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[MESSAGE JSNF-285-09]

APPROVED Minutes of the August 1, 2017 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Meeting

        Tuesday, August 1, 2017 7:30pm

             At the Village Hall

Approximate Attendance (20)

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Officers Present:                                                         

Greg Letica, Mayor

Pam Pierce, Deputy Mayor

Melvin Ettinger, Trustee

Ian Jablonski, Trustee

 

Officials & Appointees Present:

Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk

Bruce Migatz, Village Attorney

Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator

Doug Adil, Superintendent of Buildings

Raymond Mahdesian, Officer-in-Charge

Marty Cohen, Chairman of the Board of Conservation

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Publication of meeting was confirmed.

 

Mayor Letica thanked Judy Ross for presenting a gift to the Village of a framed photo of the new Village Hall.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board Organizational meeting minutes for July 11, 2017 seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica reported, “We met on May 5th with the ACOE and the NYSDEC to talk about the seawall, at that time it didn’t seem that we were making much progress.  On July 15th I wrote to Colonel Asbery who is the new commander of the New York District, and explained that the seawall is falling apart and it is protecting a very vulnerable stretch of Asharoken Avenue. If it is destroyed Eaton’s Neck could be isolated. The safety and wellbeing of several thousands of Village and Town of Huntington residents could be at risk.  With the hurricane season looming, I request that the ACOE immediately evaluate the seawall, determine the failure mechanism of the depression, develop an engineering solution to repair or replace the seawall and provide a source of means to fund the project.  I noted that we should act proactively to avoid the seawall from eventual destruction, causing serious impact to the people that rely on it. I contacted Congressman Tom Suozzi and asked him to call the ACOE and within a week two engineers with the ACOE inspected the wall, Deputy Mayor Pierce was present as well.  They took the situation seriously; this is a first step in getting a repair or replacement of the seawall.  During our Village election we had some write-in votes, and nine were for our attorney general Eric Schneiderman, I wrote him a letter.  Dear Attorney Schneiderman you received nine write-in votes for the position of trustee for the June 20th village election, only 102 votes away from being elected. Additionally you beat Thomas DiNapoli NYS Comptroller by seven votes. I would have been honored to have you serve alongside me had you been elected, perhaps next consider a couple of lawn signs.  He wrote back, Dear Dr. Letica thank you for sharing the election results with me.  Needless to say I am honored and humbled for the support from Asharoken Village residents.  I hope you and they are enjoying the beautiful Long Island summer.  Thank you for passing on the good news in such a charming manner, please do not hesitate to contact should you have any concerns you would like to bring to my attention. I look forward to work with you on behalf of the people.”

 

 Trustees:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that during the month she attended the Suffolk County Shared Services meetings on July 5th and 19th as well as the public meeting on the Shared Services Initiative program at Huntington Town Hall.  I also representative the Village at a meeting held by Congressman Suozzi on July 21st and was able to express our concerns about the seawall.  He was very supported and contacted the USACE as well.  A site inspection was arranged for July 27th which was attended by two coastal engineers with the ACOE along with Ben Spratford of First Coastal Environmental Consultants.  The ACOE engineers will be writing an inspection report within the month.  Their concerns after viewing the seawall were that the core stones have moved elsewhere towards the water creating openings and spaces.  They promised to get the report completed.  She noted that she reviewed the minutes and vouchers for the month.

 

Trustee Ettinger noted that during the month he spent time with Officer Mahdesian regarding police matters. He worked with two contractors that were hired to install attic fans and install a fire warning strobe light and alarm.  During the month he reviewed a number of FOILS and correspondences, minutes and vouchers for the month.

 

Trustee Jablonski noted that he reviewed the minutes and vouchers for the month.

 

Village Attorney:  Bruce Migatz reported that it was a quiet month and neither board’s met.

 

Village Treasurer: Nancy Rittenhouse reported for Emily Hayes Treasurer and reported that the total vouchers for the month of July were $48,005.94, nothing unusual to report. There is a separate resolution to approve vouchers and budget transfers.

 

Officer-In-Charge:   Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported that we have had a very active month 54 summons and 2 arrests.

 

Sanitation Operator: Barry Bradley reported that Big Blue is running well. The total trash tons was 36.71 single stream 9.04 tons for total tonnage for the month being 46.67 tons.

 

Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported that he reviewed a variety of plans this month.  Reviewed construction plans for new stairway to a bulkhead/patio at a home on Duck Island; he re-reviewed plans for a new garage and plans for an addition to a home on Beach Plum Drive. He is reviewing other plans for a detached garage on Asharoken Avenue. He investigated an existing dock at a home on Asharoken Avenue to verify if the dock has been substantially altered; no change in length or width, no issues found. He reviewed original files for existing home on Asharoken Avenue elevated decks attached to house were determined to be original. He reviewed plans and NYSDEC permit for a bluff stabilization project; plans require input from the Conservation Board. Thirteen inspections were performed this month. Mayor Letica asked to clarify the information that was submitted regarding the dock in Doug Adil’s report. Doug Adil indicated that the dock is not brand new but there were a number of plastic dock panels replaced, there wasn’t a substantial number that would trigger an alteration.

 

Conservation Board Chairman:  Marty Cohen noted that he had nothing to report this month.

 

Resolutions:

 

Resolution (2017-85) Be it Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of Champion car wash in the amount of $100.00 per month to service the entire police fleet.

Trustee Ettinger reported on the reason for the proposed increase.  The police department averages about 15-20 carwashes a month, Champion Carwash charges $24 a carwash.  Trustee Ettinger recommended the proposed increase and indicated that it was reasonable based on the usage by the department.

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-86) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of July 2017.

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-87) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of July 2017 in the amount of $48,005.94.

 

Trustee Jablonski made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-88) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve a tent permit for the Sank  Family located at 168 Asharoken Avenue for the time period of October 6, 2017 thru October 9, 2017.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-89) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, September 5th, 2017 to amend Chapter 46 (Buildings, Unsafe).

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Mayor Letica noted that we have a number of buildings in the village that are becoming nuisances for our neighbors. The village is looking to have leverage to resolve these problems. Some of these structures pose serious health issues for the neighbors.  Our current code is not sufficient to deal with these issues on a village basis.  We are looking to put together an ordinance that will allow us to work with these issues.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-90) Be it Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the street work permit for National Grid to install a gas hook-up for 315 Asharoken Avenue, surety performance bond is on file for $10,000.

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

Resolution (2017-91) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve an amendment to the investment policy section (VII) (Designation of Depositories) increasing the maximum deposit amount for First National Bank of Long Island from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a motion to approve, seconded by Mayor Letica.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2017-92) Be It Resolved, that the Mayor does hereby appoint the following uncompensated individual to the Board of Conservation of the Environment Committee, Lucy Davies, as member for a one year term to end July 2018, subject to board approval.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica opened up the meeting for public session.

During public session, two comments was made.

1.    A comment was made on whether the public will see a draft of the “Unsafe Buildings” amendment. Mayor Letica noted that yes the proposed amendment will be available before the public hearing. A question on where the bluff stabilization is located; Doug Adil noted that its north east facing Long Island Sound.

2.    A comment was made on the sinkhole near the seawall.  He noted that the focus should also be on the wash over; many of the owners in that area have lost their beach as well.

Mayor Letica noted that it appears that the sink hole got the attention of the ACOE; absent the sinkhole they might not have been so quick to evaluate it. The wash over is a critical factor and is being focused on as well.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to close the public session, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

                The August 1, 2017 Regular board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 7:55pm.              

Signed: _____________________________________________

                Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk