The
Huntington Town Board held its May 11, 2021 meeting remotely and
broadcast meeting audio and video live, where they designated Juneteenth
an observed
Town holiday and scheduled public hearings for June 15, among other
business.
At
the meeting opening, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson called for a moment of
silence to honor the life of Centerport resident Dylan Thompson, a
member of
the Town of Huntington Citizens Advisory Committee for Persons with
Disabilities, who passed away at the age of 27 the prior week. Mr.
Thompson, who had fought Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy for years, was
appointed to the Committee at the February 2021 Town
Board meeting after his June 2020 request to increase accessibility at
Town beaches resulted in the deployment of mobile "Mobi" mats to make
sand and water more accessible for all beachgoers.
The
Town Board established Juneteenth as an official Town holiday to
celebrate the fulfillment of President Abraham Lincoln's order to end
slavery with
the Emancipation Proclamation.
“Juneteenth
is a holiday to be celebrated by all Americans as it is the moment in
history all Americans became free,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci,
who sponsored the resolution creating the holiday. “It’s important to
recognize the emancipation of our citizens who were enslaved, reflect
upon their sacrifices and contributions, and recognize the significant
progress we’ve made as a country in the century
and a half since that time.”
The
same resolution establishing Juneteenth as an official observed Town
holiday also established a one-time pandemic compensatory time program
for eligible
essential employees. As a form a “hazard” compensation, eligible
employees who worked in-person 75% of more of their workdays between
March 16th, 2020 and June 8th, 2020 will receive up to five paid days
off for time worked based on a formula; the time off
must be used by June 2022.
“When
the entire world was being told to stay home, certain essential Town
employees reported to work in-person to take on high-risk tasks
necessary to
ensure the safety of our residents, employees and facilities at a time
of mass uncertainty,” said Supervisor Lupinacci.
The Town Board scheduled public hearings for the Tuesday, June 15, 2021 Town Board meeting at 7:00 PM
to consider:
- Authorizing the
Supervisor to execute a license agreement with Robert F. Segarra and
Lori Ann Segarra for the use of a strip of land which is part of a Town
recharge basin described as District 400 Section 217
Block 2 Lot 35 in East Northport, New York.
- Amending
the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 3, Article
II, §3-3, Schedule J. Re: Fairway Place, Flora Street, Pine Drive – Cold Spring Harbor – Parking Restrictions.
- Amending the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 3, Article II, §3-3, Schedule J. Re: Leverich Place – Huntington – Parking Restrictions; to add No Parking restrictions on Leverich
Place between Route 110 and Wall Street based on a request from the Huntington Fire Department.
- Amending
the Code of the Town of Huntington Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article I
(General Provisions), Article IV (Commercial Districts); to add pet day
care facilities as a permitted use in certain commercial zoning
districts; overnight accommodations would continue to be required to
seek kennel permits.
- Zone
change application #2020-ZM-449, Sunrise of East Northport, to change
the zoning from R-20 Residence District to R-HS Residential Health
Services District for the property located on the northwest corner
of Pulaski Road and Old Bridge Road in East Northport (SCTM
#0400-127-01-065.001); to rezone a 6.1-acre property to build a
two-story 90-unit assisted living facility.
- Amending the Code of the Town of Huntington to reflect accurate and current department titles.
In other action, the Town Board:
- Approved the execution
of a professional service contract with Nicola Armacost as a Climate
Smart Communities (CSC) strategic advisor to assist the Town of
Huntington in achieving Bronze Climate Smart Communities
certification.
- Approved
the execution of a contract with the New York State Office of Temporary
and Disability Assistance (OTDA) for the purpose of distributing
Department of Treasury funding under the Emergency Rental Assistance
Program.
- Authorized $1,500,000 for the construction of improvements to Woodbine Marina.
- Approved
an intermunicipal agreement with the Incorporated Village of Northport
for the use of Woodbine Marina to operate an Oyster Flupsy Program.
- Approved
funding needed for design and construction services associated with
geothermal and solar systems for the James D. Conte Community Center and
authorized the consultant to proceed with related design
services.
- Authorized
the retention of legal counsel, Sher Edling LLP, on a contingent basis
and the commencement of legal action to recover damages for the cost of
remediating perfluorinated compuonds from the public
water system of the Dix Hills Water District Well No. 7-1 based on
quarterly testing showing increasing levels of the compounds.
- Established
a Huntington Blueway Advisory Committee to assist the Town in the
formulation of a Blueway Plan, which will identify and map a self-guided
trail for paddlers and non-motorized boaters along the entire
Town of Huntington shoreline. The establishment of the Committee was a
requirement of a grant awarded in 2016 for the Blueway by the New York
State Environmental Protection Fund.
- Authorized
the refinancing of $3,700,000 in outstanding bonds to save taxpayer
funds, a move made possible by the Town’s AAA bond rating.
- Appointed
Brook A. Lupinacci at the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer for the
Town of Huntington (Ms. Lupinacci has no relation to Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci).
- Appointed
Patricia Morrison as Interim Director and Stephen Carballeira as
Interim Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology.
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