|
Director
of Labor Operations
(Water, Highway, Parks Maintenance, Sewers, Maintenance of Town Buildings and
Environmental Conservation)
This page is divided into the following sections, although because of the
overlapping nature of some of the items, it is not always possible to segreate every topic into its own section.
Reorganization of departments
Water Department
Miscellaneous issues (parks, YCC, staff
allocation, etc.)
Energy conservation related issues
Fleet Committee (town vehicles)
Reorganization of Departments
Background information
At November 17th meeting to review proposed 2008 budget, the board
announced that it was planning to create a Department of Public Works that
would be separate from the Highway Department and that the current highway
superintendent would simultaneously head both departments. The DPW would put
the Water Department, Environmental Conservation and Parks in a single
department.
11/27/2007 (work session)
1. board made changes in text of proposed local
law setting up the DPW and an accompanying resolution
2. during the meeting, on two separate occasions, Roker leaned over to a councilman and whispered something
that was not explained to the public
3. Metz and DiBartolo confirmed that what they were
doing was permitted by the Attorney General's opinion that had been cited at
the earlier November meeting.
4. Metz said that the key was making it legal to consolidate the departments
and having the highway department fall under the DPW.
5. more than once it was said that to get rid of the
highway superintendent there would have to be a referendum. They didn't
explain if they meant getting rid of the position entirely or changing it
from elected to appointed.
6. Martorano expressed concern that the board wasn't
creating a department based on a person or personality; "we'll have to
have this once Eric (DiBartolo) leaves. The saw
needs to be objective."
7. Metz: after Eric leaves, we can do away with highway superintendent.
8. board never answered question of how DPW head
could be under control of town board if he was an elected official.
12/11/2007
(work session)
Deputy town attorney John
Buckley (not at the meeting) checked with civil service, title of Supterintendent of Public Works as presently planned
won't work so its being recommended to use a
"functional title" that is outside of any civil service
classification.
Bianco wanted to know when all this surfaced; he
seemed surprised and "out of the loop" Metz possibly said,
"Today."
Metz basically said that this would allow town to do what it wanted to do,
but just with a different title
Roker said town didn't need to create a department
which also meant that town could make the change resolution and not local
law. Could accomplish same objective by resolution, not local law
Roker said Buckely said
the new title should be run by civil service
Bianco questioned what was the
meaning of the 12/18 public hearing. Roker
said hearing could go forward. She said they'll test this out for 6 months or
so and then see if it works and if it does, then they can look into a DPW.
Bianco asked whether this had been researched
before.
Board also discussed the hire/fire provision in the law/resolution and
someone (Roker?) said that aDiBartolo
realized that this power vested with the town board so they'll have to change
language of the draft resolution which current would give hire/fire power to
the highway superintendent.
12/18/2007 (public hearing)
Roker explained reasons for consolidation. How she had problems
in the past getting truck to haul voting machines. Also requests from Parks
Dept for additional staff to deal with heavier work load. Talked about how DiBartolo had found Water Department vehicles that could
be used by Parks and also other ways to helps Parks handle tasks. Library
also needed more maintenance staff. She said town saved $200,000 by
eliminating three laboroer positions in 2008 and
use of flextime. She praised DiBartolo: "Can't
stress enough what he's been doing in Water Dept" – and he has
plans for Parks."
Roker also said that DiBartolo
was the only one board considered for the position. "Our goal is to save
money not spend it." She cited additional costs of having a DPW commissioner.
$125,000, plus benefits and secretary.
Roker did acknowlege at
least two other salary increases related to the reorganization but she didn't
cite the $$ increase for them.
Most people who spoke at the hearing were in favor of the plan and most praised
DiBartolo.
The only comments opposed or raising questions came from Susan Siegel, a Ms.
Daniels (wife of Walt Daniels of Conservation Board) who questioned the
problem of having the new Director of Manpower Operations (which will be
changed to Labor Operations make it gender neutral) both elected and
appointed. She also said that the elected highway superintendent position
should be eliminated and she raised the need for a job description and other
civil service issues.
