Board of Trustees Meeting
Alright. Good evening. I'm mayor Brian Pugh. Welcome to our regular Croton on Hudson Board of Trustees meeting. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Alright. The first item of business is the local public hearing on local law number 14 of 2026 to amend chapter 223 of the waterfront revitalization, code to promote clarification in the review of land use applications for consistency with the local waterfront revitalization plan. Before we go to the motion manager, would you like to briefly summarize the changes? Sure. Thank you, mayor. So this was brought to the board, by the
village's planner and attorney to basically update our local water our chapter on waterfront revitalization, in the village code to conform with the state's changes on the seeker process. So, previously, our local waterfront revitalization plan or the LWRP, the trigger for, consistency review was based on based on a seeker determination. So since many things are now going to, be considered type two actions with Seeker, it would not, require a consistency review with our LWRP. So when the board met to discuss this, they asked to have some changes made so that certain projects would still require, consistency review with the LWRP, and that's what's being proposed here.
Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Alright. Public hearing on local law number 14 of 2026 is open. Anyone wishing to speak on this specific piece of legislation, this is your opportunity.
Both in item two and three has the word, waterfront revitalization in it. Therefore, I'm gonna address that subject. Ed Riely from, Truesdale Drive. In the waterfront area, with three things of concern to me. At one time, it was planned that this humongous cable from supposedly green energy from the northern part of the state would come down the Hudson River and then cross land adjacent to the railroad, Senasco and and and Riverwalk, and then cross Croton Point. I haven't heard anything since then. Maybe maybe I'm out of the loop, but that's the way it is. And then, hopefully, that any types of waterfront revitalization would cancel out the mega projects that, members of this board have envisioned for properties either adjacent to the river on Riverside Avenue or more importantly, adjacent to the railroad yard and
And and it... It's amazing to me that, both both this and the next item is that in the past, in reviewing projects, you know, the highest priority was given to environmental issues, whether it be view, sound, noise, pollution, ground pollution, etcetera, etcetera. And then as soon as a dirty deal was made between a governor and certain legislatures... Legislators, which will remain unmentioned, maybe I'll mention later, environmental stuff took a backseat to mega housing. So in in in in consideration of both these items two and three, I would like to to ask as a citizen that this village board, at least a majority, maybe three, crack down on the process that is this inevitable freight train that's been moving down the track since this dirty housing deal. Thank you.
Anyone else wishing to speak on this? Alright. Do I have a motion to close the public hearing? So moved.
We're not voting on this for the, we're not voting on that tonight. We're moving into the, LWRP and EAF review. Alright. Okay. So we'll start with the, environmental assessment form. Yep. So we're under three now. That's the short EAF part two, please. Thank you. So I'm... As as is our usual practice, I will read off the 11 questions, and then the board can answer, no or small impact or a moderate to large impact. And just a reminder that, these... You're answering these questions based on the law and not any specific project or, proposed project. So the first question is, will the proposed action create a material conflict with an adopted land use plan or zoning regulations?
Will the proposed action result in a change in the use or intensity of use of land? No or small. Will the proposed action impair the character or quality of the existing community? No or small. Will the proposed action have an impact on the environmental characteristics that cause the establishment of a critical environmental area? No or small. Will the proposed action result in an adverse change in the existing level of traffic or affect existing infrastructure for mass transit, biking, or walkway? No or small. Will the proposed action cause an increase in the use of energy and it fails to incorporate reasonably available energy conservation or renewable energy opportunities? No or small. Will the proposed action impact existing public or private water supplies? No or small. Will the proposed action impact existing public or private wastewater treatment utilities? No or small. Will the proposed action impair the character or quality of important historic, archaeological, architectural, or aesthetic resources? No or small. Will the proposed action result in adverse change to natural resources? No or small. Will the proposed action result in an increase in potential for erosion, flooding, or drainage problems? No or small. Will the proposed action create a hazard to environmental resources or human health? No or small. Okay. Thank you. So we will prepare the negative declaration for the next meeting. And then moving on to the LWRP review, so your Waterfront Advisory Committee also conducted their advisory review and has provided you with a memo that
details the policies that they found to be consistent. And so, there are quite a number of them, so I'm just gonna read off the policy numbers. Then if anybody has any questions, we can, we can go over them. So it's policy five a, policy six, policy seven e, policy seven f, policy seven g, policy seven h, policy 11, policy 12, policy 13, policy 14, policy 18, policy 19, policy 19 b, policy 23, policy 25, policy 25 a, policy 27, policy 30, policy 33, policy 33 a, policy 37, policy 37 a, policy 38, policy 39, policy 44, and policy 44 a. And then in regards to the proposed land uses and projects, they also determined that policy two, policy three, policy seven, policy eight, and policy 11 were applicable and consistent.
Yes. So, manager, both trustee Nachtaler and myself were present, and I think we can attest to the diligence of the of the group at the the time. So I I would I would move adoption of the LWRP recommendations or analysis.
Alright. So if there are no other policies anyone would like to add, we will prepare the resolution for the statement of consistency at the next meeting as well.
We proceed to an LWR consistency review for the MTA signal project along the Metro North Railroad Hudson Line. Yes. Thank you, mayor. So, likewise, the, Waterfront Advisory Committee has reviewed,
this consistency request and has provided a memo, with a slightly smaller list of policies, but very in... Informative nonetheless. So it's policy seven, policy seven b, policy seven f, policy seven g, policy eight, policy 11, policy 12, policy 13, policy 14, policy 18, policy 19 c, policy 30 a, policy 33, policy 33 a, policy 37, policy 44, policy 44 a. And then in regards to the proposed land uses and projects, they determined that policy three was, applicable and consistent.
I would ask that, trustee Nachtaler describe the innovative approach that we use Thank to to actually get to this point for Yeah. For which, she deserves much credit. No. Thank you. And thank you for supporting it.
So I know we read off a lot of numbers and people may not be understanding, you know, or maybe reading all the fine detail. But what this project is about is Metro North is undertaking, a really big new signal system upgrade and renovation along Croton On Hudson all the way up to Poughkeepsie. They're gonna be laying new cable lines. And this is a very significant robust project. And when it initially came to the board of trustees, you know, asking us to refer this project to the WAC to review coastal environment form, to review its impact on the environment, I had said we don't have enough project information from Metro North in order to make any determinations. So thank you, manager Healy, for reaching out to Metro North, and the chair of the WAC is is deputy mayor Simon for supporting that. And Metro North came to our meeting and provided more information. We asked a lot of questions. They didn't have all the answers, And they came back a second time with more detailed plans. And we learned that they're, you know, planning to build 19 new structures in Croton On Hudson in their right of way along, you know, the tracks areas. These are signal cases and signal houses. Some of them are small and some are 10 by 44 feet. So, you know, we asked them to do work during workday hours, not midnight to 6AM to disturb Croton residents. They said they would make every effort to do that, you know, and they were cooperative. So what we have here is just transparency for the public on all the projects that they're doing in relation to this big upgrade in community. Again, it's along Senasqua Park. It's along Croton Landing, and it's helpful for the board and for residents to have an idea of what this project is.
But Again, the the WAC worked long and hard on this. And in my recollection, the only only whack effort that that took two two meetings because we we did ask them to to come back a second time with with further information and analysis. So having said that and having listened to my colleague, I would just move, that we adopt the Yeah. The WAC, analysis.
Do I have a resolution? Thank you. Very good. Okay. So whereas the village of Cortlandt Hudson has adopted a local waterfront revitalization program to guide the use of its waterfront in adjacent areas in a manner consistent with sound waterfront planning and environmental protection principles. And whereas the village of Cortlandt Hudson has received a referral for the review of the signal system upgrade proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority along the Metro North Railroad Hudson line. Whereas on August twenty fifth twenty twenty sixth and 09/16/2026, the village's waterfront advisory committee reviewed the proposed project for consistency with the policies of the LWRP, and whereas the WAC has evaluated the policies of the LWRP and determined that the following policies are relevant to the proposed project. And those are all the ones I just went over. And whereas the WAC also reviewed the 11 proposed land use and projects contained in section four of the LWRP and determined the following policy was applicable. That was policy three. Whereas the WAC has issued its recommendation of consistency with the LWRP. Now therefore be it resolved that the village board of trustees hereby declares the signal system upgrade proposed by Metropolitan Transportation Authority along the Metro North Railroad Hudson Line to be consistent with the village's local waterfront revitalization program.
Right. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Nachtaler, second by trustee Simon. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Can I ask a question?
Not Please. Changing the... I... You know, by not changing my vote by any stretch. Would this be something that's then listed on the intergovernmental project? Like, where can people... Because people aren't gonna be wondering what's going on now. But as soon as something starts happening, people are gonna be wondering what is I think that's a great place to So put can go on intergovernmental. Right? And this... Yeah. I was gonna say, I don't know how great they will be at sending future updates, but at least we can have But even something the to information that was part of the backup here, those pictures of the huts, those the drawings, I think all of that would be really helpful Okay. When people have a question to just be able... Instead of them trying to dig to find it on an agenda for them to be able... Does it count as intergovernmental even though it's with... It doesn't really fit in intergovernmental,
does it? I think it's fine. Mean, the MPOA is a... They've created... For other for other issues, they've been part of our legislative program, so... Okay. Yeah. I just want there to be a place to be able to direct people. And that's a great point. I would also say that, you know, when work begins and people have questions, they may or may not Google it. They may or may not visit our intergovernmental Maybe
with with that in mind, I mean, I think it makes sense to periodically check-in with them and see how close they're getting to the start of work. And then it would be great if they were proactive in announcing it themselves and would make it easy for us by just sharing that information and allowing us to recirculate. But, alternatively, we can
nudge them in that direction. They did just put out the press release, I think it was last week, for the work in Southern Westchester. So maybe they maybe they will do that. Yeah. So
Responses to questions submitted via email manager. No questions, mayor. Alright. Very good. Public comment on agenda items. Anyone wishing to comment on any agenda item, this is your opportunity. Everyone has five minutes. Please state your name and address. Go ahead. Is it okay if I give you guys something? Sure.
Thank you.... You, honey. How are you? Good, Eric. Thank you. Hey. See you. Thanks.
No. Thank you. Take it. Please make sure that the manager... Yeah. That's fine. Thank you.
John Gilbert from the current fire department, captain of chemical engine. I'm here tonight requesting the board's approval for our fundraiser, Friday, October 16 from seven to 11PM. One of our members, Mike Ricky, got diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. He was able to use his time at work, and now he's out of time. He gets, like, a $100 a week. So we're trying to do this fundraiser, raise funds for him. It's gonna be $20 mission at the door. That's food, soft drinks. We're gonna be selling T shirts, little fifty fifty raffle at the door, and, it's gonna be a good night. I talked to, manager Healy. He gave me some list of bands that you guys use down just to have... Only till, like, 09:00. The band won't go late or anything, but just some light entertainment and everything to lighten the mood. So
Good evening. Name is Rick Craig. I live on Lownsbury Road. I'm here to comment on... In the consent agenda, resolution number nine about the water fund and capital fund budget to account for a change in funding source for the Lionsbury Road water main relining project. I wanna make it crystal clear. The history we have gone through with this has been a long and unfortunate history on Lionsbury Road. Years of problems with the rust, we would call up. They would flush the hydrants and be okay for a while. In September 2024, we emailed the village manager again saying the problem is getting a lot worse. Fourteen months later is when we're told that plans to the county finally happened after fourteen months of us chasing up rust in our water. Plans sent to the county. Comments were received in July. A response back to the county was on September 14, which coincidentally was the same day another letter was sent out to the village manager. Very coincidental timing on that. We are awaiting approval. When this happens, you you flush the hydrant, which is now happens twice a week, I believe, which is a ridiculous waste of water. We then have to then drain our hot water tank. Otherwise, the rust is all sitting in our hot water tank, so we're doing this twice a week. If it takes fourteen months for you to first send the plans in, I have no lot... No idea how long this is going to take. I cannot tell you how frustrated we are on Lowen's Prairie Road. Many of us residents there have been contacting the village for years to have rust in our water. We use a britter water filter, which does not filter out all of the rust that we drink rust in our water.
I no longer have white T shirts to wear to work because they're all orange because there is rust in our water in our washing machines. And so as I've emailed recently, you're gonna see me here every trustee meeting until this is finally taken care of. So I make it very clear what we've gone through, frankly, the lack of effort we've seen from the village, which is very disappointing. And I don't know if you take questions anymore, but is there any idea when this is gonna be fixed? If not, I'll see you in two weeks.
At Riley Trazil Drive. I'm gonna make an assumption that the the discussion that, trustee Nachtaler was talking about was with the Waterfront Advisory Committee. That's the first time I've heard of any effective questioning of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the New York State Railroad, which has abused this community since it was built in 1845. And I have heard you do this many, many times. They're an user and abuser of this town. Yeah. We have a parking lot, But they are a user and abuser of this town, and this town, to my knowledge, has never established effective communication with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on a regular basis unless it was to pull a string through a state senator, like with parking lot a. And I continue to say that. And it's for a lot of reasons, like building 19 structures along the Hudson River, and god knows where they're gonna go. Somebody should have a map of that, I would think, right off the bat. So the railroad relations with this village sucks, but I'm glad to see as a first step, this trustee who stepped up in the last meeting about this, stepped up again. Quite frankly, I still don't know if the MTA still us. Remember that income tax they had? They still have a tax on us? They could never run that thing right because of their labor relations policies and their improvement policies going back fifty years. Any private railroad, for you socialists, would never get away with what they've done. So once again, I suggest it's time to have a regular policy in dealing with relations with the MTA and to get back some of that that money that they don't pay in taxes. And if they were an industrial site, they would be paying us big time. From my knowledge, we get Zippo back and use a lot of our services,
including fire, police to some extent, and water. The big kahuna on the agenda tonight is Nora Nicholson. Nora Nicholson is a wonderful person, known her family for sixty years, but she is a very liberal person, has gone along with the policies of this administration and some other wild ass policies as illustrated by the idea committee in which she serves. She should not be an administrator in a village of Croton. She should never been hired. And that's not a personal attack. That says she has a record, a political record in Croton, and she's going from an elected official where you're entitled to do that. Thank god. That's the First Amendment. To go over to the administrative state and to implement these same friendships on an administrative basis inside the administration. Now the only thing I could think of when I heard about this is him saying, Healy must be stepping down because he could run a city. You know, he should be paid, like, $203,100,000 dollars more. He must be stepping down. He's gonna turn it over to her. That's what this deal is all about. Because what you're supposed to do, which I've seen, you know, I used to do business with towns and villages. You take somebody who's very intelligent, has experience running a town or village. You bring them in. You make them a disciple and and an understudy, and you let them find all about the village over a period of time, three, four, five years. And then when you're ready to get the big bucks by, like, running the city of Yonkers, which from mister Healy could do. Right? He goes... He he moves on and gets another $250,000 in salary. But instead, we have a politician, a highly partisan politician moved into the administration. You know what this looks like? This looks like when Obama
brought in those left wing officials into administration and intentionally pushed them down into the civil service, which they remain. So it didn't matter who was president. They were gonna implement policies or they were gonna stop policies from being implemented because they were in the civil service. The second danger is... And this is a... Sometimes it's a plus, sometimes it's a minus. You know, I've always said it's nice to have public officials live in the town. It's nice to have teachers live in town. But on the other hand, if you're a politician carrying a baggage on your back with a lot of policy statements and things you've said in the past, you have special relationships with certain people on these boards. And these boards, in this village, many of them are highly partisan, Whether it be housing, DEI, whatever, highly partisan. Now they got somebody in inside couldn't deal with. Now I don't know whether this was spontaneous, but I find it hard to believe. And because I've seen this in the past, where normally you could hire a person for 95,000, 85,000, hire new teachers for 65,000, a a person at a reasonable salary, because this person is an experienced person, you gotta pay him twice as much as you would somebody else. Thank you. Time's expired. Thank you.
Does anyone else wish to comment on agenda items? Alright. Seeing no one else wishing to comment, we proceed to the manager's report.
Thank you, mayor. So I'll just... I'll start by addressing the Lansbury Road thing because it it... It's very upsetting to to us as well. You know, we don't like to see people having to deal with infrastructure problems. Yeah. When this was first brought to my attention back in 2024, I had no... It had been a problem in the past before I was village manager, and then it was brought to my attention again in 2024. And, you know, we immediately started looking at the situation. We obtained a proposal from WSP, which is our, design engineer for water projects, and, the board approved that proposal in February 2025. I just went back and looked. These these plans for, relining water infrastructure take a lot of time, unfortunately, to, be designed. They have to come out to the field. They have to do drawings. They have to submit them. They get them back. They do more submissions. And, unfortunately, the health department for the county is not very responsive, as can be seen by the fact that it took them seven months from January to July to, get back to us. And so, you know, we turned around. We made all the changes that they wanted. We turned it around on September 14, and I'm following up with WSP every week as, you know, have you checked in with the county? Have you heard from the county? And, you know, because we are prepared assuming that we get the consent of our legal advisers that it should be declared an emergency situation, and we won't... We don't have to bid it, and we can hire a contractor. It's been done before on water projects when there are water quality issues, and I think it should be done again here because it it is impacting people.
So... But, unfortunately, before we can get to that step, we need the county to approve the plan so that we can we can we can move on to the actual contract phase. So...
been sitting on... Well, the the most recent plans were submitted September 14. It's been a little over two weeks. So I asked on Monday. I reached out to WSP. I asked for an update. They told me yesterday that they had contacted them and and would get back to me, but I haven't I haven't gotten an update since yesterday. So...
We've been we've been trying to to look into that to see if there's anything that can be done. You know, the the pipes are old and they're... The the reason for the rust, right, is that they're they're falling apart. They're right there in the... They need to be relined so that they will be able to stay, active. So they they have to be treated with some, delicacy, right, and make sure that they, you know, that we don't break anything. So they do... Alright. They are able to flush them, which as mister Craig was saying, we are doing now twice a week, to try to improve the quality on a temporary basis. You know, I've had the water foreman reaching out to other communities, seeing if there's anything else that we could potentially do. Yeah. Not being a water engineer myself or any sort of water expert, you know, one of the questions I asked was, is there any way that we could somewhat almost like snake the line or like jet the line like you kind of do if you have a blockage. Right? You just put a lot of force in and and I was thinking maybe that would kind of blast, you know, a large amount of rust out at once. And so, you know, he said he said he hadn't really heard of that before, but he would look into it. And so he came back to me and he said there's not really something like that, but they do have something that's called ice pigging, which is a very interesting term. But they basically, put this, like, block of ice in the pipe and it gets pushed down the pipe and collects the rust. Then as the ice melts, the rust flows out with the water.
But the concern that was given to me is that you're only supposed to do that immediately before you are ready to reline because it could cause the pipe to completely break. So I asked if we could get somebody out who does that to actually look at our line and see if we're... If it's something feasible that we could do or if we're really at the point where it would cause more harm than than good. Mhmm. So I'm waiting to see if we can get somebody out to Mhmm. To give us an opinion on that. Can I just ask what the communication with the impacted?
So I guess my question is what has the communication with those families been? It feels like there's been a large periods of time in between with a... Like, we're getting an update now. Mister Craig is getting an update now. Yeah. But I think that the... I I would ask that we be keeping these people who are dealing with... Who are drinking rust every day and having trouble washing their clothes. At least let them know what what is happening. Mean, six months of nothing happening is frustrating, but six months of not hearing that anything is happening makes it even worse.
They they have been in regular communication with me. Sorry. I mean, there's one neighbor, who has basically informed me that she's speaking on behalf of all the neighbors. So I talked to her, you know, I would say... I don't wanna say every week, but I hear from her quite often. And so I do give her updates, but I don't speak I don't speak with all the individual neighbors individually.
I I can confirm. He he does go through the point first. It's fine, but I think public shaming is needed now to actually get action happening because enough is enough. And I noticed... But I I emailed you September 9. September 14 was the day you received the second letter from... I'm sorry, sir. We... I can't... Yeah.
That big number, just cut you guys a check. Maybe reach out to the board of legislator representative,
And and just for edification purposes, relining sounds like a simple process, but because of my experience as the general counsel for Westchester Joint, we've relined a number of these. You you have to actually put a balloon in the line, and then you pump the cement around the balloon so you're you're not you're not damaging or further making a bad situation worse. So Yeah. It's it's a step by step process. It's a well known process. It's ex... Certainly acceptable in this case. It will be...
And and the attorney can correct me if I'm wrong. But, once we get the approval from the county and if we are able to move forward as an emergency and move it along quicker, the problem should abate relatively quickly because a temporary water main will be run. Yes. And then the old water main will be taken out of service and and repair... And realigned. Right? So as soon as we get that temporary water main run... But the county needs to approve the plans for that because it's a water quality. So can you just remind us where... I'm sorry. I know that you've probably already said this, but... So we sent it... So the county now has a piece of paper that we're waiting to be approved that they received on So we so we sent the plans in January. They came back to us with comments on the plans in July. We sent the plans back in September for... On September 14. So now they have them. So we're waiting for them to back. They're either gonna come back to us and say they're approved or they're gonna come back and say we have more comments. But we don't have a time frame for when we're gonna get something back from them. I hope it's quicker than seven months. Okay. So I I mean, maybe there's... We could put some type of Yeah. Advocacy plan in place. I don't... I mean, you asking is one thing, but I think if the board
makes the ask, I would like the board to Yeah. Make an ask. How do we do? Can I? How can we do that? Do we write a letter or do we make a phone call? Like, what's the best way? I I guess I would like an action out of this. Like, what can we do today? Do we show up in their offices? No. I I would start with call. I mean, the operations director for each board of religious...
