The Presidents of Scarsdale’s Neighborhood Associations (SNAP) met on Monday night 4/5 and covered lots of ground. School Board members Linda Chayes and Jill Spieler attended to update the group on the status of the proposed school budget for 2010-2011. The School Board will meet with the community on Thursday night April 8th to get feedback on the budget and on April 19 they will present the proposed budget. They encourage everyone to vote for the budget on May 18.
Here are some highlights of the 2010-2011 School Budget:
In other neighborhood business, SNAP welcomed David Bunzel representing the Heathcote Association, a group of 20-30 homes surrounding the Duck Pond in Heathcote.
Mayor Carolyn Stevens announced that the two new Village Trustees, Kay Einsenman and Jon Mark had been sworn in. She also announced trustee liaisons to the neighborhood associations.
Mayor Steves updated the group on the storm and discussed village management, Con Edison, village communications, costs and next steps. Though the storm was costly, if President Barak Obama signs, Scarsdale will receive $350,000 in emergency funds to reimburse us for costs incurred during the storm. She explained how she asked our public officials to intervene to get a response from Con Edison, reviewed the breakdown in Village communications and outlined her next steps to assure better service down the line. She also recommended that residents who wanted to install back-up generators file a permit and use a licensed electrician as a faulty generator had recently caused a house fire on Post Road.
Janet Bell of the Heathcote Five Corners Association asked the Mayor to look into the presence of a large “For Rent” sign near Bistro Citron. She thought that it violated Village Code. She also asked the Mayor if there was any new information on development of the Tavern building, and was told that there were no new plans at this time.
The Planning Board approved an 11,000 square foot building at the Five Corners on the site of the gas station. There will be two levels above ground and two levels of parking below. In addition, the village has permitted the developers to include a truck-loading zone on Heathcote Road. Several members of SNAP expressed concern that large trucks would block driver site lines on Heathcote Road and cause a hazard. However, the site plan has already been approved.
Neighborhood Associations were asked to complete an inventory of homes in their area for the Committee on Historic Preservation. The survey includes questions about neighborhood character, age of homes etc. The Committee will use the survey data in their work to establish new criteria for historic preservation in Scarsdale.