North Salem Town Board Regular Meeting and Worksession - June 10, 2025

The Town of North Salem Town Board met at 7:00 p.m. on June 10, 2025, at Town Meeting Hall, 66 June Road, in person and via Zoom, for its regular meeting and worksession. All motions before the board passed unanimously unless otherwise noted. The worksession included discussion of short-term rental legislation and water system testing, with no formal votes on those items.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the May 13, 2025 regular meeting/worksession minutes as delivered.
• Accepted May 2025 monthly reports from the Building Inspector, Facilities Manager, Highway Department, Planning Board, Police Department, Receiver of Taxes, Supervisor, Town Clerk, and Recreation Department as delivered. A question was raised about a negative actual-expenditure figure in budget line 1620.416 (security systems); the Supervisor said it appeared to be an error and would be corrected.
• Authorized town bills of $290,221.72 and highway bills of $17,596.22.
• Appointed Alexia Vassilio as provisional assessment assistant, effective June 15, 2025, at an annual salary of $74,223; the Supervisor praised her work.
• Appointed Claire Champone to the Historic Preservation Commission for a term expiring September 1, 2025.
• Authorized a $6,509 budget transfer from account 0101220.140 (Supervisor/Office Assistant) to account 0101680.438 (Central Data Processing) to purchase 10 desktop computers before Windows 10 support ends after August 2025.
• Authorized the Supervisor to sign a time-extension letter with Tundra Contracting Group for exterior painting and board replacement at Lancey Hall. During discussion, the board agreed that change order 4 should be amended to reflect the actual scope (siding removed on all sides) and to address referenced items (16 through 22) before the Supervisor signs; the resolution passed with those corrections.
• Authorized tax refunds of $277.01 and $5.00 to Adam Siegel and Helyna Lee (567 Grant Road) for May 2025 tax collection.
• Amended Resolution #182-25 to authorize the Supervisor to sign the updated June 6, 2025 facilities-use application for the PQ parking lot and gym for a one-week August sports camp.
• Amended Resolution #34-25 to authorize payment of $531.54 to Northeast Westchester Special Recreation, Inc. as North Salem's per-participant match for the 2025 interagency agreement through June 30, 2025, reflecting the corrected three-year average per the May 21, 2025 letter.
• Authorized a recreation-program refund of $740.00 to Jared Smith (Ridgefield, CT).
• Authorized the Supervisor to sign an agreement with CRP Sanitation, Inc. for 2025 summer camp refuse service, including container delivery and removal, at a cost not to exceed $2,080.

Major Resolution: Croton Falls Master Plan

• The board accepted the draft Croton Falls Master Plan as complete, set a public hearing for July 8, 2025 (the transcript says "2024" in one instance; context indicates 2025) at 7:00 p.m. at Town Meeting Hall, and referred the plan to the Westchester County Planning Department under Town Law §272-a, General Municipal Law §239, and County Legislative Administrative Code §277.61. The board considered the draft FEAF and acted as lead agency under SEQR.

Worksession: Short-Term Rental Draft Legislation

• Planning Board representatives presented draft short-term rental legislation. The draft would regulate rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days as a special permit use, require county registration and sales-tax collection, and allow either the principal dwelling or an accessory apartment to be rented, but not both. It would not restrict longer-term leases of six months or more.
• The draft reflects North Salem's large number of accessory apartments; existing accessory-dwelling special permits already require the owner to occupy one unit. The Planning Board reviewed at least six other municipalities' laws, took a planning federation course on short-term rentals, and researched case law. Council members asked about the difference from bed-and-breakfasts (food service requires Department of Health approval) and confirmed that only rentals under 30 days are covered. The board praised the work but decided to hold the item over for further review before scheduling a public hearing; it will be placed on a future agenda.

Worksession: SRWD Water Testing Update

• The Supervisor provided a detailed update on Sunset Ridge Water District testing. PFOS/PFOA standards discussed: the federal number was 72 parts per trillion, New York set 10 ppt, the federal standard is now 10 ppt, and New York's current standard is 4 ppt. Candlewood has PFOS below the current maximum contaminant level but could fail if the state lowers the standard further.
• At Sunset Ridge, uranium-removal ion-exchange canisters have also removed PFOS since 2018; proof-of-concept testing for PFOS-specific canisters was done in 2022 and again in 2023/24. The state has not yet approved the PFOS canister configuration, and the review has been slow. The Supervisor said the canisters work and cost about $3,500 each; the state is requiring 12 canisters, arranged as six duty canisters in parallel each paired with a backup canister in series, although he believes only six duty canisters would be needed for the roughly 48 gallon-per-minute flow. The uranium/PFOS canisters are expected to last six or seven years.
• For PAPS, PFOA/PFOS levels are above the new 4 ppt standard, and the town has a grant of about $845,000 for a new building; the county has asked about completing a BIBO-designed project, but the town rejects that design because it will not fit/work. The town may need to borrow additional capital for water system work, including Croton Falls, which has about $250,000 available but may need about $320,000. No formal action was taken on water testing.

Key Outcomes

• All resolutions were approved unanimously, including the Croton Falls Master Plan public-hearing resolution and the amended Tundra time-extension authorization.
• The short-term rental legislation was held over for additional board review; no public hearing date was set.
• The board received the water-system testing update; next steps include obtaining state approval of the PFOS canister system, considering capital borrowing for water projects, and continuing PAPS work. The meeting then adjourned without further public comment.