Board Briefs: Village Gets AAA Rating from Moody's, DeCicco's to Expand and Halloween Window Painting on Sunday 10/21

In addition to discussing flooding concerns in Scarsdale, the Scarsdale Board of Trustees meeting covered a variety of other issues and news. Here are some highlights:

Mayor’s Comments
With fall upon us, Mayor Dan Hochvert reminded residents that, during lawn clean ups, leaves should not be placed in village streets. These leaf piles are safety hazards for both motorists and pedestrians, and often clog sewer drains. Residents who do not comply will receive a warning for the first violation and a summons for the second. He urged residents to report any piles of leaves in streets to the Scarsdale Highway Department during business hours (722-1150) and said, “We are serious about keeping people safe.”

Hochvert also mentioned that Metro North is proposing a renovation project at the Scarsdale train station in 2019. The village will schedule a public meeting for residents to review and comment on the proposed work.

He closed by sharing information on “Jackie’s Walk 4 HD,” a fundraiser for Huntington’s Disease research, scheduled for Sunday, October 14, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, at Glen Island Park.

Village Manager’s Report
Pappalardo reported that Moody’s Investor Services has reviewed Scarsdale’s financial position in conjunction with its upcoming bond issue, and has reaffirmed its AAA rating. As many readers know, the village will be issuing an $11.4 million bond to fund its portion of library renovation project ($9.9 million) and upgrades to the Ardsley Road storage tank ($1.4 million). He then quoted Moody’s report, which stated, “The village’s financial position is strong and stable, with ample reserves relative to sector medians… The village’s strong, wealthy tax base, conservative budgeting practices and ample reserves will continue to support the overall credit profile.”

Trustee Reports
Village Trustee Lena Crandall reported that Scarsdale-Edgemont Family Counseling Service was recently re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation, an international, human service accrediting association that promotes the well being of individuals, families and communities.

She then mentioned the recent Drug and Alcohol Task Force presentation on “Youth Driving While Under the Influence of Marijuana,” which will be broadcast via Scarsdale Public Television shortly. “This is information all residents need to know, regardless of your age.”

Crandall also noted that the annual Scarsdale Halloween window painting event will be held on Sunday, October 21; residents may register online via scarsdale.com through Tuesday, October 16. The village also will host its Halloween costume parade by Chase Park on Wednesday, October 31; line up begins at 3:45 pm and the parade starts at 4:00 pm.

Trustee Carl Finger stated that the Law Committee approved a proposed amendment to the village code with regard to streets, sidewalks and public places. Specifically, a new provision has been added, which gives the village engineer three days to grant or deny a permit to obstruct any public place (e.g., signage). “We’ve had some comments, generally, about the use of the right-of-way… the aesthetics associated with signage and other obstructions in the right-of-way. We’re not addressing those issues in this resolution. It was called to our attention that it would be helpful… to include a… timeframe for when the village engineer would approve some type of obstruction.” Finger said that a public hearing would be held and invited residents to attend and share their thoughts about safety, aesthetics and other concerns about the use of the village right-of-way.

Trustee Jane Veron discussed the Scarsdale Municipal Services Committee meeting held earlier in the evening, which focused on the condition of village roadways. “We, as a board, take the condition of the roads very seriously. We understand that residents have identified roads as a top priority and we are vigilant about understanding what it takes to optimize our roadway conditions.” During the meeting, which has been taped, village staff reviewed the village re-pavement program, general road maintenance procedures and related expenditures. “We encourage residents to educate themselves… it will be an important budget conversation… bringing the roads to a place where we address most of the ‘fair’ and the ‘poor’ roads will impact the budget and we’d like to hear from the public on… how they wish to spend tax dollars.”

Veron then stated that the village will hold a Land Use Committee meeting later in October to review priority land use issues, such as clear cutting. In addition, in talking about activities in downtown Scarsdale, she reported that DeCicco Family Market will be expanding into the space previously occupied by the Chase Private Bank on East Parkway. The retailer plans to offer more produce and prepared foods, and will provide patrons with a dining space. The entire supermarket will be updated and the renovation work already is in progress.

Trustee Matt Callaghan reminded residents about the upcoming Fire Fair to be held on Saturday, October 20 at Crossway Field. The daylong event will feature a variety of family-friendly activities’ 1,300 people attended last year. He also mentioned that as we soon will be turning our clocks back for one hour, it is time to change batteries in our smoke detectors. “To go along with that, regarding your (battery operated) fire detectors, change those out every five years because the radiation piece that makes the sound wears out. The same (goes for) fire extinguishers; get rid of them every five years… A number of our residents have hard-wired systems; those devices should be changed every 10 years… the exception is if you test them every year with (the help of) a qualified service, which is quite expensive.”

Laura Halligan is a local writer, editor and marketing consultant. She is principal of Pinch Hit Prose and provides communications services to entrepreneurs, small businesses and nonprofits.