Mayor & Village Board of Trustees

VILLAGE OF PELHAM BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015, 7:30 PM VILLAGE HALL – 195 SPARKS AVENUE, PELHAM, NY Minutes 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Mayor’s Report 4. Trustees’ Reports 5. Village Administrator’s Report 6. Public Comment # Agenda Items: Non-Recurring Items 7. Authorizing IMA Between Village of Pelham and New Rochelle for Approved Disposal of Organic Yard Waste 8. Authorization to Approve Consultant to Upgrade the Village of Pelham Discussed Website 9. Discuss Community Housing Infrastructure Investment Program (CHIIP) Discussed with Westchester County 10. Other Business None Recurring Items 11. Discussion of Tax Freeze and Government Efficiency Plan Discussed 12. Authorizing Accounts Payable Approved 13. Authorizing Minutes of: January 20, 2015, February 3, 2015 Approved 14. Adjournment to Executive Session Approved Next Regularly Scheduled BOT Meetings: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Tuesday, March 17, 2015 All meetings start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Item #1 – Meeting called to order: The meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Mayor Cassidy at 7:30 p.m. The following members of the Board of Trustees were present: Trustees Senerchia, Mutti, Reim, Kagan, and Marty Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 The following members of the Board of Trustees were absent: Trustee Volpe Village staff in attendance: Administrator Yamuder, Secretary to the Village Administrator Peter Bonington Item #2 – Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Cassidy. Reports: Mayor Cassidy Report Mayor Cassidy thanked the DPW for their snow removal efforts. He added that sometimes the DPW needs to work on overtime on Wolfs Lane and 5th Avenue during the early morning hours to conduct plowing operations. He said the reason for this is because that is the only time there are no cars to interrupt the plowing. He stated he attended a Westchester Municipal Officials Association dinner in which the topic of discussion was telecommunications facilities in communities. He said the guest speaker was Robert Spolzino who assisted the Village in the drafting of their own local law. He said Pelham is at the forefront of this growing trend. Trustees Reports: Trustee Kagan None Trustee Marty None Trustee Mutti Trustee Mutti stated that there is going to be a fundraiser for installing a bench in honor of Susan Kahn in the woodland park area of Wolfs Lane Park. Page 2 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 She stated she has been in touch with the MTA regarding clearing the platform after snowfall. She stated the Wolfs Lane Park grant application had been resubmitted along the guidelines of the Sean Jancski schematic and budget. She said it was submitted to the Dormitory Authority on Friday, February 13th. Trustee Marty asked if Trustee Mutti if the Board is now committed to this design scope by submitting this application. Trustee Mutti responded that the grant scope is very specific and if the proposed change in scope is approved, the Village would be bound to follow through on the design. Trustee Marty stated that he felt the Board has not examined this design closely enough or reached out for enough community input to commit to a design scheme at this time. Trustee Reim concurred with Trustee Marty that this has not received any public comment to date. Trustee Mutti responded that she felt it has been a very open, public process and they have spent time as a Board reviewing this proposed design schematic. Trustee Mutti stated that “we could not have done more public comment on this plan.” Trustee Kagan suggested that the Village Administrator recirculate the resolution where the Board approved changing the scope of work to fund this new plan. Mayor Cassidy said the original plan composed by Hank White came to a total cost of approximately 5 million in which the Village only had a grant for $647,000 to fund part of it. He said the Board elected to revise scope to make it easier to fund improvements and has gone through the steps to facilitate that change administratively. This summary is accurate, except that it excluded that Trustee Mutti stated that a resolution has been agreed and voted on this plan; and Mayor Cassidy also stated that is the case. Trustee Reim Trustee Reim thanked the DPW for their snow removal efforts. Trustee Senerchia Trustee Senerchia advised residents to look in on each other as the Village continues to experience periodic snowstorms. Page 3 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Trustee Volpe Absent Village Administrator’s Report Administrator Yamuder thanked the DPW for their snow removal efforts. He said the department was recently topped up on salt for the roads should conditions require future plowing. He said he is pursuing outstanding permits with Con Ed for word done around the Village. He said there are approximately $16,000 in outstanding permits the Village is working on recouping. Item #6– Public Comment None Item #7– Authorizing IMA Between Village of Pelham and New Rochelle for Disposal of Organic Yard Waste Administrator Yamuder said this is an annual contract between the Village and the City of New Rochelle. It is unchanged from the version approved by the Board last year. Trustee Marty if the Village has any alternatives to this contract for disposing of yard waste. Administrator Yamuder stated this is the best option for the Village. The only alternative would be to cart the waste further away and pay more for that option. A motion was made by Trustee Marty and seconded by Trustee Reim to approve the resolution. The vote was approved by a vote of six in favor, none opposed. Trustee Volpe was absent. BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham hereby authorize the renewal of an agreement between the Village of Pelham and the City of New Rochelle for the Disposal of Organic Waste, including Yard Waste, Leaves, Brush, Logs and other similar acceptable organic waste, at the City of New Rochelle Waste Transfer Station, per the agreement provided for by the City of New Rochelle (attached hereto and made a part hereof), effective January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015; and Page 4 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the Village Administrator are authorized to sign this agreement and to take the necessary and appropriate actions to effect this agreement Item #8– Authorization to Approve Consultant to Upgrade the Village of Pelham Website Trustee Mutti suggested the Board table this resolution until a later meeting as she is still collecting research and is waiting for an updated proposal. She stated the Village received a total of four proposals for the work so far. Trustee Kagan asked about the cost of any add ons such as PANGO, video streaming, and other additons. Trustee Mutti stated the Village can evaluate those options however they are not connected with this current task of updating the website. Mayor Cassidy stated that he feels the website is outdated and needs an upgrade. The Village can add on amenities at a later time such as live streaming however the Board should plan on making a decision at the next Board meeting on March 3, 2015. Trustee Reim stated that a lot of work has been done on this process and he wanted to see a decision made soon. He said however he wanted to make sure that the technical questions have been answered before making a final decision. He stated that he had submitted a list of questions regarding the analysis of bidders to Trustee Mutti which went unanswered. The information as provided in previous material was not reasonably complete to make an immediate decision. Trustee Mutti stated many of the technical questions and their answers are outlined in the accompanying chart. Trustee Reim stated not all the technical questions have been addressed. He stated for example the difference between a WordPress site and a Drupal based one. He said in his experience Drupal may be a better platform for hosting a site. He stated that understanding the difference between platforms should yield the best results. Trustee Marty stated the updated proposal will provide more data and the Village can evaluate at the next Board meeting. The Board decided to table this resolution until a later meeting. Page 5 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 WHEREAS, The Village of Pelham requested five (5) and received four (4) quotes to upgrade the website for the Village of Pelham; and WHEREAS, on reviewing the proposals, the bids were as follows: Base Bid for set up costs 1. Next Step Computers $ 4,100.00 2. Netgains America, LLC. $ 4,500.00 3. Virtual Towns and Schools $ 6,995.00 4. Civicplus $ 9,949.00 (Minimum for core package) 5. Blenderbox Declined to bid WHEREAS, Administrator Robert Yamuder has determined that the lowest responsible bid that meets requirements is Virtual Towns and Schools. . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham hereby award the contract for upgrading the website for the Village of Pelham to Virtual Towns and Schools at the total lowest qualified bid for start-up cost of six thousand, nine hundred and ninety -five dollars ($6,995.00), as a lump-sum contract.; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Village Administrator are authorized to take the necessary and appropriate actions to effect and execute this lump-sum contract for these services. Item #9– Discuss Community Housing Infrastructure Investment Program (CHIIP) with Westchester County Administrator Yamuder stated that this program is designed to help fund projects from the 2012 CDBG budget cycle. He said the Village has an estimate of approximately $200,000 for work on two projects: relining the 5th Avenue/Wolfs Lane sewers, and beginning the stormwater pipe expansion at the top of 7th Avenue. Mayor Cassidy asked if the Administrator was confident that these were accurate numbers as they are both three years old. Administrator Yamuder stated that he had spoken to Anthony Zaino of the Westchester County Budget Department. He said already is a built in 10% contingency. He is working to update the Page 6 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 numbers to reflect today’s costs. He asked the Board to allow him to continue investigating this opportunity. He said there is a March 13th deadline. He recommended approving it at the next Board meeting on March 3, 2015. Mayor Cassidy said this would be a good opportunity to take advantage of because it offers 50% sharing of the cost to make these improvements. Item #10– Other Business None Item #11– Discussion of Tax Freeze and Government Efficiency Plan Administrator Yamuder stated that he is compiling the information necessary to file the GEP in June as per the deadline. He said this is a three-year program to save 1% of the budget. He said if the United Water transfer occurs, that will help this year’s savings. Item #12– Authorizing the Accounts Payable Trustee Senerchia audited the Accounts Payable. A motion was made by Trustee Mutti and seconded by Trustee Senerchia to approve the resolution. The vote was approved by a vote of six in favor, none opposed. Trustee Volpe was absent. RESOLUTION WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 5-524 of the New York State Village Law, the Board of Trustees shall audit all claims against the Village. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees after audit of the following claims, authorizes payment for services rendered and materials received, for the following items that have been submitted to the Treasurer's Office for payment and authorized by the Village Administrator: Fund Name: Amount General Fund $239,083.91 Water Fund $37,105.53 Capital Projects Fund $0.00 Trust and Agency Fund $350.00 Page 7 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 CD NYS Main Street Fund $0.00 H3 Fund $0.00 TE Expand Trust Fund $0.00 Grand Total $276,539.44 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board hereby approves payment of the above mentioned claims and authorizes payment thereof. Item #13– Authorizing Minutes of: January 20, 2015, February 3, 2015 A motion was made by Trustee Mutti and seconded by Trustee Kagan to approve the resolution. The vote was approved by a vote of five in favor, none opposed. Mayor Cassidy abstained. Trustee Volpe was absent. January 20, 2015- Approved February 3, 2015- Tabled Item #14–Adjournment to Executive Session A motion was made by Trustee Marty with a second by Trustee Kagan to adjourn the public portion of the Board meeting at 8:45 pm and go into Executive Session to discuss a pending litigation matter after which time the Board would adjourn for the evening. The motion was approved by vote of six in favor, none opposed. Trustee Volpe was absent. Respectfully submitted, Peter Bonington, Secretary to the Village Administrator Page 8