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[MESSAGE JSNF-285-09] 2

APPROVED Minutes of the May 7, 2013 Meeting of the Asharoken Board of Trustees

 Incorporated Village of Asharoken

Board of Trustees Public Hearing and Regular Meeting

Held on Tuesday

May 7th 2013 7:30 P.M

At the Northport American Legion Hall

Approximate Attendance (25)

                                                                               

                                                                                               

                                                                                               

Officers Present:

Greg Letica, Mayor

Pam Pierce, Deputy Mayor

Melvin Ettinger, Trustee

 

Officials & Appointees Present:

Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk

Emily Hayes, Village Treasurer

Bruce Migatz, Village Attorney

Ray Mahdesian, Officer- in- Charge

Marty Cohen, Conservation of the Environment

John Ross, Village Hall Expansion Committee Chair

Joe Affrunti, Harbormaster

Barry Bradley, Sanitation Operator

Avrum Golub, Stormwater Superintendent

Tony Wenderoth, Superintendent of Highways

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve the regular board minutes for April 2nd, 2013, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Proof of publication of the public hearing was read by village clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse

 

Mayor Letica invited Avrum Golub, Stormwater Superintendent to give an overview of the Stormwater Annual Report.  Avrum Golub gave an overview and asked for comments.

 

Public Comments:

Anna Pollaci asked if the IMA agreement was included in the stormwater report.

 

Andy Mendelsohn commented on several issues that were not addressed in the stormwater report. He noted that the run-off coming down Asharoken Avenue into the wetlands was not addressed that well.  He also noted that the storm drains by the last administration do not work that well and noted that the two top catch basins at the higher elevation catch very little water. 

He noted that the village does not chase down the illicit discharge; see whose septic system is dumping into the harbor and have no measurements. He recommended that we go back into the report and acknowledge some of the problems and note the solutions.

 

Drew Mendelsohn commented on a solution to the bottom of Bevin Road.  He noted that he brought up an idea to pump the water at the low end of Bevin to the first two catch basins that were not collecting enough run-off.  He said that the previous administration noted that most of the water that accumulated at the end of Bevin was seawater.  That was not the case; in addition driveways drain into that area as well.  He noted that we need to come up with a low cost innovative solution.  He noted that the village should try a little harder in this area.  Coastal Clean-up was referenced and discussed but the brush pile that exists is a concern and should be addressed. 

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to close the public hearing of the stormwater report, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

 

Mayor’s Report:

Mayor Letica reported, “On Friday, May 3rd, Deputy Mayor Pierce and I met with representatives from the ACOE, DEC, Senator Schumer’s office, Senator Gillibrand’s office and Congressman Israel’s office to discuss the large-scale restoration of Asharoken Beach. Following a tour of the beach we sat down to chat at Deputy Mayor Pierce’s home.   The meeting covered all aspects of the project including: cost, scope of work, village requirements, potential start date and other issues.  The meeting was very informative and allowed Pam and I to meet the people we will be working with.  As of now, the funding for the Feasibility Study needs to be finalized by Congress and the ACOE at which point the study can commence. It was confirmed during the meeting that Asharoken will have to pay its share of the first part of the Feasibility Study ($300,000, presently in a village reserve account). The village will have some more detailed information in the upcoming months. I would like to acknowledge Drew Mendelsohn for an excellent job helping the village come up with a question set for the DEC/ACOE meeting.  Thanks to Carol Cassmassima for providing coffee and donuts for the attendees and Deputy Mayor Pierce for preparing lunch.

The village received two payments totaling $78,838.00 from FEMA representing 75% of our costs from Super Storm Sandy.  A recent article in Newsday indicated that the FEMA’s share will increase to 90%.  Asharoken may expect additional reimbursements.  These payments exclude village hall and the Bevin Road sluice that are being looked at separately. Nancy Rittenhouse has worked relentlessly on our behalf to get our full share of Sandy money in a timely fashion.  Thank you for your dedication and determination.

We received good news from our insurance agent that our premiums have decreased approximately $23,200.   The beach grass was planted on the dune and is showing signs of emerging from dormancy.  And during our latest nor’easter I spent time down at the sea wall during high tide.

During the month I reviewed the Cablevision contract, the Grucci fireworks contract, the vouchers, New York State procurement procedures, SCARs and reviewed the MS-4 report.  I would like to thank Stormwater Commissioner Avrum Golub and Clerk Nancy Rittenhouse for their efforts to develop this document.

Since the last meeting I attended the following events:

·         Village Hall Reconstruction with Green Logic to evaluate green energy options for VH

·         NYCOM Training session in Melville

·         Northport Fire Dept Installation Dinner

·         SCVOA Awards Dinner

·         Kew Court residents meeting

 

The village is actively working with our FEMA representative to finalize our submission for village hall.  It will be a while until the village knows exactly how much money we will be eligible for.  Additionally, the village is finalizing DEC site approval.  In the meantime, the village will start to develop construction drawings and a bid package for the building to determine exactly what the new village hall will cost to build.

Trustee Reports:

Trustee Burke’s report was read by Mayor Letica.  Trustee Burke attended the reconstruction committee meeting with Green Logic where the benefits of Geo-thermal were explored.  She worked with Joan Hauser on the newsletter and reviewed the cablevision contract and vouchers.  She has arranged to have the Asharoken Blood Drive on June 18th the same day as the village election at the Eatons Neck Fire House. Per Mayor Letica this will help in having residents from Eatons Neck participate in the blood drive and will hopefully be a tremendous success.

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce reported that she reviewed the IMA agreement, (Initiative to study and improve water quality between Town of Huntington, Northport and Asharoken as presented by committee last month.  She attended the SCOVA legislative dinner with Mayor Letica. She prepared for the USACE and DEC meeting.  She investigated the process of paying village taxes with a credit card for a resident.  She attended the Kew Court/Bevin Road meeting on April 25th and prepared a memo for Village Attorney Bruce Migatz.  She reviewed the Cablevision contract and attended the USACE and DEC meeting on May 3rd.  She reviewed the fireworks contract and the MS4 stormwater annual report for 2013. She attended the “Lessons Learned from Superstorm Sandy” hosted by Congressman Israel.  The function was for first responders and elected officials. She reported on three items: FEMA is considering a new policy of a 100% of storm debris reimbursement in order to develop a quick response, NOAA is involved in creating a new metric map to help understand storm threats, and a village level response plan to minimize duplication.  She also attended a meeting with Suffolk County Legislator Spencer which covered public safety revenue sharing, downtown revitalization grants, open space and water quality protection efforts.  She also discussed fence installation and village code and reviewed the vouchers.

 

Trustee Ettinger reported on another storm that took place on April 12th.  He reported that since January 1st of 2012 and April of 2013 there have been nine storms.  Since Superstorm Sandy there have been seven storms.  On April 12th he received a call from Mayor Letica and communicated the village’s procedures with the police department.  He noted that the police had to close the road at around 2:00pm for about 1.25 hours and an Eatons Neck resident drove into the water near the seawall and the fire department performed a water rescue.  He had several discussions with the Mayor and Officer-in-Charge on police personnel matters.  He attended the reconstruction meeting on green energy.  On May 1st he attended a police reserve conference award dinner.  The Asharoken Police Department received an award from the police reserve conference for their efforts with Superstorm Sandy and all the police officers received award bars which will be presented to them. He reviewed the Cablevision and Fireworks contract and the vouchers for the month of May.  He also constructed small tables for the police department.

 

Village Attorney:  Village Attorney Bruce Migatz reported that he worked with Martin Hakker on negotiating the fireworks contract with Grucci.  He noted it’s in form that he recommends to the board for adoption.  He noted that he is currently reviewing the Cablevision contract.  He noted that the village received a Notice of Claim, from a resident of 130 Eatons Neck Road for damage to her car tire from a pot hole in the road from National Grid’s work.  It was not caused by the Village and did not receive prior written notice of the defect, so the claim was denied.

 

Treasurer: Emily Hayes reported that for the month of April we received $78,839.73 from FEMA as reimbursement for expenses incurred during super storm sandy.  The total vouchers were $96,434.12; a portion of the payments were for insurance bills of $38,950.41.  The village made a deposit payment of $8750.00 for the fireworks event and paid $12,449.50 for beach grass and installation of grass.

 

Officer-in Charge

Officer-in-Charge Ray Mahdesian reported that the department issued 35 summonses made 7 arrests and managed one storm on April 12th.  The department also received 30 water ski permit applications.  No burglaries in the village for the month of April.

 

Sanitation: Barry Bradley noted that the total trash pick-up for the month was 32.79 tons, co-mingle were 2.03 tons and newspaper and cardboard was 3.23 tons.  Totaling 39.72 tons overall. Yard waste, bags picked-up 171, bundles 19 and 20 families participated.  Big Blue is running well.

 

Village Hall Building Committee: John Ross reported that DEC inspected the property and pointed out that the DEC noted three small items that are being addressed and followed up with.

 

Harbormaster:  Joe Affrunti noted that the ski signs and the 5MPH signs are in the water and the police boat is being prepared to be put in the water by Memorial Day.

 

Superintendent of Highway:  Tony Wenderoth reported on the sluice area.  He noted that we are waiting for the estimates on the sluice.  Trustee Ettinger asked if there are plans to re-work the concrete slabs that are at the edge of the roadway opposite the seawall.  Tony Wenderoth noted that the section of the concrete that was installed, was installed having no concrete foundation under the slabs.  He noted that the sand at the corner by Bevin Road and across from the seawall has to be removed and piled up.  Mayor Letica noted that he wanted to point out to the USACE and DEC the amount of sand that washes into the wetlands by leaving the wash over area alone until after the villages meeting with both agencies.

 

Zoning Board:  Bruce Migatz reported that there was no meeting in the month of April.

 

Conservation Board: Marty Cohen noted no report.

 

Stormwater Superintendent: Avrum Golub noted no report.

 

Resolutions:

 

Resolution (2013-39) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board approves the budget transfers for the month of April 2013.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Mayor Letica.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

 

 

 

Resolution (2013-40) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the vouchers in the amount of $96,434.12 for the month of April 2013.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-41) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board, does hereby accept the donation from the “Asharoken Building Fundraising Committee” in the amount of $1,100.00 for the new village hall project.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Mayor Letica.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-42) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board of the Village of Asharoken, does hereby appoint the following election inspectors, Margaret Cleary, Hillary Candelora, Marian Milliken, John Witte and Denise DeAcetis as chairperson at an hourly rate of $9.50.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-43) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board hereby approves the MS4 Annual Stormwater report for year end 3/09/2013.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-44) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby authorize the Mayor to sign the Fireworks Performance contract between the Village of Asharoken and Fireworks By Grucci, Inc. for $17,500.00.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

 

Resolution (2013-45) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby approve the services of Breakwater Marine in the amount of $5000 for the tugboat and $3500 for the barge for the fireworks display on July 4th, 2013 (rain-date July 5th).

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-46)  Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby appoint Joseph Affrunti as the Fireworks Safety Officer for the 2013 fireworks display.

 

Trustee Ettinger made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Resolution (2013-47) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board of the Village of Asharoken does hereby approve the creating a Twitter account, to be used for Village related messages.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

A presentation was given by Carol Cassmassima a member of the SAVE THE FIREWORKS committee.  Carol noted that the event was scheduled for the Saturday after Superstorm Sandy and due to the storm had to be cancelled.  The committee raised funds from selling the raffle booklets. Carol noted that if the residents want to make a suggestion or would like to join the committee for the next event to please call her.   Carol presented a check to the Village of Asharoken for $3,500.00 for the fireworks barge.  Mayor Letica thanked Carol for all her efforts.

