MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 1, 2010 AT 105 BROADWAY, SALTAIRE, NEW YORK.

 

Mayor Cox called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the following were in attendance:

 

Robert Lynn Cox III, Mayor

Bruce A. Rich, Trustee

Hillary Richard, Trustee

John Zaccaro Jr, Trustee

Village Attorney Joseph Prokop

Mario Posillico, Administrator & Clerk/Treasurer

Joseph Harry Baker, Counselor to the Board

Dennis Foley, Chief of Security

Donna Lyudmer, Deputy Clerk Treasurer

And approximately 60 other attendees

 

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Draft copies of the minutes of the meeting of July 3, 2010 having been previously presented to the Board and posted in draft form on the Village web site, were discussed. Trustee Richard made a motion to adopt the minutes as presented, which was seconded by Trustee Zaccaro, and on call without objection, was unanimously approved as written.

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

DOWNTOWN PLAN

Mayor Cox reported on the status of the downtown planning process. He stated that a summary of the comments received at the July 17th public forum will be circulated or be made available on the Village website,  and that a second meeting would be scheduled for sometime later in the summer in order to provide additional opportunity for the residents to participate in the planning process. He stated he felt the public comments provided direction to the Board to concentrate in three primary areas: (i) the Saltaire Market is the major concern of the downtown area, and the Board should focus on resolving that issue before proceeding to planning for existing Village space, (ii) the plan needs to address the optimum delivery of Village services without dramatic expansion oto existing building inventory, and (iii) zoning regulation for the commercial zone of the Village should assure use of the property compatible with the services traditionally provided from the commercial zone.  Mayor Cox stated that the Village will communicate with the residents on the status of any revision to the plan and future meetings.

 

 

VILLAGE TRANSPORTATION POLICY

Mayor Cox reported that at the previous meeting, the Board had tabled the Transportation Policy (Resolution #16 of the Organizational Meeting Resolutions) pending certain language modifications. The revised policy had been distributed to the Board, and Trustee Rich made a motion to adopted the Transportation Policy as presented, as the season is about 50% completed, with the understanding that the Board should undertake a more comprehensive revision of this policy for next year. The motion was seconded by Trustee Richard, and on call without objection was unanimously so approved.

 

 

BEACH WHEELCHAIR

Mayor Cox reported that the Board had authorized at the previous meeting the purchase of a beach wheel chair to assist those residents who are physically-challenged to better move around the ocean beach. The wheelchair has been in use for three weeks at the ocean, and the Chief Lifeguard Rich Wilde reports increased usage of the chair as the word spreads of its availability.  Mayor Cox reported that in the off-season the Village plans to convert the current staircase to a ramp at the Pacific Walk ocean access, which will remove all barriers to wheel chair access in that location.

 

 

AMBULANCE AGREEMENT

Village Attorney Joseph Prokop reported that he has been in communication with Suffolk County on the revised language of the Ambulance Service Agreement, and that the revised draft has reached the point where he recommends approval by the Board of the contract as revised and presented subject to Fire Company approval, review by the Village’s insurance carrier to assure the Village meets the insurance requirements and non-substantive language changes. Trustee Richard made a motion to authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement under the conditions outlined by the Village Attorney. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rich, and on call without objection it was unanimously so approved.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE TO FILL VACANCY

Mayor Cox reported that a vacancy was created on the Board by virtue of his election to the office of Mayor at the 2010 election. He stated that after giving serious consideration to a number of potential candidates to fill the position until the 2011 election, he has decided to appoint Alexander K. Chefetz as a Trustee and member of the Board of Trustees.  Mr. Chefetz, who was in attendance, stated that he would accept the position of Trustee to fill the current vacancy. The Village Clerk issued the Oath of Office to Mr. Chefetz, and he was welcomed by the Board and the members of the public with a warm round of applause.

 

 

EXPANSION OF USE OF COURTESY CART

Mayor Cox reported that he had charged Trustees Rich and Richard to work with SCAA Chairman Burt Barnett to develop a pilot program to address the concerns raised by elder residents at the previous meeting regarding their inability to bike or walk to various social events during the evening. Trustees Rich and Richard and Mr. Barnett presented a proposed plan that would institute a set route and times for the courtesy cart on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and to be manned by volunteers. The plan is proposed to be implemented by the SCAA for all of August on an experimental basis for 2010 so the Board and SCAA can review the cart use to better understand the benefits and challenges with the plan. Trustees Rich and Richard thanked SCAA Chairman Burt Barnett for his work and coordination on the pilot program, the details of which will be posted on the Village website.

