VILLAGE OF TIVOLI BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES
October 21, 2020
A meeting of the Village Board of Trustees was held on October 21, 2020 at the Historic Watts DePeyster Hall, Tivoli, NY. Mayor Griffith opened the regular meeting at 7:03 PM.
Present: Mayor Griffith, Deputy Mayor Majer, Trustee Ezrati, Trustee Cole, Trustee Schneider
Media: PANDA TV
The Mayor asked all present at the meeting to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Clerk’s report included:
- Sale of 725 trash tags
- Three payrolls were processed
- Deputy Clerk continues to hold meetings for the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, however does continue to work remotely, as well.
- The Village Clerk’s Office will be closed, Wednesday, November 11, 2020 in observance of Veteran’s Day.
On a motion by Deputy Mayor Majer, seconded by Trustee Schneider, the September 16 regular meeting minutes, October 14 workshop minutes, June 20 transcription and June 24 transcription were approved, all in favor.
On a motion by Trustee Cole, and seconded by Trustee Ezrati, the Treasurer’s Report for Abstract #5 totaling $37,623.27 was approved. Trustee Schneider moved that the bills be paid for the abstract as presented and Deputy Mayor Majer seconded the motion, all in favor.
Zoning Report
A Zoning Report was provided by John Fenton, and Trustee Ezrati read through the particulars of recent search requests, tickets, and violations.
Mayor Griffith summarized the agenda and opened the meeting for public comments on agenda items only; there was no comment.
On a motion made by Trustee Cole, and seconded by Trustee Ezrati, the Re-Organizational Package was approved, all in favor.
RESOLUTION #32; Relating to Annual Reorganization, motion made by Trustee Schneider, seconded by Deputy Mayor Majer; all in favor.
RESOLUTION #33; Re-Adoption of the Code of Ethics, motion made by Trustee Ezrati, seconded by Trustee Schneider; all in favor.
RESOLUTION #34; Establishing Election Day; motion made by Deputy Mayor Majer, seconded by Trustee Schneider, all in favor.
RESOLUTION #35; Establishing Election Inspectors; motion made by Trustee Cole, seconded by Trustee Ezrati; all in favor.
RESOLUTION #36; Approving GML 239 Referral Exemptions, motion made by Trustee Ezrati, seconded by Trustee Cole; all in favor.
On a motion made by Trustee Schneider, seconded by Trustee Cole, the MVP Health Insurance Renewal was approved; all in favor.
Trustee Reports:
Trustee Ezrati
Trustee Ezrati mentioned the wonderful ceremony which took place on Friday, October 16, 2020 on the 3rd floor of Village Hall; this ceremony was a Fallen Hero Ceremony in remembrance of Ronald Rockefeller. October 16 marked the 75th anniversary of his birth. Many public officials, friends and family attended the very moving event.
Trustee Ezrati provided an update on the Tivoli Solid Waste Committee. They are in the process of completing a thorough survey regarding who uses village pick up for trash, versus who uses private haulers. Mayor Griffith thanked all of those who are involved and are serving on the committee.
Trustee Schneider
Court Report: Trustee Schneider read the contents of the report which was provided by Court Clerk McGarry; $803.00 was remitted to the Office of the State Comptroller.
Trustee Cole
Trustee Cole reminded everyone that early voting will begin on Saturday. The closest location will be the Rhinebeck Town Hall. If you are seeking additional or more specific information, please check out the Dutchess County Board of Elections website. The Dutchess County website can be checked for all locations and times.
Deputy Mayor Majer
Deputy Mayor Majer spoke about the Tivoli Free Library; definitely check the website for open times and upcoming activities.
She also mentioned the River Keeper event where volunteers pick up and remove trash along the water’s edge. This yearly event has removed, over the course of many years, multiple tons of trash. Each year the amount removed has diminished, which is good news.
Deputy Mayor Majer mentioned the local historic sites, and spoke of Olana and Clermont and specific events which are coming up. As always, be careful of ticks. A Bard Owl has recently been spotted.
Duck hunting has begun, along with bow hunting for deer.
Deputy Mayor Majer touched upon an event/demo regarding the Hammersley Barn.
Again, the ticks are out of control.
Trustee Ezrati expanded on how beautiful and spectacular the Olana site is presently.
The Deputy Mayor also provided an update on the midge-born illness which is affecting so many deer throughout the Village. If a dead deer is on your property, do call the Village office. The DPW gentlemen are trying to keep up, and remove them as soon as they are spotted.
Mayor Griffith
Mayor Griffith spoke of the new Dogwood tree along Pine Street. He also thanked the Pine Street resident for their patience.
The new crosswalks on Broadway are finished. As excited as we all are that they are there, we all do need to be mindful and careful of the pedestrians; there could possibly be a small adjustment period as we all remember that this is something new, and we need to keep an eye out for pedestrians who will be looking to use the crosswalks to safely cross Broadway.
The water main replacement project has begun, and they are almost to the end of Woods Road. As this project continues and moves forward, there will be road closures and parking disruptions.
In order to keep yourself updated on this project, sign up for the DCWWA’s alerts on their website. You will see the Tivoli Water System project listed, sign up for those alerts.
The water tower project is approximately 2 weeks behind; “TIVOLI” will be painted 3 times on the new tower; they are looking to have the painting completed before it gets too cold. Timing of progress on this project will be dependent on the weather.
The old tower will be dismantled in 2021 sometime, it will be sold for scrap, and those funds will be used to offset the cost of the new infrastructure.
The Village along with the Tivoli Library are planning a Pumpkin Promenade for Halloween. Information is available on the Tivoli Free Library website, along with an area to sign up to pre-register. The event will be held from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM on Saturday, October 31 in Tivoli’s Memorial Park. There is a flyer which was distributed by the Tivoli Free Library. We are seeking candy donations for the event, and donations can be dropped off at the Village Clerk’s Office. Thanks to Laura Gail Tyler for spearheading this project, and affording our local children a Halloween as door to door trick or treating is discouraged this year due to Covid-19. Social distancing and all preventive measures will be taken during this event.
The CDBG project for the park improvements, which is a grant awarded to the Village, will begin in November. It was decided that this work would begin following the Halloween event so the park could be used.
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
On a motion by Deputy Mayor Majer and seconded by Trustee Schneider, the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 PM, all in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin L. Bruno
Village Clerk