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DRAFT Minutes of the October 1, 2013 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

Held on Tuesday

October 1st 2013 7:30 P.M

At the Northport Power Plant

Approximate Attendance (25)

                                                                                DRAFT                

                                                                                               

Officers Present:

Greg Letica, Mayor

Pam Pierce, Deputy Mayor

Melvin Ettinger, Trustee

Laura Burke Trustee

 

Officials & Appointees Present:

Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk

Bruce Migatz, Village Attorney

Emily Hayes, Treasurer

Ray Mahdesian, Officer- in- Charge

Doug Adil, Superintendent of Buildings

Marty Cohen, Conservation of the Environment

Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Proof of publication was made.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for September 3rd, 2013, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

 

Mayor Letica made a request to add to the September minutes, the mayor’s condolences to retired officer William Uihlein’s family.

 

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the work session board minutes for September 24th, 2013, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce

 

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor’s Report:

Mayor Greg Letica reports, “On Saturday the 28th of September the Village ran its annual coastal- clean-up.  The Coastal Clean-up was organized by captains, Debbie Masterson, Michele Tilleli and Cathy Zimmermann.  Over 200 volunteers filled two 20-yard dumpsters with upwards of 5000lbs of trash.  Assisting as volunteers in running the event were Trustees Pierce, Ettinger, Burke and Jablonski, Tracy Aboff, Katie Zimmermann, Jamie Pierce and my wife, Linda.  Trustees Burke and Jablonski were instrumental in expanding the clean-up into the Duck Island wetlands.  The village partnered with the Town of Huntington who supplied us with the dumpsters. I would like to thank Deputy Supervisor Pat DelCol, from the office of Supervisor Frank Petrone, for eagerly agreeing to help us out when I asked if they could join our efforts by providing the dumpsters and then removing the trash. Finally thanks to Village Justice Mark Kleczka who allowed the Bevin Road dumpster to be placed in his driveway.  This was a fabulous event for the environment , provided Community Service hours for students, educated kids and adults about the need to keep the environment clean and showed how the village and Huntington can work together to make an excellent event even better.  The village should be very proud of our resident’s efforts to make this event a success and I would like to say thank you to all them for their very hard work and dedication to this terrific cause.

Deputy Mayor Pam Pierce and I met with Bob Allen and Charles Tyler from National Grid to discuss the 45,000 CYD sand placements on September 27th.  They will be dredging approximately 20,000 CYDs of sand from the outflow area and will have the remainder of sand brought in from an upland source.  They expect to commence on or about October 1st and should start sand placement around October 15th.  Sand deposition will commence at 100 Asharoken Avenue and continue in a westward direction.  The project should be completed by January 1st, 2014.

Following two rounds of emails with the ACOE/DEC in which I asked for a schedule of milestone dates for the major beach restoration project, I was informed that a tentative schedule has been created and a final draft should be done the week of October 21st. I also asked that this project be considered for construction in the winter of 2014-2015.  I was informed by Sue McCormick of the DEC that it is more likely that the project will commence in the fall of 2015.

On Friday, September 6th Police Officer Sid Lynn and I had the pleasure to taking Congressman Tim Bishop on a boat tour of Asharoken.  Congressman Bishop is the ranking Democrat on the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.  He was very interested in seeing Asharoken from the water and I had the opportunity to discuss the ACOE beach restoration of the sound side beach, the sea wall situation and dredging of Duck Island Harbor with the Congressman. The meeting was very constructive and Congressman Bishop offered to help the village in any way he could.  I would like to thank Officer Lynn for making this meeting possible.

At the request of the Duck Island Dredging Committee, I wrote to Ron Pinzon of the ACOE to see if core sampling could be included in the feasibility study. He responded “I posed this sampling to the team. Limiting factor could be that the amount of funds needed to incorporate this new sampling may put us over the amount identified to complete the study”.  He will get back to us.

The village met with John Skinnon, from Skinnon and Faber, CPA the village auditors, at our work session on September 24th and reviewed our annual audit. Mr. Skinnon reported that the village was in good financial shape especially after Sandy.  He mentioned that other villages that he audits are having financial difficulties.  The audit management report had three comments and recommendations: update the procurement policy, keep detailed records of assets for depreciation purposes and make sure that the abstract is signed before the checks are sent out.  The village had already acted on the major actionable recommendation of updating our procurement policy which was approved at the September meeting. The unsigned abstracts had been reviewed as in the monthly policy.  John also reviewed the court audit with the board.  I met with Police Officer Brian O’Connor on September 25th and discussed the recommendations for the court.  Officer O’Connor advised me that the suggested changes have been made to the court financial policies.

The village was unable to reach an agreement with Facilities Management Group for cost estimating, bid preparation and construction management for the new Village Hall.  On September 20th Trustee Ettinger and I had a meeting with Gannett Fleming for the same services.  Gannett Fleming was previously considered and the village is in the process of determining if they will be the right choice for our village hall project.  On September 18th I met with Gene Guido, Commissioner of Public Works for the Village of Northport.  Gene and I had a very productive discussion about village hall and he offered to help the village in any way that he could as the project progressed.

The Board of Trustees met with Paul Wotzak for an interview for the Assessor position at the work session.

The curb alteration project for the catch basins by Bevin Road has been completed. The alteration is expected to allow water running down Asharoken Avenue to reach and drain into the upper catch basin of the group of three. I would like to thank Andy Mendelsohn for his design and supervision work.  Asharoken Avenue between houses 361-413 had the sand cut back to expose the fog line and create a shoulder.  In addition vegetation on the sides of Bevin Road was trimmed back.  Asphalt road repair to several sections of Asharoken Avenue is expected to take place in October.

Anna Pollaci submitted her resignation from the Board of Zoning Appeals. I would like to thank her for her service to the village. I have appointed Michael Elsas to fill the term of Ed Toscano who resigned from the Board of Zoning Appeals last month.

John Ross submitted his resignation from the Village Hall Reconstruction Committee. Although I was disappointed to receive John’s letter of resignation from the Village Hall Reconstruction Committee I am glad to report that he will continue to do all he can to see the project through to completion. By creating the design for the new building John stepped up to the plate and delivered for Asharoken in a way that very few residents ever have.  There is no doubt that because of his assistance and guidance the village hall project is as far along as it is.  John invested countless hours in this project and I personally owe him a tremendous amount of gratitude. 

The village received reimbursement for the dune repair in the amount of $187,135.80 on September 11th. Special thanks to Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse for her persistence to get all of the needed paperwork through a difficult bureaucratic process.

The village is presently working on several grants;

1.       A capital grant for $50,000 through Senator Marcellino’s office.

2.       A Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMGP 404) through New York State Office of Emergency Management.

3.       The village is submitting a Justice Court Assistant Program grant for court software and construction costs to help subsidize the costs for our new village court room. 

 

The update for FEMA reimbursement for our Village Hall is moving forward, the project worksheet has cleared the review process of the Cost Estimate Forum, and the (CEF) department estimated the repairs to be close to the repair cost that the village submitted. The project worksheet is now with the Hazard Mitigation Department and then moves onto the Project Lead team for a final review.

 

Finally, on September 22nd I marched in the Cow Harbor Day parade.

Trustee Reports:

 

Mayor Letica noted that Trustee Jablonski was unable to attend and he read his report.

 

Trustee Jablonski, has been working on a village database, he met with Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse to review the information. He supervised the curb work performed by Christy Concrete.  He met with Trustee Burke to review the clean-out plan of the wetlands and participated in distributing letters to the residents informing them of the wetland clean-up.  He contacted the Town of Huntington to discuss dumpster containers for the coastal clean-up event.  He participated in the coast clean-up and directed Patrick Parker with the cutback of Bevin Road.  He attended the board work session on September 24th and reviewed the vouchers.

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she and Mayor Letica interviewed an assessor for the village, and recommended that the other board members interview him as well which occurred during our work session on September 24th.  She attended two meetings on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, one was a briefing and the second was a follow-up with representatives from the State to review the procedures.  She attended the work session held on September 24th and a meeting with Mayor Letica and National Grid representatives Bob Allen and Charlie Tyler to discuss the schedule of the placement of sand.  She participated in the Cow Harbor Parade and the Coastal Clean-Up event.  Deputy Mayor Pierce thanked Mayor Letica for his continuous communications with the ACOE and DEC regarding the beach restoration project.  She thanked the coastal clean-up team, and noted that so much work goes into the event and thanked Trustee Ettinger and Tracey Aboff and all the residents who volunteered their time.

 

Trustee Ettinger noted that during the month he was involved in several discussions pertaining to police matters.  He also worked with Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reviewing the overall police fleet, its vehicle repairs and the need to replace two of the police cars this year.  He reviewed the prospective bid package that will be sent out for competitive bids.  He met with the Mayor and Village Clerk regarding various construction options.  He reviewed a revised proposed estimate for a modular plan for the new Village Hall project.  He reviewed the audited Financial Statements and participated with the Mayor and the Village Clerk, interviewing Vincent Frisina with Gannett Fleming.  He participated in the Cow Harbor Day parade.  He attended the work-session held on September 24th, reviewed the monthly vouchers and participated with the Coastal Clean-up event held on September 28th.

 

Trustee Burke thanked all the residents who came out and participated in the wetland clean-out, she noted that it took approximately four hours to fill the 20-yard dumpster.  Most of the items that were collected were plastic and wood items.  She thanked Debbie Masterson, Michele Tilleli and Cathy Zimmermann as well as trustee Jablonski for a fantastic job.  She noted that she participated in the work session held on September 24th, assisted with the newsletter and reviewed the monthly vouchers.

 

Village Attorney:  Village Attorney Bruce Migatz reported on the Zoning Board calendar. The board met on September 30th.  There were three applications, 411 Asharoken Avenue for a Special Use Accessory permit, the variance was granted.  The second case was for 389 Asharoken Avenue for a side yard set-back variance for a generator, the variance was granted.  The third case was for 165 Asharoken Avenue for a Special Use Accessory permit renewal, the renewal was granted. He noted that the Zoning Board is working on updating its forms which are considered antiquated.  He noted that he and the Village Clerk have prepared preliminary drafts.  The Zoning Board is reviewing the drafts.  Village Attorney, Bruce Migatz noted that he recommended to the zoning board to schedule monthly meeting days.  He indicated that this helps the applicants with adjournment dates and avoids having to re-advertise.

 

Treasurer: Emily Hayes reported that the total vouchers for the month of September were $32,164.57 and that there were no unusual expenditures in the month of September. The village received its AIM (aid and incentives for municipalities) payment of $4105.00 this was an increase from last year in the amount of $521.00.

 

Sanitation Report: Barry Bradley reported that Big Blue is running well, trash pick-up was 25.77 tons, co-mingle were 2.4 tons and newspaper and cardboard was 3.5 tons for a total of 26.36 tons.

 

Officer-In- Charge:  Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported on Cow Harbor weekend, the department assisted Northport Police Department, including marine and land coverage.  He noted seventy water ski permits were issued this year. He thanked Joe Affrunti for a successful marine patrol season.  Not burglaries in the village for the month of September.  He reported 20 summons and 4 arrests.

 

Deputy Harbor Master:  Barry Bradley reported that the village is making arrangements to store the marine patrol vessel for the season as well as buoys.  Trustee Ettinger inquired about the new requirements relating to the boating license.  Village Attorney, Bruce Mitgatz noted that a change has occurred; originally Suffolk County was requiring everyone to take the boating safety class in order to get a boating license. Per Bruce the state law overrides the County requirement and the State law is requiring 18 year olds and under to have a boating license.

 

Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported on several plans that were reviewed in the month of September; porch addition, utility room and emergency back-up generator.  He noted that he performed 14 inspections this month and many residents are considering converting from oil to gas.  He has offered assistance for residents who are thinking of installing generators as well.

 

Conservation Board: Marty Cohen noted nothing to report.

 

Resolutions:

 

Resolution (2013-113) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of September 2013 in the amount of $32,164.57.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-114) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of September 2013.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-115) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the following policies for the Village of Asharoken; Investment policy, Sexual Harassment Policy, Jury Duty Policy, Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy, Time Off Policy, Smoke Free Policy and Health Information Policy, all policies must be reviewed on an annual basis prior to the Organizational Board Meeting.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-116) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby accept the audited Financial Statements for year end 5/31/2013, the Financial Statements have been filed with the Village Clerk, published and available for inspection.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-117) Be it Resolved, that the Mayor does hereby appoint Paul Wotzak as Assessor for the Village of Asharoken, at an hourly rate of $50.00, term to end July 2014.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-118) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the Village Clerk and/or Court Clerk to prepare an application to the 2013-2014 Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP) grant for funding of court software and court construction project, not to exceed $30,000.00.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-119) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the mayor to enter into a contract with Lindley Bros. Asphalt Paving Inc. to perform several repairs to Asharoken Avenue, for an amount not to exceed $6900.00.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-120) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the installation of snow fence near the beach dunes by Patrick Parker for an amount not to exceed $750.00.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-121)

                WHEREAS, the Village of Asharoken (the “Village”) is in need of two new police vehicles, and

                WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees finds that it is in the best interest of the Village to authorize the solicitation of bids for two new police vehicles;

                NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

                RESOLVED the Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to advertise for receipt of bids for the purchase of two new police vehicles in accordance with the specifications on file with the Village Clerk; and be it further

                RESOLVED that the Village Clerk is hereby authorized to publicly open and read bids on set day in accordance with the “Notice to Bidders”; and be it further

                RESOLVED that the Village Clerk is hereby authorized to reject said bids for good and sufficient reason and to re-advertise same under the authority herein granted without further action of this Board.

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

 

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Public Session:

Mayor Letica opened up the meeting to public session.

During public session nine issues were communicated to the Board.

Issues that were brought to the Board’s attention were the following:

1.       A thank you to the board for their help during the Coastal Clean-Up event.

2.       Location of sand placement further down Asharoken Avenue and the possible removal of the groin/jetty south of the seawall.

3.       Consideration of new police vehicles that have low emissions and good gas mileage and cars with turbo diesel engines.

4.       Clarification on the timeline relating to the beach restoration project.

5.       Dredging Duck Island Harbor and the concept the committee is working on.

6.       Concerns of the timeline of the beach restoration and putting together a committee to get public attention for the project and a concern that we only have one access throughout village.  Mayor Letica pointed out that the feasibility study still has to be complete and he has requested a schedule of milestone dates from the ACOE.

7.       Inquiry about the village hall project.

8.       Comment on other group’s level of involvement with the beach restoration project, such as the Coast Guard and Town of Huntington.

9.       Inquiry pertaining to the IMA (Inter-Municipal Agreement).

 

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

 

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to go into executive session to discuss a personnel matter, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

No action was taken during executive session. Executive session ended at 8:55 pm.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

        The October 1st, 2013 Board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.

                Signed: _____________________________________________

                Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk