Incorporated Village of Asharoken
Board of Trustees Meeting & Public Hearing
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 6:30pm
At the Village Hall
Approximate Attendance (13)
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
Emily Hayes, Treasurer
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.
Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for December 5, 2017 seconded by Trustee Jablonski.
Trustee Ettinger AYE
Trustee Burke AYE
Trustee Jablonski AYE
Deputy Mayor Pierce AYE
Mayor Letica AYE
Motioned Carried.
Mayors Report;” On December 15th the Village hosted a meeting organized by Congressman Tom Suozzi to continue the effort to restore the failing seawall. The meeting was attended by Supervisor Frank Petrone, Deputy Supervisor Pat DelCol, Councilwoman Tracey Edwards, officials from the USACE; State Legislator Andy Raia, Col. Thomas Asbery and Col. Lee Parrot from the USACE, and other officials from TOH, DOT, USCG, and the NYSDEC. The meeting was very productive with a strong feeling of cooperation between all parties for the area of the Seawall. As a result of the meeting the Village and Town will request that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) ask the Corps to conduct a study and create a focused long-term solution, which we understand would be called a Locally Preferred Plan (LPP), for the area of the Seawall. I would like to point out a couple of very important points at the outset of this project. The Village and Town were told that in order to receive federal money to construct any project resulting from the study, we will be required to implement public access requirements in the Seawall area only, if any are deemed necessary by the study. The Village and Town were advised that the public access requirements, if any, will be commensurate with the anticipated recreational use of the Seawall area. The Village and Town were informed that they are under no obligation to implement any component of the study or to construct a LPP until they sign a Local Project Partnership Agreement with the NYSDEC. The Village and Town were advised that the cost of the study will be fully paid for with federal funds and that the Corps will cost share up to 65% of implementing the LPP. The Village and Town were also notified that any engineering work that is created in the study will be available for their use even if the Corps does not construct the LPP. The letter is the first step in a multi-year process to restore the seawall. For now, we will be waiting to hear back from the Corps with their decision to commence the study. Any decisions regarding the specifics of the LPP can be expected to be many months to years down the road.
The Village will also look for other funding sources. To that end, Deputy Mayor Pierce and I joined Suffolk Legislator Doc Spencer, new Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, Deputy Supervisor DelCol and Bill Hillman, Chief Engineer County of Suffolk, yesterday morning. This meeting was the initial attempt to seek funding from NYSDOT to help with the project. The Village and Town will continue pursuing this avenue in parallel with the ACOE overture in the next few months.
The Village hosted Santa on December 17th. The reindeer were given a Sunday off Santa arrived by a Northport Fire truck. The joy on the faces of the kids was just great to see. I would like to thank Beefy Varese for being Santa and Jake Milliken for acting as his chauffer. Prior to the arrival of Santa there was terrific performance by the acapella group Valance. They did a great job singing Christmas carols and Broadway tunes. The highlight of the performance was the solos sung by the Village’s own Emily Rittenhouse. I hope that they will come back next year so more people can get to enjoy this extremely talented group of young people. Big thanks go out to Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse who organized this incredible afternoon.
On January 2nd I attended the inauguration of Supervisor Lupinacci, Councilmen Mark Cuthbertson and Ed Smyth, and Highway Supervisor Kevin Orelli.
Trustee:
Deputy Mayor Pierce wished everyone a Happy New Year. She reported that she attended the meeting on December 15th with Congressman Suozzi she also attended the Santa visit, the Town of Huntington inauguration and the meeting on January 8th with Suffolk County and the Town of Huntington for NYS Department of Transportation possibilities. She reviewed the minutes, vouchers and IMA for shared services.
Trustee Ettinger wished everyone a Happy New Year, he reported that during the month he spent time reviewing police related matters. He reviewed the police staff schedule and the draft department budget for the upcoming fiscal year. On December 17th he attended the Santa visit, it was a wonderful event. He thanked Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse for organizing the event. On January 4th he monitored the snow storm with the police department. The road was closed for a short time to remove a tree that fell across the roadway. He reviewed the draft letter, minutes, vouchers, and FOIL’s.
Mayor Letica noted that PSEG did a great job during the winter storm.
Trustee Burke wished everyone a Happy New Year, this month she reviewed the minutes, vouchers and the village correspondence and draft letter. She reported that she worked on the end of the year newsletter. She went through the highlights of the year. The year kicked off with the public hearing on the ASDRP, which was the last stop for the project, the village received a no designation score, which is the top score for fiscal health management, we lost long time resident Gerhard Spielmann, three grants were received for police equipment, in March a nor’ester hit Asharoken, Steve DeMarco was hired as a new PT police officer, Soles4Souls program occurred, we lost Annette Carr a long time resident, Linda Letica and Carole Casamassima presented $8,500 to support the fireworks event, in 2017/2018 budget was approved with a zero percent tax increase for the second year in a row, local law 2-2017 for waterways was passed, local 3-2017 for trees was passed, in June both Deputy Mayor Pierce and Trustee Jablonski were re-elected, Pam was appointed as village representative for the Shared Service Panel, , the fireworks event took place, Mayor Letica had seawall repair discussions with Congressman Suozzi, NYSDEC and USACE, the kayak rack was built, Officer Henry Brooks passed away, Deputy Mayor Pierce was awarded the “Women of Distinction” award, emergency manager Bill Raisch hosted an emergency meeting, an in-line check valve was installed to mitigate flooding, Officer-in-Charge Ray Mahdesian was honored at the Cow Harbor Warrior’s weekend, Mayor Letica coordinated the repair at the seawall, coastal clean-up event took place, the village concluded contract negotiations with the APD, local law 4-2017 Buildings unsafe was passed, the financial audit was finalized, the holiday party was a success, Santa visited the village, the board of trustees voted not to approve the two dock applications and Asharoken welcomed 12 new homeowners to the village.
Trustee Jablonski reported that he reviewed the minutes the vouchers and the draft letter to the ACOE.
Village Attorney: Bruce Migatz noted that the Zoning Board, ERB Board and Planning Board did not meet in December. He noted that there is no decision on the Article 78 proceeding to challenge the sub-division approval of Duck Island Corporation; the court has scheduled a conference to discuss the case on January 25th.
Village Treasurer: Emily Hayes Treasurer reported that the vouchers for the month of December were $42,801.85. Nothing unusual to report, there is a separate resolution to approve vouchers and budget transfers.
Officer-In-Charge: Officer Ray Mahdesian reported that we had no burglaries or break-ins in the past year. Summons for the year were 317 traffic tickets, 165 were speeding, 28 arrests, we are well equipped and are happy for the support from the mayor and the board. Trustee Jablonski asked about auto accidents involving deer; Officer Mahdesian reported that we had 18 auto vehicle accidents, 3 involved deer, 6 separate reports for dead deer, no vehicle or operator noted.
Sanitation Operator: Barry Bradley reported that Big Blue is running well. The total trash tons was 23.84 tons, single stream 8.13 tons for total tonnage for the month being 34.26 tons. Yard waste was 2.29 tons a total of 269 bags.
Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported that he discussed plans for renovating a newly purchased home. He reported on 14 inspections that were performed for the month.
Conservation Board Chairman: Marty Cohen had nothing to report.
Mayor Letica reported that the next item on the agenda will be a public hearing on a local law 1-2018 authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the limit established in General Municipal law §3-c. The intent of this local law is to allow the Village of Asharoken to adopt a budget for the fiscal year commencing 6/1/2018 that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the “tax levy limit” as defined by General Municipal Law § 3-c.
Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse read the public hearing notice.
Mayor Letica noted that overriding the NY State 2% tax cap is the normal first step in the budget process that the Village has done in the last five years. Fortunately it has never been needed. This legislation provides the village with the financial flexibility to do what is right for Asharoken without the constraints of an arbitrary tax limit imposed by NY State. Passage of this law gives Asharoken a safety net should unexpected expenses arise or revenue shortfalls occur prior to finalizing the budget. Examples could include extreme snow removal cost, police overtime should we have a significant storm or other unanticipated fiscal events.
The village is in the very earliest phases of determining the 2018-2019 budget. I would like to stress that adoption of the override law should not be interpreted or assumed to mean that the village intends to have a tax increase above the 2% threshold. Just as the village has to finalize the assessment roll, determine expense budgets and revenue streams, the proposed law is part of the Village’s due diligence to prepare a realistic budget for the next fiscal year. It is in the best interest of the Village to adopt the law with the hope and expectation that it will not be needed.
Should a tax increase be required, the Board of Trustees will do it’s best to minimize it. This is even more of a priority now with the cap on the deductibility of State and Local taxes on your federal income tax return. Asharoken has a long history of fiscal conservatism. During the last five years when I have been Mayor the average tax increase has been 1.35% and there has been no increase for the last 2 years. The Board and I will be striving for similar results for the new budget.
Mayor Letica opened up the public comment period.
No comments were made.
Mayor Letica closed the public hearing, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.
Trustee Ettinger AYE
Trustee Burke AYE
Trustee Jablonski AYE
Deputy Mayor Pierce AYE
Mayor Letica AYE
Motioned Carried.
Resolutions:
Resolution (2018-01) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of December 2017.
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 (2018-02) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of December 2017 in the amount of $42,801.85.
Deputy Mayor Pierce 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 (2018-03) Be it Resolved that the Village Board, does hereby approve in accordance with the provisions of the Election Law of the State of New York, the 2018 Annual Village Election in the Village of Asharoken shall be held on June 19th, 2018, and be it further resolved that the offices to be filled at said election and the terms thereof are as follows:
Trustee, two (2) years
Trustee, two (2) years
Mayor, two (2) years
Justice, four (4) years
Be it resolved that the polling place will be held at the Village Hall, 1 Asharoken Avenue, Northport, NY 11768 during the hours of 12 noon to 9:00 pm, subject to change.
Mayor Letica 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 (2018-04) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board of the Village of Asharoken, does hereby approve the local law 1-2018 authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the limit established in General Municipal Law §3-c for the fiscal year commencing 6/1/2018.
Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Mayor Letica.
ROLL CALL:
Trustee Jablonski AYE
Trustee Burke AYE
Trustee Ettinger AYE
Deputy Mayor Pierce AYE
Mayor Letica AYE
Resolution (2018-05) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the mayor to sign the engagement letter from Skinnon & Faber CPA for the village audit in the amount between $9,000 to $9,800 and court audit in the amount of $700 for year end 5/31/2018.
Trustee Ettinger 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 (2018-06) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the mayor to sign the Multi-Modal Supplemental Agreement Schedule No. 02 to the Master Agreement Contract No. D026891, project ID No. OMS572.30A for $70,000, between the New York State Department of Transportation and the Village of Asharoken for Highway Resurfacing.
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 (2018-07) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the purchase from G.E. Pickering, Inc. for an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), AED cabinet, and spare smart pads and battery, cost not to exceed $1700.00.
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.
Resolution (2018-08) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the Mayor to draft a letter to the USACE referencing the Village’s support of a Locally Preferred Plan (LLP) for a permanent solution to protecting Asharoken Avenue in the area of the Seawall from future storms and erosion.
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 (2018-09) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the Mayor to sign the Inter-municipal Cooperation agreement between County of Suffolk and SuffolkShare Members for the purpose of facilitating shared services.
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.
Mayor Letica opened up the meeting for public session.
During public session, two comments/questions were made.
1. A resident commented on where the village funds are for the previous Feasibility Study. Mayor Letica noted that all the Feasibility Study reserve funds are in our reserve bank account. He also asked about the Federal Highway Administration and if there is any chance of getting funds from FHWA. Deputy Mayor Pierce noted that the village is working with Department of Transportation for federal monies filtering down from NYS. He commented that he and another neighbor are opposed to the 6:30pm start time.
2. A resident asked about the ACOE project and where it is, Mayor Letica pointed out that it is only in the Seawall area. The resident asked about the role of First Coastal Consulting. Mayor Letica pointed out that First Coastal will put together a package and documentation to aid the village with requesting grants from DOT. They also are a good liaison between the Village and ACOE since they have good contacts with ACOE. The resident asked about the coast guard cove dredged material.
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.
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 January 9, 2018 Regular board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 7:25pm.
Signed: _____________________________________________
Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk