Pelham Manor's Mayor and Trustees Take Oath

Monday evening’s Pelham Manor annual meeting brought forth the swearing in of newly elected Village Mayor James O’Connor and Village Trustees Bertrand Sellier and Raymond Vandenberg. And although the meeting was short, quite a few resolutions were passed.

O’Connor thanked outgoing Mayor Joseph Hays for his service to the community.

“His wisdom, guidance and demeanor will be tough to follow,” he said.

He also thanked the residents for their confidence, and said that he “aims to keep Pelham Manor a terrific place to live.”

After being sworn in by Judge Huff, the mayor and trustees appointed the following individuals to act as Deputy Mayor in the absence or disability of Mayor O’Connor: Mark Bruckmann, then Bertrand Sellier, then Neal Schwarzfeld, then Raymond Vandenberg.

In addition, John Pierpont was approved to act as Village Clerk, Treasurer, Building and Plumbing Inspector, and as Registrar of Vital Statistics.

The board would like to look into expanding the shopping centers along Pelham Parkway, said Trustee Vandenberg.

“There is a lot of vacant land. It takes a lot of planning, so we can [lay the groundwork for it,]” he said, adding that the increase in commercial property values would allow the village to reduce the homeowner property taxes. “It is a way to maintain services and lower taxes.”

Other resolutions passed included the following:

• Bond of the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer fixed at $100,000
• John Nesi designated as Receiver of Taxes
• Bond of the Receiver of Taxes fixed at $100,000
• Authorization for Treasurer to deposit or invest money not needed for immediate expenditure in certificates or bank deposits
• The Pelham Weekly as the official newspaper of the village

Mayor O’Connor appointed the following individuals to the following duties:

• Trustee Bruckmann: Oversight of Police
• Trustee Sellier: Oversight of Fire
• Trustee Schwarzfeld: Oversight of Public Works
• Trustee Vandenberg: Oversight of Administration, Finance, Planning, Legal and Intergovernmental Relations

Board of Appeals member appointments included Louis Annunziata, chairman, Anne Nixon and Solveigh Marcks, and Ronald Fierman was appointed to serve in the Planning Board.

The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was approved to be held on the second and fourth Monday of each month. The mayor explained to the members of the public that this was an administrative meeting, with no public comment session. The next regular meeting will resume on April 11.