Board of Trustees Meeting
Alright. Very good. Alright. Welcome to our October 21 regular meeting of the Croton and Hudson Board of Trustees. I'm mayor Brian Pugh. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance.
Our first item of business is the approval of Badger's treasurer.
Hi. Good evening. We have the general fund is $501,480.41. The water fund is $81,104.19. The Sewer Fund is $4,605.07. The Capital Fund is $426,391.89. And the trust fund is for $9,301.42.
Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. All in favor? Aye. Aye. K. Very good. Alright. We proceed to the first of two public hearings this evening, the first being on local law number seven of 2026 to amend, chapter two thirty zoning of the village of code to update the language regarding commercial and noncommercial signage. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Before we go open the public hearing manager, would you like to briefly summarize the amendments?
Sure. I don't know how brief we can summarize yes. But, basically, this has been, a process that's been a year in the making. Right? You know, at the direction of the village board, last year, the village attorney and I, and then later working with our village planner, began a complete, reevaluation of our existing code chapter on signage. We took into account public feedback in that process. We took into account recent, court decisions that dealt with First Amendment rights and freedom of speech, and, we have come up with a law that largely regulates commercial signage, and except for safety, safety and size regulations largely leaves noncommercial signage up to the discretion of the, property owner. And so, the law that you have before you tonight that you're gonna hear comments on has been, reviewed by the planning board, the Westchester County planning board, the village planning board, and the the WAC, and they've all given you comments. You've taken some of those comments into consideration in this draft, and now we're having the public hearing to get public feedback on it.
K. Very good. Alright. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Alright. The floor is open. Anyone wishing to speak specifically on local law number seven of '20 26, this is your opportunity. Please state your name and address.
Good evening. My name is Rose Ann Skylar. My address is 321 South Riverside Avenue, Croton On Hudson, New York. I have been very interested in following the progress that has been made on the signed law revisions as I'm sure you well know. I was happy to see that the board obviously took into account the many factors that mister Healy just mentioned as well as, I think, the warnings that were included in the assistant attorney general's letter that the village received last year. And I mostly have a set of questions that I'm curious about after listening to the various work sessions where the proposed revisions were discussed. My first question has to do with obviously Section F, placement, size, and attachment.
The board spent some time discussing the size and the height regulations of noncommercial and exempt signs and decided that noncommercial exempt signs in all resident... On all zoning districts could be no more than eight feet in height... In sign height.
It appears that what you mean is eight feet from grade, although that is not stated in the code, and I would be interested in getting clarification about that, whether it means eight feet from grade and how that would be measured if the grade underneath the sign in question was different. Also, on that same code section, it indicates that flagpoles will require a property owner to obtain a building permit. Will existing flagpoles require a variance given that they would be preexisting and after the adoption of this law, nonconforming. There's also regulations related to attachment of signs to trees, that signs may not, it appears, be, nailed, screwed, or affixed directly to a tree. Will the village be enforcing this regulation against, let's say, those property owners who nail no trespassing signs to trees on private property, or will those in some way escape code enforcement? I am interested in knowing about that. And
finally, during your last work session in September where the sign law was discussed, there was a discussion about the application process for obtaining a nonconforming sign permit after the adoption of the law with the discussion also noting that a variance from the zoning board for any preexisting nonconforming sign is also an option. Are these eitheror options? And is there any time limit regarding obtaining a variance for a preexisting nonconforming sign? Those would be my questions. I realize that the board doesn't usually answer questions about agenda items, but I am hoping that the rule might be different in regard to public hearings. One last thing I would note is that I'm sure you understand that simply because something is characterized as a time, place, and manner regulation on the expression of free speech does not mean that it escapes constitutional scrutiny. Any such regulations must be narrowly tailored to advance a significant or substantial government interest and must leave open ample alternatives for communication. Please be guided Thank you. By the law. Thank you.
Just an administrative thing. When you highlight an attendee, we can't read this. We can't read that color either. Item two, perhaps you'll go over the laws of a trustee. This just hasn't happened for a long time. A trustee hasn't attended and is coming in remotely, which is a problem, and whether that person has a right to vote. If you clarify that later on, those two items. Regarding sign... The signage, there's several references to sign regulation here. And I know since you are embarrassed nationally, literally embarrassed nationally, trying to regulate free speech of one citizen who've been... You've been after for years. Not all of you, but the core, the left core of a village government has been after for years. And then the resignation of a building inspector, none of that has ever been brought to public. It was so controversial. We never knew what happened, where a public servant accused other public servants and elected officials of targeting a citizen, which is happening a lot nowadays in Croton, where I would like to find out exactly what happened, which we've never had closure to that.
The second thing is anything to do with signs. The biggest sign polluter in Croton On Hudson is the village of Croton On Hudson and the state of New York. If you go down any street and count the number of signs, signs blocking signs blocking signs, and I would suggest that the village of Croton, when they wanna start regulating signs, should go to their visual committee and ask them to check every street in Croton and see what signs could be done away with or what signs could be made seasonal, like no parking signs, where you take them down, you just throw them up for a season or whatever. But the biggest polluter in Croton is Croton, the the village of Croton. So when regulating your signs, instead of picking stuff out of other people's eyes, you should regulate yourself. And then lastly is the big brouhaha with cannabis, and this is sorta like trying to lock the door after the horse is gone, one opting in. So now the cannabis shop is here in the absolute worst location. Now you're gonna regulate the hell out of his sign. Right? His sign stinks. You gotta leave it alone. But, you know, I was hoping it'd have, like, a neon sign like Times Square so people really get upset and maybe do something about the place, move it. But, since you're regulating the sign, it's just sort of funny as a citizen here to watch the zoning board and the village board, stress out over this spot store in the terrible... In this absolute worst location, which should never let Ben and Croton over the size of their signs. Thank you.
Anyone else wishing to speak on local law seven of 2026? Alright. Do I have a motion to close the public hearing? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Nachtaler, second by, trustee Simon. All in favor? Aye. Very good. Aye.
I'd like to talk about the sign law before we go to the... Sure. Do you wanna talk about that now, do you wanna have the second public hearing? Let's go to the second public hearing. Go ahead. I also have some comments about the sign loss. So is that... Is there an opportunity for discussion or when... No. No. We're not we're not adopting it tonight. I know that. Yeah. It would be... Yeah. So when would be... Let's do it when we're doing secret room.
Alright. Alright. Well, I'm sorry. We're off to race. Not to not to belabor this, but my point is that if there are substantive changes which we wanna make to the sign law, which is I think what trustee Nachtaler wants to discuss, there's not really a point in doing the seeker right now because we'd have to rehold the public hearing. Correct. So I... That's why I was saying I think we should have the discussion before we we do the seeker. So... Okay. Yeah. Okay. So do you wanna have that discussion now? Sure. Okay.
Okay. Before you do that, do you want me to address the participation by your... Which is permitted under open meetings law?
meetings law permits under extraordinary circumstances and tonight Trustee Berger is remote in a location that has not been included in the notice of meeting because he has a valid extraordinary circumstance which he has indicated and qualified. He's appearing tonight. His appearance does not count toward your quorum which the quorum must all be present at a location that is publicly accessible. So you do have a quorum in existence this evening with... Even with a single absence from a trustee. Mr. Berger is appearing and participating remotely in accordance with the law, open meetings law. Any vote?
He's participating so he has all the rights of a trustee in in any... At any meeting. His presence just does not qualify toward quorum. So, yes, participation, not merely observation. Yes. You're welcome.
So I know I think it was the only board meeting I ever missed was when the sign lock was on the work session agenda. And had I been there, I would have, regarding the application process in the sign law as it relates to the planning board. I know there was discussion among my colleagues to try and expedite the sign process during a site plan application and not having the planning board refer it to the VEB. And then the VEB meets and makes a recommendation and sends it back to the planning board. Having just been to the planning board meeting on October 13, seeing this process, you know, at play where the planning board referred the mindset sign, you know, to the VEB. The VEB met and made a a really thoughtful recommendation, which they're in... Entitled to do. You know, that's their kind of remit. And my understanding is the planning board sent us a letter, at least a member did, and and saw value in in their,
insight and expertise. So, you know, I just wanted to to revisit that. I don't know if my colleagues would support reconsidering, you know, putting the VEB back into the mix when there's a sign, going to part of a a site plan at the planning board. You know, I just I just saw that they added value. I think the planning board has a lot to look at when it comes to a site plan. I know that they're experts as well and they do a fantastic job. And they did a great job on October 13. But I know that they appreciated the input from the VEB. So that's one comment. The other comment was, signs with illumination. I think, you know, if we ever are going to discuss dark skies, I think we we saw in this recent planning board on October 13 that illumination, we need to unpack what illumination is. It's complex. There are different understandings behind it. And I think that we should put some parameters behind what we, as a board, would be comfortable with as far as illumination. The brightness, the white light, you know, there were different components to it. And, you know, I know I wouldn't want to have something, you know, just extremely bright, too bright, which is what we have now, being presented at the planning board that is... Exceeds the numbers or the ratio that we're seeing in other villages and towns.
So those are, you know, two comments that I had. And then the last one was a request from the planning board, thinking that it would be helpful to unpack the process by which, you know, I... It sounds like... I know... I think you spoke with the same individual. Yes. Unpack the process. Just clarify
that. Right? Yeah. How would you Well, I I think... You know, and I would just, you know, we've had a couple of couple of queries on this. I would just suggest folks look at page five of the current draft under see the application process. I think it makes it pretty clear that for signs in connection with a site plan or change of use application, the planning board has the approval authority for that signage. If sign is just going to the village engineer for a for a sign permit, they Without a site plan. Without a site plan or or no involvement of the planning board because there's no there's no issue with the planning board's jurisdiction, then the the visual environment board would would have the jurisdiction over that that sign recommendation. And so it's page five, app... Under letter c application process three, four, and five make make it, as far as I thought, pretty clear on on the division of labor, and and which to me is logical.
Thank you. And and I think they wanted to make sure the law was clear that the planning board has the final approval of a sign if it... If the VEB refers to them. So, I mean... Yeah.
And I and I think that... It was... Didn't seem to be clear to a few if that comes to Well, it's a 16 page loss, and not not not everyone had the chance. Very well written. It's a Not a... It's a total rewrite. Yes. Which is... Was the charge. So we've taken... So not everyone had the chance to sort of delve into every section. But I think if you if you read that just in in, in in in reference to that question, I think it makes it pretty clear.
And Yeah. I mean, it it it says the planning board is the approval authority. So I mean And their approval is
only after a duly notice public hearing is conducted. That's at the point where the public and individual members of the visual don't lose their rights under the First Amendment to come in and speak to the issue itself. I think the initial conversation and the one you may have missed was they were talking about the amount of time to go back and forth from committee to committee. And I think the sign you're talking about took took a couple of visits at the visual the visual board. I think it was just on one agenda.
Okay. It was only on one agenda. Alright. So... And and and also the planning board was waiting on other components of the site plan. So the VEB did not hold up, I don't think No. Anything. No. I wouldn't... You know? But I I appreciate that we're trying to expedite
matters and not... Yeah. I mean, I I I wouldn't... I I wouldn't... I would say streamline. Right? Because it's not like we're we're not trying to fast track things. No. We just wanna streamline it because, you know, like the example I was thinking about earlier today was, like, in theory, somebody could go to the planning board and have a plan approved to build the house in one meeting. But to get a sign, it would take three meetings. So, you know, I mean, it seems like... It it seems like there's an opportunity to streamline that process a little bit. Mhmm. So... And I think that's I think that's what we've done with this law. Mhmm.
I'm sorry not not to interrupt you, but what I said at the previous discussion that we had about this is the VEB under the existing law is given the ability to submit comments on its own initiative. Right. So even if something is not referred to it, they always have the opportunity to send their comments Mhmm. To to whichever board they would like, whether it's this board, the planning board. So they always retain that ability. Do we have a mechanism to make sure they actually receive notice of an application so that they can exercise those rights? I think that's, you know, this section of the code is from the seventies Mhmm. And it's on the list of items that we need to to revise. Because I I think it says in there that they're supposed to they're they're supposed to receive copies of them, but it doesn't... Provide the mechanism. It doesn't say how and, you know, within a time frame. It it doesn't go into that level of detail. So that's something that we need I think that would be helpful,
I'm gonna... Yep. I mean, I defer to the attorney here, but it sounds like as modest as it may be still a substantive change. Correct?
I don't... I I I don't think we're changing anything. Are you changing? Are you... Did we agree to change anything?
Well, is that what's being proposed here? Change change in the language? No. I'm saying that would need to change in the VEB section of the Yeah.
And in in regards to trustee Nachtaler's questions on the illumination, you know, I I... That would be substantive change as well. I don't know if we wanna proceed with this, and we've been waiting we've been waiting for information on the dark skies legislation from the Conservation Advisory Council. Mhmm. So, I mean, we could address that when we receive that if that's what we wanna do.
I... I'm not in any particular rush here. We... And I'll also ask the attorney. I mean, we've had the public hearing, obviously. If we do make a substantive change, we will have to renotice. Right? But Correct. We don't have to go through the, secret LWRP review again, do we?
Unless the substantive changes would affect the identification of potentially significant impacts which I can imagine they would or whether the LWRP review would identify another policy in addition to those that have already been identified. And since I don't know what substantive changes you're talking about, it would be highly unlikely that SEQR would change but again you should pass a determination of SEQR at the same time you are you have a final draft of the law in front of you. So you could table that discussion. It's really at your own peril if the changes you make would be significant enough to identify a potentially significant impact or identify the need to
look at a different policy under the LWR. Yeah. And then questions came up tonight that I don't have that I don't know the answers to,
you know, on the side. Yeah. I mean, we're not adopting tonight. I think we can complete the secret. And if we need to make it... Mhmm. Upon further consideration, substantive changes are needed, we can deal with that down the road. Yes. And I believe answers
to the questions and requests for clarification on some of the items that you heard tonight would not rise to the level... They would be clarifications. They would not necessarily rise to the level of of substantive change. However, the change in procedure that you're suggesting would be a substantive change. So it's really how the board would like to proceed.
But as a... A change in procedure would be a substantive change requiring renoticing, but not have a secret effect?
Very good. Alright. You wanna move on to the Let's proceed to number 13. Alright. We now move to our second public hearing on local law number 13 of 2026 to amend provisions of chapter two thirty zoning, to provide clarification on the review of site development plans. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Discussion?
I'm gonna actually let the village attorney Yes. Talk about this because she put together this I did. Good law.
And I I collaboratively, as always, worked with, Valerie, your planning consultant. The changes here were necessitated by the unexpected change in secret law that included a number of already identified exemptions that arrived with the budget approval last year by the governor. In light of those exemptions which are significant, we... Valerie and I advise the board to consider, permitting your jurisdictional approving boards to request the same level of information that would necessarily flow from a long form EAF. And in many cases, the boards receive, additional information as a result of the secret process. But because these exemptions, have been adopted which have potential ramifications in terms of skirting the environmental review, we wanted to be sure that the boards had the ability to ask for information which they would otherwise get just as a matter of procedure under CCRA. So this is expanding the ability of your boards to ask for the same information that answer the questions on a traditional environmental assessment form. So impacts potential wetlands impacts, the stuff that would just happen, location vis a vis historical buildings or places, that level of information you want to receive notwithstanding that the project is exempt from secret. So that's what we had suggested and with the encouragement of the Board of Trustees we developed an expansion of the criteria that you would include in an application.
Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. The hearing is open. Anyone wishing to speak on local law number 13 of 2026, this is your opportunity. Please state your name and address.
Alright. Seeing no one wishing to comment, do I have a motion to close the public hearing? So moved. Second. Motion by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
mayor. Oh, sorry. We're checking the Zoom room. I just wanna make sure nobody's on the Zoom.
Oh, but you do have one other person in there. Yeah. Click it, please. No. Sorry. Click the... Yeah. That... Just go to attendees attendees. Yeah. You can x out of that.
Alright. She didn't raise her hand. She did not. Okay. Okay. Very good. Alright. Now we proceed to the, secret to an LWRP, part two rather in LWRP consistency review of local law seven.
Okay. So just as a reminder, we're undertaking these questions based on the law itself, not any one particular project. So I'll just ask the questions, and the board can either answer no or small impact or a moderate to large impact. Okay. So number one, will the proposed action create a material conflict with an adopted land use plan or zoning regulation?
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 caused 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 resource? 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 the 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. So, the WAC reviewed, local law number seven and, determined that no policies were consistent or were applicable, and therefore the consistency
doesn't apply. Yes. And I think, trustee Nachtaler and I can attest to the fact that the, the WAC worked diligently, went through all of the policies on an individual basis, and, found no on, no applicability on all of them. Yep. Thank you. Okay.
So if there are no other policies that the board would like to add, we will prepare the statement of consistency and the secret declaration, you know, pending whatever changes we may have to the law. Very good. Excellent. Alright. Okay.
Alright. Now we proceed to the secret part two in LWRP review for local law 13 of twenty six. Okay.
And we'll... Again, we'll start with the EAF part two, and the same logic applies that this is for the local law itself, not a specific project. And the answers are no or small or moderate to large. So... You wanna lead the course?
The lines. Yeah. Thank you. Will the proposed action create a material conflict with an adopted land use plan or zoning regulations? No or small. Okay. 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? Nowhere small. Will the proposed action have an impact on the environmental characteristics that cause the establishment of a critical environmental area? Nowhere 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 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 wastewater... Sorry. 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 increase in the 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.
then moving on to the LWRP review. So the WAC has also provided a memo in regards to these policies. And for this law, they have found quite a number of policies that are applicable. Policy five a... Can you pull up... Sorry.
I think it might be easier if you pull up the memo, Jeanette. Yeah. The one that says whack memo. And if you could just zoom in a little bit. Yep. Just scroll down. Yep. I know. Did you check to see if the mouse was on?
Okay. So 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 were all found to be applicable and consistent. And then under the proposed land uses and projects, policy two, policy three, policy seven, policy eight, and policy 11 were all found to be relevant.
Yes. And and I would say just... And I think trustee Nachtaler would agree. The cross cutting nature of environmental review naturally brings in a lot of our LWRP policy concerns. But in each case, we found them applicable but also compatible. Mhmm. It was a good good solid review.
Okay. So if there are no other policies that anyone would like to add, we'll, do the same thing. We'll prepare the statement of consistency and the Mhmm. Seeker determination for the next meeting.
Responses submitted via email. No questions. Rather submitted via email. No questions, mayor. Very good. Alright. Public comment on agenda items. Anyone wishing to comment on agenda items, this is your opportunity. Later, there will be a meet... In the meeting, there will be public comment on non agenda items. Public comment on agenda items is open.
For anyone on Zoom who would like to comment on agenda items, please use the raise hand feature.
on environmental review on these Mister mister Riley, if you could just identify yourself for the record. I'm Ed Riely from, Truesdale Drive. Thank you. You're welcome.
I'd like to thank the village attorney for clarifying the status of a faraway trustee. And I'd like it on the record that I object to anybody who's sitting in the room having the right to vote. They should certainly participate, none have the right to vote. Anyhow, I've noticed that there's a shifting responsibility between a planning board and village board back and forth on environmental concerns like you just went through. And it's ironic that statewide and and changes in local law seem to be that when environmental policy was at top of the list, the environmental evaluation of a site had... Actually, it was overdone in terms of evaluation. Now that housing at all costs for metals from the governor and agreements between senators and the governor is the priority for the state is that the effect of of the site development has dropped in importance significantly. And I think that the the exchange of responsibility back down to the planning board from the village board, which is the ultimate zoning board, the ultimate planning board, the people we elect to do this stuff, the people we spoke... We have and should have confidence in to do this is the village board. And once again, this is where state housing priorities, hate state awards, state medals, state meetings follow a governor's housing policy as opposed to the villages priorities and the village housing priorities. Thank you. Thank you.
Anyone else wishing to comment on agenda items? Seeing no one else wishing to comment, we proceed to report from the village manager. Thank you, mayor.
In lieu of my, normal report, I do have a statement that I would like to read, which will be, added to the backup of the agenda for this evening. I would like to address the recent release of audio recordings associated with the idea committee in response to a freedom of information law request. The review of FOIA requests and responding to them is undertaken by village staff and members of the village board are not involved in the process. During the processing of this request, the recordings that were provided to the village were released without a full understanding of their contents. This included the inadvertent release of an audio recording that was not a committee meeting. Rather, it was a private conversation among three individuals. I recognize the concerns this has raised among committee members, residents, and village staff, and I take those concerns seriously. As a village, we have an obligation to provide public access to government records, which include records created by committees undertaking work on behalf of the village while ensuring that information is appropriately reviewed and handled in accordance with the law. These responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. Artificial intelligence is introducing new complexities into municipal records management. AI powered meeting platforms can automatically record conversations, generate transcripts, and create summaries. This new technology creates new challenges identifying, reviewing, and appropriately releasing government records. At the same time, municipalities throughout New York State, including Croton On Hudson, are receiving an increasing volume of FOIL requests, many of which are complex and require significant investment of resources. Moving forward, the village will be reviewing our internal foil procedures, including how electronic files, audio recordings, and AI generated materials are identified and evaluated before release, as well as developing a policy on the use of AI in the village.
Any proposed policy changes will be brought to the village board for consideration, and committee members and members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments. The village values our volunteer committee members and appreciates the time, energy, and dedication they bring to serving our community. As a village, we remain committed to supporting their efforts and fostering an environment of mutual respect, collaboration, and trust.
Alright. With that, we proceed to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion on the consent agenda? So moved. Second. Motion, by trustee Simon, second by trustee Nachtaler. Discussion?
Oh, mayor, just would like to thank Alexandra Milano Martin for the donation of of the bench. Very much appreciated by everyone in the village.
And I'll also point out that we're scheduling a public hearing on a local law to make a somewhat significant change, I think, to our seasonal parking law. Yep. We talked about this over the summer, and, you know, I'm looking forward to hearing what people have to say at the public hearing in two weeks. But this is going to allow, parking during business hours in our business districts even after two inches of snow has fallen during the daytime. So from, you know, from 7AM to 7PM, parking will be allowed even if there is two inches of snow on the ground. Mhmm. You know, this was something that we heard a lot about last winter. You know, there were there were a lot of snow events that, you know, where it was either three inches or, you know, three and a half inches of snow and people, you know, were in violation of the law and they weren't able... They parked on the street, they were in violation of the law. And, you know, it hurt businesses because we live in the Northeast, and businesses don't close for three inches of snow. Mhmm. So, you know, we've worked together to come up with what will hopefully be a good solution. And, you know, I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that so we get some good feedback.
Thank you. And a manager, I think I I already... I'm aware that, some of the businesses will be coming to that hearing, to, express their gratitude.
it seemed like it always snowed. It it snowed every weekend. Yes. Every weekend. You know?
So that was... You know, so this will help, that as well. Yes. It will. Thank you. Yep.
First one is regarding a change order Yes. Van Cortlandt Manor. Whereas 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 at 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 a scope change during the course of the project has resulted in change order two being submitted. And whereas historic Hudson Valley has reviewed the proposed change order and determined that the change in scope is necessary for the successful completion of the project. And whereas per the agreement executed by the village in HHV, all costs for this project that exceed the funding amount allocated by the New York State Department of Transportation are the sole responsibility of HHV. Now therefore be it resolved that the village board of trustees, who by authorizes the village manager to approve change order number two in the total amount of $306,155.47.
Discussion? Well, mayor, I I think the the resolution is is self explanatory. I always like to point out that, there is no financial burden on the village, for for this this change order. It... It's all either, grant money to historic Hudson or other funds that they've they've encumbered. But we continue to act as the sponsor of the project, but no fine... No financial participation from the village.
Alright. Resolute... Resolution b. Whereas the Harmon Firehouse roof is original to the building and needs replacement, and whereas the roof replacement project was funded in the twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven capital budget, and whereas the level of technical specification needed for evaluation of the existing roof and the development of contract documents for the replacement or rehabilitation of the existing roof of the Harmon Firehouse 30 Wayne Street, Documents require third party assistance, and whereas Paula DiAngelo architect planners of Elmsford, New York has provided a proposal in the amount of $30,500 to include an assessment of existing roof condition... Conditions, preparing a report with recommendations and cost estimate, developing construction documents for public bidding, and assisting the village with bid evaluation and contractor selection. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the village manager has to be authorized to accept the proposal from Paula DiAngelo Architect Planners of Elmsford, New York in the amount of $30,500.
Discussion? Well, mayor, as as the resolution indicates, this is the first step in what's gonna be a several step process to get us a new roof for Harmon Firehouse. We budgeted for a substantial portion of this, but also we got some terrific help from senator Harcom through the CREST process, CREST funding, which which will pay for a a large portion of this. We're we're certainly grateful for that. It's great to see it moving forward. Eventually, a new roof, and then we can get back to the question of should we have solar on the Yeah. On on the Harmon Firehouse roof. And and if if if we look at the great performance of it at Washington Engine Company, we certainly would like to have that Mhmm. If if feasible at at the time.
Yeah. And our sustainability committee has already worked to secure funding for that. Absolutely. You know, as long as we can make it work, which I I I don't envision why we wouldn't be able to. Right. And just to, you know, just to refresh, we've mentioned it before, but the the the question always was,
can't put new solar on an old roof. Yeah. The... So we get a new roof. Yeah. And, actually... And as the as the, the documents, from, connected to, Fuller and DeAngelo indicate, this is the original roof. It's never... There's never been any significant,
replacement of it. Yeah. It's 20 it's 25 years old, so Yep. It's time. Yep. Absolutely.
So if there is a desire to have solar on the roof, which sounds great Yeah. Is there an opportunity to identify potential suppliers to make sure that what roof we are putting on, you know,
makes sense for... Oh, definitely. Yeah. We will... You know, when we talk to these architects, we'll make that clear. Yeah. Yes. In the scope. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All
in favor? Aye. Aye. Alright. Public comment on non agenda items. Anyone wishing to speak on any topic, this is your opportunity. Everyone has five minutes. Please state your name and address.
Hi. Andy Simmons, 146 Old Post Road North. First off, I wanna congratulate the board on... I just heard about the Moody rating. It was a very good rating from Moody's, congratulations. That's good news, everyone. Now to item two on the list here. You know, the word urbanization has been bandied about a lot of late. And when I think about urbanization, as someone who grew up and lived in the urban areas for most of his life, New York City and Los Angeles, I think of ear wrenching noises and noxious fumes and worker Maelstrom of of obnoxious stuff going on. Right? Well, in Croton, that's epitomized by gas leaf blowers, frankly. Noxious gas fumes, the pounding noise that can wreck an otherwise beautiful, peaceful day. Many of us moved out of urban settings to escape the noxious fumes and the noise and what have you. And I'm not gonna go into, you know, what creates those noxious fumes and what have you. You know, we have a seasonal ban, which I applaud, and the lack of gas powered leaf blowers is literally refreshing, and how nice it would be to make it year round. Now online, I've seen people say things like, you know, if I wanna use my leaf blower for five or ten minutes, what's the big deal? Well, you know, if it's... You only use for five or ten minutes, no one would care. Wouldn't be a big deal. But the fact is, it's not used for five, ten minutes often. It's usual... It's often used for forty five minutes, sixty minutes. It's usually two or three landscapers or so walking side by side, taking their time, blowing what have you. On September 1, when this... The law... Seasonal law stopped, you had people going on
blowing soil from from lawn, perfectly clean lawns and what have you. Again, it's forcing people to close windows on gorgeous, gorgeous days or frankly fleeing. You know, this truly impacts the neighbors. It truly impacts pedestrians. I remember someone online again when we were talking about the pigeons going on about saying things something like, well, if it if it annoys your neighbors, then you shouldn't do it. Nothing annoys your neighbors more than the the gas... The the the gas powered leaf blowers. Now the fact is even the village, many people have also said that if the... As long as the village is using gas powered leaf blowers, then they don't wanna move on to themselves. Well, that's a good legitimate point, but even the village is moving in that direction, what have you. The village has invested in electric leaf blowers and is cutting back, and its contractor is banned for the rest of the year from using leaf... Gas powered leaf blowers. In other words, it's very doable. Now I also understand that a lot of people object to anything to deal with their property, and I believe... Agree with it completely. Except when it impacts me, and it impacts other people. You know, we, you know, we have rules and regulations about fence heights. You know, I don't I don't like a tall fence, but it doesn't really impact me. I... We have rules and regulations about cutting down trees and what have you. I'm not in favor of people willy nilly cutting down trees, but it doesn't impact me like this does, like the key... Gas powered leaf blowers does. And I have a lawn and it's a big enough lawn that I have to actually do something... Do it myself and what have you.
