Town Board Meeting Recap: Bond Required for Oil Tank Removal

A new law requiring a cash bond of no less than $1,500 for oil tank removal was passed at Wednesday night's meeting of the Town of Mamaroneck Board. This law will affect any residents or businesses that have plans to alter or remove underground gas or oil storage tanks.

Now, before any work can begin, a permit and cash bond from the department of Building Code Enforcement and Land Use Administration will be required. The amount of the bond must be sufficient to cover the cost of repairing public or private property that might be damaged during the work. Residential projects already require a master plumber to handle this type of work.

"I think this law is a good thing," said Supervisor Valerie O'Keeffe. "If we were doing something wrong, there would be representatives from the industry here to lobby against it."

Also on Wednesday, several items were discussed in an open work session prior to the general board meeting.  A committee will form to plan for the Town of Mamaroneck's 350th Anniversary in 2011. Town Clerk Christina Battalia will also take the lead in handling the new shift of dog licensing from state to town control.

Administrator Stephen Altieri has resolved an IRS audit against the Town of Mamaroneck. According to Battalia, the audit was based on a dispute over whether several independent contractors should be paid as employees. Altieri also provided the board with an update on dredging work being done at the Gardens Lake site.

Councilmember David Fishman relayed $32,173.29 of expenses from the Fire Commission. Included was $6,208 to Fire 1 and $6,182 to AAA for equipment related expenses including hoses and aerial equipment; $8,867 went to PMC  for the purchase of 12 radio and accessory kits.

The Village of Larchmont has merged with the Town and Village of Mamaroneck to provide transportation service to senior citizens in the area. There is no current consensus on how to deal with the expanded area created by the service merger. Town Administrator Stephen Altieri will look deeper into the issue.

The Board unanimously approved a transfer of $ 12,800 from the Hommocks Ice Rink Trust Account to purchase a used ice compressor since the board will soon be considering plans for a complete renovation of the facility. The used unit costs approximately half that of a new one.

"We may be interested in looking at newer technology during the renovation plans," said Altieri.  "At that time, we could possibly sell the used compressor unit to a rink still using the older compressor system.

Required authorizations for salaried employees at the Senior Center and recreation department were also unanimously passed.

Town Clerk Christine Battalia commended the election inspectors "for their incredible task." Elections on Tuesday ran smoothly with few issues, she said. Battalia suggested that interested voters could view a video on the LMC-TV Web site that demonstrates how to use the new machines.

Councilman Ernest Odierna was absent from the meeting due to travel abroad.

The next regularly scheduled meetings will be held Oct. 6 and Oct. 20.