Incorporated Village of Asharoken
Board of Trustees
Held on Monday
November 3rd, 2008, at 7:30 P.M
At Village Hall
Approximate Attendance
(40)
Officers Present
Patricia Irving, Mayor
Avrum Golub, Trustee
Alexander Janow, Trustee
Peter Masterson, Trustee
Village Officials Present
Nancy Rittenhouse—Village Clerk
Kenneth Savin—Village Attorney
Barry Bradley—Sanitation Operator
Ray Mahdesian—Police Officer in Charge
Andrew Mendelsohn—Planning Board Chairman
Douglas Adil— Building Inspector
Emily Hayes – Village Treasurer
Billy Beach—Highway Superintendent
William Raisch—Chairman of Emergency
Planning Committee
The Pledge of Allegiance
was said.
Mayor Irving called the Meeting to
order.
Trustee Masterson made a motion to
approve 10/06/08 minutes; Seconded Trustee Janow.
Trustee Golub Abstained
Trustee Affrunti Not Present
Trustee Janow AYE
Trustee Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motioned Carried.
Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Irving reported that the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) willingness to enforce the special conditions
of the original operating permit is a significant positive step in our
efforts to get the sand on the beach. National Grids response
to the Army Corps letter is that they will cooperate, and they are seeking
a face to face meeting between themselves and the Army Corps.
Mayor Irving noted that the effort to get sand on the beach involves
working many options and it will result in a series of steps. Mayor
Irving has continued to work with Congressman Steve Israel to keep the
pressure on all involved parties and to outline the next steps.
Oral arguments regarding the Lawsuit against LILCO/National Grid will be held Thursday, November 6th, 2008. The scheduled time is 10:00am at the Appellate Courthouse in Brooklyn (45 Monroe Place), residents should know that it is open to the public.
Michael Marcus the lawyer for the Appeal
along with Richard Dolan presented his arguments to the parties that
are directly involved in the lawsuit. This was held at Village Hall
on Thursday, October 30th, 2008. Everyone believes
that the attorney was well prepared for Thursday, November 6th,
2008 Appeal.
Mayor Irving attended the SCVOA breakfast,
Steve Levy informed the Village of Asharoken that $37,000 in police
funding will be received.
Wednesday October 29th, 2008 Village Attorney Kenneth Savin was given notice that a lawsuit was being filed by William Kelly, Dorothy Aiello and Eleanor Fauser related to health care coverage.
Mayor Irving read a prepared statement:
“Upon my taking office, we discovered enrollments in the New York State Health Insurance Plan that we thought were questionable. There were individuals and families enrolled in the plan that did not meet the qualifications for such enrollment. There were also individuals and families enrolled in the plan that were purportedly reimbursing the Village the cost of such enrollment. Although reimbursements had been made, the cost to the Village exceeded those reimbursements by approximately $16,000 per year. This Board has taken action to terminate those participants from the plan and end the unauthorized expenditure of tax dollars.
Some of those individuals have instituted a law suit against the Village in order to continue to receive those benefits. Furthermore, these enrollments are being investigated by law enforcement agencies. It is up to those agencies, not us, to determine the circumstances of these persons participation.
The Village had served upon it in October a Grand Jury Subpoena from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s Office has had, and will continue to receive the full cooperation of my administration.
In light of the litigation now pending
against the Village and the investigation being conducted by the District
Attorney, I have no further comment on this matter”.
The 2008 Justice Court Assistance Program
materials were reviewed to complete an application for our Court. The
Village Board had on the agenda to discuss a resolution to apply for
$30,000 for assistance for new furnishings.
Mayor Irving noted that continued improvements
to the infrastructure (roads, utilities) and the way the Village operates
each day. The Village of Asharoken continues to get good cooperation
from the agencies that are required to provide support.
Two recent examples:
New telephone poles are being installed
along Asharoken Avenue to replace poles that were old and falling down.
These new poles also have the latest technology installed which should
improve their ability to maintain power during significant storms. National
Grid has been supportive in taking care of this very important project
for our Village.
The second example is that after
the storm this past week, we had a considerable amount of sand across
Asharoken Avenue. The Huntington Highway Department was here by 10am
on the morning following the storm with sweepers to clean up our roads.
The requirement of my administration is to have formal repeatable procedures
that leverage resources that are available to us.
On October 16th, 2008
a meeting took place on Village Hall restoration that was focused on
outlining what’s required to get the effort re-started. Over the next
few weeks the Mayor will be finalizing the committee. This is a very
important committee to be on and the Mayor is receiving many requests
to participate. While this is a nice problem to have, unfortunately,
the Mayor Irving believes we will be able to accommodate everyone. There
are other important committees in the Village that are short-staffed
and the Mayor is hoping that some of the volunteers for Village Hall
restoration will be willing to help in other ways.
Thank you to everyone that assisted
with the Blood Drive and I’m very grateful to those that donated blood.
Mayor Irving congratulated Trustee Golub on a very successful event.
