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[MESSAGE JSNF-285-09]

APPROVED Minutes of the March 7, 2017 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

        Tuesday, March 7, 2017 7:30pm

             At the Village Hall

Approximate Attendance (22)

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

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

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.

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

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board meeting minutes for February 7, 2017, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                           Abstained

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve the Board of Assessment Review minutes for February 24, 2017, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica reported, “On February 10th Deputy Mayor Pam Pierce and I met with Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone to discuss possible solutions to the sea wall area wash over and erosion.  We decided that the next step would be to reach out to Congressman Tom Suozzi and arrange a second meeting where the Village and the Town could seek his assistance in helping us solve this problem.  At the same meeting in response to a resident’s request Deputy Mayor Pierce inquired into the status of the National Grid tax certiorari law suit.  We were informed that the attorneys from both sides were still working to reach a settlement and that the decision is not expected imminently.

The Village received news yesterday that it has received a score of No Designation in the 2016 financial stress test conducted by the NYS Comptroller’s office.  This is the highest score a village can get and is the same score that Asharoken received in 2015 and 2014, the two previous years that the stress test was conducted. The comptroller has recognized the strong fiscal position the Village is in, which is the result of a long history of very conservative financial management. This outcome is a direct result of the hard work of Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse and the Village Treasurer Emily Hayes.  I would like to thank Nancy and Emily for their attention to detail and dedication to the Village.

 

The Village received a grant payment in the amount of $4,500 from the Justice Court Assistance Program.  This money will be used to purchase new file cabinets for the police department and court. Over the last 5 years the Village has received over $1 million in federal, state and other aid.

Finally, the Village Attorney, the New York Conference of Mayors and a Town Attorney have all confirmed that the Village does not have the authority to specifically restrict or prohibit hunting except on its own land.  This authority rests with New York State. Mr. Migatz memorandum of law as well and the NYCOM article were sent to the residents earlier in the month.  I had a phone conversation with Huntington Councilwoman Tracey Edwards about the status of the draft law to amend the existing Town deer ordinance.  Councilwoman Edwards informed me that once a draft is complete she will share it with the Village.

 

The rest of March the Village will focus on completing the proposed budget for 2017-2018. There will a public hearing on the budget at the April Board of Trustees meeting.

 

Trustees:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she attended the Town of Huntington meeting that was held on February 10th, attended grievance day on February 24th.  She reviewed the minutes, vouchers and information provided by Trustee Burke on wave surfing.  She also met with several residents during the month.

 

Trustee Ettinger reported that he spent the majority of his time with Officer- in-Charge Ray Mahdesian on next year’s fiscal budget.  He noted that they worked on a zero base budget and reviewed police staff needs, scheduling, training, and all aspects of the police department.  In addition on February 8th he attended the monthly court session, attended Grievance Day on February 21st and on February 24th.  He noted that he reviewed the minutes, vouchers and several foils.

 

Trustee Burke reported that she completed the last issue of the “Asharoken News” and noted that it can be found on the website in color.  She noted that she attended the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht and Boat Club; an organization that addresses boater’s safety in our local waters; which resident Stephanie Quarles is the Commodore.  One of the safety issues that were discussed is the excess wake that is being created by wake surfing in Duck Island Harbor. Wake surfing is a sport that involves a boat where its sole purpose is to create a large wake for surfing.  The large wake causes erosion, damage to docks and boats near the shore and disrupts kayakers. In addition this type of boat only goes about 9 MPH vs. wake board boats that go 18 MPH and ski boats that go 30MPH.  This slower speed creates a traffic problem within Duck Island Harbor.  The reason we limit boats to 21 feet is to control the wake, but these boats are designed to create a larger wake.  She suggested prohibiting wake surfing in Duck Island Harbor and putting forward a resolution to schedule a public hearing to amend our waterways village code.  She noted that we should consider this change before the current season and update our application and entrance sign into Duck Island Harbor.  Trustee Burke discussed the issue with marine police officer Sid Lynn, Officer-in-Charge Mahdesian, Director of Maritime Services Ed Carr and Vice Commodore of the Greater Huntington council Ian Milligan and has plans to review with Village Harbor Master Joe Affrunti. She also noted that she reviewed the vouchers, minutes and correspondence.

Trustee Jablonski reported that he reviewed the minutes, vouchers, correspondence provided Deputy Mayor Pierce with some research, reviewed the wave surfing information and reviewed the preliminary budget.

 

Village Treasurer: Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse reported for the Treasurer, she noted that the village received the JCAP grant of $4,500 and the total vouchers for the month of February were $31,895.77, nothing unusual this month.  There was a separate resolution to approve the vouchers and budget transfers.

 

Village Attorney:  Bruce Migatz reported that the Zoning Board did not meet this month; the Planning Board did not meet this month but will meet March 21 to continue the public hearing on the Duck Island subdivision.  The ERB Board did not meet this month; GEI Consultants are reviewing the material and once they report back to the ERB we will schedule another meeting.

 

Officer-In-Charge:   Officer-In-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported 24 summonses and 1 arrest. No reported problems with the February 9th storm.

 

Sanitation Operator: Barry Bradley reported that Big Blue is running well.  Total trash tons was 18.62, single stream 5.51 tons for total tonnage for the month being 24.13 tons.

 

Superintendent of Buildings: Doug Adil reported that he responded to an inquiry pertaining to installation of an asphalt paved driveway.  He provided information on storm water drainage basins that must be provided for the new paved areas.  Met with homeowner to inspect existing entry stair/deck and provided guidance.  Discussed zoning requirements regarding the construction of a swimming pool, discussed zoning requirements with a landscape designer regarding installation of a new tennis court, discussed requirements for adding bedrooms to existing home. Met with NYSDEC and discussed flood plain requirements.  He performed eleven inspections this month.

 

Conservation Board Chairman:  Marty Cohen noted that he had one site visit for a tree permit.

 

Resolutions:

Resolution (2017-15) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of February 2017.

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 (2017-16) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers for the month of February 2017 in the amount of $31,895.77.

 

Trustee Jablonski 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 (2017-17) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, April 4th, 2017 on the tentative budget for fiscal year beginning 6/1/2017.

 

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 (2017-18) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby authorize the Mayor to sign the 2017 agreement between the Village of Asharoken and Landscaper Patrick Parker from April 2017 to November 2017 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 $4,590.00.

 

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 (2017-19) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does hereby approve scheduling of a special meeting on Tuesday, April 25th, 2017 at 4:30pm at Village Hall to approve the tentative budget for fiscal year beginning 6/1/2017.

 

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 (2017-20) 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 (2017-21) Be It Resolved that the Village Board does not consent to hunting on Village owned property.

Trustee Jablonski 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 (2017-22) Be It Resolved that the Village Board authorizes the mayor to sign the proposal amending the scope of services of VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C. as the Village consultant in connection with the subdivision application of Duck Island Corp, to increase the initial budget estimate from $10,000.00 to $20,000.00. All VHB’s fees to be reimbursed by the applicant (Duck Island Corp) pursuant to the Asharoken Village Code.

 

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.

 

Mayor Letica opened up the meeting for public session.

During public session, three comments or questions were presented.

1.    Resident suggested using cameras to catch speeders to raise funds for the sand. Trustee Ettinger noted that the traffic violations are turned over to the state, local fines stay with the village. Resident also questioned who would be liable if a deer injures something or someone within the neighboring property.  The Village Attorney noted that the person who is negligent or commits a wrongful act is responsible. He pointed out that negligence is something that is determined by the courts. Resident also asked what the difference is between Huntington Bay and other villages that don’t allow hunting.

Mayor Letica noted that the research that was done by our Village Attorney which was also confirmed by NYCOM and Town Attorney, points out that other villages can do what they want to do; but it doesn’t mean that their village code will hold up in court.  NY State law is clear which is included in the Village Attorney’s Memorandum and NYCOM’s article.  In order to change NY State law you need to discuss this with your State Legislator, State Senator or your Governor as they have set the rules and we cannot override them. 

2.    Resident asked if a municipality can ban the discharge of weapons. Village Attorney Migatz pointed out that during his research on deer hunting he believes that the State preempts local governments when it comes to regulating guns. The resident pointed out that it is in the code, but Village Attorney noted that he questions its defensibility.

3.     Resident asked whether the bow and arrow is considered a weapon in our code. Mayor Letica noted that a long bow is not considered a weapon, but resident indicated that the NYSDEC considers it a weapon on their website. Mayor Letica noted that you can pass any law but will it hold up to a court challenge. Village Attorney noted that he is very confident in his opinion that the State preempts the village when it comes to hunting regulations.

 

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

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                           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 Burke                                                  AYE

Trustee Jablonski                                           AYE

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

                The March 7th, 2017 Regular board meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 8:00pm.              

Signed: _____________________________________________

                Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk