Compiled from the Jan. 20 Rye City Council meeting

•    For list of citizen appointments to city boards and commissions please see sidebar.

•    Mayor Douglas French (R) opened the council meeting by asking for a moment of silence for recently deceased resident George Croughan.

•    Judy Myers (D), Rye’s county legislator, stopped by to offer a status update on the county and in particular, how its ongoing work pertains to the City of Rye. Mayor French offered several areas where the county and city can collaborate including implementation of affordable housing, regional flood mitigation, I-287 corridor work, pedestrian safety and the future of Playland. “Those are the big things that I want to continue to revisit and discuss,” French said. 

•    In the latest installment of the Mayor’s Management Report, JCJ Architecture presented its study of 1037 Boston Post Road, which was commissioned in October 2008 and completed in draft form early last year. Known as the former CVS site, the city purchased the property in 2006 to address parking concerns at Rye City Hall and the Rye Free Reading Room and to look into the feasibility of a potential police/courthouse facility as part of a long-term 50-75 year solution. They also looked at the potential purchase of 1031 Boston Post Road to see if adding that property would increase the value of the 1037 site. The study determined that the court facility would require 9,000 square feet and the police station 18,000 square feet; the 1037 site sits on roughly two-thirds of an acre of land. Three approaches were examined: a one-story site, one-and-a-half story site and a three-story building. The best scenario was the second alternative and based on cost estimates from January 2009 the project would run roughly $23 million including all costs. The project would also call for the necessity of decked parking holding 120 cars. If the project were shovel-ready today it would save 10-20 percent of the cost. The site, although not perfect, was deemed suitable for such a project.

•    The public hearing was closed, to amend Chapter 53, Architectural Review of the Rye City Code regarding noticing requirements for applications and to rescind Chapter 68-8(G) Building and Demolition Permits. There was no action taken by the council; the governing body awaits feedback from the city’s boards and commissions.

•    After a public hearing the council chose to restrict parking on Midland Avenue by amending changes to local law Chapter 191, Vehicles and Traffic, of the Rye City Code to not allow parking on the eastbound side of Midland Avenue from Ellis Court to Grace Church Street.

•    City staff provided an update of the planned safety improvements on Midland Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in March on several projects funded through federal stimulus dollars obtained by the city last year. The city is planning to add bumps, signage and speed measurement devices to the area in hopes that it will quell traffic concerns. They will not consider installing a stop sign or temporary stop sign for the time being, since the possibility looms that doing so could jeopardize stimulus funding.

•    The council debated and discussed establishing a Governmental Relations Committee, a proposal floated by the mayor. There was some trepidation on the part of several council members regarding some ambiguity in the language of the resolution drafted and whether there was a need for such a body at all. The resolution will be tightened up prior to coming before the council again for a vote. The committee would look to provide the council with information pertaining to pending legislation and grant opportunities that would impact the city.

•    The council set a public hearing for the Feb. 24 meeting to discuss increasing the size of the Finance Committee from nine to up to 11 members. The committee is tied to a local law, thus the need for the public hearing. The mayor said there is going to be a lot of forthcoming committee work and the creation of subcommittees; he added that many volunteers seem eager to participate.

•    Increasing the size of the Rye Cable Television Commission was also a topic of conversation. The goal here is to expand the commission to up to nine members to allow for added participation if needed; it currently holds seven members. The council will also look to further expand the commission to include all media, tighten up the language and change the name to the Rye TV and Media Commission. Due to this group also being attached to a local law, a public hearing to discuss the proposal was set for Wednesday, Feb. 24.

•    Also slated for Feb. 24, the council set a public hearing to amend Chapter 10, Committees, of the Rye City Code to allow for the dissolution of the Youth Advisory Council. The mayor said the group hasn’t met since 2005 when it was created at the urging of Bob Cypher, a former city councilman.

•    The council is also considering amending Article 20A, Traffic & Transportation Committee, of the Rye City Code to expand the number of members on the committee from nine to 11 and consider changing the name to the Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee. A public hearing was set for Feb. 24.

•    The council, by a count of 4-3, voted against deferring projects from the 2010 capital budget citing a lack of conclusive information supporting such a measure.

•    Approved was authorization declaring 26 monitors and 26 computers as surplus. The equipment is either obsolete or no longer operational and will be disposed of in the best interests of the city by its city comptroller.

 – Reporting by CHRISTIAN FALCONE

Rye City 2010 Board/Commission Appointees

Appeals   

Tamara Mitchell*
Anthony Piscionere*

Architectural Review   

Eugene McGuire*
John Clark
David Cutner*
Mark Schindler
Robin Jovanovich

Ethics   

John Alfano
Edward Dunn*
Kristen Wilson,
Corporation Counsel

Conservation   

Loriel DeCaro*
Kristina Bicher
Sara Goddard
Marci Raab
Birgit Townely

Finance   

David Mullane*
David Blank
Michael Caponiti*
Fred Dunn*   

Landmarks Advisory   

Laura Brett
Rex Gedney   
Maurio Sax
Jack Zahringer*

Planning    

Barbara Cummings*
Carolyn Cunningham*

Recreation   

Bart DiNardo*
Frank Adimari*
Lisa Dempsey
Jono Peters

Rye Cable   

Mark Delli Colli
Mary Ellen Doran
Stephen Fairchild*
Ken Knowles   
Susan Olson

Traffic & Transportation   

Brian Dempsey*
Denver Boston*
John Gray*
Stacy Koenig

Chairpersons, designated by the mayor, in italics
* Reappointment