This past month, Mayor Irving
had the opportunity to go to a regularly scheduled informal luncheon
with the Mayors of all Villages within the Town of Huntington and with
Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone. During this session we shared the
issues that we each face and the solutions that we’ve identified for
our villages. Represented at this session were the four villages within
the Huntington Township: Lloyd Harbor, Huntington Bay, Northport
and Asharoken and our Town Supervisor of Huntington.
Important informational meeting
s on re-drawing of flood maps took place last month. The meeting was
held at Babylon Village Hall and it was attended by the Mayor Irving
and our Building Inspector Douglas Adil. Mayor Irving thanked Doug for
taking the time to attend this session. While there are no immediate
actions that we have to take, it’s important that the village be represented
at these sessions and that we closely monitor the actions being taken.
Mayor Irving noted, while campaigning
for Mayor, I promised the residents of Asharoken that I would explore
all options to solve our beach erosion problem. On November 3rd,
2008 Mayor Irving met with representatives of National Grid at the Power
Plant and was given a tour of the plant. Although the law suit
may come to a conclusion in the next couple of months, regardless of
who wins, it will not be the end of National Grid’s involvement in
this problem. Mayor Irving believes this meeting was an introduction
to an amicable relationship going forward. Mayor Irving reported
that she is planning more tours of the plant for all the trustees.
Mayor Irving reported that after
getting several date options, she has decided to postpone a walk-through
of the Morgan property until next spring.
The Asharoken Village holiday party
is scheduled for November 23, 2008 at the Northport Yacht Club. Mayor
Irving noted that she hopes for a tremendous turnout from our village
residents- please see our Village Clerk or call Catharine Burch for
details.
Mayor Irving noted to remember to vote tomorrow, here at Village Hall from 6:00AM till 9:00PM.
Treasurers Report:
Vouchers for the month of October 2008:
Requesting approval for vouchers in the amount of $46,419.87 and related
budget transfers.
NIMS Grant: Due to the efforts of officer
in charge Ray Mahdesian the village received a grant to reimburse personnel
costs for officers, who attended NIMS Training, the amount was for $1065.64.
Motion was made by Mayor Irving to
approve the Treasurers Report and October 2008 vouchers of $46,419.87,
second by Trustee Masterson.
Trustee Golub AYE
Trustee Affrunti Not Present
Trustee Janow AYE
Trustee Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Village Attorney’s Report:
Village Attorney Kenneth Savin reported that he spoke with Building Inspector Douglas Adil on several issues regarding Village Code and building permit applications. Village Attorney Savin discussed with a resident who was obstructing the fog line, the resident advised the Village Attorney on Friday that he will correct the situation. Village Attorney Savin attended several sessions of the Village court this past month and there were no pleas involving any village ordinance and therefore no revenue to the Village.
The Snow and Ice Contract with the Town of Huntington, has been fully signed and is filed with the Village Clerk.
The Verizon Contract is still being negotiated, Village Attorney Savin returned a marked up copy with changes back to Verizon’s attorney for review.
Village Attorney Savin advised the board about a small claims review hearing, the property was assessed at 1.8 million the property owner wanted it assessed at 1.285 million the hearing officer ended up assessing it at 1.6 million, the result was a reduction of approximately $700 in taxes per year for 2007 and 2008.
Conversations took place with Michael Marcus the attorney handling the LILCO appeal and I attended the briefing meeting on Thursday, October 30th, 2008.
Several communications took place with Congressman Israel’s staff regarding dealings with the Army Corp and National Grid.
Village Attorney Savin reported on
the suit initiated by William Kelly, Dorothy Aiello and Eleanor Fauser
regarding the termination of Health benefits.
Police Report:
Police Officer in Charge Raymond Mahdesian reported a good month. No problems.
(See Attached Police Report)
Building Inspector Report:
Douglas Adil discussed several projects and the phases that they are in, project planning, building permit applications, inspections performed and completed projects. Doug also discussed producing a sheet that is a larger version of the Fog Line requirements for the residents. Doug also discussed FEMA’s new Flood Map and Doug attended the Flood Map Study Meeting. Community meetings have been scheduled and the dates are available to all residents.
(See attached Building Inspector’s
Report)
Emergency Planning Committee:
William Raisch reported that he is in the process of creating the Core Planning Group. The Core Planning Group will include approximately a dozen people. It will include Fire Department’s (Eaton’s Neck and Northport), Police Commissioner, and expertise former fire Department personnel, public works and Highway Department. William Raisch reported that our next item is to identify what our primary risks are, we will prioritize them based on their impact.
The next step is to prepare for impacts;
many of the impacts are common and require similar and common Reponses.
We are building on the Town of Huntington’s risks and responses and
also working through the Suffolk County Emergency office and the State
of NY Emergency Offices (SEMO). Working with adjacent jurisdictions
and relating to common risks and sharing common responses. The
next meeting is this Friday, November 7th 2008 held at Village
Hall. The Coast Guard offered their faculties to have the next meeting
as well.
Village Planning Board:
Chairman Andrew Mendelsohn reported
the planning board members attended the Suffolk County Planning Conference.
Andy asked about when the walk thru will take place, Mayor Irving responded
that the Morgan Estate Walk-thru will take place in the spring. Andy
also asked the Mayor about a scheduled private meeting with the attorneys
for the Morgan Estate and the Mayor responded that she has no idea what
he was talking about.
