Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees Meeting - January 26, 2026
Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees Meeting - January 26, 2026
The Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees met on Monday, January 26, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included public hearings on two local laws, departmental reports, appointments, several resolutions, approval of minutes and bills, and public comment. All trustees were present along with the village attorney, village administrator, and assistant administrator.
Consent Calendar
- Public Hearing on Leaf Blower Law (Chapter 180 Amendment): The board opened and closed the public hearing with no public comment and unanimously adopted the amendment, described as a cleanup change.
- Public Hearing on Battery Energy Storage System Law: The board opened and closed the public hearing with no public comment, adopted a negative declaration, and unanimously adopted the new local law regulating large battery storage systems for safety reasons based on fire chief recommendations.
- Appointments:
- Dana Post appointed as member and co-chair of the Parks and Trees Committee (unanimous).
- Kim Taylor appointed as co-chair of the Parks and Trees Committee (unanimous).
- Nora McMillan appointed as alternate member of the Traffic Commission (unanimous).
- Emmanuel Aguar appointed as a police officer (unanimous).
- Maria Broderick appointed as Acting Village Treasurer following the resignation of Treasurer Kazorla (unanimous).
- Resolutions passed:
- Authorized a test period for ambient background music at Locals restaurant and execution of related agreement.
- Authorized execution of intermunicipal agreement with Westchester County for Stop DWI Patrol Data Master Project (grant of $8,400, not a cost; corrected for record).
- Authorized execution of professional services agreement with Millennium Strategies for grant consulting services ($5,000/year plus $150/hour for grant writing).
- Authorized execution of professional services agreement with Catazone Engineering for project management of Flint Fields A and B (funded in current and next fiscal year).
- Authorized execution of updated PERMA program agreement (workers' compensation insurance, pending attorney final approval).
- Approval of Minutes: Approved work session minutes from July 7, August 6, October 6, 2025; special meeting minutes from November 6, 2025 and December 1, 2025 (some with only quorum of three trustees).
- Bills: Approved payment of bills totaling $1,766,912.77.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michael Copy (resident): Expressed gratitude to DPW for excellent snow removal, asked about availability of meeting minutes on the village website (acknowledged backlog), praised board's work on leaf blower law and sanitation progress.
Discussion Items
- Administrator's Report (Alon Katzine): Thanked police, fire, and public works for their hard work during the weekend snowstorm.
- Village Attorney's Report (Kevin): No report.
- Police Chief Report (Lt. Paprota):
- Two arrests made through long-term investigations: jewelry fraud on Palmer Avenue (January 7) and item fraud on Larchmont Avenue (January 6).
- Technology upgrades enabled solving of five hit-and-run accidents over two months where no plates were available.
- Officer Emmanuel Aguar graduated from police academy on January 16 and began field training.
- School Resource Officer Detective Hecht will conduct personal safety presentations for female seniors at Mamaroneck High School in February.
- Senior scam awareness presentation at Larchmont Library on February 26 at 2 PM (open to public).
- Reminded residents of Dark House Check program for travelers.
- Fire Chief Report:
- Echoed thanks to DPW.
- Reported notable incidents: three vehicles into buildings (Dec 10, Dec 30, Jan 18), a light fixture fire (Dec 7), a dumpster fire spreading to fence (Dec 21), two pedestrians struck by vehicle, downed wires on occupied vehicle (warning to stay inside).
- Tower ladder responded to 9 mutual aid fire emergencies.
- Presented 2025 annual report: 21 fires, 381 medical/rescue, 112 hazardous conditions, 119 service calls, 63 good intent calls, 281 system malfunctions; fire prevention bureau trained 1,582 individuals (increase of ~150), inspected ~450 occupancies.
- Urged residents to clear sidewalks (3-foot width within 24 hours) and fire hydrants (3 feet around).
- Trustee Reports:
- Trustee McGee: Appointments only.
- Trustee Post: Appointment and no other report.
- Trustee Parray: No report.
- Deputy Mayor Fennelli: Thanked DPW and fire/police; called for volunteers to join Coastal Zone Management Commission (needs 4 more residents from village) and Recreation Commission.
- Resolutions from Prior Work Sessions: Administrator summarized approvals from December 15 and other sessions, including executive session for personnel matters, capital budget amendments, employment agreement with Chief Valentine, stock donation for fire department, panic button installation, non-union salary increases, and building inspector appointment (started Jan 20).
Key Outcomes
- All votes were unanimous unless noted.
- Meetings: Next meeting not specified.
- Action Items:
- Village staff to post backlogged minutes online.
- Residents to clear snow and hydrants within 24 hours.
- Residents encouraged to use Dark House Check program and attend scam awareness presentation.
- Correction: The Stop DWI resolution was a grant of $8,400 (not a cost) – corrected for record without needing new vote.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. And welcome to the Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees meeting. It is Monday, January 26th, 2026. The entire board is present, as is village attorney. Our village administrator, Alon Katzine, our assistant administrator Brittany O'Neill. So everyone, please rise as best you can for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and America. And to the Republic. It's always so weird on Zoom. It never works, right? Um I do not have any comments this evening. Uh at least not yet. So I think we'll just dive right in. The first is a public uh hearing on proposed local law amending chapter 180 for leaf blowers. This is really just a cleanup change that we have to make. So I seek a motion to open the public hearing. I'll move. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. All right. Does anybody here have any comments on the law? No. Okay. I seek a motion to close the public hearing. So move. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. All right. So I seek a motion to um adopt the amendment to chapter 180 uh for leaf blowers. Do I have a motion? No move. Do I have a second? All in favor. Aye. All right. Thank you. Next up is the proposed local law amending the village code of Larchemont to regulate the battery energy storage systems. And this is about basically it should not impact your ability to have you know a Tesla charger in your garage. This is really aimed at much larger storage units. And the reason why we are interested in passing this law and regulating them is really safety. So most of the recommendations in this law came from our fire chief as a matter of safety because they are prone to catching on fire, and we don't want any sort of large out of control electrical fires in the village. So I seek a motion to open the public hearing. I'll move. Do I have a second?
openpublica.com