To the Editor:

It was a happy coincidence that during our first Board of Trustees meeting in person since the omicron variant took hold, we considered ways to bring more Sunday vitality to the Upper Village.

A few weeks ago, the Croton Business Council (CBC) proposed that the number of Upper Village Sunday street vendors be increased and that their hours of operation be expanded. To help guide our deliberations, the Village put the idea on the agenda for our February 22 Work Session and solicited input from residents and business owners in the Upper Village.

Currently, three Sunday vending licenses are permitted between 1 and 8 PM in June – August, and between 1 and 6 PM the rest of the year. CBC proposed to the Board a maximum of eight vendors who would start earlier in the day to accommodate customers and allow time for set-up.

A wide variety of businesses throughout the Village wrote to us expressing strong support for this concept. As one Upper Village non-restaurant merchant noted: “It would be a boost to the community and I would consider adjusting my store hours to open earlier as well…. Our Village is built upon a strong sense of community and this would be a wonderful infusion of much needed energy”. In addition to the letters received, some 450 Croton residents also let us know their concurrence with the idea via their signatures on a petition.

There would also be a charitable element to this plan—each of the vendors who receive the licenses will be asked to make a weekly contribution to Croton Caring—a benefit to our whole community.

The next step is making this idea operational, including any decisions to be made on parking specifications and hours of operation. The Village Manager will prepare a resolution for the Board to consider during our meeting on February 28th. Should the Board enact that resolution—and there appears to be very strong interest in doing so—the Village will implement the expanded licenses and hours likely to start sometime in March. We’ll then plan to revisit the program after a few months of operation to determine if any adjustments are necessary.

These last two years have presented challenges like we’ve never seen before. No members of our community felt these impacts more than our Village businesses. As the pandemic hopefully and finally fades, we all need to work together to move forward. Lots more Croton friends and neighbors gathering for food and shopping in the Upper Village on Sunday mornings will be a great first step in that direction.

Len Simon, Trustee
Village of Croton-on-Hudson

To the Editor,

As it does every year, the Village Board reviewed the Village’s annual Audit Report from its auditor, PKF O’Connor Davies. Alan Kassay, CPA and Partner, went through his firm’s report for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2021. Mr. Kassay noted that it was a very “clean” report which is the best opinion that can be received. He noted that Manager Healy and Treasurer Tucker have made for a very smooth transition in this regard.

The audit report includes three basic components – government-wide financial statements, fund financial statements, and auditor’s notes to the financial statements.

The government-wide statements are primarily those functions supported by taxes including public safety, health, transportation, economic opportunity/development, culture and recreation, home and community services and interest. For FY 20/21, revenues from governmental activities totaled $23,720,682 with tax revenues of $14,309,365 or 60% of total revenues.

The Village has 6 individual government funds: General, Water, Debt Service, Capital Projects, Special Purpose and Sewer. The first four are considered major funds for which the Village adopts an annual budget. Within the General Fund, where most of the operating expenses are found, there are also several types of Fund Balance classifications – Nonspendable (ex. – prepaid items), Restricted (ex. – benefits, debt service, capital projects), Assigned (ex. – encumbrances such as future retirements, Water and Sewer fund), and Unassigned (ex. – residual, not otherwise designated).

At the end of the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the Village reported an Unassigned Fund Balance of $3,807,378, the amount available for discretionary uses. Mr. Kassay noted that this was within our Fund Balance policy of 17 to 22% of the total budget and left the Village in a good position for the following fiscal year. Noting that, due mostly to COVID-related circumstances, revenues were down $2.5 million and revenue predictions were hard to make, but due to our conservative budgeting the Village still performed well. The Board is now beginning budget preparation for the FY 2022/2023 budget. These annual analyses of prior budgets and financial statements provide useful information in understanding and decision-making on individual components of the budget ahead of us.

Ann Gallelli, Trustee

Village of Croton-on-Hudson

Dear neighbor, Here is the 570th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings.  I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you.  If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list. 

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas –  February 28, 2022 

 Regular Meeting of the Village Board

7:00 pm

Note: The Board has returned to in-person meetings.

Recognition of Top Responders in the Croton-on-Hudson Volunteer Fire Department.  In 2021, the Croton Volunteers answered 423 calls.  The top responders will be recognized by the Mayor and Board.  They are as follows: Captain Joe Kempter, 208 Alarms 2) Captain Dave Kempter, 184 Alarms 3) Lieutenant Jim Ferguson, 160 Alarms 4) Engineer Bill Gallagher, 142 Alarms 5) Firefighter Ben Farber, 136 Alarms 6) Firefighter Jake Dominello, 128 Alarms 7) Firefighter Frank Pusatere, 126 Alarms 8: Captain Dave Altamura, 120 Alarms 9) Firefighter Hal Lockwood, 117 Alarms 10) Deputy Chief Tex Dinkler, 108 Alarms 11) Firefighter Matt Mallory, 102 Alarms 12) Deputy Chief Bill Vlad, 92 Alarms. The Department Chiefs also answered a sizable amount of alarms, too: Car 2081: Phil Dinkler, 196 Alarms, Car 2082: John Munson, 258 Alarms, Car 2083: Josh Karpoff, 128 Alarms.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

1. Public Hearing on Local Law Introductory No. 3 of 2022 to amend the code of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson to reflect the abolishment of the position of Village Justice effective January 1, 2023 and the consolidation of the Village Justice Court with the Town of Cortlandt Justice Court.  The Village Manager provided a memo to the Board in early January proposing that the consolidation of the Village Justice Court with the Town of Cortlandt would provide budgetary savings.  Under NYS Village Law, the mechanism for doing this is to abolish the position of Village Justice.   Backup documents are available from the Village’s Home page, click on Minutes and Agendas.  The documents include the Manager’s memos, a consolidation analysis and a memo on expenses/revenues. 

CONSISTENCY REVIEW:

1. EAF Part 2 and LWRP Review of Local Law Introductory No. 2 of 2022 to establish use and bulk/area regulations pertaining to the North End Gateway District.   Although the Northend Gateway Zoning Overlay has existed for many years, no bulk and area regulations have been established for it.  This local law would set those regulations.  As part of the process of amending the Zoning law, the Board must complete the SEQRA documents as well as make a Determination of Consistency with the Village’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP).  The Waterfront Advisory Committee has previously made a recommendation of consistency.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1. Memo from Village Manager Bryan Healy regarding Upper Village traffic study.  Manager Healy would like to revisit the traffic solutions proposed by a village-hired consultant, Provident Design Engineering, in 2019 for the “dummy light” intersection in the Upper Village.  At the time, four solutions were proposed but due to Covid issues as well as lack of Board agreement at the time, no action was taken.  The Bicycle Pedestrian Committee would like to reactivate this discussion.
2. Email from Pete Frisoni, Public Safety Risk Management Specialist from PERMA, awarding a $5,000 grant to the Croton-on-Hudson Fire Department.  The award is to pay for a gear washer.
3. Email from Dennis Kooney of the Croton Yacht Club regarding its annual lease reporting documentation.  As part of its lease agreement with the Village, the Croton Yacht Club makes an annual report to the Village on its membership and activities.  The complete reports are part of the backup for this agenda item 
4. Email from Andy Shapley, Croton Little League President. regarding the Little League Parade and Photo Day.  Mr. Shapely is asking for police assistance during their opening day parade on April 9.  The parade will proceed from the high school, through the Upper Village to Dobbs Park.  He is also requesting use of space at the Croton Station on May 7 for Little League’s Picture Day.
5. Fire Council Membership Update from Fire Council Secretary John Munson. Secretary Munson regularly updates the Village on changes in the status of its membership.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

a.      Consider appointing Terance J. Yant as a Police Officer in the Croton-on-Hudson Police Department at the salary of $67,071.33.  Mr. Yant completed his training at the Ulster County Police  Academy and has undergone extensive background checks.  Chief Nikitopolous is recommending his appointment.

b.      Consider amending the Street Vendor License Policy to increase licenses and effective hours.  The amendment would allow 8 vendor locations at three locations (Upper Village, Harmon, and Croton station) on Sundays from noon to 8 pm  (June, July and August) and until 6 pm the remainder of the year.  Allowances for earlier setup time is included in the amended policy.

c.       Consider amending the Master Fee Schedule to affirm the fees for additional commercial sanitation collection.  Additional commercial collection is provided by the DPW on Fridays upon request.  This resolution increases the fees for such collections.

d.      Consider authorizing the Village Manager to sign the 2022 Inter-Municipal Agreement with the Town of Cortlandt for Emergency Medical Services.   The Village’s EMS provides service to the Mt. Airy/Quaker Bridge area of the Town.  This IMA provides for a payment to the Village from the Town of $66,043 for this service in the calendar year of 2022.

e.       Consider authorizing the Village Manager to sign the 2022 Inter-Municipal Agreement with the Town of Cortlandt for fire protection services.  The Village’s Fire Department provides fire protection services to the Mt. Airy/Quaker Bridge area of the Town.  This IMA provides for a total payment of $345,387 of which $69,077 will go to the Fire Council and $276,310 to the Village.

f.        Consider affirming support for the mission and work of Ossining for Refugees and other nonprofits in welcoming and re-settling new Afghan neighbors and all those escaping oppression.  This is an affirmation of support for this all volunteer group.

g.      Consider authorizing the Village Manager to execute grant agreements with NYSERDA for the installation of solar panels and heat pumps at the Washington Engine Company firehouse. This grant is for $90,000 and will cover the costs involved in the installation.  Ultimately, this installation will reduce the energy costs at the firehouse.

h.      Consider authorizing the Village Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding (“Agreement”) with the Town of Cortlandt regarding aspects of the court consolidation.  If the Village Court consolidation moves ahead, this MOU outlines aspects of the process including consideration of hiring current Village personnel and holding arraignments at the Municipal Building.

i.        Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to amend the General Fund 2021-2022 budget in the amount of $232,156.40 to allocate funds for each of the Department of Public Works based services.  This reallocates money within the DPW budget to the specific intra-departmental uses for which it was expended.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 569^th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings.  I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you.  If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list. 

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – February 22, 2022 

Work Session of the Village Board

7:00 PM

Note:  This meeting is on Tuesday.

ZOOM Link

1.      Review of 2021 Audit Report.  The Village’s Financial Auditors, PKF O’Connor Davies has provided its audit of the Village’s 2020/2021 Fiscal Year which will be the basis for discussion.  The audit is available as backup for this work session from the Village website, click on Minutes and Agendas.

2.      Discussion on home rule legislation to permit solar canopies at the Croton Landing parking lot.   The Board will discuss the possibility of installing solar arrays at the parking area of Croton Landing Park.  It will consider entering an agreement with Ecogy Energy to explore this possibility.

Installing solar arrays in Croton Landing Park would also require an action by the NYS    Legislature permitting alienation of parkland for this to move forward.

3.      Discussion of Street Vendor License Survey.  The Board will be reviewing it Street Vendor policy which it adopted in February 2020.  It currently permits vendors to be present in the Upper Village, Harmon and Croton Station areas between 1 and 8 on Sundays from June thru August, 1-6  pm on Sundays the remainder of the year.  A maximum of 3 vendors are allowed in each area.  Under consideration is allowing the start time for sales to be 10:30 AM and extending to 8 PM every Sunday with 6 vendors allowed in each area.  Comments have been received and are included in the back up.

4.      Update on residential parking from the Village Manager.  Manager Healy will discuss with the Board his discussion with Assemblywoman Galef regarding the Village request for a Residential Parking System along Truesdale, Nordica, Cedar and Old Post road South as well as on Benedict Blvd.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 568^th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings.  I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you.  If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list.

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – February 15, 2022

Work Session of the Village Board

8:00 pm

ZOOM Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83680428408?pwd=N004YkVxSjNRTkVMMVkrbU5vS0FKZz09

1.      Discussion regarding consolidation of the Village Justice Court.

The Board will discuss a suggestion of Manager Healy in his memo to the Board that it consider the consolidation of the Village Justice Court as a way of providing budgetary savings. This would result in the consolidation of the Village Court with the Town of Cortlandt Justice Court and also the abolishment of the position of Village Justice. This action can only be taken in a year when the Village Judge’s term ends. Village and Town officials have been in discussion on how a consolidation would work.   

A local law would be required, subject to a permissive referendum. The Board will consider whether to move ahead with scheduling a Public Hearing on the proposed local law.

Back up documents are available from the Village website.  Click on Minutes and Agendas at the top of the page.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 567th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings.  I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you.  If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list. 

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas –  February 7, 2022 

 Regular Meeting of the Village Board

7:00 pm

Please use the link below to join the ZOOM meeting.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81585691966?pwd=djRqUUtkdDlqRUovSW9RTVMwNGpGZz09

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

1. Public Hearing on Local Law Introductory No. 2 of 2022 to amend Chapter 230 of the Code of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, Zoning, to establish use and bulk/area regulations pertaining to the North End Gateway District.   The proposed regulations would permit mixed use buildings in the O-1 (Limited Office) zone. Residential would be permitted on upper floors and no more than half of the first floor.  The proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is .8 and the building height is limited to 3 stories and 35 feet.  More information is available on the Village website; click on Projects and Initiatives from the Home page.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1. Memo from Village Manager Bryan Healy regarding the parking situation at Croton-Harmon Train Station.  Manager Healy provides an overview of the current parking revenues from the Croton-Harmon station, comparing them to the past, pre-Covid, revenues.  Although the revenues have picked up since 2020, they still remain far behind the 2019/2020 budgeted revenues of $3.7 million.  The 2021/2022 budget conservatively projected $1.3 million which is being achieved.  Manager Healy is recommending that conservative budgeting for parking lot revenues be continued in the upcoming 2022/2023 budget.
2. Memo from Village Manager Bryan Healy regarding funding for the proposed development by Regan Development Corporation at 41-51 Maple Street (AKA The Katz Property).  Manager Healy is following up on the rejection of funding for the 41-51 Maple (Katz) development.  It was rejected by the NYS Office of Homes and Community Renewal (NYSHCR) which grants the funding on a competitive basis.  He has been informed that the project would be more competitive in the next round of awards if the 4 market-rate units were changed to affordable units. The development is proposed to have 33 units.
3. Memo from Assistant to Village Manager Thomas Morzello regarding the Snowplow Naming Contest for Children.  Mr. Morzello describes a contest to name DPW snowplows.  The entries and winners will be examined by the Recreation Advisory Committee next week.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

a.      Consider giving notice to property owners about their unpaid tax balances, authorizing the Village Treasurer to take all action prescribed by law to collect such unpaid taxes through the advertisement and sale of taxes or tax liens, and thus designating Thursday, March 17, 2022 as the tax lien sale date.   The Village has $115,731.22 in unpaid taxes.  This authorizes a sale of tax liens and would also notify those owners of the sale and the amount they owe.  A list of the delinquent properties would be published in the Gazette.

b.      Consider adopting a finding of consistency with the Village’s LWRP in regards to the sealing of cracks and mastic contract to extend the service life and rideability of local roads throughout the region by the New York State Dept. of Transportation.  A NYSDOT  project to seal cracks in Route 9 in the Village required a Consistency Review by the Village as Croton has an approved Local Waterfront Revitalization Program under the Federal and State Coastal Zone Act.  At previous meetings both the Waterfront Advisory Committee and the Village Board made findings of consistency with our LWRP.

c.       Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make budget transfers to the 2021/22 General, Water, and Sewer Fund budgets in the amount of $90,974.12 due to refunds received.    Due to a refund from PERMA and a reduction in debt service from the recent Bond Refunding, the resulting savings in this year’s budget will be transferred to the various Funds as identified.

d.      Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the 2021/22 General Fund Budget in the amount of $17,798.92 for the purchase of police equipment. Due to decreases in some personnel costs this fiscal year’s approved budget, the Police Chief is recommending that the savings be transferred to police equipment accounts that would otherwise be expense items in the next fiscal year’s budget