Sanitation Report:
Sanitation reported by Barry Bradley for the month of October 2008.
Refuse amount 29.97 tons; Recyclables 2.41 tons; Newspaper and Cardboard 4.39 tons (No Charge, no revenue).
Barry Bradley noted that the Truck was running well.
Sanitation truck needs new tires before the truck goes into service.
The demand for newspaper and cardboard is low this month; therefore we are not being paid for our recycled paper. We still are not being charged for it either.
(See attached Sanitation report)
Superintendent of Highway:
Billy Beach reported that some of the
sections of the fog lines were repaired by the Vendor (Fence Man).
John Elefante, deputy Superintendent of Highway, coordinated this effort
for the Village.
Zoning Board of Appeals:
Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse reported
that the next Zoning Board of Appeals hearing will take place on November
17th, 2008 at 7:30PM. Two Accessory Permit Renewals
will be discussed as well as a Variance for a rear yard setback.
Trustee’s Report:
Trustee Janow reported on the Suffolk County Village Breakfast and expressed his concern about not attending the breakfast. Trustee Janow also indicated that he would like to be informed of any issues that fall under the committees that he is responsible for.
Trustee Golub reported that at an informal
get-together at Douglas Whitcomb’s home, some concerned residents
parleyed about approaching the Board of Trustees regarding establishing
a new committee to examine the Restoration and Revitalization of Duck
Island Harbor.
Trustee Golub reported on the Asharoken
Avenue Storm water Catch Basin Contract (C303220) with NYSDEC.
He and Douglas Adil reviewed Schedule A and B of the contract.
Trustee Golub recommended that the entire contract should be reviewed
by the Village Attorney. Trustee Golub noted that the funding
from NYSDEC is for three years with possible extensions.
Trustee Golub reported that twenty
individuals came to donate blood at the Fourth Annual Columbus Day Blood
Drive. Nineteen blood donors were accepted under federal and NY
State regulations by the New York Blood Center. Dr. Golub, a specialist
in blood transfusion, thank the blood donors.
Trustee Golub noted that the NYSDEC
issued an internet announcement seeking applications for Water Quality
Improvement Projects (WQIP) grants that involve the New York City (NYC)
Watershed, Asharoken is not located in the NYC Watershed. Trustee
Golub will explore NYSDEC’s pattern for announcing when further WQIP
grants will be available.
Mayor Irving reported that Senator Marcellino suggested that we get engineer expertise for the drainage issue and she has sought funding for same from Assemblyman Raia.
Trustee Masterson reported that he
attend the Suffolk County Village Officials Meeting and helped Trustee
Golub and Mayor Irving organize and run the Blood Drive.
Trustee Masterson also attended and participated in the Village Hall
Expansion Building meeting.
Resolution (2008-32)
To approve justice court assistance program. Be It Resolved the
Village Clerk and/or Court Clerk is authorized to submit an application
to the justice court assistance program for funding of courtroom refurbishment
and furniture not to exceed $30,000.
Mayor Irving made a motion to approve,
seconded by Trustee Golub.
Trustee Golub AYE
Trustee Affrunti Not Present
Trustee Janow AYE
Trustee Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Correspondence:
This administration will not report
on correspondence that does not require action; a package was received
by Andy Mendelsohn regarding Sand on the Beach and is available in the
Clerk’s office.
Public Session:
Students from Northport High School discussed the ALS Fundraiser and the importance of the event.
Martin Cohen asked about the LILCO Lawsuit and which attorney is standing in for the Appeal, Mayor Irving replied that Michael Marcus is standing and Richard Dolan is second seat.
Martin Cohen asked about the Health Care Plan, Village Attorney Savin responded by explaining the expense to the Village for Health Care.
Greg Letica expressed his concern about the LILCO Lawsuit and about home values in the Village of Asharoken. Mayor Irving responded about the Army Corp meeting and noted that she took this project to the next level and it is her highest priority. Mayor Irving is opening new doors. Trustee Janow noted that both Mayor Irving and Greg Letica are on the same page, Trustee Janow thanked Greg Letica and Mayor Irving for being on top of the situation.
Resident at 131 Asharoken Avenue requested the status of the Verizon Contract, Village Attorney Savin responded that all four Villages in the Town of Huntington have different Verizon Contracts.
Resident John Irving commented that he applauded the way the administration is exploring all options and it’s important to keep Steve Israel involved.
Resident John Ross commented that it’s a different attitude and the direction of the Board is positive, the momentum is going in a different direction and handled differently and he applauded the Board for that.
A resident from Lloyd Harbor communicated to the Board about the Village of Asharoken being an open government. He expressed how different the Village of Asharoken conducts their meetings compared to the Village of Lloyd Harbor.
Resident Anna Pollaci asked information
regarding the Duck Island Harbor Revitalization meeting.
Mayor Irving made a motion to adjourn
the meeting, seconded by Trustee Masterson.
Trustee Golub AYE
Trustee Affrunti Not Present
Trustee Janow AYE
Trustee Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
The November 3, 2008 meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at 9:00PM.
Signed: ______________________________
Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk