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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1948_09_08 Town Board Minutes 38a MI-TAT-7EE 017 --:�--GUL��.R :,-,---TT T-jr, C),-T H-T� 3-Ti� --,0 T�, OF T LE OF U-7D SI-PTE-,iEEP, 8u`-I, 194r8, !-I,,T T E E --i IRTU -) -2 -��UPTTO - -,I CF - HE WEA-VE,R STREET FIB-7 HQUSE5 "017-i'l O-F C%�ll JIET y F � -.. -0 -1-,. The -,�ieeting was called to order b) ',landeville, at 8:15 7�. (Daylight Sav-JnL� li-ae) P S Z, Supervisor ha-rd.eville- Councilmen: Matson, '..,IcKeevei and Mills Coanc-! ]--maU E_-abUf IY Presence was also noted of Town CJ er--I.- Glronlcer.-, Town Attorney Delius, gild Town Accountant Finson. wellco--Iied all Unose I=esentl a--d- sc-ld the Boar6 woula ----roceea as quickly r uossilble with the reg-ular orfier of business . Fi--s 'L, on the LlZenda was the a--endmeniu of Ihe EU-IjldiJ11,7 Code . The Town Cl e--1-- --resents" the affidavit of ublication am rea,, the pro-,Dosed aMenchrient. The Super,,isor asked if 'Uhe--,,,e was anyone ,oresent who wished to be heard in oriposition or in fa-,.Tor Cl- amend-aent. The Town Cloi'-� Presented the affidavit of nublica ion o - the notice calling a -,,.ublic hearing on the oueStian of whether or not the Town Board -,love the Town Offices f-om their oresent location, to 'he second- floor of the Weaver Street -Fire 170-ase. The Supervisor stated that he did not believe it necessa--,- to read ll-le -notice unless there was sotteone present w'nio wished to have it reac.. The -Durer-,.7isor as I led if there was anyone -,--ese-nt who wisned to bring any other :aLtter before the Bo&,rd before proceeding with the Jub-lic hearing. dr . P-LELTC z-jNG 7,T. T. Be---7en, 60 11a-)lehilll Drive. I would lice, if i rtiay, to cL11 attention of those who *:-ere -,3-c; ne.--- au the previous meetir�, to a -,etuizio-n -.7h-Ch was circull,teo he re a" d co -ta-' --e d - bou� 150 g�' ciTt res collec ted fr-oiT U hi s area. �.Readl "he --e 'Llition IT hile reaI i-,,I the -etition, he interruted h-Llself as f-' 107 IT S : i wou16- like to o,--IS,--ess ia=ienu. It came out at the last -iieet- inz that the _1eribe-'s Cf Life Fire De-oar --Lent voted secretly o n this matter and the vote was L to 1 in opposition to the move . T,7 -�e then finished readin, the ;petition. is there aTfTol-ie else? 'r JOnn D. CI ' f'orc')-, 12. Edgewood �'.veirue . I a-i directly affected by this pito-Posed move. I live right in ID a c I.: of the =eliiSes. I res!,,-,ectfull,,- sub-L'Lt 'U'�-iaZ; in 117 O-D-, !'!- ion. this is no for the Town Office, I n t'=e first pl--ce, I believe it is in direct violac,-ion ol' the zlonin-,L Ordinance . 1°1r. Clifford (continued) It will create an added traffic hazard here .*hich is entirely unnecessary and, at least to rle, being direct!7T affected, be a .,ubiic nuisance . The Zoning Ordinance, Article II, Section 2 (here he read) There is no orovision =or a Tom office as an exce-otion. 11r. Delius may tell you that legally you may ignore that provision o the Zoning Ordinance anJ, nav-,- i thstandiilg the direct -r or Qs, go ahead and S1a'_ie this iaove . 1 sub nit, however, that regard- less of its legality, it is directly contrary to the spirit an! intent of the Zoning Ordinance which creates nArr residential districts . Believe it or not, this is zoned rArr just the sal;le as Flom en Glen and "Larclrz ont hidge and T live here and 1 want it to stay ,r Af' . It will create a traffic hazard and there is enough now. I donIt deny there is a lot of traffic now, but we donllu need any more. All day long we will have cars arriving here for business with the Town. There will be at least 8 o 9, psrmanent cars of the e .uloyees here . There will be wick-up trucks and Others sto-ooin� here for orders and I submit that it is un- called for. In addition, I think there is something you have overlooked, and that is the extreLme traffic hazard. of Weaver Street and this corner. You have a blank wall there and no side?-Talk and your 'Councilman froz, h4a-ac_roneck is a sr_ing his people Lo cone here by bus and you will have the bus stopping there and people crossing the street and I submit there =kill be a serious acci- dent some day. I reco=end that you seriously consider this j matter. Supervisor Mandeville : Is there anyone else? 17r. C. H. Greenall, 67 Hi llcrest &venue. I would like to refer to the news;oaLer article and would like to aS-, a cuestion. There is a statew.ent that this build- ing is deteriorating for lack of use. Can you ex.plain that? Suloervisor 1'landeville : I think you need only look at it to See what is itleant. 'lr. Greenall: Tfirougll lack oI use? Supervisor Miandeville . The place is used so seldom it is not oroperly taken care of. �1r. Greenall: Hr. Supervisor, I T-Tould like to read a list of civic organizations who have used the auditorium this year. It so ha-GDens there were 79 n!eetings of -..hick there are 23 or ani- zations of the Town: Larchmont Gardens Association Town Board TO r1 F DE �ar E lt- - U1 -- Larc Loont Girl Scouts Laren loi^_t Cc `ilp Fire Girls .ir. tvlerritu ( I don' t __noz-, who that is but he rented the auditorium) Dr. Finkley (the same thing applies here) Board of Review Boy Scouts Hr. Seixas Hr . Land Larc.iaont Gardens Association Alcoholics Anonrious Larcimont Nassau Guild Larchmont Democratic Club Larctmont Social Club United ?rTorld Federalist Organization Larclrsont Acres League Howell Para :'association Mr. Buhler Junior Assembly Dance I respectfully submit, r%u. Supervisor-. in addition, there are the following w_no, from 1932 to 1941, made active use of this hall. It se happens I was responsible for it at the time: � _.=erican Red Cross Catholic Church St. Vito ' s Epia_copa_1 Church a:ple Hill Association Cria,tstaorth eights Association I?omen' s Club of Larchmont Larchmont Gardens Club Larchmont P:epubli car Club i.iotor Corps of the Lnerican Red Cross Italian- ylerican Civic Association Glen Eagles Association_ I would like to Mow, Mr. Supervisor, where are these civic organizations going to meet if this hall is tai7en away from the Town. ?, e have no -_place Te can go and particularly for the children - the boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, which we wish to encourage . I world like your elplanation. S=ervisor Haihdeville : First of all, I can understand ?ir. Clifford' s complaint about the traffic if all these people are meeting here. r . Clifford: I granted you the traffic was here, I said I didnot want it increased. Supervisor Mandeville : I thing: if you had this used 8 hours a day that possibly the traffic would be reduced 25%. The balance of the people or .ost of the people wrier you read on that list, 1"Ir. Greenall, are perhaps like the Girl Scouts who have a meeting place of their own. Pair. Greenall: I cannot answer that. Supervisor 4and.eville : I would ass-Dze Since you made up the list, that you would be acquainted with the facts but as I understand it, they have a place in Larchmont Gardens, the old .station. In the plan laid out, there is a _weeting room for about 80 people. The Larchmont Gardens Association a.nd the Howell Pail]_ Association, if, as and when they meet, I believe could ueet downstairs in the Council roo71. The Alcoholics Anon,=as is an organization that, without too much trouble, if they cannot be taken cafe of here, II could be located without too much trouble, somewhere else . The people who meet in both villages found a. place without too much trouble and perhaps the same thing would apply to these people you have in mind. i I ir. Greenall: Is that your guess? Supervisor Mandeville: I think so, yes . T. Buck, 76 ti3est Garden Road. You mention the fact that the Girl Scouts have a place in the old station in Larcmiiont Gardens. I have been there. It_is not as large as this . I can imagine they would prefer a larger ' I ... ...._._....._.... 091' hall. You mention the LaL'chmont Gardens Civic 1_ssociation meeting downstairs . This is true . It comes upstairs about once a year on an over-flow basis . I thi-1i the people who want to retain this, do so because it is large, and the fact t1haat there are others is perfectly true, but there are no large meeting places in the unincorporated part of the Town. Mr. Fernschild, 193 Rockingstone Avenue 1 Spea_2 tonight as a resident and taxpayer Of the unincoT-,3orated area of the Town of Mamaroneck. To those of us who live in this area., the government of the Township is our nearest instrument of organized societ'r. It is natural, therefore, that we should be intimately concerned with the smooth functioning of that gover-riment, so that it may provide us with good government, operate with the utmost economy of effort and expense, and promote our future welfare. In the 21 years that I have lived on Roc'_-.ingstone Aveirue, I 'nave experienced a sense of increasing ha, piness in the friendly contacts I have made here, and in the conscientious, courteous and expanding services given by the public-spirited citizens who happen to occupy _c,ositions of trust in this community. As far as the personal element of the Town government is con- cerned, there is no problem. Tonighz � s proble a iS laerelzr` one Of mechanics - of whether the offices of that government shall reaa.in on the Post goad in Maaaroneck, or be moved to the Fire House on -,leaver Street in the unincorporated area, or be located somewhere else. I must co __Less that, when I first came .ere, I was c;uite con- fused as to why there should be two local governaents in 'iaiaar0- neck one that of the Village of iaaaroneckn andLOhePother, 9 7 0 that of the Town of iiamaronec , each throw of the other. Then there was the second question: Sdhy should people who live in the Larclluiont area go to the Village Of lalaarone c_�: to nay their taxes and 1_eet their officials?i7 So I come to my first point, namely, that the government of the Town should not be located in either the Village of Nia-,,iar•o- neck nor in the Village of Larc�_,_ont, but should be located in L he Un ncor;oorated Area of the Town. It belongs here. Thus I a[Il in agreement with the Supervisor and those Council- men who propose to move the Offices aWa;,;' from tnei-r present location, and into this area. Now I come to my second point. Why must we choose the 1,=leaver Street Fire House. It does not meet the requirements of acces- sibility, adequate narking space, or comprehensiveness . It could not house all the offices of the Town efficiently and at the same tiiae serve the nur_noses for Vbich 'Uhis building was erected. The Town government should be located on a main thoroughfare so as to be accessible easily to all persons, whether residents - or persons from outside the Town who have business wit'-1 the Officers Of the Town Zoverr,:,aent, Such a location would be On Myrtle Boulevard, directly oU_,osite the-Larchaiont Railroad Station, between 1.1urray r`_venue and 11aple Street. Here is the heart of the Town from which four arteries of traffic flow. Yet numerous _;,ublic parking areas are adjacent. A new dignified -)ublic building should be erected near the War Heinr=ia.l, to house the Town and Police offices, and, serve possibl-�T also as a Corm ui2-it­_ Hall. The people of the Village of .'•iadar:_,nec-i can be proud of their il1uYLl cipal Buildi no. Lar camont V1 l lase also has a handsome Municipal Building. But 'That has the Town of ilama.roneck: in the Way of a public Building? I hang 'my head in shaae . We have nothing. `.het ever,, other coLiniunity in this vicinity has, or is u1annina, to have, a respectable-Looking governmental center . Ask-_ any young man (or woman) where he would want our public offices housed. Without a moment Is hesitation he would say et o'r al Park'p . And so, _fellow citizens, i invite your serious consideration of the proposal to erect a dignified governrient center for the I'O?,.rn of 4aiaaroneck in Heraoriai Parma so that we riay bequeath to posterity a living 'ieiaorial to those of us who today are planning for the future, as our predecessors planned for us in the Oast. They bequeatkied to us a beautiful ha_Dpy col-.!Unit r. It is our res-oonSibllit?Y to trails-_ait to future generations this heritage, no', only as good, but Getter than it was g1V-:n to us. I urge you to _meet your res:.onsibilit es ith vision and _faith, --faith in yourselves and vision for the futl_tre. ir. H. B. Zeiger, 6 Hawthorne Road. 1 want to accent the mote i'ir. Greena.11 Struck; if I -may, in feel- ing that possibly Supervisor -Viandeville is mia-informed on the utilization of this hall. I have a letter address ed to :ne, dated April 6, 1948, and it is from Hr. Burton, the Fire Chief and I Would like to read it. "I have been authorized to notify you that the audi- toriun of the firehouse will not be available for the use of the Democratic club on Tuesdays in the future ----- and if 'here 1S no CCnif11Ct1ng date on Ihursda.Vs, we will try to make it available. However, if this arrangement iS not Satisfactory, S�TE3 will tr`;- to provide the auditorium On another evening. I hope this change Will cause you no inconvenience. ' i I thought this was a very nice letterand I visited Chief Burton to discuss it with hi_�i and the nature of the conversation was tiat he was authorized by the Su_ervisor to write the letter a.nd the inference wa.s thaat at that ti.ile, Aril 6th o this near' this was -i n great de :land. Another thing is the question of polities . I don' t thiiL there is any denying that there is a ti;C.ge of politics in this . The gentlemen for whom you voted to the office which they occupy ,pith such distinction --vou voted for their offices and their salaries and theiracts are of a political nature . The only votes which count tonight a.re at the table and the method of presenting differences on tins issue are political in nature. Of course some of us differ in our Dolitics 'but I hope you wonIt take the attitude that the other fe_low' s politics are bad. We are here as citizens trying to persuade the gentlemen at the table to do the best for the Town, and many, regardless of poli- tics, eel ti=o.' ti71S 15 Siii811 anIX UT11r agii 1t1ve . Ht the last meeting you presided at, I, and riany others, got the feeling that it Was, at best, a teri-�DOrary riove. It was for some J tC 5 years. When you have moved. the Town Offices here, you have, in -the opinion of many of us, destroyed an important farum, one i - - s 1, T which helps crea!,e the enemy which make this Town tics.. !here - T' - - U >1 s which cone.._ �i the o ,.r - ; , 1��.n those,„ 1 s _n � e _O:�n � ar„ mail,, -_ore tn_no r. - Town Council. a.ny 01 US devote in ' he aggregate, hOLll'S and days and weeks for the welfare of the Town. The fact that we don' t get _paid doesn' t make the contrihution less or the necessity less . P We feel that 1_ you d0 this,S, vOU have d_a ageC:. the CiV1C faC%ii- ties available Lo all Of us . YOU have done a patched-= job in _.- the Town offices but destroyed something for us . Given an o_.cor- tunity, many of the groups T,ahich collie here will increase their activity rather than di2uinish it and I would -like to go along with them. I grant you the present offices are not worthy of the Town, but I think you will do a finer thing for the '.LOwn if you deli(J- erate a little ILOre, --ossibly get a co nittee to study and nre- pare reco11L7enaations for a L1L1ril C7 , al center, possibi, along the lines of !Tr. Fernschild' s ideas, and there are -possibly many others in legal and architectural fields who could make up recorm- mendations of that nature. I would like rou to 'raise your eyes and do solrlething ruore Worthy for the Town in which we Iive. Suoervisor Mandeville . A-pparei7tly we have one point and that is that everyone seers to feel we need a new Town office . The ques- tion is paying the bill. Sweeney, 26 Maple Hill Drive. I was at the last iaeeting and listened to the discussion. I listened to more tonight but I think one -point has been neglected and I would like to discuss it. I would much - re-fer to address you four gentlemen as the Board of Fire Com- _.... c e "own !...card_ because I aill- talking missioners -path. ( than tl�„ _ about the Fire Department. I was a.n active fireman for 15 years . _ I know what it 1s to get out of a nice warm bed in the early morning t0 flit Out a fire . I also i-now wulat Zt is to gC out On an emergency call to tr,.; to save a life . I think too little thought has been given to the feelings and O-_;inions of the -vOlUn- teer =1 re,­Per. Let ' s review what a. voi-unteer fireman is . TO begin with, in order to be a volunteer, you .:-.ust be civic-.rinded. If -rou have t;^_e interest to loin and became active; ';Ou build u-o an enthuslasn for that depaltment , t.s you do this, ✓ou also begin to mold morale and that 2ncrale is what we, as tanpayers, de-pend upon. I have felt that our de-partment was efficient and did a good job. I have also felt thisL if there was a fire in my house, they would do a good job for I lie because used to do a good job myself. hlso, now they have a, well-trained rescue scuad. Many old residents will remember 1930 when the social thing was to bump yourself off, we went out on 11 consecutive cases starting at 11 o ' clock New Year ' s corning. I could cite many cases . You have enthusiasfa to get out and try to do a job for your fellow citizens . \Tow a fire dera.rtrient can be as good as the men in it want to be . Tfe pride ourselves in having a damn good fire department and i know wT=ecf I speak because I was associated with it and still ai, associated with it. I know ,That the boys want. They took a secret rote and pa.11ot d the _ last -..,­,eeting and there was Z;, to 1 cgai rl.St cV1ng this )a l Ld.ken awdy. 1 don' t think they can be ' gnorad. Just for the sake of cornparisoil, I would like to consider finances . , It ',would Hurt e and ' t would. hurt �rou as taxpayers if we din' t have a volun- teer fire department. Suppose we had -aid men. I don' t think aany of us t!10uzht of t` is . i0U d0i1T inOw Tlut it hTOUly lleaY in dollars and cents if ,vou had t0 have .Lo. ifLen Iii -lace of the ' volUn'beers . Lccoraing 'o the llationi l hoard Of under=-Triters, 7-f we had to =.ay a tai:%. fire derar t Lent in this comaunit'`',. and- I sa':r this because II arii thinking Of the a_ppara.tus O.ownstairs, we Tr7ou C1 pay Ior 1t. or, the 100 foot aerial, the Eoard Of Fire I Underwriters usually require a uinimum of 7 men to roll that truck, sometimes they would be satisfied_ with 6 or 5 but 7 is average. Ta_.ing this, and figuring their salary? at X1, 500. yearly, and that is pretty low, if you can Est good firemen for that, you are good. You- would liave to have 7 ideal Oil t'ie other I� trUCii. 4 e would have to Have 5 _ten on the J pV_i1ps . and we would __. - T have to have 5 men On ti12 patrol. i That 2ilacfeS a total Of 34 aen at X1, 800. a ; ear or ;;61, 200. you are going to nave to ,:a. if it should happen. This is only one shift. You cannot ex-pect men, to work 24 hours and so you need two shifts, as king- ''122,400. It Might be that if they beca-ae affiliated . ith civil service, two shifts wouldn' t be enough, You -ight have to have three . We would have to have a chief. That would_ be 3,000. and i? sou got him for that, he would probably be old and. decrepit. The Hoard_ of Fire Tinder-writers would. also require a deputy fire chief, which would be X2,400 . and if we just had two shifts, including the decrepit chief, we would have a bill of $ 127, 800 . Ladies and Gentlemen, do you realize you. are being .saved. $1'127, 800. We have had this department for -*ears and we want to, keep it but you can- not expect any volunteer organization to keep up enthusiasm un- less they get cooperation f'rori the cOCz,_,.�_ � . ing your decision, the reszonsibility for the morale of the fire- men reEts eiltlr2l" with "Ou i gentleiren: Legally you can ao as you will, but I do think. that r;hen -,ou get in expression Of opinion on an average of 4 to 1 against _,,our suggested_ plan, it deserves serious consideration on t1_le part of the tax-payers and I am concerned and if I were in your place, 'i would be doubly certain and, therefore, I ask you to be certain that iou know you are doing the right thing and that you are up-holding -170ur volunteer. I don' t know whether you recall it, but about 10 Or 15 years ago tilis question came up. it that tillie we had Chief Don Howe. You may remember him. I was on the Fire Council, so was 1'11r. Greenall and ljir. Vail lie-ciao. r!ny-h'a'j, the thing came U?J and- as =. e-abers of the Fire Council. we handled it. in those r, days, the Fire Council was really interested., so we went to town and appeared be-'ore the 10'.-?n LOal'0. anCi Objected that this r001:^ be taken Over, and we were so C_P_?whatic abbout it that the Town Board relinouished the idea. Supervisor Mandeville : I would like to ask you about the vote tai:en by the volunteer department. Fas that before they asked me to meet with theca or after: Mr. Stweeney: I think, _ r. Supervisor, that it was before, but the question had been discussed and they took a ballot and they were against it L to 1. lifter Mott talked with them, I don' t know. ccording to ghat the chief said two weeks ago, there was not another vote taken but before you came down and explained to them, they had known about it a.nd they were conversant with the facts. But I thiih- it is iiagortara add, if vol .rant tO, I would suggest tilaV ? Ou put it up t0 the Fire DeTJartlient again at their next i-nonth I y meeting. Psr;:laps they will have Changed but from i talking with a lot Of the boys, I know they had not changed. Supervisor w.Lnde•aille : When I left, that _.ight, the-;, didn' t im- press rie as feeling 4 to 1 against it. a4r. Sweeney. liay I inject a thought there ' r. Supervisor? You %now when you appear you are here in an official capacity and_ it may be that they were reluctant because you, as leader of the community, had spoken. Supervisor Mandeville: Sorry ldr. Sweeney, but I don' t agree with you and, further, I don't think you believe it. "99 i1r. i andevilla (continued) : Could you rec= ile ilr. Green all ' s ste..tef11ent about the use Of this building and the demarld for it as against the volunteer fire_i.en? You Sc;.V in One breath, they must have it, and I don` t want. to ar,gu_e, but fro=a the list Mr. ._._ how Greenall gave me, I o know now now the ?iremen ca i .n tiEU n here . i4r. Sweeney: It iiiay not exist toda;I , _Jr. Supervisor, but when I was active, things were run different. 'ihe Fire Department, as such, had the final say On who ,Gould use ti LiS au.d_1t0ri=. They didn' t come to the Tom Board, they were told to go to the Fire Department and the .'ire Depa.rtlEnt ifaintaifled and Operated. it. They met and saw to it that this hall was used free of charge for the benefit of the residents of this communitV. I don' t know if that is so today but 1 will Say this, that if that sethod still prevailed today, I don' t think we would have this argumient, because it was On a schedule and no one paid. d cent for the use of this hall, except 'or electricity. ?:,�e were s=­posed to suprly neat but, God help us, we didn't for we couldn' t get it up here. Su-_�ervisor iandeville: i understand the .hall is so used that we-are going to have to pay a custodian for the day and one for the night to clean up and tale care of cirking and, as 1 under- stand it, 'the Fire Council is on record to rectify a serious pa.rS_°ling condition brought about by the pl'esert use of the hall. iT. Sweeney: That is possible, because _,eople park lopsidedly and I knot,* very well if one of these big trucks had to get out, they might have a Bard time. But what are you going, to do, if you have a fire, the firemen have to come to the hall in their Cars . Supervisor •iardeville : I 'ia not referring to the firemen, I ara referring to the _oeople who use the hall. Air. Sweeney I thl]k, it is up to the police depart_ierit to force neo_ole to go further up the street where they won' t in- terfere with the truces . They always used to have to do that. Here the Supervisor called on Chief Yerick who was present. Chief Yerick: Supervisor, Ladies a.nd Gentle-men: l?hen you speak of the parking matter, are ;, ou referring if the Town offices are brought here, 1,*ould it make traffic heavier? Su_ervisor Mandeville. 1rTthich would_ be worse? -That you have at -lresent, Or if it was the Town Office? In your Opinion, in the entire localit--, what situation would exist insofar as parking is concerned? s ChiE1 YEri Ck: i COUld.R't Illd,k2 a statement as t0 l0er many Cars would be brought here by the Town offices, but, in =,iy opinion, there wouldn' t be more than LAC. I think this is a large nuu- --.. ber between C and 5 (O ' clock) . That would be about 5 an hour. In my opinion, that would be little traffic. As to evening narking, there has been a lot here, due to different organiza- Lions meeting here, of which the gentlemen have spoken and. my opinion is that, as far as traffic is concerned, if we did away with the night parking here, ,Te would eliminate the traffic con- dition rather than create one. But again I feel that perhaps we could arrange parking a little better on Hillcrest and Edge- wood Avenue . That could, perhaps, be done better but there are a lot of cars and_ you do have to have room and you don' t have room outside of Hillcrest and Edgewocd or Alaplehill Drive. l;Te just don' t have rooa. I 10 1 Ir. Ha-rold Thompson, Larci=nont Acres. I am al present a inember of the Town of Mamaroneck Fire Coun oil and since February, when the new Council went into effect, nothing has been mentioned about the harking. Whatever prior council had that recouaaer_dation, there has been no reconinienda- Lion since February. Supervisor riandeville: What is your opinion if' the Town Office were here? illr. Thompson: I venture to say that the rar2,ing problem would I be increased here. Supervisor Mandeville: How? 14r. Thompson: everyone who conies here would have to have a car. You would also have trucks . Supervisor I.land.eville: How -nand people; 4r. Thompson, do you think visit the Town Office that would coi7L?;1ain about this situation? _"1r. Thompson: I have no way of teli7.ng but 1 have visited there myself" and it was not always the same. Supervisor riandeville: Did 7=ou ever see too many cars there? dr. Thomason: Sometimes I have been able to vark in front of the Town Office and sometimes T have had to go to -Hainaroineck —venue. This cannot comJare with that. Supervisor I heard c: good taxpayer say toda:, that he never visited the Town Office bat he found a a<,rking space . For our informa lion anf. ti- se _,=resent, this is the tax collecting time as %ou probably all know and at that time there is more activity in the 'Town office than at any other time, and from '. Monday, August 30th, to September 8th, the following people visited the Town office: 28 on August 30th 23 on August 31st 46 on September lst 62 on September 2nd 50 on September 3rd 71 on ,September 7th 140 on September 8t?i This is the time of the year when the greatest amount of people visit the Town Office . I don' t think they all travel by car but that is the total ar:iount of 'people in and out of the Town Office in those 7 days. if that would Create a traffic jam as against the amount of people who are using this hall, then something can happen .that I don' t visualize. Mr. Segal: Acce---tang tale figures you have presented, 1t would appear that the situa-tloi doesnyt concern the taxpayer but Merely the Town Board and em_Dloyees . Because so few people come to the Town Office, it doesntt ma tter whetier they are on Weaver Street or on the Boston Post Road. To those of us w'ro were Here two weel.s ago, our Supervisor made the following statement: (If I -;Hiss the exact wording, the intent was there.. He said: ITThere have been other occasions when the voters didn't like something that the Council wanted to do and the Council did it and with the passage of time, the voters realized that the Council was right and the voters were wrong and we know what we are doing. " !VQw, 1,1r. Supervisor, I think we are functioning under a system of representative gov ; r:ient. You are sitting at that table - have listened. in vain for one voice in to represent t.,. . I _ favor of the removal of the Town offices and de-,,Driving the citizens of this hall . So far I have heard none . After the last meeting, some firemen cane up to sue and told me they were against it but they didn't dare open their mouth. Within two sinutes after that was slid to l.e, I came to you and con- fronted you and instead of trying to find out which fireman made the statement. I was told I didn' t know what I was talk- ing about. We have too much government where government assumes a role other than that given to them. We don't want to be told gnat -to do and if it is a mistake to keep the Town offices where they are, we are the ones to make it. We elect ,rou ara you are to represent us . I cannot find one voice in fa-vor of it . I am still waiting for someone to say "yea'' to your proposition, so far it is all "nay' and you should listen. ' Let us see if there is anyone in favor. Air. Wilson, E1kan Part-;. As_:ociation. ir. E;ckley, who is with me tonight, and I have been delegated � by the people in Elkan Park to cone here and listen. We are r new comers and we hesitate to take sides upon sonething which seems so troublesome. For a while we thought we wouldnpt but -i there seems to be such Overw-aeli-ring Opinion on one- side, we would 'like to saT a word. First of all, it seems to me, and I believe 11r. Ec IeV agrees with me, it seems to ae this co_rz=unity needs a new meeting hall. If a new one could be erected at less cost than to construct a monumental town office, it would see°n to ne it would the be wisest thing to do now, especially in view of the building costs at present. I believe the firemen Naturally have to be here . fir. iiaildev lle did sa; the firemen could use the room here and it would probably be lots warmer and their morale would be raised considerably. We believe (and we have used this hall) that many of the organizations ,.;Bich claim this is the Only place they can find, could find someplace else if they tried." Ae have found. another Mace . i believe, in many communities the schools are used. That is the usual Mace for organizations of this soft. There -a 1t be some arrange- ment whereby schools can' t have these organizations but it would seem to me that objection could be set aside if there was eno _gh pressure . If there is no other ,31a,ce, a new building with a Civic hall Could be erected where eve rybody Coulee r:1eet. There is one point which has not been brought up and I believe it should be given consideration. It seems to me that the rroblern is one of a balancing of interest and from the taxpayers ' standpoint, the erection Of a large to?Fn hall at high cost under present conditions, *,could be unwise. We feel that the town hall could be put here at low cost and all these civic organi- zations, such as ours, if they have not found other places, could do so . Furthermore, I am sure they could be taken care of here . There are not that many that their have to have as big a hail as this for their- meetings . %'At his ociD ., there n erg Co.LLS OI �,aet , efe . 17r. George Polera, Laurel Avenue. 1 am a volunteer fire«ian of this department. It seems the c.uestlon is treat this hall should be used for civic Ju.rposes. As far as the firemen are concerned, and I have been here for a year and a half or two years, we use this hall once a month. I was on a. co ,miittee one til'le where we had to have this hall for ' a dance. 1 was chairman On that committee. It was to be on a Saturday ni.v,2� > Friday night there Was a aacir!g class here and we had to get ever-r'thin read;' On Saturnay. So, if' W2 ll to go to, all that trovbie to acco=cdate- civic groups, I say for the volunteer firesen, we have plenty of room doFnastairs . WE only use it once a month. A lot of people don't realize Frnat 'Ja]-Ct flPeilie ri d0 . r St Of all, SG,iEOnE i501i2 t0 have a =eeting. The firemen lug all the chairs Lil Stairs . The "leeting is held. The fire-aen clean up ne='L, day. Two or three days later, there ' s another iueeti-r,9. I'ne paid firemen are paid to take care of the ec!ui-rment, not to bring up chairs. After meetings, t12ey SOmE times i-TGrk ti,'o or three days to clean 'k7?. They Work dad? and Slight. As far as I a= concerned_ as a. taX- oayer, I don't think What Hr. Siaeenev said in reference to a o ` e, r T h.a-� - r -- i ? t by the Town ciCl" d__Jad,_71'RE lit T-CLLd ite"y�J2Ii 1_ i.i1_S i1c._1 was `Laiei_ Office. I thii'i�7we -could still have a- volunteer department if 'h-' s was fallen and We would still have 'Olenty Of room downstairs and we Would have pl2 my of ---room upstairs once a month and soi e- tirses twice amontl2. SweeTieyi i would 1i%ie to call the a.ttenti3-n of the last Sieaker to 72'x% re-_-aa L''_is ., ! made no. implication that Ire are to have a va-id fife dep artiient . i -1E=_7 cv^ il' c':red t_72 tYd0 L l.he matter GI diSCASSiO"ih. 1 dOni -G "G'-'l l_P_i -n;e d.i°e g01'L1g 7o have _L t. I Wonder '_,oFT Often he has seen these fairs Plugged'' ar3LUld. I dont t think the naia uen have been as_iea Co Ulugt' cnair S because i t00, Was On the Ca"nce co=i' ..tee an-' T. i_n0.; ,Ti!at it iS to Sell tic_�ets and deco a"Ge t-'Ie -Jlace any: i thiifi n.e should get the f acts straight and parti C't71cr1_% When he mi sc'loteS me . iS.iyoervisor Mandeville: i think you 1_-aissed, his _dint. i thins he said there is no nossibilit% of a ;Said fiT'E depart=iien'u, and, i agree . But I think if -rou will go back to 'the list of orga_2iza- ti iaho use this hall; according to ;_tr. Greenall, I tlli iL -- there is something in iT'ir. Polerats statEment. =r. Clay 1 angles, 129 141urray uveriae . 7 ' Was in this 7e-oar t"iiEY1t for -ilo.ihy ;,Tears . 1 hOL'"1Cl lili.2 t0 �_LiS- -oute T`ir. Polerats statefaent about the chairs . I Was the Second de_`-aty chief Of ' ,is depart7iie lt. i rolled out --nany nights and gave '.:ITT -.time because I felt it was good coLL,1-a��t, _pirit. Ho-,,,T- (I those chairs are i'?ot carrlec] up c.- COlIsta1.�'Sj "�-1E`T Tai- around. .(is far c's cleaning �Oe,S, 11-,Tould lire to see the result in 'Uhis room right now. If I _- ay, I Would like to ask a few gL'_estions . 'I'Thaa does it cost to operate the Town Offices in t ^lei r _present location, _er year? SLmervisor TATandevi lle o ,Jha.t do you mean? AT. Mangles : Rent, heat, ligrt, etc. Supervisor 14andeville : About E3,000 . a year. Mangles - You. would 11_1:_e toz GVe Your Town Offices ?nto this a-iditOTium ai2C_ from What I read and hear, i -::.S SUr1E it is only Oil I. a terloorary basis. Lvet-tuuLl funds may be °ailed to have a Town Hall erected SO"iiE glace in i,ne Town. i!12a'C to gilt la OT ell to the 52,000. a tel which tilt D n. Oc.rJ .wig =_ save dU -hg OTT 5 ;;Tears they are here? SmuErvisor 1iandeville . The to Jcyeis in the Un nco 'yorated acct would get the benefit. 11Ir. ITangles . May I suggest that if TOF'ih Board does _...Ove, that a goc, 'L _-'art Of that money be paic or slit li-_� into nensionS or salary to the "paid personnel of this depaiTtn?ent? I -,,rant to Ii i i i.r . angles, continued: go on record on that. I recoiui end that should yOU come ` n, the rQOne7 YOU save in nioving t0 this dear Lent, Fart Of that m ney t0 g0 to the _-aid personnel of this dei�artment. Supervisor 12andeville : Why? Mr. Mangles : Because I believe they are underpaid. I good many people believe they are oa ;in; enough taxes to see that they are -oaid more and I thinT,, the top salar-y is x.2, 800 or =2,900 for _reiy wit: 5 and 6 kids . Supervisor pandevi le : Lo you .no,,* any other corunIn ty - ir-; better salaries? 21Ir. i�:angles : I believe a i2aniber of them are, and I will be glad to go on record and check these salaries and present them to sou and I thin you will find higher rates. Mr . Roger Whitney, 5 B;dgewood Avenue. Has anybody looked at this bui lding with a vie,,* t1:at i t is not a building for offices? Sutervisor Mandeville : The architect, who drew the original r plans, was called in nor his recoinraend_ation a-nd he is the ;tan TrT.hO laid_ out the pr0p052d Ilan. li08s that o.i7s,d2r ;iOUr qu2S-,iOn? eih" tnef: i,do. how w-" you heat it? Supervisor Mandeville : We are not in here yet. i?hitney: The point is, will it fit the 'Town Offices . 'Thy ----- not build a ne,,i on y0U could start s-_Ila.11 and exaand later. You could start a good civic center with a quarter million dollar bond issue. Supervisor i,Iandeville: That, my f riend, is exxactl - what we are tr?-ing to avoid. i Mr. Segal . You can avoid it without the change and stay where you are. Supervisor Mandeville : Thai-Lks Charlie . At this point, in answer to cuestions concerning the cost, Supervisor Mandeville said: The total amount to furnish this space, to redecorate (and I think that will have to be done in any event) to refinish the floors, furnish and install ;partitions will be 7.14,989- Of that rsone;y. V6,000 is for furniture. That is going to have to be spent in any event, for furniture and new equipnent to properly run the Town Office . If you -ou-id visit the office, I thi-rL you will agree. In addition, the partitions w1 ich will be put in, if the place is taken, will anount to "Ps3, 812, painting 6950 and a the floor w915 . Answering questions about the heating plant and electrical work, Supervisor Mandeville retlied: We are assuLing the heating plant is sufficient to take care of the needs . He was next asked about the cost of 1�loving and said: The answer is that if we move, we would have the furniture de- livered =here and what is left in the other office would be auctioned and credited to tree cost of the new. Here there was some talk about the probably cost and then Supervisor iardeville was as'_ed how he expected to save any moneyr, if it is only a 5-year nlan. To tills, he replied; T donIt _snow who injected the teiporary suggestion. I think you will rel-aember I said, if it proved something the people didiit t ;-?ant, of ter a trial. that it could be teJ:u^orary. i4rs. Shi ller, Els?-north Road If aniti'!ing adds to traffic on Weaver Street, be IV 5 Or 50 cars, it is dangerous for our children. If you have ever ?.atched the children going to high school in one direction and to 1°1urray Avenue School in .1-e Other, between 8 and 9 in the f10rning, it is practically iSlpossible . Last winter it was very severe. The P. T. A. called the police department _;Zany times and we have been remiss in considering our children. Also the traffic near the high school, at the Acres, has made it veryr dangerous as it is, let alone to have even 5 extra cars co_ae through here. Mr. -Gironda, 11 Cabot Road. If it is for the benefit of the majority of the taxpayers, I aid for it. In spite of the fact that I a:jl- for you, I a.m. wondering where you will put these people when something like this comes up again. I all afraid we ?.-To lO have to use the senior high school or the Junior. Apparently, the onl,, way we could use this would be for s'_Tial1 meetings and the Town Offices. 1 have been in this 'Town, LarchraGnt, for over 50 years . In _ay 50 -rears, I remerlber my father used -_ to go to -iL.maronec- and take rte with Kira and it used to be a little old shanty. The American Legion has it now. Then the town offices :roved to the corner of the Boston Post Road. A room about 1/4 the size of this . `,Then ou wanted to oay taxes you' didnTt have much room. and you couldn' t get 25 people in the place . There were no to;-rn Zreetirlgs such as this and I didn' t thing there ever would be . This town has grown cy. leaps and bounds . I a:1 wondering if we are afraid of the aresent costs . Other people are building homes for themselves. I am wondering now if we taxpayers are afraid to put up a decent ne�rr bui`u nz and leave this a.s it is . Of course, we could _Out wings on this ??h1.C17 wOUldrilt CGSt a3 t:iuch as a flew, One but you certainly need better offices and you should have a: more appro- priate modern building to pay taxes . This would be ouite appropriate but perha_cs too small. I ,Jas in favor of it but after seeing this, I thi.1L: that if you do move, we .rust have the schools if you use this . Hr. H. W. Lewis, 29 Dante Street. There has been a lot Of talk about costs and the fire de- nart Zent and I don t t thi enoug e.Z:n'ras; s has been placed ---- on the Pia 1?7 ;vOiiiI l ie illain point is that we do not want busi- ness in this area. At the last iieeting we heard from you and we heard prett clearly and we are convinced that you don' t thin t'flat wall cnd you don' t t link that moving it into this area is wrong. There is a, difference in judgment between you and a lot of other people . You said at the last meeting, and we believe, that you want to do what the majority want. TtIs a strange thing at an open meeting that you- find a lot of people who want to do what you want to do. Yon have heard from a lot of us . We would like to hear from you and each member of the Town Council. r, Supervisor Prland_eville : I will try and state briefly what my opinion of this situatioh is . it seems to be pretty' well- agreed that We n=eed a new 10cation for aLainistrative p=oses . In answer to a remark ade corcerning the fact that those "��re52nt Were O �-posed to the ilio've, Su�!Jervisor 'Landev111e said: There are some 5,900 taxpayers in the Town of 1-larraroneck. r>ir. John Sanborn, 40 Edgewood Avenue I am amazed- that a group of people could be treated the way you gei:tlermen have treated us here tonight. You get uo and say there are 5,900 taxpayers in the Town as much as to say everyone else but us 1s with you. How ,inky of ahem are it Ving in zoned aZ'e2-S? And if you were trying to do this to thee; how would they feel about it? I thin'< they t�,-ould feel the way we do . Mr. D. M. Kemper. I a3 sure everyone is in favor of a new mall. The question is, where is it to be placed? Ilia sure that' s the question. duper VlsoT 1jandeV4 lle: Apoarentlij everyone is 1n favor, Kemper, of not having it here . Is there anyone else who wishes to be heard? A vote should be taken by the people here. Mr. Wilson: I would like to put iii a word against such a vote. I don' t think you have a representation from the Town here . I believe if the Town knew these matters were going to be put to a Vote, YOU wOLl d have a muc11 urger figure. r.t the expense Of repeating myself, I feel strongly that a matter such as t__is is not one to be voted on at this w�oint where the _aublicity has not been given to the ''own. Ir. Segal : Does -lr. Uilson ' now that we met two weeks ago informally and that this is an extended �aeetin✓ to give t'-2e whole town a chance and tonight people are present f ronu. uhe Acres, Howell 'tarn, Roc'Sland =Ridge and froi:� distant points and that this is a repre- I sentative body. Supervisor Mandeville : Mr. Lewis, I don' t think there is any question in the minds of those here as to how they feel. If it will make yoj any ha;071er, I will be ha,31p r' to have a zi O to taken. There will be no vote taken by the Town Council tonight. zr. Lewis : Can e get an expression of views? Supervisor i4a-ndeville : do. There is a pie ,Lber of the Council absent. i?e 'll have a standing vote. lr. George Burchell . 1 just a.nt to salt 1 a-.i in avor of the r.1a.n for ,personal reasons . I don' t t'_,ink any disasterous fining will happen but T think the first cquestion is whether it is necessary. I think it is generally conceded that the present ouarters are not adequate . I think all consideration should be given to all conflicting interests individually, - first the firemen, they have cuarters below, they use this once a month. Mr. Burchell, continued. I happen to belong to the Larchmont Gardens Association. As I said, you seem to prefer a meeting hall for public meetings. r doubt whether you could get adequate room always but on the other hand, you cannot find adequate space sometimes in ?Madison Square Garden. I think the Fire Department's rights should be protected and I gather that is the intent of the Board, if the change is made. There seems to be a conflict between the fire- men. Their interests should be protected. The interests of the people who live here .is probably of prime importance. I don't live here. Is it going to be such a difficult problem if the Town Offices move here? As to the children, there is always that problem. You must balance the interest of whether it is more necessary to have the Town Hall moved here. I think some- one must give a little. Mr. Clifford: I don't think there is any emergency for this moving. This Town has been in existence since 1700. What suddenly causes the emergency at this moment. I don't believe it will be any more convenient to the people here and certainly it will be inconvenient to the people in Mamaroneck. You do just as much business with them as with us. A vote taken at this point, indicated that the majority of those present were against moving the Town Offices to the Fire House. Mr. Greenall: What is the feeling of the balance of the Board. Supervisor .Mandeville: You will get that answer after discus- sion. It is not necessary tonight. The meeting adjourned to the Council room. y n K n n ti n � ri n T The minutes of the meeting of July 28th, 1948, were approved as presented. On motion by Councilman Xills, seconded by Councilman :McKeever, it was, i;_pon roll call, unanimously RESOLVED that the Building Code or Ordinance of the Town of Mamaroneck is hereby amended as follows: FIRST: Paragraph 4, Section 23, Article 7 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4. Multiple Dwellings. (a) In multiple dwellings, every apartment that has no direct exit to a street or yard, or to a coast opening on a street, shall have access to at least one additional exit separate from and independent of the primary interior stairway. (b) Every multiple dwelling of two or more stories in height, other than multiple dwellings of fire- proof construction, hereafter erected and to be occupied by two or more families on any floor, shall have one means of egress extending from the ground floor to the roof. Such means of egress shall be a stairway constructed and arranged as provided in this Article. Such a stairway shall have no entrance from cellar or basement. All enclosure walls and floors shall be constructed of fireproof materials. All doors and their frames to apartments entering into said means of egress, shall be constructed of fireproof material. SECOND: Paragraph 1, subdivision (a) Section 27, Article 7, is hereby amended to read as follows : Section 27. Interior Stairs 1. Construction. (a.) Recluired stairways shall be constructed of incombustible materials throughout, except in build- ings of frame construction, and in buildings of ordinary construction not exceeding theit;;' feet in height and occupied by or arranged for the accommodation of not more than twenty persons above or below the first story. A letter dated September 3, 1948, was received from Mr. Edward Eli Hoxie, thanking the Town Board for the appointment of Council- man Watson to the Committee on the Community Center. The letter was ordered placed on file. The following reports were ordered placed on file: The Attendance Report for August, 1948; The report of the Receiver of Taxes and Assessments, for August,1948; The report of the Town Clerk for August, 1948; The report of the Building Inspector for August, 1948; Statement of Bank balances as of September lst, 1948• Councilman Watson had nothing to report for his departments. The Supervisor recommended the adoption of the following, and upon motion made by Councilman Watson, seconded by Councilman McKeever, it was, upon roll call, unanimously RESOLVED that, pursuant to Section 96A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 1909 as amended, the Town Board of the Town of Mamaroneck does hereby authorize and empower the Receiver of Taxes of the Town of Mamaroneck, to collect the 1948 School taxes for Union Free School District No. 1 in the Town of Mamaroneck and School District No. 2, Town of Scarsdale, New York, which under the provisions of Chapter 105 of the Laws of 1916 as amended, '_mown as the Westchester County Tax Law, become a lien and are payable on September 1st, 1948, in two par- tial payments, each amounting to fifty per cent (50%) of any such School tax as levied. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Receiver of Taxes of the Town of Mamaroneck is authorized and empowered to receive the payment of such partial payments or in- stalments of the 1948 school taxes for Union Free - School District No. 1 in the Town of Mamaroneck, and School District No. 2, Town of Scarsdale, New York, at any time, but subject to the same pen- ', alties as are specified and provided in Section 18 of Chapter 105 of the Laws of 1916, for neglect to pay the total amount of the school taxes after the levy thereof. n FURTHER RESOLVED that the acceptance of any such partial or instalment payment of the 1948 school taxes for Union Free School District No. 1 in the Town of 'Mamaroneck, and School District No. 21 Town of Scarsdale, New York, shall not be deemed to affect, in any manner, any right of the Town of Mamaroneck under any general or special act, to enforce collection of the unpaid balances of such taxes as may remain due and owing to said Town, but such rights and powers shall remain in full force and effect to en- force collection of the unpaid balance of such school taxes, together with interest, penalties and other lawful charges. On motion duly made and seconded, the following resolution was, upon roll call, unanimously adopted: RESOLVED that this Board hereby designates "The Daily Tines", a daily newspaper published in the Village and Town of Mamaroneck, for the purpose of publishing the notice of the collection of the 1948 school taxes as required by law; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that in accordance with the provi- sions of Section 26 of the Westchester County Tax Act, Board do and hereby does direct the Receiver the T own B y of Taxes and Assessments to mail to each taxpayer of the Town of Mamaroneck, whose address is known to said Receiver of Taxes and Assessments, a tax bill for 1948 School taxes, the expense thereof to be a Town charge. The Supervisor reported that under "Unfinished business" was the matter of Carnoy Construction Company, re York Road. Mr. Brewer, representing Mr. Carnoy, Presented an estimate for the paving - and grading of York Road, in the amount of $12,208. Following discussion, the Members of the Board decided to submit this estimate to Mr. Foote, Town Engineer. With regard to the top-surfacing of York Road, Supervisor Mandeville informed Mr. Carnoy that the matter of the drainage of the property would have to be taken care of before this work could be done . Mr. Carnoy stated that he had received a letter from Town Attorney Delius concerning this. Mr. Brewer asked for some time to study the situation. Councilman McKeever reported that he and Town Engineer Foote had investigated the drainage situation on Vine Road. The Members of the Board discussed fully the amendment to the Fire Prevention Ordinance in relation to television antennae. Councilman Watson reported that the City of Hartford, Connecticut, has an ordinance regulating television. Town Attorney Delius stated that he had written for a copy of such ordinance. It was decided to take no action at this time. The Supervisor informed the Board that a tax note in the amount of $40,305.96 was due on September lst, 1948. He reminded the Members of the Board that this note was issued to the Town of Mamaroneck General Fund for funds advanced to make payment due to the School Board for the balance of the 1947 School levies. He stated that there had been collected to date, $26, 634. 81, leaving a balance of $13,671.15 due, which is represented by tax liens bid in by the Supervisor at the annual sale of tax liens, held May 24th, 1948 and which are now owned by the Town of Mamaroneck. I _i This amount can be paid by the use of General Town Surplus Funds which are available. I On motion made by Councilman Mills., seconded by Councilman McKeever, it was unanimously RESOLVED that the Supervisor be and he hereby is authorized to liquidate on his books and records, the tax note in the amount of $40,305 .96, which is payable to the General Fund of the Town of Mamaroneck and which note represents the amount advanced to pay the balance of the 1947 School levies. At 11:20 P. M. the Board unanimously resolved to adjourn to meet on September 29th. Town Clerk