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[MESSAGE JSNF-285-09]

APPROVED Minutes of the January 8, 2013 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

Held on Tuesday

January 8th, 2013 7:30 P.M

At the Northport American Legion Hall

Approximate Attendance (27)

 

 

Officers Present:

Greg Letica, Mayor

Pam Pierce, Deputy Mayor

Melvin Ettinger, Trustee

Laura Burke, Trustee

 

Officials & Appointees Present:

Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk

Emily Hayes, Village Treasurer

Bruce Migatz, Village Attorney

Ray Mahdesian, Officer- in- Charge

Doug Adil, Superintendent of Buildings

Bill Raisch, Emergency manager

Tony Wenderoth, Superintendent of Highway

Marty Cohen, Conservation of the Environment

Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Proof of publication was made.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve the December 3rd, 2012 minutes, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve the December 14th, 2012 minutes, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor’s Report:

 

Mayor Letica reports, “During the month of December the village has focused on getting financial reimbursement for the costs that were incurred from Hurricane Sandy and working to get our federal, state and town elected officials fully aware of the challenges that face the Village of Asharoken.  Additionally, we received a Boxing Day gift of yet another nor’easter with winds topping out at 72 MPH. Fortunately the storm just covered the road with some sand, eroded some of the road shoulder by Bevin Road and with the exception of the shoulder restoration was cleaned up in two days.

During the month I attended two FEMA meetings as well as several meetings to discuss possible means of financing the village hall reconstruction.  I wrote multiple letters to our elected officials, ACOE and DEC to encourage them to do all that they can do to begin a reconstruction of the beach as quickly as possible.  I also wrote to the village residents and met with the POENB to encourage everyone in Asharoken and Eaton’s Neck to contact our elected officials and urge them to restore the beach. I would ask everyone here tonight who has not written on behalf of the village to do so. In addition, I spoke to Supervisor Petrone in an effort to have the Town of Huntington join our fight for beach restoration and road protection.  Finally, the village received a copy of a letter from State Assemblyman Raia to DEC Commissioner Martens imploring the DEC to do all it can to restore the beach.

Sand on the beach: Mayor Letica reported that he received a monthly update from Sue McCormick of the DEC regarding the feasibility study and beach restoration.  She writes “I just scheduled a meeting with the Corps and DEC for Jan. 22nd to discuss moving the Feasibility Study forward as quickly as possible.  You need to know that all future work depends on Congress approving a supplemental budget that contains funds for Asharoken as the Corps does not have enough money now to finish the Feasibility Study.  The supplemental budget does contain money to finish the Feasibility Study and build the project at a 90% federal and 10% non-federal cost share.  The 10% must be shared 70/30 between the State and the Village.  I know that funding is an issue for the Village, but state law does require the DEC to have a local sponsor for the work.  The State will pay the Village share up front, but we will need a commitment from the Village regarding reimbursement after the work is done.”

Fire Contract: Mayor Letica reported that the fire protection contract with Northport expired on December 31st. We receive a letter from the Northport village attorney, Jim Matthews, advising that Northport will continue to honor the previous contract until we finalize the new one.

Shoulder Repair:  Mayor Letica reported that the shoulder repair near Bevin is nearing completion.  The concrete was poured on Jan 4th, 2013 and he expects that the ditch will be back filled within the next week to 10 days. Thanks to Highway Superintendent Wenderoth and Andy Mendelsohn for their design and supervision of this project. He noted that he was on the road with Officer O’Connor at high tide during the storm after Christmas.   Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse and her husband Paul deserve thanks for going out in the middle of the night to assess the situation at Bevin Road and arrange to have the sand cleaned up almost immediately.  He also thanked Huntington Highway Superintendent Bill Naughton for supplying the village with a street sweeper to remove the remaining sand from the road.  All of the collected sand was put back on the dunes.

FHWA: Mayor Letica reported that the village submitted a DDIR to FHWA for reimbursement for road expenses. Village Clerk Rittenhouse and I met with Flint Industries to discuss sand filled fabric bags to restore the dune area. He received an email from Sue McCormick, DEC, advising that the sheet pile caps should arrive in the middle of the month and that installation will take seven weeks.

He noted that his wife Linda was the inspiration for a sympathy card signed by many village residents sent to Newtown in memory of the shooting victims.

Mayor Letica noted that we are pressing FEMA for reimbursements for our storm costs and those related to mitigation.  We are scheduled to meet with the police to discuss the police contract on January 11th as well.  The budget process for year end 5/31/2014 will begin this month and a working session of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for January 22nd.  Work on finalizing the village hall plans will proceed, as well as the ongoing efforts on dune restoration and beach restoration. He noted that he hoped to have some more tangible results to report at our February meeting.

 

Trustee Reports:

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she attended three FEMA meetings this month.  Two were at the village trailer regarding public assistance and one on individual assistance at Northport Legion Hall with Mayor Letica. She noted that the first public assistance meetings concerned Flood Plain Management.  The DEC was present and pointed out that due to the severity of Sandy, bulkheads could be elevated and strengthened.  Elevation can be 18” in height and returns can be added or extended 10 feet.  The second meeting was the site inspection by our project specialist with our village clerk Nancy Rittenhouse.  This was a three hour meeting and was a detailed review of every bit of damage that the village incurred.  As with Tropical Storm Irene, Nancy Rittenhouse was totally prepared with all the proper documentation. The emergency categories were submitted immediately.

Trustee Pierce noted that she attended a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees regarding the bay side shoulder repair work by the sea wall and the board approved the project.  She noted that she worked on sand pricing for the dune restoration project along with Nancy Rittenhouse and Marty Cohen.

She noted that she met with several residents regarding various issues.  She reviewed the abstract and vouchers.  She noted that she reviewed the suggested upgrade to our Village Code regarding house rentals as proposed by Village Attorney Bruce Migatz.

She wrote to our elected officials regarding the precarious state of our beach and sea wall area, she encouraged the residents to do so as well.

 

Trustee Ettinger reported that he has continued to work on preparing the trailers with all the necessary equipment.  He arranged to have two wooden staircases built for both trailers and arranged to have the safety lighting and surveillance system installed.  He noted that the village was hit with a storm on December 26th and worked closely with officer-in-charge Ray Mahdesian.  The road was closed at 9:30pm and then re-opened at 3:00am.  He met with Mayor Letica at the sea wall area in the morning and made arrangements to have the road cleaned and restore the dunes.  He thanked Nancy Rittenhouse for assisting making the arrangements to the have the equipment in place to clear the road.  He also thanked Officer- in- Charge Ray Mahdesian for making all the necessary arrangements needed to prepare for the December 26th storm. He noted that he attended a FEMA meeting on December 7th and the Special Meeting on December 2nd, he attended the Santa holiday function on December 16th and the court session on December 19th and reviewed the vouchers.  He attended numerous meetings on police matters as well as reviewing the plans for the police portion of the village hall.  He thanked the residents for being so patience and for their consideration and wished everyone happy and healthy and storm free New Year.

 

Trustee Burke also wished everyone a Happy New Year.  She reported that she attended the special meeting on December 2nd to review and approve the proposals for the shoulder work across from the sea wall.  She noted that she met with Nancy Rittenhouse and John Ross on the future plans for the village hall.  She reviewed the monthly vouchers and reviewed the January newsletter for Joan Hauser.  She discussed the dune restoration with Nancy Rittenhouse.  She and Mayor Letica attended a meeting with First National Bank of Long Island to discuss the various financial options for the new village hall.  In addition Trustee Burke set up a second meeting with Munistat Services, Inc. and Mayor Greg Letica, Emily Hayes and Nancy Rittenhouse attended.  She is also organizing a meeting with First National Bank of Long Island and their in-house municipal experts next week.

