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Record of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting - March 5, 2024: Supervisor Tom Diana Memorial, Proclamations, and Public Comments

Town Board — Tuesday, March 5, 2024

BodyYorktown, New York

SessionTown Board

DateTuesday, March 5, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:15:51

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0:04

Good evening all and welcome to the March 5th, 2024 board meeting.

0:08

If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:13

Mr.

0:13

Brady, would you uh please lead us today?

0:18

Pledge the United States of America.

0:22

And to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

0:31

If we could all have a uh keep standing for a moment of silence as uh we pray for those that are defending our freedoms all across the world, and our first responders who are out there every day uh at risk to making sure that we uh could live in safety as we are accustomed to.

0:58

Amen.

1:06

Okay, we'll start with introductions to my right.

1:09

Good evening, Diana Quast, Town Clerk.

1:12

Deputy Supervisor Red Lachterman.

1:15

Sergio Esposito, councilman, Luciana Howitt, Councilwoman.

1:19

Patrick Murphy, councilman, Adam Rodriguez, town attorney.

1:25

Dave Paganelli, Yorktown Highway Superintendent.

1:31

All right.

1:31

Um my report for the town.

1:35

I will uh I will say that we have some exciting things coming down the uh down the pike in the next couple of weeks.

1:41

So we'll be doing some announcements.

1:43

Uh but uh we did have some things over the last two weeks since our last meeting.

1:48

Uh we had a new restaurant open in town, the ex Sushi Express, uh right across the street from Starbucks, and they uh have some really good sushi, beautiful restaurant, uh, and lots lots of actually interesting beverages as well from all over the uh uh the Orient.

2:05

So some great things there.

2:06

Uh the Chamber of Commerce had a really nice mixer at uh Aragon Rose, which is the old winery, it's now a brewery.

2:14

Uh some excellent food, great conversation.

2:17

They had probably 30 businesses there that were networking and working together, and uh just a really, really great time.

2:25

And we thank our chamber and a reminder for those who want to go.

2:29

They do have a breakfast mixer on the first Wednesday of each month, which is tomorrow, and that's at the Mohegan Lake Diner.

2:37

It's $20 for members and I believe $25 for non-members.

2:42

Uh that uh a week ago Saturday, I uh was able to go with uh Senator Terrence Murphy over to our library.

2:51

I'm sorry, over to St.

2:52

Mary's uh food bank, and uh from his turkey trot, he raised $12,000, which was distributed between St.

3:00

Mary's for those uh fighting food insecurity, and another uh six thousand dollars went to United for the troops as his two agencies that he was uh working with this year.

3:12

Uh really uh really nice to uh participate.

3:16

I know this year Terrence wasn't here, so he had his stand-ins with Patrick and Tommy.

3:22

Uh and uh and they did they did a great job.

3:25

Uh you know, really was a fantastic event.

3:28

They it was so busy they ran out of numbers for people.

3:31

And uh it was really great to see.

3:33

That's right.

3:34

Ken, did you get a number, Ken?

3:35

I know you ran.

3:36

Okay, Ken got his.

3:37

He gets here early.

3:38

Um we did have uh a couple of sad things, uh, but one of them uh we had a World War II vet, uh Michael Diastis pass away.

3:51

And it was sad, but you know, he lived a very full life.

3:55

He was, I believe, 98 years old.

3:57

Uh but I say, you know, uh remarkable how his neighbors at Jefferson Village, his friends, and in particular Paula Miratello and uh her fiance Kenny from uh my brother Vinny, all cared for him at the end of his life and and really made sure that he was cared for and we put something up on because he had no fan, he outlived his entire family, and we put something up on Facebook inviting people to the funeral mass at uh St.

4:25

Pat's on Monday, and there were well over a hundred people in attendance, so it was really, really nice to see uh the respect paid to one of our veterans.

4:34

Uh we also uh recently lost uh Ed Speedy uh Fogdan from our uh Mohegan Lake Volunteer Fire Department.

4:43

Uh Speedy was the one who always drove the antique truck in the parade.

4:49

And uh actually Patrick and I went to the wake, and unfortunately we're given the wrong time.

4:54

So we were there about three hours early.

5:00

Uh but uh but we were able to pay our respects at least, and um, you know, a big loss for our community, and uh we we asked God to hold both Mike and Speedy close.

5:08

Um we did on uh Friday we had the completion of our courthouse steps finally unveiled.

5:14

And Donna, thank you for cutting the ribbon there.

5:17

Uh that was a labor of love of Tom.

5:19

He wanted to make sure it got done and got done right, and uh it really did.

5:23

And I thank the board for all of their work on that as well.

5:26

And uh it was it was great to see that get finished off and uh much safer, much nicer look to it, and we're very happy about that.

5:36

Uh and then we're probably gonna have some questions.

5:39

There's a uh project going on off of Route 35.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement████████████████16%

Parks and Recreation████████████12%

Veterans Affairs█████████9%

Procedural████████8%

Historic Preservation████████8%

Taxation██████6%

Environmental Protection█████5%

Immigration Policy█████5%

Libraries████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting - March 5, 2024

The March 5, 2024 meeting of the Yorktown Town Board opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. The board discussed proclamations, proposed memorials for former Supervisor Tom Diana, personnel actions, and heard public comments on topics including landmarking, tax incentives, and clean energy.

Proclamations

Women's History Month (March 2024): Proclaimed in Yorktown, with the theme "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion."
Irish American Heritage Month (March 2024): Proclaimed, recognizing contributions of Irish Americans to Yorktown and the nation.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (March 2024): Proclaimed to promote respect and inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Discussion Items

Recognition of Former Supervisor Tom Diana: The board discussed multiple community suggestions to honor Tom Diana. Options included renaming Town Hall, a street (Barger Street, Stony Street, or a section of East Main Street), and Granite Knolls Sports and Recreation Complex. Diana Quast initiated a petition to rename Granite Knolls. The board supported both naming a portion of East Main Street (between Pine Court and New Road) as the Supervisor Tom Diana Memorial Highway and renaming Granite Knolls in his honor. The Parks and Recreation Commission expressed support for the park renaming. A resolution to name the road segment was passed unanimously. The board referred the park renaming to the Parks and Recreation Commission for further action.

Consent Calendar

Personnel Actions: Approved retirement of Mike Samuels (Refuse & Recycling) and Margaret Agrosia (Library); appointed Colin Russell as Librarian I; granted permanent status to Margaret Bagley; authorized pay for Michael Hecker (Water Dept) at $83,964 annually; appointed Thomas Dalton as Motor Equipment Operator.
Resolutions: Approved waiver of rental fee for Yorktown Lions Club ($387); authorized agreement with Pitney Bowes for postage meter; processed budget transfers for Lake Mohegan Improvement District, museum, engineering, highway; authorized agreement with Alliance for Safe Kids; approved defensive driving certification training; authorized attendance at lake conference and ACO conference; scheduled additional town board meeting on April 30, 2024; set public hearings on March 12 for Large Scale Energy System Moratorium and Smoke Shop Moratorium, on March 19 for ATV/e-bike amendment and Ethics amendment; authorized referral of wetland permit for East of Hudson project; accepted monthly reports.

Public Comments & Testimony

Paul Moskowitz argued the board gave developers a $10 million gift by allowing 147 units on Underhill property instead of landmarking the mansion.
J. Copstein praised Tom Diana's anti-drug work and questioned tree cutting on Route 202.
Larry Killian urged review of the 485B tax break policy, saying it gives $330,000 in taxpayer subsidies to developers and is not needed.
Sheila Schreyer requested case-by-case review of 485B, citing Lowe's ($619,000 relief) and Underhill Farms ($650,000 projected).
Mary Jane Killian urged the town to lead on clean energy, noting Croton generates $400,000/year from solar panels and EV charging.
Kevin Burns thanked the board for honoring Tom Diana and promoted United for the Troops gala.
Jenny Sunshine expressed concern about overdevelopment and loss of trees.
James Mecca thanked volunteers who honored WWII veteran Michael Diastis, with over 100 people attending his funeral.
Dan criticized the board's refusal to landmark Underhill mansion, suggested the town buy the property.
Marsha Stone opposed the 485B policy, citing empty storefronts and tax breaks not being rescinded.
Anthony Pichet urged accurate terminology for asylum seekers and criticized anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Susan Siegel requested updates on Hallocks Mills Sewer Extension (grant denied, what next?) and Town Hall phone system (outdated, no improvement).
Sarah Wilson praised the food scraps drop-off program but noted maintenance issues with overflowing bins.
John Capabaso thanked the board, asked for update on recreation fee law.
Jan Maychendana thanked Diana Quast for park renaming proposal and echoed need to re-evaluate 485B.

Key Outcomes

Tom Diana Memorials: Unanimous approval to name a portion of East Main Street (Pine Court to New Road) as "Supervisor Tom Diana Memorial Highway" (name to be finalized with family). Referred Granite Knolls renaming to Parks and Recreation Commission for recommendation.
Proclamations: Approved for Women's History Month, Irish American Heritage Month, and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
Public Hearings Scheduled: March 12 for Large Scale Energy System Moratorium and Smoke Shop Moratorium; March 19 for ATV/e-bike law and Ethics law amendments.
Sewer Extension: After two denied grants, town is pursuing federal grants and considering new grant writers; state comptroller rejected cost estimates.
Phone System: Town completed analysis; outdated copper lines and Category 3 wiring need replacement; moving to VoIP; specs being prepared for bid.
Fluoride: Company scheduled to return on March 28 to finish programming.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening all and welcome to the March 5th, 2024 board meeting. If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Brady, would you uh please lead us today? Pledge the United States of America. And to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. If we could all have a uh keep standing for a moment of silence as uh we pray for those that are defending our freedoms all across the world, and our first responders who are out there every day uh at risk to making sure that we uh could live in safety as we are accustomed to. Amen. Okay, we'll start with introductions to my right. Good evening, Diana Quast, Town Clerk. Deputy Supervisor Red Lachterman. Sergio Esposito, councilman, Luciana Howitt, Councilwoman. Patrick Murphy, councilman, Adam Rodriguez, town attorney. Dave Paganelli, Yorktown Highway Superintendent. All right. Um my report for the town. I will uh I will say that we have some exciting things coming down the uh down the pike in the next couple of weeks. So we'll be doing some announcements. Uh but uh we did have some things over the last two weeks since our last meeting. Uh we had a new restaurant open in town, the ex Sushi Express, uh right across the street from Starbucks, and they uh have some really good sushi, beautiful restaurant, uh, and lots lots of actually interesting beverages as well from all over the uh uh the Orient. So some great things there. Uh the Chamber of Commerce had a really nice mixer at uh Aragon Rose, which is the old winery, it's now a brewery. Uh some excellent food, great conversation. They had probably 30 businesses there that were networking and working together, and uh just a really, really great time. And we thank our chamber and a reminder for those who want to go. They do have a breakfast mixer on the first Wednesday of each month, which is tomorrow, and that's at the Mohegan Lake Diner. It's $20 for members and I believe $25 for non-members. Uh that uh a week ago Saturday, I uh was able to go with uh Senator Terrence Murphy over to our library. I'm sorry, over to St. Mary's uh food bank, and uh from his turkey trot, he raised $12,000, which was distributed between St. Mary's for those uh fighting food insecurity, and another uh six thousand dollars went to United for the troops as his two agencies that he was uh working with this year. Uh really uh really nice to uh participate. I know this year Terrence wasn't here, so he had his stand-ins with Patrick and Tommy. Uh and uh and they did they did a great job. Uh you know, really was a fantastic event. They it was so busy they ran out of numbers for people. And uh it was really great to see. That's right. Ken, did you get a number, Ken? I know you ran. Okay, Ken got his. He gets here early. Um we did have uh a couple of sad things, uh, but one of them uh we had a World War II vet, uh Michael Diastis pass away. And it was sad, but you know, he lived a very full life. He was, I believe, 98 years old. Uh but I say, you know, uh remarkable how his neighbors at Jefferson Village, his friends, and in particular Paula Miratello and uh her fiance Kenny from uh my brother Vinny, all cared for him at the end of his life and and really made sure that he was cared for and we put something up on because he had no fan, he outlived his entire family, and we put something up on Facebook inviting people to the funeral mass at uh St. Pat's on Monday, and there were well over a hundred people in attendance, so it was really, really nice to see uh the respect paid to one of our veterans. Uh we also uh recently lost uh Ed Speedy uh Fogdan from our uh Mohegan Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Uh Speedy was the one who always drove the antique truck in the parade. And uh actually Patrick and I went to the wake, and unfortunately we're given the wrong time.

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