Tarrytown Board of Trustees Meeting 12/19/11

Residents at Monday night's Tarrytown Board of Trustees meeting hammered the board during the public comments period for what they say is continued lax adherence to confined space regulations.

At the last meeting on Dec. 5, Lori Semeraro reported that work to repair a sink hole on Martling Ave. was being done without confined space equipment. Monday night she continued to press the board for an explanation.

"I've been to the site. There was no harness, no tripod," she said. 

Semeraro and others were critical of the Confined Space Entry Permit for the job, which was provided upon her request by Village Administrator Mike Blau.

"This form is not even filled out correctly," said John Stiloski. "The village administrator is not doing the job he was hired to do."

Trustee Tom Butler said it's not the job of the village administrator to be on the job site. "The village engineer knows what he is doing," said Butler.

"I assure you that all proper regulations were followed," said Blau. Work at the site has been completed.

"John, you and Lori are no experts in confined space," said Trustee Doug Zollo.  "Why are we even listening to this?"

Steve Wilgermein, a Westchester County employee at a sewage plant said he is an expert in confined space regulations. 

"There is no supervisor listed on this form, no ending time, and only initial air readings," said Wilgermein.  "Part of the job is to properly fill out paperwork. If I had filled out this form at my job, I would be in trouble. The board is just not getting it."

In other matters, the board set another public hearing for Jan. 3 for the purpose of , and approved bill payments in the amount of $1,156,941.