Mayor's MessageIt has been my policy to use the Mayor's Message to report what we are working on and what has being going on in Bellerose Village since my last report. The past month has been filled with lots of activity and, we are happy to report, lots of accomplishments. On October 17th the Board of Trustees met at a work session to discuss issues of importance to the Village and to plan the agenda for the October meeting. During that session the Trustees and I discussed the three pieces of legislation that were presented at the Public Hearing on October 24th ; the resolutions that we considered during the Business Portion of the meeting; and the proposed changes to Chapter 6 of the Village Code. I will discuss those laws, resolutions, and the timeline for addressing the proposed changes in Chapter 6 of the Code later in this message.
Sidewalk repairs are just about completed and the contractor for the sidewalk repairs has moved and repositioned the planters on Jericho Turnpike. Leaf removal has already started. The leaf removal truck was inspected and needed some repairs, which were done. We have been and will continue to be diligent in stressing the preventive maintenance of Village equipment and vehicles in order to maintain operational readiness and capability.
The Fire House Grant has finally been approved. I have appointed Trustee Juliano to serve as the point person on this project, and he and I have had meetings with the leadership of the fire department as well as an architectural/engineering firm. This is another work in progress.
The Trustees also passed five resolutions at the meeting:
1. To suspend, for a period of three years, the provisions of Resolution 08-10/27-1, which created the 'Prototypical Sidewalk Design for the Apartment/ Business/ Commercial District' and adopted the sidewalk specifications submitted by the landscape architecture firm MPFP LLC. Given present-day economic realities, meeting these specifications presents a significant additional liability and expense to property owners and/or businesses. Passage of this resolution was necessary to temporarily relieve owners and operators from the enhanced financial obligations that would be required to comply with the specification and to allow reassessment of the need for such mandate.
2. To set the Village Election date for Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 between the hours of 12:00 Noon and 9 PM. The election will be held to fill two Trustee positions, each with a term of two years.
3. To award the bid for snow removal to Manor Construction Corporation, the lowest bidder. We received two other bids and we have determined that Manor Construction has the capacity and capability to carry out the terms of the contract.
4. To engage Bill Kavoris at CCG Pension for a GASB (Government Accounting Standards Board) audit. This is an audit to certify that we are in compliance with normal government accounting procedures and focuses on the accounting procedures used to track past and current employees' benefits and pension accumulations.
5. To adopt a revised fees schedule that includes the doubling of all fees in cases where work has commenced before a permit has been issued.
As you know, we have not published the "Village Bulletin". Communication with the residents remains one of our priorities. We continue to frequently update the Village website (http://www.bellerosevillage.org) and to publish the Mayor's report in 'The Gateway.'� Minutes of all meetings and work sessions are provided at the monthly meeting and on the Village website. We realize that not everyone accesses the Internet and we have not abandoned our plan to publish a "Village Bulletin". Notices of import have been and will continue to be distributed as flyers as the occasion warrants.
The Code Committee has submitted a draft revision of Chapter 6 for review by the Board of Trustees. Chapter 6 of our Village Code deals with the Board of Architectural Review. We plan to present this revision at the November Trustees' meeting and to schedule a public hearing for the December meeting. The Code Review Committee's focus was to streamline the permit application and review process. This draft revision does not radically change the criteria used in the process of architectural review, but it does create an appeal process for architectural decisions. The current Chapter 6 does not allow for appeals of decisions made by the Board of Architectural Review for any reason other than procedural errors. When the Code Review Committee has submitted its final draft, the document will be submitted to the Board of Architectural Review and the Board of Zoning Appeals for review and comment. We anticipate that as a result of the revisions to Chapter 6 of the Code we will have to review and revise the application forms for building permits to make them consistent with the terms of the code.
The Trustees passed three new laws at the October meeting. I think that a few words of explanation are in order.
· Local Law #7 of 2011 amends Chapter 204 of the Village Code. This section of the code deals with vehicles and traffic, and this Local Law adds a new section to the code requiring that valid Muni meter parking receipts be displayed on the front driver side area of the car dashboard so that it is visible from the outside of the vehicle. It also requires that the vehicle be parked in the numbered parking stall which corresponds to the parking stall designated on the Muni meter receipt. Advance notice will be posted in Magee Plaza advising lot users of the November 15th effective date.
· Local Law # 8 of 2011 authorizes the override of the 2% tax levy limit that was established by the New York State Legislature. The Trustees passed this law so that the Village may, if necessary, raise taxes more than the 2% limit that has been imposed. We did not pass this law because we intend to raise taxes. We passed it because responsible governing requires that we maintain fiscal flexibility and control of our own budget.
· The sections of our village code are arranged in alphabetical order. Local law # 9 of 2011 renames and re-numbers Section 164 (Pollution) to Section 128 (Illicit Discharges). For all intents and purposes, this change is purely cosmetic.
I announced at the meeting that the November meeting of the Trustees will be held on November 21st and the December meeting will be held on December 19th because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Thank you for your continued support.
