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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986_02_05 Town Board Minutes 259 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE TOWN BOARD AND BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS OF THE TOWN OF MAMARONECK, HELD ON THE 5TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 1986 IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM AND THE COURT ROOM OF THE TOWN CENTER, 740 WEST BOSTON POST ROAD, VILLAGE OF MAMARONECK CONVENE REGULAR MEETING -- The Regular Meeting of the Town Board was called to order by Deputy Supervisor Silverstone at 7:45 p.m. in the Court Room j Present were the following: Deputy Supervisor Caroline Silverstone Councilman Thomas R. Amlicke Councilman Lawrence A. Lerman Councilman Stephen Chapin Supervisor Battalia was not in attendance at this meeting. Town Administrator Stephen V. Altieri and Counsel to the Town, Steven Silverberg, were also present. On motion by Councilman Lerman, seconded by Councilman Chapin, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that this Board recess into Executive Session in the Conference Room to discuss matters of personnel, lease negotiations and litigation. After discussion of these matters and on motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously resolved to adjourn the Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. CALL TO ATTENTION - Location of Exits Deputy Supervisor Silverstone pointed out to those assembled the location of exits as required by law for public gatherings. BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Silverstone at 8:35 p.m. in the Court Room. Present were the following: Commissioner Caroline Silverstone Commissioner Thomas R. Amlicke Commissioner Lawrence A. Lerman Commissioner Stephen Chapin -I- ,339 260 Also present were the following: Patricia A. DiCioccio, Town Clerk Carol A. Acocella, Deputy Town Clerk Stephen V. Altieri, Town Administrator Steven M. Silverberg, Counsel to the Town Elaine Samuels, Director of Community Services 1. Claims Commissioner Chapin presented fire claims for authorization of payment and on his motion, seconded by Commissioner Lerman, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that this Commission hereby authorizes payment of the following Fire Department claims as approved by the Fire Chief and audited by the Comptroller's Office: A.T. & T. Consumer Sales $ 26.31 A.T. & T. Consumer Sales 35.51 N. LaRussell 186.00 N. LaRussell 228.00 Fire Fighter Carl Mirande 175.00 New York Telephone Company 1,030.87 New York Telephone Company 76.60 NYNEX Information Resources 9.00 Portronix Communications 7.50 Printcraft 52.50 RAD Oil Company 391.53 Town of Mamaroneck Professional Fire Fighters 102.18 Town of Mamaroneck Professional Fire Fighters 102.18 Tri-State Tire Inc. 97.84 -- Westchester Joint Water Works 10,352.84 $12,873.86 2. Other Business Chief Gordon Albert noted that abandoned vehicles were accumulating behind the Fire House again and the Town Administrator stated that he would check with the Police Department on the status of the situation. Commissioner Amlicke asked if there had been any reports relative to the Fire Department Picnic held in Flint Park to which Chief Albert replied that he had just written a letter about this matter and was awaiting a reply. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before this Commission, on motion by Commissioner Amlicke, seconded by Commissioner Lerman, it was unanimously declared that this meeting be adjourned at 8:40 p.m. -2- 261 I RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING At this time, on motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously ! resolved that the Regular Meeting be reconvened. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone requested that, at this time, a moment of silence be observed in honor of the memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger Crew. PRESENTATION - The Homeless I Elaine Samuels, Director of Community Services, was introduced and in turn introduced Helen Mohan and Janet Beale, who work in her office. She then presented a report on what she stated she believed to be today's biggest social issue, the Homeless. This problem, she emphasized, has reached epidemic proportions and involves hundreds of mostly urban areas throughout the United States. She further added that in Westchester County there are 1488 homeless people of which 789 are children and that they are mainly single-parent families, victims of disaster, unemployable people and families who are suffering a wage loss. i Mrs. Samuels informed the Board that there has been no new construction since WWII in our area and that most of the new buildings are co-ops, condos or townhouses. She continued that our Community has a special problem because we have virtually no land and because there would be objections to low-income housing. Mrs. Samuels noted further that according to an estimate based upon the the 1980 census, our residents have an average income of $55,978 and live mainly in private homes and that we have only 1203 apartment units of which most have gone co-op. However, Mrs. Samuels added, Community Services helps to prevent evictions from occurring in existing apartments, sometimes we use our Rent Subsidy Program and also by trying to keep tenants informed as to their rights. Nevertheless, she added, our community is responsive to the plight of the homeless and is becoming involved in trying to find solutions, all of the people who have had problems with housing are being helped by the Community Services Department and, therefore, I do not believe that a homeless shelter would be necessary for our Community. PUBLIC HEARING - Filming Law On motion by Councilman Amlicke, seconded by Councilman Lerman, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Public Hearing be, and it hereby is, declared open. The Town Clerk presented for the record the Affidavits of Publication and Posting of the Notice of Hearing. Counsel Steven Silverberg briefed the Board on the contents of the proposed law. At this time, Deputy Supervisor Silverstone stated that those who wished to speak in support of the proposed local law would be heard first and then those in opposition would be heard. -3- i 262 No one spoke in favor of the proposed law. In opposition of the law, Belle Forma of 335 Claflin Avenue, Mamaroneck Village, stated that she had scouted for houses in the area for film companies and did not know there was a problem. She questioned the restrictions to filming only three days a year and felt it to be unnecessarily restrictive in terms of both days and hours. I Lee Holenbeck stated that she had filming at her home and as far as she knew, there had been no complaints. In fact, she added, the - filming crews were extremely careful to ensure that no disturbances occurred, and were always aware of the hours because of their concern with overtime wages involved when filming time ran over. Dean Morelle of Rye felt that filming for only three days made it impossible to make a movie and since he has an interest in film- making as a career, he is concerned that all surrounding communities were instituting regulations making it difficult or impossible to make movies. He added also that the fees would be costly for people making low-budget films. Paul Hoffman of 69 Carleon Avenue, stated that if this law had been in place earlier in the century, Birth of a Nation would have never been made. He asked who had proposed this bill and was told it was instituted at the request of the Administrator's Office based upon a number of received complaints. Mr. Hoffman then asked the Board if they felt that another law was necessary which regulates what happens on private property. He added that filming brought business to the Community since crews buy paint, supplies, food and other necessities at local stores. Councilman Lerman explained that the intent of the law was to - prevent residents in our Community from being disturbed by filming and that this was not to be construed as an attempt to gain revenues by the municipality. Councilman Amlicke mentioned the fact that he felt three days would be too restrictive and that a commercial had been filmed at his home and it took two days. He added that they were very orderly and there were no complaints and he really did not want to see this discouraged in the Community since, as he listens to people here, he wonders why we need this law at all, and if there are any complaints, he would like to know how many were voiced within the last year. Alan Mason stated that we have some chronic complainers in the Community and he would also be interested in knowing not only how many complaints were made but who was making them. Mr .. Lee Bloom stated that he did not think this law was necessary for our Community. He added that the Village of Larchmont enacted the law because two or three homes were constantly being used and they were turning into a business which was causing a great disturbance. He further added that the Town had, at that time, considered the same type of law but concluded that we did not have the same problem and he is not aware that we have a problem now. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone questioned the fact that filming may be construed as a commercial use on residential property. She added that it is a philosophical problem which we have to deal with. On motioi} by Councilman Lerman, seconded by Councilman Amlicke, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that this Public Hearing be, and it hereby is, declared closed. -4- 3 Thereafter, on motion by Councilman Amlicke, seconded by Councilman Lerman, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that this proposed local law on filming be rejected. Councilman Lerman stated that, although we did not adopt this law, he felt that some law may be necessary to at least have some idea of the amount and type of filming that is occurring within the Community. Councilman Chapin stated that while he did not know if we had a problem and therefore did not think regulating filming was necessary, a permit system might be in order, both to help regulate and to bring needed revenue to the Community. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone suggested that more research be done on the amount of filming complaints and how other Communities are handling it. She added that it may not be out of line to have a permit procedure and certainly an opening and closing hour, without being so restrictive that it would be a hardship for either the homeowner or film maker. PUBLIC HEARING - Smoke and Heat Detector Law for Multi-Family Dwellings On motion by Councilman Amlicke, seconded by Councilman Lerman, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Public Hearing be, and it hereby is, declared open. The Town Clerk presented for the record the Affidavits of Publication and Posting of the Notice of Hearing. Deputy Supervisor questioned Section C, which states that one unit be installed for every 300 feet of floor area and added that she assumes it means square feet to which the Town Counsel replied that it would be changed to square feet. Councilman Amlicke questioned the adequacy of only one detector per dwelling unit and also wanted to know if we could be more stringent. Chief Albert replied that the State Code required that detectors be placed outside the apartment, in hallways and corridors, but though it would be ideal if each room could have one, most laws do not require it. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone stated that the law before the Board dealt with the gap in State Law and she would not like to see the proposed law held up while waiting to see how many detectors are within each apartment. Councilman Chapin questioned the cost of the detectors. He stated that he did not foresee that it would not be unduly extravagant for the detectors to be provided but he wanted to know who was responsible for maintaining them. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone informed him that it would be the tenants' responsibility to make sure that they were maintained. She felt also, she said, that it is important to give protection to people in all these small apartment situations, especially over the stores which are not in areas where it would be likely that the landlord would have sprinkler systems, we need to have something and therefore, this law would provide a certain amount of protection for the lives of people. Councilman Lerman agreed and added that the requirement of having one detector in every dwelling unit is symbolic in telling the tenant that one has to be there and if you want more that's good too. -5- But, he noted, certainly it is not going to protect the tenant very well if he has one in each room but none in the public space, which is the major reason for passing this law. Councilman Lerman therefore suggested that the law be passed and later we look into the individual units and see if the number of detectors required should be increased. On motion by Councilman Amlicke, seconded by Councilman Lerman, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that the Public Hearing be, and it hereby is, declared closed. Thereafter, on motion by Councilman Lerman, seconded by Councilman Amlicke, the following resolution was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board: WHEREAS, the Town Board has met on this date, at the time and place specified in the NOTICE OF Public Hearing to consider the adoption of Proposed Local Law No. 1-1986 and has heard all persons desiring to be heard thereon; I NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board does hereby adopt Local Law No. 1-1986 entitled "Smoke and Heat Detectors in Multiple- Family Dwellings" and orders that said Local Law as so adopted and herewith inserted, be made a part of the minutes of this meeting: LOCAL LAW NO. 1-1986 'd This local law shall be known as "Smoke and HeatiDetectors in Multiple-Family Dwellings." Section 1. Purpose In order to insure that all multiple dwellings located in the Unincorporated area of the Town of Mamaroneck will be equipped with smoke detectors and/or heat detectors and to maximize the health and safety of residents of such multiple dwellings, this law is hereby enacted. Section 2. Smoke and Heat Detectors Required Smoke and heat detectors are required in all multiple- family dwellings constructed prior to January 1, 1984. State Building and Fire Prevention Code shall apply to all dwellings constructed on or after January 1, 1984. Section 3. Definitions A) Dwelling Unit - A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping facilities for one family. B) Multiple-Family Dwelling - A building or part thereof containing two or more dwelling units. i -6- 1 ,88 C) Smoke Detector - A device which detects a dangerous level of particles in the air and emits a warning signal. D) Heat Detector - A device which detects a dangerous increase in ambient temperature and emits a warning signal. Section 4. Required Locations Every multiple dwelling subject to this local law will have smoke detectors placed as follows: A) One for every fifty linear feet or part thereof of hallway; B) One at the top of each floow level or stairway; C) One for every three-hundred feet of floor area in each basement, boiler room, heater room, attic, storage room, lobby or any other common or public area or areas which are accessible to more than one family residing in the multiple dwelling; and D) At least one in each dwelling unit. Section 5. Use of Heat Detectors in Lieu of Smoke Detectors Heat Detectors may be installed in lieu of smoke detectors in any area, such as boiler rooms, which may contain ambient airborne particulate matter which could cause false alarms if smoke detectors were installed. 1 I Section 6. Standards for Equipment All smoke detectors and heat detectors required to be installed shall: A) meet standards for installation, maintenance and use of required warning equipment set forth in the most recent edition of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code; B) emit a signal loud enough to be heard in both public and nonpublic areas on the floor on which the detector is located, except for those detectors within dwelling units; C) shall be of a type accepted by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal and may be battery operated. Section 7. Responsibility For Installation A) The building owner shall be responsible for the installation of all smoke detectors and heat detectors in all required locations. B) The maintenance and replacement of detectors within dwelling units shall be in accordance with Section 15 of the Multiple Residence Law of the State of New York, as amended. The owner shall maintain and/or replace detectors in all other required locations within the building. -7- 5 12 266 i Section 8. Approval of Equipment and Monitoring Compliance The Fire Inspector of the Town of Mamaroneck shall have the authority to enforce compliance with this local law and shall also have responsibility for approving equipment installed. Section 9. Required Time of Compliance All multiple dwellings shall comply with the requirements of this law no later than July 1, 1986. Section 10. Penalties For Noncompliance Failure of a building owner to comply with the require- ments of this local law for the first offense shall be deemed a violation of this local law and shall subject the owner to a fine of not more than $250. Each subsequent offense shall be a misdemeanor and shall subject the owner to a fine of no more than $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months together with the right of the Town to bring a civil action to enjoin continued violations, and such other penalties as may be imposed by any other applicable laws, including but not limited to, the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Section 11. Severability In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this local law invalid, such declaration of invalidity shall not affect any other provision of this local law. Section 12. Effective Date This local law shall take effect ten days after filing with the Secretary of State of the State of New York, except that no penalties for noncompliance may be imposed until September 1, 1986. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: i Deputy Supervisor Silverstone stated that at the request of Supervisor Battalia, who is away, these minutes be postponed because in the matter of a public hearing and in some other matters there will be a need for some revisions. She asked that if anyone having been on the Board in June and August of 1984 had any revisions they be passed on to the Town Clerk. AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN: Salary Authorization - Recreation On motion duly made and authorized, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that as provided for in the 1986 Town Budget, this Board hereby authorizes Edna Bumstead, Temporary Cashier, Hommocks Park Ice Rink, be compensated at the rate of $5.50/hour, effective retroactive to 2/1/86. -8- 267 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Steve Silverberg spoke about the moratorium on building which has been in effect in the Town and informed the Board that there is a need to have an extension of time on the moratorium until September, mainly because of time needed to be in compliance within the Coastal Zone Management legislation. Councilman Amlicke asked why all that time was required in order to complete that legislation and Steve Silverberg replied it is because of requirements of the State and the delays that are within each step,as it is a time-consuming procedure. Mr. Bloom stated that when this moratorium was established, he was very happy to go along with it, under the strict understanding that it would not be extended when it expired. This is an unusual restriction, he added, on the powers and abilities of the Planning and Zoning Boards to act on applications before them. He further added that he seriously doubted then that we would have completed all the work by March 1, 1986 and was assured it would be completed, and felt that we cannot go on extending this moratorium. Deputy Supervisor Silverstone asked Steve Silverberg what his opinion was of what would occur if this moratorium was allowed to elapse. Steve Silverberg responded that there was concern by members of the Coastal Zone Management Committee that there would be a problem within the legislation, especially for the freshwater wetlands law, changes in Site Plan Law, and changes in zoning law that would impact on drainage in certain areas of the Town where there is a problem with flooding and stormwater retention that might not be able to be addressed in the same manner if that legislation is not in place. He added that almost all the legislation is in draft form except for some minor changes. On motion by Councilman Lerman, seconded by Councilman Chapin, it was unanimously RESOLVED, that a special meeting be held to have a public hearing on the extension of the moratorium on building, which is part of the Interim Development Law; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town. Clerk is hereby authorized to publish in The Daily Times, the Notice of Public Hearing for said meeting as required by law. Councilman Amlicke stated that he would like to discuss the issue of the Direct Alarm System at Police Headquarters. He asked if Steve Altieri had worked on the letter to interested people letting them know about different bids that might have been obtained from alarm companies for an alarm board. He also added that he spoke to someone that had gotten a quote for the system and that person stated that he had spoken to Eastern Alarms and they would provide the Board, at no cost to the Town, and it would include a printer, the hook up which would be $170, the yearly charge which would be $120 and there would be no minimum number of people who would have to sign up. With these figures, Councilman Amlicke stated, he finds it amazing that we are not going ahead with a central hook up. -9- 268 Steven Altieri replied that he had contacted Eastern Alarms and they would not say if there would be a minimum number. They also would not commit to a length of time that the agreement would be for, he added, and so we have prepared a request for a proposal that will request alarm companies to propose to the Town an alarm board. Mr. Altieri added that we have set requirements for that request for proposal, we want consistency in proposals and we also want commitment from any contractor that he will not walk out the door after a period of time. In the request, he noted, we asked whether they require a minimum number of subscribers in order to provide the service. Mr. Altieri stated that additionally, a detailed report of the responsibilities of the Police Department and the time involved and the number of alarms they are responding to, both real and false, is being prepared for the Board and, he added, we are also surveying the rest of the County, the purpose being to look at the number of subscriptions for direct alarm hook ups and use that as a criteria for determining the manpower requirements at our desk as well as our patrol division. Therefore, he stated, in terms of the letter that is being prepared, I will have a full report for you by the early part of March. Councilman Amlicke asked if the people now on the board will have to change systems and get temporary service, to which Mr. Altieri replied that when the people call they are being told that if they are going to be asked to disconnect, they will have a minimum of thirty days to do so. We are, he added, asking them not to do anything though until they receive correspondence from the Town, so that everything remains stable and also, so there is no confusion during the transfer we are going to run 834-2000 (the current Police Department number) into the new building. j Deputy Supervisor Silverstone queried Mr. Altieri about the timetable for the move of the Police Department to which he replied that there were some problems with the Westchester Joint Water Works Tower and he was not certain when the antenna can be installed since the installer found some defects in the cap on which the antenna is to be welded. He added that the Westchester Joint Water Works is trying to arrange for the repairs and that John Hock is to get back to him by next week. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Deputy Supervisor Silverstone informed the Board that she had received a communication from Paul Noto, Mayor of the Village of Mamaroneck, which was in response to her letter to him about the Fenimore Close Property. He stated that he agreed that the Fenimore Close property which abuts the Town of Mamaroneck should be for residential use only and it is now clear of litigation. He is proposing to his Master Plan Review Board that this change be made to the zoning law. THE TOWN CLERK Regular Reports: The Town Clerk presented the Report of the Building Inspector for the month of January 1986 and also the Monthly Financial Report of the Town Clerk's office for January 1986. -10- I ,._ 2 THE SUPERVISOR Reports There were no reports of the Supervisor for this meeting since , Supervisor Battalia was away at this time. I REPORTS OF THE COUNCILMEN AND COUNCILWOMAN Councilman Amlicke reported: 1. that he was not able to report on the Library contract yet because he had not been notified of any meeting, to which Deputy Supervisor Silverstone responded that he contact Don Oarsman about the Library contract since the Village of Larchmont is currently reviewing the contract and it is important for this Board to review the contract as well. 2, on the Traffic Committee which met on February 3, 1986 and discussed commercial vehicle parking on public highways in residential areas. They suggested, he noted, that there might be laws already that would have an impact and also that they would contact surrounding communities to see what laws existed for this problem as well as contacting the Association of Towns to see if there were any model laws. 3. that the Joint Planning Group met on January 27, 1986 and they are miles away from coming up with an legislative suggestions and that it might be one or two years before they are ready. Councilman Amlicke added that there was one report by Mr. Davis, who works with Mr. Schuster, which states that traffic could be managed even with more development, but that he foresaw parking as being the problem, parking on weekdays saw only 85% of the parking spaces used during the day. However, he added, the problem was that during the weekdays parking for all day employees is not available, on Saturdays, the business district is saturated and no decision was made though as to whether or not any additional parking was needed, despite all the studies. Councilman Amlicke added that we will have to wait to see what the future planning requirements will be before a determination is made on more parking. 4) on Myrtle Park, that the lights are on again but there are fixtures that are broken. 5) that he would like to ask Steven Altieri what he found out about a civic day for the Town, to which Mr. Altieri replied that he is going to call the Westchester/Putnam County Council to get the names of troop leaders in the area and try to arrange a civic day in March. Councilman Amlicke then informed the Board that on Sunday, February 9, 1986, Troop Five will be having their annual awards dinner at which time he would present a proclamation honoring Paul Abram who is becoming an Eagle Scout. He added that another proclamation is also being prepared for Scout Week that will be presented at that time. 6) that he would like to see the idea for Planned Giving included in the Town's newsletter. -11- 20 Councilwoman Silverstone reported: 1. that the Village of Larchmont has been discussing the tunnel which runs from one side of the railroad tracks to the other with the possibility of closing it at night due to many incidents of vandalism. 2, that she was happy to see the lights on once again in the commuter parking lot. 3. on a meeting to be held on Monday, February 10, at New Rochelle - High School at which Governor Cuomo will speak. �I Councilman Lerman reported: 1. that he would like to question the status of the repairs to the wall on Falls Road, and his question was answered by the Town Administrator who stated that there was an impasse in the easement agreement. 2. that he would also like to inquire as to the progress being made on the rental of the third floor, to which Mr. Altieri replied that he was in the midst of a contract with prospective tenants. Councilman Chapin reported on a joint meeting of the Human Rights Committees of the Village of Larchmont, Village of Mamaroneck and the Town of Mamaroneck and spoke of the sub-committees that have been formed. I Deputy Supervisor Silverstone reported that there is a vacancy on the Zoning Board and that anyone wishing to send in a resume is invited to do so. She added that they are looking for someone with financial and real estate experience. On motion by Councilman Amlicke, seconded by Councilman Lerman, at 10:44 p.m. , it was unanimously RESOLVED, that this Board recess into Executive Session to discuss matters of personnel. After discussion of personnel matters and on motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously resolved to adjourn the Executive Session at 11:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT At this time, there being no further business to come before this Board, on motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was declared adjourned at 11:02 p.m. Town Clerk Town Administrator -12-