Minutes

City of Beacon Council Meeting

May 19, 2008

REGULAR MEETING

The regular meeting of the City of Beacon Council held at the Municipal Center, One Municipal Plaza on May 19, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. was called to order by Mayor Steve Gold with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

In attendance were council members: Mayor Steve Gold, Deanna Leake, Marlene Fredericks, Randy Casale and Sara Pasti.

Excused: Eleanor Thompson

Also in attendance were: City Administrator, Meredith Robson

City Attorney, Richard Wolf

Media Represented by: Goldee Green, Beacon Free Press

Residents at beginning of meeting: 70

Community Segment:

Honoring of Firemen Who Have Served 25 Years or More and Acknowledgement of Fireman’s Acts of Bravery

Mayor Steve Gold: This is a wonderful opportunity for the City of Beacon to present our firefighters with awards. It is our honor and privilege to do this. I would like to ask Chief Tim Joseph to come forward and to present the awards.

Award Announcements by Chief Timothy Joseph:

Mayor, The Fire Department was dispatched to assist the Police Department on Simmons Lane at 4:49 pm on Sunday March 16^th 2008. Upon my arrival on the scene Lt. Frost of the Police Dept informed me that we had a possible victim in the water with a red coat on and that he had officers searching the bunks of the creek. I ordered members of the fire dcpt. to assist the police in the search. Within minutes a red coat was spotted in the water below the dam. I then ordered two members LT Mike Davis and FF Lou Amoroso Jr. to don insulated wet suits for a possible swift water rescue or body recovery. I then ordered other members to set up a rope system to attach LT Davis to so he could safely enter the water and recover the red coat, we could not tell if there was a body in the coat at this lime. Within five minutes of spotting the red coat members located a body some one hundred feel down stream from the coat approximately ten feet offshore some quarter of a mile from where the victim was seen entering the water. At this time I had FF Russell Joseph and FF James Pavlock pull the body a shore with six fool hooks from the shore line to awaiting members from BVAC and the Alamo Medic who went to work on the female victim that was not breathing and then transported her to St. Luke's Hospital. The victim died two days later. At this time Lt. Frost asked if we could recover the red coat for them. FF Davis tethered by rope entered the water and recovered the coat while FF Amoroso remained on shore ready to enter the water if FF Davis got into trouble or needed assistance.

Mayor, members of the council, as you can see it takes a whole team of well trained and well equipped people to make a water rescue so at this time I would like to award the Fire Dept with a I in it Citation for a job well done. A list of members that were on scene that day is as follows. This citation will be displayed on the walls of all three fire stations.

Also on Saturday March 15^th 2008 at 7:12 pm the Fire Dept and BVAC were dispatched to 315 Main St. for an unconscious male. Upon arrival of the Fire Dept, FF David Brewer and FF Joe Cucci found an unconscious male that was not breathing; both firefighters started CPR and were successful in resuscitating the male victim who was transported to St. Luke's hospital by BVAC and Alamo Medic where he died two days later from injuries he received from an assault a few days earlier. These two firefighters used all of there training as EMT's to successfully resuscitate the victim, unfortunately the victim passed away. These two firefighters are being recognized by the Fire Dcpt. and the City Council for a job well done and are receiving the EMS life saving award.

Also Mayor, we have two other fire dept members and two medics who were never recognized for saving a life and I must apologize to all four of them at this time. On May 10, 2006 a 48-year-old male entered fire station # 2 complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath and the firefighter on duty Russell Joseph called for BVAC and the Alamo medic to respond. Firefighters Joseph and Romanelli started monitoring the victim's vital signs. Upon arrival of the medic the victim went into cardiac arrest, at this time FF Russell Joseph and FF Mark Romanelli started CPR on the victim while the Medic set up for defilbrillalion. At this time the medic called for a backup medic to help. The backup medic was in the Town of Wappingers and would have taken at least ten minutes to respond. FF Romanelli then called his wife Janice who is a medic, and off duty at this time. FF Romanelli left Fire station # 2 to go pick her up at home here in Beacon, both medic's and both firefighters worked feverishly to save the victims life. The victim was shocked six times both at station # 2 and in route to St. Luke's Hospital where he was stabilized and later flown by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center where the victim made a full recovery. Mayor, members of the council: I was that victim that fateful day and FF Russell Joseph is my brother. Both he and FF Romanelli and the two medics saved my life. All four are being recognized tonight for their life saving efforts. I am living proof that having our firelighters trained as EMT's and a combined effort with BVAC and having medics in the city 24/7 saves countless lives in the City of Beacon every year. I am proud and grateful to all four of these professional's for using all of there training to save my life, so it gives me great pleasure to award Russ, Mark, Janice and Lou the Fire Dept. EMS Fire Saving Award and to thank them again for saving my life. And again I apologize for taking so long to recognize all of you. It is easy for me to give life saving awards out for saving other people's lives, but it has taken me a long time to be able to stand up here and think of what might have been if you four heroes were not there when 1 needed you the most, again, thank you for saving my life,

Mayor Steve Gold Read a Letter Honoring of St. Rocco Society’s 100^th Year

First Opportunity for Public Comments: Pertaining to any item. Maximum time for this section is 30 minutes. Maximum time for individual public comment is 3 minutes.

