Village Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting
November 15, 2007
7:30 p.m.
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Briarcliff Manor, New York was held in the Village of Briarcliff Manor Village Hall, at 1111 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, New York of the 15th of November 2007 commencing at 7:30 p.m.
Present
William J. Vescio, Mayor
Elsie Smith, Trustee
Gayle Waxenberg, Trustee
Also Present
Michael Blau, Village Manager
Christine Dennett, Village Clerk
Clinton Smith, Village Counsel
Absent
Ingrid Richards, Assistant Village Manager
David Venditti, Deputy Mayor
Robert Mayer, Trustee
Audit Presentation, Fiscal Year 2006-2007; Susan Barossi from Bennett, Kielson, Storch and DeSantis, a Division of O’Connor, Davies, Munns & Dobbins, LLP
Ms. Susan Barossi and Mr. John Pinto presented to the Board.
Mayor Vescio thanked them for their presentation and complimented the staff on their hard work.
Public Hearing, Amend Special Use Permit, St. Theresa’s Catholic School
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to open the public hearing.
Village Manager Blau explained the Church and the School currently operated under two permits and joining them into one would be easier administratively.
Village Attorney Smith stated if both permits were joined into one permit and one of the two ceased to exist the other wouldn’t be affected.
Mr. Andrew Saunders on behalf of St. Theresa’s stated they had no problem with any of the conditions and didn’t see an issue with joining the permits together.
Mayor Vescio stated he was concerned with erosion and the location of the crosswalk. He asked in the burm could be stabilized and if someone could stand on the Church side of the crosswalk while people crossed.
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to close the public hearing.
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that the request from St. Theresa’s Catholic Church to amend a Special Use Permit relating to the installation of a new pathway, lighting and a stairway between the church and the school at the property located at 1394 Pleasantville Road is hereby approved subject to the following conditions:
1. The Church shall be required to re-vegetate and landscape all areas disturbed by the proposed site improvements, including the area of the abandoned staircase and the sloped area located just west of Central Drive disturbed by grading activities.
2. The hours of the walkway lighting shall be limited to between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm Monday through Friday and the walkway lighting shall not be utilized on weekends.
3. The appropriate wattage of the walkway lighting fixtures shall be determined by the Village Building Inspector based on a nighttime site inspection.
4. A connecting walkway be provided between the bottom of the new stairs and the north entry walk to the church building.
5. That the Special Use Permit issued to St. Theresa’s School be incorporated into the same document as the Special Use Permit issued to St. Theresa’s Church so that administratively they can be handled together.
Board of Trustees Announcements
§ The Community Bonfire and Sing-a-long is December 9th at 5pm
§ The Library is open and safety measures are in place
§ A volunteer is needed to fill a vacancy on the Conservation Advisory Council
Village Managers Report
§ The line painting project is complete
§ The sidewalk project will be done in the spring
§ The second lap of leaf pickup is complete
§ The paving project is complete
Public Comments
No comments
Election Resolution for Annual Village Election 2008
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that the annual Village Election will be held in the Village of Briarcliff Manor on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 between the hours of 6:00am and 9:00pm during which the polls will be open.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following Village Offices are to be elected at the annual Village Election of March 18, 2008 for the terms as set forth herein:
Office Term
Trustee (2) 2 Years
Tax Certiorari, 345 Scarborough Road
Mayor Vescio asked why there was a lack of communication between the Town and the Village.
Village Manager Blau stated he reached out to the Town and scheduled a meeting to discuss improving communication and coordination.
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution as amended:
WHEREAS, Philips Electronics North America Corp. and/or North American Philips Corporation (Petitioner) instituted tax certiorari proceedings pursuant to Article 7 on the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York;
WHEREAS, the tax certiorari filing is for Town of Ossining assessment years 2003 through 2007; and
WHEREAS, the tax certiorari filing relate to Village of Briarcliff Manor fiscal years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Ossining and the Petitioner have agreed to a compromise and settlement of tax certiorari; and
WHEREAS, the compromise and settlement were approved by the Town Council for the Town of Ossining on October 9, 2007; and
WHEREAS, for the tax year associated with the Village’s fiscal year 2008-2009, the assessment will be reduced on the assessment roll.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees does hereby authorize the payment of tax refund for Fiscal Years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 in the following amounts based upon the reduced assessment values in the compromise and settlement:
FY 2004-2005 $9,655.38
FY 2005-2006 $23,257.47
FY 2006-2007 $30,971.16
FY 2007-2008 $36,656.30
Total Refund $100,540.31
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees does hereby appropriate $100,540.31 of General Fund fund balance to pay for the compromise and settlement of the tax certiorari with the Petitioner.
Authorize Village Manager to Execute Agreements
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for participation in the Stormwater Education and Outreach Grant with Westchester County
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Village of Briarcliff Manor herein called the “Municipality”, after thorough consideration of the various aspects of the problem and study of available data, has hereby determined that certain work, as described in its application and attachments, herein called the “Project”, is desirable, is in the public interest, and is required in order to implement the Project; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Conservation Law (“ECL”) authorizes State assistance to municipalities for water quality improvement projects by means of a contract and the Municipality deems it to be in the public interest and benefit under this law to enter into a contract herewith;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY the Board of Trustees
1. That Michael Blau, Village Manager is the representative authorized to act in behalf of the Municipality’s governing body in all matters related to State assistance under ECL Articles 17, 51 and 56 and/or any applicable federal grant provisions. The representative is also authorized to work with and through the County of Westchester as the lead party to make application, execute the State Assistance Contract, submit Project documentation, and otherwise act for the Municipality’s governing body in all matters related to the Project and to State assistance.
2. That the Municipality agrees that it will fund its portion of the cost of the Project through allowable in-kind services and that funds will be available to initiate the Project’s field work within twelve (12) months of written approval of its application by the Department of Environmental Conservation;
3. That one (1) certified copy of this resolution be prepared and sent to the Westchester County Department of Planning
4. That this Resolution take effect immediately.
Westchester County for the use of the County’s Paper Shredder (Shred Mobile)
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that Michael Blau, Village Manager is hereby authorized to execute a letter agreement on behalf of the Village of Briarcliff Manor Board of Trustees with Westchester County regarding use of the shred mobile.
Dedication of Road – Austin Place
Village Attorney Smith stated the Board could go ahead and take the dedication of the road but if the applicant didn’t pay they would lose leverage.
Trustee Smith asked that the issue be resolved before the road is dedicated.
Mayor Vescio suggested putting the money into a separate escrow account protecting both the applicant and the Village.
Village Attorney Smith stated as a matter of course the Village should obtain a deed for the road as well as the dedication.
Schedule Public Hearing, Cable Television Franchise Agreement with Verizon
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that a Public Hearing is hereby scheduled for December 20, 2007 to hear and discuss the Cable Franchise Agreement with Verizon.
Fire Department Membership
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Briarcliff Manor hereby approves the membership of Dennis Moriarty to the Briarcliff Manor Fire Company.
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Briarcliff Manor hereby approves the membership of Shalin Patel to the Briarcliff Manor Fire Company.
Minutes
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of October 23, 2007.
Upon motion by Trustee Smith, seconded by Trustee Waxenberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of November 1, 2007 as amended.
Adjournment
Upon motion by Trustee Waxenberg, seconded by Trustee Smith, the Board voted unanimously to close the meeting at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Christine Dennett
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