Board member will certainly take a call and you'll receive action because again, it's Yeah. It's their constituency that would like to move this along quicker. So if If if I could make it Sorry. If in fact the, the second submission addressed all the comments, it's it's very unlikely in in my experience for them to be additional comments. So, this second round
Should be would not be seven months. So then, you know, trustee Simon is our intergovernmental representative. So I I guess I would like to request that either, you know, as as soon as makes sense, can you make a call to that person in the... At the county? Yes, ma'am. And then let us know how that went? I think I think if we could if we could
tag team, basically, let me contact the staff. And then if trustee Seyron wants to contact the elected
officials Whatever the process is. Yeah. I just think, like, it's Wednesday. Can we, like, maybe in your Friday update, can we have an update on where this is? Yeah. Thank you.
And are there any laws or precedent for issuing any kind of rebate or... I mean, just feel like a resident is paying for a service that isn't meeting the quality standards.
Certainly, they're not being charged for the the volume that's used to flush. So, you know, that
is inactive. Let's let's let's look at that and have the conversation. Yeah. Okay. No. I just wanted to reassure you... Are people having to buy bottled water because they can't use the water that they're paying a water bill for? I mean, are the kinds of questions, the things that I'm thinking about. If I had a small child, I wouldn't want... I don't... Mean, I don't want anybody to drink rust, but I, you know, I don't... How is this really impacting people even if it's just five houses?
But again, part of the project will be immediately to take this one out of service and to put the temp... And that's part of the approval from the Department of Health. They have to approve the the It's all it's all hinging on that because, like I said, if we can get that approval, we... We're... We are ready to move quickly
and get the contractor in here and, you know, what... I can understand that. Yeah. So... Manager, Rob. Thank you for bringing it to our Upon
Sorry. I'm sorry. Upon approval by the county, any estimate of how long the work takes for... I'm not in... I mean, the whole project is gonna take some time, but I don't... I... Like, the specific part of getting the temporary main in, I'm not exactly sure. Yeah. That that would happen would have to happen. That would that would happen first. Right? Because that's the first step before you take the other main out of service is you need to have the temporary one in place. Okay. But it sounds like we can make some calls tomorrow and at least get some answers so that somebody's actually looking at a paper. It's not just sitting on a desk somewhere. Thank you. Yep.
That was only one item of my report. That wasn't even on my report. Okay. Interrupting. That's
Alright. So the rapid flashing beacon on Maple Street, we finally received approval from New York State DOT to move forward with the installation. DPW is set to begin work next Monday, October 5. One lane of traffic will be closed during the week while work is ongoing. DPW is timing the work to avoid the rush hour as much as feasible. An alert will be sent out later this week to let people know of the lane closure. I... The Quaker Bridge, I received an update from Westchester County on the Quaker Bridge project. The project is on schedule to be completed next May. On the village side, the Coffer Dam has been fully installed and load pile drilling has begun. While on the town side, the Coffer Dam installation is expected to be completed this week with pile driving to begin thereafter. The county is gonna continue the project throughout the winter to ensure it meets the scheduled completion date. On Brook Street, DPW has begun clearing the vacant lot at the bottom of Brook Street to provide additional parking in the area. The goal is to clear some area during the fall to provide additional off street parking during the winter. In spring twenty twenty seven, DPW will return to pave and strike the area. A retaining wall will also be installed at the back of the property. It is expected that 20 spaces will be available on the lot as opposed to the eight or so available now. And that'll be free. Right? Free parking. Yeah. I mean Or That's... It's ultimately up to the board to decide. I mean Okay. Yeah. Generally, our parking lots are free, but people can, but they're time limited. Right? So if people wanna park over a certain time limit, then they would buy a permit. Okay. Yeah. Thank you.
0.5 Moon Bay Bridge, New York State DOT returned the plan specifications and estimate with a few additional comments for our structural engineer. The firm will review these comments and provide a response to the DOT. We're still hoping to have the bid go out later this fall for the work. The engineering department phase two of their renovations should be finished by next Monday. The staff will be moved into the new office space, which was the old front office, and the final phase will involve demoing the existing bathroom and then relocating it into the existing hallway, provide additional space for the, for the staff. Govea Park. Work has resumed at Govea Park now that, eagle season has officially ended. DPW crews have been working on the lower parking lot near the house and the new roadway that will exit onto Albany Post Road. Unfortunately, from the time that they were last in that area in April to to September, all of the greenery Grew back. Grew back. So they basically had to start over. Okay. So... But it was... It's okay. So anything for the eagles. So, so they are working down there again. And then, lastly, we received revised building permits, in the engineering department for the multifamily development at 1380 Albany Post Road. This project was approved, for a special permit by the village board back in 2022, and the planning board gave site plan approval to it later that year. And our third party reviewer, La Bella, will be reviewing the revised plans to ensure they're responsive to the comments that were issued back in January 2025. So that is my report.
Thank you. Thank you, manager. Alright. From there, we proceed to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion on the consent agenda?
Just two points, mayor. Just want to thank, all the folks involved in charitable contributions and related work, including our bench, donations from two parties as well as the great work that the Lions do every year on on Christmas tree sales. Looking forward looking forward to that. Alright. And and then just I wanted to point out just folks that have a chance, if they if they can take a look at the quarterly reports from the from the various departments, a wealth of information there. It's really the factory floor of Yes. Of our village government. And, you know, this is all interesting what we do up here in terms of policy and legislative solutions, but the day to day is is really where where it makes a difference to everyone that's... Lives here in Croton. So, hopefully, folks can get a chance to see all the all the great work that, that happens, in the individual departments.
Manager, on that note, I I would meant to ask you this when we met this week. Is it a ton of work or possible to look at that analysis by, like, police or, you know, the various groups, those numbers versus year ago just to get a sense of how we're trending? For example, like Mhmm. The fire department, I believe that the calls have already exceeded their annual number from 2025. At least that's, you know, I think what, Joe Strini mentioned.
I think they're... I think they have higher call volume now than they did at this time last year. Right. Right. Right. I think that's correct. Yes. So I...
Well Yeah. They... Well, in that particular instance, they post their calls, call incidents on the website. So, I mean, it would, if the manager says that they're above where they were last year at the same time Right. I I assume that's correct, but, they've not exceeded the total number of calls as of yet. Yeah. Last year was four ninety four. And oddly enough That was the same exact number. Twenty twenty four was also four ninety four on the button, but this year, it's three twenty two. So, yeah, we're probably on track, to exceed last year, but we'll see. Thank you. And the police, like, the... You know, just how things are trending.
Yeah. I think... I mean, that's something that we could do. You know, the data is available on the website, so if there are any... Anyone that would like to look at it, they're welcome to look at it themselves. But...... Compare it. Yeah. Yeah. But we can we can see what we can put pull together.
Okay. And and a manager... And correct me if I'm wrong. I just wanted to point out that although the the resolution at... Towards the end on on Lownsbury indicates transfer of funds, the important point there is that we've set aside $500,000
for this work. And, course, if we need more, we'll... Yeah. Yeah. We've we've actually set aside a million dollars for it because there was... We had previously taken out a bond for the 500,000 and then we were gonna take out another $500,000 bond, but the Yep. We have we have the money available in the
water fund, so we don't have to take out the bond. Yep. So the money the money's there. The money the money we'll we'll be working on the county. Yeah. The money is there. That that we get the approval as quickly as possible. Yep.
Increases? Yeah. So the transfer for the increased senior programming, right, that was a discussion item that we had towards the end of the budget process in the spring. There was a request from, Mark Duncan, superintendent of recreation, to have an increase in the senior line. I believe it was related to, like, the increased cost for the charter buses and the fact that they were taking more trips. So, but rather than change the budget at that point in the process, like, change the individual lines, the board agreed to just place the money in, contingency, and if it was needed, would consider the request at a later at a later date. So, you know, now that now that they've planned all their fall... Well, they've planned they've planned their summer trips. They've now planned their fall trips, and they're in the middle of planning their winter trips. The money is the money is dwindling in that in that line. Fuel. So if you... I mean, fuel is a big is a big part of it. Yeah. But it's also that Joanna Straub, our director of senior recreation is taking the seniors on new and exotic trips. Yes. So... You know, and and a lot of these a lot of these are are, you know, the costs are significantly covered by the registration fees, but you still need to have money available in your expenditure line. Right? Because the the money that's paid come... Goes into revenue, but you still need to have money available in your expenditure line. So so that's the first one. And then the two personnel adjustments, one is related to Joanna, the... Our director of senior recreation because we have increased her hours in this year's... In this fiscal year. And then the other one is related to the assistant village manager
position. So because that money was in contingency, so now we're transferring it into the manager's budget line.
Further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Alright. Proposed resolutions. The first item is a resolution calling on the New York State Department of Transportation to undertake immediate tree remediation along Route 129 and in the intermediate term to repave this very... At this point, very degraded roadway.
Do I have a motion? Want me to read it first? Oh, yes, please. Okay. Whereas the village of Cortlandt Hudson transmitted formal correspondence dated 07/22/2026 to the New York State Department of Transportation conveying urgent public safety concerns regarding had... Hazardous trees in the degraded roadway conditions along State Route 129. Whereas New York State DOT regional director Julianne Fuda issued a written response dated 08/31/2026 outlining routine maintenance protocols, inspections, and tree removal procedures, but failing to commit to a definitive timetable. Whereas the board of trustees finds the New York State DOT response dated 08/31/2026 to be unsatisfactory and that it does not address the safety hazards threatening motorists. And whereas numerous dead, damaged, and unstable trees along the corridor pose a direct and imminent danger to the public, particularly in the event of high winds and extreme weather events, and whereas the period of greatest danger is heightened while foliage remains on the trees as leaf canopies amplify wind resistance, increase branch failure rates, and escalate the risk of catastrophic tree falls. Whereas the pavement conditions along Route 129 have severely deteriorated having been rated by New York State DOT as being fair slash poor and has undergone five additional years of continuous degradation without resurfacing. And whereas New York State DOT staff have advised the village that intermediate maintenance measures are no longer viable or effective given the condition of the road base. Now therefore be it resolved, the board of trustees of the village of Cortlandt And Hudson hereby calls upon the New York State Department of Transportation to, one, undertake immediate tree remediation, direct emergency and specialized tree crews to immediately inspect, trim, and remove all hazardous and compromised trees along State Route 129 before seasonal severe weather conditions worsen, and two, prioritize repaving. Program and expedite the complete repaving and structural rehabilitation of State Route 129,
allocating the required state capital funding without further delay. And be it further resolved that the village clerk is hereby direct to forward certified copies of this resolution to governor Kathy Hochul, New York State DOT commissioner, Marie Therese Dominguez, New York State DOT regional director Julianne Fuida, and the village's state legislative representatives.
Yeah. Well, I think Now you need a motion. Yeah. Sure. Do I have a motion? So moved. Do I have a second?
Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. I think that the resolution really covers, its own legislative history here comprehensively, but, manager, is there some additional context you can share?
Yeah. Sure. So, I mean, as the resolution says, I did write the the letter ex... You know, we had had, as of July, we had had five trees come down between Memorial Day and the middle of July. And so the fifth one that came down actually hit a vehicle, but thank thank goodness it did not hit the the passenger the... Where the the driver was. It hit... It was a pickup truck and hit the bed of the truck. And so, you know, we sent that letter urging them to please take action before further, you know, tree falls actually hurt or killed somebody. You know, since I wrote that letter, there have been two additional trees that have come down, so it's up to seven now. Yep. And as as I... Again, as the resolution said, we got a response that's part of the backup where they really did not commit to anything. And, you know, again, did not really find that to be very encouraging. And so, last week, myself and trustee Simon met with, our state assembly member, Dana Levenberg, and drove the area, pointed out the, trees that are in... You know, that are safety concern as well as the condition of the road. And, you know, assembly member, Levenberg, is going to be advocating
to the DOT for us. So I don't know. Yeah. I would... I was gonna mention this in in my trustee reports, but I thought it was a remarkable example of rolling intergovernmentalism because we went up and down one twenty nine. Fortunately, our DPW team, which was with us in the in the car, both the superintendent and and John Bouchard, had preidentified a lot of the either trees or branches or remnants that that had that had fallen. So when when the assemblywoman meets with with the DOT, she'll have a very good guidance for them on what needs to come down. So I think we're we're very grateful to her for taking the time and and and and the action as well in in terms of of... At least on the tree side. The maintenance thing, that's another that's another story, and we'll see what happens on that. But my my... I I suspect that we'll get very, very rapid response on the, on the tree situation.
You know? Hopefully, it'll Let's let's hope. So I assume as the assemblywoman gets a copy of this as well and Correct. K.
Yeah. I mean, the one twenty nine is regularly part of our legislative packet. I don't wanna be unduly optimistic here, but, I think that, you know, there is some cause for hope in the sense that there... Next year will will be a new capital plan, and whether or not it gets addressed in that coming fiscal year or not is one question, but it... I think it's very important that we get it in the DOT's five year capital plan. It's it's long overdue. And in terms of the tree question, you know, the manager gave the legislative history here, and, I think some additional context aside from, you know, the kind of response from a DOT not being very long in specifics, it's also pretty disconcerting, you know, what is happening in, let's say, the larger neighborhood. Right? We know that if you saw the River Journal recently, these very same concerns have been raised by our neighbors in Briar Cliff Manor. And, you know, obviously, we want Route 129 addressed, but Route 9 is also... Has even more traffic, has the same issues. That's good letter. And there was actually a fatality. And, you know, it would be one thing if it was, you know, calmly explained to us that, you know, for all those reasons, that that project was being prioritized and we would be next on the list. But it doesn't seem like there's any list at all, and it doesn't seem like any trees are getting addressed. And all the... Our communities have these hazards, and we really need them taken care of. And, I mean, it would be hopefully addressed sooner rather than later, especially right now when there's stills... Stills vegetation on the trees, and, you know, it's a time of fight and risk for for everyone using the roadway.
I mean, is there, any precedent for having home rule and taking away the state kind of ownership of a road and giving Do you wanna take to local.
I do not advise adding roads to your inventory. A couple years ago, the county transferred a lot of roads that had been neglected and not maintained. And taking this, there's a phrase in the law called pig in a poke. It really would be taking a pig in a poke. Mhmm. That's a that's a technical term? That's a that's a legal term. Yeah.
We did we did get roads when the county handed... We took over South Riverside and and Croton Point Avenue. So Yep.
Well, I mean, the end... The Southern end of South Riverside near the shop where I could use some attention, but the rest of South Riverside has been repaved at this point. And, obviously, Horton Point Avenue has been done as part of the project. So... But I'm sure that Steve would love to unload something that needs paving and being... I mean, we we... You don't wanna... We offered the state that we would repave it under our contract and... And give them the bill. But, yeah, basically, that we would manage it for them, that, you know, they would have competitive... They'd have rates that were bid out under, you know, and that just that all they needed to do was go in with the money and we would, you know, and they said no.
So... Think also at the beginning of, you know, the realization of this crisis both on '9 and 01/01/2029, Assemblywoman, Levenberg had just the just the idea that you just mentioned, just allow us to do the the maintenance ourselves and send the state a bill. Mhmm. Keep the ownership, but Right. We'll make sure that they're safe and sound. Yeah. They're subject to CBAs
as well. So I'm sure that would have to be negotiated item in there, collective bargaining agreements.
the village of Cortlandt Hudson is authorized pursuant to New York State Village law section one dash one zero two to acquire real property by gift grant bequest or any other lawful method. And whereas town of Cortlandt desires to convey the parcel at 21 Cook Lane to the village of Cortlandt Hudson, and therefore be it resolved that the village board of trustees do hereby accept the parcel at 21 Cook Lane from the town of Cortlandt and be it further resolved that the village manager is authorized to execute such documents as may be necessary to give effect to this resolution.
So I have it in the backup. There's a copy of the letter that I sent to town back in May. This parcel has somewhat of an interesting history. This was a subdivision that was approved in the nineteen fifties. And on the subdivision map, this was labeled as a playground parcel, so it's not buildable. And, you know, so for all these years, it hasn't been built on. And there was somebody that took ownership of the parcel a number of years ago and was trying to build on it. And the village actually took them to court and was successful in, you know, stopping them from building on it because it was on a on a subdivision map as a playground parcel and it needed to be preserved for park purposes. So he was not able to build on it and as such stopped paying the taxes on the parcel. So eventually, the town was able to foreclose on the parcel, and that was where... That's how we got to the point where I wrote to them earlier this year and said, you know, you really can't do anything with this parcel because you're not gonna be able to sell it for much because it's not buildable. So you might might as well give it to us and we can maintain it as a park and, you know, have it be available for passive recreation for the people in the neighborhood. So, the town board was agreeable to that, and they've approved the resolution donating it to us. And so we just need to accept it.
And, manager, following, the hope for, passage of this resolution, you'd assume... I think it was in your letter suggesting some some form of engagement with with the neighborhood on on what kind of resort... What kind of park resource would make the most sense for... Yeah. I definitely... Yes. As as well with the RAC and the and the recreation department.
You know, I definitely don't envision this being like an actual, like, playground or something like that. It would be more just a passive with the trail. Mhmm. You know, it does have a nice view of the river there. So, you know, if you wanted to have it be some sort of, like, lookout point, where people could could just take in the scenic views of the of the river, You know, something something along those lines where it's where it's a very passive use.
the village of Cortlandt Hudson is acting as a municipal sponsor for the Van Cortlandt Manor entrance project to reconfigure the entrance, enhance site safety, and improve visitor experience of the National Historic Landmark. And whereas the village board of trustees awarded the contract for this work to Remus Industries of Ossining, New York on 12/17/2025, whereas the scope change during the course of the project has resulted in change order number one being submitted. Whereas historic cuts and valleys reviewed the proposed change order and determined that the change in scope is necessary for the successful completion of the project. Whereas per the agreement executed by the village and HHV, all costs for this project exceed the funding amount allocated by the New York State Department of Transportation are the sole responsibility of HHV. And therefore, be it resolved that the village board of trustees hereby authorizes the village manager to approve change order number one in the total amount of $73,491.84.
Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Discussion? All in favor? Aye.
Whereas the village board included funding for a police department staffing and operational study in the twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven capital plan, and whereas on 05/28/2026, the village of Croton And Hudson issued a request for proposals from qualified firms to undertake the study. Whereas 10 responses were received by the deadline of 06/25/2026, and whereas a working group consisting of village manager, Bryan Healy, village trustee, Maria Slippen, chief of police, John Nikitopoulos, lieutenant Anthony Tramaclini, and police advisory committee chair, Carolyn Whiting, reviewed the proposals and selected three finalists to interview. And whereas following these interviews, it was determined to recommend moving forward with twenty first Century Policing Solutions of Scottsdale, Arizona at a cost of $57,750. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the board of trustees hereby authorizes the village manager to accept the proposal from twenty first Century Policing Solutions of Scottsdale, Arizona for a police department staffing and operational study in the amount of $57,750.
Well, as the manager just read, I served on the... I... You know, I'm the liaison to the police advisory committee and also served on this committee that reviewed the proposals for this project. We have been... This is something we've been talking about probably since book... For a very long time. But specifically we talked about it during the budget, time and put this money aside to do this project. It is, I think, aligned with the other work we've done in other departments very successfully to get feedback from a consultant to find out how we can run departments more efficiently, but also make sure that we have the correct staffing in place for the needs of the village. The members of this committee of which I was by far the least productive did a tremendous amount of study, and research, and the conducted robust... The interviews were robust. And a lot of consideration was gone into picking, the firm that we've landed on. And I do think that, you know, prior to the manager putting the budget together was the survey, the community survey, and public safety is very important to this community. And, making sure that we have the right resources in place is the best way to do that. You know, as as a board, we have done a little discussion about all of the public safety services that we have in the village. And I don't... This will be the beginning of this conversation, not the end of it, but I do think it's important to start it. So, I will be supporting this tonight. Thank you.
Manager, can you speak to a little bit what we're gonna be learning in the study? And it's my understanding that we're not going to be evaluating efficiencies for, consolidating police with the county, for example. Is that correct? Correct. There's no,
Right. So... Right. Thank you. Yeah. What this what this survey is, what this firm is going to do, right, is they're gonna come in, they're gonna evaluate our staffing, how resources are allocated, the schedule of hours. Right? Our our department operates on a traditional, around the clock schedule, right, where the officers work the day tour, the evening tour, the night tour. You know, a lot of departments have switched to what they call steady tours where you basically either work the day shift or the night shift, and you stay on that for a whole year. Right? And so a lot of places like that schedule better because it gives them stability, and it just is... It helps them, with their sleep schedules and everything. So, you know, they're gonna evaluate that. They're gonna evaluate whether, there's work that our sworn officers are doing that could perhaps be done by a civilian staff member and that would therefore free up our police officers to actually do, you know, Police. More policing. Right? So they're gonna be they're gonna be looking at that. They're gonna be preparing... I'll I'll call it a model, basically. I think it's a... Maybe dashboard is the correct that will be able to model into the future. And, like, you know, for example, we'll use 1380 Albany Post Road. Right? So was... That building is now gonna come online. So we could say three years from now, we're gonna add 50 more people to the north end of the village. Right? So we add that into this dashboard, and that's gonna give us information on how that will impact how many calls for service they have, you know, how many... You know, does it increase or decrease certain levels of crime, that sort of stuff. So, you know, all all of us were very impressed by the dashboard aspect of it and the fact that
that dashboard actually makes this report a living, breathing Mhmm. Report as opposed to them just giving us data that is static in a year. Right? And so that was something that we really liked about it. So, you know, they're gonna they're gonna speak with members of the board. They're gonna speak with the administrative staff. They're gonna speak with the officers. They're gonna speak with the members of the pack. They're gonna gather a lot of feedback from, those who are in the know and and have feedback to share. And, you know, all of that will be will be taken into their, their report. And then eventually, as they near the end of this process, right, the report will be presented publicly and, you know, everybody will have a chance to to review it and see what the recommendations are. Thank you. Yep. Yep.
I think that we need to take the report seriously, but at the same time, you know, we can't outsource our own independent judgment as a board of trustees, to the consultant, not least of which is because of the inherently narrow scope, that the consultant is being charged with. We're looking at one specific department, not all our not all our first responder agencies, and we're answerable to the community and their priorities across the board, not... Again, not just for one department. In our budget survey last... At the start of this year, you know, obviously, public safety is a priority, but the top budget priority for residents was staying under the property tax cap. And so I... We'll see what next next year's survey yields, but I think you'll get very similar results on that front. And so we need to, you know, serve one department, but we also need to be aware of the investments that might need to be made in other departments, not least of which. I will note that, emergency medical services, not just here, but is is undergoing a countywide review, at the direction of, you know, as a result of state law, and, a plan is due at the end of the and we don't know necessarily what kind of commitments or investments might come out of that.
Whereas the replacement of the HVAC system at the DPW garage was included in the twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven capital budget, and whereas the level of technical specification needed for the development of the design and bid documents require third party assistance. And whereas Nelson and Pope Engineering, Architectural, and Land Surveying of Melville, New York has provided the proposal in the amount of $13,500 to develop the design and bid documents and provide construction administration. Now therefore be it resolved that the village managers hereby authorize to accept the proposal from Nelson and Pope Engineering Architecture and Land Surveying of Melville, New York in the amount of $13,500.
So as this as this basically says, you know, this was a project that was approved in the capital budget. We need... You know, Frank Balbi, the superintendent of public works, needs some assistance in getting the the, documents ready to go out to bid, and so they're gonna provide that for us.
Thank you. I I think, manager, this is a good approach. You know, we have limited staff within DPW that that will... That are capable of of being assigned to something that that could take two or three weeks to to get it done right. So bringing in proven valuable assistance in the form of Nelson Pope. He's been helping us on overall planning, grant writing, and some other things, I think, is is a great way to to get these things done Yep. Not only efficiently, but very well.
Yeah. And that's... I mean, you know, we've done probably a dozen bids in RFPs this year, if not more. And, I mean, it... There's just only so much time in the day. Right? So if, you know, we have we have a very robust capital plan, which is Yeah. It it... Again, you know, tying back into what we were just talking about, the the survey that was done. Right? Infrastructure improvements were a very big part of that. Mhmm. And so the board adopted a very robust capital plan, but we do need some assistance in getting some of the stuff done. And this is a pretty costly system. Yeah. This... I think it's the cost... The number that we put in the budget for this was about a $117,000, I think. Mhmm. So it's for the it's for the actual bay of the garage where the mechanics work Mhmm. And it's for the administrative office. Mhmm. Yep.
Whereas the installation of a vehicle exhaust extraction system at the Harmon Firehouse was included in the twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven capital budget, and whereas the level of technical specification needed for the development of the design and bid documents requires third party assistance. Whereas Nelson and Pope Engineering Architecture and Land Surveying of Melville, New York has provided the proposal in the amount of $14,500 to develop the design and bid documents and provide construction administration. Now therefore, be it resolved that the village managers hereby authorized to accept the proposal from Nelson and Pope Engineering Architecture and Land Surveying of Melville, New York in the amount of $14,500.
Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Discussion?
Similar to... I was just gonna say basically the same thing. Alright. Yep. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
Yes. I believe that's about 35,000. Double check that. I just wanna make sure.
No. I'm sorry. I'm glad I looked. 61,000. I think 35,000 is what the one at the, ambulance cost.
I mean, I assume you're negotiating with these... Trying to get them down as Well, that... Low as you can part of the... Right. That's... We're not asking.... Nelson Pope, the fee we're paying. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So... So... And I don't know if this is the right spot to say it or to wait until the next, resolution. But, you know, I think that if... When we're talking about all of these individualized costs that we're tapping Nelson Pope to help us with these proposals, would it make more sense to renegotiate the monthly retainer and encompass some of these services in a greater... In a wider scope of things we're doing? Especially because with the assistant village manager role, that will be somebody who can be very dug in on working on these proposals and working more directly with Valerie. This might be a good opportunity. Just when I'm seeing that something call... Is costing us $13,000 for a $100,000 project or $14,000 for a $61,000 project, I think this is could be an opportunity to renegotiate that retainer agreement because we're leaning more on the planner than we were when we initially engaged with her. She's phenomenal. The comp... The the organization is phenomenal. I'm so grateful to them, specifically in some of the planning projects that... And and development projects that we've undertaken. But I would be in favor of taking a step back and evaluating the overall relationship, especially with the addition of the assistant village manager. There might be a better retainer ask. Well,
so couple couple of things. Right? So the Nelson and Pope that we just approved is deaf... Is different than Nelson, Pope, Voorhees. They're under the same umbrella, but they're two they're two subsidiaries, I guess. Right? Is that how you may describe it? That's true. And and also the the
the design and bid documents and construction administration are not planning activities. They really are, more professional, engineering and and architectural, duties. I... As you know, I work with Nelson Pope in many other communities, and, the documentation that you're looking for in the construction oversight is a completely different service than what a Ms. Monastra provides, to the other communities.
are... They are the same company or they're not the same company? They're all under... I mean, it's like... I'm trying to think of what an example would be. Right? It's like... A division. Yeah. There are different divisions of the same company. Architecture engineering division. I can understand the... I I can understand the concept. I'm just saying Yeah. There... This might be an opportunity to look at... To look at their relationship. That's actually what we're doing in the next resolution. Right? So why don't I read that and then we can Very good. Move on to that conversation. So on 05/14/2025, the village board approved an agreement with Nelson Pope, and Voorhees of Suffern, New York to provide on call grant and planning services to the village of Croton and Hudson, and whereas the retaining of a planning consultant was one of the seven tasks identified by the engineering department review plan undertaken by the village. And on 12/01/2025, the village board approved a renewal agreement with NPV for the current year. And whereas based on the workload NPV has undertaken for the village, it is appropriate at this time to convert the on call agreement to a retainer agreement. And whereas the terms of the retainer agreement be $4,000 per month for up to thirty hours of work. Now therefore be it resolved that the village board of trustees hereby authorizes the village manager to execute the agreement with Nelson, Pope, and Voorhees of Suffern, New York for thirty hours of planning and grant services at a cost of $4,000 per month through 12/31/2026.
Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Discussion.
So... Sorry. Just just to finish what I was saying there. So, basically, what we're doing here, right, is we originally hired, NPV as... For an on call. So we were paying... We were just paying an hourly rate for whatever time we used. We were getting a 10% discount based on what those hourly rates were. But as trustee Slippen was saying, we have made more use of the planner, which is a good thing. Right? I mean, I don't think anyone would disagree with that. And so, you know, the comp... I had a conversation with Valerie. We looked at what the bills had been for the past couple months and tried to come up with what we thought would be, good terms. And so, basically, you know, thirty hours of work, you know, $44,000 a month, it seems like that would be an appropriate amount for right now. We are we are saving a significant amount on the hourly rate. It's about a third less than what we were paying under the on call number. And as you can see here, this agreement is only going for the next Three months. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's gonna be backdated to September 1, so it's gonna be four Sure. Four months total. But for the exact reason that trustee Slippen said, this will give us a time to evaluate and see what we wanna do. But at the same time, I didn't wanna keep... I wanted to be financially... A good financial steward. So I think that this was the... I think this is the best course of action at this point. And and, obviously,
the reviews that are subject to escrow deposits are billed To those people. To those people for those services as well. Yeah. And manager,
am I correct in saying that this amount covers the grant writing of Yes. This this is for this is for grant services and for planning. Right. Exactly. And the point I wanted to make is, you know, we we should not lose sight of the fact that this relationship has been an enormous profit center for the village. If you just took... That's how we used to refer to it in my previous occupation. But if you took just the 4,000 and call that $48,000 a month and divided that, say, just take two grants, Brook Street drainage Yep. And sidewalks for South Riverside municipal, those two together are about a million dollars. And so that's about twenty years of of of profit right there paid up. So I think it's a very good investment. I I think the the the reenvisioning that you've done there, I think, is is helpful. And and as you say, we'll continue to to monitor it and see how it evolves and see if there are any other changes we wanna make. Yep. Yeah. And if it's possible to expand to the other division,
after Yeah. And I think... I don't know because I know you have so much on your plate. I don't know if maybe the treasurer or somebody can help pool how much money we've spent year to date on preparing and designing bid documents. Mhmm. Because it could be that... I'm just making this up, but maybe it's less money if we had a part time person in house, you know, doing that kind of work then. Yep. You know, because it... I know it comes up on an as needed basis, but if it totals,
you know Yeah. A lot. It it's something it's something that we could definitely look at. I mean, superintendent Balbi is very is very adept at this. I mean, he he enjoys working on this sort of stuff. It it's just at this moment in time, we have so many There's no bandwidth. There's no bandwidth. Understand.
Yeah. Yeah. No. And I'm saying may... Maybe Yeah. It's just something to look at Yep. You know. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you. Yep.
Okay. Further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Very good. We proceed to public comment on non agenda items. Anyone wishing to comment on any item, this is your opportunity. Please state your name and address.
Point of a personal privilege of Mayor 87 Morningside Drive. When I when I complimented those folks who were making wonderful charitable contributions to the village, I did not look to see that mister Sasso was in the room. So I wanna thank you personally, and hopefully, can Yes. We can add you, John. Add those eight seconds to your I I I paused your time, John. Thank you. I'm I'm trying to make everything. And first of all,
let's establish that I'm a supporter of everyone up there. But there are some questions I have, and I didn't wanna leave the house. I had a day today. Believe me. I lost it patchy on top of it. Uh-huh. Wonderful. But here we are. I can title this I wonder why. And this started with... I had questions about why that weren't answered. At one meeting, I stood here and said, the citizens get to speak at the end of the meeting. People work. They get up early. Why couldn't it be moved to earlier part of the meeting? And no one ever addressed it. A bigger why was when we did the issue about the dog park hours. The dog park users wanted to change the hours. We had the shortest hours in Westchester County. The recreation advisory committee of which I'm a member hold supportedly... Unanimously. Some people on the board did. Village manager said it's in his purview, and he said no, and it was left at no. There's no why. And that could fly when my kid was four years old. I could tell him no. But not hearing why, we just let it go. But it continues. The village board removed the tax assessor, and we knew that there are only certain people who are gonna be paying a lot more and a few would be paying a lot less. I called, and I was told my rate would go up $50. When it finally came through, it was closer to 600. When I checked with others, it was also in that bracket. I wonder if there's any follow-up to see if we're really saving money or we're just paying taxes in a different way, and it looks like the village board is saving us money.
Just a question. Also, members on the village board are running for reelection, and there's a judge justice running with them whose main issue is he wants to run night court, which is gonna be an additional expense to the village. I don't know if people are addressing that within themselves. Now we get to the the the bigger issue. In June, it was announced that in September, there'd be a vote for the the assistant manager's position. Why wasn't it raised... And so why? Why wasn't it raised during the budgetary process that there was a consideration for an assistant manager? Why in June when people aren't really paying attention to village politics and what's going on? Scheduled to September, which is like back to school and back to work. And it's very interesting. No one was here for that meeting, I heard, including me. Not a word was said by one resident about this issue. I would think that members of the board would say, do you think we reached out enough? Do you think we told the public this is an assistant manager? A $130,000 plus benefits retirement. Ten years, it's a million and 0.5, $2,000,000 of money spent that we're paying for. No discussion, no information about what she's gonna offer in the position, not the person that was eventually hired. And I think there ought to be more of a discussion about it. We don't have any idea what she's gonna be doing. I think Brian's doing a fine job. I don't know. You know? And whether he needs an assistant ought to be justified to the public. And when that hasn't done, I said, if I don't open my mouth tonight, then it's gonna be too late to say anything later. I shouldn't. So I'm bringing it up. Those are... And these are not just my questions.
These are questions that are going around in the village. And you people should be aware of what's being said, and I think there ought to be an explanation why we need an assistant manager now. Are there gonna be a return to programs that we didn't have? Does that mean that men's softball is gonna... And maybe even women's softball are gonna return? That was a great program. It was eliminated. Budget. Everything was budget. And now we're gonna spend all this for an assistant. Taxes get shifted with the assessor uptown. It just raises a lot of questions why. And I'd like to see the board start to answer when people ask questions. Somehow, someway, an answer comes back. Be it a small question or a big one.
Good evening, mister mayor, trustees, madam attorney, mister manager. My name is Chester Edwards. I'm a US Navy combat veteran, and, I'm the president of Vietnam Veterans of America chapter forty nine and a member of the American Legion and VFW. I'm here tonight to bring attention a new provision in the New York State Rural Property Tax Law section four five eight a subdivision 11. The law creates a 100% property tax exemption on the primary residence of a very limited group of seriously disabled veterans. This is important because the law changed several times before reaching its current form. The original legislation was enacted in 2025, amended in 2026, and now included through part e e of the 2627 New York State budget signed 05/28/2026. Under the current law, a county, city, town, village, or school district may adopt a local law or resolution providing this exemption. The veteran must meet the applicable requirements of section four five eight eight a, and the United States Department of Veteran Affairs must consider that veteran permanently and totally disabled as a result of their military service. The veteran must provide a VA letter of official form or other VA document that specifically states that determination. This is not an exemption for every veteran. It is not an exemption simply because someone has a VA disability rating. It is directed at veterans whose service connected disabilities have reached a level where the VA considers them permanent and totally disabled. Those words are very important. Permanent means these disabilities are not expected to go away. Total means the VA has determined that the Veterans Service Connected Disabilities meets its standard for total disability. And more importantly, the disability must be a result of their, their military service. For many of these veterans, military service did not end when they took off the uniform.
The consequences of that service may continue every day for the rest of their lives. As these veterans grow older, the cost of remaining in their homes can become increasingly significant. This exemption does not restore their health or erase their disabilities. What it can do is change the property tax obligation associated with their primary residence. There is also an important fiscal point for the board and the public to understand. A property tax exemption does not necessarily remove the amount of money raised under a fixed tax levy. Instead, the exemption assessed value is generally removed from the taxable base, which need shift a portion of the levy to the remaining tax properties. Therefore, the board should obtain from the assessor the number of potentially eligible Croton veg... Veterans, their assessed values and estimated effect on the remaining tax base before acting. The new exemption applies the assessment rolls based on taxable status dates of 10/01/2026. My purpose is tonight is to make sure that the board is aware of this law, understands who it covers, and has the information necessary to consider whether Croton and Hudson should exercise the local option provided by the state. This is one where each taxing entity has to pass this before a... Before the veteran gets a 100%. The majority of your veterans, I believe, are probably now already getting a a percentage. A lot of them combat veterans will be getting 50% already under the state law. So this is not a 100% from the tax base. It's just an increase of that 50%. So thank you for your time and your consideration. And if I could answer any questions, I'd be more than happy. Thank you, mister Regis. Thank you.
At Riley, Truesdale Drive. To point out to the board, we have a health crisis in The United States. We also have population crisis in The United States. United States population, the number of children, conceived and number of children born in The United States is at the lowest rate in the history of the statistics of this country, and it's getting worse. And it... And one of the contributing factors is the adoptions of philosophies that some people on this board and their committees have have adopted regarding environmental policy that human beings, the children, especially children, they don't fight with adults who have money. Children and babies are the enemy of the environment, which is absolute bullcrap, as the Chinese have found out, as India has surpassed them in population. Children are our future, and yet environmental policy and the philosophies of one party hate children and denigrate their contributions to society.
The perfect example of that is the past administration, which was run by an imbecile. Actually, he didn't run the country as advisers did, where he he, inundated The United States to this state with an abortion drug that has increased the number of abortions in The United States by 50%. The abortion... Number of abortions, and you're never exact because California doesn't keep track of this stuff, was about 850 thou... 850, 800,000 a year. And then the the Obama and the Biden administration cut out all rules where there's no requirement for a woman to consult with a doctor at all in order to get these prescription drugs, and now they're handed up like candy. So The United States has been inundated with r u 46, so much so that there are calls for the examination of our water supply as to whether these drugs have gotten into our water supply. So I'm gonna point this out again and again. But right now, there is a boycott against CVS and Croton because of the the unbelievable advocacy in the past of that organization to allow anybody who's an adult in The United States to get an r u forty six and give it to their child, their mother, their wife, whatever, at any time. That's the situation in The United States right now. Secondly, I'd love to talk about... I really wanted to talk about this other stuff, which is sort of fun. You know, the Hudson Valley Trailway? It'll be the new superhighway along the Hudson River as it's developed and the implications of policing it and flooding. I'd like to congratulate the mayor, actually, on on on the solar panels saving us money, tax money. And... But I'm worried about the effect of the... This on our, environment,
namely the fish and the birds of Croton and and town land. You know? It used to be for... If you wanna transfer town property from, you needed a referendum. Unfortunately, the village doesn't. They should. And things like that. And bikes and bike safety, but I'm not gonna talk about that. I'm gonna talk about your pot shop. Pot was invited into this town, and I believe they're invited to be cool. The administration wanna be cool and have one and be first, and then they thought they could identify the place. You know, I've said... Everybody I ever talked to said, why don't they put it... If they have to have it, put it in the Croton North Station. It'll be away from everything. People can drive by, get their crap, and keep going. Well, that ain't gonna happen. It's not gonna happen like that. So right now, marijuana is on track, become the number one addiction in The United States. In terms of daily daily dosage, it's... Daily usage at twenty one point four million, that's daily usage of marijuana, has surpassed both cigarettes, 19.9, and daily drinkers at 14.7. And because of the location of this pot shop, care of the village board, it will be near a school, a church, and a public basketball court. So this is a threat. Just like r u forty six is a public health threat
proliferating through this this village, pot is a public health threat. If you wanted to destroy the next generation of Peekskill minority students or people in Tarrytown, that mayor that was sitting here, or Ossining, you could not have picked a better drug to screw up their minds than marijuana. Thank you.
Manager, while while we're here and while mister Edwards is here, would you mind just giving us a a quick update on on the efforts that... I... It's it's it's very good timing because... Well,
before we before we go, do we have anyone else wishing to make a comment on on non agenda items? Alright. Yes. And since a number of questions were raised, and I think the manager and attorney are well positioned to respond,
I'll leave it to you. Okay. Thank thank you, mayor. So, yeah, it it was a good time because the attorney and I were just speaking this afternoon. I had asked her if we were going to, have this tax exemption law ready for the next meeting. So we had discussed this law already at a work session held earlier this month, and so, the board directed the staff to, prepare the law. And so, you know, we're gonna schedule the public hearing at the next meeting. Next meeting. So... Right.
There'll be draft before you. And, of course, you're you're well... You're welcome back, mister Edwards, when we have that over. Thank you. Thank you for coming to advocate Yes. For
And I can assure you they're on it, and it's going to be on the agenda next week to
discuss and to schedule public hearings. Just so you're aware where sister county is are Yes. Village of Port Chester, village of Highbrook, school system around town of Rye, also in the process of passing it.
That's great. I have the pleasure of having two Vietnam veterans and the audience combat veterans. So
Do you want me to speak to what Yeah. Sasso was talking about? Yep. Sure. So, thank you, John. As... I always appreciate your comments. So, you know, obviously, we have quite a number of things that, the new assistant village manager is going to be working on when she starts on Friday. You know, just in this meeting, it was brought up multiple times, right, about the things that, hopefully, we will be able to, have her work on. I have been working on a list the whole summer of different projects and initiatives, things that have come up from individual board members, things that have come up at this day as things that have come up, from just being in my office of of projects that, we would like to either get kick started or have more supervision over so that we can actually deliver them. You know, there are one one example, right, which is something that we've been working on for years off and on is trying to get a farmer's market established here in the village. Right? You know, the board discussed that a couple of years ago, and we were not able to see it come to fruition. But I think that there is still a renewed interest in trying to see that happen. You know, we have a... There are a lot of projects that... I know I keep saying that in the in the meeting, but there are there are just a lot of projects In the pipeline. You know, in the pipeline that... And currently going. And, you know, it's... There are too... It's too much for myself and the superintendent of the public works to to supervise all these projects. So we need some assistance, which is, you know, part of what the assistant village manager is gonna be doing as well.
Yeah. I mean, I can go on and on, and I'd be more than happy to to meet with you, John, and talk offline and continue the conversation because I think this is, you know, obviously a very good good thing for the village.
lose a head... You know, we have... This does not add headcount. Correct. Yeah. This is... I think that's another important point. Yeah. This is replacing a position that that existed in the
in the... It may not be equivolized salary level, but it's really not a net increase of...
You approved you approved, the budget transfer earlier this evening. Right? It it was approximately it's costing the village approximately 16,000 more this year compared to what was in the in the budget. In the... I should say in that budget line because the money was in the budget. You're transferring it.
The money was in the... We... During the budget discussions, we talked about adding this. We knew there was gonna be a adjustment of positions in the manager's office and this was part of that discussion Correct. During the budget time. That's correct. Yeah. But we did we did just approve it or, you know, there there was an action that took place in September, which was... Is I think what mister Sasso was referring to, that that is, you know, what felt like the formal action for it, but it had been in discussion for a while. Yeah. That... Correct. And that was that was somewhat of...
I don't know if I wanna use the word surprise, but it was some... It was unexpected because, you know, there was some... There was a request that came last minute from the county.
So that's why we had to schedule... And I do think there is still some, lack of clarity around that, and I think that, you know, some more explanation regarding whatever that is, could clear up confusion that people in the in the community have. I I don't... I'm not necessarily saying right now, but I think at some point there are some outstanding questions that people have about
job titles, etcetera. Yeah. That I mean, I can explain... I can... That's that's a two minute explanation. Yes. So I'm more than I'm more than happy to to explain that right now. I mean, the... Whenever you create any position in The Village, right, all all positions
that work for The Village are classified. But can you just back up a minute? Because I think there also is confusion because in the past, not that distant past, we did have an assistant village manager. Yeah. Not... We had most recently an assistant to the village manager, but there... It's not that we've never had an assistant Correct. Manager in Croton. Yeah. So that was...
Okay. So we had... We did have this position previously from 2008 to 2015. Correct. Whenever you all positions in the village government are classified under civil service, right, whether they're elected exempt labor, competitive, non competitive. Right? So whenever you are creating a new position, you have to fill out a form and submit it to the county human resources, and they will classify the position for you. They tell you what it is. And so in early August, I filled out the form, sent it into the county, and at the end of August, they came back to me, but they actually, came back to the village clerk, and said, we'd like a copy of the local law that you have authorizing this position. And we said, we don't have a local law on the books. I said, we didn't need it before. There's... We we had this position before. Why do we need it now? And so there was back and forth between the county about whether or not... They they could not explain how we had the position previously without the law, but they basically said, you know, we cannot approve the position now until we have the law on the books. So that is how we got to the point where we needed to have a public hearing to then adopt the law to create the position. Mhmm. So hopefully that hopefully that clarifies.
Correct. So can you explain that? Yeah. So because this position, the position is an exempt position, it needs to go... And sorry. An exempt position basically means that there is no civil service test required for the position and that it is... It it does not have it does not have, all civil service rights associated with other competitive positions. So because it is an exempt position, it needs to be approved by the New York State Civil Service Commission. So the county needs to send paperwork to the State Civil Service Commission, and then they approve it and send it back to us. So that process does take a little bit of time, which is why we went with the title that we did temporarily until we have that creation done.
Thank you. Yep. I do think it would be helpful once Nora on boards to the new role to think about how we can be transparent about some of the projects that she's working on. So that, you know, I... Yeah. I think... I know that, you know, that needs to be worked worked out and, you know, when you bring anybody new, you know, in. So,
I don't know where that would go on the website, but I'm sure you could figure out Yeah. I'd like I'd like to... You know, we can feature maybe something in the newsletter with, you know, new employee spotlight. These are some of the things that she's working on, something like something like that. Yeah.
Okay. Before I get into my report, I did... I do wanna take a moment to remember Bruce Odlandt. I don't think we've met since he passed. Bruce was a composer and sound artist whose installations were heard in public spaces around the world, and he chose to make his home here. He spent his career listening closely to places and helping the rest of us hear them too. One of his final projects was a gift to Croton, Harmonic Landing, a sound installation for Croton Landing Park that he offered to the village this spring. He worked closely with the Rec Advisory Committee and the Arts and Humanities Committee, and the DPW who he just sang their praises of constantly while he was still with us. We will celebrate Bruce and his work with a ribbon cutting at Croton Landing in early November. There'll be more details to follow, but I did just wanna send, my thoughts to his friends and family on his untimely passing. He actually... The night before he passed, he was... He hosted a meeting at his house to plan for this ribbon cutting. So, I'm very grateful that the project was able to happen and that his grandson lives here, so he'll be able to, you know, it's it's real... It's just a really happy ending to a sad story. So thank you, Bruce. I... Before I get into the rest of my things, I do just wanna talk to the items that were brought up by John Sasso. I... You know, we've talked... We've talked... We've been talking about the dog park as long as we've had a dog park in Croton. But, you know, but I do still think there's more discussion to be had. You know, the hours are
not, you know, the vast majority of people are not pleased with what the hours are. I don't wanna, you know, I I think we need to revisit the discussion and figure out a way. I know that we've, you know, we've landed this at it's the manager's decision and so that's where this is right now, but I... To me, this topic is not closed. I think we need to find a solution that works for people. I don't really know exactly what that path looks like because, since I was the chair of the record advisory committee a long time ago, this is... Even before that, you know, there's been a lot of discussion about it. But I do feel like it's... The door is not closed as long as as far as I'm concerned anyway. I can... I just wanna add my... It was my understanding that at year end, we talk about...
The mayor has a name for it. I forgot what it's called. But it's it's a bunch of things that go on an agenda, and the dog park hours is one of them. I don't know. It's not called, like, administrative things, but operations? Or it's when we review
I think you're referring to the organizing meeting, but I'm gonna ask I'm gonna ask everyone to respect each other's reports. Okay. I didn't feel disrespectful. No. No. I know. But it's just I just...... Testing that, Taylor. Yeah. Even in the slightest. So... No. Thank you. I thought that's maybe when we Yeah. That's fine. At the at the... So we're gonna talk about it at the organizational meeting. Okay. So... Well, I just... I I just wanna say... I mean, the organizational meeting is probably not the... Let let let... Let's have everybody finish their work. I don't feel disrespected by us having a big group conversation about it, but this is not a work session. But maybe we should put it on a work session. Yeah. As far as the question about the assessor's office, I think that's great. You know, I think everybody knew that I had reservation... I understood why we had to move it. It really was a staffing situation as it was presented to me, which was why I've, in spite of all my reservations, finally agreed to it. Although it would've happened without my vote to move it, I think. I... But I would like to understand how that's going for people. I don't... I'm not being personally, you know, it's it's not causing... I'm not personally being negatively impacted by the move, and I think that I was one of the people who was not significantly impacted by, you know, my assessment did not change significantly. However, I would like to get some type of understanding about how people are being impacted by this. I don't... This sounds like a good project for our new assistant village manager to take a look at that, but I think that... I I mean, if I can make that request. I don't even know what that report looks like, but I guess I would just like to understand
how it's going for people financially and how it's going... The service that we're getting from the assessor, if possible. Am I allowed to comment?
Okay. So, a few other things. The library readathon is... The twenty four hour readathon... I didn't put the... I didn't write the date, but it's coming up. It's Friday into Saturday. Is it Friday and Saturday? Okay. It's coming up and, basically, it's gonna be twenty four hours of reading at the library. Lots of people have signed up. I don't think there are any more slots to sign up. However, you can sponsor someone who is reading. And there are tons of different interesting people from our community that you could sponsor. So I encourage people to go. You can make a very, you know, all... Any donation towards the library, which is a great asset, to all of us. So just go to the website and make a donation, please. I wanted to give a shout out to Tristan Seste, whose Eagle Scout project at the Arboretum was creating new color coded trail maps and brochures at the two... At two of the entrances or maybe two of the entrances to the park. It was a great community collaboration between the, the arboretum hosted it and really worked with Tristan on the project. And the Friends of Croton Park supported it with a grant, along with the Croton Lions Club, also did. So it was really a very nice community project. The arboretum hosts lots of scout projects and has hosted them over the years. So, I did just wanna recognize those people involved in that.
A lot of things got rained out last weekend that I... That we were all looking forward to. I'm sure Oktoberfest or ribbon cutting and all those things have been rescheduled. So I'm glad that we... The last week's storm will not, you know, will... Would... Are not making it so those things can happen. And I just also... I'm sure trustee Simon will mention this too, but we have another new business in the village that is just in the process of opening up, an art studio in the space where Upper Village Blooms was, I believe. So I've just seen a little bit of, information about that. I don't know too much about it, but I... It's the kind of thing that I really wish was here when my kids were little. I got... So I was talking to somebody about the, the upcoming... The CAC is gonna host a forum about Lee blowers coming up, and there was some question about... And I explained to this person that I'm not the liaison, so I wasn't at the meeting where this was discussed, but there was, there is
gonna be a panel of people having a discussion. And his suggestion was because we're having... It seemed that there was a medical professional who could speak to the health effects of leaf blowers was missing from the people who were gonna be part of this panel. And so maybe it would be possible to bring that element to the conversation that's gonna happen, if possible. So I guess if my fellow board members who are the liaisons to the CAC could pass that along to Eva Thaddeus who I think is the chair. I don't know if it's possible, but I did let him know that I would bring it up. Sorry. I have... It it feels like we haven't had a meet... We haven't had reports in a while, right? So I apologize. The Recreation Advisory Committee met the last time they convened and were able to review some of the plans for Gouveia Park, which we're gonna talk about at a work session Correct. Soon. It's... They're very expensive, but very excited, and they're also scaled in a way that we will be able to see some progress there while still, figuring out how some of this is gonna be funded. But, you know, getting people there will be,
you know, will be, a positive for the whole village. There is... You know, I think we have an immediate opportunity because we did not receive the funding that we thought we might for the Harrison Street playground. And I, at some point, would like to under... You know, be able to talk to people about how we're going to... That was the next playground to be updated. We didn't get the grant funding for that. I under... I think the grant funding for the playgrounds is from... For that particular grant is more New playgrounds. Is more for for new programs than refurbishing them or Yeah. For updating them. So I think we will probably... I assume... I hope we will probably still do something for Harrison Street, but this will also give us the opportunity to part of the discussion at Govea was to put in some type of play space for children there because it's it's an area of the village that does not have a playground. So, I think that there is some opportunity for that grant money to go to there, so maybe we can, you know, make some lemonade out of the disappointing news around Harrison Street. The police advisory committee is finishing up. They're working on their annual survey that's gonna go out. There's gonna be a lot more conversation about that. It's not finalized yet, but I do wanna get it on people's, you know, raise attention because the more feedback we can get for it from... You know, for it, the better. This year, there are gonna be a lot of questions on it about cameras, which I know people are very interested in and school safety. So, you know, the better feedback we get on that, the better we can feel... We can know how to move forward on some of those initiatives.
I want to enthusiastically welcome Nora as the new village manager. She knows the village well and cares deeply about it and brings a real dedication to her work. The manager's office has been understaffed for a while, and I'm looking forward to working with her, including on the committee guidelines, which we worked together on as trustees. And I know that she will bring a huge benefit to the committees as well as lots of other things. I do just wanna take a minute to close, in closing to talk about trust. The residents count on this board to handle details together in the open. I feel like that's part of the deal of us sitting up here. Some have described the concerns raised in the past week as an after the fact argument, and I would agree with that because after the fact is when some of us found out a lot of the details. I agree too that the manager makes this appointment and that personnel matters are confidential. I'm not asking for that to change. But confidentiality that applies to some trustees and not to others is not conf... Confidentiality. It is a guest list. And I would push back on the idea that any of this is a distraction. Transparency is not a distraction from the work of the board. It is the work of the board. Good intentions don't protect this village. Good habits do. So I'm proposing a simple written rule that every trustee and our attorney gets the information at the same time, not because we distrust each other, but so residents never have a reason to. So we'll welcome a new board member very soon, and I will want to join... I want that person to join the board as a body that works as one, shares information openly, and puts every member on equal footing from day one. That's what this rule will be for. We've already started this conversation with our village attorney, but I don't want it to end there.
How this board shares information is a question residents deserve from... Deserves to hear from us in public. So I'm asking the board to put on a work agenda, a draft policy from our attorney, and then see it through as a written policy that we adopt. Regardless of what happens to me in November, I would like this policy in place. This is not about me, and it's not about one decision. It's about how this board serves the village long as... After all of us have left these seats. We have big decisions ahead. I would like to make them together and in the light. Thank you.
thank you. Okay. So, my report Really? Interrupt you. Yeah. You can. Well said. Early September, the Visual Environment Board met. They had a very lengthy meeting with the Mindset Cannabis Shop to review their proposed signs for the store. I think there was a lot of great conversation. I personally could not be in the meeting. I know trustee Slippen was I was in the on vacation. But, I do know that the, VEB made, you know, a a recommendation. My understanding is they did not, you know, approve the sign. They have a recommendation on what they feel would be better suited for the character of the village in that area, and that recommendation is going to the planning board because they're the ultimate approvers. And that should be on the planning board meeting agenda, October 13. So just wanted to give that update. September 18, trustee Slippen and I met with a victim, a wife of an ICE victim. It was... We really, you know, learned a lot during that meeting. It was someone who lives in our community, Hispanic woman. And, you know, we learned, of of things that... And ways we can support her and the community at this time. Small things like, having little red cards printed up, you know, which I believe the village has those, but I don't know if they're currently out. We have more. And I spoke to the idea committee about, you know, giving them some of the feedback that we learned during this session as they think about Hispanic Heritage Month, just how, you know, taking into consideration some of what we learned. And you know, one of the disappointing things was that the racism that's experienced by members in the community to the Hispanic community and that was you know, upsetting. So I think there's just some education opportunities there.
On September 19, I attended the grand opening ribbon cutting of Croton Running Company. I wish them great success. They're a great group of people. And I know I'm sure trustee Simon is gonna speak more about that and and the mayor had... Has some really great ideas to help, for this company to be more ingrained in the culture of Croton. So some exciting stuff to come there. Also on September 19, I attended with the mayor and trustee Simon the annual Croton Fire Department inspection of all apparatus with a dinner that followed. And every firehouse attended, brought their trucks. We inspected the apparatus, which... I'm not an expert at this, but everything looked good to me. Mhmm. Mhmm. Clean as a whistle, and, they were very proud. And I'm proud of them and all the volunteers. It was pretty amazing. September 22, the planning board welcomed Gabriella Mirabelli, a Croton resident. She's a new alternate who stepped in for her first alt appointment on the planning board. I thought she did a fantastic job. Thank you, Gabriella. September 24, Blaze Croton Night for village first responders, government, and committee members. It was awesome. So, manager, thank you for, you know, helping to organize that and get all the tickets out and and thank, historic Hudson Valley for a great night. September... Oh, I do wanna go back. On September 21, I could not attend this because it was a holiday for me. But John Patterson, historical roadside ceremony with, Ed Riely, who's in this audience. Fox Eclaugh, American Legion, Post 505 in the village of Croton dedicated a historical road sign honoring John Patterson, aka John Rifle Jack Peterson, a revolutionary war hero. 1746 to 1850. I heard the ceremony was amazing, and the sign looks fantastic.
So it's at the Bethel Cemetery Chapel on Old Post Road South. So thank you to everybody that that worked on that. And then seniors club meeting, September 25, I attended that. And the village of Croton rec department 60 plus registration form is out for fall twenty twenty six. There are a lot of fantastic, programs. One is in partnership with the library called Demystifying Medicare on November 1. I encourage anyone who's taking care of family members or is excited about finally getting Medicare to attend this because Medicare will be changing this fall, I hear. So it it... That'll be very helpful. And then, I've been, working with the mayor and interviewing five trustee candidates, over the past several days. It's been like speed dating network. I wanna thank everyone who has applied for that position. We met fantastic candidates, and I'm very grateful to everybody who we met. And then September 27, this is the last thing, I attended the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition, part of the idea committee celebration of co naming a street in Lorraine Hansberry's honor and viewed an exhibit on the acclaimed playwright and activist. The exhibit's wonderful. It's at the Croton Free Library until December. And it also gives context as to Lorraine's contributions in Croton. And Linda Jones of the LHC gave a wonderful speech. So, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Yes. It's been since September 2 since we had our last board meeting, so lots to catch up on. First of all, the Croton Council of the Arts annual annual fair was just terrific, and I was very pleased to be there. And also to hear from Jim Christiansen who worked so hard in organizing it, how effective the use of our village shuttle was this year. It it really helped make a difference for that. So I'm glad that worked out well. Then on September 3, we did have our New York Forward town hall and Valerie Monastra, the manager, and mayor mayor Marjorie Shea from Sleepy Hollow helped lead us through the ins and outs of the New York Forward process. I really appreciated the strong public input that we received. And for those that that were interested in this issue that... But didn't see our follow-up work session, we have essentially removed 425 South Riverside from from that list of projects that we're looking at because it's it's got a long way to go before it it would be relevant to a a grant like New York Forward. So we are looking very strongly at, though, at pedestrian access or at least improving pedestrian access access to shop rights. So we'll have some more reports on New York Forward fairly soon. Still no official word from the governor's office when the application is due, but I think we all have a feeling that that will be soon. Coming up, by the way, on this coming Sunday, speaking of events, is our fire fair, a fire department fire fair on October 4 from eleven to three. And I hope everyone will will have an opportunity to participate in that, particularly the kids that it's focused on. And this
year, the theme is gonna be charged into fire safety. Safe charging is a superpower, just the whole world of of how batteries for our computers, our phones, and our power tools, our toys, bikes, you name it, impact us. So you'll get a lot of good information there at at fire fair. Speaking of events, regrets to our friends in the rodeo, a funny thing happened on the way to the the car show even though the... It's always rain or shine. This time, the rain was just a little bit too much. Unfortunately, because of logistics and competition from other car shows for the best remaining dates that are available in the fall, it really makes it unfeasible to reschedule the car show this year, but we'll have another great one next year. Just a word on that terrific September 9 dedication of the train station solar array, the ribbon cutting that we had. It was just great to see everyone there from our our colleagues here on the on the podium to the governor's office, NYSERDA, our our state delegates, and, of course, Lindsay Audin, had such a great role in making that possible. So it was just a great great great morning. That very next day, we were able to take more than 50 of our Croton seniors from this... Croton seniors club and others in the seniors category up to the Franklin Roosevelt presidential library. It was just a great morning there. I wanna thank Joanna Straub for her terrific work in in putting that whole event together because it involved so many so many logistics, but it was just a a great trip altogether. As was mentioned, our 09:11 ceremony, thanks to Buchanan for taking the lead this year on a rotating basis. All the first responders who were present and, of course, especially those who were were not there because they're not with us any longer. And and that will... Unfortunately,
that process will will continue. On the seventeenth, the manager and I and and trustee Nachtaler was scheduled, but had some illness, unfortunately. We we were bagging ShopRite groceries, and we're looking forward to your your your coming next year, trustee, and with with Croton caring. And it was just fun to do and and to be helpful to our Croton shoppers and to and to see how generous they were in their contributions to Croton Caring as they as they checked out. We did have, as was mentioned, that terrific ribbon cutting for the Croton Running Company on September 19. 75 people strong, and our best wishes and thanks to the new owners of the Croton Running Company, Bobby and Jim Wutke and Mitch Kicker. It's a whole new era for the Croton running company. Ellen Walter did a wonderful job in in in launching it five or six years ago. Now this is a this is a rebirth, and and I think they will take it to to great new heights. And I wanted to thank, I guess, mister was here earlier. It's in his building, so we're glad that he's he's part of this. But it was just a great morning, and we expect great things from them. Also, on that very same day from that event, I went over to Ossining for the the Fire Association of the State of New York holding a press conference, which I was very pleased to participate, asking that the governor sign legislation to expand the property tax exemptions for firefighters and, and, EMS as well. So it was a... It was an honor to join with them, and, hopefully, the, the governor will sign that legislation shortly. We had a wonderful sustainability committee meeting, headed by Lindsay on September 20 where we went over lots of lots of different projects and, continued progress
in all of those areas. On September 22, again, speaking of our good, intergovernmental efforts, assembly assemblywoman Levenberg and assemblyman, Chris Burdick held a roundtable for all the municipalities in, in their their their two districts on the housing question. They were interested in knowing what works, what isn't working, what the governor's policies are that we like, how they how they can be improved, how our own local projects are going forward, all designed for recommendations that they would hope to make in the next session of, of the legislature. I think we mentioned the Blaze earlier. I recommend everyone get out there. If you think if you think you've been to, the Blaze before, you'll see a lot of the familiar items, but also lots of new ones this year. They've really added, lots of pizzazz. So it was it was wonderful for us to be there on September 24, and I wanted to thank, our, historic president, Odell Stillman, and vice president, Peter Pachtres. We work with them on a lot of lot of different items. So it it was great to be there last last Thursday night. And this coming weekend also on October 3, Brooklyn Embodied Pilates ribbon cutting at 11:00 18 Old Post South. Congratulations, to Lisa Schoenholt and her family. This is gonna be another another great new business. So, please join us at the at the ribbon cutting, 11:00 on Saturday, which is designed to help you then feed right into the, Oktoberfest rain date rescheduled for postponed last week, but but now rescheduled for noon on this coming Saturday. So you got Brooklyn embodied Pilates at eleven. Oktoberfest starts at at noon. And so I think we got another another great Croton weekend coming up. And last but not least, best wishes to our absent friend here tonight,
absent because she's getting ready for her wonderful new assignment and and adventure as first our director director of operations and then assistant village manager. We we we... I think we've... We're very lucky that Nora is willing to invest the the next segment of her life and career in continuing to work for the village. And, I think we we all owe her a debt of gratitude. But, more importantly, we we all look forward to having the opportunity and privilege to continue to work with her in this new role. Thanks very much. Mhmm.
Okay. Very good. Alright. My colleagues have covered most of the month's happenings, but I will extend my sincere thanks to the Croton Yacht Club and especially Dennis Cooney, our former or most recent, I believe, Summerfest grand marshal for his excellent work organizing River Day. And I also wanna highlight, you know, Oktoberfest, which is coming up on Saturday, and then see everyone Sunday at the fire fair. Mhmm.
I just wanna circle back to two things. One was about the dog park because I I don't believe any of us said that the door was closed. We... Well, we... Well, I mean, that... Oh, yeah. Was... I think it was... I didn't mean to suggest that. I just wanted to reiterate that I've. Yeah. Mean, nobody... We... What we had talked about was that we were not looking to change the hours for this year and that in the wintertime, we would review what the latest data showed and make a decision as to what, if anything, we would change. So the door is certainly not closed. So if anyone thinks that, please know that that's not true. And then, with regards to the assessor, I I mean, I think it's it's something we can look at and and kind of... I don't know if we could maybe survey people. I don't know how much interaction people have with the assessor. I mean Well, I guess if we're not getting complaints
We're we're not. Yeah. Right. I I just... We haven't talked about it at all since it happened. So I appreciated the reminder that we should I should ask the question. Yeah. No. It's... I mean, I haven't received any complaints about the assessor.
I know that that we actually... I did get an email, I think it was actually from mister Riley, yesterday about a veteran that had a question about the veteran's tax exemption. And, Bob Anderson, the the... Not the former trustee Bob Anderson, the other Bob Anderson had gone up to the assessor's office and wrote back with a whole wealth of information that he got from her. So, I mean, I think that they are being helpful to to people. So, I mean, if people have experiences that they wanna share, good, bad, indifferent, you know, please let us know. You know, but we could look to see if there's any way to see maybe... Yeah. I don't know if they keep track of what interactions they have, it's but something that we could look at. So...
And I just wanna welcome Nora as well. I didn't have it in my report, but, of course, look forward to her joining in that capacity. So
Alright. Do I have a motion to close? So moved. So moved. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Slippen. All in favor? Aye. Members