 

ACCEPTANCE TO DONATION OF BENCH FOR USE ALONG LIGHTHOUSE PROM.

Mayor Cox reported that the SCAA has offered to make a donation to the Village of a bench to be placed somewhere along Lighthouse Promenade to create a resting place for pedestrians. If the bench proved beneficial, the SCAA has indicated a desire to donate two additional benches as well. The Village Administrator proposed three locations for the benches, and discussion ensued amongst those in attendance about the specific locations. After discussion, Trustee Rich made a motion to accept the donation of the bench to be used as an experiment on Lighthouse Prom near Pilot Walk. The motion was seconded by Trustee Richard, and on call the motion was carried by the following vote:

 

 

                                                Trustee Rich                 Yea

                                                Trustee Richard            Yea

                                                Trustee Zaccaro           Nay

                                                Trustee Chefetz            Yea

 

 

TRUSTEE REPORTS

 

Trustee Zaccaro gave a brief report on the recent activities of the maintenance department, part of which was responsive to specific resident complaints about infrastructure or safety issues.  He further stated that he is working with Mayor Cox and the staff on planning for the larger capital priorities, which include reconstruction of Pacific Walk, reconstruction of the east bulkhead wall of the Bay Shore Ferry Terminal, reconstruction of Lighthouse Promenade and the offer from Suffolk County Water Authority to purchase the Village’s water system. He stated that he is undertaking value engineering in an attempt to reduce costs associated with these projects, as well as their projected commencement dates to mitigate impact on cash flows, budgets and tax rates.

 

After Chief Foley gave a brief report on the activities of the Security Department, Trustee Rich reported that the Board will be investigating options to minimize the current overcrowding of long-term parked bikes on the bay front, which occupy a large percentage of available parking spaces there. He mentioned that overcrowding was also a problem at the ocean entrances during the weekends, and urged all residents to be courteous of others by neatly parking bikes in ther racks and leaving room for others.   

 

Trustee Richard gave a brief report on the activities of the Saltaire Recreation Program, which she reported is projected to exceed expectations in terms of both revenues and participants. She mentioned that the newly-hired Drama Director has infused energy into the program and has received early positive reviews for her efforts. She also stated that the Village has a combined Village activity calendar that attempts to include all village-wide activities and is available on the Village website.

 

 

ABSTRACT AUDIT

Trustee Rich presented the following abstracts:

 

General Checking No. 2B in the amount of                      $94,737.31

 

After discussion and opportunity for questions, Trustee Rich made a motion that General Checking Abstract 2B be approved as presented, and that the Mayor be authorized to execute the warrants. Trustee Zaccaro seconded the motion and on call without objection it was unanimously approved.

 

ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION

After the Board received and responded to questions from the audience, Trustee Zaccaro made a motion that the Board adjourn into Executive Session to discuss litigation strategy, contract and personnel issues. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rich and on call without objection was approved at 10:45 a.m.

 

RE-ADJOURNMENT INTO PUBLIC SESSION

Trustee Zaccaro made a motion to re-adjourn into public session at 12:30 p.m. The motion was seconded by Trustee Richard, and on call without objection was unanimously so approved.  The public meeting was called back into session by Mayor Cox at 12:30 p.m. and the following were in attendance:

 

Robert Lynn Cox III, Mayor

Bruce A. Rich, Trustee

Hillary Richard, Trustee

John Zaccaro Jr, Trustee

Alexander K. Chefetz, Trustee

Mario Posillico, Administrator & Clerk/Treasurer

And 1 other attendee.

 

NEXT BOARD MEETING & CLOSE OF MEETING

After all having had a chance to be heard, and there being no further business before the Board, Trustee Richard made a motion to close the meeting, and to schedule the next Board of Trustees meeting for September 5, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Rich, and on call without objection it was unanimously so approved to close the meeting at 12:31 p.m.