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APPROVED Minutes of the October 4, 2016 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

        Tuesday, October 4, 2016 7:30pm

             At the Village Hall

Approximate Attendance (32)

                                                                               

                                                                                               

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

Raymond Mahdesian, Officer-in-Charge

Marty Cohen, Chairman for the Conservation Board

Joseph Affrunti, Harbormaster

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Mayor Letica requested, proof of publication, Village Clerk confirmed.

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for September 6, 2016, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  Abstained

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor’s Report:

Mayor Letica reported, “The Coastal Cleanup was another outstanding success.  Great thanks go out to Deb Masterson, Cathy Zimmerman and Michele Tilleli for organizing the event.  They were ably assisted by Pam and Jamie Pierce and Tracy Aboff.  Cathy’s father, Mr. Cupertino, made the seal that is now part of the Village notice sign.  The cleanup once again was supported by the Town of Huntington that provided the dumpster and allowed us to use the beach parking lot. Thanks to Deputy Supervisor Pat DelCol for her help.  As always the dumpster was filled to the brim and the environment was the big winner.  The great aspect of this event is that it gives kids a chance to earn community service credits while they develop an understanding of how important it is to help take care of the world around us.  The volunteers got certificates for participating as well as well-deserved treats when they returned from a hard day cleaning up the beach.  Deb, Cathy, Michele, Pam, Jamie and Tracy really make this a fun and educational day for everyone.  Super job once again. On November 5th at the Northport Yacht Club, our Holiday Party will take place.  Thanks to Carole Casamassima for once again organizing a wonderful event for everyone to enjoy. 

I would like to congratulate John Ross for his induction into the Northport High School Athletic Hall of Fame.  John is being recognized for being an outstanding gymnast during high school.  Chris Mendelsohn, Andy Mendelsohn’s son, was the Village’s first inductee.  Chris was a member of the soccer team that won the NYS championship. 

The Village received notice from Charlie Tyler of National Grid that the placement of 45,000 CYDs of sand will commence on or about Wednesday, October 12.  Presently about 6000 cyds of sand are staged and ready to go in the Soundview Boat Ramp parking lot.  The Village expects to hire a contractor this evening to repair the three concrete groins on the east side and five steel groins on the west side of Asharoken Beach.  The delay in placing the sand is actually a help as it will give the Village a chance to complete the groin work at 138 Asharoken.

October 1st was the opening of deer hunting season in New York State.  Like many other communities in NY, Asharoken and Eaton’s Neck have a serious problem of deer overpopulation.  Deer pose serious risks in a community like ours with frequent car accidents, the spread of very dangerous tick borne diseases like Lyme’s Disease and Babeosis and lastly deer destroy homeowners landscaping as well as habitat for other animals.   Left un-managed the herd will simply increase in population size until it is limited by the food supply.  During that time all of the detrimental effects of deer will simply increase. The health and safety of the residents of Asharoken and Eaton’s Neck has to be the priority.   Our concern is for our residents, and the deer/car accidents and the number of adults and children being infected with Lyme.

The Village received several emails from residents asking that Asharoken look into a sterilization/contraception plan to reduce the number of deer.  In response, Clerk Rittenhouse and I spoke to Leslie Lupo, a deer Biologist with the NYSDEC in Stony Brook.  Contraception she indicated is very expensive, a deer has to be caught and injected and then caught a second time for a second dose. Each round of the contraceptive costs between $500 to $700 per deer.  She pointed out that it could take between 7 to 9 years until you begin to see a reduction in the population. Finally, this type of deer management will only work with a closed herd. I explained to the residents who wrote me that the cost of a program such as this is not within the budget of the Village but if they would like to organize and self fund the program through donations it would be an excellent project to undertake. 

Leslie told us that the only effective way to reduce the deer population is by hunting.  I realize that deer hunting using bow and arrow is a concern to some residents because they feel that it is inhumane.  But having deer injured in car accidents and hobbling off and dying in the woods is not very humane either.  Just two weeks ago I hit a deer near the police booth.  Although the impact was very minimal a very slight change in the circumstances could have resulted in a serious accident. The deer ran off but the severity of its injury is unknown. Additionally, as the herd increases in size the number of deer dying from starvation in the winter will also increase.

NYS DEC regulations already significantly limit the locations in the Village where hunting can occur.  In the other areas of Asharoken very little hunting took place last year.  The preponderance of the deer hunting was in the Town of Huntington section of Eaton’s Neck.  I respect that deer hunting is a cause of concern of some of our residents and the Board and I will listen to those concerns going forward.  But those concerns always have to be balanced by the serious risks that the deer pose to everyone in the community.

On September 22nd the NYSDEC received a letter from the USACOE which reiterated most of what the Village was told in its phone conference earlier in the month.  The Village was prepared to send out its poll but the NYSDEC requested that Asharoken hold off until the NYSDEC responds to the USACOE.  At the present time the Village is awaiting word from the DEC.  We will proceed with the poll once the DEC gets back to us but as of today there is no time frame. 

For the next few days the focus of the Village will be monitoring Hurricane Matthew.  Hopefully the storm will move out to sea but if its track may impact the Village we will do our best to plan and respond to the situation.  I would advise everyone to monitor the storm at the National Hurricane Center website and make preparations well in advance if we are likely to be impacted.

Trustees:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she continued to work with the contractors on the groin project.  We have three quotes for removal of the groins.  Both groin sets were built on the Sound side beach in the 1950’s.  The eastern end is composed of concrete groins held together by steel beams and on the western end steel sheathing encased in lumber was used.  All the quotes include removal of exposed groins in both sections of the beach. We received quotes from three vendors, Chesterfield Associates, LaMay and Sons and T.A Welding. The prices are $16,500, $21,000 and $7760.00.  In the details Chesterfield Associates will dig down 2 feet below grade around the western groins, T.A Welding will only dig down 3” and LaMay & Sons will dig down 1 foot.  All quotes are prevailing wage.  They were all very professional.  Deputy Mayor Pierce recommended Chesterfield Associates, since they are digging down deeper and they can begin the work prior to National Grid’s sand placement. She thanked the Coastal Beach Captains for all their work during the Coastal Clean-up event.   She noted that she reviewed the vouchers, minutes and reviewed the comments from residents.

 

Mayor Letica thanked Mike DeLuca for bringing the groin issue to the village’s attention.  He noted that the Village probably should have fixed these groins many years ago. He thanked Deputy Mayor Pierce for all her work on this project.

 

Trustee Ettinger, reported that he spent time working with Officer-In-Charge Mahdesian on police related matters.  He also worked on our computer systems and had a meeting with Axe Creatives our IT specialist and discussed the vulnerability of our systems and a new email system. He noted that the Village received a quote from Axe Creatives on a new domain name, new firewall and back-up system; and resolutions have been placed on the agenda tonight.  He noted that on September 18th  he participated in the Cow Harbor Parade and reviewed the minutes of the conference call with ACOE, reviewed the letter from Colonel Caldwell, the financial statements, vouchers and minutes.

 

Trustee Burke reported that she reviewed the vouchers, minutes, resident’s correspondence, draft financial statements and communications regarding ASDRP, deer and other items.

 

Trustee Jablonski reported that he reviewed the minutes, vouchers, the financial statements and correspondence.  He also noted that he gathered a sample from Duck Island Harbor and delivered to the lab for analysis.  The analysis had no executive summary so the next step will be to work with the Duck Island Dredging Committee and go to the NYSEC with the results.

 

Village Attorney:  Bruce Migatz reported that the Zoning Board of Appeals met on September 19th, there was one application on the agenda, and 168 Asharoken Avenue for a front yard setback for a shed, that application was denied. The next meeting of the ZBA is October 17th for one application on the agenda 477 Asharoken Avenue, variance to maintain the existing insufficient side yard setback for elevating the home. The ERB has not yet reconvened for two dock applications.  Mr. McCarthy the attorney for the applicants and Mr. Eisenbud who is the attorney for Mr. Holmes agreed to a schedule for the submission of further reports.  Pursuant to that schedule Land Use Ecological Services submitted their response to the report that was submitted by Dru Associates on behalf of Mr. Holmes.  Mr. Eisenbud will respond to the report of Land Use Ecological on or before October 10th and the ERB will convene the next hearing on October 24th.  The Planning Board has not yet reconvened on the subdivision of Duck Island Corp; VHB Engineering is still conducting their SEQRA review.

 

Treasurer: Emily Hayes reported on receiving our annual AIM (aid and incentives for municipalities) payment of $4282.00 from NYS.  She noted that the Village received reimbursement for $19170.33 from CHIPS and $4375.82 from NYPAVE DOT.  The vouchers for the month of September totaled $35,957.81. There will be a separate resolution to approve the vouchers and budget transfers.

 

Officer-In- Charge:   Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported that the department had a good month, crime free month, 33 summonses and 1 arrest this month.   The police boat has been pulled out of the water.  The Village assisted Northport Village with Cow Harbor Day as well.

 

Conservation Board: Marty Cohen noted that the board worked with Doug Adil, Building Inspector on the permit for the removal of some trees for widening and repaving of roads for Duck Island Corp.

 

Resolutions:

 

Resolution (2016-123) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of September 2016.

Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Pierce to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2016-124) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of September 2016 in the amount of $35,957.81.

 

Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Pierce to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2016-125) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the services of  Chesterfield Associates Inc. for the removal of exposed rebar from the three concrete groins located on the east end of the sound side beach and the exposed steel from  5 groins on the west end of the sound side beach in the amount of $16,500.00.

 

Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Pierce to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2016-126) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of AXE Creatives to install, set-up and remotely manage a new Dell SonicWALL SOHO Security Appliance Firewall and Router with TotalSecure updates, on the Police Department system network for a total cost of $775.00.

Motion was made by Mayor Letica to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2016-127) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of AXE Creatives to perform daily remote cloud based backups of the Police Department main Server and the 5 Police Department computer Workstations, to install and manage antivirus software, to install web protection software, to provide remote monitoring and critical hardware and software Windows updates at a total monthly fee of $129.00.

Motion was made by Trustee Ettinger to approve, seconded by Mayor Letica.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2016-128) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of AXE Creatives to set-up & manage a new Domain Name; manage users, password resets, support and security; the one-time charge to set up the new Domain Name is $425.00, the monthly management is $25.00 and the annual maintenance of the Domain Name is $45.00

Motion was made by Trustee Ettinger to approve, seconded by Trustee Jablonski.

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  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, seven suggestions or comments were presented.

1.    Suggestion was made by a resident to use “fabric trap bags” for stabilization of the beach.  The trap bags are filled with sand the estimated cost would be approximately $36,000 for 1200 feet, the cost of the permit fees would be approx. $6000. The estimated life span of the trap bags is approx. 5 years.  The trap bags are filled with sand and buried.  Deputy Mayor Pierce reached out to a coastal engineering regarding his opinion on the trap bags; he indicated that they are a good product but it is a temporary fix, and may not withstand a certain level of wave action.

2.    Comment and opinion was made on the cost of using a contraceptive method of reducing the population of deer. The mayor pointed out that we have received very little response from residents in regards to banning the use of bow and arrow in the village.  We only received responses from 23 homes.  Mayor Letica asked the resident how they propose to manage the deer population.  Mayor Letica pointed out that the NYSDEC pointed out that the reproductive rate is based on the environment that it lives in, not because there is hunting.

3.    Comment was made on deer hunting and she pointed out that many people don’t know that the deer hunting laws have changed. She suggested designating areas to hunt.

4.    Comment was made on the definition of a weapon.

5.    Comment on checks and balances with hunters coming in and out of the Village.

6.    Comment was made on the ASDRP project and the Village of Asharoken public comment; he noted that many residents are not focused on the consequences of not moving forward with the ASDRP project.

7.    Question was made on the timing of the survey and public hearing for the ASDRP project as well as the NYSDEC response.

 

 

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 October 4th, 2016 Regular board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 8:45pm.              

Signed: _____________________________________________

                Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk