Yorktown Town Board Work Session Meeting - July 9, 2024
Yorktown Town Board Work Session Meeting - July 9, 2024
The Town Board held a work session on July 9, 2024, to discuss water department updates, pump station infrastructure, the Hallex Mills sewer district expansion, and to approve several appointments and resolutions. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.
Appointments
- Anthony Galvo appointed to Parks and Recreation.
- Michael Beaks appointed to the Climate Smart Community Task Force.
- John Meystrich promoted to Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, replacing Gordon Fine, with a salary doubling.
- Anthony Altamari appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals, filling the vacancy created by Meystrich's promotion.
- David McConnell appointed to the Tree Committee.
- Acceptance of retirements: Paul Collaruso (Building Maintenance) and Sergeant Craig Scotola (Police Department).
- Appointment of Keith Cutriff to Lead Maintenance Mechanic (Police Department civilian). All appointments were approved unanimously by voice vote.
Discussion Items
Water Department Update
- Pump Station Overhauls: Dan, from the Water Department, reported that a revised draft report for pump station upgrades was received. Four stations are planned for overhaul: Crystal Lake Pump Station (Grand Springs Road), Saddle Ridge Pump Station (wooded area), Mohansack Pump Station (Route 202), and Hanover East Pump Station (behind houses). The Farmwalk Pump Station is being done collaboratively with the consultant. The pumps and controls are outdated—some stations date to the 1960s (Mohansack) and late 1980s (Hanover East). The anticipated timeline is bid issuance in early 2025, with construction commencing during 2025. Board members emphasized the importance of maintaining both pump stations and the treatment plant to avoid sewage spills, referencing a recent spill on the Croton River.
Hallex Mills Sewer District
- Dan provided a historical overview: The original 2018 report identified approximately 670 homes as candidates for sewer expansion. A petition-driven process reduced the scope to 315 parcels with an estimated cost of $14.3 million, translating to a tax increase of about $790 per household per year. A $1.2 million congressional grant (from former Congressman Mondaire Jones) was obtained, but the district establishment was rejected by the state comptroller's office in 2022 due to outdated cost estimates and assessment methodology issues. The process is restarting, now considering up to 670 homes with a fresh cost estimate of $50 million. Two funding sources are being pursued: a congressional grant (through Congressman Lawler's office) and a New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) Water Quality Improvement Grant. Board members discussed the need to keep tax increases comparable to the original deal and recommended proceeding via a town board motion rather than a petition, subject to permissive referendum. They also emphasized the importance of phasing the project to lock in costs and avoid future escalation.
Infrastructure and Capacity
- The town's wastewater treatment plant has a capacity of 2.5 million gallons per day (MGD) but is currently capped by the DEC at 1.5 MGD on a 12-month rolling average. Rainwater infiltration (I&I) is a concern, and efforts are underway to identify illicit connections through smoke testing and camera inspections. The board supports seeking to recover the remaining 1 MGD of capacity.
Key Outcomes
- Appointments and retirements approved unanimously.
- Budget transfers authorized: for Barton & Lajudis DPC (watershed inventory), payment to legal firms (Bleakley Platt, Diamond McCarthy, Sloan Slarkin), and Lake Mohegan Improvement District.
- Agreement authorized: with Fifth Asset Inc. DBA Debt Book for legal/law enforcement services.
- Parks and Recreation authorized to auction unused equipment (pallet machine parts, snow cone machine, speaker, paint, enclosed trailer, PA system).
- Grant application authorized: for DEC WQIP grant for Lake Mohegan catch basin filtration to address MS4 requirements and phosphorus reduction.
- Bid advertised: for collection and disposal of residential refuse and recyclables, with a new solicitation to secure better pricing.
- Meeting adjourned by unanimous consent.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the work session meeting for July 9th, 2024. If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Coxtein, could you lead us? And to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible liberty and justice after all. And if you can remain standing for a moment of silence as we uh pray for the safety of all of our military and first responders and uh keep in our minds and thoughts all of those that have sacrificed for our country. Thank you. All right. We will uh we are supposed to start with a discussion from the water department. I do not great discussion. Do not see supposed to read what read that. Oh, I'm sorry. Um might have been nice. I feel like I'm at home. So uh there will be due they will be doing some uh overnight system updates in the uh Pine Brook Road area. There may be some uh some loss of service uh during that time, but uh they're trying to uh update the system and get some things uh going right. We also have a couple projects that'll be going on and we'll bring water in uh for those, especially some new water loops. Uh I'm assuming Dan is downstairs. I haven't seen him come up yet. Don't worry, he's usually listening, Jim. But well, you know what we'll do is we'll go into our appointments real quick. Uh on our resolutions. We have um the appointment of Anthony Galvo to Parks and Recreation. Uh we have an appointment of Michael Beaks to the Climate Smart Community Task Force. We have the appointment of John Meystrich to the zoning board of appeals. Actually, John's already part of the zoning board of appeals. This is a uh a promotion to the chair of the zoning board of appeals, as he will be taking over for Gordon Fine, and that comes with a doubling of your current salary. Congratulations, John. And uh we uh one that did not make it on, I think it was uh car, right? Free car as long as it fits the keys that you already have. Um and we have the appointment of uh Anthony Altamari to the zoning board of appeals. Uh taking uh as John moves up, taking his place there. Um may I have a motion? Uh motion. Oh, I'm sorry, yes. Uh appointment of David McConnell to the tree committee. Thank you. I stopped with the uh with that. Um we'll keep going through all of the uh personnel. Accept the retirement of Paul Collaruso from the building maintenance department. Uh thank you very much for your service, Paul. Uh we we will definitely miss you guys miss you there, and I'm sure the guys will as well. Uh except the retirement of Sergeant Craig Scotola from the police department. Uh once again, another uh another great person. Uh Craig was in charge of our safety and uh the cert team, so I'm sure we'll be appointing a new safety officer, and uh we wish you luck, Craig. And uh we are also gonna have uh we're gonna appoint Keith Cutriff to the position of lead maintenance mechanic repair job class code 0477-02 within the police department, civilian. Um Keith has been with us for quite a long time. Uh a much, much uh deserved yes, promotion, very well deserved, and uh, you know, thank you, Keith, for the job you do. And uh when you talk to when you talk to the chief, you know how how important he is for the things they've gotten done there. So I I gotta say, even uh uh just just some uh for Christ, Sergeant Scatola.
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