Water meters. The Board heard a presentation from the consultant engaged by the Water Department to look into issues related to how the town’s water meters interface with the billing system operated by the Joint Water Works (JWW).
The consultant’s report identified numerous problems and shortcomings that are resulting in lost revenue to the town with the main problem being the interface between the metering system that captures usage and the outdated billing system used by the JWW that charges for the consumption. The consultant likened the metering system to a “Ferarri” and the billing system to a 1970s “Ford Pinto.”
The town currently pays the JWW $265,000 a year to process the bills; if the town took over billing, the cost would be about $150,000 a year, with the likelihood that a more efficient billing system would more accurately captured actual usage and would generate more revenue. There would be an additional cost of about $50,000 for an outside firm to handle the actual billing and a one time cost of about $50,000 to transfer existing data to new software.
Before the Board decides how to proceed, it needs to review the existing Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) that set up the JWW about 20+ years ago to see how we could eliminate the billing part of our arrangement.
Ansonia Lodge, 1860 East Main Street (See Planning Board May 18, 2026 for basic plan and August 10, 2026). The developer made a presentation in support of the project which requires the use of town parkland and the use of the town’s flexibility regulations to modify plans for the apartment building. The presentation highlighted how the project would benefit the town by 1) preserving the historic Ansonia Lodge and 2) enhancing town parkland off Mohegan Avenue by cleaning up the littered site and providing walking access to the lake. (Scroll to 53 minutes on the meeting video link below to view the presentation.)
(Without access to Mohegan Avenue for the apartments, the only access would be to Route 6 – which would require state DOT approval.)
Based on the site’s current zoning, the applicant said that he could build 37units as of right, (there are now 17 apartments on the site) compared to the 40 units in his proposed plan. At issue, however, is whether the 37 count takes into account the wetlands and wetland buffer on the site which, by code, have to be subtracted from the buildable land.
In response to questions from Board members, the applicant said he had no plans to make some of the units affordable and that although the plan is to bring the lodge building up to current code for use as a community center for tenants, he did not think the building would be suitable for some apartments.
The plan for the town portion of the site includes12 parking spaces for public use and a portion of the walking trail around the lakeshore that would include the Ansonia property.
Citing the example of public access to the privately owned walking trail around the pond at Underhill Farms, Councilwoman Siegel questioned the extent to which the public would use the trail.
(Note: When the applicant made a presentation to the Recreation Commission at its September 3 meeting, the Commission indicated that it would want the recreation fee in lieu of any public access to a walking trail maintained by the applicant.)
The current plan for the 5,000 sf commercial building fronting on Route 6 is for a “salon suite” that would include hair,nail and massage businesses.
No action was taken as the applicant will likely meet with other advisory boards and, if asked, the Mohegan Lake Improvement District.
Navajo Fields. The applicant wants to replace an existing approved multi use sports field off the Route 6N entrance to the site with artificial turf. According to town engineer Dan Ciarcci, the application will need a town wetlands permit and an erosion control permit. The applicant indicated that based on the DEC’s prior approval of the grass field, it would not require a new DEC permit but possibly only a monitoring program. He added that there would be no change in stormwater runoff, although because the artificial turf would have a 2” gravel base, it might actually provide better stormwater control.
Because the Board wants the applicant o provide a copy of the original signed site plan that included the grass field, he was advised to gather all the required documents by next week when the Board could vote to refer out the application for review and comments.
In response to Councilwoman Siegel’s question as to whether there were existing code violations on the site having nothing to do with the grass field, the applicant, C.J. Diven, said that all issues related to the material covering the indoor facility has been resolved, as well as a generator issue and that the only outstanding issue was a single outlet. She suggested that the Board ask the building inspector for a status report before approving any of the permits and Mr. Diven said he would send all the documents relating to compliance to Board members.
CREST grant. (See Town Board, September 1, 2026.) Because the town was notified that it needed to let Senator Harkhan know by the end of the week how it planned to use the $100,000 grant, the Board agreed in a 4-1 vote, with Councilwoman Siegel being the lone no vote, to spend $75,000 for the new police car for the police dogs and $25,000 for cameras for the community center and parks. Councilman Esposito said he would work with Councilman Murphy to assist the library relocate its monitors.
While acknowledging the value of the police dogs, Councilwoman Siegel pointed to the vandalism problem in our buildings and parks and suggested a different split between the two uses. There was no estimate on how many cameras could be purchase for $25,000.
Volunteer appointment. In what may be a first for Yorktown, the Board appointed Henry Quintanilla, a senior at Yorktown High School, to the Climate Smart Task Force. Mr. Quintanilla said he hoped to use his social media and data skills to help educate the community on climate issues.
To view the video of the meeting click https://www.yorktownny.gov/living-in-yorktown/ygtv/