Documents

minutes 15 pages

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, NY was held on Monday, September 19, 2022, in the Georgianna Grant Meeting Room at the Stanley Kellerhouse Municipal Building, Van Wyck Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Pugh called the meeting to order at 7:01pm. Everyone joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Trustee Simon made a motion to approve the following Fiscal Year Vouchers, claims numbered 22231079 to 22231230. The motion was seconded by Trustee Horowitz and approved with a 5-0 Vote. 78,509.41 Water Fund 7,269.90 Sewer Fund 1,489.28 Capital Fund 16,632.40 3. PUBLIC HEARING: A motion was made by Trustee Simon and seconded by Trustee Rosales to open a Public Hearing to consider Local Law Introductory No. 11 of 2022 and Local Law Introductory No. 12 of 2022 to amend Chapter 230 of the Village Code, entitled “Zoning”, determining that the Proposed Action is a Type 1 Action under SEQRA, declaring the Village Board to be Lead Agency under SEQRA, issuing the EAF and CAF and referring the necessary documents to the Village Planning Board, Waterfront Advisory Committee and Westchester County Planning Board as required by law. Motion was approved with a 5-0 vote. The Power Point presentation by Aaron Werner of AKRF can be seen by logging onto the following: https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/f44348b9eec2237035d61d4122ba846e41709ee3.pdf Mayor Pugh Trustee Gallelli Village Manager Bryan Healy – via Zoom Trustee Horowitz Village Treasurer Daniel Tucker Trustee Rosales Village Attorney Linda Whitehead Trustee Simon Assistant to the Village Manager, Emily Mancini Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 All other backup documents can be seen by logging onto the following: https://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/ongoing-projects-initiatives- proposed-infrastructure-improvements/pages/south-riverside-avenue- arean Trustee Simon stated that this is potentially a Zoning framework in which the Board can begin the process of evaluating specific projects, he appreciates the level of work and the theoretical scenarios under which this has been done, and the Board will have the opportunity to make determinations on a project-by-project basis if we go forward with this framework. Trustee Rosales stated that while he understands that signal timing adjustments could improve certain scenarios, he asked how much it could really improve. Mr. Werner stated that those adjustments are coordinated with the New York State Department of Transportation, we just identified these potential measures that could be improved, but it is better to evaluate it on a project-by-project basis. Village Attorney Whitehead stated that there are other things that can happen in that twenty-year timeframe and that is why each project would have to go through a specific environmental review. Mayor Pugh asked if we were fifteen or twenty years down the line, and the Village did not make strides in mass transit or telecommuting, and we are stuck where we are in terms of technology, could that be a basis of denying a project’s application. Village Attorney Whitehead stated that each project would be required to do their own traffic studies and we would look at the impacts of each project and if an impact is found they would need to mitigate it and find a way to provide traffic mitigation or they might have to reduce the size of the project to make it work. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Trustee Simon stated that any of these issues whether it is three, four or five stories, mixed use, or housing only, the Board will have the opportunity to determine its impact through the evaluation process. Village Attorney Whitehead advised that the Village Board has referred this to the Planning Board and the Waterfront Advisory Committee, once we have received their comments, the Village Board will then have to complete an LWRP Consistency Review and an Environmental Review before any decisions are made. Mayor Pugh asked what were the number of buildings that were actually constructed under the Zoning that was adopted in 2011. Village Attorney Whitehead responded by saying that one new building was constructed (379 Riverside Avenue). Jeanne Shaw, (former address, 9 Van Cortlandt Place, Croton on Hudson), stated that young adults and seniors need a place to live and believes it is better to have more residential buildings, she would have loved to have stayed in Croton and hopes that it will help more people in the future. John McKeon, 25 Prospect Place, Croton on Hudson, stated that Local Law #3 of 2010 was our first experiment in the re-zoning of this sector and asked what the total increase in the assessed value was for these parcels, currently homeowners pay $1,570 for every thousand dollars of assessed value, if what we are proposing to do next is founded on what we have done in the past, he would like to know what the increase is of the assessed value of the twenty-two properties and the potential number of residents and school age children so we can look at the viability of what we’ve done as a gauge to what we want to do. Mayor Pugh stated that this is a great question, we are not adopting this tonight and we will produce that information as soon as possible. Carol Shanesy, 47 Nordica Drive, Croton on Hudson, and member of the Croton Housing Network, stated that the Croton Housing Network is very excited about the possibility of development of this area, someone can Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 live there without a car, it is good for the elderly, handicapped, and the mixed income aspect is healthy for Croton, it will help with the distribution of Sales Tax which is based on population and not where the money was spent so swapping out retail space for residential will increase our Sales Tax Revenue considerably. Ed Riely, 110 Truesdale Drive, Croton on Hudson, stated that this will impact Croton for a long time, five story buildings are too high, and believes the visibility charts are misleading, he is concerned with the number of people and cars and the urbanization of Croton and suggested looking at what is happening in other communities. Bob Anderson, 33 Franklin Avenue, Croton on Hudson, asked if the five story buildings would be in the LI District and not roll over into other districts. Village Attorney Whitehead stated that this is correct, there is no change in the Harmon area. Mr. Anderson stated that we can barely support the small businesses we currently have and does not believe that people will be coming in to open up more stores and would like to know what kind of retail we are looking at. Mr. Anderson stated that we currently have a problem getting fire apparatus through the Harmon area and other parts of the Village and asked where the EMS is going. Trustee Simon stated that the EMS facility has been closed due to a mold issue and they have been temporarily housed on the ground floor of the Harmon Firehouse, the Village has been working over the past year on a plan to move the EMS from Wayne Street to the Harmon Firehouse permanently which was the original plan when the Harmon Firehouse was built. Victor Rossi, 358 South Riverside Avenue, Croton on Hudson, questioned the addition to the Harmon Firehouse. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Mayor Pugh stated that the public hearing this evening is about re-zoning, the retrofitting of the Harmon Firehouse has been the subject of lengthy discussions between the Village Board, Village Manager and the Fire Department and continues to be discussed but we do not have a plan at this time. Gregory Maher, 44 Grand Street, Croton on Hudson, stated that we need more housing in Croton, multi housing can be assessed and added to the coffers of real property taxes thereby taking a bit of the burden off of residents or at least slowing down the increase. Mr. Maher stated that a Transit Oriented Development has been supported by governments and foundations for thirty to forty years with significant dollars, yet Croton has not had a strategy around that even though it has a huge transit hub, and this is an opportunity to potentially leverage those additional investment dollars into the Village. Mr. Maher stated that there is an acute shortage of affordable housing in our Region and suggested expanding the number of units that can be developed and making the standard a little bit more aggressive. The following Comments were submitted to Village Manager Healy: Robert Armanini, 326 South Riverside Avenue, Croton on Hudson, states that he strongly opposes Local Law #11 because he believes it is going to destroy the retail viability along South Riverside Avenue and recommends that an economic development committee be established to look into revitalizing this area, with respect to Local Law #12 he prefers an all commercial option in the LI Zoning District and also recommends putting a committee together to promote our existing assets. Dylan Basescu, 65 Radnor Avenue, Croton on Hudson, states that he is strongly in favor of Local Law #12 because it will increase home affordability and access to Croton as well as increasing the tax base. Kate Bellingham, 7 Wells Avenue, Croton on Hudson, states that four apartment complexes being planned in one year is too many and she is concerned that Croton will become too congested. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Adam Decker, 13 Ackerman Court, Croton on Hudson, states that he supports both Local Laws, it will create a greater flexibility in the Gateway District, and it will be beneficial to the Village. Village Attorney Whitehead stated that impacts will be made on specific plans and if someone comes in with a plan for a five-story building and we find there is an impact, we can ask them to reduce the height. There being no further comments to come before the Board a motion to adjourn the Public Hearing was made by Trustee Rosales. Motion was seconded by Trustee Simon and approved with a 5-0 vote. 4. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY E-MAIL: None 5. CORRESPONDENCE: a. Email from FEMA dated September 16, 2022, regarding the FY2021 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Award Notification. https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/b0bbcd9ea42eec61774185885e4e1ed49e64c770.pdf Village Manager Healy explained that the grant will be used for equipment such as masks and air-packs, the grant is for $39,000 and the Village is required to cover five percent of the total grant. b. Notice of an application from Champion Hudson Power Express to the Public Service Commission regarding the proposed circuit from the Canadian Border to New York City https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/d86a6e26e1e27d47071a7f04c71abec0d92ddd16.pdf Village Manager Healy explained that this notification is being sent to the Village as a courtesy, the Village does not have any authority over this, but it has been put on the agenda if residents would like to comment. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Trustee Gallelli stated that this a minor change in how certain equipment would be fueled and not a substantial change to the project. c. Notice of Intent from the Croton-Harmon School District dated September 2, 2022, to declare Lead Agency under SEQRA on the Croton Harmon Union Free School District/District-Wide Capital Improvement/Infrastructure Project. https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/991d707b96895f6d6ff74f00355271f8f6b807e9.pdf Village Attorney Whitehead advised that the School District is also not required to refer specific projects to the Village Board. Village Manager Bryan Healy stated that a majority of the work will be made in the interior, the only area that may have a small impact are the improvements to Spencer Field since it sits close to our existing trail-ways as well Manes and Firefighters fields. d. Letter from Petra Vatne requesting a building permit fee waiver for the property at 217 Half Moon Bay Drive. https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/7da51925e16058c60f1097cb8c4e609418207c17.pdf Village Manager Bryan Healy recommended that it not be granted, the permit fees are self-explanatory, and he does not believe them to be too high. Trustee Simon stated that the fee is $75.00 which he feels is a reasonable fee to compensate the Village for the oversight that our engineering team has to do. The Village Board was unanimous in not approving the waiver request. 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Ed Riely, 110 Drive, Croton on Hudson, addressed agenda 5b and 5c, stating that he believes it is absurd that we are dictating to construction companies the kind equipment they should use, he believes that we have contributed greatly to the energy crises by attacking atomic power and pipelines, and because of these policies we will be paying much more for power. Mr. Riely addressed the forty-five million dollars the school is proposed to spend on improvements, to view Mr. Riely’s comments you may log onto the following: https://play.champds.com/crotononhudsonny/event/796 Village Attorney Whitehead stated that the Village does not have authority over the Public Service Commission and what is being proposed now is really a minor change that was already approved. Trustee Horowitz stated that they have indicated that they will take comments and suggested that if we have any concerns we can certainly follow up. 7. RESOLUTIONS: Resolution #133 of 2022 On motion of TRUSTEE ROSALES, seconded by TRUSTEE SIMON the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on- Hudson, New York, with a 5-0 vote. WHEREAS the Village would like to amend Chapter 215 of the Village Code, Vehicles and Traffic, to revise the time limit parking within the residential permit parking system zones from 2 hours to 4 hours between the hours of 7:00AM to 7:00PM on weekdays, and WHEREAS Local Law Introductory No. 13 of 2022 has been drafted to reflect such language, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board of Trustees hereby schedules a Public Hearing for October 13, 2022, at 7:00PM in the Georgianna Grant Meeting Room of the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building to consider Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Local Law Introductory No. 13 of 2022 to amend Chapter 215 of the Village Code, Vehicles and Traffic. Resolution #134 of 2022 On motion of TRUSTEE ROSALES, seconded by TRUSTEE GALLELLI, the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on- Hudson, New York, with a 5-0 vote. WHEREAS the Village is seeking to replace its existing wayfinding signs, which have been weathered over a number of years, and WHEREAS the signs will also be updated to ensure visitors to the Village know where municipal parking exists, and WHEREAS the Department of Public Works has worked with the Village’s Advisory Board for the Visual Environment on the design of the signs, and WHEREAS on May 16, 2022, the Village Board allocated $6,000 from contingency for this purchase, and WHEREAS due to increased costs associated with the purchase of the customized wayfinding signs, additional funding is necessary, and WHEREAS the total funding for this purchase was not included in the 2022-2023 General Fund budget, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board hereby authorizes the Village Treasurer to transfer $7,750 from Contingency Account A1990.4000 to the following account: A3310.4200 – Traffic Control – Supplies - $7,750 DISCUSSION: Trustee Simon stated that “way-finding” is one of the most important things a community can do and thanked the DPW for a job well done collaborating with our contractor, he believes that residents and visitors will be able get around town a little bit better because of this. Trustee Gallelli stated that improving these signs will be a plus for the community. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Resolution #135 of 2022 On motion of TRUSTEE SIMON, seconded by TRUSTEE GALLELLI, the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on- Hudson, New York, with a 5-0 vote. WHEREAS the Department of Public Works provides a wide variety of services for the Village, and WHEREAS employee salaries are traditionally budgeted in a single departmental account, Street Maintenance, and then allocated throughout the year in accordance with payroll, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Treasurer is authorized to amend the General Fund and Sewer Fund 2022-2023 budgets in the amount of $310,617.69 to allocate funds for each of the Department of Public Works based services below: A1620 Buildings $ 37,079.17 A5140 Brush $ 10,760.48 A5183 Public Works $ 114,584.17 A7140 Community Rec $ 1,146.32 A8090 Recycling $ 75,828.47 A8140 Storm Sewer $ 2,292.25 A8160 Refuse $ 54,309.67 A8170 Street Clean $ 4,607.68 A8560 Shade Trees $ 8,932.61 G8120 Sewer $ 1,076.87 Total: $ 310,617.69 Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Decrease A5110 Street Maint. $ 309,540.82 G1990 Contingency $ 1,076.87 Total: $ 310,617.69 Resolution #136 of 2022 On motion of TRUSTEE SIMOIN, seconded by TRUSTEE HOROWITZ, the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on- Hudson, New York, with a 5-0 vote. WHEREAS the Village is seeking to install three decorative planters at the intersection of Grand Street and Old Post Road South in the Upper Village, and WHEREAS the purpose of these planters is to enhance pedestrian safety at the intersection in line with the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee’s Master Plan document, and WHEREAS the Department of Public Works has received a quote from Belson Outdoors of Naperville, Illinois for $3,270.24, and WHEREAS the funding for this purchase was not included in the 2022-2023 General Fund budget, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board hereby authorizes the Village Treasurer to transfer $3,270.24 from Contingency Account A1990.4000 to the following account: A3310.4200 – Traffic Control - Supplies $3,270.24 Resolution #137 of 2022 On motion of TRUSTEE HOROWITZ, seconded by TRUSTEE GALLELLI, the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on- Hudson, New York with a 5-0 vote. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 WHEREAS the Village of Croton-on-Hudson has owned the parcel located at 41-51 Maple Street (“the Property”) since 2008, and WHEREAS on May 17, 2021, the Village Board of Trustees issued a special permit to Regan Development Corporation (“the developer”) of Ardsley, New York, for the construction of two multi-unit residential buildings at the Property, and WHEREAS on June 7, 2021, the Village Board authorized the contract of sale for the Property with the developer for $2,000,000, and WHEREAS the sale of the Property was contingent upon the developer receiving funding from the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal (NYSCHR), and WHEREAS on July 6, 2022, NYSHCR announced that the developer was awarded funding in the amount of $3,000,000 for this project, and WHEREAS the Village and the developer are now working towards the property closing, and WHEREAS the developer would like to begin site work before the official closing takes place, and WHEREAS an agreement allowing for such work to proceed has been drafted, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board hereby authorizes the Village Manager to execute the license agreement with the developer subject to the Village Attorney’s final approval. Village Attorney Whitehead advised that the closing will not take place until the end of November, the only work we are going to allow them to do before they close on the property is some tree clearing and the installation of erosion controls. 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: Ed Riely, 110 Truesdale Drive, Croton on Hudson stated that he believes the Village has too many signs and suggested that someone go around Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 the Village checking to make sure that our current signage is working, objects to the Westchester County Board of Legislator’s plan to redistrict County Legislative Districts, concerned about the MTA’s labor negotiations and its impact on taxpayers, as well as the affect of the economy on New York State’s Defined Pension Plan. 9. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to approve the minutes as amended of the Regular Meeting held on August 15, 2022, was made by Trustee Horowitz. Motion was seconded by Trustee Simon and approved with a 5-0 vote. 10. QUARTERLY DEPARTMENT REPORTS: Department of Public Works Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/efa94eabd503d504edb31e7faf46ba0e871a1d92.pdf Engineering Department Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/1c2190186d99254fc08da317c76cea16466247a5.pdf Manager’s Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/96a17f4a881c7ed2a355beca6f5be8f8af516d43.pdf Parking Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/189cf1d26d10e87b75ee1a5c4c91e904cc3d4da6.pdf Police Department Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 04ff4fccbb8879c13388defb899732177fc.pdf9/2a58f3 Village Clerk Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/17e24b5514dc1bd4c52ca3df75fd2d6c9042e10f.pdf Village Justice Report Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/691a3e2187b5c620fb7a0da14fd0509d0531c923.pdf Village Treasurer’s Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/3f2c6ee5660392d914d080531cc43a3e01eb3884.pdf Recreation’s Report https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2022- 09/b1964259f186d4e811053d6a5f61628f3ce7b68b.pdf 11. REPORTS: Trustee Rosales advised that the Police Advisory Committee met on September 14th, the Village-Wide Yard Sale was held on September 17th, on September 23rd “Coffee with a Cop” will be held at Croton Corners from 11am-1:00pm and that same evening at 7:00pm family movie night will be held at Senasqua Park. Trustee Simon advised that he attended a Climate Smart Communities meeting held in the County Executive’s office, a new program, Climate Friendly Homes Fund was introduced that will focus on residential buildings, he also thanked the head of Westchester County Housing and Community Renewal for the work that agency gave Croton with respect to the Katz property housing project, and shared how well our solar project is progressing at the train station. Trustee Simon advised that he and Trustee Horowitz participated in a program at Shoprite called “Bag Hunger” where community members spend time bagging food and encouraging shoppers to donate food for the hungry, a program called Meals on Main located in Portchester that provides free food for families will be expanding the program to Croton and thanked Asbury Church for allowing them to park their van in their parking this Saturday, this coming Sunday the Rotary will be holding their annual Car Show at the Croton train station from 11:00am-3:00pm, preceded by a parade at 9:30am and thanked the DPW for doing a fantastic job on the Bocce Court at Black Rock park. Village Trustees Board Meeting September 19, 2022 Trustee Gallelli advised that she attended the Police Advisory Task Force meeting, their focus will be on getting more information out to the community that includes the services the Police Department provides to the community. Trustee Gallelli stated that she looks forward to our Fall/October Fest activities as well as our Fire Fair. Trustee Horowitz advised that a “Clothes Fest” is taking place at St. Augustine Church till September 24th, attended the Recreation Advisory Committee meeting last week where they were briefed on the activities that took place over the summer, people are working hard on the upcoming Fall/October Fest and looks forward to an exciting day. Mayor Pugh thanked the Knights of Columbus for their blessing of our first responders, thanked the Volunteer Fire Department for their help in putting together our 9-11 Ceremony, and directed residents to the Village’s website for information on where they can get Covid booster shots. There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion to close the meeting was made by Trustee Horowitz. Motion was seconded by Trustee Simon and approved with a 5-0 vote. Meeting adjourned at 8:56pm Respectfully submitted, Judy Weintraub, Board Secretary _______________________ Paula DiSanto, Village Clerk