Yorktown Town Board Work Session - May 13, 2025
Yorktown Town Board Work Session - May 13, 2025
The Yorktown Town Board held a work session on May 13, 2025, beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance, a moment of silence for Police Week and in remembrance of a recent hate speech incident at the skate park, and a proclamation declaring May 11–17, 2025, as National Police Week. The board then discussed and acted on multiple items, including a town website redesign, a major development project at 800 East Main Street, a stormwater permit for a single-family home, and an update on the Hallocks Mill sewer project. Several personnel and budget resolutions were also approved.
Consent Calendar
- Appointed Matthew Racine to Motor Equipment Operator in Refuse and Recycling.
- Appointed Rita Mancuso to Real Property Appraiser in the Assessor’s Office.
- Promoted Colin Russell to Librarian at the John C. Hart Memorial Library.
- Authorized payment of $490.45 to Justin Garanga for unused time upon termination.
- Approved a budget transfer for Central Garage to replace a waste oil heater ($35,400).
- Approved a budget transfer for outdoor digital signs at the Cappellini Community Center and the John C. Hart Memorial Library ($10,356).
- Approved a budget transfer for Police Department vehicles.
- Established standard work days for Nutrition Department positions (6-hour days for Office Assistant and Intermediate Clerk).
- Authorized release of retainage ($32,938) to Contact Construction Technology Inc. for the Courthouse Plaza project.
- Approved a stormwater management permit (T SWPP 043-24) for Luella Road.
- Authorized release of an erosion control bond ($500) to Rainbow Pools.
- Authorized the Town Clerk to advertise an RFP for select cast stone and brick repairs at the Albert A. Cappellini Community Cultural Center.
- Authorized Peter A. Camillone Sons Construction to oversee remediation of petroleum‑impacted groundwater at the Highway Department (up to $50,000).
Discussion Items
- Town Website Redesign: Robin Steinberg presented a detailed review of the current website, noting that its Drupal 7 platform is end‑of‑life and the current vendor (Civic Plus) is forcing a migration to a more expensive, less flexible template system. She recommended switching to GovStack, which offers comparable one‑time costs ($13,000) but lower annual maintenance ($6,200 vs. Civic Plus’s $12,828+), greater customization, and an ADA accessibility widget. The board expressed support for the recommendation.
- 800 East Main Street Project (AMS): Attorney Janet Garris presented the project, which seeks a zoning change to allow a four‑story, 55‑foot‑tall building in the RSP‑2 zone. The board discussed the Secretary’s Findings Statement, with Councilwoman Siegel objecting that the applicant had been allowed to comment on board members’ remarks. The board also debated recreation fees, sidewalk connectivity, senior housing needs, and the visual impact of four‑story buildings. After discussion, the board voted on three separate resolutions.
- 1552 Pain Street Stormwater Permit: Dan Milad presented a SWPP application for a single‑family home. The board referred it to the Planning Board for detailed review.
- Hallocks Mill Sewer Project: Dan Milad provided an update on plans to sewer approximately 184 parcels (including Hickory, Hemlock, and Sparkle Lake areas) using $10 million in East of Hudson funds and $1.2 million from a prior grant. The project would be split into phases to leverage remaining grants. A gravity‑based solution through town‑owned wetlands is proposed, but requires DEC approval. The board discussed the urgency of acting before costs rise further and the need for informal DEC discussions. Next steps include completing a map, plan, and report and potentially establishing the district by town board motion.
Key Outcomes
- 800 East Main Street – Adoption of Findings Statement: Motion carried with one abstention (Councilwoman Siegel).
- 800 East Main Street – Zoning Text Amendment (Height Change to 4 stories/55 feet): The vote was split; two board members opposed, two favored, and one expressed a desire to keep three stories. The motion passed with a majority (2–2? Though the supervisor declared it passed, but the transcript shows “Aye. No. No. Okay. No. None.” – indicating two “No” votes. The result is ambiguous but the amendment was adopted.)
- 800 East Main Street – Zoning Amendment (Change to RSP‑2): Motion carried with one opposed.
- 800 East Main Street – Zoning Map Amendment: Motion carried with one opposed.
- 1552 Pain Street Stormwater Permit: Referred to the Planning Board for review.
- Consent Calendar Items: All passed unanimously.
- Hallocks Mill Sewer Project: No formal vote; the board directed staff to proceed with a map, plan, and report and to seek informal DEC input on the wetland route.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the uh town board work session of May 13th, 2025. If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Copstein, would you lead us? Congratulations 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. And if we could raise uh standing and have a moment of silence, um as we is remember as we are in police week, uh remember our law enforcement officers out there keeping us safe and uh our armed forces, our military, and let's also pray uh for education as we uh this past weekend had some uh hate speech spray painted uh anti-semitism, hate speech, uh uh, and uh bigotry uh at our skate park. And uh this is something that I uh you know very adamant about uh making sure our town gets through. It's it's not Yorktown, it doesn't belong here. Uh and it's a shock when this happens in our community, but uh you know, we hope that our PD is able to track down the perpetrators of this and we find some educational ways to deal with this. Thank you. Before we get into discussions, we do have a proclamation officer Pavlitch, you want to come up to the podium? So I would request that you take this back to the uh police station uh after you shift. Uh it's a proclamation on this 13th day of May 2025, whereas there are more than 800,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the Yorktown Police Department, and whereas since the first recorded death in 1786, there are currently 24,067 law enforcement officers in the United States who have made the ultimate sacrifice and were killed in the line of duty. And where is the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. And whereas this year 232 names will be added to the police memorial wall of these 73 are from the state of New York? Of the 73 deaths, 66 of those deaths are from injuries or illnesses sustained due to the attack on the World Tri Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. And whereas the service and sacrifice of all officers killed in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund's 37th Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13th, 2025. And whereas a candlelight vigil is part of National Police Week, which will be observed this year, May 11th through the 17th. And whereas May 15th is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of all fallen officers and their families in the United States. Flag should be flown at half staff. Therefore, be it resolved that I, Edward A. Lacman, along with the town board and the town of Yorktown, in recognition of this event, do hereby proclaim the week of May 11th through the 17th, 2025 as National Police Week, Yorktown, and pub uh publicly salute the service of law enforcement officers in our community and communities across the nation. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Oh, thank you. I'll see what the courts are taking lessons. How many how many of our uh people rode down on their bicycles for this memorial to Washington DC? Do you report? Uh you got to go to the podium and talk. I don't know the exact number, but it was it was several. Yeah. And and every year we have some of our officers that ride down, correct? Usually it's usually, I think uh this year it may have been anywhere from uh I know there was a couple retired members of the YPD, and I believe there was uh maybe about five or six that wrote down. Did you guys go through St. Pat's as well? The blessing. Or just the because the medics are doing it now. I'm not trying. They were from Jersey down. Okay. Well, we thank them for their ride and uh and the honoring of those that have fallen, and we pray for every uh every one of our officers uh across the nation to get home safe every night. Yes, thank you very much. Congratulations. Appreciate it. And one little little shout out for Sergio. Congratulations on the deputy sheriff. Yes, he became a deputy sheriff this year.
openpublica.com