And, anyway, I'm just... It's time we all move on for for a more beautiful, less urban Croton, and maybe one way of doing this is by getting rid of gas powered leaf blowers. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thanks, Andy.
Yeah. I'm sorry. Would you mind stating your name again? Yes. I'm Roger Dyer. I live on 60 Farington Road. Thank you.
unless there's something awfully important to me. I was a teacher for a long time in the middle school, and our middle school principal had decided to have a tremendous amount of meetings. And I actually got sent to the high school because I just wouldn't go to the meetings. I really don't like meetings. But last meeting I went to in Croton was about... I'm a tennis coach. Last meeting I went to in Croton was about saving the tennis courts, which we did. You know, it was something very important to me, so I thought it was worth doing. And we did save the courts, which I never thought we were gonna be able to do. It's my next time at a meeting. I just heard an awful lot about the leaf blowers, and I... First thought was I thought it was kinda silly. Why are people getting so upset? It's just once in a while, this and that. But I read into it, and it's it's not. It's the way they make the toxic fumes. They're mixing two things together, and it's just going out there. And one of the reasons I love Croton, I've been here almost forty years, is the environment. It's just beautiful. Everybody cares about it, and it's just clear. And I'm used to do some landscaping work and everything. I don't wanna infringe on people's rights to make a living and this and that, but the vast majority of the companies already have electric blowers that they use when they have to. And when they don't have to, they use the other ones. And it does. It's extremely loud. It's extremely toxic. It travels. It stays. It's in the ground. It's everywhere else, and it should be an easy one. This shouldn't be a tough one.
So that's all I got to say, and hope we can stop using them. Mhmm. Thank you.
Hi. Ned Rust from Morningside Drive, and I'm gonna second what Roger said and third what Andy said. It seems to me a lot of us moved or to or have stayed in Croton because we like having access to nature. We appreciate the pretty trees and the rolling hills and the beautiful lakes, rivers, and streams, and, of course, our manicured lawns. It's part of the deal. Right? The universal selling principle of Croton. We're a verdant bedroom community, with good schools and decent access to amenities and the great outdoors. The realtors love us. Right? I want to read you some language from the website of arguably our most renowned realtor, Nancy Kennedy, who I actually, I believe, some years ago, chose to live in another Westchester town despite keeping her office here. It's titled Welcome to Croton On The Hudson, and it begins, a scenic village that might have come out of a fantasy book. Now I've public... Published a few bestselling fantasy books, and I've read many others, but I've yet to find one that creates its magical ambiance with the near constant whining of gas powered blowers. But let's go on with the realtor's stirring prose. Croton On Hudson is a village where artistic spirit, environmental consciousness, and community pride converge to shape a lifestyle that's equal parts relaxed and engaged. Okay. Did you hear that bit about environmental consciousness? How is it that one of the remaining climate change denying Westchester towns that still allows gas blowers, each of which you may recall in one hour creates more pollution than driving a six cylinder car from New York to St. Louis while leaving all the exhaust here in Croton, is able to pretend to environmental concern. And here's some more. The town has long attracted creatives, thinkers, and nature lovers,
an ethos reflected in its vibrant local art scene, ecological initiatives, and grassroots organizations. Nature lovers, ecological initiatives, grassroots I get since we are so diligent about removing the topsoil. Those roots are right out in the open. But is it common for progressive utopias to have armies of immigrant laborers staggering around the landscape with benzene and one three butadiene generators on their backs causing them permanent hearing and respiratory damage. But wait, there's more. Residents enjoy the peaceful sounds of the river flowing through the beautiful hills. Seriously? Peaceful sounds of a river? In September, when our summertime half measure, reprieve was over, I decided to put some numbers to my impression that I was hearing a heck of a lot of blowers from my, porch. Of the six hundred minutes that occur between 8AM and 6PM, two hundred and twenty two of them contain the sound of a gas blower. Not all close, some were distant, but I could hear them. This is well before the leaves started changing color, much less falling to the ground. That means in September, there was a better than one in three chance here in our fantasy book village. You can go outside and listen to the sound of your neighbors blasting pollen, dirt, animal feces, and all vestiges of native insect life out of their properties. Clearly, if Croton is a fantasy novel, it's one of those dystopian ones. And an evil wizard has put a curse on the village so that for half of every year, the residents are plunged into a monoxide filled 85 decibel hellscape. Let's please consider trying a different genre. Maybe we could do some nonfiction, you know, those books that have real world facts in them. Maybe we could pick a story that focuses on the environment
or one about the cultural hypocrisy of college educated elites having immigrant servants work their properties. At any rate, I've just begun collecting data now that the leaves are finally coming down here in late October. I will make a hard prediction, but I will not be shocked if we discover that these outdated and banned by communities that give more than lip service to their environmental concern machines are drowning out the sound of... The sounds of autumn more than one out of every two minutes. You remember those sounds. Right? The wind, the river, the migrating birds, the children in the park, the people sipping their coffee, the tinkling sound of us kicking this can down the street season after season after season. I thank you for your work and all that you're doing, and thank you for listening.
Hi. I am Sarah Willis of one one four Upper North Highland, and this is my first meeting. And I am so thankful that this first meeting, the speakers happened to be speaking about the gas powered leaf blowers. I could not agree more, so I appreciate you. I am... This is my first one. I wish I had another propranolol to make myself through this, but I am speaking of growing concern around the idea committee and what is happening. I am concerned about the looming resignations of some people, the lack of guidance and care that was given to committee members that really have not a lot of knowledge around what it means to be in a committee. And then when there's a foil request, like, they... As... You know, anyone can assume if you don't have knowledge, you just give what you can out of good faith. That feels really sad to me. I am deeply concerned around the very good work, although controversial, which I think in any good work should be a balance of controversial and okay. Like, we have to always be at this kind place of discomfort. But when that's presented, I don't think we should push anyone out of that position. I think we have to lean into the work. I would hate to see our committee chair of the idea committee be suggested to resign. Of course, it's not forced. It's always suggested, but where... There can be a lot of pressure where it's like, what am I doing this for? What's the point? And I would hate for there to be more resignations that then lose the essence and the heartfelt vitality and the appropriate care and consideration of which should be a diversity and equity branch of this... It's not a branch of this government. I get it. But a committee of this government should always be a place of challenge, a place of reflection, and a place of open dialogue. And I am concerned around a mass resignation and then a... You know, the government government, Croton, not Hudson, can put in their own people that can tow the government line. I think we owe all of the committees that are in Croton with a training on... When there is a FOIL request, what does that mean? And we also... Any of those other committees deserve to know how that information is going to be vetted.
A lot of folks don't know when they participate in these committees what it means. We don't have government knowledge. And so I would hate for well meaning people to then get thrown under the bus by sharing information that is then just sent out into the public. Thank you. I appreciate all of your work. I'm here for it. That's why I'm here. I believe in us. I believe in you all. Thank you kindly.
On the subject of, leaf blowers. I'm sorry. Would you mind reintroducing yourself? Ed Riely from Shuzhou Tribe. Thank you. On the subject of leaf blowers. I trust that the consumer protection board slash CA committee, whatever, is gonna have a full evaluation of leaf blowers of the new models of gas blowers that make less noise and blow just as effectively compared to the latest blowers that are electric. I saw one the other day. Man, it blows as much as any gas blower blows. And as for the landscape industry, you know, usually made up of guys making, like, $35,000 a year, you know, threatening Croton is preposterous. And so I look forward to the Village of Croton app... For consumer safety with a thorough evaluation of each leaf blower that comes before it. I can't... My principal... First of all, the boycott against CVS, which is the biggest distributor of abortion pills in The United States, continues in Croton. Anything you buy at CVS, you can buy equally as good somewhere else, whether it be a pharmaceutical product or the junk you buy off their shelves because it's convenient. The most important item I'd like to speak about is your idea committee. Your idea committee has been a disgrace. It's been embarrassment, whether it's committee members saying that people with larger houses are using our water and our air as if they don't have rights to water and air, attacking journalists, including left wing journalists who are really allies, them by name. You're not knowing the rules of foil. If you don't know what the foil request is, which you've been instructed by this board, you've been instructed by this village manager what a foil request is, and that anything you do in official capacity can be foiled. And it's not like you're being inundated by
private foils. You're being inundated by corporate foils that are are so bothersome to villages and boards of education. It's not the private foils which this one resulted in. So if you say something, representing the committee, you've been appointed by the mayor and perhaps the trustees, and you should be supervised by the mayor and the trustees, not by the not by the village manager. He didn't appoint you. And you can't operate a committee, and you can't operate that committee when there are two or three sitting trustees in the room looking over your shoulder and a former trustee who used to be in the same... That's four trustees on one of your subcommittees, and you can't operate a committee. And then you can't operate the committee under the rules, which you yourself put out six months ago, and two of the people that signed the... That put those rules out, they cannot... When you're in the room, this committee is a a major embarrassment to this village. And when they talk about that this village is a racist community because of some incident one member has, and this is a personal concern of mine, when one of the one of the parties in this conversation... By the way, this embarrassment has been known for about... It's it's going back two years. But the embarrassment... The latest embarrassments have been known for at least sixty to ninety days, and they were not adequately summarized by the village manager's summary as if this was some mistake of AI or some, you know, gathering information that wasn't public. In this meeting, when this was recorded, the person recording told this agitator, you're being recorded. You're being recorded. Am I being... Yeah. I'm being recorded. Now if if you say things embarrassing on a... When you're told you're being recorded three times, you don't pass this stupid test.
In this recording, this agitator, I assume it was indivisible, I don't know, to the chairman of the committee, I assume, I don't know, threatens my house and is looking for affirmation. Maybe we should do that. After my house and my property has been attacked at least seven times in his village, spray painting, tearing up my cars, taking my property, putting dog shit on my door with a flower, that kinda... I'm gonna... I did report it to the police, and I would like to know who this person is. And I would ask the village attorney, once she finds out who this is, to get an order of protection from that individual to stay away from me and my house. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Hi. My name is Mark Noritangelo, and I live at Scenic Drive. I just wanna say good evening to everybody here. This is about the backpack blowers, gas powered blowers. So my family has been a part of Croton since the late eighteen hundreds. I'm a first generation resident, and I've lived here for seventy years. The village is part of my family's history and I care deeply about its future. In nearly seventy years, this is the first time I've ever stood before the village board to speak about an issue. I've seen many changes over the decades, but I've never felt compelled to come here until now. That should tell you how strongly I feel about this proposal. Let me be clear. I am not against protecting the environment. I am against imposing a complete ban without demonstrating that it is necessary and that it is the best solution. We have approximately 52,000 vehicles every day that pass through Croton. Along with that, you have exhaust, tire and brake particles, road dust, the diesel trains, and the rail yard emissions. I recognize these sources are not identical to leaf blowers, and I'm not suggesting we ignore one problem because another exists. My point is simple. Environmental decisions should be based on reliable scientific evidence, measurable results, and reasonable priorities. My question to the board is, what specific measurable additional benefit will a complete ban provide beyond restrictions that are already in place? If a complete ban is being proposed, residents deserve to see the evidence supporting it. I'm willing to accept reasonable restrictions. I support sensible operating hours, appropriate noise limits, which everybody doesn't realize during the course of the day, you're around noise all the time, and seasonal restrictions. But why go straight to a complete ban without first demonstrating that less restrictive measures won't work?
Homeowners have different circumstances. Someone with a small property has very different needs from someone maintaining several acres of wooded land. Battery powered equipment may work for some residents, but cost, performance, battery life, and a practical challenge of maintaining larger properties deserve consideration. A blanket ban treats everyone the same regardless of their circumstances and may impose unnecessary cost on residents. So I respectfully ask the board four questions. What scientific evidence supports a complete ban over existing restrictions? Have less restrictive alternatives been fairly evaluated? Had the cost and practical limitations of replacement equipment been considered? Why not use reasonable restrictions, effective enforcement, and a review of actual results before imposing a complete ban? After nearly seventy years in this village, I understand that change is inevitable. But good government requires more than good intentions. It requires transparency, sound judgment, meaningful public input, and respect for residents who have different points of view. My family has called Croton home for generations. I am here because I care about this village, want it to remain a wonderful place to live for generations to come. And in the seventy years that I've been here, I noticed with everything that's taken place, I just wanna say one more thing. I wish the people in this most beautiful town on the banks of the Hudson River start appreciating how beautiful and how great it is and stop focusing on what's wrong. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Hi. Dave from Farrington Road. Thank you for this time to speak. I submitted a foil request for a gas leaf blower violations this year. There were 20, but only 11 have been settled. Every single fine is $50. That is not a deterrent, not for a landscaper, not for a homeowner. That is not taking this issue seriously. My health, your health, our children's health is worth more than a $50 fine. That's worse than last year when there were 17 tickets. Last year, the average was $61. Last year, there was a code enforcement officer. This public health threat has gotten worse. On your watch, not better. It's unacceptable. Gas leaf blowers are an old fashioned technology, dirty in many ways and expensive in many ways, and they're ready to be retired in favor of more humane option... Options for the operators and for the overall public sphere in which they're being used. I've got a study here done on the sound effects of gas leaf blowers and how far the reach is in distance. The World Health Organization says safe outdoor noise level is 55 decibels. Traffic, for example, is 53. This study says while holding a gas leaf blower, the decibel level is between ninety two and one hundred four and they are so loud, they still reach more than the 55 decibel safe threshold in a radius of 800 feet. Here's a map that shows an 800 foot radius of my house. There are 189 properties in that 800 foot radius. 189 properties. When there are two or more gas leaf blowers, the... In operation, the radius jumps to 1,600 feet. It's safe to say that close to 400 properties are affected by multiple gas leaf blowers. And you know as well as I do, there's never just one,
usually three or four at a time. The dominance of this unique low frequency sound is concerning because of its ability to travel over long distances, penetrate construction walls, and negatively impact health and productivity. All of those households, the babies, the stay at home workers, the stay at home mothers and fathers, they don't consent to this onslaught of hearing loss and toxins blown at high speeds reaching their properties. It doesn't just affect one property. It affects all households, animals, and people within an eight to 1,600 foot radius. This is nothing new. You know what is new? Battery equipment is better and cheaper than in 2020 when the CAC made their first recommendation. And every season, another town is proving that completely restricting gas leaf blowers is the right answer. Just last week, South Orange, New Jersey voted for a full year ordinance with a three month phase in after five years of seasonal restrictions, yet another town taking this more seriously than Croton. We have the second worst air quality in the state due to landscaping emissions. And you want to interview stakeholders, businesses to ask if they want to stop poisoning us? That's a joke. I said it here in July and I'll say it again. You didn't ask to hear from children who have to breathe this cancer air. Pregnant woman... Women weren't asked for their opinion. You didn't include elderly residents at Skyview. You didn't include immune compromised citizens. You didn't ask for cancer patient... Patients' opinions. You didn't ask for residents at Half Moon Bay who don't get a choice because of Half Moon Bay's exemption status. Aren't these people stakeholders that should be heard from? No. You just wanna hear from big business and big money landholders. Well, shame on you.
This is not a business decision. It's a health public health threat that day by day becomes worse. These are facts, not anecdote, not hyperbole, it's science. This is just one of hundreds of studies showing the harm gas leaf blowers do to us. But I have not found one paper, one research project, not one that says gas leaf blowers benefit us or are good for us. So please stop poisoning us. Bring us in line with other Westchester towns that care about their citizens' health, and please put Croton's health first. Thank you.
Go ahead. Hi. My name is Stacey Hunter, and I'm at 46 Hastings Avenue. And I wanna thank you all for your work that you do for the community. And I wasn't planning on speaking tonight, but I do feel strongly about the leaf blowers and just the people who spoke before me were much more prepared and spoke eloquently, but I just wanted to add to that and say that as a person who's immune compromised with asthma, I really just want to point out that the two things, hearing loss and respiratory conditions need to be considered. The health and wellness of the people living in our community need to be considered. I think that's more important than really than anything else.
Yeah. Click that. Yep. Oh, somebody's got a hand up. Oh, I think I think you've... You hit your own hand up.
her her five. Alright. And would you state your name for the record, please? Yep. Alright. Seeing no one else wishing to comment, we proceed to reports. Mister Nachtaler, lower. Okay.
Thank you. Thank you everyone who came out to speak. I know some people have been speaking more frequently and others are new and I really value, everybody coming out. So thank you. First, I'll just, ask the mayor if I... Can I make a statement?
usually reports are what we've done, but I just, I just wanna... Now that The Village's review of the ideal foil matter has concluded, and I was a liaison to Idea, I wanna share a few thoughts that I hope will be received in the spirit of appreciation, understanding, and goodwill in which they're intended. First, I wanna sincerely thank the idea committee members for meaningful contributions they've made to the village. Through celebrations of Juneteenth, Pride, Hispanic Heritage Month that have recently happened, right, they had a great turnout. They've helped bring our community together, celebrate our differences, and foster greater understanding. I know how much time, energy, and heart goes into this work, and I'm truly grateful for the dedication... For their dedication as volunteers. I also recognize how painful and upsetting the release of the AI audio recordings by the clerk and their subsequent public circulation has been for committee members, particularly given that certain conversations took place outside of upsetting a formal meeting. I appreciate that our village manager addressed questions surrounding the foil release to the requester, including how the village office will be handling these AI matters going forward. My thoughts, however, are focused on something equally important, How we move forward together, acknowledge the feelings of everyone affected, and reaffirm the values idea was created to advance. Diversity and inclusion are values that have been close to my heart for many years. During my sixteen years as a pep... PepsiCo executive, I had the privilege of serving as a co president of a DNI group. One of the most important lessons I took from that experience was that diversity is a strength, but inclusion is what allows that strength to flourish. We learned that welcoming different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives not only made a stronger organization,
but helped people feel valued, respected, and that they truly belonged. And I believe the same is true for Croton. Our village is home to so many different cultures, faiths, backgrounds, sexual orientations, beliefs, and political perspectives. We won't always agree, and that's okay. What matters is that we continue to listen to each other with open minds and treat one another with kindness respect and the dignity even when our views differ. As trustees, we have a responsibility to both the dedicated volunteers who give so generously of themselves and to the residents we are elected to serve. Acknowledging the hurt expressed by residents from the foil content, primarily from the private conversation, does not diminish ideas, accomplishments, or the good intentions of its members, and appreciating the committee's many contributions should not prevent us from listening thoughtfully to those who have raised concerns. I personally have received many phone calls over the past two weeks. I hope we can make room for both truths. My hope is that this difficult experience can become an opportunity to reflect, heal, rebuild trust so IDEA can succeed while the village works toward thoughtful policies and practices with input from committees that better reflect the challenges of the world that we live in today and tomorrow. At its heart, inclusion is something very human. It's about making people feel they belong. Their voices matter and that they're worthy of dignity, kindness, and respect. These are values I believe we all share and we all want for our village. Thank you for everything that the committee contributes to Croton and for considering my thoughts with the same goodwill which I offer them. So those are my comments on that. I also want to thank our planning board on October 13. I thought they did an outstanding
job. They received a referral from the Visual Environment Board making a recommendation to assign. And I just want to applaud the planning board for their thoughtful analysis, doing their jobs, you know, with... By the law and also doing outstanding research that went into it. And I think the outcome that they landed on was well received and I just wanna thank them as well as thank the Visual Environment Board. And then on October 24, on a happy Halloween note, there is an event at 11:30, the goblin walk. So hopefully, all little goblins can do... Can make that. And then at 2PM, the Halloween dog parade. If you have a dog, I highly recommend that. It's a lot of fun, and I think trustee Simon and myself will be judges. I don't know if anyone else will be judging on the board, but we look forward to that. So thank you.
Thank you very much. Oh, just a few things. Some some good news. Just, mentioned a few weeks ago, way back on September 19, we participated in a press conference organized by the firefighters association of New York FASNIE that that was urging the governor to sign legislation that had passed the the assembly and the senate to quadruple the the the the credits to individual volunteers from from 200 to 800 and up to 1,600 for married couples for firefighters and EMS. I'm just very pleased to note that the governor signed the bill four days ago, and and it will it will go into effect for the 2027 tax year. And, you know, our firefighters and EMS are are certainly, you know, worthy of that and deserve it. And so I'm I'm grateful to to everyone that that participated in this process and grateful certainly for the governor to having signed it. Secondly, just... I mentioned also these are some continuation of things that... Also in September, assemblywoman, Levenberg, and assemblyman, Burdick, held a meeting of all the municipalities in their districts to talk about possible housing initiatives at the state level. In the process of letting them know what was going on in Croton, I sort of emphasized our recently enacted housing... Affordable housing preference for for first responders, medical workers, and veterans, and had a follow-up meeting last week with with the Levenberg and Braddick staffs. They're... They were very interested in how we got to that point, the steps that we followed, and and whether there should be some some state legislative initiative related to that so that other communities might be able to take a look at that. So I just wanted to report on that. And, of course, on, on Sunday, what an amazing, Harry Chapin run against hunger.
Weather was beautiful. Attendance was amazing. I wanna thank, not only, Mike Graham, of course, the race director, but, dozens upon dozens of volunteers on every corner you you would see either police or d... DPW or EMS or or just folks, handing out water and and and cheering you on. It's a it's a great way, to see your neighbors because, they're mostly there. They're either running or walking or, or cheering you on, from their front porches or lawns. So another great year for for Harry Chapin. Last week also, we met with the the business council of Westchester, is a project being headed within their organization by Noam Bransome, the former mayor of New Rochelle. They're trying to put together a... An information process in which new businesses or expanding businesses can be more familiarized with individual municipalities and what they have to offer. So we'll be... This was sort of an initial approach to to us to sort of familiarize us with what their ideas are, and we'll be we'll be looking forward to working with them at later stages on this and, of course, involving our own business community. The... We we met also last week with our school system as part of our regular meetings with them, and I won't go into all the details of of those meetings other than to say there is great interest on their part in, in following up on our previous meetings about, the school system participating in in our composting program. This is already being done to a limited degree by Henhud High School, and our our goal in the next meeting is to see if we can get Croton-Harmon schools to at least that level. And so we'll... I'll I'll report back on on on that at a subsequent meeting. And on on on Friday night, last October 16, the mayor and I participated and attended a fundraiser for Mike Rickey of Chemical Engineering who's undergoing some treatment for serious illness, and this was to sort of help him and his family along. And I think we were both very, very grateful that Chemical Engineering put this together and that the turnout was so great. And we we wish Mike and and his family all the best. The seventeenth, as trustee Nachtaler mentioned, was just a a fantastic Hispanic heritage day. The mayor and I were were there as well as some of our other colleagues and
praise the idea committee. That's, I think, a great example of of some of the some of the fine work that, that they they do, have done on a regular basis in addition to their work on Juneteenth, their collective work with the Lorraine Hansberry coalition. These these are things I hope that we can continue to see from the idea committee and and and help help them be the best idea committee they can possibly be. And just one more that... And we'll have more information on this. We probably haven't talked enough about it this year, but this is the one hundredth anniversary of the dummy light. And we'll we'll be working with with village staff and with with our ABC Business Association for some appropriate recognition later in the year. Trustee Nachtaler mentioned Halloween and and both the goblin walk and the and the Howl Oween dog parade. So we're look... Looking forward to that. I want... I wanna add on to that. So not only is, Halloween just around the corner, but, if Halloween is close by, that means Thanksgiving is is pretty close. And, coming up on Thanksgiving morning will be the third of this this current iteration of the annual turkey trot, which our rotary organization does. And we'll we'll have lots more information on that, but it'll be Thanksgiving morning, the twenty sixth at 9AM. And all of the proceeds, will go to, as as has been in the past, to the Maria Ferreri Children's Hospital. So, look... We're looking forward to that. We had, it seemed to be between three and four hundred people last year at the high at the high school on on little turkeys. On a beautiful morning. Yeah. Well, it depends on your definition. So... But they were... We may have we may have a goat in a turkey. Yeah. Yeah. We had... There... There's a lot. There was some dress up there and there's some... There were pilgrims and others and the spirit's terrific. And just like,
you know, it had some of the same feel of Harry Chapin, but more specifically, you can just run the heck of... Out of yourself in the morning and then enjoy your Thanksgiving in the afternoon because you've you've done your exercise in the morning. What I'm gonna defer, we had our monthly call with with county executive Ken Jenkins and his team. Lot of interesting things to report on that. I think I'll just defer to the next meeting on that. None of them are are particularly time sensitive. So I'll just yield to my colleagues. Thank you very much. And we just met.
I don't really have a report because I just, recently got assigned to different liaisons. So I... Just gonna pull that up real quick. I am... My report will be very simple. I'm now a primary liaison to the recreation advisory committee, secondary to the arts and humanity, secondary to conservation advisory, secondary to police advisory committee. Not much more on my agenda other than I'm really excited to be here. I have lots of ideas and look forward to discussing with you all and what's best for the village and residents.
Thank you. Thank you, Matt. Alright. I would like to take this opportunity to, thank the idea committee for all that it has contributed to, the village and especially, the hard work of the chair on behalf of our community, most notably, recently, of course, the Hispanic Heritage Festival. I'd also like to welcome Patrick Turner to an exciting new chapter in his volunteer public service career. He is currently or was currently previously. He is, the alternate member of the zoning board of appeals with, Matthew's, ascension to the board of trustees that has created a vacancy on the zoning board of appeals. And I would like to, appoint, Patrick now to a full member of the ZBA with the board's assent. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by Trustee Simon, second by Trustee Nachtaler. All in favor? Aye. Aye. In terms of my regular activities, I, met with the... Or the... I was... Fulfilled my liaison duties to the conservation advisory council, last night, where they had a robust discussion about planning for the panel on leaf blower regulation that is anticipated in early November, and they've recruited some good panelists for that. Hopefully, that information can be published when it's ready. And also got to, sit in on the sustainability committee's meeting, this Sunday, between Harry Chapin activities. And, there was a lot to rep... Lot to share and people who are welcome to look at the full minutes when they're published, hopefully, before the end of this month. But I know that some people may have curiosity about the construction activity going on at the train station parking lot, and some of that is attributable to new EV charging infrastructure that's going in that will hopefully be available in early twenty twenty seven, which is
funded by a grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation. And, I will also be at the bicycle and pedestrian committee meeting tomorrow night and, also look forward to engaging in, some of the halloween festivities in the community.
Ana Ture, do you have a report? Yeah. I do. I just wanna have a supplemental report because I just wanted to give a couple, clarifications. So there was a a comment that was made earlier this evening during the public hearing about, answering questions. I do just wanna remind everyone that, you know, we do endeavor to answer questions. Unfortunately, a lot of the questions that are raised are somewhat sometimes technical in nature, and we don't have those answers at our fingertips. But we do appreciate people asking them. I wrote, you know, I wrote them down. We obviously also have them on the tape, and we will research them and, you know, try to get back to people as soon as possible. You know, if they're... The the rules of procedure do allow for... If it's, a question that can easily be answered, we can answer it in our reports. So we do try to do that when when possible. There was also a comment that was made about the the signage, individual signs. And just as a reminder, as we were talking about earlier this evening during the public hearing, the village board does not approve signage. That is done by the planning board. So, just wanted to clarify that. And then lastly, there was a comment that was made about the, fines for the leaf blower violations. The board has set the fines at up to $250. This board does not levy the fines. That's done by your separately elected village justice. It's a different branch of government. It's not this board. So you have you have given them a range of fines to choose from. So... And the prosecutor
That from personal experience. May may I just just add, last week was a work session that was trustee Berger's, first first meeting, so we don't really typically have comments and and things. But I just wanted... So now that this is our first official meeting, I just wanted to welcome him to the board and and look forward to working with him. We got a chance to work a little bit as... In my role as liaison as well as trustee Nachtaler to the zoning board. So we're we're glad to have you here on on the village board. And I I would just ask since it it it came up at some point during comments, a trustee participating remotely is state law.
Yes. It is. It's it's an optional provision in open meetings law, but the code, you have adopted a local law that permits remote participation. And and, again, participation is defined as the full rights of the trustee or the board member to vote to comment and vote as necessary. They again the only provision is they do not qualify toward your quorum because by law a quorum has to be present in one or more physically accessible locations. So you did have a quorum this evening and that does provide the opportunity for trustee Berger to participate fully as a member of the board of trustees. Yeah. I'd say in my my recollection, we end up using this,
almost always for very important reasons. It has it has to be based upon extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, the the address, the physical... The address of the physical location must be included in your meeting notice.