Trustees Declare National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2

On Tuesday May 23 the Village Board considered a new measure to regulate the sale of guns and declared June 2 to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Scarsdale. The National Gun Violence Awareness Day initiative was championed by a group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Westchester Chapter, who attended the meeting wearing their orange shirts.

Representing the group, Pat Colella urged everyone to wear orange on June2 to raise awareness of gun violence. Last year 150,000 cities participated in the movement. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was formed in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Gun violence kills 93 Americans each day and the group advocates for stronger laws and policies to effect change. The group will hang orange ribbons around lampposts in the Village in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Colella urged residents to advocate against proposed state legislation called "Concealed Carry Reciprocity," which would allow those with concealed firearm agreements from other states to carry concealed weapons into New York.

Prior to the Board of Trustees, the Law Committee, lead by Trustee Carl Finger, explored legislation that would restrict gun sales to a certain area of the Village. Their hope is that restricting zones where guns can be sold will discourage gun dealers from opening in Scarsdale. Rye Brook is considering similar legislation after a gun dealer opened in Harrison. A resolution will be drafted by Village staff and a public hearing on the matter will be held.

Scarsdale Library Renovation:

Several members of the Board of the Scarsdale Library were present along with Library Director Beth Bermel as the Board of Trustees voted on two major contracts that will move the plans to renovate and expand the library forward.

The Village agreed to a contract with Dattner Architects, who designed the building, for a fee of $1,298,000 for architectural design development and for construction documents and bid services.

In addition the Village approved a contract with Savin Engineers to provide construction management for the addition and renovation of the Scarsdale Library. The fee for construction management is $583,000.

At their May 15 meeting, the Library Board of Trustees, bearing the fiscal responsibility for library budget items, approved the terms of these contracts with Dattner Architects and Savin Engineers, as recommended by the Library Building Committee. Village Trustees authorized the Village Manager to execute the contracts. These contracts are funded in total by private funds. Updates on the progress of the Library's Capital Campaign are made quarterly by Beth Bermel, Library Director. The next update is at the June 13 meeting

The Village accepted gifts of $10,000 from Carol Stix in honor of her late husband Edgar Stix and $25,000 from Lindsay and Jordan Zaken for the library master plan improvement project.

Sale of Village-owned Property:

The Village agreed to sell a foreclosed property at 32 Ferncliff Road to the highest bidder, Dominic Marchese of 505 West Street Harrison, NY, for $956,300. The house sits on two tax lots totaling 10,454 square feet with 100 feet of road frontage.

Sidewalk Sale:

The Village Board approved the annual Sidewalk Sale in Scarsdale Village to be held from Thursday July 27 through Saturday July 29 from 10 am to 5pm each day.

Art Installation:

The Village Board authorized the Scarsdale Arts Council to sponsor two temporary art exhibits at Chase Park with works from Simone Kestelman. The works include "Pearl Necklace" and five painted boulders which will be on display from May 29 to September 4 in the park.

Development at Freightway Garage:

Trustee Marc Samwick announced that a meeting about development at the Freightway Garage site would be held on May 31 at 7 pm with a public workshop on June 12. Those who want to attend the public workshop should RSVP to freightwaystudy@scarsdale.com. There will be a public walking tour as well – including a trip to the top to see the view. Samwick said the Village is hoping to find a way to get this done.

Communications:

Trustee Jane Veron announced that the Village will soon start to send out community e-blasts and will also issue a survey about communications from the Village.

Salary Increases for 2017-18:

Salary increases of 2% were approved for Village department heads and non-union personnel for 2017-2018.

Here are the settlements by bargaining unit for 2017-18.

Police (PBA) – 3%
CSEA Village Hall: 2%
CSEA Library: 2.0%
IBT Public Works 2%
IBT Facilities Maintenance: 2.0%
IBT Crossing Guards: 2.0%

Appointments to Boards and Councils:

Jennifer Barrett was appointed to the Council on Parks and Recreation and Seema Jaggi was appointed to the Conservation Advisory Council.

Public Comments:

A moment of levity occurred during the public comments section when Bob Harrison complained that the Village Attorney would not let him use the legal books in his office so that Harrison could help residents file tax grievances to reduce their real estate taxes. He said, "They (the legal books) are paid for by Scarsdale taxpayers and should be available for Scarsdale residents to examine." Village Attorney Wayne Esannason refused, saying, "Mr. Harrison, there are boundaries. Just because you are a taxpayers does not mean you are entitled to utilize police cars, fire trucks or backhoes. You have to respect boundaries. You can't expect me to help you defend a determination that the Village has made!"