Incorporated Village of Asharoken
Board of Trustees
Held on Monday
August 3, 2009, at 7:30 P.M
At Village Hall
Approximate Attendance (21)
Officers:
Patricia Irving, Mayor
Peter Masterson, Deputy Mayor
Joseph Affrunti, Trustee
John Elefante, Trustee
Avrum Golub, Absent
Officials & Appointments:
Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk
Emily Hayes, Village Treasurer
Ken Savin, Village Attorney
Ray Mahdesian, Police Officer in Charge
Charles Brown, Village Justice
Doug Adil, Building Inspector, Absent
Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator
Bill Raisch, Emergency Planning Chairman, Absent
Heidi Hayden, Highway Superintendent
Heidi Hayden, Zoning Board
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Mayor Irving called the Meeting to
order.
Proof of Publication.
Approval of the Regular Board Meeting
minutes for 07/6/09, Trustee Affrunti made a motion to accept the minutes,
seconded by Deputy Mayor Masterson.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motioned Carried.
Approval of the minutes for the continuation
of the Organizational Meeting for 07/20/09, Trustee Elefante, made a
motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Trustee Affrunti.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson Abstain
Mayor Irving AYE
Motioned Carried.
Mayors Report:
Mayor Irving attended the NY Army National Guard, 69th Infantry, Welcome Home Salute ceremony hosted by the Town of Huntington and the Huntington Veterans’ Advisory Board at Centerport Beach Saturday, July 25, 2009.
She attended the Village Hall Restoration Committee meeting. She thanked the committee members for moving this project forward.
She attended the July 10th 2009 meeting of the Emergency Planning Committee. Mayor Irving thanked Bill Raisch and all the volunteer members of the committee and noted that the Table Top Exercise (Hurricane Preparedness) was essential and productive.
Mayor Irving performed a marriage ceremony for a local couple on July 12th on the grounds of Asharoken Village Hall.
New Furniture in Village Hall
A grant for new furniture for our Village Hall was submitted through a Justice Court Assistance Program and the grant was approved, the new items arrived on July 23rd, 2009.
Sand on the Beach
Mayor Irving met with Congressman Israel and let him know of her displeasure in National Grid’s slow response to the Army Corps directives. Both he and his staff advised Mayor Irving that they are working on it.
Fireworks 2009
Mayor Irving reported that next year’s Fireworks Event has been budgeted, however, if the overall Village revenues come up short, then the Board of Trustees and the Mayor will have to reconsider the Fireworks Event. Previously donated dollars by residents of this village have not come forward as promised. Fundraising cannot be a function of our Village government. Mayor Irving noted that if a resident of this Village would like to collect and or donate for the Fireworks Event it must be done independently of the Village Government. Financial commitments must be made in the next six months in order to have a show for next year.
NYS DEC – Bird Conservation Biologist
Mayor Irving received an email from Chip Hamilton Wildlife Biologist for NYSDEC to schedule a meeting next week to discuss the piping plover process and what to expect for next year.
Financials
Mayor Irving has passed along correspondence
to our Treasurer Emily Hayes to look into an Auditing Firm which would
conduct an audit (at no additional cost to the Village) of our municipality
to review the full amount due under its cable franchise agreement. Audit
Masters is a “franchise fee expert” we were introduced to at NYCOM’s
conference in Saratoga most recently.
Website
Thank you to Steve Trombetti and Eric Maffei for all their hard work on our Web site. To date the website has had 50,048 total page views, 13,773 total visitors and 2,966 total visits by frequent users. A Photo slide show of Pot Luck Dinner was included on the Website and many other current events.
Treasurers Report:
Vouchers for the month of July 2009: Requested approval for vouchers in the amount of $47,112.42 and related budget transfers. The Village has approximately $34,000 outstanding Real Property taxes still due.
Motion was made by Mayor Irving to
approve the Treasurers Report and July 2009 vouchers of $47,112.42 and
related budget transfers, seconded by Trustee Elefante.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Janow AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Village Attorney’s Report:
Village Attorney Ken Savin reported
on the Multi-Modal Contract, the amount is for $100,000 and the Village
of Asharoken should receive the fully executed contract by mid August
2009.
He noted that he continues to review
the correspondence and updates from the Mayor, USACOE and Congressman
Israels’s office for Sand on the Beach project.
He reviewed the transcript for the
Zoning Board hearing that was held on June 23rd, 2009.
In addition he is working with Zoning Board Chairman Heidi Hayden with
conflict of interest positions for some members of the Board.
He has been working with Doug Adil,
Building Inspector and Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk reviewing Village
Code on Tree Clearing permit for 235 Asharoken Avenue.
He attended the Emergency Planning
Committee on the Table Top Exercise for Hurricane Awareness.
He met with Nancy Rittenhouse and Doug
Adil and Eric Star with the NYS DEC. A resolution is on the table
to schedule a public Hearing next month for enacting a local Law adopting
the 2009 flood maps in order for all residents to be eligible for the
flood insurance program.
He attended the Village Hall Expansion
committee meeting.
He noted that we are still waiting
a decision regarding the Health care litigation. Ken Savin is
working on a second Freedom of Information request. He has spoken with
Executive Director Robert Freeman of the NYS Committee on Open Government.
He met with General Counsel of NYCOM
Wade Beltramo, during his visit to Long Island for the Zoning and Planning
Board training session.
