Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES December 12, 2022 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Senerchia Trustee Bennett Trustee Owen-Michaane Trustee Cataldi DeLillo 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 Mayor Monachino Lapey opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. She said that work is underway for the elevator in Village Hall that the Board advocated for and it is eagerly awaited. The Mayor said that there were two sad losses to report. Anne Flood was a long time Village resident and had been very active in the community. She was a founding member of the Pelham Nurses Network Respite Program and spearheaded the charge to keep all Pelham schools open. There was a time when the population of the schools showed peaks and valleys. She was successful in keeping all four schools open. The Mayor offered condolences to her family. The Mayor also noted that former Deputy Mayor Neal Schwarzfeld died of heart failure. He was a former Trustee and Village Attorney. She offered her condolences to his wife Jaimie and their children and extended family. She said that they were civic minded individuals. Trustee Bennett offered her condolence to the Flood and Schwarzfeld families. She said that they were such active members of the community. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that she overlapped with Neal Schwarzfeld when she was first on the Board. She said that he served the Village and she was sorry for the loss. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that she, Deputy Mayor DeLillo and Village Manager Pierpont attended a Sustainability Forum sponsored by the Junior League. She said that Manager Pierpont spoke about composting and the Department of Public Works. The Deputy Mayor recently attended the International Water Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark which discussed the challenges with shifting weather patterns and climate change and topics like drought and flooding. She said that we were proud to represent the Village at this forum. The Mayor also mentioned that Fire Chief Michael Greco hosted his first Fire Inspection Dinner. Paid and Volunteer Firefighters were recognized for their service. ---------- MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 28, 2022 REGULAR MEETING AND DECEMBER 3, 2022 SPECIAL MEETING The Mayor asked if there were any questions, comments or corrections to the minutes. There 1 were no edits to the minutes. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was RESOLVED, that the minutes from the November 28, 2022 Regular Meeting and December 3, 2022 Special Meeting be and hereby are approved. ----------- POLICE DEPARTMENT IN-PERSON REPORT Police Commissioner Bennett discussed the monthly report for November with Chief Atkins. The Police Commissioner said that larcenies were up again. She said that people are not locking their cars or are forgetting their key fobs. She reminded people to lock their cars. The Police Chief said that people loading the car are leaving their bags in the carriages and the bags are stolen. He also reminded people not to put their credit cards on the counter. He said that they should remain in your hand. Police Commissioner Bennett spoke about identity theft. She reminded residents not to give out personal data such as their Social Security number, birth date or address. Chief Atkins said if it doesn’t look legitimate, it probably isn’t. He recommended calling that company or financial institution to determine whether they contacted you. The Police Commissioner said that twenty-three gas blower violations were issued for the month. The Chief said that from December Sixteenth until March Fourteenth no gas-powered leaf blowers are allowed. The Mayor and Board thanked the Chief for his report. Police Chief Atkins wished everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a happy holiday season. Fire Commissioner Senerchia asked the Fire Chief to discuss three mutual aid calls. Chief Greco spoke about Greenville Department where Pelham Manor responded as standby and two mutual aid calls to Pelham. One call was for a boiler fire and the other was for a working fire inside a garage. Fire Commissioner Senerchia spoke about an unintentional cooking call and spoke about the First Responders on that call and thanked them. He also noted that a few trees were down. He reminded residents to stay away from wires. The Fire Commissioner spoke about ongoing training for paid and volunteer firefighters. The Fire Chief said that career firefighters worked with New Rochelle Fire Department at D’Onofrio Field on hazardous training. The new engine is being assembled and painted. It’s waiting for the body to be put on. The finishing touches are being done. It is still on schedule. The Chief said that it will be driven from Wisconsin to Patterson, New York. It is expected by January. Other fire departments are waiting thirty months to get this type of apparatus. Chief Greco also spoke about a gas main rupture. There was a gas leak and the family was evacuated. The gas leak was found in the driveway. He said that we worked well with Con Edison. The Fire Chief said that the annual toy drive is underway. Four hundred to five hundred toys have been collected. Pack One brought a huge donation of twenty to thirty toys. The toys will be 2 delivered to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. He said that the drive will continue until December 31, 2022. He said that the Fire Department keeps toys in a closet. He said that in case of a fire or car accident where children are involved, a stuffed animal will be brought to the scene to provide some comfort. He said that every year the drive gets better and he thanked the residents for their donations. The Mayor and Board thanked Chief Greco for his report. The Village Treasurer discussed the Village’s finances for November. The month closed with twelve million dollars. Non property tax revenues included three hundred seventy-seven thousand dollars in sales tax distribution, twenty-nine thousand dollars in cable franchise fees, twenty-four thousand dollars from rental property and fifty-four thousand dollars from business fees. Employee Benefits totaled one million nine hundred eleven thousand six hundred seven dollars and seventy- one cents. Of this amount, one million four hundred eighty- five thousand five hundred eighty- five dollars was for the mandatory State Police and Fire Retirement contributions and one hundred ninety thousand four hundred six dollars was for all other employees in the Retirement System. The DPW report for November showed that two thousand three hundred tons of leaves, over ninety three percent of the waste stream, were collected by the crew and street division. A traffic light was repaired on Shore Road and Pelhamdale Avenue. A storm drain on Grant Avenue and Monroe Street was repaired. Catch basins were cleared prior to a storm. Cleaning and televising lines has been completed and interim measures continue. The Mayor said that when the Village has forewarning of a flooding situation, it has a practice of having the crews out. Manager Pierpont said that the crew knows where we need to be. Clearing the catch basins required some overtime, but we were happy to spend that. He said that our interim measures are continuing. The Mayor spoke about the Village’s comprehensive leaf composting program and the Village Manager said that many communities have their organic waste composted elsewhere. The Village Clerk said that there were twenty-seven building permits, five Board of Appeals applications, three Letters in Lieu of a Certificate of Occupancy, thirty-two dog licenses for the month. Trustee Owen-Michaane asked about the number of building permits and Board of Appeals applications compared with last month. The Village Clerk said that they’re both down from last month. He said that sometimes a big project comes in, but it seems things are tapering off. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Police, Fire, Treasurer, DPW and Village Clerk reports be and hereby are adopted. ------------ RESOLUTION STATING THE POLLING PLACE AND HOURS THE POLLS WILL BE OPEN DURING THE MARCH 21, 2023 ELECTION The Mayor said that we have to designate the polling place for the Village election. It will be the Fire Headquarters. We make the polling place very accessible with the hours of six o’clock in the morning until nine o’clock in the evening. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously, RESOLVED, that WHEREAS, the next General election will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, and 3  WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees must designate by Resolution the polling place and state the hours the polls will be open, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The Board of Trustees designates the Fire Headquarters, 4 Penfield Place, Pelham Manor, New York as the polling place and the polls be and hereby will be open between the hours of six o’clock in the morning (6:00 a.m.) and nine o’clock in the evening (9:00 p.m.) . ---------------- SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING FOR LOCAL LAW #A of 2022 FOR JANUARY 9, 2023 AT 8:15 P.M. Mayor Monachino Lapey asked the Village Manager for a little more information on the proposed local law. Manager Pierpont said that the New York Public Officers Law allows communities the opportunity to extend residency throughout the state. The Village is recruiting for the Village Manager and Building Inspector positions, which are both Public Officers, and this will extend residency eligibility to give the Board and the Village the most latitude in selecting the right person for the position. The Mayor said that we have narrowed the field. All candidates live in the region. None live in Pelham Manor. She said that this is very important as we identify the successful candidate, and we want to make sure we have our bases covered. Under New York State law we need to have ten days notice to schedule this public hearing. The public hearing on this proposed Local Law will be able to be held on the first Board meeting in January. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Public Hearing on Local Law # A of 2022 be and hereby is set for Monday, January 9, 2023 at eight-fifteen in the evening. ----------- REQUEST FROM JIM ARDEN, 706 ESPLANADE, RACE ORGANIZER TO HOST THE 2023 PELHAM HALF MARATHON & 10K ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2023 Mr. Arden requested permission from the Village to host the 2023 Pelham Half Marathon and 10K race on Saturday, November 25, 2023.The race will start and end on Harmon Avenue behind Fifth Avenue in the Village of Pelham and will include parts of Pelham Manor. The Pelham Civic Association is the beneficiary of this race. The Mayor said that the next step would be for him to meet with the Police Chief to go over the details regarding the race. No action is required on this yet. . ------------- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTRACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 30673-30708 After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Mayor be and hereby is authorized to sign Vouchers Numbers 30673-30708 . ------------- 4 PUBLIC COMMENT Jeff Wentworth, Golf Course Superintendent for the Pelham Country Club, requested an exemption from the leaf blower ban. He outlined the ways in which the Club has been a leader in environmental contributions. He noted that the property is large. There are fifty-five acres in Pelham Manor and sixty-six acres in New Rochelle. They use electric blowers and vehicles, but would like to be able to use the gasoline powered blowers for approximately twelve to fifteen minutes for the short grass and divots. He said that he thinks golf courses should be treated differently because they are different. He said if there were an electric blower that was large enough, they would have it. Mr. Wentworth said that they will be asking the City of New Rochelle for the same exemption. He said that the Village of Scarsdale has an exemption for golf courses. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo asked for a sense of how long they would need to use the gas- powered blowers and was told from May until August. The Mayor said that there are a host of opinions on this and we take all of them seriously. She said that there are emotional, environmental, and legislative issues involved. She said that there is no easy fix. The Mayor said that the Board is responsible and will take a look at proposals that other communities are doing. Trustee Bennett asked for clarification on whether they needed to use gas powered blowers during the summer. Jeff Wentworth said that he has been at the Club for twenty- eight years and they have had possibly a dozen noise complaints. Trustee Bennett asked if this work would be done at a certain time of day and was told it would be done between eight-thirty and eleven-thirty in the morning. He would request the exemption from eight o’clock in the morning until twelve o’clock in the afternoon. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo asked about the turf that needs to be cut and was told the short turf is cut every day. Trustee Cataldi DeLillo said that the initially the Board looked at a complete and total ban. There was a lot of back and forth and the Board tried to be sensitive to both sides. It was suggested that John Pierpont do some research and dig into what other communities are doing. The Mayor said that it prides itself on being reasonable. We’ll take a hard look at what other communities are doing regarding golf courses. John Pierpont can do some digging on that. She said that she appreciated the job Mr. Wentworth has to do. She said that we will stay in touch and do some homework on this. Mr. Desmond Yuen, 500 Wolfs Lane, spoke about traffic on Wolfs Lane. He spoke about high rates of speed and on street parking that causes dangerous conditions in certain areas because cars have to cross into the on coming lane of traffic to get around the parked cars. He also spoke about e-scooters and bicycles. He said that last week he parked his car across the street from his house and another car slammed into it. The Police and Fire Department showed up and tried to help. They extricated the woman. He suggested a speed hump and the removal of parking from Wolfs Lane. The Mayor thanked him for coming. She was sorry to hear about his car accident. She said that he has some legitimate suggestions. We can get more data on traffic enforcement. She said that speed humps present a different kind of danger for our emergency equipment. Manager Pierpont said that we could have a traffic engineer look at this. We can have the stealth traffic camera out as soon as possible. 5 Mayor Monachino Lapey said that we will take a hard look at this. Trustee Bennett said that thankfully you’re ok. She said that we take all safety issues seriously. She said that we’ll look into this. Trustee Senerchia said that it’s very dicey driving uphill. He said that we will look into this. Mr. Yuen said that it is equally dicey going downhill. Trustee Owen-Michaane thanked him for coming. The Mayor said that you have our commitment that we will have the engineer and police department out. Gianni Magnani, 435 Carol Place, said that since this was the last official meeting for 2022, he wanted to thank the Board of Trustees, the uniform services, and the administration. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year to all. --------------- EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor said that there were issues regarding an employment matter and a 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 Matter – Collective Bargaining No action was taken in Executive Session. -------------- ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. -------------- Clerk 6