Water Main Break and a Leaky Valve in Scarsdale
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The Village Water Department shut down water service on Rural Drive in Scarsdale today to repair a water main break there that was affecting customers within a half mile of the leak. According to a Rural Drive woman, workers from the Department of Public Works worked through the night to repair it. Here's a photo taken outside her home of rushing water on Rural Drive. Residents in the surrounding area reported a lack of water pressure and discolored yellow water on the night of January 29.
The Scarsdale Water Department completed the repair at noon on Wednesday, but warns residents that when water service resumes they may still have discolored water. They recommend that residents run the cold water for a minute or two to see if it becomes clear and to use a sink in the basement, near the entrance of the waterline to the house. Keep checking it approximately every hour until it clears.
Though the water is disinfected the Water Department recommends that residents wait for it to clear up completely before drinking it or cooking with it. They said that the discolored water may stain clothes in the washer and warned customers to avoid using the hot water when the cold water is discolored because it could draw sediment into the hot water system and this sediment may end up settling in the bottom of the water tank. They recommend that residents "minimize the flushing of toilets in order to reduce the risk of potential clogging of small tubes and devices within the toilet."
After making the repair, workers had to backfill a huge hole that was caused by the rushing waters.
At 4:45 pm on Wednesday January 30, the Village also reported that a leaky valve had to be repaired on Harvest Drive, forcing the Village to turn off the water there. The Village did not provide a timetable for the completion of the work.
Photo Credit: Yale Buchwald
Look for Humane Solutions to the Goose Problem
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Here is a letter to Scarsdale10583 from Kimberly Gold of Bell Road in Scarsdale concerning the geese at Library Pond: When I learned that the Scarsdale Board had approved a plan to kill the Canada geese at the Library Pond, I was horrified. As I began to tell my family, neighbors and friends, they too had the same reaction. Killing Canada geese does not solve anything. More geese simply move in to fill the void. Geese are attracted to bodies of water and short grass. The Library Pond, as it is currently landscaped, might as well have a neon "Vacancy" sign for geese. There are humane and effective strategies to address just about every complaint one can have about the geese.
A humane goose management plan must be comprehensive. The first, and easiest, component is to change the landscape so that it becomes undesirable to geese. Planting tall grasses around the border of the pond is one solution. These grasses are beautiful year-round and require very little upkeep. The geese do not like to nest in areas with tall grass because it limits their ability to see predators. Another solution is to use "goose birth control," called Ovo-control, that can be fed to the geese in bread. It is safe and effective. "Addling" eggs so that they do not hatch is another strategy. Using machines to remove feces and turn it into compost is an ecologically-sound strategy that many communities use with great success. This also solves the problem of goose feces on fields. I was shocked to learn that the community had not tried even one of these solutions before calling in the USDA to kill the geese.
It has been noted that Scarsdale tried a dog program in 2008. This program consisted of using dogs to harass the geese away from the pond. While this is a generally effective strategy that is widely used, it was not administered properly in Scarsdale. The dogs came only once per day, and it is necessary for them to come three times. With this knowledge in mind, a dog program is something that is worth trying again.
All of these solutions are tools. Like any tool, it must be used properly to do the job for which It is intended. We owe it to ourselves and our children to make sure we have properly used every tool at our disposal before resorting to violence. There are many communities with far fewer resources than ours who manage the geese successfully without killing them.
Goodbye to the Geese at Library Pond
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The geese will soon be gone from library pond. Aggressive geese have been leaving droppings on walking paths, parks, open areas and playgrounds and threatening residents who walk near their nests. Now the Village has made an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for an "integrated wildlife management program" to get rid of the geese. They will be "humanely euthanized" and "processed for human consumption."
To prevent more geese from hatching, Canadian goose nests and eggs will be treated with corn oil. The program will run from March through September at a cost to the Village of $5,054. The resolution to do away with the geese was passed at the January 8, 2013 meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees.
Also at the meeting, Mayor Miriam Flisser made the following comments:
1) Emergency Notifications: All residents received a letter in their annual Recycling/Trash Pick-up Schedule Mailer, sent in the past few weeks. The mailer explains how the Village Emergency Notification System works, and recommends that residents go to Scarsdale.com, the Village Website, and click on the BlackBoard Connect Logo for instructions in adding more email, text and telephone numbers, including cell phones, to be used for information calls from the Village. The Village already has your home telephone number, but if the telephones are not working, it's best to have another point of contact, such as a work number, for our use.
Some residents reported to me that they hung up on my voice on Robo calls that I made during the recent Hurricane disaster, because since it was election time, they assumed that the calls concerned getting out the vote. Please be assured that the Village Board of Trustees set strict policy for the Emergency Notification System when it was initiated, in 2011. It is to be used for important Village notices such as dangerous situations, never for other matters.
2) I'd like to remind the residents that the Village Wide Revaluation of all properties is entering a second phase, and Tyler Technologies, our contractor for this process, has scheduled a meeting to present this phase, the distribution of property data mailers to all homeowners, on Wednesday, Jan 16 @ 7:30 PM in Rutherford Hall.
Please join us at this important presentation.
3) I'd also like to mention the Village Board's deliberation on the amendments to the regulations concerning
Permanent Emergency Generators, a topic that we have been working on since 2011. Tonight we have scheduled Public Hearings on Zoning and Noise, and we invite residents to present their opinions on this matter.
In addition, there have been 4 Public Hearings held at the Planning Board, and an additional Law Committee meeting with public comments presented in December. The Law Committee will meet on Monday Jan 14 at 6:30 PM to continue to work on these amendments, and I am hoping to have a resolution to be presented to the Village Board for final approval at our meeting on January 22, 2013.
Photo courtesy: © Yuan Zhang
SBNC Election Results Are In
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The results of the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee January 16 election are in. Due to snowy weather, 279 voters turned out to elect the following nominators to serve three -year terms on the School Board Nominating Committee. 61 mail-in ballots were also received, bringing the total vote to 340.
Edgewood:
Jeannine Palermo and Carolyn Stevens
Fox Meadow:
Deb Morel and John Spiro
Greenacres:
Perry Braun and Kevin Higgins
Heathcote:
Michael Blumstein and Daniel Goldman
Quaker Ridge:
Ronny Hersch and Alison Singer
The weather was blamed for the low voter turnout which was down significantly from 528 votes in 2012 and 381 in 2011.
Many changes to the Non-Partisan Resolution were also proposed and they all passed. The complete list can be viewed on the SBNC website, but here is a summary of the more significant changes:
1) No campaigning within 25 feet of the polling place
2) Mail-in ballots can be received up to 4 pm on election day
3) Allow SBNC Administrative Committee records to be available at the Scarsdale Library, Village Hall and on the SBNC website
4) Clarification of confidentiality obligations when performing due diligence and background checks.
Learn more at: http://scarsdalesbnc.com/press-2/
Photos by Nan Berke
Winterfest --The Party of the Year
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The Scarsdale Forum will host its fifth annual membership party, Winterfest, on Saturday, January 26th at the Scarsdale Woman's Club, 37 Drake Road from 7 to 11 p.m. One of the highlights of the evening will be a beer tasting of 13 varieties of beer brewed for the year 2013 by Bruce Wells. The following will be available for the tasting:
- Sorghum Hoppy Lager
- Wee Heavy Irish Ale
- Extra Hoppy VIP Pale Ale
- West Coast Red
- Cluster Lager
- American Ale
- White House Honey Ale
- Black IPA
- Presidential Honey Porter
- Hop Bomb IPA
- California Common Black
- German Lager
- Three Year Old Barleywine
Members of the Scarsdale Forum and their guests look forward to an evening of lively conversation and friendship to chase away the winter weather blues. Delicious dishes from local food vendors will be served. Member pianists and Angelo DiLoreto of the Manhattan School of Music will set the mood as guests stroll though the beautiful Scarsdale Woman's Club. Later in the evening, dessert will be served in the large dining room featuring the home baked goods of member bakers and village bakeries.
There will be additional entertainment in the small dining room and the library of the Club. A wine tasting hosted by Vintology and a food demonstration by Ellen Cohen and Jill Staffin of the Pampered Chef will provide inspiration for the next dinner party and ample opportunities for shopping! The Forum will receive fifteen percent of all sales that evening.
Members and their guests will receive a benefit journal that will include the history of the Forum written by our Village Historian and Forum Board member, Eric Rothschild. Commercial ads and personal messages can be purchased through the Journal Committee.
Admission is $25 per person and limited to members and their guests. Due to the popularity of this event, advance reservations are encouraged. Please RSVP by Monday, January 21st.
Advanced reservations, membership renewal and joining the Forum for the first time can be done online at: www.scarsdaleforum.com or by mailing a check to Scarsdale Forum Inc., 24 East Parkway, P.O. Box 86, Scarsdale, NY 10583. For additional information regarding the event or to purchase an ad in the journal, please contact the Forum office at 914-723-2829 or office@scarsdaleforum.com.