Geri Schwab said that the position should be established first, then a job
description developed and then DiBartolo appointed.
Roker said the job description was in the
resolution.
Roker also said that department heads will control
their budgets.
Incoming supervisor DonPeters said DiBartolo was the only one who could do the job.
"Basically, I wouldn't be in favor if it wasn't for him. (Martorano and I think Bianco
said basically the same thing.)
When questioned on the $200,000 savings, Roker said
the figure was from the comproller.
Metz rejected Siegel's statement that the meetings were behind closed doors;
he said only personnel was discussed behind closed
doors. He also said the plan wasn't hastily prepared and that DiBartolo having masters (i.e., being both elected and
appointed) was a plus and a good thing. He said we don't have a crisis, but
it's time to act now. "Let's break down walls without creating a DPW.
There's no time to study."
Campsi and Roker (and Panio) attacked North County News for the editorial and
cartoon. Campisi: they didn't write the truth.
Bianco said the new plan "wasn't about eric"; we would have selected someone else if we
could save $200,000. He sees each department as being a separate government
and noted that no one lost their job- this was paramount issue for him. It's
not perfect – but is not dangerous.
Siegel asked about when the town would send a formal job description to civil
service. Roker said she would look into it. She
convinced that the resolution will pass muster.
Jeramiah Dineen also
raised the elected/appointed issue.
Roker and town attorney said they had been in touch
with Westchester Commissioner of Human Resources on the civil service
implications of the new title and that the commissioner was okay with it.
Speaking up in favor: Mike Kaplowitz, Rosemarie Panio, Joe Apicella, Dr. Jules
Brodsky, a member of Rec Commission, and some
others. During the Courtesy of the Floor, the woman in charge of water meters
read a glowing statement about what DiBartolo had
done for the department.
The resolution passed unanimously.
March
17, 2009
Steve Gardner, speaking at both courtesy of the floor segments, said that the
highway superintendent should be focusing his attention on the roads, many of
which he said needed work, instead of working on other projects related to
the consolidation of labor services. He cited a situation on Baptist Church
Road as one such problem. He also said that for people considering running
for the job of highway superintendent, it wasn't a level playing field when
the current highway superintendent had the additional responsibilities
associated with the Director of Labor Operations position.
In response, Councilmen Metz explained that the consolidation of the work
force had saved the town money and had enabled the town to take on other
projects such as the skate board park and the legacy ballfields.
Councilman Campisi said that the consolidation had
saved the town over $1 million.
Water
Department
Water meters in shopping
centers
11/13/2007 (work session)
This was not on the agenda but DiBartolo brought
up.
He told board that the town was losing money in its shopping centers because
some stores didn't have meters and others were tapping off other lines. He
didn't quantify the amount of loss. Joan Goldberg, comptroller, said:
“Yes, we've known for a lot of years that this is a problem.” DiBartolo said he was advised of the problem by a meter
reader in the department. He said he spoke to town attorney about this
although content of discussion was not explained.
DiBartolo suggested that way to correct the
situation was to have one meter for the center that landlord would be
responsible for and that it was up to landlord to install sub meters for the
tenants.
Martorano thanked DiBartolo
saying it sounded like a good idea
No decision was made on next steps and/or who would follow through with
issue.
11/27/2007 (work session)
1. town attorney said that earlier law talked of
master meters but it didn't have a time frame for implementation.
2. town will work on the needed draft law
12/18/2007 (public hearing)
DiBartolo explained that this has been going on for
“many many years.” The woman in charge of meters said that when
she brought this to attention of her superiors earlier, she was told
“to keep quiet.”
DiBartolo implied that the lose of revenue may not have been great but that
“nickels and dimes” add up. Said Yorktown was relatively good in
terms of not having a large amount of “lost” water usage.
Adam Brodsky, manager for Triangle shopping center said it would be a
hardship to put new law into effect as of Jan 1st. He asked for a
5 year phase in. His leases make tenants responsible for paying their water.
Conclusion; board passed the new law, unanimously, but with implementation
delayed until April 1st.