 

Village Attorney:  Village Attorney Bruce Migatz reported that at the board’s request he sent a letter to the owner of 495 Asharoken Avenue when it came to the village’s attention that the owner had advertised a room for rent in the dwelling. He sent a letter letting the owner know that they are not allowed do that.  He noted that Mayor Letica indicated that the owner has rented to a family and the issue has been resolved.   He sent to the board of trustees a rental registration sample law.  He reported that there has been no further action on the article 78 challenging the Podell application and that it has not been put on the calendar as of yet.

 

Treasurer:

Emily Hayes reported that all the property taxes except for $205.11 have been collected.  She also noted that the village received $8144.38 for mortgage tax for the third quarter of 2012. The total for the vouchers in the month of December was $232,866.69.  The major expenditures for the month include funding of the pension plans for the police and village employees and repairing the shoulder area by the seawall. 

 

Officer-in Charge

Officer-in-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported that another Nor’easter struck the village.  High winds caused flooding at the seawall area, as well as a few other places on Asharoken Avenue.  The police department was forced to close the road to traffic at 9:37pm.  Officers monitored the situation and provided traffic safety control until one lane could be opened at approximately 2:20am.  Village Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse arrived at the village hall shortly after midnight and helped make arrangements to clear the road.  The road was cleared shortly after 3 A.M. and the road was then re-opened.

 

Sanitation: Barry Bradley noted that the total pick-up for the month was 34.52 tons, co-mingle were 2.49 tons and newspaper and cardboard was 4.03 tons.  Big Blue is running well. Yard waste-8 families participated with 112 bags and 6 bundles.

 

Emergency Manager: Bill Raisch reported that it’s important to reflect on the lessons we learned from Hurricane Sandy.  He noted that he is organizing a round table discussion to review the procedures that took place and to find ways to enhance or adjust in order to improve the village’s emergency response to all future storms.

 

Superintendent of Buildings Report: Doug Adil, building inspector noted that he has been meeting with numerous homeowners who suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy.  He has been dealing with homeowners with all different types of damages; from minor clean-up and repairs to possibly having to raise their homes. He has been assisting with homeowners to see if they qualify for FEMA assistance as well.

 

Superintendent of Highway:  Tony Wenderoth, Superintendent of Highway, reported about the undermining of the roadway across from the sea wall.  He noted that the project is complete and the forms will be removed next week.  He noted that sand must be moved forward to fill up the area where it was washed out.  He recommended getting equipment such as a tractor, front loader and truck to carry excess sand to other areas where needed.  Tony Wenderoth called Pat Irving with the Town of Huntington Highway Department, requesting the possibility of the Highway Department supplying services for this area, he said that she noted that there may be a possibility of it, but the village has to show a DEC permit and cannot collect sand from private property.  He noted that we have to get permission from private property owners.  He noted that we have to discuss what we can do in that area, since the road is lower than the sand. He inquired if the town would charge the village and Pat Irving didn’t think so but she is not at all certain.  

He reported on the erosion by the sluice area on Bevin Road and met with Mr. Cavaganaro on possibility reinforcing the concrete wall and putting in concrete slabs. He noted that we need the sand at the dune area. He shared with the board several newspaper articles.  One article discussed putting sand on the beach for Southampton Township. He noted that the article stated that the town will be getting 2 million cubic yards of sand and the residents will be responsible for paying for it and FEMA maybe reimbursing the town 90 % of the cost. He noted that we need sand on the sound; Mayor Letica noted that he has been writing letter after letter.  Tony Wenderoth noted that the Town of Huntington should be getting more involved.

 

Zoning Board of Appeals: No report

 

Conservation Board: Marty Cohen Chairman of the Conservation Board noted that the village is in the process of getting an emergency deposition of approx 5000 cubic yards to cover the dune area.  The paperwork is in and we are dealing with FHWA since Asharoken Avenue is a federal highway and NYSDOT’s Albany and Hauppauge offices, things are moving a bit slow, but we are hopeful that we will begin planting beach grass and other plantings by March. 

 

Village Hall Expansion: No Report

Planning Board: No Report

 

Resolutions:

 

Resolution (2013-01) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of December 2012.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-02) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers in the amount of $232,866.69 for the month of December 2012.

 

Motion was made by Deputy Mayor Pierce, seconded by Mayor Letica.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-03) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve an additional $3,744.00 for the Shoulder undermining project, for an expansion of approximately 30’ of extra repair work completed.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-04) Be It Resolved, that the Mayor does hereby appoint Douglas Adil as Flood Plain Manager for the Village of Asharoken, subject to board approval.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-05) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board, does hereby accept the donation from the “Asharoken Building Fundraising Committee” in the amount of $28,090.00 for the new village hall project.

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-06) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board of the Village of Asharoken, does hereby approve the scheduling of a public hearing on Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 for a proposed local law authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the limit established in General Municipal Law}3-c for the fiscal year commencing 6/1/2013. 

 

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

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Public Session:

A resident asked about the Morgan Estate assessment, Mayor Letica noted that we have not heard any information as of yet.  Bruce Migatz, village attorney noted that he spoke with the attorney of Eatons Neck LLC and his client has no present intention to challenge the village’s assessment until the town’s assessment has been finalized. The owner has still not finalized a plan for the use of the property.  When Eatons Neck LLC finalizes their plan the village will be in a better position to come up with an assessment.

A resident asked about a village assessor and asked how the village will handle grievance day.  Mayor Letica noted that we are looking into hiring an assessor.  In addition the resident asked about the cost of the work done on December 26th near seawall.  Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse noted that the cost was $2400 for 16 hours of work.  The resident asked if the Town of Huntington was contacted and because of the late hour 2am they were not.  She indicated that there is a Town of Huntington hotline emergency number, the village was not aware of a hotline emergency number with the Town of Huntington, and therefore reached out to the three vendors on standby. Mayor Letica asked the Deputy of the Town of Huntington Highway Department to provide the emergency numbers to the village.

A resident asked about meeting notices.  Trustee Ettinger noted that they are on the home page, and the resident noted that it was on the bulletin board on website.  Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse noted that going forward the village will ensure that the notices are always on the home page and the blue board outside. The resident asked about the application for the cell phone tower, Mayor Letica noted that he will look into the public notice.  The resident asked whether Mayor Letica signed the IMA agreement, he noted no.  Bruce Migatz noted that the village should have been given notice.  Ed Carr noted that the application was not for a cell tower but for a cell antenna receiver added to the LIPA stack. He noted that the Town of Huntington ZBA has an application for an upgrade to the existing antenna for special Use permit pursuant to Huntington Town Code.

A resident asked about the property across from Village Hall and if the village was thinking of selling it, Mayor Letica noted that we were just exploring all options.

A resident asked about the fence that was damaged by the storm, Mayor Letica noted that the village called LIPA and put in a work order to have it fixed.  Ed Carr, Historian noted that the fence really does not have a purpose; he noted that the Town of Huntington has begun removing many fences that do not serve a purpose.

A resident asked if the fence be replaced since it gives a sense of privacy.

A resident asked if the village is still in a State of Emergency, Mayor Letica noted no.

A resident asked if the Village Hall will be having a cell, the new village hall will not have a cell just an arresting processing area.

A resident asked about the village plans and noted that he will offer his services for preliminary budgets and will donate his services.

A resident noted that the residents near Bevin Road and Kew Court are making an effort to get a Hazard Mitigation grant and meetings will be taking place.

A resident talked about the flooding by Bevin Road.

 

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

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Trustee Burke                                                  AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

        The January 8th, 2013 meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 9:20pm.

        Signed: _____________________________________________

        Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk