Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES September 23, 2024 PRESENT: Mayor Monachino Lapey Trustee Bennett Trustee Owen-Michaane Trustee Case Trustee McLaughlin Attorney Cornachio Manager Luft 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 introduced David Montilla the Communications Director for Senator Fernandez’s office. He gave an update on the ongoing efforts to address watershed issues, and said that he would be here for questions. Trustee McLaughlin said that the next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, October Fifteenth which is one day after the Columbus Day holiday. He spoke about the Village’s website which highlights everything going on. Trustee Case said that many people attended the September 11th ceremony. Joe Durnin, former Mayor of Pelham and Commander of the Pelham American Legion, was the Master of Ceremonies. Trustee Case said that Joe Durnin and his committee are already thinking about the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11 and are trying to gather information on family members of the victims. He said that his e-mail is pelmayor@aol.com. Trustee Bennett said that bicycle registration kicked off last week. She said that the children had a great time and they received gifts and ice pops. She said that children can still come to the Police Desk and register bicycles. Trustee Bennett said that these are some very unsettling times with car thefts, attempted car thefts and burglaries. She said that car thefts are a regional problem and said the Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey are experiencing this problem. She said that the Police Chief and Lieutenant Sancho were at the meeting tonight and will stay and answer questions. ---------- MINUTES Mayor Monachino Lapey asked if there were any comments or questions on the minutes from September 10, 2024 There were no comments or questions on the minutes. After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was RESOLVED, that the minutes from the September 10, 2024 regular meeting be and hereby are approved. ----------- 1 REPORTS Police Commissioner Bennett discussed the Police report with Chief Atkins. She asked him to speak about the Business District. Chief Atkins spoke about ShopRite and said that the Police are able to respond quickly and, in many instances, make arrests there. The Police Commissioner asked the Chief to speak about some tips regarding residents sending money to the wrong people. The Police Chief said that you should never give personal information or access to your bank accounts. He said that if someone asks for that information you should hang up and call your bank. Police Commissioner Bennett asked him to speak about what his department is doing. The Chief said that patrols have been increased, resources have been moved and overtime shifts have been added. He said that this week it has been quiet. The Police Commissioner reminded residents to lock cars, doors and windows. She said that if you’re using a cell phone, you should call the Police Desk at (914) 738-1000 rather than 911 which will be routed to another location before going to the Pelham Manor Police. This will lose valuable time. The Chief said that we take this seriously. The Mayor and Board thanked the Chief for his report. The Village Treasurer’s reports for July and August show that the ending fund balance was sixteen million eight hundred thousand dollars. The significant revenue was from real property taxes. The Village received three million seven hundred ninety thousand dollars. The Village has received ninety-eight percent of payments for property taxes. RESOLVED, that the Police and Treasurer reports be and hereby are approved. ---------- RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE 2023 ADJUSTED BASE PROPORTIONS The Board of Trustees was presented with two options for Homestead and Non-Homestead properties. Traditionally the rates that favor the Homestead, or residential, class are adopted. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that she was in favor of that. The 2023 Adjusted Base Proportions are very modestly in favor of the Homestead class. Using 2023 Final Assessment Roll Using 2024 Final Assessment Roll Homestead 80.279489 80.392270 Non-Homestead 19.720511 19.607730 After discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the 2023 Adjusted Base Proportions be and be and hereby are adopted. --------- RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO CENTRALIZED ARRAIGNMENT IN WESTCHESTER 2 COUNTY The Village Manager said that there is a proposal to centralize arraignments in villages. Currently, the Village Police Department works with the local justices on arraignments. She said that this new proposal will be a significant procedural change. Local justices would be in a rotation to do arraignments. There would be a significant increase of time that people are in custody and it would prolong the whole process. Trustee Owen-Michaane said that this wasn’t a good thing. It will cause a delay in processing and arraignments. RESOLUTION Whereas, in 2016, New York State (NYS} adopted legislation relating to off­ hours arraignment parts in counties outside the City of New York; and Whereas, this legislation authorized the establishment of a plan to designate off-hours arraignment parts in select local criminal courts of a county, commonly referred to as Centralized Arraignment; and Whereas, in 2023, NYS Office of Court Administration {OCA} mandated that all arraignments of criminal defendants in the cities within Westchester County be conducted at two central locations, the City Courts of Yonkers and Mount Vernon; and Whereas, shortly thereafter, further consolidation occurred as the venue was changed solely to the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains; and Whereas, earlier this year, OCA stated they intend to extend centralized arraignment in Westchester County to include Town and Village Justice Courts effective Fall 2024; and Whereas, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham Manor is in opposition to this significant change in procedure; and Whereas, currently the police departments in Towns and Villages contact local judges to perform arraignments, resulting in the defendants being released quickly and allowing the officers to return to patrol duties as soon as possible; and Whereas, if this proposed procedural change is implemented, the circumstances to receive an arraignment would be expanded, resulting in an unnecessary burden being placed on the locality; and Whereas, these expanded circumstances include increased travel distances, increased volume of defendants being arraigned at a given time, increased time a defendant is in custody, among others; and Whereas, the unnecessary burden being placed on the locality would include increased demand for supervision and transportation of a defendant, resulting in inflated liability and unanticipated escalation of staffing demands, among others; and Whereas, the unanticipated escalation of staffing demands would increase overtime costs and lengthen the amount of time it takes for Police Officers to return to patrol duties; and Whereas, the proposed procedural change would also negatively impact persons of the public through extended holding times, which is contradicting to the legislative intent of the bail reform laws that were enacted by the NYS Legislature in 2020; and Whereas, persons accused of misdemeanors or non-violent offenses, who are not eligible for remand, would now be held for an extended period of time and be transported to the City of 3  White Plains; now Therefore, be It Resolved, that the Village of Pelham Manor urges the New York State Court System to carefully consider the concerns raised above prior to implementing centralized arraignments for Towns and Villages in Westchester County. ---------- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ABSTRACT OF VOUCHERS NUMBERS 32821-32881 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 32821-32881. --------- PUBLIC COMMENT The Mayor asked if there were any comments or questions from the public. Mitchell Merl, 18 Edgemere, asked about an update on flooding. David Montilla, Communications Director for Senator Fernndez’s office, spoke about Pelham Bay Park and said that they have been kept updated on the Village’s project. He said that he cannot predict their promptness but he said that he will be at Pelham Manor’s next meeting on October Fifteenth with an update. Sara Taylor, 942 Grant Avenue, spoke about crime. Chief Atkins said that without going into tactics, the Village has increased patrols. He said that homes are left unlocked. The perpetrators are looking for car keys and fobs. This is happening in many communities in Connecticut and New Jersey. He said that the Police are doing everything we can. The Chief said to contact the Police Department if they see something. The response time is between one and three minutes. Mayor Monachino Lapey said that the Village is committed to public safety. She said that Pelham Manor is a target based on its nice cars and arteries to get away. She said that you can call the police and make an appointment to speak with them. Anthony Maiuolo, 955 Esplanade, spoke about transparency and bail reform. The Mayor said that the Village provides information through Face Book, e-mails, e-blasts and Nixle alerts. She said that transparency is a balancing act and we provide the information that we can. Lieutenant Sancho said that releasing some information would be detrimental to police investigations. He said that the Police Department works with other agencies. The Mayor said that we want these perpetrators caught. She said that the Village is committed to staffing and training. Jaime McLean, 1045 Grant Avenue, spoke about having her house robbed and suggested that the Village’s entrances and exits be locked after a certain time. The Mayor said that the Village does not have the authority to do that on State and County roads. Manager Luft said that the Village does not have authority over Boston Post Road. She said that the Police vehicles are maintained and the Police Department has every resource that they need. She said that we focus on that every day and in every budget. Police Commissioner Bennett asked the Police Chief for an update on what has happened since patrols have been increased. 4 Chief Atkins said that there was no activity overnight. He said that additional patrols have made an impact. He said that the Police are stopping vehicles. He said that they have stopped many cars and delivery people. Joe Taylor, 942 Grant Avenue, said that this seems to be a County-wide problem. He asked about apprehension plans and using the license plate reader. The Police Chief spoke about the auto theft detail and arrests throughout the County. He said that there are fixed and mobile plate readers throughout the County. He spoke about the Real Time Crime Center. The Village Manager said that Westchester County is working with other agencies. She said that the Village has an Inter Municipal Agreement with Westchester County in place. Steve Shekane, 917 Washington Avenue, spoke about police pursuits, license plate readers, cameras, video surveillance and flooding issues. He asked for the name of the person who would be authorized to give the final sign off on the work to mitigate flooding in Pelham Bay Park. David Montilla said that the Commissioner of New York City Parks is Sue Donoghue and she would be the person to give the final sign off on the work. He said that the Senator’s office will continue to apply pressure to get action from them as soon as possible. ------------- EXECUTIVE SESSION 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 pending litigation. No action was taken in Executive Session. ---------- ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. ---------- Clerk 5