Peekskill Common Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 26, 2026
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Peekskill Common Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 26, 2026
The Peekskill Common Council held a work session (Committee of the Whole) followed by a regular council meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 6:30 PM. The work session included discussions on workers' compensation renewal, a proposed policy for the sale of surplus city real property, and potential riverfront concession agreements. The regular meeting adopted several resolutions, including a zoning text amendment for cannabis dispensaries, and heard public comments on a range of topics.
Consent Calendar
- All resolutions passed during the regular meeting were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jam Melillo (308 Ringle Street) expressed strong opposition to the proposed jet ski tour, citing noise, disturbance to pedestrians and dogs, and potential harm to the aquatic ecosystem.
- Joseph Nakotra (Ford Hill) asked for more information on the 946 Second Street surplus declaration, noting that it was removed from the agenda.
- Alexandra Hansen (1224 Seymour Lane) urged the council to consider affordability as a public benefit when disposing of small lots and questioned the all-cash requirement for the 946 Second Street bid.
- Tanya Dwyer (1 Park Place) raised concerns that the surplus property policy could unfairly benefit existing property owners, argued that right-sized housing is needed, and challenged the legal basis cited in the policy.
- Joshua Jones (Peekskill High School senior) asked about the future of the Youth Bureau and the city's plans for its renovation, expressing hope it would remain free.
- Nathan Kushan (Dykman Street) advocated for a human-centered approach to property sales and supported Tanya Dwyer's bid for 946 Second Street.
- Aaron Ousu (Peekskill High School senior) questioned the three million dollar cost for the gazebo project and received explanations about the DRI grant and underground infrastructure work.
- Martin McDonald (625 Kissum Road) asked about limits on cannabis dispensaries, suggested traffic improvements on Bank Street, and commended the council for pausing the 946 Second Street resolution.
- Tasha Young (online) spoke in support of Tanya Dwyer and thanked the council for the pause.
- Elena Walker (Mallard Way) argued against solar panels on the reservoir, citing UN reports and potential health risks from battery storage, and urged caution.
- Amanda Leith (online) attempted to comment on the property sale policy but was inaudible; her comments were not captured.
Discussion Items
- Workers' Compensation Renewal: The city manager reported a 5.1% premium decrease over the current year, with a proposed premium of $980,363 through PERMA for June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027. The council expressed satisfaction with the reduction.
- Surplus Real Property Policy: The city manager presented a draft policy codifying the process for declaring and selling surplus city land. Council members requested several amendments: defining measurable affordability criteria, allowing preliminary internal evaluation before surplus declaration, specifying minimum public notice requirements, and correcting formatting errors. The policy was tabled for revision and will return at the next Committee of the Whole. Consequently, resolutions J6 (policy adoption) and J7 (declaration of 946 Second Street as surplus) were removed from the agenda.
- Pontoon Boat Operator (Resolution J4): The city manager outlined a one-year pilot agreement with Sagardies Marina for a six-person pontoon boat rental at $200 per hour, with a $15 per trip fee to the city, four free community cruises, and a 10% resident discount on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Council members supported the pontoon concession, and the resolution later passed.
- Jet Ski and Water Sports Operator (Resolution J5): The city manager presented a proposal for jet ski tours, kayaks, paddleboards, and more, with jet ski rentals at $200 for 90 minutes and a $15 city fee per rental. The mayor and several council members raised concerns about affordability, noise, and limited public benefit. The resolution was removed from the agenda for further negotiation.
- Liaison Reports:
- Councilman Rigger reported on the Parks Board: excitement about the new tourism website (destinationpeekskill.org), success of park cleanup and moon walk events, and frustration over the inability to accept in-kind donations. Waiting on city guidance for tree/9-11 marker relocation and Mitchell Lake DEC study results.
- Councilman DeGruccio announced Juneteenth events (parade June 20, flag raising June 11, Gospel in the Park June 19) and Pride events (flag raising June 5, HIV education event, Pride in the Park June 27).
- Councilman Ching reported from the Board of Health: new pool signage requirements ($2,000 violation), cooling tower maintenance, and PFAS monitoring in public water supply.
- Councilwoman Talbot mentioned connecting local performers to the Hamilton movie showing and raised a noise complaint near her home.
- Deputy Mayor thanked the American Legion for the Memorial Day ceremony.
- Department Head and City Manager Reports: Quality of life updates included: 30 potholes repaired, 46 buckets of litter removed, 3 street lights repaired, Lee Poor Spray Park operational, pool work, catch basin repairs, street sign replacements, storm drain repair at Oak Hill Road, and enforcement activities. Police reported 15 arrests for public possession/consumption, 6 DWIs, 500 parking tickets, and 7 arrests for scooter/e-bike violations. The building department issued numerous violations for rubbish, nuisance, and overgrowth. Planning for Fourth of July, FEMA flood mitigation grant ($5 million), and Civic Hub construction (structural concrete pour May 27).
Key Outcomes
- Local Law No. 2 of 2026: Adopted, amending zoning code Section 575-19.2 to further regulate cannabis dispensaries, consumption sites, and delivery services through time, place, and manner restrictions. Unanimous.
- Resolution J1: Appointed Ed Friedman to the City of Peekskill Artist Certification Committee. Unanimous.
- Resolution J2: Authorized the city manager to bind workers' compensation coverage with PERMA for a premium of $980,363 for the period June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027. Unanimous.
- Resolution J3: Scheduled a public hearing for June 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM on a special permit application for 301 North Division Street (Peekskill Property Holdings LLC and Auto Art Inc.) and referred the application to the Planning Commission for a report and recommendation. Unanimous.
- Resolution J4: Authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Sagardies Marina LLC to operate a pontoon boat concession at Fleischmann Pier for a one-year pilot, with terms including $15 per trip city fee and resident discounts. Unanimous.
- Resolution J8: Authorized the city manager to enter into an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Buchanan for supplemental police services for 2026-2030. Unanimous.
- Resolutions J5, J6, J7: Removed from the agenda by council motion. J5 (jet ski/water sports operator) will be renegotiated; J6 (surplus property policy) and J7 (declaration of 946 Second Street as surplus) tabled pending revision of the sale policy.
- The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session to discuss personnel matters.
Meeting Transcript
Not I'm checking right now. I have not heard from her. Okay. Good evening and welcome to our committee of the whole meeting for today, May 26, 2026. We have a short agenda, and then we have an executive session for discussion of matters concerning the medical, financial credit, or employment history of a particular person, persons, or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person, persons, or corporation. So at this time, I'll turn it over to our city manager. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Good evening, evening. First up, we have the results of our uh broker looking for the best option for us for workers' comp insurance renewal for June 1st through the 31st of May next year. And uh basically it can be boiled down to uh a 5.1 percent decrease over this past year and last year, uh the year we're in uh is ending with a 7.27% increase. So this was uh something that we were happy to see. And uh this we were we spent a lot of time talking to them about the self-insured retention program and whether or not we would use that, and so you can see here the the comparison to the 1.3 million dollars, but aside from the chance that that might not work out for us, this also would require additional work by uh the city city staff, which uh and we're not well staffed for the work that would be necessary for which we currently have a uh service due for us. And so if the council is okay with that, we have that prepared for the uh for the resolution tonight. Any questions, any comments, council? It's nice to see the premiums going in the right direction. It would be nice if everything else followed suit, but I'm good. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, thank you. Okay, and uh next up we the city staff uh got together and met to talk about having a policy for the transfer of city-owned property uh for and we just picked one half acre uh based on our experience with this. So the truth is that there have been lots of property deals that have not been able to advance further, and one of the um reasons is a lack of understanding of what our process is and what all of the uh necessary discussions we have to engage in in order to get a a piece of property up to the council for your decision. And so uh so we talk about it how we usually uh process property and there's basically four different methods uh and we uh they usually uh have to do with the determination of fair market value and the city council's fiduciary duty to obtain the highest value for the unneeded and surplus property in a meeting with the city attorney assessor and planning department. We put together a proposed policy for the council's um review and approval, and it lists out uh the necessary steps for getting a property uh listed as surplus, not needed. It um goes through the requirement by case law for establishing a value and the fiduciary duty that the city council has as stated in those those cases, uh and we talk about conditions affecting marketability, and then there are the four methods of sale that we talk about auction, a request for bids, listing with a licensed real estate broker, or getting an appraisal-based negotiated sale. And this put this all into a legal framework, talks about how the council would review that and review the property to declare it surplus and then approve the method of sale for the property. And that is a summary of the uh document that you have in front of you. Council questions, comments? So I just have a quick question. So this is not setting a new policy, right? This is just sort of like for transparency and to codify the pre-existing what's already been happening in the city so that people can see what's been happening. Is that accurate, Matt? This is and this is also to put out as a published document for the public to see for transparency. Thank you. A couple of just a couple of quick questions or uh potential adjustments under the affordability in section one. I'd like to see us really define what that measurable criteria is and remove some of the subjective language there. Like is there a unit count for the threshold? Is there something in there that we could put that is actually measurable criteria? Under section two on the on the purpose and scope required determination of surplus. We end with the line no marketing negotiation or valuation may occur without the surplus declar declaration. I think that really kind of is a blanket statement that may work against us. I think we would probably want to have some at least internal negotiations and to figure out where we're headed with the property so that the council could make a correct decision. So I'm thinking we might want to add some language that would allow preliminary internal evaluation in that portion. Say that again, we will not I worded it as allow preliminary internal evaluation analysis. Okay. Um on page six, section five number four under additional requirements. I'd also like to sort of fill that out a little bit. Um add uh minimal what the minimal public notice would be, what the minimal public notice period would be, and how we would notice that. You know, is that is that mailing to adjacent owners, is that web post? How are we noticing that type of information? Um on the last page of it, we there's some just uh Roman numeral confusion, which should be seven, eight, and nine.
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