Business & Tech
Pelham Board Hires Sergeant, Trustee Breskin Quits
Sergeant Hire Approved, Trustee Cites Work Load. Shop Downtown also approved.
The biggest noise at Tuesday night's Pelham Board of Trustee's meeting was the applause given to Pelham's newest Police Sergeant, Christopher Casucci, by his family. After a raucous debate in a packed Town Hall two sessions ago, the unanimous confirmation of Casucci's appointment was undertaken almost light heartedly.
Other items discussed or adopted were "Shop Downtown Night" coming this Friday, the city's participation in Westchester's "Stop DWI" program, acquisition of new firefighting radio and communications gear, and the development of a new parking lot near the train station.
Casucci's appointment was the first item on the Board's agenda, and after he was sworn in by Mayor Edward Hotchkiss, the Sergeant filed out the door, his family following behind, and stood for the photos they took in front of the Village Hall. Sergeant Casucci began his career in the NewYorkPoliceDepartment fifteen years ago. He was, until recently, an officer with the Mt. Vernon Police Department.
Sergeant Casucci's appointment is effective May 2. The appointment is probationary for the next six months.
Sergeant Jason Pallet was confirmed as a permanent appointment following his sixth month of probationary appointment in that position. His appointment was recommended by his Chief and Lieutenant, according to Hotchkiss, and adopted unanimously by the Board.
Greg Breskin, a Pelham Trustee, resigned and did not attend the meeting. The Mayor said Breskin cited his work schedule outside of the Board.
"We will miss him and wish him luck with his money making endeavors," Hotchkiss said. "Which is unlike anything up here," he continued with a laugh.
The Board also decided to continue Pelham's participation in Westchester County's "Stop DWI" program until the year 2015. The "Stop DWI" program reimburses Pelham for the overtime its officers incur while running sobriety checkpoints. The sobriety checkpoints are set up about six nights a year.
Pelham has participated in the "Stop DWI" program for about ten years.
Pelham will share a grant from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) with New Rochelle and several other towns that will allow it to update some of its fiirefighting communications equipment. Under the terms of the grant, Pelham will pay $6,409 for about $32,000 worth of equipment, including a new Command Post radio, six state-of-the-art UHF radios, and "mobile data terminals"--Toughbooks.
"It's been a long time coming," said trustee Joseph Marty. "But we're getting a bargain."
Payment for the equipment, Village Administrator Robert Yamuder said, is provided for in a budget line in next year's budget.
Overtime has been approved for Pelham's "Shop Downtown Night". On that night, this Friday coming up, 5th Avenue will be shut down between 2d and 3d Streets between 6 and 9 p.m.
The FTA parking lot is "85% complete" according to Yamuder. The lot will provide as many as 45 new parking places close to the MTA station. According to Yamuder, the project is on budget, on schedule, and should be completed by mid-June. Gas, electrics, water, sewer have yet to be installed, however, and some items need to be transferred from a previous structure before it can be demolished.
Still to be determined was how the parking spots will be assigned. Permits were discussed, as were muni-meters and a mix of the two.
"But," Hotchkiss said, "We're on a mission to eradicate individual meters."
New Commercial Zoning is on tap, updating agreements dating back to the 1970's, when Pelham and North Pelham merged.
Trustee Geoff Lewis said he wants to "simplify" the code and "make it easier for commercial developers to the see the wisdom of working here." A draft was submitted two months ago, the first step of several required before public review and then adoption.
Use of the B&W site, the defunct Boston and Westchester railroad property, as a greenspace was discussed, as well. There is a question of whether or not the soil is contaminated, though the specific contaminants were not named.
Trustee Joseph Marty asserted that preliminary testing does not conclusively assure site safety, adding that it's always easy to test more, but that it costs money and doesn't necessarily solve the problems it purports to address. However, he added, "we want everybody to be comfortable."
The long term goal at the site is to remove a fence surrounding it, make it open, available, and safe.
Other items discussed included Wolf's Lane Park, getting city offices off of bottled water and onto filtered tap water in light of United Water's recent crowning as the "Best Tasting Water in Westchester", and the fact that the ASPCA will soon triple the rates it charges cities for animal control.
The last item discussed was payment of a $75 bill for printing for the Police. New forms updated Property Receipts from 1999 to the current century. This item was approved unanimously after a short but temperate debate.
