Joint Committee Meeting on Budget & Appropriations, Public Safety, Parks, Seniors, and Infrastructure – August 31, 2026

The meeting convened at 1:09 PM under the chairmanship of Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, with members from the Committees on Budget & Appropriations, Public Safety & Veterans, Parks & Environment, Seniors & Youth, and Infrastructure & Housing. All items on the agenda were discussed and approved unanimously by voice vote, with no recorded opposition.

Consent Calendar

• No items were designated as consent; all were discussed individually or in groups.

Discussion Items

• 2026-390 – Lakeland Central School District SRO Agreement: Captain Frank Donovan of the Department of Public Safety presented a renewal intermunicipal agreement to assign three uniformed county police officers as School Resource Officers (SROs) at Walter Panas High School, Van Cortlandtville Elementary, and Lincoln-Titus Elementary for the 2026–2031 school years (five-year term). The school district will now pay a pro-rata share of a police supervisor’s cost, a new provision. Costs were updated from the prior contract. Legislators expressed support, with one noting the service was important to the community.
• 2026-350 & 2026-351 – NYSOFA Grant Funds (State & Federal): Sherine Kurien, Director of Program Development for Senior Programs and Services, described the acts authorizing intermunicipal agreements to deliver services funded by state and federal Older Americans Act grants. For the past program year (April 2025–March 2026), municipalities provided approximately 238,000 units of service to 3,715 unduplicated individuals. Allocation is based on historical performance and proposals. Legislators discussed the difference between state and federal funding sources and expressed support.
• 2026-352 & 2026-353 – Croton-on-Hudson Easement Agreement: Acting Parks Commissioner William Bland and Director of Park Planning Romble Payne explained the need for a 20-foot-wide, approximately 674-foot-long permanent easement over village-owned land to install and maintain utility and telecommunications infrastructure serving Croton Gorge Park. The county had aging electrical lines and an informal arrangement; this formalizes access. The county will be responsible for maintaining its own infrastructure and will reimburse the village for 50% of certain costs (subject to appropriation). No upfront cost to the county.
• 2026-404 & 2026-405 – Kingsland Point Park and Tarrytown Lighthouse Easements: Bland and Payne presented three easements: extinguishing an existing easement; accepting two new permanent easements (one for public access to the lighthouse via a future village park, one for utility hookup); and a temporary easement for construction access. The Tarrytown Lighthouse renovation is nearly complete but lacks electrical service; the new easements will allow lighting, security cameras, and Wi-Fi. The existing asphalt path will be replaced by a new waterfront promenade. Discussions included fencing along the property; a meeting with the village is scheduled for late September to address specifics.
• 2026-354 through 2026-362 – Stormwater and Flood Mitigation Projects: Melissa-Jean Rotini, Deputy Commissioner of Planning, Assistant Commissioner David Kvinge, and Program Administrator Leonard Gruenfeld described a series of related items:
  • Amendments to Storm Water Reconnaissance Plans for Coastal Long Island Sound (adding Mamaroneck town-wide study projects) and Peekskill/Haverstraw Bays (adding flood problem areas designated by Peekskill).
  • Intermunicipal agreements for flood mitigation with Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Hastings-on-Hudson, and Peekskill.
  • Bond acts totaling $13.375 million for BPL 26 & BPL 47 (general flood mitigation); $225,000 for Peekskill (design and investigation); $3.5 million (amended) for a watershed plan (Coastal Long Island Sound); $900,000 for Cushman Road, Scarsdale design; $6.85 million for Tilliers Brook, Hastings (stormwater wetland and improvements).
  • The watershed plans will cover all six major drainage basins in the county, with the Coastal Long Island Sound plan being the third. The Cushman Road design will incorporate green infrastructure. All projects were discussed and approved.
• 2026-392 through 2026-396 – 81 Elliott Avenue, Yonkers (Affordable Homeownership): Len Gruenfeld presented the project: a vacant lot (0.32 acres) that previously housed a limited-equity co-op (REAPS) until a catastrophic fire in December 2021. The county will purchase the property ($670,000 bond under BPL 37) and provide HIF funding ($762,500 bond under BPL 1A) to construct nine affordable homeownership units (2, 3, and 4-bedroom) with 50-year affordability restrictions. Three units will be for returning original owners (at 80% AMI), and six units for new owners (at 65% AMI). The project has all city approvals and is expected to close and begin construction by end of 2026. Discussion covered AMI disparities, marketing through HomeSearcher, and two layers of deed restrictions (existing land trust and county).
• 2026-400 through 2026-403 – 90-114 Westmoreland Avenue, White Plains (Affordable Rental): Gruenfeld described the acquisition ($8.81 million bond under BPL 37) and HIF funding ($1.5625 million bond under BPL 1A) to build a new four-story building with 154 affordable rental units (studios, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom) on ~1.02 acres. The site, currently light industrial and vacant, is near the Bronx River Parkway, Metro-North, and Contrell Park. The historic Sheffield Dairy facade will be preserved. The development is financed with low-income housing tax credits (federal and state), NYS HCR subsidy, Empire State Development funds, City of White Plains affordable housing funds, and deferred developer fee. Income averaging will include units from 30% to 80% AMI. Parking requirements (set by the city) drive costs. Legislators discussed the mix of incomes, family-friendly unit sizes, and the need for transit-oriented development.

Key Outcomes

• All 24 agenda items (ordinances, environmental resolutions, bond acts, and intermunicipal agreements) were approved unanimously by each relevant committee in separate votes. No dissenting votes or abstentions were recorded.
• The meeting adjourned for each sub-committee separately, with the final adjournment at approximately 2:34 PM.