Village of Dering Harbor
Trustees’ Meeting
Minutes
October 9, 202, 9:00 AM
● The meeting was called to order 9:04am
● Attendance- Patrick Parcells (mayor), Karen Kelsey, Brad Goldfard, Brandon Rose, absent- Ari Benacerraf; Wayne Bruyn, Vicki Shields, Donna Ritzzmann, Stephanie Deutsch, Samuel Ashner, Kirk Ressler
● A motion to accept the minutes from the September 11th meeting was made by Brandon and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.
● Old Business
○ Treasurer Report – Outstanding Bills Abstract- Patrick had questions about the lingering checks that still have not cleared the village‘s account. Would like to go over them next week with Vicki and Charlene.
■ A resolution for a motion to approve payments was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
○ Budget modifications- Last year’s budget was about $6,000 over budget. Patrick read the following resolutions to amend the budget:
■ A motion to amend the total of A3620- Public Safety and Inspection from $6,000 to $7,366.00 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A1450- Election Expense from $600 to $863 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A8686- Administration from $3,700 to $4,169.00 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A14100- Village Clerk from $19,550 to $23,816.22 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A14200- Legal from $32,000.00 to $47,531.93 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A34100- Fire Safety from $36,500.00 to $37,478.78 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A51100- Street Maintenance from $0.00 to $1042.47 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A71100- Parks Department from $23,375.00 to $24,066.75 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A13200- Audit and Accounting from $16,000.00 to $11,291.50 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A16200 from $7,300.00 to $4,348.27 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A19100- Insurance from $21,000.00 to $13,033.61 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
■ A motion to amend the total of A81700- Street Cleaning/Snow Removal from $8,875.00 to $6,007.50 was moved by Brad and seconded by Karen.
● New Business
○ Announcements- Patrick gave an update on the Calabro situation. The village has agreed with Mr. Calabro on an easement to settle the issue of the water tank. Mr. Calabro plans on returning from Florida at the end of the month and plans on settling this issue in November. His attorney confirmed this with Patrick.
○ A motion to pass a resolution authorizing the village clerk 2 weeks paid time off (18 hours) was moved by Brad seconded by Karen. All Board members present voted in favor.
○ In connection with the Exterior Repairs to Village Hall project, a motion for a resolution authorizing the Treasurer to transfer all funds ($32,945.45) from the Water Capital Reserve Account- X0246 (which is no longer needed) to the Repair Reserve account- X0253 and to close the Water Capital Reserve Account- X0246 was moved by Brad and second by Brandon.
○ A motion for a resolution authorizing the Treasurer to transfer up to $30,000 from the Reserve account- X0139 to the Repair Reserve account- X0253 as necessary, to cover invoices for Exterior Repairs to Village Hall project, was made by Brad and seconded by Brandon. All Board members present voted in favor.
■ Patrick asked that when Vicki transfers money from the reserve account to the operating account to pay invoices related to the Exterior Repairs project, to transfer the exact amount of the invoice to be paid.
○ Water District leak policy- a village resident had a major leak back in the summer. The Trustees discussed the water fee schedule and the conservation rate that was put in place to persuade people not to use village water for irrigation. Patrick thinks the policy needs to be changed to allow for leak forgiveness. SCWA has their own policy but it comes with some restrictions (i.e. what type of material the pipes are made of). Karen asked if SCWA formally notifies homeowners when there is a leak detected. Patrick said they send a letter in the mail. He wondered if the SCWA can also notify the village clerk as well. In this case, the resident was notified in July and it took them a month to correct it. Patrick also wonders if the SCWA has the ability to just turn the water off when a leak is detected. Patrick asked the rest of the board what they want to do. Brandon asked if the BOT is authorized to modify the village water rates. Patrick said yes. Karen thinks the policy needs to be fair and residents given ample notice and time to correct the problem. Patrick suggested that he draft a schedule that addresses the issue. He said he will ask the SCWA to hold that charge to resident who had the major leak until they agree on something. Patrick asked Wayne if it could be retroactive. Wayne said yes. Karen asked if the village should simply piggy-back off of what SCWA has in place for leak forgiveness. She also asked if the SCWA could check, and have on record, what each resident’s pipes are made of. Patrick said he would ask them and suspects they probably have that information. Wayne had the NYC leak forgiveness policy on hand as an example of that the BOT could look at for reference.
○ A motion for a resolution to accept the resignation of Alfredo Paredes as chair and member of the ARB was made by Brad and seconded by Brandon. All Board members present voted in favor.
■ Patrick did not appoint a new chair and will take it up at the next meeting.
○ The public hearing for Ressler Discontinuance of Dering Lane could not happen because it was not properly noticed. A resolution to reschedule the Public Hearing of the Discontinuance of Dering Lane for Ressler for the November 13th meeting was moved by Brad and seconded by Brandon. All Board members present voted in favor.
■ Mr. Ressler was present. Wayne confirmed that he has provided the additional documents that are needed.
○ Cannabis Legislation- Wayne recommended that the village adopt a local law that is consistent with what Shelter Island Town has adopted.
■ A motion to schedule a Public hearing for November 13th meeting on the following resolution was moved by Brandon and seconded by Karen. All Board members present voted in favor.
RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor hereby directs that a public hearing shall be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. prevailing time, at the Dering Harbor Village Hall, Locust Point Road, Dering Harbor, New York, to hear any and all persons either for or against the following local law entitled: “A Local Law adopted pursuant to New York Cannabis Law §131 opting out of licensing and establishing retail cannabis dispensaries and on-site cannabis consumption establishments in the Village of Dering Harbor.
○ Litigation/Legal Update- No new litigation. With respect to pending litigation, Wayne had sent the Trustees a copy of the appellate division’s schedule. Oral arguments are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Oct. 12th for three matters that are on appeal. Wayne will report to the board how the arguments go. A decision will probably be rendered in a couple of months. Two other litigation matters Wayne wanted to discuss in executive session.
○ Kirk Ressler had a question about the village lighting. He said he was not aware of the work the village was doing with the lights. Brad explained that nothing is being changed. The village is simply repairing the lights. Kirk commented that as a homeowner, who has one of those lights near his house that hasn’t worked in years, he would prefer that they not be turned back on. He also had questions about some trees in the village that need to be addressed- one on Yoco Road and one on Locust Point Road. Mr. Ressler asked who in the village is responsible for taking care of them. Patrick said Chris Johnson is.
● A motion to go into Executive Session at 9:48am to discuss Litigation and Personnel Matters was made by Brad and seconded by Brandon. The meeting was called back in to order at 11:21am
● A motion to schedule a Public Hearing on a local law adopting a moratorium on demolition of buildings for 6 months was made by Brad and seconded by Karen. All Board members voted in favor.
RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor hereby directs that a public hearing shall be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. prevailing time, at the Dering Harbor Village Hall, Locust Point Road, Dering Harbor, New York, to hear any and all persons either for or against the following local law entitled: “A Local Law amending §230-49, §230-64B and §230-65E of the Zoning Code related to demolition of buildings and structures and review standards of the Architectural Review Board”
● A motion to adjourn at 11:22am was moved by Karen and seconded by Brad. All Board members present voted in favor.