Grievance Day Scheduled for Tuesday June 18 -- and More from Village Hall

Tax assessments, the Freightway project and proposed renovations to Village Hall and the Girl Scout House were among the items discussed at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday June 11.

The meeting opened with comments from Mayor Samwick – here they are:

Filing of the Tentative Assessment Roll and Grievance Day:

The annual Tentative Assessment Roll for 2019 has been filed and letters have been mailed to all property owners whose year-to-year assessments have changed. Tuesday, June 18th is Grievance Day. Property owners have a window to grieve their tax assessments between the issuance of the tentative assessment roll and June 18th. This is the one opportunity each year that property owners may challenge their property assessments and have the opportunity to meet with the Board of Assessment Review to discuss their assessments.

We encourage all property owners to carefully review their 2019 tentative assessments and to file a grievance if they have a dispute with their assessed value. As you review your assessment, please note that the valuation date is July 1, 2018 and that the 2019 equalization rate is 94.75%. To convert the assessed value to the estimate of fair market value of your property, divide your assessed value by .9475. Property owners interested in filing a grievance and/or meeting with the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance Day, should contact the Assessment Office at 722-1133. All Grievance Day meetings with the BAR are by appointment only. Additionally, if you have any questions as you review your assessment information, please call the Assessment Office or view the Assessor’s tab on the Village website.

Freightway Update:

This afternoon, the Board met in executive session with AKRF to review an advanced draft of the Request for Proposal document for the redevelopment of the Freightway Site. The release of the RFP is expected to occur within the next week or two. The RFP will be posted shortly thereafter on the Village website.

At this point, we expect responses to the RFP to be received in mid-September with the next public meeting expected to occur in October.

There will be a number of opportunities for the public to comment on the redevelopment of Freightway as specific proposals from developers are presented and as the land use process takes place.

Joint Meeting with the School Board:

On June 19th, there will be a joint meeting of the Village and School Boards to discuss the proposed light installation at Butler Field. This will be the first meeting of the full Village Board covering the proposed lights at Butler Field. Prior to this meeting the Deputy Mayor, Village Manager, Village Attorney, Village Planner, Chief of Police and I met with the President of the School Board, the School Board’s counsel, the Superintendent of Schools, the Assistant Superintendent of Business and the Athletic Director.

At that meeting, we determined, at a minimum and as an appropriate starting place, that the Village’s ownership of the land under Butler Field warranted a joint meeting between the two Boards.

Before the prior meeting, Village Counsel had commenced a review of the operative lease documents as well as relevant Village and State codes in an effort to determine the requirements under the lease agreement governing Butler Field, the land use process and compliance with adopted guidelines. Review is ongoing and we look forward to learning more about this project at the joint meeting of the Boards.

We encourage residents to attend the joint meeting, which will be held at the Scarsdale Congregational Church diagonally across the street from Village Hall at 6:30pm on June 19th. We look forward to seeing you there. If you cannot attend the meeting, we will be videotaping the meeting and the recording will be available online.

Village Board Meeting

During public comments Bob Harrison gave a shout out to sign up for the Scarsdale Youth Tennis Program and also raised questions about the proposed lighting at Butler Field. He said the plan was to install four 80-foot towers around the field and said that was very high. He questioned the environmental impact of the installation and asked for input from the Trustees.

Mayor Samwick said that the Village Board will hold a meeting with the School Board on Tuesday June 19 to discuss the proposal.

Trustee Lena Crandall reported that she presented proclamations to Conservation Advisory Council members Michelle Sterling and Ron Schulhof, at the annual meetings of the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County and the Bronx River Sound Shore Audubon Society. She credited the two for networking with other communities and Westchester County to spread the word about food scrap recycling and help to improve our environment.

Trustee Jane Veron reported that the Scarsdale Business Alliance welcomed four new members and held a successful Meet and Greet at Zachys on June 6. She reported that the alliance is planning four annual events. She reminded everyone that The Farmers Market is open in the Village on Thursdays from 10 am to 2:30 pm.

Hearings and Resolutions

The Board held a hearing on a proposed code change to eliminate a provision which permitted the Police Chief to appoint private citizens to serve in the case of “riot, pestilence or invasion, on election day, on a day of public celebration, on occasions of emergency or disaster or on such occasions and at such times as the Chief of Police of the Scarsdale Police Department may deem necessary or advisable for the training and drilling of special policemen.” The Board passed the change unanimously.

The Village Board passed a resolution to levy taxes of $41,207,438 in accordance with the 2019-20 budget. This represents a tax levy increase of 2.91%. The average homeowner will see a Village tax increase of $256 a year.

The Board passed three resolutions read by Trustee Jonathan Lewis:

-To renew a contract to clean, televise and cure in place pipe linings for storm and sanitary sewers.

-To hold a public hearing on an application by the village to secure a community block grant for an elevator upgrade at Village Hall.

-To sign an agreement with the NYS Department of Transportation to increase the funding for snow and ice removal on state roads, due to the severity of the winter of 2018/19.

Trustee Ross read a resolution to schedule a public hearing on an application to secure community block grant funding for improvements to the Girl Scout House including installation of a new roof, new windows, new radiators and new cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. The resolution was approved.

Watch the meeting here: