SEA CLIFF VILLAGE BOARD MEETING, 9.8.14
HEADLINES
- FRIENDS OF SEA CLIFF BEACH RECOGNIZED
- VILLAGE VOTES TO SOLICIT BIDS FOR SEWER PROJECT
- DRAFT OF NEW TREE ORDINANCE ON VILLAGE WEBSITE; BOARD WELCOMES INPUT
- BROWN BAG YOUR LEAVES OR THEY'LL BE LEFT BEHIND

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FRIENDS OF SEA CLIFF BEACH RECOGNIZED; COALITION TO SAVE HEMPSTEAD HARBOR BEACH CLEAN-UP ON SEPTEMBER 27

Moments after the Board voted to accept a check for $720 to improve signage at the Village beach from the group Friends of Sea Cliff Beach, Trustee Carol Vogt, the Board liaison to the Beach, presented the not-for-profit group with a Citation of Appreciation for all of the work it has done in support of what is for many residents the center of Sea Cliff life during the summer months. In the audience to accept the honor were Jenna and Justin DiPietro and Michelle Capobianco.  Additionally, Trustee Vogt thanked the other members of the organization who were not present -Joady Feiner, Craig Geurin, Debbie Groom, Daria Mazzeo, Elaine Neice, and Joan Accolla. 

Later in the meeting, Trustee Vogt reported that the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor would be organizing a Beach clean-up at Sea Cliff Beach on Saturday September 27 from 9:30 to 11:30 am, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy and in cooperation with the American Littoral Society.  The various types of debris that are found will be collected, recorded and weighed to see if there have been any changes from previous years.  The data will then be used to approach and encourage manufacturers to change the types of materials that frequently end up as floatable debris. 

Trustee Vogt also said the Beach Cafe would remain open on Weekends through Sunday, September 21st.  


SEA CLIFF AVENUE SEWER LINE
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Now that funding has been secured, almost entirely through nearly $2 million in grants, the board voted to solicit bids for construction of a Sea Cliff Avenue sewer line. "Hopefully the bids come in at the right price," said Mayor Kennedy, who has been advocating for a sewer line down the main business strip since being elected to office in 2009. (Click here for Northwordnews article on the sewer line posted on July 16)


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TWO ENCROACHMENT APPLICATIONS CONSIDERED

The Board voted on two encroachment (easement) applications that would allow residents to build or maintain structures on a village right of way.  Both applications had been discussed at the Village Board Conference the previous week.


The first involved a Carpenter Avenue resident's request to use a village right of way to store Garbage Containers.  That application was denied, with Trustees Vogt, McGilloway and Lieberman voting for disapproval, Trustee Villafane voting against disapproval, and Mayor Kennedy abstaining.  (CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE ON THE ISSUE POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 10).

The second encroachment application involved a Downing Avenue resident who lives on a corner lot seeking approval to construct a 4 foot fence that would extend onto a village right of way.  Mayor Kennedy explained that the fence would extend along bushes in the Village right of way that the resident has been regularly maintaining and that the purpose of the fence was to keep the residents' young children within his property.  Trustee McGilloway said he was in support of the application so long as the resident agreed to continue to maintain the bushes and that if the Village should need to use the right of way for any reason that it can end the agreement. Mayor Kennedy said the latter stipulation is in all encroachment agreements the village signs off on. Trustees McGilloway, Vogt, and Lieberman voted to approve the agreement; Trustee Villafane and Mayor Kennedy abstained.



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DRAFT OF NEW TREE ORDINANCE TO BE POSTED ON VILLAGE WEBSITE; PUBLIC INPUT WELCOMED OVER NEXT TWO MONTHS
After two town meetings held last September and January to get input from the community and after many discussions among current tree committee members and the village board, Trustee Vogt announced that a draft of a tree ordinance to replace the existing 2010 law, has been completed.  A copy of the proposal will be posted on the Village website so that residents will have the opportunity to read it, mull it, and offer feedback to the Board over the next two months.  A public hearing on the local law will be held in November.
 
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BROWN BAG YOUR LEAVES OR THEY WILL BE LEFT BEHIND

Beginning this fall, the Department of Public Works will no longer be collecting leaves left at the curb in plastic lawn bags.  Residents wishing to have their leaves carted away will now be required to use brown biodegradable paper bags instead.  Mayor Kennedy displayed some of the paper bags he had purchased last year and said that he would encourage the owners of  Sea Cliff Hardware to have large numbers on hand for purchase by village residents.  The requirement has been imposed as a result of changes at the facility where the village brings its yard waste, which has stopped accepting leaves in plastic bags.