Board of Trustees

Village of Scarsdale Jane E. Veron, Mayor Robert Cole Village Manager Sameer Ahuja Karen L. Brew Office of the Village Manager Jeremy A. Gans Scarsdale, New York 10583 Jonathan Lewis 914-722-1110 Kenneth L. Mazer Fax: 914-722-1119 Randall B. Whitestone www.scarsdale.com July 26, 2022 Village Board Limited Agenda Meeting – 8:30 AM - via Zoom The Village Board will conduct the meeting virtually via Zoom. Members of the public wishing to participate can do so online at https://zoom.us/j/93183703358, or call into the meeting by dialing 1-929-436-2866 and entering the Meeting ID 931 8370 3358. For a brief tutorial or to troubleshoot a problem, see here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205566129-Raise-Hand-In- Webinar. For other user questions, please visit the Zoom Help Center: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us. Roll Call ______________________ Minutes ➢ Village Board Meeting of July 12, 2022 ______________________ Bills ➢ Trustee Brew ______________________ Future Meeting Schedule Tuesday, August 9, 2022 ➢ 6:00 PM– Village Board Work Session ______________________ ➢ 8:00 PM – Village Board Regular Meeting ______________________ Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 287 THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED SECOND REGULAR MEETING Rutherford Hall & Video Conference Via Zoom July 12, 2022 A Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Scarsdale was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Rutherford Hall and via video conference (Zoom) at 8:11 p.m. Present were Mayor Veron, Deputy Mayor Whitestone and Trustees Ahuja, Brew, Lewis, and Mazer. Also present were Village Manager Cole, Deputy Village Manager Marshall, Village Treasurer Scaglione, and Deputy Village Clerk Regazzi. ******** Minutes The minutes of the Board of Trustees Regular Meeting of Tuesday, June 28, 2022, were approved on a motion entered by Trustee Lewis, seconded by Trustee Ahuja, and carried unanimously. ******** Bills & Payroll Trustee Ahuja reported that he had audited the Abstract of Claims dated July 12, 2022, in the amount of $438,357.98 which included $25,084.74 in Library Claims previously audited by a Trustee of the Library Board. Upon motion duly made by Trustee Ahuja and seconded by Trustee Brew, the following resolution was adopted unanimously: RESOLVED, that the Abstract of Claims dated July 12, 2022, in the amount of $438,357.98 is hereby approved. ******** Mayors Comments Mayor Veron stated, “Good evening and welcome to the July 12th Village Board meeting. These past two weeks have been filled with events that highlight the warm and welcoming spirit of Scarsdale. Thanks to the hard work of our Village staff and local volunteers, Scarsdale has Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 288 been infused with a summer energy that enables residents to enjoy their time locally. Fundamental to the strong Quality of Life here is the plethora of opportunities for our community to come together, to bridge generations, and to unite with shared enjoyment of festivities. On Thursday, June 30, Superintendent Brian Gray, Assistant Superintendent Bob Kaczmarek and staff worked their magic to host another spectacular Fourth of July celebration. Friends and families filled the pool complex, enjoying the Westchester Band and Scarsdale’s hallmark fireworks. Over that weekend, Arthur Manor and Greenacres hosted their spirited July 4th celebrations, a welcome return after COVID cancellations. We marched, played games and reflected on our freedoms. And we have more to look forward to with the upcoming Sidewalk Sale taking place from July 28-30 and Chalk the ‘Dale scheduled for Friday evening July 29 in the Village Center. Scarsdale is the place to be, and we love seeing your active participation. To make it even easier for your grown sons and daughters to stay connected, we are piloting a program to offer pool memberships for Scarsdale alums. This concept is the brainchild of one of our dedicated Village volunteers, and with the support of several of our neighborhood association presidents, the Board has authorized up to 100 memberships to non-resident children of current and former Scarsdale residents and their children. So, please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. I am also delighted to report that Village staff, members of the Board, and I sat down with the Girl Scout leadership last week. We again met today onsite today at the Girl Scout House and have carved a path forward. I want to read our joint statement: Village of Scarsdale officials and Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson representatives together announced that they met July 8 in furtherance of their mutual commitment to move forward toward a renewed partnership strategy for the management, maintenance, and occupancy of the Betty Taubert Girl Scout House in Scarsdale. The parties share the goals of reopening the facility as quickly as possible and aligning on resolving its longer-term operational and capital needs. Said Helen Wronski, interim CEO of Girl Scouts Heart of The Hudson, and Robert Cole, Scarsdale Village Manager, "We are pleased with our constructive conversations on reopening the GSH and our healthy discussions on a strong and clear go-forward relationship. These are important first steps in commencing a fresh start in our continuing long-term partnership, making sure the needs of our Girls Scouts and the Scarsdale community are met by having access to a well-maintained facility.” As the Board underscored at our last meeting, we are hyper-focused on opening the Girl Scout House and are taking the necessary steps to protect the health and safety of our residents. We will continue to keep the community updated. Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 289 I would also like to read a statement from the Board that clarifies misinformation shared during recent public comment. The Village Board wants the Scarsdale community to know that we are aware of the statements made by a former Library employee regarding her termination. The Village plays no role in deciding whom the Library hires or terminates, and this former Library employee has never been employed by the Village in any capacity. The appropriate venue for her concerns remains the Library, and it is our understanding that the Library Board is preparing a response to her claims that they will publicly share in the near future." As we look forward, I would like to offer an invitation to the community for upcoming work sessions and provide a warm welcome to the new Village Clerk and note accolades for our Village Treasurer’s Office. Next Thursday, July 19, please join us for the Leaf Vacuuming and Flood Project discussions. Please also mark your calendars for the work session on August 9 as another public touchpoint for the Village Center Concepts. The goal is to host another interactive session with volunteer groups, the business community and any other interested stakeholders. I conclude this evening with good news - first a heartfelt welcome to our new Village Clerk Taylor Emanuel who will take office upon Board resolution later this evening with a start date of July 18. As the community knows, our devoted Village Clerk Donna Conkling retired with more than 20 years of outstanding service, and I am certain that Taylor will carry on the tradition of resident-centric service with excellence and care. The second bit of good news is that with our reengineered treasurer’s office, the Village of Scarsdale has qualified and been awarded the GFOA Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Huge appreciation to our Village Treasurer and her staff. I would like to read the hot- off-the press release to properly recognize this achievement: We are pleased to share that the Village of Scarsdale has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for excellence in financial reporting for the Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report! The report has been judged by an impartial panel against the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive spirit of full disclosure. This achievement was made possible by the hard work of Treasurer Ann Scaglione and Deputy Treasurer Maria Colotti, who received individual recognitions from GFOA as well. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the areas of governmental accounting and financial reporting. We are excited to receive this award and continue striving for excellence.” ******** Manager’s Comments Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 290 Village Manager Cole stated that he would like to once again congratulate Treasurer Scaglione and her team on this outstanding achievement thanked her and expressed his appreciation for her help around the office and her efforts in the Treasurer's office. This work has helped the Village to make meaningful progress toward their pursuit of 21st century governance. ******** Public Comment Mayor Veron opened the public comment portion of the meeting at this time. Robert Harrison, 65 Fox Meadow Road, stated that this is the 38th summer of the Scarsdale Youth Tennis League and noted that they work with the Recreation Department. He gave a brief history of when he established this chapter of the New York Junior Tennis League in 1984. He stated that they raised $25,000 of tax exempt funds as a contribution to the effort of rebuilding the middle school tennis courts, which was donated to the Village of Scarsdale in 1984 and those courts have now been used since; this will be the 38th summer. Mr. Harrison stated that thousands of youths from Scarsdale have benefited from these courts and continue to benefit. He noted that right now, the enrollment is slow, but he thinks that there are things going on in the world and in Scarsdale and in Westchester with COVID. He continued, stating that he has four grandchildren and they're all back in camp this summer; they left at the end of June, and they'll be there into part of August. Mr. Harrison stated that he works closely with the Recreation department as they have a tennis lesson program. There are approximately 15 children enrolled, which isn't a particularly great number. Mr. Harrison noted that it was a great July 4th weekend sponsored by the Recreation department with fireworks, which were fantastic. The parking lot was jammed and the grounds were covered with blankets and chairs. He stated that there were parent-child relay races, kickboard races, and noodle races; foul shooting and basketball dunk contests. There were all celebrated from about noon until five o'clock p.m. He complimented O’Neill’s and the food service for fantastic food. The young people that work for O’Neill’s are outstanding, and he urged all residents to patronize O’Neill’s at the outdoor pool site. He again stated that it was a great weekend and something everyone could be proud of. The residents of Scarsdale are truly blessed with this facility. Mr. Harrison stated that the Village government needs to keep this beautiful pool site, noting that it is operated as a self-supporting enterprise fund. Now that the Village has allowed some neighboring residents to join the pool, he would love to hear some information from the Treasurer what the final numbers were for the Enterprise Fund ending May 31st of this year. He stated that the Village doesn’t need to bulldoze the grounds and sell bonds and increase taxes for Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 291 the residents with some grandiose plan to change the gem of the pool site; he urged the Village Board to leave it as it is - it's fantastic, and he urged everyone to spend more time there. Robin Stettnisch, 540 York Hill Road, stated that she was a former dedicated, well- loved librarian at Scarsdale library for decades. She stated that she has been picketing all over Scarsdale since last October about the heartless treatment of library staff. She stated that Scarsdale, the second wealthiest town in America, put on a lavish $21.7 million expansion to the library, partially funded by financially devastating its long-term part-time employees and their families. All part timers in 2017 were told they would be terminated and if lucky enough to be rehired would start back fresh at an entry level salary as if they were entirely new employees. The distraught staff went to the union and begged them for help, but we were told by the Union representative that what the library did with their jobs was legal. Ms. Stettnisch stated that there is much more to this story, and she shared an article written by two Scarsdale high school students for the Scarsdale high school Maroon, entitled “Library Pickett Scandal”. She stated that she went through the proper channels in terms this issue, stating that the Library Director completely ghosted her and ignored her after promising her that her job and salary would be given back. She stated that she reached out to the Library Board and the Mayor and Board of Trustees for help with what was done to her, and all of the part-timers and she was ignored. She began picketing in October and is waiting to hear what the response is going to be as to why Scarsdale thought it was perfectly fine to fund a $21 million expansion on the backs of its employees. Mayor Veron stated that it is the Board’s understanding that the Library Board is preparing a response to the former library employees claims that this Board will publicly share in the near future. The Village Board wants the Scarsdale community to know that they are aware of the statements made by the former library employee regarding her termination. She stated that the Village plays no role in deciding whom the library hires or terminates and this former library employee has never been employed by the village in any capacity. There being no further comments from the public, the public comment section of the meeting was closed at this time. ******** Liaison Reports Deputy Mayor Whitestone reported as liaison to Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling, noting that Mary Ellen Saenger, who is the coordinator for the Aging in Place Program, which is part of Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling, has communicated her intention to retire in the coming months. He stated that he wanted to take a moment to appreciate her service to the seniors of Scarsdale. Since joining Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service in 2015, she assumed the role of coordinator of the Aging in Place Program in 2016. She provides and coordinates outreach in home counseling and other social support services to Scarsdale residents aged 65 and older. She did a wonderful job of making sure the seniors were not left out during Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 292 the critical COVID period and has initiated a number of programs that he thinks has helped keep seniors engaged and feeling like the Community is really embracing and caring for their needs. He stated that he wanted to provide that brief moment of appreciation for Mary Ellen Saenger. Mayor Veron thanked Deputy Mayor Whitestone, adding that Ms. Saenger has done tremendous work for the community and for the older adult’s segment. She stated that the Board joins him in sending their great appreciation. ******** Trustee Brew stated that the Friends of the Library (FOSL) have begun the rollout of the Library in the Park paver campaign. She noted that the Friends of the Library were founded back in 1946 by Scarsdale residents to support the Library Board and staff in helping the library reach its maximum usefulness in Scarsdale. To this day, the members of the FOSL support, advocate, and fundraise to do exactly that. Most recently, the FOSL played a critical role in the library’s successful fundraising efforts to renovate and reimagine the library, transforming the building into a new state-of-the art facility. Now, they are turning their focus to the outside of the library, which was kicked off with the Evening Under the Stars Event on the 20th. This is launching the Library in the Park campaign to enhance the campus surrounding the library and to add more outdoor space, which post COVID, is more important than ever. They are looking to create seating and technology access as well as covered pavilions for a greater open air programming space to meet patrons needs. The campaign will seek private donations of any amount, but the focus of the fundraising will be gifts of $5,000 and above that will be recognized with pavers naming donor names on them. Other naming opportunities will also be available. Trustee Brew continued, stating that there are just a couple of programming things and that there is a full calendar on the library website. She stated that there is a cultural program coming up on July 23rd with Chamber music at 11:00 a.m. in the Scott room. The library website is also full of other public service information including vaccine updates with new information and places where people can go and get vaccines. There is also a ‘How do I’ section for answers to some very popular questions such as obtaining library cards, getting museum passes, etc., which are available at the library for library card holders and community members. ******** Trustee Ahuja stated that had two two updates. First from the Scarsdale Business Alliance, the sidewalk sale will take place Thursday, July 28th through Saturday, July 30th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm each day, rain or shine. He stated that on Friday evening, July 28th at 8:00 pm at Boniface Circle, Chalk the Dale is back by popular demand. It is an exciting family event produced by the Scarsdale Youth Business Alliance, and it is designed to bring the community together and add vibrancy and street art to the Village Center while fostering creativity. The Youth Business Alliance is also offering family fun activities in the Dine the Dale tent on Saturday, July 30th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will be face painting, a balloon artist, and musical activities. He stated that it is an amazing few days and hoped to see everyone Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 293 out there. Trustee Ahuja thanked the Scarsdale Business Alliance, the Scarsdale Youth Business Alliance, and everyone else in the Village who has helped with putting this on. Trustee Ahuja stated that his second update concerns the re-booted Advisory Council on Human Relations that held its first meeting yesterday. Eleven members attended, which is very good attendance, and it was held on zoom. For its next meeting in August, the Council is working on re-doing its Constitution and mission and to begin to develop a work plan which the Council hopes to share with the Board for approval in September, or soon after. He thanked all the former and existing Council members and the new members who joined this Council to move this very important work forward. ******** Trustee Lewis Trustee Lewis presented the Statement of Expense and Revenue for June 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022. He stated that a memorandum in the agenda packet dated July 8th from Village Treasurer Scaglione to Village Manager Code summarizes some important information as follows: 1. General Fund ended FY 21-22 with an unaudited surplus of $4.6 million surplus. 2. The key factors contributing to this surplus are: a. Interest and Penalty on Taxes income was $1M, exceeded budget over $743K $276,000 is the result of receipts related to the 2020 collection of school taxes and $400,000 is the result of efforts to collect delinquent taxes in Lien status b. Sales Tax receipts – year to date revenue received is $4,.2M, exceeding our budget of $3,305,000. Sales tax revenue for the calendar year 2021 was 18% above calendar year 2020, and Sales tax revenue year to date for the calendar year 2022 is 18% above the same period of calendar year 2021. c. Parking revenue, while not at pre-pandemic levels, resulted in an 80% increase over prior year. d. Parks and recreation revenue ended FY 21-22 at $2.3 million, exceeded budget by $500,000. e. Building revenue ended FY 21-22 at $2.7 million, $400K more than prior year and exceeded budget by $882,000. Furthermore, the first month of FY 22-23 resulted in building revenue of $432K. f. Mortgage tax revenue resulted at $3.2M, exceeding prior year by $625K. 3. In total, Expenses ended below adopted budget. Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 294 Trustee Lewis stated that the Village’s credit strength is actually improving, not deteriorating, and as he looks at this at this moment in time, it is notable that when one looks at the expense summary, interest on debt has gone down sharply over the past few years. The Village is in a strong fiscal position and the debt carrying capacity is quite high relative to where it was in the past, and the debt interest payments are significantly lower than they've been. He stated that this is the right time when as stewards of the community, the Board should be thinking about how to best in the future secure all the wonderful attributes of this community for future generations. Village Treasurer Scaglione stated that the field work has been completed for their audit but they are still waiting on final adjustments. However, she did not expect those numbers to change materially. She stated that there was a surplus as noted by Trustee Lewis for the General Fund for Fiscal Year 2021-22 of $4.6 million, which is primarily the result of increases that weren't expected to this extent in revenue. She stated that it is only a handful of revenue sales tax receipts that have been much higher than anticipated. She stated that she was not sure how long that's going to continue with the economy. She also noted that mortgage tax revenue receipts have been much more than anticipated, exceeding the prior year by $625,000. Additionally, there were excess surpluses in the Building Department revenues – this department has been very busy. Parks and Recreation did better than budgeted by $500,000. Parking revenues are not at the levels pre-pandemic; however, the Village is still doing better than expected. Village Treasurer Scaglione stated that there will be much more information as the audit results are finalized and reviewed. ******** Trustee Brew Upon motion entered by Trustee Brew, and seconded by Deputy Mayor Whitestone, the following resolution regarding Discontinuance of Litigation Regarding the Dam at Lake Isle was approved by the vote indicated below: WHEREAS, on March 18, 2018, the State of New York commenced litigation on behalf of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and related entities (“Plaintiffs”), against the City of New Rochelle and numerous individuals and residential entities, pertaining to the violation of certain environmental laws and regulations with respect to New Rochelle Reservoir Dam #1 and its appurtenances (the “Dam”) located next to the Hutchinson River Parkway, along the boundary of the City of New Rochelle and the Town of Eastchester; and WHEREAS, the Village of Scarsdale, the Town of Eastchester, and Westchester County were subsequently added to the litigation as “necessary parties”; Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 295 and WHEREAS, no claims have been asserted against the Village of Scarsdale; and WHEREAS, the City of New Rochelle, the Town of Eastchester, and certain residential property entities “the “Proposing Defendants”) have agreed to undertake certain physical investigations with respect to potentially identifying the need and means of which to upgrade and maintain the Dam in the future; and WHEREAS, the parties to the litigation have determined that the continuation of same will not be an efficient use of the parties’ or the Court’s time and effort while the above work proceeds; now therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Village Attorney is hereby authorized to enter into a Stipulation of Discontinuance Without Prejudice in substantially the form annexed, discontinuing the litigation while providing Plaintiffs the right to recommence same in the event of a default by the Proposing Defendants. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Ahuja None Trustee Gans Trustee Brew Trustee Lewis Trustee Mazer Deputy Mayor Whitestone Mayor Veron ******** Trustee Mazer Upon motion entered by Trustee Mazer, and seconded by Trustee Brew, the following resolution regarding the Appointment of the Village Clerk was approved by the vote indicated below: WHEREAS, the former Village Clerk Donna Conkling retired from the Village of Scarsdale after more than twenty years of outstanding service to the Scarsdale Community; and WHEREAS, to assist in the recruitment of a new Village Clerk, a Selection Panel consisting of Village Board members and senior Village staff was assembled to interview and evaluate qualified candidates, one of whom was Taylor Emanuel; and Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 296 WHEREAS, Taylor Emanuel has several years of administrative experience in local school districts, holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and has experience in critical roles of the Village Clerk such as running of elections, preparing minutes, and automation of records; and WHEREAS, based upon her knowledge, experience, and fit for our organizational culture and needs, the Selection Panel unanimously selected Ms. Emanuel as the best candidate from a field of well-qualified candidates; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that pursuant to §4-400(1)(c)(i) of the New York State Village Law and §A318-4(A) of the Scarsdale Village Code, Taylor Emanuel is hereby appointed to the position of Village Clerk for the Village of Scarsdale, commencing on July 18, 2022, with compensation and benefits to be provided in accordance with the attached probationary appointment letter. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Ahuja None Trustee Gans Trustee Brew Trustee Lewis Trustee Mazer Deputy Mayor Whitestone Mayor Veron ******** Deputy Mayor Whitestone Deputy Mayor Whitestone stated that this resolution involves the close-out of accounts for the 2021-22 operating budget. He asked Village Treasurer Scaglione to give a very brief overview of the intent behind this resolution. Village Treasurer Scaglione stated that when the Village issues their financial statements, it is required to make sure that there aren't any lines that are exceeding budget and these two lines needed to be adjusted. She stated that the first one is to reflect the expense of the Police Department to reimburse double overtime; the expense incurred exceeded the budget and that's because every dollar that is spent on Police overtime reimbursement is also received as reimbursement, so revenue exceeded the budget by over $500,000. She stated that this is just to make sure that the books are balancing. What is being done with this budget adjustment is that the budget is being increased for the Police overtime reimbursement expense, and the budget for the revenue of Police service reimburse double overtime is also being increased. Ms. Scaglione stated that the Recreation Department had an excess of expense over the budget, so what this is doing is increasing the expense, but on the flip side, the Village also Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 297 received a lot more in revenue, so the revenue to the amount that was exceeded in expenses is being increased. Upon motion entered by Deputy Mayor Whitestone, and seconded by Trustee Mazer, the following resolution regarding Year End Modifications for the 2021-2022 Operating Budget was approved by the vote indicated below: WHEREAS, the Village Treasurer is responsible for the orderly recording of all finances associated with the operations of the Village; and WHEREAS, to close the financial records for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022, certain budget adjustments, transfers and amendments may be required; and WHEREAS, this Village Board wishes to provide the Village Treasurer with the authorization to perform all necessary budget adjustments, transfers, amendments and fund balance adjustments in order to produce a balanced budget for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022; and WHEREAS, the following entries are required for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022: Revenue GL Account Account Description Increase Decrease A-1000-022-2798-0 Police O/T Reimb 300,000.00 A-1000-008-2001-05 Rec Fees Platform Tennis 136,000.00 Expenditures GL Account Account Description Increase Decrease A-3120-PTRL-PTRL-100 Personnel Services Reimbursable 300,000.00 14 Overtime A-7020-TNIS-TNIS-400 Contractual Expense 136,000.00 499 RESOLVED, that the Village Treasurer is hereby authorized to make all necessary adjustments, transfers and amendments to the FY 2021-2022 operating budget revenue and expenditure accounts required to produce a balance budget. AYES NAYS ABSENT Trustee Ahuja None Trustee Gans Trustee Brew Trustee Lewis Trustee Mazer Deputy Mayor Whitestone Village Board of Trustees Meeting 07/12/2022 298 Mayor Veron ******** Written Communications Deputy Village Clerk Regazzi reported that Two (2) communications have been received since the last regular Board of Trustees meeting. Written communications may be viewed on the Village’s website at www.scarsdale.com under Written Correspondence. • An email from Robert Berg, with his comments and suggestions concerning the proposed amendments to the sign law. • An email from Susan Levine suggesting the regulation of outdoor speakers on small lots. ******** There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:54 p.m. on a motion entered by Deputy Mayor Whitestone, seconded by Trustee Lewis, and carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Donna M. Conkling For the Village Clerk’s Office