Tarrytown Board of Trustees Roundup – 12/20/2010

Here's a look at what happened during Monday's regular meeting of the Tarrytown Board of Trustees:

Heated Debate Over PESH Findings

The meeting started off with a public comment session which mostly revolved around the New York State Department of Labor report which criticized the village for its safety practices and confined space operations.

Administrator's Report

Village Administrator Michael Blau noted the repair work on the Department of Public Work's salt-storage facility has been completed. The roof on the facility blew off earlier this year in a strong wind. The new facility has a lower roof to prevent a similar situation from happening. The project was paid for out of insurance money and payments by the developers of Hudson Harbor.

The village will shut down two of the southern most diffusers in the upper Tarrytown Lake. The bubblers will be shut off for winter to allow ice to form on the lake so ice skating can occur if temperatures get cold enough.

Village Increases Filming Fees

On Monday, the village amended their filming policies to make it mandatory that productions file security deposits and have insurance policies that protect the village.

The measure is meant to guard from potential damages or accidents that can happen while filming. The village will also be able to draw from the deposit amount if a production uses more than their allotted amount of parking spaces.

Members of the Chamber of Commerce in attendance praised the decision, saying the it went a long way to address some of the concerns of downtown business owners, who argued that film productions have been detrimental to businesses.

"Everytime there is a film, new things seem to develop," Chamber Co-President JoAnne Murray said. "This is a step in the right direction."

Trustees also increased the fee schedule for producing a film in the village.

For filming in public, a production has to pay $1,500 for first day and $1000 for every additional day. If a production films in a private business, the charge is $750 the first day, and $500 after; non-profits will be charged $250 for the first day and $150 for every subsequent day. Student productions will cost $100 for the first day and $50 for every other day.

New Parking Rules for West Main Street

Trustees agreed on a new set of rules for West Main Street parking. Currently, the street has no signage and is not regulated.

Parking or waiting in your vehicle on West Main Street will only be allowed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Time limits will be for four-hour periods.

Trustees Critisize Property Tax Cap Idea

Trustees agreed to a resolution criticizing a proposal to cap property taxes in New York State.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has floated a proposal to limit annual property tax hikes for municipalities and school districts to two percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. That would essentially institute a ceiling on how much money school districts and governments could drum up from local residents.

In the statement read last night, trustees agreed that the state should not implement any property tax cap without repealing state-mandated costs attrbuted tofor pensions, health insurance and collective bargaining agreements.

The  statement will now be forwarded to local representatives and individuals in the governor's office.

The next work session of the board will be held on Wednesday, Dec, 29, at Village Hall.