He noted that we are still waiting
a response from the EEOC regarding the Northport Fire Dept. complaint.
Police Department:
Officer Ray Mahedesian noted that we
have had a busy month. Ninety-six summons were issued and six
arrests. This month’s training for all members of the department
was on OSHA requirements provided through the Suffolk County Police
Academy. Water ski permits are slightly down from last year.
Sanitation Report:
Barry Bradley reported for the month of July 2009.
Refuse amount 42.45tons; Recyclables
3.41 tons; Newspaper and Cardboard 6.70 tons (No Charge, no revenue).
The truck is running well.
Highway Department:
Heidi Hayden reported on the cutback along Bevin Road for safety reasons, permission was received from the resident where the cutback occurred. She noted that the catch basin work continues to address one of the basins’s filled with sand.
She noted that a resident called about
a pedestrian safety concern regarding the placement of a speed sign,
the sign will be relocated. She also reported on the removal of
a tree on Bevin Road, the tree was not on Village property and was the
responsibility of LIPA and has been removed.
Zoning Board:
The Zoning Board is working on scheduling
a date for the next Public Meeting.
Trustees Report:
Trustee Affrunti spoke with the Duck Island Harbor Dredging community members and discussed starting a non- for- profit Corporation, in order to collect funds to help support the cost to remove core samples and have them tested.
Trustee Elefante participated in the Emergency Planning Committee. He met with Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk to familiarize himself with the current process for managing the Village finances. He is working on several recommendations on how information is and can better be shared at our monthly Village Hall meetings. He spoke with Heidi Hayden, Superintendent of Highway and both agreed to postpone filling the Deputy Highway Superintendent position. He noted that he will be attending the Fall NYCOM Training in Albany.
Deputy Mayor Masterson noted that he attended the Emergency Planning Committee. He met with and shared several ideas with one of the trustee’s from East Williston. East Williston is in the process of renovating their Village Hall. He reported on the Court Assistance Grant program, he noted that the Village received 30 chairs, two tables, file cabinets, two desks, lectern, and six executive chairs; he thanked Mayor Irving, Ray Mahdesian and Nancy Rittenhouse for their assistance with the grant. He noted that a new grant for 2009 was filed. He noted that he had several meetings with Officer in Charge Ray Mahdesian and attended court this past month.
Deputy Police Commissioner Mel Ettinger reported on the Village Hall Expansion Committee. He noted that the Village applied to the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Green Innovation Grant Program for a grant for the construction of the new Village Hall and submitted a proposal on May 29, 2009. He noted that we received six proposals from six architects and will be interviewing four of the architects. The committee will make a recommendation to the Village Board in the next several weeks.
Resolutions:
Be It resolved, that the Village of Asharoken is authorized to hold a Public Hearing for Adopting the local law for the 2009 National Flood Insurance Program to be held on September 8th, 2009.
Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Masterson,
seconded by Mayor Irving.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be it resolved, that Mel Ettinger, Mark Pollaci, Anna Pollaci, Marty Cohen, Trustee Joe Affrunti, Trustee Pete Masterson, Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Attorney Kenneth P. Savin are hereby appointed as committee members and Building Inspector Doug Adil as Chairman of the Village Hall Expansion Committee for a one year term to end July 2010.
Motion was made by Mayor Irving, seconded
by Trustee Elefante.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved that Eva Browne and Debbie Masterson are hereby appointed as committee members of the Beach Clean Up Committee for a one year term to end July 2010.
Motion was made by Mayor Irving, seconded
by Trustee Affrunti.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson Abstain
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved that Mayor Patricia Irving, Heidi Hayden, Trustee John Elefante, Village Attorney Ken Savin are hereby appointed as committee members and Pete Masterson as a Ad Hoc member of the Sand on the Beach Committee for a one year term to end July 2010.
Motion was made by Trustee Affrunti,
seconded by Deputy Mayor Masterson.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved: To authorize the Village Clerk to advertise 20 used Village Hall Folding Chairs on the NYCOM website. Minimum bid to be no less than $100.00 in total.
Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Masterson,
seconded by Mayor Irving.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved: To authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement between the Village of Asharoken and Premiere Global for Conference Bridge Service pay as you go system.
Motion was made by Trustee Affrunti,
seconded by Trustee Elefante.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved that Marty Cohen, Rita Rover, Anna Pollaci, Denise DeAcetis and Eva Browne are hereby appointed as committee members of the Conservation Board for the remaining term ending July 2010.
(Building Inspector Doug Adil, Planning Board Chairman, Patrick Cleary, Village Attorney Ken Savin, Village Board Trustees, Commissioner of Roads, as ex officio members of the Board)
Motion was made by Mayor Irving, seconded
by Trustee Elefante.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Be It Resolved that Eva Browne is hereby appointed as the Chairperson of the Conservation Board for the remaining term ending July 2010.
Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Masterson,
seconded by Trustee Affrunti.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
Resident Rita Rover made an announcement
asking if anyone would be interested in opening up their home to a Belgium
exchange student. The student is a High School Junior.
Mayor Irving made a motion to close
the meeting, seconded by Trustee Affrunti.
Trustee Golub Absent
Trustee Affrunti AYE
Trustee Elefante AYE
Deputy Mayor Masterson AYE
Mayor Irving AYE
Motion Carried.
The August 3, 2009 meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 8:30pm
Signed:____________________
Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk