Scarsdale Village Board Approves Storm Water Plan for Harcourt Woods

The Scarsdale Village Board met on Tuesday October 9 and approved the expenditure of an additional $23,990 for Dvirka and Bartilucci Engineers to make revisions to the storm water management plan for changes at Harcourt Woods as outlined on Scarsdale10583 last week. The changes will include de-silting of the watercourse, construction of a sediment pond, installation of a drainage diversion on Brewster Road, stabilization of the stream banks, realignment of the stream, removal of obstructions, construction of a Gabion wall, installation of a maintenance path and landscaping.

Also at the meeting:

• Trustees also approved an extension of an agreement with NYS for ice and snow removal along 15.7 miles of state-owned roadways in Scarsdale for a fee of $23,659.90
• The Village accepted the gift of a 55” LED Smart TV for the lobby of police headquarters from Robert and Wendy Zohn of Value Electronics on Popham Road in Scarsdale. The gift is valued at $3,374.99.
• Trustee Bob Harrison who heads the Personnel Committee announced openings on the Planning Board and the Conservation Advisory Council. Emily Sherwood will step down from the Planning Board and Lynne Clark will vacate her seat on the Conservation Advisory Council. Harrison said that those interested in applying should visit the Village website to apply by October 31, 2012. The application can be found here :
• During the portion of the Town meeting Village Manager Al Gatta asked Treasurer Mary Lou McClure for an update on 19 properties that have fallen behind in their tax payments. She reported that there are 19 such properties in Scarsdale and that the Village is now working with many of the owners to bring payments up to date. However, for those who have not responded to the Village to schedule payment of back taxes by October 22, 2012, the Village will begin proceedings to foreclose. A list of the delinquent properties was not provided.

Mayor Flisser responded to questions that were posed to her at the meeting of the Scarsdale Forum on October 4th. Here are the questions and answers:

1) What is the total budget for The Crane Road Bridge project?

Budget is $53,460,000
Design/Engineering $5,300,000
ROW Incidental & Acquisition $1,100,000 of which Scarsdale received about $900,000
Construction $40,000,000
MTA Force Account $3,000,000
Construction Inspection $4,060,000

2) How does the Revaluation Project now being undertaken by the Village affect NY State Real Estate Taxes?

To bring the existing 1969 assessments up to current market value, conversion factors are required. These conversion factors are Equalization Rates (EQ) and Residential Assessment Ratios (RAR), which are established annually by the New York State Office of Real Property Services. The RAR is a weighted average-calculated ratio that is used in the setting and converting of assessments for residential properties only and is derived annually by ORPTS through an assessment-at-sale ratio study. Fall all other property types, an annual EQ rate is used for the same purposes. There is a small bonus of State Aid for each year that the roll is at 100% of market value.

3) What is the current position of the Historical Preservation initiative?

The VB's Advisory Committee made three recommendations:
1. Adoption of a new Historic Preservation Law;
2. Historic Resources Survey;
3. Training for CHP and BAR.

A draft of a new Historic Preservation Law was submitted by the Advisory Committee, and reviewed by the Village Board at two Law/Land Use Committee meetings. The Board decided to conduct the Historic Resources Survey before adopting a new law. The Historic Resources Survey Report was presented by Li/Saltzman, and as a result of the presentation, was later updated to include the Boulder Brook property. The Village Board's Land Use Committee will deliberate about how to deal with the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee and the Historic Resources Survey.