Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES November 22, 2021 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Bennett Trustee Owen-Michaane Attorney Cornachio Manager Pierpont ABSENT: Trustee Senerchia 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 opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. She said that it was a very meaningful Veterans’ Day with several events in town including a meet and greet hosted by the Pelham Manor Police Department which was open to all children and focused on children with developmental disabilities. They worked in partnership with Project Community and the You and Me program. She asked if Police Commissioner Bennett wanted to speak about the event. Police Commissioner Bennett said that approximately twenty- five children came by and met the Police Officers. The children saw the Police cars and heard the sirens. Children with developmental delays were encouraged to attend. She said that two Girl Scout troops were there. She said that some children with delays had information updated in the Police registry and some were added. The Police Commissioner said that officers Vogel and Colleran and detective Carrol were there and had a great time meeting the children. She said that there will be another event in the spring. Mayor Monachino Lapey noted the passing of long time Pelham Manor resident Steve Huff. She said that he had been an intellectual property attorney, a dear friend to many, and a successful volunteer. He was the Town Justice for thirty-five years and gave many years of dedication to Pelham Manor and beyond. She wished his family well. The Mayor said that he was a dynamic person and someone she was proud to call a friend. The Mayor said that Crab du Jour will be having its grand opening in the Business 2 District. She was happy that space will be occupied and wished them the best. The Mayor spoke about sustainable landscaping program and said that Trustee Bennet and Trustee Senerchia attended a demonstration. She asked Trustee Bennett to speak about the program. Trustee Bennet said she and Trustee Senerchia attended a sustainable landscaping demonstration in a Rye Brook park on November Sixteenth. It showcased completely electric lawn equipment including lawnmowers, leaf blowers and hedge cutters. It was well attended and very informative. She said that the week before she attended a zoom meeting on sustainable landscaping. She said that both programs were very informative and said that it was wonderful to hear all the information. Mayor Monachino Lapey asked Trustee Bennett to give an update on signage. She said that there are new signs by Black Street and Mount Tom Road alerting drivers that there is a low bridge ahead. It shows the height of the bridge as eleven feet eight inches. She said that signs by 1 Pelhamdale Avenue and Shore Road have been updated. Trustee Owen-Michaane spoke about traffic on the Hutch and said that the Village has been trying to get in touch with Waves and Google maps because they are not necessarily telling drivers where to turn. Manager Pierpont said that the Police Department has tried to contact to contact geographic tracking systems Waves, Garmin and Google Maps. He said that it is not easy to talk to a person. They have tried to talk to a person about the inconsistencies. They have not found someone to address that, but they will continue to work on that. He said that they have not been successful to date. The Mayor said that we have added signs with height requirements. She said that it was incumbent upon the truck drivers to be aware of the height of their rig and clearance levels. ----------- MOTION TO ADD ITEMS TO THE AGENDA The Mayor said that there was a clerical oversite on the agenda. Resolutions on action on Local Law 5 of 2021 and the Cable Franchise Renewal Agreement should be added. The Mayor asked for a Motion to add action on Local Law Number 5 of 2021. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that a motion be and hereby is made to add action on Local Law 5 of 2021 and the Cable Franchise Renewal Agreement. -------------- MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 8, 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 November 8, 2021 Regular Meeting be and hereby are approved as distributed. ----------- REPORTS The Village Treasurer said that large expenditure categories are tracking favorably. He said that last time he expressed concern about building permits but said that his concerns have been alleviated and he feels confident of hitting the revenue number. He said that ninety new trees were planted under a program with the New York Power Authority. The planting cost has increased and will push us over budget on this and we’ll have to subtract something else so that it doesn’t negatively affect the bottom line at the end of the year. Trustee Owen-Michaane asked about sales receipts from Westchester County. The Treasurer said that we don’t get a report on sales tax very often. We get the report on a quarterly basis. He said that it is above fifty percent of the number that was budgeted so we should be ok. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Village Treasurer’s report be and hereby is approved . ----------- 2 RESOLUTION TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING ON LOCAL LAW 6 ON THE USE OF RED LIGHT CAMERAS ON PELHAMDALE AVENUE AND BOSTON POST ROAD Mayor Monachino Lapey asked the Village Manager to give some background on Local Law 6. Manager Pierpont said that the Senate passed this legislation and the Governor signed it allowing the Village to put up red light traffic cameras on the Pelhamdale Avenue approaches to Boston Post Road. The law became effective two weeks ago. It requires us to adopt a Local Law and codify provisions such as of who gets tickets and the obligations to make reports to the State. The law will codify all the things the Village is required to do as part of that legislation to make red light camera violations enforceable. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that a Public Hearing on Local Law 6 of 2021 on the use of red light cameras on Pelhamdale Avenue and Boston Post Road be and hereby is scheduled for Monday, December 13, 2021 at eight fifteen in the evening. ----------- REQUEST FROM CRISTINA CHIANESE ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO USE WEIHMAN PARK ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 Cristina Chianese requested the use of Weihman Park on Saturday, December 4, 2021 for a small petting zoo. The Mayor said that she is working with the Village Manager on insurance coverage from the Chamber of Commerce to the Village. She said that she was in favor of granting this request as long as they are covered with respect to insurance being properly provided naming the Village of Pelham Manor as an additional insured. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that Cristina Chianese, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, be and hereby is granted permission to use Weihman Park at the site for a small petting zoo as long the proper insurances are provided. ---------- RESOLUTION TO SET BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER 2021 Mayor Monachino Lapey said that traditionally there is one Board meeting scheduled in December because of vacations scheduled and a medley of holidays. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the one Board meeting in December be and hereby is scheduled for Monday, December 13, 2021. ------------ ACTION ON PROPOSED LOCAL LAW 5 OF 2021 Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Board had done its due diligence, research, and heard a wealth of opinions and welcomed them all. She said that she was ready to vote on Local Law 5. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that Local Law 5 of 2021 be and hereby is adopted. ------------ 3 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM MANOR TO RENEW A CABLE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH CABLEVISION OF SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER, INC. TO OPERATE A CABLE SYSTEM IN THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM MANOR. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, the following resolution was adopted unanimously. WHEREAS, the VILLAGE OF PELHAM MANOR (the “Village”) is a “franchising authority” in accordance with Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, (the “Communications Act”), and is authorized to grant one or more nonexclusive cable television franchises pursuant to Article 11 of the New York Public Service Law, as amended, and Title 16, Chapter VIII, Parts 890.60 through 899, of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, as amended (collectively the “Cable Laws”); WHEREAS, the Village, executed a franchise renewal agreement with Cablevision of Southern Westchester, Inc. (the “Franchise”) on September 10, 2010, which was thereafter confirmed and made effective by the New York State Public Service Commission on March 28, 2011 for a term of ten (10) years (Case No. 10-V-0557), and WHEREAS, said franchise agreement thereafter expired on March 28, 2021; and WHEREAS, Franchise has submitted a proposed franchise renewal agreement (the “Franchise Renewal Agreement”) to continue operating said cable system within the Village; and WHEREAS, The Village and Franchisee have mutually agreed to the terms of said Franchise Renewal Agreement; and WHEREAS, the Village has determined that the Franchisee is and has been in substantial compliance with all terms/provisions of its existing franchises and applicable law; and WHEREAS, the Village has determined that Franchisee has the requisite legal, technical and financial capabilities to operate cable systems within the Village and that Franchisee’s proposals for renewal of the franchises meet the cable related needs of the Community; and WHEREAS, a duly noticed Public Hearing, affording an opportunity for all those interested parties within the Village to be heard on the proposed Franchise Renewal Agreement was held before the Village on November 22, 2021. NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, that the Village Board of Trustees determine that is in the best interest of the public to award the Franchise Renewal Agreement to the Franchisee; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED that the Village Board of Trustees hereby authorizes the Village Manager to enter into the Franchise Renewal Agreement with CABLEVISION OF SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER, INC. and to execute any other documents necessary to effectuate the granting of the franchise renewal on behalf of the VILLAGE OF PELHAM MANOR. 4  ------------ RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTRACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 29363-29418 After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Mayorr be and hereby is authorized to sign abstract of vouchers numbers 29363-29418. ---------------- PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Board was missing two members tonight. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo had a death in her family and Trustee Senerchia had a family emergency. She then asked if anyone had any comments or questions. Allison Frost, 4579 Boston Post Road, spoke about the need for a traffic study on Boston Post Road. She wanted to know if a full traffic study was going to be done. Ms. Frost spoke about the need for turn signals. She said that more needs to be done on Boston Post Road. The Mayor said that the Village has made substantial progress on a number of fronts. She said that a new pedestrian crossing signal at Esplanade and Boston Post Road has been installed. The Mayor said that the Village increased the hours for the Crossing Guard at the Four Corners and Boston Post Road. She said that there are some nuances with respect to getting signals there because the DOT has to approve any work in that vein. Manager Pierpont said that the time for the red light and walk and don’t walk signals was extended for pedestrians. He said that we’ve met with a company that we’re happy with and they will be able to provide much more data. In order to get changes at that intersection we need data to present to the DOT. We will be able to get information on the number of vehicles turning and the number of trucks on US Route 1. We will review that data and see if there is more that can be done at that intersection. We don’t know what the data will show, but we will see if there are improvements that can be done. We are limited in what we can do on Boston Post Road. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that the Village has taken may actions regarding Boston Post Road He said that a third party will monitor and be doing the heavy lifting regarding data collection for the red light cameras. This study will be low cost to the Village of Pelham Manor. Manager Pierpont said that the data collected will be very granular. It will be more granular than counters. He said that we will be able to get good information on how traffic acts at this intersection. It will be filtered and evaluated. We will be able to get analytics from the company. We will get good data. The information will be gathered and we will see what the data will show and if there are improvements that can be done. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Village had significant and robust measures in place. She said that during the spring and summer months, under Police Commissioner Bennett’s leadership, there was zero tolerance enforcement policy from Manor Ridge Road to and basically every intersection down to Wolfs Lane and we continue to look at that. The Police Commissioner works with the Police Department on deploying traffic enforcement tools. The Mayor said that we take this very seriously and have been incredibly proactive. The Mayor said that Boston Post Road is busy and we’re responding, but we can’t control everything. She said that over the last decade and a half Boston Post Road has gotten much busier. The Mayor said that there are bad actors who go through lights and the Police cannot be everywhere. The Mayor said that people have to do their part too. Thy need to realize that this is a walking school district. The Mayor said that the Village has allocated a Crossing Guard at Four Corners and augmented the hours. She said that these are perceptible and cognizable steps that are garnering results. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that a third party is doing a study and paying for that work. He said that the Pedestrian Crossing signal didn’t take a few months. He said that change took time. He said that it took more than a year. 5 The Mayor said that Covid caused problems with the supply chain for materials for the pedestrian crossing signal. Manager Pierpont said that US Route 1 is not the Village’s road. He said that it traverses our Village, but we don’t control the road. He said that the DOT has its own process and does its own evaluations. He said that he thinks it will be received well by DOT if we are able to provide cogent data. He said that the this company wants to get work from the Village, and there’s no extra cost to them because their cameras have the data. The Mayor said that Boston Post Road is a New York State DOT controlled route. She said that we worked with DOT to get a “ Road Narrows” sign on the Post Road. There was a study done around 1997 and a proposal was made to make the Boston Post Road into a four lane road. The Board of Trustees at the time was against that and lobbied against that proposal. Manager Pierpont said that when DOT repaves the road, the Village will be part of that conversation. They will be part of the conversation of striping. Allison Frost spoke about the condition of street signs and if the peeling paint had lead. Mayor asked about the location of the poles. She asked that the locations of the poles be given to the Village Manager and said that we can work on that. The Village Manager said that the Village finished coordinating the Hazard Mitigation Plan coordinated with Westchester County. He said if there are any residents that have a project they should get it to us. He said that it’s a long process and said if they think it’s viable and meets the requirements they should get it to us as soon as possible. The Mayor and Board thanked everyone for their comments. Trustee Owen-Michaane wished everyone a Happy Chanukah. ------------- EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor said that there was an issue regarding a personnel matter and ongoing litigation. 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 Matter and Litigation No action was taken in Executive Session. -------------- ADJOURNMENT The Mayor and Board wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. -------------- Clerk 6