Live Blog: Patchogue Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Miss Monday's Patchogue Village Board of Trustees meeting? Patchogue Patch kept a live blog during the meeting with all of the highlights from the meeting.

The pending decision on whether or not to approve the redevelopment plan was postponed to Tuesday, March 1 at a special Village Board of Trustees meeting announced Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri.

The plan consists of 291 apartments instead of the. Economic issues were why the hotel had to be cut from the original plan.

Until March, the Village will accept written public comment until February 14. The Village Board of Trustees will also set up a joint work session with the Planning Board, as well as meet with TRITEC Real Estate in order to prepare for the final vote.

Also check Patchogue Patch's on the plan as shown .

Live blog is below. Check back to Patchogue Patch for wrap-up coverage from the meeting.

7:32 p.m. Pledge of allegiance.

7:34 p.m. Requests to approve 2010/2011 report of Receiver of Taxes and tax grievance day for Feb. 15, 2011 from 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. by District Clerk Patti Seal approved

7:35 p.m. Public hearings have begun. Discussion on considering making Terry Street a one way street from South Ocean Avenue to Taylor Lane going east and Taylor Lane one way heading south.

7:41 p.m. Trustees voted and unanimously approved the motion.

7:43 p.m. Request to amend Chapter 353 "Sewage Disposal" to include a surcharge on discharges that exceed permitted strengths. Pontieri says that the amendment if passed will work to take care of the smell issue that has been plaguing areas of downtown Patchogue.

7:46 p.m. Actions taken against a property owner for sewage violations at a previous board meeting is being discussed.

7:47 p.m. Motion up for vote and unanimously accepted

7:49 p.m. Request involving 72 Railroad Avenue has been approved. The pending decision for the proposed Four Corners is now up.

7:52 p.m. Pontieri announced that the board has requested to not make the decision tonight, and that the decision will be held to a hard and firm date of Tuesday, March 1st. This will be a special village board meeting. In the meantime, the board will have the opportunity to meet with TRITEC and members of the Planning Board for additional comment.

7:55 p.m. Village Trustees are making comments and then public will as well.

7:56 p.m. Trustee Joseph Keyes: “My only guess is come March 1^st is that members of the board will probably have the same opinions on the project as they do now, but we’ll know that 100 percent.”

Trustee Lori Devlin: “I said it before and again, I think it’s a very innovative project. There’s been a preponderance of articles I brought articles from Long Island Index and Newsday who reported what was need in the report on the need to house young people, how a normal household is a shrinking household. We will know what is going in the economy, there have been changes in lending guidelines.”

Deputy Mayor Stephen McGiff: “Not to do due diligence as a board and community is a terrible thing. Wish we had a crystal ball, will this be as TRITEC envisions it, I hope so. But having the opportunity to live outside of Patchogue I can see what can happen if certain procedures are in place. So I’m happy that we reached this consensus that planning look into this, and I think to do it alone would be foolhardy, so I look forward to work with developers for the next few weeks, so hopefully pushing beyond four weeks doesn’t push beyond that much."

Trustee William Hilton: “I think we have taken from a planning aspect for something that will work and I think the amount of time that we have been given, between now and March, have the meetings that we need and questions that we have regarding planning aspects as far as parking lot, lighting, and the normal things that up until now we haven’t had the information that we needed and thank the board for giving us the time to do so.”

Trustee Gerard Crean: "I’d like to thank my fellow board members to allow me the extra time I may need to deliberate and its an important decision that we all know will change the landscape of our village and not only the village of Patchogue but borders as well. I appreciate TRITEC’s patience with us, they have thrown a lot of skin in the game. And I appreciate the care that they’ve taken and the vision that they have in what they have done with 31 West Main Street. While it’s not completely full yet, I see the completion of their project that a lot of those spaces will be held. They will bring wonderful retailers we desperately need. Without echoing comments, I am too looking forward to a continued discussion in a more informal setting, some held at 31 West, some at TRITEC’s corporate offices, but wasn’t until mid-December that we saw detailed drawings of what they were proposing, and after a full day certain questions came forward and I look forward to raising them to Bob, Jen and Rob. I value everyone’s decisions and we all come from different strengths. At the end of the day, while we will still may not agree, we follow a process and the public has had every opportunity to have their voice heard and in summation I look forward to getting the comments from our planning board and I’d love to do it in short order.”

Trustee Jack Krieger: “Like everyone on this board, I was disappointed that the hotel when we found out in December that the hotel wasn’t going to come here and instead 291 apartments, what I look forward is public comment and a vote on March 1st to move this project ahead, I look forward to seeing it finished and the success it is going to bring.”

8:07 p.m. In public comment. Resident asked when public can additionally speak. Pontieri said that tonight's meeting is that opportunity, but up to February 14th, public can submit written comment that will be on the record.

8:34 p.m. Still in public comment section. Residents have been giving their opinions to the board regarding their concerns with the plan based on past housing issues and concerns over rentals, or approval of the plan stating that affordable rental housing would be necessary and that renters would be invested in the community. 

8:53 p.m. Hearing on the issue has been closed. Motion made and approved to set up a special meeting on March 1 for decision and another motion made to allow public written comment until February 14. A special meeting will be held with the planning board to be held before February 13.

8:55 p.m. Discussion among board to decide when would be the best time to hold a public joint meeting with Planning Board and how to appropriately advertise it.

8:59 p.m. Village Attorney Brian Egan is suggesting have the planning board meet first, then give feedback for the joint meeting which should give information by March 1. 

9:00 p.m. Motion made to host the joint public work session with Planning Board, the date is being worked out.

9:07 p.m. Village Board of Trustees meeting is currently on a 10-minute recess. Patchogue Patch talked to District Clerk Patti Seal who confirmed that the Planning Board will have a special meeting to discuss when to hold a joint public work session with the Village Board of Trustees to discuss the New Village Plan. This will ideally take place before the February 14 Village Board of Trustees meeting. A final vote on the New Village plan is set to take place on March 1.

9:16 p.m. Meeting is resuming from recess.

9:19 p.m. Dennis Smith is giving his BID report with details from the last Business Improvement District meeting.

9:22 p.m. Gail Hoag is giving the Chamber of Commerce report. Starting off by congratulating the grants approval panel given at the earlier Monday. In February is a President's Day promotion, Hoag is suggesting residents shop locally for Valentine's Day and that in end of February will be the start of the month-long celebration of the St. Patrick's Day. Feb. 27 will be the passing of the sash to the new St. Patrick's Day officials: Sheila and Bob Morrow from Two Morrow's.

9:25 p.m. Jack Krieger giving the Theatre report. Also discussing Monday’s grant panel. Patchogue Jam 4 is Friday featuring several artists from the Live At The Lobby. Requesting approval for the Chamber of Commerice to hold Carnival Sales Days on July 7th, 8th and 9th. Also requesting approval on Sidewalk Sales and Fun Night in August. Both were approved by the board.

9:29 p.m. Trustee Crean is thanking everyone for coming out and is glad to have extra time on the New Village decision. Crean said that C2 Art Gallery is moving to the Artspace building in the next couple of weeks. Crean says it is unfortunate they are moving because it will leave a vacancy on Main Street.

9:31 p.m. Trustee Hilton says that Trustees Keyes, Devlin, himself and Maria Hendrickson are continuing to work on a master plan for Shorefront Park as far as areas they would like to keep off limits for the music festival and the boat races so they can do planning and restoring.

9:34 p.m. Deputy Mayor McGiff's report had the annual Blue Point Brewery Cast festival approved. Trustee Devlin said that the Patchogue Arts Council meeting was on Saturday. The council re-elected the existing board and is planning their biennial to be held at a to be determined date. Saturday also had two art gallery openings, at the new Gallery at 40 South and the C2 Art Gallery.

9:35 p.m. Trustee Keyes is reminding residents to keep cars off of the roads during snow storms. Keyes said that several cars were towed. Pontieri said some were towed off of Main Street after a resident asked where they were towed.

9:46 p.m. Egan is discussing an application that is front of the Architecture Review Board on the conversion of a residence to at least partially a parking lot. Resident Milly Puig is saying that she and several of her neighbors have put together a petition concerned that instead of a home in her neighborhood that a parking lot may be going in. Puig said that she is surprised the house would not be re-occupied. Pontieri said the house is actually not structurally sound. Puig says she doesn't want a parking lot placed in her back window.

9:49 p.m. Resident Mark Fauci is asking if the agenda and minutes from the Architectural Review Board and other village boards can be placed on the website. Seal said that the posting of the agenda is done as a courtesy and is not a requirement, but can certainly ask the other committees to post the agenda.

10:00 p.m. Resident Janet Amato said that it is necessary to inform residents of the appropriate meetings that will affect their neighborhood. Amato said that she attended the most recent Architectural Review Board meeting and was shocked that a house from the 1800s was on the agenda to possibly be knocked down. Amato said that the discussion was tabled as a result of the attendance of herself and neighbors, but would like more advance notice from the village on these issues.

10:05 p.m. More residents are stating their opinion against a house being knocked down for a parking lot.

10:06 p.m. Meeting closed. Check back to Patchogue Patch for wrap-up coverage from Monday's Village Board of Trustees meeting.