1/22/2008
(work session)
1)Updates
a) DiBartolo is proposing to
purchase software that will monitor capacity and pressure in existing water
tanks which would help town deal with water main breaks, adjustment of
chlorine levels and allow pressure in tanks to fluctuate – which was
needed. He had a computer and demonstrated how the system would be used. He
said he has discussed the software and pressure issue with the Joint
Waterworks people "who don't know what they're pumping to us."
Board asked him if "we have the money." He said yes, but the cost
was not identified. (At end of meeting, after DiBartolo
had discussed other issues with the board, and almost as an afterthought, a
board member asked the cost of the system and he said $65,000-$80,000.)
2) Cost of water connection permits
DiBartolo gave board a "heads up" on
an issue likely to come before it. A developer applied for several water
connection permits in June, 2007 but he never actually paid for the permits
at the time. In August, 2007, the board increased the permit cost to $10,000,
from $6,000.
The developer recently come to the town to actually pay for the permits and
felt he should pay the $6,000 rate, not the $10,000 rate now in force. The
water dept. will not issue the connection permit until the developer pays the
$10,000 rate.
Now aware of this type of issue, DiBartolo has
amended the application for water permits to say that they are only valid if paid
for within 72 hours.
April 22, 2008 work session
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
reported to the board that the Triangle Shopping Center and Kmart were the
only two commercial businesses that had not met the April 1st
deadline for installing a single water meter on their premises, He said that
the manager Triangle Shopping Center was purposely delaying complying with
the new law and had ignored two registered letters.
After the board generally agreed that in the face of continued non compliance
the town's only recourse was to shut off the water, the discussion focused on
how to proceed, especially in a way that would not hurt the tenants in the
shopping center.
On the advise of Town
Attorney John Buckley, a "demand letter" will be sent the property
owners giving them a fixed number of days to comply with the law before water
is shut off. Copies of the letter will be sent to the Westchester County
Department of Health and to all tenants in the Triangle Shopping Center on
the theory that once they realize what could happen to their businesses, they
will pressure the landlord to comply with the law. Mr. DiBartolo
said that the necessary work could be completed in about 10-12 days. Mr.
Buckley said the letter would be sent out, certified, return receipt
requested, on April 23rd.
Town Clerk Alice Roker told the board that if it
did not take action to force compliance, as a taxpayer in the water district
she could sue the town because she would be put in a position of having to
pay for someone else's water.
May 6, 2008
A bid was approved for a new pump station that serves 12 homes. (Because the
homes are so close to the water tank they cannot get adequate pressure.) The
cost will be $35,000 and some of the installation work will be done by town
staff. The plans are currently being reviewed by the county Department of
Health.
Miscellaneous Water Department information
Mr. DiBartolo told the board that by using new
software he had purchased he was able to turn off any water tank as soon as
the location of a water main break was identified, thereby eliminating water
loss. The software also monitors water levels in each tank and prevents
overflows which had occurred in the past.
Three department employees who had been previously been promoted thanked the
board for its support of their job performance. They also praised the work of
Mr. DiBartolo.
Shopping center water metering
This issue was not discussed in detail but rather by innuendo. It appeared
that the town has not been able to get compliance from the two shopping
centers who have failed to comply with the new master meter law but that town
officials were still trying to work out a resolution of the issue. It
appeared that one reason the issue has not been resolved yet might be a
disagreement among town board members, but this was not explained – just
alluded to in passing comments.
In the meantime, Councilman Campisi asked Mr. DiBartolo to explain the relationship between unpaid
water bills and unpaid sewer bills. As sewer bills are based on water usage,
it was pointed out that improper water metering also meant a loss of sewer
district revenue.
July 1, 2008
The board authorized the sale at auction of a jet vac
machine. (Note: Earlier in the meeting, Supervisor Peters noted that the
purchase of this piece of equipment would result in a shortfall in the
equipment line item budget for 2008. At a previous work session, town
comptroller Joan Goldberg advised the board that the equipment could not do
the job it was supposed to do and could either be returned to the vendor for
a 15% restocking fee or sold at auction.)
July 15, 2008
During Courtesy of the Floor, Howard Frank asked again about the issue of
“lost water” and wanted to know what the town was doing to
identify those people who weren't paying for water they consumed. In
response, Supervisor Don Peters said that the issue was being investigated.
Director of Labor Operations DiBartolo said that at
the end of the year he would have a report on the measures he had taken to reduce
the loss. One measure he has instituted is that when a user has a permit to
draw water from a hydrant, the water is now metered and the user pays on the
numbers of gallons used instead of a flat fee which was the past practice.
June 3, 2008
During Courtesy of the Floor, Howard Frank noted that the official Annual
Drinking Water Report for 2007 for the Yorktown Consolidated Water District
stated that the town had “lost” 235,000,000 gallons of water,
i.e., that amount of water that had been purchased from the Joint Water Works
was not reflected in metered water sales. The loss represented 21% of the
total water purchased from the Joint Water Works.
Councilman Bianco noted that the town was trying to
cut the loss to 10%. “We're working on it,” he said.
August 19, 2008
Water usage for Cortlandt
residents
During Courtesy of the Floor Howard Frank asked the board how approximately
100 property owners on 34 streets in Cortlandt who
receive water from Yorktown through the Joint Water District were being
billed and how the town was getting reimbursed.
In response, Councilman Bianco said he didn't know
that Yorktown supplied water to Cortlandt and that
the town would look into the issue. Supervisor Peters also said that the town
would look into the matter and explained that the town saves money by
participating in the Joint Water Works with Cortlandt
and Montrose.
September
2, 2008
During Courtesy of the Floor, Howard Frank, representing the United Taxpayers
of Yorktown, reported that in response to his FOIL request he had received an
“excellent” report from the Joint Water Works. But, he added, the
report contained no numbers and didn't give an indication as to the
efficiency of the plant. He urged board members to look into this matter. He
also asked the board to check into the condition of some of the water meters
being used in Cortlandt.
In response to Mr. Frank's comments, Eric DiBartolo,
Director of Labor Operations noted that Mr. Frank had raised some good points
but that the meters being used in Cortlandt were
“radio read” (a passing car reads the meters) and were doing a good job. He added that the Water Department
has an ongoing program to check the condition of meters.
September 16, 2008
Director of Labor Relations Eric DiBartolo
reported that he had recouped $204,000 in water charges for 33,000,000
gallons of water that had been used over a number of years but which had not
been paid for. He distributed a sheet with the names of the users and the
amounts owed. The list included the Highway Department which he said had not
been billed for the water it had used. He noted that five bosses before him
had not been able to address the problem and he commended the staff in the
Water Department for their hard work.
He also noted that New York City has announced an increase in water rates but
that he was hoping that the 2009 budget for the Water District might be able
to show a tax decrease because of savings he has been able to make.
September 23, 2008, work session
Request for water refund
A resident who had received a water bill for 72,000 gallons of water (during
a time when no one was living in the house for several weeks) when her normal
bills over several years were for 9,000-13,000 gallons asked the board the
install a new meter. She said that the water department had inspected her
house for leaks and found none and said that there was no problem with the
existing meter. She also had a letter from a plumber who checked the house
for leaks and found none.
Mr. DiBartolo said he would have a new meter
installed the next day. If the high usage continued, he said then the problem
would likely be on the “house” side of the meter and that the
homeowner would have to look further into the source of the problem.
The homeowner has paid the bill for the 72,000 gallons to the Joint Water
Works but said she hoped she would get a credit on future bills if it was
found that there was a problem with the original meter.
October
7, 2008
The owners of the Pied Piper Nursery School complained about a recent North
County News article that listed them as one of the town business that had
been “stealing” water from the town. Concerned about their
reputation, they explained that there had been a problem with the water meter
that the town had installed at their facility and that the town had corrected
the problem. The facility was on a list of businesses with meter problems
that resulted in their not paying for the water they consumed.
In response, Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
noted that he had never said that the preschool stole water and he
acknowledged problems with the meter. Councilman Campisi
also noted that it was not the town who used the word “steal.”
