Alexandra Marshall to be New Deputy Manager of Scarsdale

Alexandra MarshallA last minute change to the agenda of the October 26, 2021 Village Board meeting included a resolution to hire a new Deputy Village Manager. The current Village Manager, Rob Cole, was promoted in August, leaving a vacancy in the deputy position.

Cole explained that there is a tight job market for employers, and once the Village selected their candidate, they had to move quickly to hire her and approve her appointment. Cole said that 25 candidates, both nationally and internationally, were considered. The candidate interviewed with him along with a subset of Village Trustees who agreed that Miss Alexandra Marshall, currently the Assistant to the Village Administrator in Rye Brook, would make an excellent deputy for Scarsdale.

Trustee Karen Brew noted Marshall’s “incredible energy and enthusiasm” and said Marshall was “outgoing”, and “wants to dig in and learn.” She said that during the interview process Marshall presented a sustainability project that she worked on. Brew said, “I was really impressed.”

Pressed for more details about her resume, Cole said he had planned to introduce Marshall at the next Village Board meeting, but revealed that she has worked in Rye Brook for six years, and is the President of the Westchester Municipal Administrators Association. She holds an a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the College of New Rochelle.

Trustee Ahuja congratulated Cole on hiring Marshall in a very competitive job market.

Trustee Lewis said, “This is an historic time for our government. I have heard from my fellow trustees who interviewed her and will support her. For the future, what is the org chart we would design for 2021- and beyond?”

Mayor Jane Veron also endorsed Marshall. She said, “I thought the process was comprehensive.
Our human resource manager and village manager went through many resumes. I think they did a fine job. In the best of circumstances everyone on the board could have met her. But Veron explained the speed due to “the constraints of the labor market and (the fact that) the candidate wants to give ample notice.” She added, “I interviewed her – we are lucky that she is excited to join us. She embodies what we are hoping for.”

Trustee Arest was unable to support this resolution. He said, “The process up to here was excellent. The Village Manager gives recommendations and then we have the option to approve it or not. The full board usually has the opportunity to meet with the candidate and we did not.” He said, “Congratulations – I look forward to working with you – but we missed an important step.”

In other news, the Village Board held public hearings and voted on two resolutions that had been discussed at previous meetings.

Tax Exemptions for Veterans

The first was to increase the tax exemption for local veterans, a change that would cost the balance of taxpayers an average of $3.60 per parcel, for a total of $21,000.

Residency Requirement for Police Officers

The second was to permit the recruitment of Scarsdale Police officers from counties beyond Westchester and neighboring counties, as is now required. The police force currently has five vacancies, and this shift should increase the pool of available candidates.

Sidewalk Cafes and Displays

In order to build on the success of the dining tent in the Village, and the use of sidewalks for outdoor tables and the display of merchandise, the trustees agreed to schedule a public hearing for November 9, 2021 on an extension of a code amendment to permit the use of the sidewalks through December 31, 2022.

A memorandum from Ingrid Richards explains, “If the Village Board of Trustees agree to the above-mentioned local law amendments, then sidewalk cafes will be allowed to operate through the calendar year and the display of wares, goods and merchandise by Village merchants will be allowed to continue through December 31, 2022.

Public Comments

During Public Comments, Robert Harrison called in twice to ask the trustees to provide the same tour of the pool facilities that they took to Village residents. He was referencing the Village Board’s passage of a resolution to retain a consulting firm to do a study of the pool. Village Manager Rob Cole responded to Harrison to let him know that the firm was hired to engage the public in the process and there would be ample opportunity for Harrison to offer feedback.

Mayor’s Comments

Last, Mayor Jane Veron made the following comments at the opening of the Village Board meeting:

Tonight, my remarks revolve around community connection. Since our last Village Board meeting, our efforts to forge ties with the community appeared in many guises, and I would like to highlight them for you.

Our new Village Manager Cole, Deputy Mayor Arest and I made a guest appearance at the Scarsdale Business Alliance Meet and Greet on October 16th. Gathered in the Dine the ‘Dale tent, over 50 of our business owners came together to celebrate the renewed vitality of our Village Center and other retail hubs. It was the perfect setting for us to represent Village ideals. We underscored the importance of stakeholder collaboration to reenergize our local economies. Featuring the Village Center task force, we shared our efforts to reduce red tape and respond real time to challenges. We highlighted our desire for open dialogue and creativity and spoke about our efforts as a model for future plans. We committed to streamlining processes to ensure that Scarsdale is a great place to do business. Our message was positively received and that spirit of hope and cooperation permeated.

Our desire for strengthening the bond between the Village and School was on display at the joint BOE/BOT meeting on the 18th. With school administration and board in attendance, we shared the Village’s strategic framework, highlighting our Pillars of government and identifying multiple areas of mutual interest. We invited school officials to participate in key projects such as the Pool Complex study. We also spoke extensively about our public safety and cell service efforts. Communication and collaboration are jointly shared top priorities.

Fostering community connection can also be enabled by legislative changes. A week ago, during our public work session, the Village Board discussed making changes in our code to allow for permanent sidewalk cafes. As you know, during the early days of the pandemic, we instituted a cross-functional reopening task force to take innovative and bold steps to enable safe shopping and dining. At that time, we took the leap and waived current laws to authorize sidewalk cafes. It was a beta test of sorts and proved wildly successful. Rather than revert to our pre pandemic ways, we wish to codify the change and make everlasting what we thoroughly enjoy, that community buzz of friends and family dining al fresco. We hope you agree and will share your thoughts during our public hearing.

Last Wednesday evening, our new VM, Deputy Mayor and I had the pleasure of informal conversation with residents during our twilight Coffee or Meet Up in the Dine the ‘Dale tent. We had a great turnout of residents who engaged with us for over 90 minutes on a myriad of topics. We discussed storm water, flooding and development (on our minds regularly but certainly very relevant today) and spoke about biker and pedestrian safety both in and around the Village Center. Residents also made note of road repair needs and Con Ed work disruptions. There were requests - for more support for the Weinberg Nature Center, for students wishing to participate in government, for input on the Pool Complex, and for the resumption of a search for a site for a dog park. And finally quality of life issues arose with residents seeking relief from noisy parties and construction. The evening was full of lively discourse and respectful engagement. Informed by this session as well as by regular public and community group input in the form of emails, public comment, and casual conversation, the Village Manager and I started to plan for our topics for discussion at upcoming work sessions. These community touch points are yet another way for us to hear from you, and we will continue to find informal venues to continue to reach out.

Our last example of community engagement comes directly from our forum earlier this evening. Tonight, we conducted our second work session on potential Marijuana legislation. By December 31, Scarsdale must make a decision whether or not to opt out of permitting marijuana dispensaries and/or consumption lounges. On June 15, we held our first work session to share with the community the requirements of the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA) and to begin the education process. Since then, we have had multiple individual and group meetings with those who sought us out, and we have received countless communications. At our work session, we pulled together a program that allowed for foundational knowledge, sharing of different points of view, and board and community discussion. We also advanced a No Smoking Law in public spaces. A big thank you to Trustees Crandall and Brew as well as to Assistant Village Manager Richards, Village Planner Cutler and Village Attorney Pozin. And another big thank you to our community! Your turnout and engagement is fundamental to our being able to make the best decision for you. We will call for a Public Hearing on November 9 conduct the hearing on November 23 with a vote on December 14.

I hope you takeaway from tonight’s chronicle of community connection, the tremendous importance each one of you plays in our ability to govern and represent your collective interest.