The Yorktown Town Board met on October 1, 2024, addressing a packed agenda including proclamations, presentations, a major discussion on fluoridation of the public water supply, public hearings on recycling, solar energy, battery storage, and smoke shops, and approval of numerous resolutions. The board voted to set a public hearing on a proposed local law that would give the town board authority over fluoridation, effectively pausing the practice pending further information. The meeting lasted late into the night, reflecting the contentious nature of several agenda items.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the uh town board meeting of October 1st, 2024. If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, absolutely. I proudly allegiance to the flag of 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 remain standing for a moment of silence, uh, as we are uh six days away from the anniversary of the uh October 7th attacks in Israel, uh we keep the uh the hostages in our prayers. We uh hope for peace uh in the Middle East in the near future, and uh pray pray for uh God to show us the way there. Thank you. Please be seated. Start with introductions to my right. Good evening, Diana Quest, Town Clerk. Good evening, Councilwoman Luciana Howitt. Supervisor Ed Lacterman, Deputy Supervisor Sergio Esposito, Councilman Patrick Murphy. Councilman, Susan Siegel. Christine Kager standing in for Adam Rodriguez as a as the town attorney tonight. All right. So I had some copious notes about things that went on this week, which I left upstairs. So you're you're saved. Uh I will just uh I I do want to mention a couple things. We had the run for recovery this weekend at the park, which was very well attended, uh trying to end the the stigmatism of uh of uh drug use and and drug abuse uh and have people realize that is a don't worry about Lorraine, I never printed it, it's still on the computer. Okay. Uh but to end that stigmatism and and realize that this is a illness that that uh people need help with, and they do a fantastic job. So uh, you know, really uh great, great showing and run, and um not that I ran anywhere, but it was uh it was nice to see all the people there to support that. Uh and yesterday we did have a uh remembrance and a survivor from the October 7th uh attacks in Israel who was at the music festival who came and uh gave his story, uh a young man, 24-year-old uh uh American Israeli by the name of uh Atier. And uh it was a compelling story. Uh I know I see quite a few people who were there last night. Uh and to see someone in Israel, if you don't know it's mandatory to serve in the armed forces. Uh so to see someone who was a military man uh in a situation where uh evade and escape was his only option, and and to see what it you know the effect uh and to see what was happening with his friends and then having to trust a total stranger uh who was a uh Bedouin Muslim Israeli who that he knew did not know who helped to hide him uh and to hear the experience and see what he went through was just an amazing, amazing thing. Uh so it just uh I I really want to give a shout out to the young lady who organized it all. Uh Talia Pearson Cohen. Uh Talia's uh uh grandfather was a judge in our town, her mother is a judge in our town. Uh so they they have very close ties to the to the community, and uh one of the hostages who was murdered, or one of the the the concert goers on the right over here, is actually uh or was actually her cousin. So uh and around the room we have some of the people who unfortunately did not make it out and um were senselessly slaughtered. And uh, you know, we have a lot of things in our community that and and in our in our world, never forget, never forget the Holocaust, never forget 9-11, never forget any of these terrorist attacks, and uh you know, as I said, we pray for a day when there is no terrorism, when there's when that is not the message to kill someone uh for a political uh statement. It just does not uh it just does not make sense in in the world, and uh we we pray for that to uh end. Uh we will uh we're trying to arrange and we'll work on trying to do a candlelight vigil here at town hall on October 7th at 6 p.m. Uh I'm trying to get that uh organized and together with uh Rabbi Hever, and we will try to uh have that right out front on the front area. So uh please stay focused for that or stay alert for that. Um we do have a couple of great things coming up though to get on to some better things in another uh six days. Next actually Friday, not even uh we have uh Scared by the Sound, our haunted house, which is at the old Turcos opening. Uh so that'll run every weekend through uh November 2nd. So it'll run the first and second of November. That's Saturday and uh Friday and Saturday. Uh they do a phenomenal job. They've been doing this for a lot of years, and uh they've added to it if you went through it last year. I think they've added a few extra rooms and it should be a really great time. And I'm sure that Ariana will get up later and talk. But on Sunday, October 6th, we have our um we have our uh support connection walk-a-thon at FDR Park. I believe the step off is 10 o'clock for that. Yep. So that that's uh another fantastic event.