 

Resolution (2013-48) Be It Resolved, that the Village Board does hereby accept the donation from the “SAVE THE FIREWORKS” Committee in the amount of $3,500.00 for the barge.

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce made a motion to approve, seconded by Trustee Ettinger.

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Public Session:

 

Resident Debbie Masterson commented on a “Quality of Life” issue.  She asked if manufacturing in your garage is permitted in the Village of Asharoken. The board noted that it is not allowed.

 

Resident Mark Pollaci noted that he had offered his services for cost budgeting for the village hall project.  He noted that he owns a construction firm and for the last administration he provided cost budgeting.  He noted that he is neither for nor against the Village Hall project but would like to find out what it would take to renovate the old village hall.  He noted that he will do it free of charge.  He noted that we have a 3.66% tax increase, the Morgan Property has applied for Agricultural district which he was for, but we don’t know what that implication is going to be.  He noted that he is very certain that the new building could be over million dollars.  He noted that the building can be repaired or restored and explore all options and was surprised of the lack of turnout at the meeting after the newsletter went out.  He noted that we should take a temperature of the community. 

 

Deputy Mayor Pierce noted that the present size of the Village Hall police area is 120 sq ft and the office area has 350 sq ft. She noted that what we have is not big enough. She noted that as a board we are responsibility for the infrastructure of the village. 

 

Mayor Letica noted that this concept about building a village hall has been around a long time.  Mayor Letica quoted from the newsletter from the Irving Administration, “The condition and limitations of village hall particularly during storms and emergencies reminds us that we must seek alternatives to the current conditions, therefore we are proceeding with the plans and the permitting process with a new village Hall”.  Mayor Letica noted that this is three administrations that all felt that the village needs a new village hall.  He noted that many residents donated money for a new village hall and noted that after going through Sandy it shows how inadequate this building really is. He noted that we have had three contractors come in and give us estimates to bring the building back to pre-disaster condition. In addition he noted that FEMA representatives came to inspect the building and they pointed out that the building needs to be torn down.  He noted that we are handling this in an appropriate way and carefully and slowly.  Mayor Letica noted that the $183,000.00 totals several different amounts, ($49,500 was earmarked for infrastructure, $61,500 was originally earmarked for a village dock and $72,000 was earmarked for the village hall project in the 2013-2014 budgets).

Trustee Ettinger noted that 141 residents donated or pledged money back in 2006-2008 and 47 additional residents donated subsequent to Superstorm Sandy.

Resident Anna Pollaci noted that some residents wanted their money back and some people moved and you cannot count them into your total figures.

Resident Stephanie Quarles noted that she would like to see an itemized cost list to see how much it would be to build the new village hall.  Mayor Letica noted that in order to get a firm cost the project has to go out to bid and we still don’t know how much we will be getting from FEMA.

Resident Jim Izzo noted that he understands that the village doesn’t have firm numbers yet, but maybe a timeline would be helpful to the residents to know the different stages of the planning process of the project.

Resident John Ross commented that it is not as simple to just raise the building; you must comply with the new codes.  He noted that we brought the building down from approximately 4500 sq ft to 2800 sq ft.

Resident Joe Affrunti, asked about the FEMA reimbursement percentage and are they basing it on the old building.  Mayor Letica noted that it includes bringing it up to code, mitigating future flooding, and shelter for people during a storm.  

Resident Drew Mendelsohn asked why this is not open to the public and commented that he feels there is a secrecy surrounding it. He noted that maybe several different buildings may work which may bring about possible revenue.

Resident Anna Pollaci noted that the American Legion Hall is going to be an emergency shelter.

She also noted that the information in the previous minutes was incorrect.  The prior plans were not 4500 sq. ft but were 3800 sq. ft.

Resident Anna Pollaci requested that a correction be noted to the information in the April 2nd, 2013 minutes; Mayor Letica explained the minutes were already approved but the correction will be noted in the May 7th 2013 minutes.

Correction:  The April 2nd minutes note that the previous plans to the village hall were 4500 sq. ft. the corrected amount was 3800 sq.ft.

Resident Anna Pollaci asked about the Blizzard and will the village get all their expenses reimbursed.  Mayor Letica noted that we did not receive the invoices from the Town of Huntington yet and will be following up with FEMA.

Resident Tony Wenderoth commented about the size of the building.  He also commented about the IMA agreement and noted that the Village of Asharoken should not be part of this agreement. 

Resident Avrum Golub noted that he has been involved in the IMA from the beginning.  Northport Harbor Protection committee has put together a matrix of goals and uniform codes between Northport, Asharoken and the Town of Huntington.  Lloyd Harbor and Huntington Bay were never part of this agreement.

The matrix called for a mutual agreement to fundamentally go out and seek money via grants.  These grants would be distributed by the committee in proportion.  The notion of the IMA is for the two villages and township to work together. 

Resident Anna Pollaci commented that Northport should take care of its own problems; Asharoken does not have commercial property like Northport. 

Resident Tony Wenderoth commented that the stormwater plan was sent to the EPA and was accepted in 2012.  He noted that the two people who are responsible for upholding the points in the plan are the police department and the building inspector.  He indicated that the police may not be aware of the procedures and actions that need to followed up within the stormwater plan.

Village Clerk, Nancy Rittenhouse pointed out that the stormwater plan is being carried out.  The police department and the marine police are very active in informing the village clerk of possible non-stormwater run-off situations. When the information is received the building inspector is informed, he than performs an inspection and remediation takes place.  This is noted in the MS4 report as well.

Resident Avrum Golub commented noted that we will be looking at the plan and plant to restructure it better going forward.

Resident Debbie Masterson commented about the real estate market in Asharoken. She noted that times are different and she is concerned about her taxes.

Resident Joseph Affrunti commented that we should follow-up with FEMA to confirm what we will be getting back in reimbursement.

Resident Anna Pollaci asked about the twitter account on the website.

Mayor Letica noted that the twitter account on the website is managed by Steve T.  The twitter account that the officials will be setting up is to be used by the officials to post village related business, road closures, etc.

Resident Andy Mendelsohn commented about the deer situation.  Mayor Letica noted that we have a committee in place that is looking into the deer situation.

Resident Andy Mendelsohn commented that we need to do something down at the end of Bevin Road.  Maybe put in the markers in at the corner.  Mayor Letica noted that the markers are on order and will be installed shortly.

Resident Andy Mendelsohn inquired about what transpired from the meeting with the USACE and DEC.  Mayor Letica noted that under the best case scenario the sand placement on Asharoken beach will take place in approx 2.5 years.  He noted that all the funding has to be put in place first.  Also access to the beach came up and the village has to come up with a plan for access. 

Resident Andy Mendelsohn inquired about the cost of getting the access to the beach.  Mayor Letica noted that we discussed it with the USACE and DEC but we have no details yet.

Mayor Letica noted that the USACE and DEC would like to use Asharoken as a model program and get this project completed sooner.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to close public session, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to go into executive session, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

 

Trustee Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

No action was taken in executive session.

 

Mayor Letica made a motion to close executive session, seconded by Deputy Mayor Pierce.

 

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 Ettinger                                              AYE

Deputy Mayor Pierce                                    AYE

Mayor Letica                                                     AYE

Motioned Carried.

 

        The May 7th 2013 meeting of the Board of Trustees was adjourned at approximately 9:55pm.

        Signed: _____________________________________________

        Nancy Rittenhouse, Village Clerk