Dear neighbor, Here is the 602nd 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 –  November 21, 2022

Meeting of the Village Board

7:00 pm

Georgianna Grant Room

Municipal Building

PUBLIC HEARING:

Public hearing to consider Local Law Introductory No. 16 of 2022, increasing the income eligibility level for the tax exemption for persons with disabilities.  Following the NYS Legislature’s adoption of a new eligibility level for such a tax exemption, the Village law would be amended to increase the income level for eligibility from $19,500 to $50,000.

CORRESPONDENCE:

a.      Memo from Village Manager Bryan Healy regarding future plans for two Village-owned parcels.   Manager Healy addresses two -Village-owned properties.  He suggests starting an RFP (Request for Proposal) for Lot A, th upper parking lot at the Croton train station.  He also suggests that 119 Radnor Ave. (at 5 corners location) be donated to the Veterans for the purpose of building a home for a Veteran family which would have the added benefit of returning it to the Tax roll.

b.      Email from Terrence McGarty, Trails Committee Chairman, requesting approval from the Board to transition the Trails Committee from a formal committee to a group.  The Trails committee does not conduct meetings but only convenes on the Village Trails for clearing and other maintenance.

c.       Letter from Daniel O’Connor, Village Engineer, requesting a building permit extension for 1250 Albany Post Road.   The applicant relates that Covid delays in materials and worker shortages have caused the dal.  This extends the permit to May 2023.

d.      Notice of Layoff for Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) subsidiary of Holtec International; Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC in connection with the Federal and State WARN Act.     IPEC is notifying area governments of the layoff of 30 employees in February.  This is a requirement of the State AND Federal law.

e.       Letter from Denise Harrington-Cohen, Croton-Harmon Schools Assistant Superintendent for Business, with an update on the CHUFSD District-Wide Capital Improvement project.    The district has sent  the SEQRA EAF Part 3 documentation regarding their proposed capital improvements.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

a.      Consider appointing Mark E. Frascello as a Police Officer in the Croton-on-Hudson Police Department at an annual salary of $68,580.43, pending the passage of medical exams and approval from Westchester County Department of Human Resources.    This position was scheduled in  this year’s budget.  Officer Frascello is currently with the Westchester County Police.

b.      Consider scheduling a public hearing on Local Law Introductory No. 17 of 2022, amending Chapter 20 of the Village Code, Code of Ethics, for December 5, 2022, at 7 p.m. in the Georgianna Grant Meeting Room of the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building.   The Board will hold a Public Hearing to update its Code of Ethics consistent with NYS standards.

c.    Consider authorizing the Village Manager to sign the STOP DWI Patrol Project Reimbursement contract with Westchester County commencing October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.This program is an overtime, added, patrol effort to enforce the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Laws against intoxicated and impaired driving (DWI/DWAI) in Westchester County.  The Village ay be reimbursed up to $10,000. Croton has been part of this program for multiple years.

d.      Consider a resolution of support for the development of an intermunicipal natural resources inventory (“NRI”) for the Town of Cortlandt and the Village of Croton-on-Hudson.   , A natural resources inventory (“NRI”) compiles maps and descriptions of natural areas and provides a reference for planning in a community. The purpose of an NRI is to provide information for comprehensive land use and conservation planning, and to allow natural resource information to be included in local planning and zoning. The Town of Cortlandt and the Village of Croton-on-Hudson are interested in working together on an intermunicipal Natural Resources Inventory. The NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program is offering a 1-year technical assistance opportunity for two watershed municipalities to create a basic NRI, at no cost to the Village of Croton-on-Hudson but requiring a significant volunteer contribution.

e.       Consider a resolution of support for Sustainable Westchester’s proposal to add a Solar Credit offering to the Westchester Power program.   The Solar Credit offering will provide up to 10% savings on the electricity bills for eligible households and small businesses, and will be made available first to residents in participating municipalities who are enrolled in the utility’s low-income assistance programs.

f.        Acknowledge receipt of a special permit renewal application from the Church of the Holy Name of Mary for a day care center at 114 Grand Street and consider referring the necessary documents to the Village Planning Board as required by law.   This is a renewal application.  It will be referred to the Planning Board for review and the renewal fee would be waived.

g.      Consider authorizing the Village Manager to sign the 2022-2023 Volunteer Fire Department Service Fee Agreement with Penflex in the estimated amount of $6,700.   Penflex provides the actuarial and administrative services necessary to administer this program.

h.      Consider authorizing the Village Manager to extend the contract for welding services with Santella Welding of Putnam Valley, New York, for a one-year period beginning December 5, 2022, through December 5, 2023.  A one-year renewal of an existing contract.

i.        Consider authorizing the Village Manager to accept grant funding from the CREST program in the amount of $100,000 and work with New York State to allocate the funding towards the Harmon Firehouse expansion project.   The CREST program is the Community Resiliency, Economic Sustainability, and Technology (CREST) Grant.  The award was through Senator Harckham’s office and may be spent on Capital projects.

j.        Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the amount of $10,956.48 to replace two flow meters within the Village’s water distribution system.  The Villageutilizes flow meters at its water distribution pumps to measure the amount of water being pumped through the distribution system.

k.      Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the amount of $5,751.30 related to solid waste invoices from fiscal year 2022.  This is budget housekeeping.

l.        Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the amount of $2,475 to replace the Photo ID Card Printer System in the Recreation Department.   The printer system used for issuing photo ids has become outdated and unreliable and needs to be replaced.  The money is available in the budget.

m.    Consider authorizing the Village Manager to accept a donation from Justin Rose-Sommers in the amount of $170.53.  Justin Rose-Sommers fundraised $4,700 to create a new agility course at Black Rock Dog Park for his Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 49 Eagle Scout project. He is donating the unused portion to the Village’s Park’s fund.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 601st 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 – November 14, 2022

Work Session of the Village Board

7:00 pm

Georgianna Grant Room

Municipal Building

1. Octoberfest/Fall Festival debrief. The Board, DPW, Police, members of the Croton Business Council, and other Upper Village merchants will discuss the recent event.
2. Village Treasurer presentation on expanded reporting. Treasurer Tucker will provide an update on the Year-to-Date budget status and cash flow of the General Fund.
3. Discussion on lowering speed limit minimum within Village boundaries. The Bicycle Pedestrian Committee has unanimously endorse the establishment of a 25 mph speed limit on all Village Streets where it is not otherwise prohibited by NYS Law (Albany Post road, Riverside, Route 129).
4. Continued discussion on development of Gouveia Park. The Board will discuss a memo from Trustee Horowitz who has reinitiated the discussion of the future uses of the Gouveia property. She points to two groups that made proposals in 2015 and 2019 but no further action was taken. Trustee Horowitz suggests that “the Village should be working on a Master Plan for the park’s development, prepared by a site planning professional with input by the community. The Master Plan will become a dynamic instrument to balance the interests of various stakeholders against time and budget, allowing for informed, phased improvements with an eye to the whole.”

Dear Neighbors:

Legislation titled “Local Law Introductory No. 11 and No. 12 of 2022” may bring on a yawn, but their details have the potential to help guide the Village’s towards an exciting future.

Our Board adopted those two laws November 1 after more than 1 ½ years of analysis, environmental review, hearings and consideration by advisory bodies, helped by talented planners and, most importantly, Croton residents actively participating in the process.

The evolution of this effort can be viewed at the Project Page for the South Riverside Avenue Area Zoning Study at https://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/ongoing-projects-initiatives-proposed-infrastructure-improvements/pages/south-riverside-avenue-area and at our Board meeting for November 1, 2022 when we adopted the legislation at https://play.champds.com/crotononhudsonny/event/808.

Our objective in adopting these laws was to encourage revitalization and reduce commercial vacancies in the Harmon neighborhood and introduce a mixed-use transit-oriented concept to the train station area.

Mixed used buildings, containing both retail/commercial and housing have been permitted in Harmon for many years. The changes adopted would allow housing without a retail/commercial component, since the requirement for it may be an impediment to future housing development. The new law also permits housing to have three full stories rather than requiring the third story to be constructed within the roofline of the building.

Our hope is that with these modifications, there will be more housing, some affordable but most of it market-rate, for those currently living or working in the Village or for those who aspire to be part of our Croton community, and, of course, new customers for Croton businesses.

The legislation also allows for transit-oriented mixed use and multi-family residential development in the Light Industrial zoning district near the train station. For Example – “Lot A” – the overflow parking lot across from the main train parking lot – is not needed in post-Covid commuting, so it could be an appealing site for development that would enhance our Village.

These new Zoning amendments establish the rules for future development in these areas. But actual development will only happen on a project-by-project basis under the scrutiny and oversight of our Planning Board and the Board of Trustees, with ample neighborhood and public engagement at every step in the process.

As we proceed, we will be eager to learn from the development community of their interest in pursuing opportunities on vacant or underutilized land and on properties owned by the Village. I’m looking forward to a bright future for these parts of Croton, and the active involvement by Village residents to make it so.

Len Simon, Trustee

Village of Croton-on-Hudson