Comments contain a brief synopsis of what the residents say at the podium. If you would like your comments posted in more detail in the minutes, please submit them to the recording secretary in writing. Include your name and address.

Matthew Naughton read the following comments:

May 19, 2008

To all current sitting City Council Members,

After having several conversations with Mayor Gold he has made it quite clear that it is his recollection and that of other former council members that no one on the prior city council was ever notified that the former city administrator was going to pay for the approximately 6 million dollars of City expenditures by the use of "Notes". He further stated that the prior City council members were not aware of the differences between a "serial bond" and a" bond anticipation note". I fear this is once again a case of the former City Council "sleeping at the wheel". As most of you know Mayor Gold was a senior member of the former council.

As I was reading the various spending items that account for the 6 million dollars, which now needs to be bonded, the following statement appears over and over. I for one find the statement to be quite clear and straightforward. Either you issue serial bonds or you issue bond ANTICIPATION notes, issued in ANTICIPATION of the ISSUANCE of such SERIAL BONDS.

Here is the actual statement as it appears in the minutes:

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Beacon, in the County of Dutchess, State of New York, as follows:

Section 1. There is hereby authorized to be issued serial bonds of the City, and/or bond anticipation notes issued in anticipation of the issuance of such serial bonds in the aggregate principal amount not to exceed "

My father instilled into me that ignorance is never an acceptable excuse. I feel that rule applies here. It was the responsibility of the former city council members then just as it is the current city council's role now to act as advocates for the people of this city and to ensure the city administrator and Mayor are doing what is in the best interest of our city and its citizens. It is your responsibility to read all of the fine print, ask the prudent questions, and ensure that a bad decision is never made due to ignorance again.

As I have indicated to the Mayor, I feel everything that can be done to minimize the size of the tax increase and burden upon its citizens must be done. I would like to commend Councilman Casale for his recognition of the severity of this issue and the statements he has made regarding cutting spending.

The rationale that 8 - 10% taxes increase this year is not all that bad considering there was no tax increase in 2008 is unacceptable. Perhaps if the council were paying attention to the details of the budget and not their election campaigns we would not be in this mess.

This year is going to be a very difficult and I feel a defining year for this city and this administration. It is not going to be easy. Educate yourselves, make the hard decisions, and above all else, at the end of the day look into the mirror and ask yourself, "DID I DO THE RIGHT THING?"

Sincerely, Matthew W. Naughton, 16 Hillside Road

Michael Mercer, Reformed Church of Beacon, 1113 Wolcott Avenue - I would like to bring to the council's attention that we are doing several things this year. We have a food pantry on Sundays from 12 to 1:00 p.m. We are self-funded on that and we want to give out to the community and to become more community involved in the City of Beacon. We would like to get this on the directory so that it is made public. We are doing other events this year as well. We are looking at a historical event towards September. Our church is 195 years old. I believe that it is the oldest church structure in the city. We will be working together with other churches and make it a multi cultural event and a historical event at the same time. May I ask for the city's involvement with parking, traffic control and simple things such as that? If there is anything that the church can do for the city, we would welcome that and you are more than welcome to contact us. The contact information number for the church is 831-8153. Thank you

Kathy Deutermann, 27 South Brett St, read the following comments:

On Wednesday, May 14^th at 3:15 p.m., sadly, a large number of Beacon's youth decided to settle their differences with violent and aggressive behavior, and yes, it happened on South Brett St. This was the largest group of youth that any of us can remember. Approximately 80 youth spanned sidewalk to sidewalk. This made most of my residents very apprehensive. However, before anyone had a chance to call the police, 2 officers arrived on the scene and shortly after another officer and 3 detectives also came. This would not have happened a year ago. We would like to thank and commend Chief Scofield for the directives he implemented last fall regarding increased patrols after school. We would like to thank and commend Officer Irizarry and Officer Figlia for their prompt response and quick assessment of the situation. We would like to thank Sgt. Sewing, Detective Thomas and Detective Licala for their quick response. All of these officers acted in a most professional manner and were able to defuse what could have been a very out of control situation. They insured public safety by making sure this group did not regroup elsewhere and at least one youth was taken to the police station where the appropriate juvenile delinquency laws were implemented. We would especially like to thank Det. Don Williams who has made his presence known on our street since last fall. The good news does not end here, the next day our school district implemented suspensions. This would not have happened 6 months ago. I would like to thank our school administration for coming to City Council last fall and listening to us and taking the necessary steps that they have. I would like to thank Mayor Gold for putting the community watch handbook in my hands and convincing me that I was up to this task. I would like to thank Councilman Kelly for supporting us; he has met with my neighbors individually and also attended our meetings, not as a politician, but as a citizen and has asked the hard questions. He has shown that no matter where a problem exists in Ward 2, it is as if it is occurring on his street. Lastly, I would like to commend my neighbors, for banding together, we have shown that Community Watch works, in less than a year, changes have occurred that have benefited all of Beacon. I have read in recent minutes of other neighborhoods with similar problems, I encourage them to join us. All it takes is one person. I will gladly meet with anyone. I am sure the Mayor's office would gladly put you in touch with me.

Beverly Faison: I am here because I was wondering if we could get our telephone number on your directory. We have our final inspection on Wednesday and after the approval, we will be operational to receive any one throughout the Hudson Valley. Our telephone number is 845 765 0295. If you know if any one needs our help, please have them call.

Clark Gebman, There are essentially three things I would like to share with the council this evening. One is the correspondence from the city clerk saying that the city had responded to my request and asking me if there were any other things I desire along those lines. This council has yet to produce the reval contract. How can the clerk receive letters and say they have been answered and still be consistent with the city charter. It is a misleading false document. No. 2 as it relates to the flood situation. I spoke to Zep and told him that I was ready to talk to him regarding the city drainage contracts and infrastructure that you do. He said that no one told him to share these documents with me. Until they do, I can't share them with you. I still haven't gotten the reval's contract. How can this council allow this knowing full well that it is bogis? Regarding the flood situation, the council or the Mayor has not told me to share them with you and until that happens, I will not do it. This city has very few hours left. I will go to the mat. I will never give up. There are volunteers ready to save your lives.

Hank Dutch, 98 Spring Valley Street: I would first like to say that being a resident of Spring Valley Street, I am disappointed that work is not going to happen this year. Considering the situation, most of our residents on Spring Valley Street will take things as they come. What I am disappointed in is that everybody seems to jumping on the bandwagon and say that this is a bad city council. I think that this probably a good city council. I think this city council has not had a chance yet. There is a lot of blaming and a lot of criticism going around here, which is easy to do, and most of it goes back to the last administration. Let's put the blame where it belongs and look a little more positive and tried to find some solutions. Thank you.

No further comments

Public Hearings:

Mayor Steve Gold: The next Public Hearing will be about six local laws. I want the council to understand the procedure that we are going to go through with this and the public as well. It's a little bit different than the standard way that we handle public hearings. Usually we will read a notice of public hearing. We are going to change that procedure a little bit today because we have so many of these local laws that could become confusing. I decided to put them together in one segment. Each local law will be read one at a time. I'll read the local law, which is usually done by the city administrator, but she is not here. Then our Planner, David Stolman will describe what the local law is about. Then you will have an opportunity for you to speak on that particular one local law. You will have up to five minutes to speak. Then what the council will decide whether we are going to close or adjourn the public hearing. That will mean that it will be brought back to the workshop. You will have another opportunity to speak on the law at the next council meeting. This way, we will be able to handle each law. I also want to say that the local laws that we are working on today stem from the comprehensive plan that the city has adopted in December. The comprehensive plan has been two years in the making and the information for these local laws came from the recommendations of the comprehensive plan.

I'll read the first general to the notice of public hearing and that reads as follows:

1. Proposed Local Laws of Six (6) Local Laws (A-F) regarding proposed Zoning Map changes in accordance with new Comprehensive Plan.

2. Second Reading of Six (6) Local Laws (A-F) regarding proposed Zoning Map changes in accordance with new Comprehensive Plan.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the City of Beacon will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 19, 2008 at the City of Beacon Municipal Center, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon, New York at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda, to consider proposed local laws to Create a Re-zoning of Lands in the City of Beacon. These Proposed Changes Include the Changing from Light Industrial to Central Business District and Waterfront Park to Waterfront Development District. Others include Zoning Changes from R1-10, R1-20, R1-40 and R1-80 One Family Residence Districts to R1-120 One Family Residence Districts.

These local laws would take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. Complete copies of the proposed local law are available at the Municipal Center for inspection during regular business hours.

All interested persons and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposals at the date, time and place aforesaid.

Mayor Steve Gold: I will go through each law A through F. I'll do them one at a time.

Before I do that there a letter that the council received dated May 16, 2008 from The Dutchess County Department of Planning. This is going to take a minute but I am going to read this to all of you. The council has been given a copy of this. This letter is signed by John Clark, Dutchess County Dept of Planning and Development.

Re: Referral: 08453, Rezoning Local Laws A, B, C, D, E, and F

The Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development has reviewed the subject referral within the framework of General Municipal Law (Article I2B, Sections 239-1 and 239-m). After considering the proposed action in the context of countywide and intermunicipal factors, the Department finds that the Board's decision involves a matter of some concern.

Action

The City is proposing a list of zoning map changes to implement recommendations in the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan.

Comments

Our department has no objections to Local Laws C, D, and F. Generally, we would discourage three-acre districts within the City in areas with access to central utilities. However, the Comprehensive Plan has compensated for these lower designations in outlying areas with natural or historic constraints by proposing more concentrated development potentials in crucial central areas that would benefit from a stronger residential base and help for nearby businesses, in particular middle Main Street and the section between the waterfront and Main Street. The City should move forward with the Transit-Oriented districts and Main Street rezoning as soon as possible.

We strongly support the adoption of both Local Laws A and B, which will allow more flexibility in revitalizing areas that have long been neglected. For decades Beacon's unique harbor on the Hudson has been deadened by all-day parking lots, vacant parcels, and often underused parkland. Beacon will have three large parks along the river, the state-owned Denning's Point peninsula to the south, the 11.5- acre Riverfront Park to the north, and the proposed 16-acre park on Long Dock, as well as a Greenway promenade along the water's edge linking them together. The Long Dock proposal along the south side of the harbor is already zoned WD, but the boardwalk frontage is primarily designed as an open pier parking lot. The narrow, mostly city-owned land along the harbor is the best opportunity to reconnect the City with its waterfront.

This strip of land at the head of the Harbor, only about 75 feet wide and almost entirely in the floodplain, is not feasible for any full-scale commercial uses. But it should be open to smaller-scale or temporary water-enhanced uses that bring a wider variety of activities to the waterfront walkway, providing multiple reasons for more residents and visitors to come to the harbor, especially off-season and into the evening hours. The only likely place for a larger structure would be the southeast corner, which has been discussed as a possible harbormaster's office, public meeting room, and potential offices/educational space for Clearwater and/or the Beacon Institute, but might also benefit from, for example, a café terrace and regional gift store to help finance the community functions and encourage public access to the building. City ownership and the public review process can prevent any inappropriate future uses. A truly working harbor front with a lively and secure walkway along the water's edge needs a flexible, fine-grain mix of adjacent activities, more than just parks and parking lots.

We suggest that consideration of Local Law E might best be postponed until the Southern Dutchess Country Club proposal, before the Planning Board can be fully explored. A conservation development proposal, clustering the building potential from the golf course to the smaller rear parcel, could permanently protect the open characteristics of the land under a conservation easement. This offers much better long-term protection of greenspace than a R1-120 designation.

Recommendation

The Department recommends that the Board rely upon its own study of the facts in the case with due consideration of the above comments.

Roger P. Akeley, Commissioner

Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development By

John Clarke, Development and Design Coordinator

Mayor Steve Gold: The council also received Planning Board Minutes pertaining to these local laws. I will now read Local Law A:

1. Resolution No.63 of 2008 - Local Law 7A - Changing the Zoning of Property from Light Industrial (LI) District to Central Business (CB) District.

BE IT ENACTED by the City Council of the City of Beacon as follows:

SECTION I. TITLE

This local law shall be entitled. "A Local Law Changing the Zoning of Property from Light Industrial (LI) District to Central Business (CB) District"

SECTION 2. INTENT AND PURPOSE

This local law is intended to implement the new City Comprehensive Plan.

SECTION 3. REZONING

The zoning of the property in the table below is hereby changed from Light Industrial (L1) District to Central Business (CB) District.

Tax parcel #	Owner (s)	Owner's Mailing Address
130200-6054-30-171812	The Colony at Beacon Falls LLC	532 Main St Beacon NY 12508

SECTION 4. MAP

The Zoning Map of the City of Beacon is hereby amended to show the change specified in Section 3 above. A map showing the proposed rezoning is attached hereto as Exhibit "A.

SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE This law shall take effect immediately upon its filing with the Secretary of State.

David Stolman: This is the property many of you may know as the round-house property which is located just west of the bridge that goes over the creek on West Main Street. The zoning of that property is light industrial. The comprehensive plan recommended that that property be zoned to central business like the rest of the city's central business district. Light industrial uses are not particularly appropriate for that site whereas uses that are what we find on Main Street and the center of Beacon such as retail service restaurants on the ground floor and residential above are appropriate for that property. We are talking about one singular property and zoning it from light industry to central business.

Public Hearing Comments:

Kevin Burn and I are on the Fishkill Creek Corridor Committee. We have been studying options and recommendations. I think in both the comprehensive plan and the public discussions we had in the committee, there was a pretty broad support for the redevelopment of these properties. The preservation of the historic structure there would be a great benefit both economically and also the quality of life. We support this designation.

Clark Gebman: I would like point out to you the <