Village Board Meeting Minutes -April 7, 2008

Minutes of the Public Hearing on the Proposed 2008/2009 Fiscal Budget and Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village/Town of Mount Kisco held on Monday, April 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm in the Frank J. DiMicco Board Room, Village Hall, 104 Main Street, Mount Kisco, New York.

Present: Mayor J. Michael Cindrich

Deputy Mayor Peter DiChiara

Trustee George Griffin, Jr.

Trustee Peter Grunthal

Trustee Anthony Markus

Also Present: James Palmer, Village Manager/Clerk

Whitney Singleton, Village Attorney

Mayor Cindrich opened the Village Board Meeting he asked everyone to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and asked everyone to please reflect on why we are here and asked for guidance in the decisions we make this evening that they will benefit all the people of Mount Kisco. He also asked that the Brock Family be kept in our thoughts and prayers. Mrs. Brock was the first female President of the Boys and Girls Club and she also served on a number of other Boards in the community. She was another volunteer who had served us well. Thank you.

Informal Interviews for Vacancy on the Conservation Advisory Council

Prior to the start of the Regular Village Board Meeting the Board held an informal interview with Alison Bisbano and Dee Roider regarding their interest in serving as a member of the Conservation Advisory Council.

Mayor Cindrich recognized Coach Joseph Amuso for his many years of service to the community.

Proclamation

Whereas, Coach Joseph Amuso graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York in 1966 and earned a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education and Health at Hiram Scott College, Scottsbluff, NE; and

Whereas, Coach Joseph Amuso has been a Physical Education Teacher as well as Head Varsity Wrestling Coach at Fox Lane Middle School in Bedford, New York for the past 37 years; and

Whereas, Coach Joseph Amuso has achieved an unprecedented Career Record of 334-130-6. He has also been honored twice as Section One “Coach of the Year” (1986 & 1994). He has been named League “Coach of the Year” 14 times as well as County “Coach of the Year” 4 times; and

Whereas, In 1993 Coach Joseph Amuso received the New York State Coaches Association “Outstanding Achievement Award” and in 1995 he was inducted into the Fox Lane “Athletic Hall of Fame” and in 2006 he was inducted into Section One “Wrestling Hall of Fame”; and

Whereas, Coach Joseph Amuso's Teams have won 36 Tournament Championships; His teams have finished in the top ten of Sectionals 17 times and his teams have had a 33 match winning streak, and

Whereas, Coach Joseph Amuso is the first Coach in Section One History to win 300 Dual Wrestling Matches.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, J. Michael Cindrich, Mayor of the Village/Town of Mount Kisco do hereby proclaim Friday, April 4, 2008 to be COACH JOSEPH AMUSO day in the Village/Town of Mount Kisco and I do hereby publicly express the gratitude and appreciation of the residents/citizens of the Village of Mount Kisco and ask them to join me in Honoring Coach Joseph Amuso.

Public Hearing

Proposed 2008/2009 Fiscal Budget

Mayor Cindrich noted that the Board was in receipt of the proper affidavits of service and the proper affidavits of public notice regard this hearing.

Mayor Cindrich stated that this is the budget that is prepared by the Village Manager and it is presented to the Village Board. This budget that is being presented this evening to the Village Board has not had any modifications to it. It's a work in progress and it's the Village Manager's budget acting in concert with Staff. He is going to present it to the Public this evening and we will address any questions and give anybody in attendance an opportunity to speak. Hopefully, we will have this budget adopted in some form before the end April.

Village Manager Palmer stated that this was the tentative budget as filed in his office on March 20, 2008. Prior to that time a lot of preparation went into the budget starting with Department Heads submitting their requests to him in February.

Budget Comparison by Fund Current vs. Proposed Budget.

This is a quick snap shot of where we are with the budget. Again we are finishing up with the 07/08 year and you can see the proposed category for the 08/09 year. It shows an increase in the General Fund of 5.4%; an increase in the Library Fund of 25.7% and a slight increase in the Water and Sewer Funds. The significant change for the Library Fund is the additional funding of the debt service for the new Library. Most of the Library fund is funded through the General Fund and it's important to point out the increase of $300,000 for the debt service.

FY 2008/2009 Budget Summary.

General Fund Appropriations is $19,953,646. Supported by estimated revenues of $6,620,798 and real property tax revenues of $13,332,848. What this means for the average taxpayer is a 5.4% increase. For the homeowner with the average tax bill of $40,000 it will be an increase of $173.80.

The average homeowner's tax bill includes $152.14 for construction of the new library. This budget includes $600,000 applied toward the debt service. Last year we phased in $300,000 of the debt service.

2008/2009 Proposed Appropriations Comparison Chart.

General Fund Appropriations from last year compared to this year. This year we have been able to increase our Non-Tax Revenue to $6,620,798 slightly up from $6,245.994 last year. The Assessed Valuation from last year to this year was up $750,000. The Village Board with the guidance of the Finance Committee recommended that the Village always maintain at least a 10% Fund Balance in the General Fund. At the Village Board's recommendation we have been slowly phasing out the Tax Stabilization Fund. With regards to the Open Space Fund the Village Board has really made an effort to ear mark specific rents to put into an Open Space Fund which will be used for the acquisition of Open Space.

Proposed General Fund Appropriations Percentage by Functional Category.

This pie chart illustrates exactly where the appropriations go. You can see the public safety component of our budget which makes up almost a third of our expenditures for a total of $5.5 million. General Government Support makes up just under $3.0 million which includes a variety of categories. Some of the largest includes employee contracts and Village positions. The Health account includes our Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support. The Transportation account includes Street Lighting and Street Maintenance. The increase in the Senior Nutrition Category reflects the increase in the cost of food.

Proposed General Fund Appropriations Comparison with Prior Year Budget (major expenditures category).

This chart compares some of the major changes taking place from last year to this year. You can see the General Government Category is up 13.9%. Probably the largest reason for that is the contingency account and one of the components in the contingency account is unsettled contracts. Public Safety includes not only the Police Department but also our Fire Services. The Transportation category shows a slight increase. The Parks and Recreation Program shows a slight increase. Employee benefits have increased as a result of an increase in dental premiums and workers compensation insurance. The 25.3% increase is reflective of the Library Transfer from debt service.

Proposed General Fund Estimated Revenues Percent by Category

This pie chart show where the revenues are other than our real property taxes. Real Property Taxes make up 67%; other tax items make up 1%. This includes programs that the Village has in place such as the Northern Westchester Hospital. Non-Property Tax items includes our sales tax revenues and franchise fees. Departmental Income is our second largest category which includes parking permits, meter revenues and income from other departments. Intergovernmental charges are the revenues that we receive back from other communities that we provide other services to such as Fire Protection. Use of Money & Property is interest income and lease revenues. Fines & Forfeitures are building violations. State Aid is another important category which shows our mortgage tax revenue as well as some of the State grants that we receive as well as the programs for the aging.

General Fund Estimated Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

This slide will give a snap shot of other revenues other than real property taxes from last year to this year. What is important to know here is that we have worked very hard to squeeze out what ever additional revenues we can other than the real property tax. Everybody is aware of the economic climate that is affecting our nation which is also facing Mount Kisco. Last year our projections were conservative but accurate. Treasurer Tom Warren works very hard to follow the numbers very closely. We did increase some of this year's projections slightly. Departmental Income has been increased to reflect our parking meter increases and increases in our Building Department and Safety Inspections. These are not huge increases but certainly we have made every effort to minimize the additional impact on real property taxes. The largest increase here is the Use of Money & Property. Again this is the money that the Village has available to invest. This number has been strong despite declining interest rates. Fine & Forfeitures have been increased ever so slightly. The Board had increased that last year. Again we are trying to look at every possible area to find some alternative revenue sources.

Important Expenditure Changes Reflected In FY 2007/2008 Proposed Budget.

Some highlights of the budget as I mentioned already the Contingency account was increased to reflect expired employee contracts. The Judgments and Claims account was increased for future tax certiorari proceedings. As you can see employee benefits have been increased primarily due to our workers' compensation costs which have gone up 4% this year. We are aggressively working with our insurance carriers to try to develop our risk management programs to provide employees with the necessary training to do their work as efficient, effectively and as a safely as possible so that the Village is not at risk so we can keep our premiums as low as possible.

Other Important Expenditure Changes Reflected In FY2007/2008 Budget.

Other important expenditures reflected in this budget as well as throughout the country for that matter are the increases in electricity, heating oil and fuel costs. These costs have all gone up dramatically which is reflected in our General Budget. The work that the CAC has done is most important and when we get to the capital budget section we will talk about some of the efforts that will be put into place to try to control these costs. The Public Safety Budget has been increased to include a full-time civilian dispatcher and part-time dispatchers. The Village Board already has had a work session with the Chief of Police to discuss this issue.

Important Revenue Changes Reflected in Proposed 2007/2008 Budget.

The Village non-tax revenue has remained strong. There is slight increase in our other programs such as our PILOT program and franchise fees. Other communities are reducing their sales tax projections. We feel that we can maintain our level. The Use of Money and Property Revenue has been increased because of the available monies in the Fund Balance which produces additional interest income. Other non-property tax revenues have been increased to reflect the fees for the Recreation Department programs which will offset additional programs.

Proposed FY 2007/2008 Capital Program Expenditures

In the adopted 07/08 budget the Village Board approved $10,824,097 for a variety of infrastructure and other capital projects. Mind you this number does include the $8.0 million dollars for the Library. The Village Board has worked very hard to increase those capital reserves so that we can invest the money back into the infrastructure that's long since been needed. The 2008/09 budget continues with this plan to continue putting the necessary money into those buildings to modernize equipment, especially items that have been put off for a long time.

Library Fund Appropriations and Estimated Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

Again keeping with last year's budget we will be continuing with paving projects and various street repairs. We have $100,000 budgeted for this this year. This year the budget for sidewalk repairs and replacement has been doubled ($80,000). Jeff Feigel Square; we have culvert and drainage improvements that are proposed under the tentative budget. All of the improvements to Jeff Feigel Square should be reimbursed through FEMA. A variety of improvements are being proposed for Leonard Park which will be phased in over time. Such as resurfacing of the basketball court ($20,000), parking lot repaving, softball field backstop replacement ($45,000). Also the pool filtration system ($320,000) which the Village will issue a bond for that large ticketed item.

Proposed Library Fund Appropriations Compared with Prior Year's Budgets.

Vehicles & Equipment:

Last year we purchased two garbage trucks. Our hope is as we increase the fleet we will reduce our expenditures on repairs and breakdowns. Other Capital items are the purchase of a dump truck for the Water Department. Purchase of a Vac-All Catch Basin Cleaner to clean out all of our catch basins as well assisting in our leaf collection. A Senior Nutrition Program Bus which will be purchased with monies from the SNAP Program and New York State Senator Leibell. Also included in this proposed budget is a Hybrid Vehicle for the Building Department. In the past the Village has leased vehicles and in an effort to follow the CAC directions we are looking at some alternative fuel vehicles.

Public Improvements:

Village Hall Elevator which is another very expensive item $250,000. In an effort to be more energy efficient we are proposing to convert our Village Hall boiler to natural gas. Painting at Fox Center; Repairs to the Old Post Office Building; Fire House Improvements for the implementation of some energy efficient alternatives again to control the maintenances costs of these buildings. Other items not included here that are planned for this year are a new server for the Justice Court and software up-dates for the Finance Department.

Water Improvements:

Improvements to Byram Lake with enhanced monitoring services. Water Main Replacement; a back up generator for the Hillside Avenue pump station, continuation with the radio read installation project so that the Village can eventually go to quarterly billing and we will also continue with our hydrant replacement program which we have allocated $20,000 for that.

Sewer Improvements:

We will be continuing our on going efforts with I&I Work and also with our Sanitary Sewer District Improvements. We hope to use some of the East of Hudson funds for the Sanitary Sewer District Improvements for some 35 homes owners that are affected. A back-up generator for Radio Circle and series of improvements to the Saw Mill Pump Station which include the replacement of the roof and also increasing the size of the overflow tank.

Library Fund Appropriations and Estimated Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

This is a snap shot of prior year for the Library Fund most of which is supported by the General Fund. The most dramatic item here is the second phase in of the Debt Service of $600,000. The Village Board did have a Work Session already with the Library Board of Trustees going over some of their other needs regarding their increase in personnel and decrease in some of their operating expenses. Which really is the result of a closer examination of the heating expenses at their temporary quarters on Maple Avenue.

Proposed Library Fund Appropriations Compared with Prior Years' Budgets.

This slide shows the Library Budget taking off. Again the result of the $600,000 for the new building.

$8 Million Serial Bonds Issued for New Public Library Building Project.

Important point to note here is in August of this past year Moody's upgraded the Village's bond rating from A1 to Aa3. Which is a significant achievement by this Board making this Village one of six other Village's in Westchester and one of a few select nation wide to receive this rating. One of the reasons the Board chose to work at getting that increase was that the Village would be going out to bond for the Library and our new and improved bond rating would lower our debt service costs which is reflected in the net interest rate of 4.2185%.

Water Fund Appropriations Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

Unallocated Items is a large category mostly inclusive of real-estate taxes which we pay to North Castle and New Castle. Water Administration is Staff. Source of Supply includes our anticipated agreement for monitoring services at Byram Lake. Transmission & Distribution reflect a new dump truck for the Water Department.

Proposed Water Fund Appropriations Comparison with Prior Year Budget. (major expenditure categories).

This bar chart shows the largest increase in the Debt Service.

Water Fund Estimated Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

Basically this category is supported by our Water Sales. This is something that the Village is monitoring very closely. The Board has asked me to look into the discrepancy of what we are actually pumping as compared to what we are actually consuming.

Sewer Fund Appropriations and Estimated Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

Again this is showing significant areas of change. General Government Support is attributable to Management oversight.

Debt Service Fund Appropriations Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

This slides shows the Library Fund Debt Service

Debt Service Fund Estimates Revenues Prior & Current Budgets vs. Proposed Budget.

This slide shows the interest earnings for the sale of the Swiss Benevolent parcel and the transfer for the Library Fund.

Annual Debt Service Expenditures as a Percentage of Total Budget

This chart shows our Debt Service as a Percentage of the total budget which has remained relatively constant except for that period which is noted here for due to the debt service payment on the Swiss Benevolent Property claim.

Annual Debt Service Expenditure Compared to Total Budget.

This chart shows debt service remaining constant.

Ten Year Real Property Tax Rates.

The Proposed Tax Rate increase for this year is 5.40%. Last year's increase was 4.65%.

Ten Year Real Property Tax Rates - Chart.

Taxable Value

This chart shows a slight increase.

Village Full Value

Budget Questions?

If any one had any questions or concerns they could email the Village Manager at jpalmer@mountkisco.org or telephone him at 864-0001 and the Budget is also available on line at www.mountkisco.org.

Mr. Palmer thanked Thomas Warren, Doreen Caravello, Patrice Hogan and Staff for all their hard work and assistance in putting this proposed budget together.

Mayor Cindrich stated as you have just witnessed the Village of Mount Kisco is an extremely complex organization and what makes it function are the three no nonsense employees that prepared this presentation our Village Manager Jim Palmer, our Treasurer Thomas Warren and his assistant Patty Hogan. When I say a complex organization it's multi faceted and the Manager has to have somewhat of an expertise in every area of the operation. We are proud of the work you do Jim and I hope that we can still take a bite out of this number, but we'll see as we go along. The purpose of this public hearing is to encourage public comment, would anyone like to speak as to any line item in the budget.

Library Board of Trustees Jennifer Lewis Catalanello and Eileen Polese stated as Library Board members they are a little disheartened at the percentage increase proposed for Library Staff in comparison to other Village departments. The Library employees are dedicated professionals that work weekends and nights and are ultimately Village Employees. Our duty is to the people that use the Library children, elderly and people of all certain ages to represent them.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara asked what was the increase last year?

Library Director Susan Riley, replied I believe it was 4%.

Village Manager Palmer replied that the 4% was more than other union groups had received.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara stated that compared to other union contracts the Library receive more than most of our other unions/employees in the Village.

Library Director Susan Riley stated the salaries of Library employees compared to Village Employees as well as other libraries in the area are dramatically lower in most cases. The Library Board has made it a priority to bring salaries up to a fair and par level.

Trustee Markus asked if there was a history of this underpayment as you stated with other communities.

Library Director Riley replied as of last year the Library Board made it a priority to try and raise salaries to a par level with other departments in the Village as well as Library Staff in other communities. They chose not to have it hit right away with a chunk, but to equalize it over the years to bring the Library Staff up.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara replied unfortunately we have gone through comparisons in our previous union contracts and the fact is that it is hard to compare Mount Kisco to Bedford and New Castle because those communities do have the ability to pay hirer salaries than we do, it's just an economic fact.

Library Director Susan Riley stated however, in this year's the proposed budget the Finance Department personnel increases are going up 5.1%; the Vital Statistics personnel increased more than 7%; Recreation Department personnel is going up 9.3% and the Planning Board personnel are going up 7.9% and the Assessment Department personnel department are going up 17.4%.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara stated but that is not because someone is getting a 17.4% raise.

Library Director replied its part of the total on the “personnel” line.

Mayor Cindrich stated that we had a work session on this topic and we have taken everything you have said under advisement and we will continue to work on it. At the work session we explained some of the issues that we are faced with that we're very much concerned with which I really don't want to get into right now which have to do with the comparisons of Unionized Employee's and it's just a fact of life in how this Village operates and some of the nuances that are contained within labor contracts. We are still working on that aspect and I'm sure that if the Library Board wants to meet with us again we will make ourselves available. We are going to have to discuss the autonomy that you have requested as to the budget lines and that is something that is going to be a new facet in the community and maybe it is going to be new for the public. Instead of the public complaining to me they are going to have to be complaining directly to the Library Board of Trustees so that is an issue that we haven't resolved yet.

Library Director Riley replied that that was not a new initiative that goes back to 1972.

Mayor Cindrich replied that this Village has not operated that way until this request was made to us at the work session meeting. The Village has operated very well for 30 years and now the autonomy you are requesting may add another dimension into how we operate.

The Library Trustees and Library Director thanked the Village Board of Trustees.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara thanked Village Manager Palmer and Treasurer Warren for all their hard work in putting this budget presentation together. He stated that he wanted to make a point and that it has been brought up to him in conversations with Village residents that make note of the fact that we have a lot of new buildings in town and there is a new buildings going up and that is assessed and taxed. But there isn't really a corresponding increase in our tax revenues because along with new building we have challenges to assess value that lowers our property taxes and that has significant effects. So even though people see more buildings going up it doesn't necessarily translate to a direct increase in our tax revenue. Deputy Mayor DiChiara also added that beginning with June 1^st of this year Firefighters would receive a tax deduction.

Village Manager Palmer replied that it would begin with the September School Budget (08/09). He added that he needed to prepare a local law to put it in place on the Village Tax.

Deputy Mayor DiChiara stated that we have tried to increase revenues wherever we can and to try to get grants. In speaking to County Legislator Harkum recently we discussed the East of Hudson Funds that we applied for and was denied for our sewage plant. He asked that we forward to him our submission and rejection letter. Perhaps we can get some additional funds from the East of Hudson money to upgrade our infrastructure. He was glad that the back-stop for Leonard Park was back in the budget. Because the one that's there now is unsafe. He was also going to ask that a couple of small line items be added to the budget to make sure they get accomplished next year. One of them is to put some trees in our North Moger Parking Lot. Also I would like to ask that some money be put in the budget so that repairs can be made to the bridge that is down on Main Street. I think we need to put a split rail fence with some wire to prevent people from falling off that as well and maybe some improvements to that lot to allow people to pass through it on their way to Leonard Park. Maybe we can work with the Boys Scouts to do these improvements since they were so good with helping with the bridge. We have all these new trucks and new cars and I noticed in the bills that we have a lot more out sourcing of our repairs to our vehicles and automobiles. I would like to have an analysis done to see if we can allocate the position that is being allocated to auto repair and move it to some place else in the Highway Garage. Because if we have less repairs because we have new vehicles and we have more vehicles that are being sent out to mechanics to be fixed maybe we can allocate the position that we currently have as a mechanic to some place else in the Highway Department to get better use of it.

Trustee Griffin, Jr. stated that Jim and his Staff have worked very hard to keep this budget down. I'm not happy with the percentage. As we said it is a work in progress and I'm going to continue along with the Mayor and the rest of the Board Members trying to trim the increase because these are not the best of times and every little bit more hurts. So I am going to be diligent in trying to get that increase down.

Trustee Markus thanked Jim and Tom and Staff for their hard work and also for this Board's work. The Moody's rating was significant and I congratulate all the efforts that were made by this Board. I think that you have to look at things that are significant such as the rental income which was put into place several years ago. It is very important that we have utilized Village property efficiently but still retained ownership of it also the vibrancy of the Village is still being maintained because we can look at the sales tax, hopefully maintaining itself or doing better than other areas in the County itself. I am also not happy with the number but when we all look at the price of fuel, the cost of health care and other matters it seems that we are getting close to a pretty reasonable number. We try to do the best we can to keep this number low because there is nothing we can do about the school taxes and how that increases. Which always exceeds our number substantially so. We understand at the end of the day that our residents have to pay both taxes combined.

Trustee Grunthal stated that we still have some work to do. I think this is essentially an excellent piece of work that the Village Manager has presented to us. It clearly shows a very high degree of attention to detail and responsibility. There are some areas where I think we can do some fine tuning. We have met with the Police Chief, with the Library Board, with the Fire Commissioners. We still need to meet with some Department Heads. We need to take into account the comments tonight from the Library Trustees. We may get some additional Finance Committee input. We will have some Conservation Advisory Council input regarding energy efficient ideas and energy efficient vehicles. One thing that we do have to pay a lot of attention to is moving enough money into our capital budget as Mr. Palmer pointed out there is a huge number of capital needs in the Village i.e. filtration system at the pools, improvements at the highway garage, a lot of road paving, two major water line repairs, the geothermal system at the new library, energy efficient vehicles along with other energy saving devices. So many other infracture needs that I think we need to take a lot of care about making sure our capital reserves are strong enough. But over all obviously we are in very good shape thanks to our Manager and his staff and prudence on our part and I look forward to finalizing this budget.

Mayor Cindrich stated let me start with the ratables that we have in this community, but before I do that there are three people here tonight Jim Gmelin, Dee Roider, and Alison Bisbano who are all very much concerned with the conservation and the preservation of open space and keeping what we have intact as far as green space. With regards to the ratable aspect back in 1999 when nobody that is currently sitting on this board encumbered this Village with almost $4.0 millions dollars of debt with the acquisition of the Swiss Benevolent Property. We went into a bad deal and this Village Board worked our way out of that bad deal and I think we made an excellent deal and the excellent deal is going to mean that a slight portion of that property will be developed. Which will be the only significant ratable that will be built in this community in the foreseeable future. But more importantly for the members of the CAC this deal will result in the preservation of 40 acres of land. If it doesn't happen we could populate that entire mountain with housing. It's a big number that we are working with and I have struggled long and hard to bring this deal to fruition. It's before the Planning Board and I don't care what anyone talks about I will challenge them and I will demonstrate to them that preserving 40 acres of land to disturb 4 or 5 acres is a good deal for the Village of Mount Kisco. Not only in providing services to our seniors but also in preserving almost 40 acres of land. I think it is a win win for us. The developer is being represented by the most professional people and it something that I ask each one of you and the Planning Board to look long and hard at. In another life would I say yes, lets preserve all 50 acres of land. But it is not going to happen, 67% of our revenues is generated from property tax and we would like to reduce that number some how. But our taxes are reasonable because sitting here before you are good people, that are honest people that want to make sure that the middle class and the lower middle class can still live in this Village. That is my aim and my goal and every time we do a budget like this we struggle because any increase to a lot of people is too much. The ratables that are coming on line with the slight increase (333 North Bedford Road) is 6,050 sq. ft. of renovation, it's not significant. The two car dealerships that are being built on Kisco Avenue are going to be something that we can be proud of but they are not going to bring in a significant amount of tax dollars. In my opinion the Federal Government and the State Government should be embarrassed that we have a limited amount of State Aid coming into this Village. We are home to a regional hospital, a hospital we're proud of and it's the life blood of this community. It's something that we provide almost all of their municipal services (our Fire Department and Police Department provide the services to that hospital). The State and Federal people should recognize what Mount Kisco does our expenses in maintaining this regional hospital which serves 8 communities. That is an important factor with not-for-profits and it's never factored into the equation. The Federal, State and even County should be looking at Mount Kisco and saying thank you and giving us a slight increase in what they give other communities for that work at the hospital. This Board fully supported the referendum that the tax payers passed for the construction of a new library. The issue is like with the Police Department, the Police are in the lower percentages of salaries in the comparable communities. We will work towards getting the salaries of all staff up to par where they should be in this slightly above middle class community. It's not going to happen over night. It is something that will be phased in as we go along. If somebody has to pay $200.00 more in taxes it may push them over the top and we don't want to loose those people. We want young people to stay in the community and be part of the community. This Board has a lot of work to do we will be working on this over the next couple of weeks. We will be entertaining any writing comments to the budget over the next two weeks.

Mr. James Gmelin stated that he would like to respond to some of the comments you made with respect to the project on Kisco Avenue. Mr. Mayor as you know the CAC is appointed to advise the Village Board and the Planning Board as to what we think is in the best interest for the Village. We know that this project will go through. We had the first public hearing on it and we did a lot of work. We had two of our members at the public hearing making comments. I thought that the DEIS was insufficient. We would not be doing our job if we felt that we just had to come and stamp something for the Village's approval. Just like hiring somebody to come in and inspect your house. You want them to tell you what's good and what's bad with that house. That's our job here and that's what we are trying to do. I think the whole project will proceed and we are available at any time to meet with anybody on the Board to give our input. I just wanted to make that point clear. He didn't want to give the two new members the impression that their opinion wasn't going to mean anything. It will mean something.

Mayor Cindrich replied that it will mean that we are going to make a better project. But it is something that you have to look at the full spectrum of the project. In the news paper article it suggested that the 30 acres is already preserved, well that's not the case. There is a nexus to the 30 plus acres being preserved and this project moving forward, because right now we own it all. If we are going to preserve anything we have to be successful in making something happen there and we are looking for the input of the CAC, the Planning Board and any other regulatory agency. At the end of the day I hope we have a successful project.

Trustee Grunthal stated that the CAC has come in front of the Board two or three times in the last several weeks and I think you could see it in tonight's budget we have paid a lot of attention to that. The Village Manager has paid a lot of attention to that. We are talking about energy efficient hybrid vehicles. We are talking about a number of situations we are taking into account what the CAC is recommending and its input is very highly valued. In the case of this particular development that did get mentioned in the Westchester Examiner, I believe that only half the story was told. I believe they didn't tell the other half of the story which is the preservation of the mountain.

Trustee Griffin, Jr. stated that he was a member of the Planning Board for seven years and like the purpose of the CAC, the Planning Board reviewed projects and come back and made a final decision on what's best for the Village. We expect the CAC to scrutinize this project, make your suggestions and in the end we will have the best project for this Village and I have confidence that you will do you.

Trustee Markus stated that he agreed. The CAC should advise in accordance with what you believe is correct. As long as your conscience and the Board's conscience is clear that you've done the correct job and I think that's the way you should and continue to do your job.

Mayor Cindrich stated that he thought his point was slightly missed. My point is simply the only ratable in the foreseeable future is that project. But more importantly the taxpayers in Mount Kisco encumbered $4,000,000 of investing into that property to settle litigation and it's something that we have to resolve. Hopefully, it will happen in the near future so we can move on to do bigger and better things.

Motion made by Mayor Cindrich and seconded by Trustee Griffin, Jr. to close the public hearing except for written comments until April 21, 2008, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

1) Communications: None.

2) Petitions: None

3) Board, Committee and Commission Reports: None

4) Village Managers' Report -

A. Level of Byram Lake.

Village Manager James Palmer advised that the level of Byram Lake was at 100% of capacity as of Monday, April 9^th at 9:00 am. The average pumpage for the month of March was 1.53 million gallons.

B. IMA MS4 - Phase II Stormwater Education & Outreach Program.

Village Manager Palmer provided a follow-up to what the Board had previously approved for the Village's submission and participation in the Stormwater Education and Outreach Program grant that the County is in receipt of through the DEC ($200,000). The County will provide $150,000 and the remaining $50,000 will be provided through in-kind services by the municipal partners. Mount Kisco's share of that is $1,325.00 and that would be through in-kind services. This will be used to do outreach, create a web site and flyers on Stormwater Education. The Village Board had already approved our participation in this application I just wanted to advise the Board that we would be signing the intermunicipal agreement.

C. Westchester County Earth Day Celebration.

Village Manager Palmer reported to the Board that Westchester County will be holding an Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla from 11:00am to 3:00pm. There will be a variety of programs including giving out recycling programs awarded which in the past we have been a recipient of and also alternative fuel vehicles will be on display at the celebration.

D. Request for an Executive Session to discuss pending litigation, personnel and real estate matters.

Motion made by Deputy Mayor DiChiara and seconded by Trustee Grunthal scheduling an Executive Session following the close of the Regular Meeting to discuss pending litigation, personnel and real estate matters, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

5) Board Reports:

Deputy Mayor DiChiara noted that the Soccer season will be starting and one of the problems was last summer even though there were sprinklers put into the field, those sprinklers were never used. We had an extremely dry summer and that field is in very poor condition and the soccer program might even have to abandon the field and go back to Leonard Park. He asked the Village Manager if there were any plans from our Recreation Director to plant seed or to aerate the field. We need to make sure that this field is kept up and that something is done to maintain it.

Mayor Cindrich stated that part of the problem was that there wasn't a finalized agreement with the property owner, only a memorandum of agreement. Mayor Cindrich stated that he would find out if the maintenance of the property was turned over to the Recreation Department. He asked the Village Attorney to review the Memorandum of Understanding and he would call the property owner.

Mayor Cindrich noted that the Village Board has an invitation to participate in the Memorial Day Parade. He also announced that all former Village Officials were also invited to participate in the parade.

Mayor Cindrich noted that he was in receipt of a letter address to the Village Manager from Westchester ARC regarding their Annual Employer Breakfast scheduled for April 18, 2008. Mayor Cindrich requested that someone attend the breakfast.

Mayor Cindrich noted that he had a copy of a letter from Snyder and Snyder regarding a Cellular Co-location request. He requested that the Village Attorney review the letter and advise the Board if this is something that the Village Board should be entertaining.

Mayor Cindrich stated that he has asked on numerous occasions for the Village to be cleaned up and this is focused at the area on 117 behind the Barker Apartments between the Legion and Barker Street. It's about the green areas being dirtier than ever the grassy areas are filled with debris. He has been receiving email complaints from a resident regarding this area. The person who has been sending these emails is asking if they made a wise and prudent investment in buying a co-op in the community. My response to them was yes they did and we have more work to do so let's get it done. If that area has to be cleaned up than let's get it cleaned up and if the Police find somebody littering in that area then they should give them a citation for that violation of the law.

Mayor Cindrich stated that the Village has requested that the New York State Department of Transportation address the condition of Route 172 near the Medical Group. The DOT is on notice that this roadway is dangerous, it's in disrepair and I would like a timetable. I would like the Village Manager to send another letter to Mr. Harris and also our State and Assembly representatives and tell them what is going on. Also the same distortion of pavement is also happening on Lexington Avenue and Route 117. I would like another letter to go to the County putting them on notice.

Mayor Cindrich brought up again the poor workmanship of the paving at Green Street and Lexington Avenue. This is a brand new road that we should be addressing these issues. Village Attorney Whitney Singleton replied that the contractor for this project has been put on notice.

6) Old Business - None.

7) New Business

A. Schedule a work Session Meeting to discuss Retainer Agreement with Bond, Schoeneck & King.

Motion made by Trustee Markus and seconded by Trustee Griffin, Jr. authorizing the continuation of the current retainer agreement with Bond Schoeneck & King until July 1, 2008 and authorizing the Village Attorney and the Village Manager to start negotiations for a new retainer agreement, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

Motion made by Trustee Markus and seconded by Trustee Grunthal authorizing

the Village Manager to sign the SPCA 2008 Agreement, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

Motion made by Trustee Grunthal and seconded by Trustee Griffin, Jr. authorizing the Village Manager to sign the NYSDEC MWRR Grant.

Resolution Authorizing the filing of an Application for a State Grant-In-Aid for a Municipal Waste Reduction and/or Recycling Project and Signing of the associated State Contract, Under the Appropriate Laws of New York State.

Whereas, the State of New York provides financial aid for municipal waste reduction and municipal recycling projects; and

Whereas, the Village/Town of Mount Kisco herein called the Municipality, has examined and duly considered the applicable laws of the State of New York and the Municipality deems it to be in the public interest and benefit to file an application under these laws; and

Whereas, it is necessary that a Contract by and between the People of the State of New York, herein called the State, and the Municipality be executed for such State Aid;

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by the Board of Trustees of the Village/Town of Mount Kisco:

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

D. Appointments to the Conservation Advisory Council for a 2 year term.

The following motion was offered by Mayor Cindrich and seconded by Trustee Markus appointing Alison Bisbano and Dee Roider to the Conservation Advisory Council for a two (2) year term to expire on 12/6/2010, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

E. Resolution authorizing the Change Order for the Sands Street & Hillside Avenue Water Main Improvements.

The following motion was offered by Trustee Markus and seconded by Trustee Griffin, Jr. authorizing the Change Order for the Sands Street & Hillside Avenue Water Main Improvements Project (Contract 2007-12) in the amount of $13,039.00, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye

Deputy Mayor DiChiara Aye

Trustee Griffin, Jr. Aye

Trustee Grunthal Aye

Trustee Markus Aye

F. Resolution authorizing the Change Order for the Fox Memorial Park Improvements.

The following motion was offered by Trustee Griffin, Jr. and seconded Deputy Mayor DiChiara to table the change order request for the Fox Memorial Park Improvements, all in favor.

Motion Adopted

Mayor Cindrich Aye