Village of Dering Harbor
Trustees’ Meeting Minutes
October 12 th , 2019, 9am

● Attendance- Betsy Morgan, Mayor, and Trustees Karen Kelsey, Patrick Parcells, Clora Kelly, Ari Benacerraf; Wayne Bruyn (Village Attorney), Victoria Weslek (Village Clerk
& Treasurer); Donna Ritzmann (stenographer), Amber Brach-Williams, Bridgford Hunt, Kirk Ressler, Annbeth Eschbach, Devon Cross
● The meeting was called to order at 9:08am
● Ari moved and Clora seconded to approve the minutes from the September 14 th meeting.
All board members voted in favor
● Old Business
● Water Update from Patrick

The village has been working on a long-term agreement with SCWA for nearly a year.
Patrick wanted to review what is in the agreement and field any questions people may have. The 40-year agreement is in the form of a lease. The village can terminate the agreement whenever it wants, SCWA cannot. They do not have to renew in 2059 but they cannot pull out of the agreement before then. He explained the capital investment component and the operating component. Capital improvements will include installing 2 new wells and an updated control center. Patrick noted that the cost of the agreement (1.1 million dollars) is the maximum the village will bear. If it’s less, that’s what village will be responsible for. If it exceeds that amount, then SCWA will cover that. There are no hidden costs or hidden expenditures. The greatest risk to the village is operating the water system. It was clear back in 2017 that the village itself was not equipped to manage the water system properly. Hap Bowditch did a good job with the tools that he had at his disposal, but it was too much. The SCWA has the resources to manage the system and make sure everything is properly filed with the county. Patrick also explained how much the village will save versus what it would spend keep the operational costs “in house.” Karen remarked that what the village gets is fixed costs, expertise, and really good water. Residences will need to pay for their water usage, but it isn’t a revolutionary notion. It will encourage water conservation and it’s still less money than what residents were paying in taxes for operating the water system.
Kirk Ressler asked what is being leased and to whom.
Patrick replied everything that has to do with the water system.
Mr. Ressler also had a question about rates and how the SCWA come to them.
Wayne explained that the rate that the village will pay is the same as the rate that is charged on the rest of Long Island.
Bridgford asked about the expansion of the water district.
Patrick explained that that part of the agreement was taken out.
Devon Cross remarked that being able to avoid the regulatory requirements and liability alone makes entering into the long-term agreement worth it.
Patrick suggested that a special meeting be scheduled to sign the long-term agreement. Patrick also briefly talked about the water usage report for September.

● Ways and Means: Treasurer’s Report prepared by East End Accounting Services

A. Bank reconciliation
B. Karen moved and Ari seconded a resolution to approve the abstract/bills to be paid. All Board members voted in favor.
C. T&A account closing. Just waiting on confirmation from Quickbooks that the payment info has changed and that there is nothing else being paid from that account.
D. Nawrocki Audit- being scheduled for sometime in late October, early November.
E. Fire contract- a new contract is being drafted

● Appointment of alternates to the ARB and ZBA
A resolution to appoint Martha Baker as an alternate to the ARB was moved by Patrick and seconded by Clora. All Board members voted in favor.
A resolution to appoint Brad Goldfarb as an alternate to the ZBA was moved by Patrick and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
● Update on General Code from Karen

Karen summarized why the village needs the services of General Code. The village has many laws, they are disorganized, and the laws that are published online have not
been updated properly. General Code will codify the village laws by reviewing them, organizing them, produce 2 hardcopy documents and they will also be published
online. The next step in the process is to review a manuscript that General Code has produced, which is their codification of the village laws. It is organized alphabetically
by chapters and includes a history of each law and any amendments that were passed. It also includes an editorial and legal analysis and points out places where there are
inconsistencies, either within the village law or with state law. This review needs to be done by February.
Bridgford expressed interest in putting the draft (once it has been prepared) on the website for residents to review, in the interest of transparency.
However, Wayne explained why that could not happen. It would create a lot of confusion. He also explained the process. Once there is a final draft code, there will
be a disposition list and the village will adopt the new code by local law. All of the amendments to each section of the code will be subject to the public hearing. In most
cases, it will be about updating laws to reflect changes in and consistencies with state law. There may also be cases where the village will be repealing or replacing because
it is so out of date.

● Status of Litigation and FOIL requests; educational Webinar

Vicki gave an update about an educational webinar opportunity for ZBA, ARB, and Planning Board members. She will forward the info to every member of the ZBA, ARB, Planning Board, and the Board of Trustees.
Regarding litigation, Wayne reported that there was a recent filing . But there is no change in the status of litigation. With respect to the most recent foil requests, the village has been in contact with COOG (NYS Committee on Open Government). Vicki reported lots of correspondence last month and official responses sent out.

● Public Works update from Rob Ferris via email. Betsy reviewed the list and asked Vicki to look at the list and see what she needs to be responsible for.
● New Business
● Land Preservation Partnership sign on Manhanset for Mildred Flower Herd preserve –

Bridgford reported that the sign is slated to be installed on Tuesday. Gordon Gooding (head of the open-space committee) is apparently the contact. Kirk Ressler gave some background on the history of this project, as did Besty. Betsy asked Vicki to get in contact with Gordon Gooding and Philip Berdolt (Suffolk County Parks Commissioner) about a letter she received regarding installation of the aforementioned sign.

● A motion to go into Executive Session at 10:53am was moved by Ari and seconded by Patrick. All Board members voted in favor.
● The meeting was called back in to order at 12:52pm.
● Karen moved and Ari seconded a resolution for an increase in salary and a one-time Service Award to Vicki Weslek, Village Clerk. All board members voted in favor.

RESOLVED, that upon her one-year anniversary as Village Clerk, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor hereby authorizes an 8% increase in the annual salary of Vicki Weslek commencing on the next pay period and further grants Vicki Weslek a Service Award in the form of a one-time payment in the amount of $1,000.00.

● Karen moved and Clora seconded a resolution accepting a proposal from Asset Control Solutions for an asset analysis. All Board members voted in favor.

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor hereby accepts the proposal of Asset Control Solutions, Inc., dated October 11, 2019, in the amount of $1,850.00 for the inventory, evaluation and report on the buildings, movable assets and site improvements of the Village of Dering Harbor.

● Date for Next Meeting is Saturday, 9 th of November 2019 at 9:00 a.m.
● A motion to adjourn at 12:53pm was moved by Ari seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.