Recycling Warning; Fireworks Thanks; Repaving: Mayor's Column

From Mayor Ron Belmont

I hope you all had a safe and relaxing Fourth of July. I was happy to see familiar friends and new faces at this year’s fireworks display. I would like to recognize Roy Aletti for his hard work in delivering an event that was enjoyed by all. Harrison’s summer concert series got off to a great start on July 4th. Be sure to mark your calendars for the return of our summer concert series.

Since the Town/Village of Harrison implemented a recycling program, curbside recycling has become a part of our community’s weekly routine.

Recently, China has changed its practice of importing recyclable goods from many countries, including the US. Material, which was once permitted, is now no longer accepted due to contamination concerns. Confusion about acceptable recyclable materials may result in residents placing materials in their bin that can not be recycled. For instance, several types of plastic, glass, and paper are not allowed in the program.

Westchester County receives our recyclables and will execute a surcharge for nonconforming materials, which have to be reclassified as garbage, thereby driving up our disposal costs. This is an industry-wide challenge and I would like to increase the awareness of proper recycling procedures in Harrison. Please refer to The 2018 Guide to Recycling and Waste Disposal which can be found on the town’s website at www.harrison-ny.gov (DPW) or visit the County’s web site: www.westchestergov.com/recycling.

Although the traffic patterns on our local roadways have been impacted, I am pleased that the infrastructure and public facility improvement projects, totaling approximately 2 million dollars in value, are on schedule and will continue to progress throughout the remaining summer months. The plans, included in this year’s program, are key components of a larger, multi-phase effort that will be executed in the near future.

Town roadways are analyzed and ranked according to an established, accepted standard called the Pavement Condition Index (PCI).

Recommendations prioritize the roadways that need repair and are based on the PCI, type of repair needed, cost of the repair and how heavily traveled the roads are.

Heavily traveled arterial roadways are given high priority for repair. They also require the allocation of a significant amount of the available funding. Less frequently traveled roads receive alternative base and surface treatments such as hot in place recycling, cape seals, microsurfacing and crack sealing. These are cost effective alternatives to typical road treatments which allow the town to treat more roadways each year given our funding limitations.

In addition to restoring our aging roadways, the following projects were carefully chosen as part of our multi-year plan and are an example of the town’s commitment to improving Harrison’s public facilities: sanitary sewer system, sanitary sewer pump stations and drainage system.

Infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance are necessary functions of local government. These improvements not only enhance the safety, appearance and value of our community, but they also have a positive impact on those who reside, work and visit Harrison. I appreciate your cooperation as we continue with the road projects in town. It is a brief, weather-dependent time period but, with your patience and understanding, we will move forward in keeping Harrison at its best.

The next “Lunch with the Mayor” is on Friday, July 20th and I will be at Delfino’s, located at 60 Halstead Avenue in Downtown Harrison. On Friday, July 27, I will be at Trattoria 632 located at 632 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. I will be at these locations from 12:30 to 1:30 and look forward to meeting with residents and talking about issues facing our community.