City Council

Village of South Blooming Grove PUBLIC HEARING AND Regular Meeting Monday JUNE 24, 2024 8:00 pm  Roll call The following persons were present: o George Kalaj - Mayor o Abraham Weiss – Deputy Mayor o Yitzchok Feldman o Asher Guttman- Trustee o Al Fusco- Village Engineer o Kerry Dougherty – Village Clerk o Absent - Scott Ugell Esq. – Village Attorney o Absent - Joel Stern – Confidential Assistant to the Mayor o Absent - Isaac Ekstein – Legislative Aide to Mayor o Absent - Zalmon Rosner - Trustee o PUBLIC HEARING CHAPTER 85 OF THE VILLAGE CODE WATER CROSS-CONNECTION CONTROL  Call to order o Trustee Feldman opened the public hearing at 8:01 PM on June 24, 2024, seconded by the Deputy Mayor inviting public comment with regard to Chapter 85 – Water Cross-Connection Control.  Discussion o Al Fusco provided information regarding Water Cross-Connection, the requirements including but not limited to backflow prevention.  Public Comment o None  Adjournment o Motion to close the public hearing at 8:07 pm by Trustee Feldman, seconded by Mayor Kalaj. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Feldman, Trustee Guttman, 1 Absent - Trustee Rosner. PUBLIC HEARING CHAPTER 222 OF THE VILLAGE CODE VEHICLES & TRAFFIC 1  Village of South Blooming Grove PUBLIC HEARING AND Regular Meeting Monday JUNE 24, 2024 8:00 pm  Call to order Trustee Feldman opened the public hearing at 8:07 pm on June 24, 2024, seconded by the Deputy Mayor Weiss inviting public comment with regard to Chapter 222 – Vehicles and Traffic.  Discussion o Al Fusco advised that we have a lot of discussion regarding Vehicles but mostly parking. There are certain areas that need to have no parking or some sort of parking regulations. After the public hearing, comments from the board, the public and by the police and hopefully we will have a resolution with a list of the specific areas and streets. o Mayor Kalaj no parking 25 feet from the curb.  Public Comment o Stacy Warren – Cars are double parked along Mangin Road and Route 208. A bus almost hit her. Duelk Avenue, Dallas, Pine Hill and Mangin Road are areas she is concerned with. She stopped walking her dog on the road due to speeding vehicle. She only stays on the lawn now. o Mr. Hewlitt – Suggested lowering the speed limit from 30 mph for school buses or a sign that says School Bus Stop Ahead.  Adjournment o Motion to leave the public hearing open for written comment for ten (10) days. Motion to close the public hearing after 10 day period at 8:19 pm by Mayor Kalaj, seconded by Trustee Guttman. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Feldman, Trustee Guttman, 1 Absent - Trustee Rosner. VILLAGE BOARD MEETING  Call to order Mayor Kalaj called to order the Village Board Meeting at 8:20 pm on June 24, 2024, for the Village of South Blooming Grove located at 811 State Route 208, within the Village of South Blooming Grove, and having a mailing address of Monroe, New York.  Mayor Comments o The village has been flushing the water system and residents may experience some brown water. The Mayor asked the public to please do not flush any debris into the sewer, it is causing problems and is very expensive. The work at the Mountain Road and Route 208 traffic light 2  Village of South Blooming Grove PUBLIC HEARING AND Regular Meeting Monday JUNE 24, 2024 8:00 pm  Correspondence o None.  Public Comment o Mr. Hewlitt – wanted to express his disappointment, not necessarily surprised, last Wednesday was Juneteenth, a special holiday for some and not for others, he completely understands. His ancestors were slaves, his name comes from slave owners. He is happy it was named a Federal Holiday, he is disappointed that there was ongoing construction on Houston Avenue, as early at 6:00 am and going on throughout the day. Mayor Kalaj advised that he should have called the police. Mr. Hewlitt it’s the aspect of that it shouldn’t even take place. For us that freedom of bondage, from slavery, the oppression that they have gone through it was a slap in the face to have that happen on Juneteenth. Not everyone celebrates it but the aspect that it is a National Holiday is very important. o Mr. Hewlitt – quoted Fair Housing language and asked the village board for an example of the equal opportunity programs. The board advised they are working on it. o Bonnie Rum at the last meeting at the very end Joel Stern came in with a resolution about a police department for the village. The village board advised for the record it is Public Safety. The way he comes up with these ideas is troubling. The way he came up with the 2nd garbage pick-up. Somebody had too much garbage and didn’t want to pay for a 2nd can. It was illegal, somebody is going to pay for it, maybe someone who voted for the resolution, maybe the person who signed the contract, you can ask your lawyer if your lawyer knew. The idea of having a police department or agency, the problem at Mountain Road where the light is everything was fine when you had that lane paved, basically a way for people to make turns and it was not done with a permit, all you have to do is go for a permit. There was a large celebration, a lot of people showed up so the owner or the person who put on the celebration wanted the police to provide security for free. If you have the money for the party you have the money for security. The cost to the village the people who live here to do the personnel, the communication, car would be outrageous. She doesn’t see it in the budget and doesn’t think you want to pay taxes. To hire a lawyer which is not your village lawyer because he doesn’t do that and it is another expense. o Stacey Warren she wants to know what well being and safety of the village residents brings about the need. The police department is very capable. She called the police during the celebration. 20 minutes later the person arrive. Why can’t we just hire more police in the town. Deputy Mayor Weiss there were complaints last week. o Mr. Hewlitt was at the last meeting, and it is more a lack of codes being enforced that turned into a safety issue. We feel safe and more a community input on a solution to that and he agrees, Joel Stern seemed heavy handed. Trustee Guttman, there were code issues but there were a lot of issues such as speeding, parking. Mr. Hewlitt appreciates Trustee Guttman because he listens to the constituents and Mr. Stern does not. 3  Village of South Blooming Grove PUBLIC HEARING AND Regular Meeting Monday JUNE 24, 2024 8:00 pm  Business o Resolution No. (43) – Resolution of the Village Board of the Village of South Blooming Grove declaring lead agency with regard to Local Law amending Chapter 235 Zoning of the Village Code. Motion to accept by Trustee Feldman, seconded by Deputy Mayor Weiss. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Guttman, Trustee Feldman. 1 Absent – Trustee Rosner. o Resolution No. (44) Resolution of the Village Board of the Village of South Blooming Grove declaring negative declaration with regard to local law amending Chapter 235 Zoning of the Village Code. Motion to accept by Trustee Guttman, seconded by Mayor Kalaj. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Guttman, Trustee Feldman. 1 Absent – Trustee Rosner. o Resolution No. (45) - Resolution of the Village Board of the Village of South Blooming Grove approving local law of 2024 amending Chapter 235 Zoning of the Village Code. Motion to accept by Deputy Mayor Weiss, seconded by Mayor Kalaj. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Guttman, Trustee Feldman. 1 Absent – Trustee Rosner. o Resolution No. (46) – Resolution of the Village Board of the Village of South Blooming Grove setting a public hearing regarding a proposed law amending Chapter 150 of the Village Code. Motion to accept by Trustee Feldman, seconded by Mayor Kalaj. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Guttman, Trustee Feldman. 1 Absent – Trustee Rosner.  Adjournment o Motion to close the meeting at 8:44 pm by Mayor Kalaj, seconded by Trustee Guttman. 4 Ayes, Mayor Kalaj, Deputy Mayor Weiss, Trustee Guttman, Trustee Feldman. 1 Absent - Trustee Rosner. Minutes respectfully submitted by Kerry Dougherty, Village Clerk 4