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[MESSAGE JSNF-285-09]

DRAFT Minutes of the June 3, 2014 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

Held on Tuesday

June 3rd, 2014 7:30 P.M

At the Northport Power Plant

Approximate Attendance (75)

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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

Emily Hayes, Treasurer

Ray Mahdesian, Officer- in- Charge

Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator

Doug Adil, Superintendent of Buildings

Marty Cohen, Conservation of the Environment

Joe Affrunti, Harbormaster

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Proof of publication was made.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for May 6th, 2014, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

 

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayors Report:

Mayor Letica reported, “On Friday, May 30th, the Village received the final approval for the Village Hall project worksheet. After approximately 10 months of gathering information, inspections and reaching out to Congressman Israel for support, we finally received the final funding amount from FEMA.  The amount the village will receive will be $533,855.45 which is net of our 10% local share as well as all insurance deductions.  We are very close to completing our bid package and expect to begin advertising this month.

In addition the village received notice from FEMA that our request to extend 90% coverage of the cost of the Village Hall and police trailers has been extended to November of 2015.  The village is waiting for final approval for reimbursements in the amount of approximately $12,000 net of our local share.

I invited the DEC and the ACOE to attend our meeting this evening and to also take a look at the beach between homes 100-220 Asharoken Avenue.  They graciously agreed to both of these requests and are here this evening to give us a presentation and answer questions.

Final plans are being made to re-pave Asharoken Avenue from Bevin Road to the Eaton’s Neck property line and the re-stripe the road. This is tentatively scheduled to occur by the end of June.

I represented Asharoken at the Northport Fire Department Installation dinner and the American Legion Memorial Day ceremony at the park in Northport.

Finally I would like to congratulate our newsletter editor Joan Hauser on the publication of her first novel, A Life of Her Own.    The book is story of a Jewish family that immigrates to the United States from Russia in the early 1900s.  The story follows the family’s life in Manhattan and is both historical fiction and semi biographical.   The book is a terrific read and I would highly recommend it.  I am not quite done so if you have read it please do not spoil the ending for me.

 

Trustees:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that on May 12th she attended the Coast Guard emergency meeting on Maritime incidents.  She reviewed the local amendment for special use accessory permit and two proposals from engineers for the shoulder work at the Bevin Road area.  She reviewed the May’s Board of Trustee minutes, the monthly vouchers and took photos of the beach as well as reviewed West Hampton Dunes beach access plan.

 

Trustee Ettinger reported that he reviewed the Village Hall’s latest draft of the Village Hall bid package. He discussed police matters with Officer-in-Charge Mahdesian.  He attended May’s court sessions and reviewed the IMA Marine agreement and the monthly vouchers.

 

Trustee Burke reported that she has been working on securing the majority of the village residents e-mail address in order to communicate more effectively.  She is working on this year’s blood drive which will be held on June 17th.  She noted that last year we collected 66 pints and hopes to exceed that number.  She reviewed the monthly vouchers.

 

Trustee Jablonski reported that he continues to work on the shoulder area project by Bevin Road and reviewed the two proposals submitted by two engineers.  He has reviewed the amendment to the Zoning Chapter and reviewed the monthly vouchers.

 

 Village Attorney:  He reported that no decision was made from the court for the Holmes Article 78.  The Zoning Board had one case on their May 19th calendar which was for a side-yard setback variance for applicants Craine and Verdone. The hearing has been continued to June 16th.  The Village Clerk received two preliminary sketches for sub-divisions, one from Duck Island Corp and the second one from John H. Rittenhouse, the Planning Board meeting will be held on June 23rd to discuss whether the classification of the subdivisions are major or minor.

 

Officer-In- Charge:  Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported that the marine patrol has commenced on May 17th.  He reported that no burglaries have been reported in the Village for the month of May.

 

Sanitation: Sanitation Operator, Barry Bradley reported on Big Blue which is running well.  Trash pick-up was 29.79tons, Co-mingle was 2.07 tons and News and Cardboard was 4.65 tons, totaling 38.06 tons.

 

Treasurer: Treasurer Emily Hayes reported that the total of the vouchers for the month of May were $53,935.34. A separate resolution to approve the vouchers and related budget transfers will be made. Included in the vouchers for the month are payments to Fireworks by Grucci for $8,750.00, Tax grievance refunds for $3410.50 and auto & boat repairs for $5313.89.

 

 

Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported on 18 inspections for the month of May.  He discussed requirements for swimming pools, rock revetment, and discussed a walk-through inspection on an existing home.

 

Conservation of the Environment: Marty Cohen noted no report at this time.

 

Resolutions:

Resolution (2014-57) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of May 2014.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2014-58) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of May 2014 in the amount of $53,935.34.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2014-59) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve a tent permit for Tony Graziano located in the beach lot area for the time period of July 4th, 2014 thru July 6th, 2014.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2014-60) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby authorize the advertisement of the sale of the 2006 Ford Crown Victoria police vehicle on NYCOM marketplace, Craig’s List, village website and paper of record with a minimum bid of $500,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

                RESOLVED the Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to advertise for sale the 2006 Ford Crown Victoria police vehicle; 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 Ettiner made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2014-61) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, July 1st, 2014 to discuss a local law amending Chapter 125 of the Village Code entitled “Zoning”.

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2014-62) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the adjustment to the fiscal budget for year end 5/31/2015 for an increase in the Start-up Income (A1000.000) and an increase in the Highway Repairs/State Aid CHIPS account (A5110.451) for $46,703.75.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

                                                                          

Resolution (2014-63)

WHEREAS, the Village of Asharoken (the “Village”) is in need of a new Village Hall, and

                WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees finds that it is in the best interest of the Village to authorize the solicitation of bids for a new constructed village hall;

                NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

                RESOLVED the Village Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to advertise for receipt of competitive bids required by Section 103-d of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York for the construction of a new Village Hall in accordance with the specifications of the village hall bid package filed 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 Ettiner made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica introduced the Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Conservation.  He indicated that both agencies will provide a presentation on the Beach Restoration Project.

 

Sue McCormick with NYSDEC began, by stating that their presentation will include the following; how the Army Corps of Engineer project progresses, the history of the Beach Restoration Project, the engineering aspects of the project, what is needed to take the agencies to the end of the feasibility study, the responsibility of the local government and the schedule of progress.

 

Gene Brickman with ACOE pointed out that if you don’t except this project than your accepting not to be protected by future storms, beach erosion and road wash over. He also pointed out that if we don’t do this project now than it will be a very long time before another opportunity like this one will come again.

 

Ron Pinzon with ACOE pointed out that a lot of beach replenishment work has been started on the south shore. The reason for this is that they were already authorized and approved by congress prior to Sandy.  The work that is being done now is replenishment work needed because of the damage by Sandy.  When Asharoken beach project is complete and if additional storm damage occurs than the federal government will come back and replenishment free of charge.

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a comment that the Fire Island and Montauk Project (FINP) which was signed in the 1960’s only received the funding because of Sandy, they waited 50 years for their project to get started, we are only waiting approximately13 years.

 

Mayor Letica opened up the meeting for questions.

During the presentation approximately twenty comments and questions were communicated to the NYSDEC and ACOE and Board of Trustees.

1.       What is the village requirement to the state.

2.       Observation on possibly getting independent engineers to review the plan.

3.       Comment on getting the town and county to share the costs.

4.       Question on how the sand from Duck Island Harbor can be utilized on the Soundside beach.

5.       Question on how wide the public access points have to be.

6.       Question was made about the construction costs and replenishment costs and the local share.

7.       Questions on easements signed off by the property owners, what is accessible by the public.

8.       Comment on how Westhampton Dune manages their public access.

9.       Question on parking.

10.   Question on parking, Sue McCormick indicated that the village needs to provide the ACOE a plan.

11.   Question on groins and asked to discuss at a later date with the ACOE.

12.   Question on another borrow site for the one-time dredging for the project, ACOE pointed out that the specific borrow site had a web of cables located under the sand which makes it hard to dredge.

13.   Question on providing a dredging sample from Duck Island Harbor.

14.   Question on the difference between a groin and a jetty.

15.   Question on public access and the turnaround of time of the project.

16.   Comment on groins, limitation of putting down 600,000 cubic yards of sand and comparison to West Hampton Dunes. The ACOE pointed out that the 600,000 cubic yards was for a pre-Sandy plan.  The placement of sand can be far more than 600,000 cubic yards. The DEC/ACOE must follow the (NED) federal rule, which stands for (National Economic Development) meaning that a plan that has federal participation must provide the maximum benefit relative to cost. 

Per the DEC/ACOE the reason why more sand was provided to West Hampton Dunes was because it was a special circumstance; there was a court order issued.  A law suit against the County, State and ACOE was filed by the community.

17.   Question on breakwater structures.

18.   Commented on the project; hard and soft barriers and that it ultimately protects the roadway and discussed the models used by the DEC and ACOE. The DEC pointed that that we are continuing to run our models to ensure that the sand stays on the beach at least for 50 years.

19.   Question on groins and how they may benefit the beach or have a negative effect. The DEC pointed out that they will refer to their models and will not issue a permit until they can be sure that the structure will not impact any neighboring properties negatively.

20.   Comment on the dredging site and the location being so far from the beach.

 

Mayor Letica thanked members of the NYSDEC and USACOE for coming to present and explain many details about the Beach Restoration Project and he thanked the residents for asking thoughtful and important questions that will help us go forward.

 

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

Trustee Jablonski                                            AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

        The June 3, 2014 Board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 10:00 pm.

                Signed: _____________________________________________

                Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk