Board of Trustees

Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 482 THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH REGULAR MEETING Rutherford Hall Village Hall October 23, 2018 A Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Scarsdale was held in the Trustees’ Room in Village Hall on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 8:00 P.M. Present were Mayor Hochvert, Trustees Arest, Callaghan, Crandall, Finger, Ross, and Veron. Also present were Village Manager Pappalardo, Deputy Village Manager Cole, Deputy Village Attorney Garrison, Assistant Village Manager Richards, Village Treasurer McClure, Village Clerk Conkling, and Assistant to the Village Manager Ringel. ******** The minutes of the Board of Trustees Regular Meeting of Tuesday, October 9, 2018 were approved on a motion entered by Trustee Crandall, seconded by Trustee Ross and carried unanimously. ******** Bills & Payroll Trustee Callaghan reported that he had audited the Abstract of Claims dated October 23, 2018 in the amount of $2,097,253.36 which includes $2,201.75 in Library Claims previously audited by a Trustee of the Library Board which were found to be in order and he moved that such payment be ratified. Upon motion duly made by Trustee Callaghan and seconded by Trustee Ross, the following resolution was adopted unanimously: RESOLVED, that the Abstract of Claims dated October 23, 2018 in the amount of $2,097,253.36 is hereby approved. ******** Mayor’s Comments Mayor Hochvert stated that on October 14th, the Greenacres Neighborhood Association had a breakfast in the field across from the school. The service was good and Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 483 the pancakes were delicious. It was an excellent time to visit with your neighbors; social events build more concern for your neighbors as it is an avenue to get to know your neighbors. Trustees Arest and Finger also attended. They observed all of the good things that a neighborhood association can make happen. On October 16th, Mayor Hochvert stated that he and Trustee Veron met with Village planner Liz Marrinan and her assistant, Shelby Miller and they discussed the presentation of the material that was shared this evening at the meeting of the Land Use Committee – that made for a very effective meeting. On October 17th, he stated that he met with the Junior League of Central Westchester. He stated that he was very impressed that 15 other volunteer groups had gathered and they were looking at sharing the opportunity to collaborate and help each other reach more people, be more effective in their volunteer service. That afternoon the Mayor stated he had a call with the Rye City Mayor who was very interested in Scarsdale’s food scrap recycling program. He referred the Rye City Mayor to Ron Schulhof and Michelle Sterling for more information. In addition, there was a brief Law Committee meeting which Trustee Finger will discuss later. On October 20th, Mayor Hochvert stated that he attended a meeting with the Chair of the County Legislators, Ben Boykin, and County Executive George Latimer. They presented a ‘State of the County’ address. This was held in the Board of Education building in White Plains, so there were many municipalities represented and there was also an Assemblywoman in attendance. There are budget issues in that organization, but they are also finding ways short of raising taxes to gain more revenue. Immediately following, Mayor Hochvert stated that he had the pleasure of performing a wedding ceremony for a young couple at the gazebo on the Scarsdale Library grounds. He stated that it was lovely to see a young couple who adored each other and were so enthusiastic about getting married. After the ceremony, Mayor Hochvert stated that he attended the Annual Fire Event for families held at Crossway Fire House. There were many impressive presentations; however, he stated that it was the first time he watched them demonstrate why one should not put water on a grease fire. He explained how they performed this demonstration. Anyone who witnessed the presentation will never use water to put out a grease fire. After that event, there was another volunteer fire company event. Volunteer Company #1 celebrated it’s 125th anniversary. Trustee Callaghan will say a few more words about that event. Mayor Hochvert stated that Assemblywoman Amy Paulin is still working with Assemblyman David Buchwald to try to find ways we can mitigate the impact of the Federal Act on taxes no longer permitting the property tax deduction. She included a statement that he read to the audience. He noted that almost every other municipality in Westchester is in Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 484 support of Assemblywoman Paulin in her effort to try to change what was enacted last December. Mayor Hochvert reminded the community that Tuesday, November 6th is Election Day and the polls are open from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Due to the closure of the library for renovations, those polling districts normally located there have been moved to Fox Meadow Elementary School. All other election districts will use their regular polling locations. Mayor Hochvert stated that at the last Board meeting he mentioned that there is a program that is in place to try to minimize the safety difficulties that leaves in the street create. He stated he was asked to mention this evening that if you mulch your leaves, you won’t have to put them in street, they just disappear into your lawn. ******** Mayor Hochvert then recognized Ron Schulhof to approach the microphone and speak regarding the current LED project. Ron Schulhof, Springdale Road, speaking on behalf of the LED Streetlight Committee, gave the Board and community an update on Phase II of the LED Streetlight conversion project, which began yesterday as the launch of a pilot on our residential roads. This will be for all of the residential roads in Scarsdale that do not currently have LED streetlights. There are approximately 1500 lights on the residential roads. There are 11 pilot locations that have been set up; at each location there are 5 lights. There are two locations in each neighborhood. In Edgewood they are on Boulevard and Nelson Road – 5 lights on each; in Heathcote they are on Kelwynne and Murray Hill Roads; in Quaker Ridge they are on Crossway and Springdale; in Fox Meadow they are on Church and Fox Meadow Roads; in Greenacres they are on Brewster and Greenacres Avenue, and an 11th location on Fenimore Road. The exact locations are available on www.scarsdale.com, under Government, Ad Hoc Committees, LED Committee. There are maps where the lights are located. Residents may email the committee at LED@scarsdale.com for a copy of the maps. This pilot will be run for the next month. The committee requests that everyone take a look at the lights and send any feedback to LED@scarsdale.com or there is a comment box in Village Hall at the 1st floor service window. He noted the LED light locations where streetlights have already been converted. After the pilot is complete and feedback received, the committee will come back to the Board and the community with an update and recommendations on how to proceed. He again urged the community to take a look at the pilot lights. Trustee Crandall asked Mr. Schulhof if with this pilot all the LED lights are the same but in different locations. Mr. Schulhof responded that all of the lights in this pilot are the Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 485 same. He noted that these lights do differ slightly from the lights that were already installed. They are similar, but they are geared to be for residential roads. ******** Manager’s Comments: Village Manager Pappalardo spoke about the annual Fall Leaf Collection program which commenced this week and will continue until December 7th, which is the last day for this year that the leaves may be placed by the residents at curbside for collection. The program consists of DPW Highway Department personnel, supplemented by temporary laborers collecting leaves that are piled loose at the curb line with leaf vacuum. The leaves are brought to the recycling center on Secor Road where they are removed by Westchester County contractors and disposed of at leaf composting facilities located out of Scarsdale. The Village collects the leaves at each home three to four times during the program period. Alternately, leaves may be placed in biodegradable paper bags and placed at the curb for weekly collections by separate public works crews. All tree brush and branches must be tied separately and placed curb side with yard waste for collection. He also reminded residents that they or their contractors may bring loose leaves collected from Scarsdale residences only to the Village recycling center at Secor Road. The normal dumping fee will be waived as long as contractors preregister with the Village and provide proof of client residency. Residents may also purchase 40 gallon biodegradable paper bags at the recycling center at a cost of $4.00 for 5 bags and there are no restrictions as to the number of bags that can be purchased by residents. Residents and/or contractors should contact the Public Works Department at 722-1150 for further information. He reminded all residents and contractors that leaves must be placed loose in the area between the curb or pavement edge and one’s private property line for collection by Village crews. Leaf piles must be free of any other organic material, including grass clippings, twigs, branches – these contaminated piles can damage the Village equipment. Loose leaves placed on any part of the roadway are considered a public safety hazard and in violation of the Village Code. These leaves can create safety traffic hazards. Warning notices as well as violation notices will be issued. Residents are encouraged to mulch their leaves on site. Additional information regarding leaf mulching is available on the Village website, www.scarsdale.com on the Conservation Advisory Council page. Village Manager Pappalardo then recognized Water Superintendent Steven Johnson to approach the podium and speak about an item on the agenda this evening, an agreement with the New York City Water Board relative to a Water Demand Study that they conducted in the Village of Study. This started in 2013. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 486 Steven Johnson, Water Department Superintendent, stated that as a result of that 5 year study, the Village has been working on and off with New York City. He gave some history of what this plan is and why it came to fruition. Mr. Johnson stated that New York City and its ten largest upstate water users (Scarsdale is one of the top ten users in upstate New York) are being asked to reduce water usage by 5% starting in 2022 because of the repairs to the Delaware Aqueduct. New York City will provide $657,000 to Scarsdale to help reduce water consumption by 5% by 2022 from a base year of 2013. The shutdown of the Delaware aqueduct does not have a direct effect on the Village of Scarsdale because the Village is supplied by the Catskill aqueduct and the 48 inch pipeline from the Westchester County Water District #1. However, with the Delaware shutdown there will be an overall effect to the water supply to the entire region. The reasons for this Demand Management Plan are: New York City is planning major repairs to the Delaware Aqueduct near Wawarsing and Newburgh. Near Newburgh they are building a bypass tunnel underneath the Hudson River to the Town of Wappinger. This tunnel is two and one half miles long and 700-900 feet deep. While the tunnel is shutdown some smaller leaks, 25 miles upstream will also be repaired. This work is expected to be complete in 2021 -2022. This project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion. The Delaware Aqueduct is one of three New York City Aqueducts. It was built in 1939- 45. It is the largest of the 3 aqueducts capable of carrying 650 million gallons of water each day from the Catskill Mountains to the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers. The other aqueducts are the Catskill Aqueduct which is also from the Catskill Mountains and is capable of providing 550 million gallons per day and the Croton Aqueduct which is sourced in Putnam and Westchester Counties and can provide 300 million gallons per day. It is estimated to be leaking between 18 and 35 million gallons per day. To put this into perspective, the Village of Scarsdale uses approximately 3 million gallons per day. The aqueduct has been leaking for decades, but it has taken this long to come up with a viable engineering solution. Mr. Johnson continued, stating that building the bypass will allow for a shutdown lasting months rather than years. It is estimated that the Delaware Aqueduct will be shut down for 8 months as opposed to years if they repaired it in place. The benefits for the Village of Scarsdale are: Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 487 This pays for two entire Village leak detection surveys at a reimbursement of $100,000. The Village has over 100 miles of distribution pipe. Some of it dates back to the early 1900’s; a lot of it was put in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s. There is a lot of old pipe out there and it is expected to find some leaks with these surveys. The first leak detection survey to be completed by 10/1/2020 and the second by 10/1/2021. New York City will pay up to $157,000 for leak repairs identified by the surveys. Completion of round 1 leak repairs completed by 7/1/2021 and the second round by the end of 2022. Another important part of this plan is to pay for the transition to monthly billing. New York City will allocate $400,000 for this which includes the complete installation of AMI (water meter radio readers). We have been doing this in-house for 2 years and have approximately 3,500 out of the 5,800 accounts complete. That allows the Village to do drive-bys to read the meters. Eventually, when they are all in place, it is planned to put in a fix based system, which means 5-7 antennas spread throughout the Village on Village facilities to read each meter instantaneously. That is to be completed by 1/1/2022. By performing these tasks the Village should have no issue achieving its goal of 5% reduction. Village Manager Pappalardo requested clarification on monthly billing, asking Mr. Johnson to speak about the Village’s ability to do that once these radio readers and fixed base system is in place, and how that would work in conserving water. Mr. Johnson stated that he and Village Treasurer McClure have been working on this part of the issue for a year, with discussions becoming more intense over the last few months. He stated that by receiving bills every month, it will eliminate the period of time that a leak or other issue could go undetected. The benefit is that the resident will have their read each month and will receive it within 2-3 weeks of the period that the water was used. Village Treasurer McClure stated that they are very excited about the ability to expand the capabilities of the water billing system. She would like to see the water billing go to an online portal, which is already built into the water billing system. Those people who prefer to do so can go online to take a look at their water bill and then institute online payment. She would like to automate this as much as possible, whether it be email or online billing so that people have notification and be able to access their information more readily. She spoke about how helpful it would be if an ‘alarm’ could be sent to a resident whose usage has spiked. Water Superintendent Johnson stated that the technology Ms. McClure spoke to is available now and one of the good things about the $400,000 is that it includes upgrades to the Village’s software – billing and reading systems. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 488 Trustee Finger pointed out that this is a really fantastic job by Water Superintendent Johnson, Village Treasurer McClure, Village Manager Pappalardo, and whoever else worked on this. The foresight on doing this is going to save the Village exactly what’s there – this is money that we would have had to spend anyway. This is another great effort to procure grant money to fund projects in the Village that need to be done. This is a big win and he stated that he is looking forward to hearing the updates between now and 2022. Trustee Crandall asked if this effort means that there will be more efforts to educate residents on how to conserve water? Mr. Johnson stated that the Water Department always puts out material on conserving water; over the last couple years there has been a decline in water use and he felt that this was partly due to the conservation efforts in place. He stated that he has personally visited 40-50 areas with the highest water bills and reviewed conservation measures with the residents. Trustee Crandall noted that there are some areas in the Village with very high water pressure. She asked if Mr. Johnson had any information on that to share with residents that could possibly be put online. Mr. Johnson stated that this is more a plumbing issue than a water issue. There is only one pressure zone in the Village. A plumber can install a pressure reducing valve – the pressure inside a home should be approximately 70-75 psi. This would help people save on their water bills. Trustee Crandall asked what people should do to find out if the sprinkler on their property has been permitted and what they could do to bring their system up to code. Mr. Johnson stated that they could call the Water Department at 722-1138 and speak to Albana. She will check the files – there is a spreadsheet with everyone that has a permitted sprinkler system and if they don’t have a permit the department can get the information to them. Information on sprinkler permits is on the website, www.scarsdale.com, Water Department section. Trustee Crandall noted that one of the comments in the report was that sometimes current water leaks are called in by people. She asked what a resident should do if they are concerned there might be a water leak in their neighborhood. Mr. Johnson stated that they should call the Water Department at 722-1138 and the department will investigate every concern about a water leak. ******** Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 489 Trustee Committee and Liaison Reports Trustee Crandall stated that in conjunction with the Village Manager’s report on the leaf collection program, dog waste bags should not be placed in with the leaves or the landscape bags. Dog waste bags should be placed in the garbage bin, preferably at your own home. Trustee Crandall reported that on October 15th, she attended the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) meeting. The CAC is working on an article about recycling. They welcome your questions. Any questions should be sent via email to: ScarsdaleCAC@GMAIL.com. Hopefully an answer will be provided in a future article. Also, the Conservation page on the Village website, www.scarsdale.com has been updated with previous articles and helpful links. Residents should remember to sign up for "Notify Me”. If anyone needs to purchase a food scrap recycling kit, they should send an email to Composting@scarsdale.com . This information is also on the Village website. There are many ways to help the environment. Please try one, including the conservation of water. Later on October 15th, Trustee Crandall stated that she observed the Scarsdale Board of Architectural Review (BAR) meeting. She stated that if any resident is interested in serving on the BAR or any other land use board, they should visit www.Scarsdale.com to submit an application. The Scarsdale Safe Coalition held a program on October 17th regarding the complex connections between different types of abuse and violence. She urged everyone to read the cover story in last week's Scarsdale Inquirer entitled "It's Going to Take a Societal Response to make Change." She stated that it was a great article written by Catherine Ferris. On October 17th, Trustee Crandall stated that she attended the Friends of Scarsdale Parks meeting. She noted that the Friends are already working on the next Community Planting Day for the spring of 2019. They are concerned about the general maintenance of our parks and regularly communicate with the Village Recreation Department. The Friends also suggested that the Village consider allocating funds for improvements to the Audrey Hochberg Pond Reserve, which is also known as the Library Pond. Lastly, Trustee Crandall stated that tomorrow there is an Aging-in-Place program on the common problem of hoarding: "Buried in Treasure: from Clutter to Chaos…" This informational event is free and open to all and takes place tomorrow at the Girl Scout House on Wayside Lane at 10:30 A.M. Scarsdale's Aging-in-Place Coordinator is Maryellen Saenger. She can be reached at (914) 723-3281 or msaenger@sfcsinc.org. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 490 Trustee Ross stated that as reported at the last Village Board meeting, the Village’s Triple A Bond rating was recently reaffirmed by Moody’s and he is pleased to report on last Tuesday’s sale of an $11.4 million 18 year bond issue in the Village. The true interest cost of the issue after taking into account the premium of $515,678.10 is 3.1319132%. There were 10 bidders for the issue, and to put the rate into perspective, the 10 year Treasury rate on the day of the sale of the issue was 3.156%. $9.9 million of the funds raised will be used for the public library renovations and $1.5 million will go to work on the Ardsley Road Water Storage Tank. Trustee Finger urged people to look online at the Village’s website regarding the report just discussed by Trustee Ross when they consider the Village’s financial situation because there are websites that are less officious that have published other things. People should take a look at the real data and the opinions of those that matter. Trustee Finger stated that he also attended the Greenacres pancake breakfast and is looking forward to next year’s event. Trustee Finger stated that two Law Committee meetings were held; the first one involved interviews of firms related to the Freightway project. Nothing has transpired up to this point other than meeting with firms. The firms are all very anxious to work with the Village and everyone will be kept up to date as this progresses. Another Law Committee meeting was held and that item is on the agenda this evening. This is the Amendment to the Village Code regarding obstructions in the right-of-way. This does not only apply to signs. The only change being discussed and suggested for public hearing this evening is to give a time frame for the Village Engineer to make a decision on any permit application. The idea is to give a finite period of time for the Engineer to make a decision. In this case the proposal is for three days and if the resolution goes forward, there will be public hearing on this on November 13th. Trustee Finger stated that the Junior League of Central Westchester is having their Holiday Boutique on Wednesday, November 7th from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. at Lake Isle Country Club. This is an organization that has a great deal of involvement in the Scarsdale Community. Trustee Veron stated that a Land Use Committee meeting held this evening was very productive. She stated that since last November, when the Committee convened a meeting with Land Use Board members and the goal is to seek their input on policy changes that they should consider. The ultimate goal is to strike the right balance between preserving individual property rights as well as protecting and preserving the unique characteristics of the neighborhoods and Village overall and also to equip the Land Use Board members with the tools they need for effective decision making. Subsequent to many conversations and input and data collection over the course of several months we have already made significant improvements. They have pulled together orientation materials so that all new Land Use Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 491 Board members are clear on their responsibilities. They have also made a very major change in the way applications are reviewed with respect to the Tree Preservation and Landscaping Plan so that the BAR will be able to consider the proposal for a development as well as implications for landscaping and tree preservation simultaneously. Finally, an amendment was made to the Tree Code which strikes the right balance between providing protection as well as not over-imposing more restrictions on residents with respect to tree removal. She stated that tonight they had the opportunity to review further work that the committee had asked of the Village staff. The Village staff prepared additional materials to augment the orientation manual materials with respect to trees, policy and ethics that will be used when educating all new Land Use Board members. In addition, Mr. Diodati was asked to look at what applications go in front of the BAR to insure we’ve used our time well and that their time is being focused on those areas where we seek neighbor input. He made recommendations about those types of applications which could be handled by the Building Department versus those that should go through the BAR. Finally, the Planning staff took over a very extensive analysis of legislation in neighboring communities with respect to the tools they use to regulate both the housing and zoning. At the end of the meeting, they now have three next steps. The first is to look at the recommendations made by Mr. Diodati to understand the practical implications of those, the second is with respect to solar panels to consider what type of guidelines should be employed, and finally, a scoping exercise on what kind of levers for land use regulations having to do with setbacks and height, etc. It was found that Scarsdale is at the forefront of using tools and is as restrictive if not more so in those areas. All this information will be posted on the website. Trustee Veron reported on a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee and noted that Little League has requested permission to field 3rd and 4th grade travel teams and PRC deliberated and granted permission for a pilot with 4th graders and to insure that the pilot incorporate feedback. With respect to Notify Me, Trustee Veron reminded the community that those who are AOL subscribers may need to sign up again for Notify Me because the AOL platform has not been accepting a lot of the Village communications. This was brought to her attention at the Halloween Window painting (a well-attended, wonderful event) people anecdotally mentioned that they have stopped receiving communications. After looking into it, it seemed that there were many AOL subscribers. She suggested that those using AOL use a different provider and the application should work. Trustee Veron reminded everyone that Light the Dale is scheduled for November 30th and for those children who are interested to put their name in a drawing for an opportunity to do the holiday lighting with the Mayor. Submissions should include name, grade and school and sent to lightthedale@gmail.com to be part of the drawing. Trustee Veron stated that there will be an update regarding the Library and a more extensive report on November 27th. There has been a lot of progress in terms of the Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 492 construction project. On November 27th there will be an opportunity to see images and hear from the construction team – it will be a very informative session. The new library website is in the last stages of development stages. The pilot should be going up next month. She stated that the Library Director has said that in response to community questioning, there have been efforts made to extend hours. For Scarsdale High School students on weeknights from 4 PM to 7 PM in the Scarsdale High School library (there has been a real partnership with the Village library and the High School library) to afford the opportunity for students to study later. The dates for those extended hours are October 29, 30, 31, and November 1, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 19 & 20. In addition, the hours of the Library Loft will change beginning Monday, November 26th. Monday through Wednesday, 8 AM to 8 PM, Thursday and Friday, and Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM. These hours will continue through March 30th. We have been sharing that space with athletic groups and we are happy we can extend those hours. The library is also expanding its services of homebound delivery materials and seeking input requiring the community’s need for this service. They have reached out to the Council on People with Disabilities, the Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens, and Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service for input and have been working with Friends of the Scarsdale Library and Scarsdale High School volunteers for the delivery portion of that service. Trustee Callaghan reported that the Board of Appeals heard 8 cases, 7 of which they approved, and one that was sent back to the Planning Board for consideration. Trustee Callaghan stated that the Advisory Council on Senior Citizens will continue to have a Village Department Head present to explain what they do. He stated DPW Superintendent Benny Salanitro spoke to the group last month, and this month Village Planner Elizabeth Marrinan and her assistant Shelby Miller will present the operations of the Planning Board. In regard to the Council on People with Disabilities, discussion was held regarding accessibility at Village Hall, which is in compliance with ADA regulations. He noted that there are complaints, however, with people parking in the handicap parking spaces without a visible permits. He also noted that there has been someone that is roaming around the St. Pius Church down to the Five Corners. This person appears to be all alone. A case has been opened with the adult counseling service in Westchester County to try to help this person. Trustee Callaghan also reported that the Fire Department had their 125th anniversary of Company #1, or which he has been a member for 36 years. He thanked Assistant to the Village Manager Josh Ringel for working on the proclamation. He also thanked the Mayor for allowing him the honor and privilege of presenting the proclamation to the group. He noted that Captain Brown and his men are sitting in the back of the meeting room this evening and he thanked them as well for their work during Fire Prevention week. The Fire Fair was a huge success. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 493 ******** Public Comments: Michelle Sterling, Brayton Road, stated that she is Co-Chair of the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee along with Darlene Haber and they recently issued a report on organic landscape management of Village properties. This is a joint report with the Forum Municipal Services Committee. She stated that the Village has been organically managing its landscape since 2009, so we are almost ten years into doing this on almost all of the properties and it has been going great. The fields, where the management is used extensively are in excellent shape – when you organically manage the property, it is not only healthier for residents and the environment, but it also gives you stronger turf. All of the past and current Superintendents of Parks and Recreation and Foreman really understand what this means, not just for the residents and the environment, but what it means to organically manage our landscapes. Ms. Sterling noted that there are a couple of instances where we do not organically manage our properties, which is what the report addresses. One in particular is the turf on the Pool Complex. That turf is treated with pesticides. The report goes into a lot of detail on what these pesticides do. It is important to change the practice at this location because people often walk on the turf in their bare feet and those chemicals can then get tracked into the pool, etc. There are organic chemicals and methods available now that we can use to correct the situation. She requested that organic management be made a Village policy. Mona Longman, 8 Varian Lane, spoke regarding the storm drains on Varian Lane and the backup that occurred during the strong rains. She presented photos of the situation to the members of the Board. She stated that this problem has occurred in the past. She is concerned that the problem will be exacerbated because of the large amount of development that could be taking place in her area. If the Village cannot properly address the flooding problem, how can they continue to allow more development in this area? The removal of trees and continuing development will only worsen the effects on the storm drain system. Robert Berg, 32 Tisdale Road, thanked Assistant to the Village Manager Ringel for writing to New York State requesting the installation of a special light for a pedestrian crossing on Route 22 for the Edgewood Elementary School. He and another resident wrote to Mr. Ringel requesting the light. New York State approved it quickly and they are going to install a special flashing crossing and are in the process of building it now. He and his fellow residents are very grateful and is a perfect example of the cooperation of neighborhood associations and the Village. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 494 Mr. Berg then spoke regarding certain aspects of the current state of the nation and the world. He stated that it would be good to have open and transparent government in Scarsdale. He noted that an item on the agenda this evening to schedule a public hearing for a proposed amendment to Section 256-1 of the Village Code relating to streets, sidewalks, and public ways. This proposed amendment was discussed at a meeting of the Law Committee on October 9th. That meeting only lasted 6 minutes. At that meeting, the background story was not explained. All Trustee Finger said was that the proposed amendment is fairly discreet and it was brought to their attention that the Village Code did not provide the time frame for the Village Engineer to make a determination to grant or deny an application for permit for a street sign or other obstructions in the Village right-of- way. Mr. Berg stated that this is misleading to the public, which is why he published a lengthy op ed piece in this week’s issue of the Scarsdale Inquirer. He stated that he felt this amendment would strongly discourage the posting of lawn signs in front of resident’s homes. Mr. Berg then stated that the other disturbing matter he discovered this week came when he was looking at the Village website and noticed that Wayne Esannason now serves as Of Counsel to assist Ms. Sapienza-Martin in carrying out her duties as Village Attorney. He expressed his concern that Mr. Esannason is already receiving his full pension and other benefits and is now most likely charging the Village for his legal services to assist Ms. Sapienza-Martin. He stated that it is an outrage and an abuse of taxpayer dollars. He asked the Board to explain why Mr. Esannason has been hired of Counsel and wants to know what his duties are, as well as the expected amount of his compensation post retirement and in the future. Douglas Mignone, President, Uniformed Firefighters Association in Scarsdale, stated that he would like to add one more thing to Trustee Callaghan’s report. He stated that there are a couple of fundraisers they do throughout the year. They finished their MDA food drive in the Village, raised approximately $7,000 this year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. On October 15th they had their annual Putt for Pink golf outing at Quaker Ridge Golf Course, raising money for cancer research. Next month they do their annual food drive down at DeCicco’s, and shortly after that will start Toys for Tots. Mayor Hochvert stated that Scarsdale is a community of volunteers, but even people that don’t live here are volunteers in Scarsdale. He stated that the Firefighters do a terrific job. Mayor Hochvert also noted something he observed when he was serving as a Trustee several years ago concerning election signs in the right-of-way. A policy was established to permit that as long as they were removed within a week of election at that time. It was treated as an exception to the rule of permits and he believed that it was done by the Village Manager at the time. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 495 Village Manager Pappalardo stated that they recognize the fact that for a finite period of time those signs were put up in the right-of-way, as long as they didn’t create any visual obstruction or other hazard, the Village did not remove them. Once the election was over we expected them to be removed. In addition, if the Village received complaints from someone who lived on the property or adjacent to where the signs were installed the Village would remove them. That is the way it was done in the past. There being no further public comment offered, Mayor Hochvert closed the public comment portion of the meeting. ******** Finance Committee Trustee Ross reported on the statements of expense and revenue for the various funds of the Village for the four months of fiscal year 2018-2019. General fund appropriations were 30.00% spent as of September 2018 as compared to 28.57% in 2017-2018. General Fund Revenues other than property taxes are $6,310,950 through September 2018. After adjusting for the sale of 32 Ferncliff ($956,300) in the first quarter of last year, the resulting total represents an increase of $130,529 from the 2017-2018 figure of $6,180,421. The 2018-2019 tax penalty revenue is down over $18,600 from 2017-2018. Building Permit revenue (included in License and Permit revenue) is down $87,000 from last year, partially offset by an increase in sales tax revenue of $62,000. Parking revenue and departmental fees are up a combined $83,100, offsetting the drop in Recreation revenue of $82,600. The decline in Recreation revenue is partially due to the loss of use of the Teen Center facility and is partially offset by lower expenses. The increase in investment earnings of $88,300 and in court fines of $104,000 offset the drop in Licenses and Permits of $49,000 and Other Miscellaneous Income. Cable TV and gross receipts taxes increased $10,000. Mortgage tax receipts declined $28,000 and unrestricted State Aid was reduced $16,500. The actual collection of Village taxes through September 30, 2018 is at 98.76%. This is an increase of 12 basis points from last year’s collection rate. ******** Trustee Arest asked the Mayor for a clarification on what he said earlier about street signs; he wanted to ascertain that this was a previous policy. Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 496 Village Manager Pappalardo stated that he was just reviewing what was done in the past. Based on current circumstances with the pending court case, the Village is not touching signs. Trustee Arest stated that the Village obviously wants more community input as to how this is handled in the future. ******** Law Committee Trustee Finger stated that the following proposed law would allow enforcement of the new parking section that created a category for electric vehicle parking. In order to enforce those spaces, the Board needs to amend the enforcement provision in the Code. Upon motion entered by Trustee Finger, and seconded by Trustee Ross, the following resolution regarding Calling for a Public Hearing on a Local Law to Amend Chapter 90 of the Scarsdale Village Code, Traffic Violations Bureau, was approved by the vote indicated below: RESOLVED, that a Public Hearing is hereby scheduled by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Scarsdale to be held in Rutherford Hall in Village Hall on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at 8:00 p.m. to consider a proposed local law to amend Chapter 90 of the Scarsdale Village Code, entitled Traffic Violations Bureau; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Village Clerk is hereby directed to publish notice of said hearing pursuant to Village Law. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Arest None None Trustee Callaghan Trustee Crandall Trustee Finger Trustee Ross Trustee Veron Mayor Hochvert ******** Trustee Finger stated that the following resolution to call for a public hearing to amend the Village Code pertaining to permits for obstructions discussed earlier. The change states that when the permit is applied for, the Village Engineer’s decision to grant or to deny a permit application shall be made within 3 business days after a completed permit Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 497 application has been received by the Village. That is the entirety of what the Board is considering right now. However, he stated that he had indicated at the Law Committee meeting and reiterated earlier is that the Board is looking in general for feedback from the community on their feeling on the current state of the practice of erecting signs in the right- of-way, how they feel about what they are currently seeing in the community – that is something for a future discussion. Upon motion entered by Trustee Finger, and seconded by Trustee Veron, the following resolution regarding Calling for a Public Hearing on a Local Law to Amend Chapter 256 of the Scarsdale Village Code entitled Streets, Sidewalks, and Public Places was approved by the vote indicated below: RESOLVED, that a Public Hearing is hereby scheduled by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Scarsdale to be held in Rutherford Hall in Village Hall on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at 8:00 p.m. to consider a proposed local law to amend Chapter 256 of the Scarsdale Village Code, entitled Streets, Sidewalks, and Public Places; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Village Clerk is hereby directed to publish notice of said hearing pursuant to Village Law. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Arest None None Trustee Callaghan Trustee Crandall Trustee Finger Trustee Ross Trustee Veron Mayor Hochvert ******** Municipal Services Committee Upon motion entered by Trustee Veron and seconded by Trustee Crandall, the following resolution regarding an Intermunicipal Agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for Implementation of a Water Demand Management Plan was approved by the vote indicated below: WHEREAS, the Village of Scarsdale’s water supply is received from the New York City Water Supply System, primarily delivered through the Kensico- Bronx 48” pipeline and New York City Catskill Aqueduct, and under Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 498 certain limited conditions the Delaware Aqueduct, which will experience a planned shutdown in October 2022; and WHEREAS, pursuant to an Intermunicipal agreement between the New York City Water Board and the Village of Scarsdale, as authorized by the attached Village Board resolution dated September 09, 2014, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), through funding provided by the New York City Water Board, initiated a large-scale Water Demand Management study in New York City and certain high-volume “upstate” customers with the goal of reducing water consumption by 5% prior to October 01, 2022; and WHEREAS, the New York City Water Board’s consultant, Water Demand Management LLC, has completed the Scarsdale Water Demand Management Plan, which includes priority recommendations determined through the study to be feasible, necessary, and adequate to achieve a sustained 5% reduction in local water consumption by the October 2022 target; and WHEREAS, the proposed Intermunicipal agreement provides $657,000 in NYCDEP funding for implementing local water demand management strategies, representing an offset to local investments that are otherwise planned and necessary; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Village Manager is herein authorized to execute, in substantially the same form as attached hereto, an Intermunicipal agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental for implementation of the Water Demand Management Plan developed pursuant to Village Board resolution in September 2014; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Village Manager is hereby authorized to undertake any and all administrative acts as may be required under said agreement. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Arest None None Trustee Callaghan Trustee Crandall Trustee Finger Trustee Ross Trustee Veron Mayor Hochvert Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 499 ******** Written Communications The Village Clerk reported that three (3) communications have been received since the last regular Board of Trustees meeting. • An email from Michelle Braun regarding Village Code Chapter 256 – Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places. • Two (2) emails were received regarding installation of a dog park from Tom Wilentz and Julie Stoneberg. Village Clerk Conkling noted that all written communications may be viewed on the Village’s website at www.scarsdale.com under the Village Board of Trustees or Village Clerk section. ******** Future Meeting Schedule • Tuesday, October 30, 2018 – Personnel Committee Meeting – 6:00 P.M. – Trustees’ Room • Tuesday, November 13, 2018 – Recreation Committee Meeting – 6:00 P.M. – 3rd Floor Meeting Room • Tuesday, November 13, 2018 – Agenda Committee Meeting – 7:30 P.M. – Trustees’ Room • Tuesday, November 13, 2018 – Village Board Meeting– 8:00 P.M. – Rutherford Hall ******** Village Hall Schedule • Tuesday, November 6, 2018 – Election Day – Village Hall Closed for Business (Open for voting only) • Monday, November 12, 2018 – Veterans Day – Village Hall Closed Village Board of Trustees 10/23/2018 500 There being no further business to come before the Board, on a motion entered by Trustee Finger, seconded by Trustee Crandall and carried unanimously, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 P.M. Donna M. Conkling Village Clerk