic monitoring equipment. She said that the monitoring equipment has been on Pehamdale Avenue. Mr. Gerber said that he’s lived in the Village for four years. He asked for better enforcement of the traffic code. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that there is a zero tolerance policy and the Village does enforcement. Trustee Bennett said that the Village has a new Police Chief and she is working closely with him and traffic is a high priority. She said that she travels Pelhamdale Avenue frequently and she doesn’t see people going through stop signs. She said that the stop sign on Roosevelt will still be there. Mr. Gerber said that removing the stop sign will make it more difficult to turn off Roosevelt onto Pelhamdale Avenue. He said that this would remove the one thing that allows me to make the turn. He said that people on Bolton already have a hard time getting out of their street and said that this is incentivizing people to use Mount Tom as a cut through. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that it was important to recognize that Mr. Gerber is on a secondary street. Pelhamdale is a major street. She spoke about Black Street and how the streets don’t line up. She said that this is exactly the same configuration. She said that his concern wasn’t the intersection. It was the cascading effect. Trustee Bennett asked Mr. Gerber what would happen if the stop sign wasn’t taken from Roosevelt Mount Tom. Mr. Gerber said that he’s a pessimist. He thought more people would be ignoring stop signs and it would be worse than before because people would blow through them. He thought there would be bad unintended consequences. The Mayor said that we pride ourselves on listening to every viewpoint. We’ve heard from mothers with strollers regarding near misses with vehicles and have tried to be responsive to that. She said that she was happy to delay the vote and look at it more closely Manager Pierpont will follow up with the traffic engineer and relay their concerns. We can re- visit this and bring legitimate concerns to our traffic engineer. The Village is looking for safety as the paramount concern. Sue Childs, 1309 Pelhamdale Avenue, said that if another stop sign were added, and the traffic backs up, they would never get out of their driveway. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that we will flag that to the engineer. ---------- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTRACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 29174-29235 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 29174-29235. ---------------- PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey asked if there were any comments or questions from the public. Toby Marxuach Gusciora, 901 Plymouth Street, asked about the status of the monopole and Save the Sound. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that there was no news to report on the monopole. She said the consortium of municipalities made a pre discovery motion to dismiss and that was not granted. She said that is not uncommon. The Mayor said that we feel strongly about our case, and we will proceed to the discovery phase. Toby Marxuach Gusciora said that it was denied on September Fourteenth. It needs to be submitted by October Eighth and there will be a conference with the judge by October Twelfth. Village Attorney Cornachio said that’s normal. She questioned the expense of the lawsuit. Village Attorney Cornachio said that all litigation is expensive. There are three other municipalities involved. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Village of Pelham Manor pays on a per capita basis which is very favorable to the Village. Toby Marxuach Gusciora said that she was stopped on Pelhamdale and Roosevelt and someone passed her on the left. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that the Village can’t have a police officer everywhere and spoke in favor of red light cameras. Mayor Monachino Lapey spoke about traffic monitoring and said that the Village will get the monitoring equipment out there. -------------- EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor said that there was an issue regarding a personnel and legal matter. 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: Personnel Matters No action was taken in Executive Session. -------------- ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. -------------- Clerk