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APPROVED Minutes of the March 6, 2018 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Meeting

        Tuesday, March 6, 2018 6:30pm

             At the Village Hall

Approximate Attendance (19)

                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                    

Officers Present:                                                      

Greg Letica, Mayor

Pam Pierce, Deputy Mayor

Melvin Ettinger, Trustee

Laura Burke, Trustee

Ian Jablonski, Trustee

 

Officials & Appointees Present:

Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk

Bruce Migatz, Village Attorney, arrived approximately at 6:35pm.

Emily Hayes, Treasurer

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.

 

Trustee Jablonski made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for February 6, 2018 seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a motion to approve the Board of Assessment Review minutes for February 23, 2018 seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               Abstain

Trustee Jablonski                                         Abstain

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayors Report;” The Village spent a lot of time during the month of February and early March working on the seawall project and the tentative budget.  The ACOE has informed the Village that they are prepared to go forward and create a Locally Preferred Plan for the restoration of the seawall area.  There is a resolution on the agenda this evening which should be the final hurdle to cross prior to the Corps commencing. 

The tentative budget is nearing completion and will be presented to the Board of Trustees at a special meeting on Tuesday, March 20th at 4PM. 

I sent a letter on behalf of the Duck Island Dredging Committee to Senator Carl Marcellino requesting his assistance in finding money to pay for the needed core sampling.  The core sampling is required in order to determine the composition of the bottom of the harbor and then allow for the creation of a plan as to where it can be disposed.  The ideal circumstance is that is sand consistent with the Sound side beach which would make it possible to use for beach re-nourishment.

The Article 78 proceeding brought against the Village Planning Board, Duck Island Corporation and Jon Small was dismissed by the judge in an order dated February 21st and entered on February 23rd. I would like to thank Village Attorney Bruce Migatz for an excellent job guiding the Planning Board through its hearing process and his defense of their decision to approve the DIC subdivision.

The Village had to deal with winter storm Riley last weekend and will be looking at a new storm commencing this evening and continuing through until Thursday.  Riley caused some additional enlargement of the sinkhole which is now approximately the same size as it was last September  prior to the placement of the sandbags.  I informed all involved parties of the seawall condition earlier this week and asked for suggestions as to a better way to temporarily stabilize the situation.  I would like to thank the Huntington Highway Department for their help in cleaning up the road following the storm.

The Board of Assessment Review re-convened on February 23rd to consider 17 tax grievances.  1 property was granted an adjustment and the remaining 16 were denied. Separate minutes of this meeting are available for review. Two of the denied requests came from Eaton’s Neck LLC, better known as Sandpiper Farm.  Our village Attorney has been in contact with Eaton’s Neck LLC’s attorney and they are working to set up a meeting to discuss the matter.  The Village has a written understanding; dated August 7th 2012, with Eaton’s neck LLC that once the parcels were included in the Agricultural District by the Commissioner of Agriculture we would meet to discuss reasonable farm operation.  Additionally, this letter stated that Eaton’s Neck LLC will discuss appropriate payments to the village in lieu of taxes.

Finally, I sadly announce the passing of longtime resident Joan Hauser.  Joan lived in Asharoken for 48 years before moving to Tennessee a couple of years ago.  During her time here, she began the Asharoken Newsletter and was an active member of the Asharoken Garden Club.  She was also a writer who wrote a wonderful historical novel, A Life of Her Own, a pianist, a world traveler and an art collector.  But Joan will be fondly remembered for her work on the newsletter.  She made an indelible impression on the fabric of the village by passing on important Asharoken news as well as welcoming new residents. I would like to send my condolences out to her husband, Dick, and rest of her family”.

 

Trustee:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she attended a meeting on February 8th and on March 1st attended a press conference organized by Senator Carl Marcellino regarding the proposed tunnel/ bridge Long Island Sound crossing that Governor Cuomo had proposed. The emphasis on that was to oppose it.  On February 20th and February 23rd she attended the Board of Assessment Review meeting.  On February 27th along with Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse she attended a Shared Service meeting.  At the meeting a vendor was selected to create a web portal to gather all services and purchasing agreements across the County which will be available to other County municipalities.  This will enable other municipalities to utilize the site and vendors to be able to capture cost savings.  She reviewed the minutes and vouchers.

 

Trustee Ettinger reported that during the month he discussed police related matters with Officer Mahdesian and reviewed our next fiscal year budget. During the month he reviewed correspondence from the ACOE and NYSDEC.  On February 23rd he participated in the Board of Assessment Review meeting.  On March 2nd he monitored the effects of the Nor’easter and noted that around 561 Asharoken Avenue a tree came down as well as wires and the road was closed for a period of time.  He reviewed the Board of Assessment Review minutes, regular board minutes, vouchers and FOIL’s.

 

Trustee Burke reported that she reviewed the minutes, vouchers and village correspondence.

 

Trustee Jablonski reported that he reviewed the minutes, vouchers and village correspondence. He also reported on the sanitation data for 2015, 2016, 2017 he noted that the volume has been flat year to year.  There was a slight increase in overall volume in 2017 at 7%.  There are peaks in the summer months which is double that of February and March.  Single stream recycling fluctuates very little.  Single Stream has been approx. 25% of the overall volume of trash; Single Stream has been overall flat over the past three years.  He emphasized that we need to get the word out to encourage residents to recycle more.

 

Village Attorney:  Bruce Migatz reported that the Planning Board and the Zoning Board did not meet in February.  The Browne Article 78 against the Planning Board challenging the Duck Island Corp. subdivision was dismissed by the Supreme Courts in Suffolk County by order dated February 21st.  He reported that Akeson and Giunta did commence an Article 78 proceeding challenging the denial of the dock permits.  The original return date has been adjourned to May 1st and may be further adjourned; the parties have to work out a briefing schedule.

 

Village Treasurer: Emily Hayes Treasurer reported that the vouchers for the month of February were $42,640.20. Nothing unusual to report, there is a separate resolution to approve vouchers and budget transfers.

 

Officer-In-Charge:   Officer Ray Mahdesian reported that there were no arrests and 35 summonses. He noted that the department primarily prepared for the storms.

 

Sanitation Operator: Barry Bradley reported that Big Blue is running well. The total trash tons was 16.85, single stream was 6.16 tons and the total tonnage for the month is 23.01.

 

Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported that he discussed flood plain requirements on a property; he met with a homeowner on Beach plum to discuss expanding their deck. He investigated a resident’s complaint regarding a neighbor’s floodlights. He reviewed plans for renovation to a home on Bevin Road, he responded to questions regarding entry gate construction. He responded to a potential homebuyer inquiries regarding 535 Asharoken Avenue and completed 15 inspections for the month.

 

Conservation Board Chairman:  Marty Cohen had nothing to report.

 

Mayor Letica noted that public session will occur prior to the resolutions tonight only for this meeting because we have an important resolution, to discuss.

 

Public Session:

Mayor Letica opened up the meeting for public session.

During public session, eight comments/questions were made.

 

1.      A comment was made requesting more definite dimensions of the seawall area noted in the resolution. Mayor Letica noted that the seawall area encompasses going west from where the existing groin is.  It will extend towards Eaton’s Neck from the groin. It will be similar to what the ACOE proposed in the Feasibility plan. It’s not going further east of the groin.  

2.      A question was asked, who the sponsors are; Mayor Letica noted that the Federal sponsor is the Federal government, the State sponsor is the State and the Local sponsor is the Village.

3.      A question was asked who is going to pay for the project; Mayor Letica pointed out that we have funds set up in our reserve accounts and will most likely partner with the Town of Huntington on this project.

4.      A question was asked about why we need a Deputy Police Commissioner. Mayor Letica pointed out that we need back up if the Police Commissioner is not available.

5.      A comment was made on resolution 2018-22 concerning the seawall; in 1994 the beach lot owners near the seawall were asked to sign an easement. The owners freely signed the easement without any type of compensation. They received nothing in return; but a loss of beach, waves crashing over the seawall, and loss of a parking lot and destruction of the wetlands. The homeowners on the sound side received sand every year; no sand has been dropped in front of the seawall. Recently when the ACOE was willing to restore the sound side beach the offer was turned down by the residents. The village now wants the seawall and the beach in front of it restored, essentially the residents near the seawall will be asked again for a freebie. The beach lots remain unsalable; we hope to learn something over this long period of time. The Village and Town need this project for the residents, they should be willing to buy the property at FMV and relieve the tax burden of the beach lot owners. The village and town should consider restoring the wetlands as well. The bottom line is we need to satisfy the ability to secure the public access component before moving forward.

Mayor Letica thanked the resident, and noted that we have to get the ACOE to begin working on the study first. He also noted that we are working hard to find alternative means of funding that might not require public access.  This project may not require public access, we are not sure.  Right now we need to have the ACOE working on this; we need a plan from the ACOE as to how to fix it. We can’t lose the seawall and the roadway. 

6.      A comment was made on alternatives for sources of funding or other ideas. Mayor Letica noted that we are looking at NYS and the Highway Administration.  Deputy Mayor Pierce noted that we are researching other programs that we may qualify for. Federal Highway is an 80/20 split, ACOE is 65/35 split, and a State program is a 50/50 split.

7.      A question was asked if the Village knows where the dredged cubic yards of sand from the Coast Guard channel is going.  Mayor Letica noted that we have been told that we are not getting that sand. The resident also commented on a method that should be considered called the sand motor. He commented that the people along the sound side beach are exposed to other storms; this past storm was not huge but caused a lot of erosion.

8.      A question was asked about the Duck Island Corp road being worked on.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolutions:

Resolution (2018-13) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of February 2018.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-14) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of February 2018 in the amount of $42,640.20.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-15) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018 on the five -year term Fire, EMS and Paramedic service agreement between the Inc. Village of Asharoken and the Inc. Village of Northport.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-16) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018 on the tentative budget for fiscal year beginning 6/1/2018.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-17) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the Mayor to sign the 2018 agreement between the Village of Asharoken and Landscaper Patrick Parker from April 2018 to November 2018 to service the village grounds, clean-up sand at the corner of Bevin Road and around catch basins north of Bevin Road, total contract not to exceed $4,600.00.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

 

Resolution (2018-18) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board, does hereby approve E-Z Cesspool to clean out the catch basins in the Village of Asharoken in the amount not to exceed $3,750.00.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

 

Resolution (2018-19) Be It Resolved, that the Mayor does hereby appoint Ian Jablonski as an uncompensated Deputy Police Commissioner, for a term to end July 2018, subject to Board approval.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         Abstain

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-20) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the proposal from Oakleaf Inc. to repair the 5 MPH floating signs in the amount not to exceed $800.00.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-21) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of Newport Engineering. P.C. in the amount of $7,500.00; for professional engineering services to mill and repave Asharoken Avenue beginning at 232 Asharoken Avenue to 499 Asharoken Avenue.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2018-22)

Whereas, on March 21, 2001 the Department of the Army and the State of New York entered into an agreement (the “State Agreement”)to perform a Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study in the Village of Asharoken (the “Feasibility Study”) with the State of New York as the Non-Federal Sponsor; and

               

Whereas, on April 18, 2001 the State of New York and the Village of Asharoken entered into an agreement (the “Village Agreement”) wherein the Village agreed to be the Local Sponsor for the Feasibility Study;      

                 

Whereas, prior to completion of the Feasibility Study, the State of New York, by letter dated November 22, 2016, informed the Village of Asharoken that the Department of Army will not complete the Feasibility Study unless, among other things, the Village of Asharoken agreed to construct a specific project alternative for the entire area in the Feasibility study, which required public access to all private beaches to be replenished by the Department of Army; and

                

                Whereas, the Department of Army, by letter dated December 14, 2016, informed the State of New York that, since there has been no clear commitment on the part of the State of New York or the Village of Asharoken to construct a specific project alternative for the entire area in the Feasibility Study, which required public access to all private beaches to be replenished by the Department of Army, the Department of Army was stopping work on the Feasibility Study in accordance with Engineering Regulation, ER 1105-2-100, paragraph 4-3;

               

Whereas, on January 10, 2017 the Village Board adopted Resolution 2017-07 resolving that, in light of the Department of Army’s letter dated December 14, 2016, the Village of Asharoken considered the Village Agreement to be terminated by the action of the Department of Army and no further action will be taken by the Village of Asharoken with respect to the Feasibility Study; and

 

Whereas, the Department of Army and the State of New York have agreed to resume work on the Feasibility Study for the purpose of proposing a Locally Preferred Plan to develop a long term solution to restore the seawall along Asharoken Avenue and beach in front of it to protect the road; and

 

Whereas, the Department of Army informed the Village that in order for the Feasibility Study to progress to such Locally Preferred Plan, there must be an active agreement between the State of New York and the Village of Asharoken;

 

               Now Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Village Agreement is hereby re-instated for the limited purpose of permitting the Feasibility Study to progress to a Locally Preferred Plan to develop a long term solution to restore the seawall and beach in front of it, provided the solution does not require the Village to commit to public access, if required, to private beaches anywhere other than in the seawall area.

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

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                         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 Burke                                               AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                           AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                  AYE

Mayor Letica                                                  AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

               The March 6, 2018 Regular board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 7:30pm.         

Signed: _____________________________________________

               Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk