Town Board Discusses YCCC Nutrition Center Improvements Among Other Matters

Here are some matters the town board discussed during their July 13 work session meeting:

YCCC Improvements

Members of the town board reviewed a proposal by Sullivan Architect for improvements to the Nutrition Center and abutting corridor. There are three major issues that would be addressed, Supervisor Susan Siegel said.

The first two would be combined- raising of the ceiling, which will open up the room, and holding a partition of the room. The third project would be creating a new corridor. The project would cost approximately $360,000 and the town has approximately $300,000 in reserved funds set aside to be used specifically for seniors. The town also anticipates to receive $125,000 from State Senator Vincent Leibell next year.

The money would also fund improvements to room 1 and 16, but those would be modest changes and the consultation of an architect would not be needed, Siegel said. Room 16 will be painted and new carpets would be placed. Room 1 will be refurnished and new computers will be installed. 

Councilman Jim Martorano said they would be doing the improvements in steps, and would not go forward with any additional work unless they have the funds. 

Some seniors in attendance were Nutrition and Senior Services Director Mary De Silva, and Roda Sussman, president of Yorktown Senior Club, Chapter 1.

The seniors at the YCCC Senior Center, who made the proposal, said they were happy with it.

Siegel said she wanted something to be done to the center and acknowledged the fact that the process would take time.

Councilman Terrence Murphy asked if the modifications could be used for someone else in the future,  and answer to which was yes.

John Tegeder, director of planning for the town, said the modifications would make the room "more pleasant" to be in and it could be split down the middle to create two rooms.

The town board members will pass a resolution next week during the regular board meeting on July 20 and will sign the proposal.

Section 8 Housing

Section 8 Housing is a federal assistance program which helps low-income people in need of help with their rent. Yorktown participates in the program, which board members described as successful. Yorktown residents have priority over others, because the town wants to help its residents first.

Colette Rogers, director of Section 8 Housing, came to present in front of the town board a discussion about creating a northern Westchester Section 8 office. This was a preempt to the possibility of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) consolidating local programs. The meeting was to take proactive measure and prepare them with a plan if HUD ever considered closing the local office.

"It's all speculation," Martorano said. 

Bianco said there is evidence that Yorktown does not discriminate against people.

Garbage Collection for Yorktown Ambulance Volunteer Corps

The town discussed the request from the YAVC for town garbage pick up in order to save money. Currently, the Yorktown Ambulance Corps pays $2,560 a year to have their garbage picked up, according to their members. 

There are two types, recycling and garbage, that get picked up, and since there was confusion, the board could not pass a resolution and make a decision, Siegel said. 

"Let's get it clarified as to who's picking who," she said.

The discussion was adjourned until July 27.

Master Fee Law

When the town had a legal department, they did not have to outsource to law firms to look at applications. To take care of the high prices the firms are charging, Siegel proposed a master fee law to charge applicants with an initial $500 for any application, along with other fees. After that, if additional work needs to be done, there would be a fee in increments of $500. Councilman Jim Martorano said the town is not looking to get paid every time they did something, and by implementing this law there would be no cap to the fees. 

"We are a government," he said. "We're in the business of serving people."

Over the last few years, 45 percent of applicants paid $500 or less; 65 percent paid $750 or less; and in two cases, costs exceeded $10,000 because the projects had significant legal issues to address.

New Policies

A donation policy was among the new policies discussed. Siegel said that no town department could accept a donation without the town board's approval. The discussion came after one department had accepted a used car as a donation, and the town had to pay to fix the car.

The members also discussed a nepotism policy, which dates back to 1986. The old policy has been obeyed and it states that immediate family members cannot work in the same department if supervised by a relative. For the updated policy, members agreed to add a definition of who is included in the immediate family- siblings, children, step children, grandparents, spouse, domestic partner, or any other employee living in the same household. The updated policy would only affect new hires, Siegel said. 

Barger Brook

Many of the luxurious homes at Barger Brook, currently known as Trump Park Residences, have not been sold and developers want to convince the town to lift the 55-and-over age restriction on buyers. 

During the work session meeting, town board members discussed that they would not engage in any discussion with representatives from the formerly known as Barger Brook project until they start paying their taxes. Barger Brook owes more than $700,000 in unpaid taxes. 

Jefferson Village

The town board and McGrath Management Services, the company representing Jefferson Village, are in dispute over who is responsible to pay for storm water management at the senior complex. Siegel said what the company is telling their residents is wrong and added that the cause of their problem is "nature."

Retirement Incentive

The town board will add this to a public discussion as more town employees are thinking about it.

Overtime Payments for Yorktown Police Department Officers

On June 15 and 16, the Yorktown Police Department had 19 officers, 33 percent of their force, on duty for the wake and funeral services of fallen White Plains officer Michael Perry, councilman Terrence Murphy said. Parts of the town of Yorktown were shut down for the procession and officers were patrolling the area.

Murphy said he was outraged that the police department had submitted a $7,105.19 bill to the town to pay police officers in overtime. 

"This is abuse," Murphy said of the bill. "He was one of their own. They could have volunteered."

Siegel said there needs to be guidance about the use of police overtime and that she would speak to Police Chief McMahon.