October 28, 2008, work session
Water Department: Proposed
new laws
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
proposed the following new laws that are designed to raise revenue to help
offset the 12% increase in water rates that New York City charges the Joint
Water Works. The Water Works will absorb 3% of the increase and pass the
remaining 9% on to Yorktown rate payers.
1. Raising the price of bulk usage (used by construction companies) to
$15/gallon from $13/gallon.
2. Increasing out of district water charges
3. Adding a new section to the existing water ordinance that will charge
commercial properties, condominiums and town houses a $350 service fee if a
water department employee has to come to the site evenings or weekends to
shut off the water for non emergency reasons. No fee will be charged during
those hours for emergency shut offs. The law currently provides for a $25 fee
for shut offs.
4. Setting the rate the town pays for water at cost, as distinct from the
rate homeowners pay. Mr. DiBartolo advised the board
that many town facilities are currently unmetered despite their using
considerable amounts of water. This situation is in the process of being
changed so that the town will get billed for the water that is uses.
In a separate water department issue, Mr. DiBartolo
briefly informed the board that the 2009 water department budget will include
a $60,000 expense for replacing 30 outdated hydrants. The department needs to
replace a total of 120 hydrants and will complete the job over a period of
years.
December 2, 2008
A series of four separate public hearings were held on local laws dealing
with water rates and charges for the services of the water department. See
October 28, 2008 meeting notes for a summary of each law. There was no
discussion or public input and each law was passed unanimously.
February 17, 2009
Backflow inspections
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo advised
the board and the community that the Water Department was in the process of
sending out about 200 letters to businesses and condo complexes advising them
that the town would be conducting “backflow inspections” in the
coming weeks. He said that the inspections had not been done since 2000. The
inspections do not apply to residential dwellings.
March 3, 2009
Water Department Water Usage
During Courtesy of the Floor, Director of Labor Relations
Eric DiBartolo reported that in 2008, the
department was able to reduce the town's water loss by 16%, down from 21% in
2007. He said he was still striving for a 10% loss goal for 2009.
Water Department: Other
Issues (See also Miscellaneous
Issues below)
June 2, 2009
Water rate increase
Howard Frank informed the board of the pending decision by
New York City to increase the rate it charges for water. He said that while
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo had
done a good job in eliminating water loss (water usage that was not being
paid for), he felt that more could be done at the treatment plant to reduce
water usage relating to cleaning filters.
In response, the board passed a resolution opposing the proposed rate
increase. Supervisor Peters noted that in the past, the water district has
absorbed all or some of the increases in rates so that property owners had to
pay only a portion of some of the increases.
July
14, 2009, work session
Changes in town water code
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
advised the board that he would be working with the town attorney on the last
phase of amendments to the town's water code.
One change will require double meters in situations where there is a bypass
installed on a large pipe. At present, water can be diverted by means of a
bypass in such a way that it is not metered.
A second change will tighten up the requirements dealing with back flows and
a third change will set a fee when the town's water department performs
certain services on private property.
The changes will all be subject to a future public hearing.
September 1, 2009
A public hearing was held on proposed changes in the water code as previously
discussed at the board's July 14, 2009 work session.
The only non town employee who spoke at the hearing was Howard Frank but
because of audio problems, his comments were not audible to the audience.
Responding to Mr. Frank's comments, Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo explained that the new charges being proposed
were designed to cover cost, not make money.
May 25, 2010, work session
1.
Maintenance
Material Bid - Comprehensive package for all vendors with AWWA Standards
to complete to bid on materials.
2.
Leak
Detection Survey -- $19,000 was lowest bid for 174 miles of water
lines. Possible leaks up to 250,000 gallons cumulative
3.
Status
of 5 Bay Garage - originally built as joint venture for highway
department and water department vehicles. Water Dept wants to store
their newer vehicles. A meeting between Eric DeBartolo and David Rambo
with board members to work out storage arrangements.
Miscellaneous Issues (staff allocation, highway
department, parks, YCC, etc.)
For other YCC issues, see YCC page
Flexible use of labor staff
1/8/2008 (work session)
During discussion of tree removal at the Downing Park commuter lot, DiBartolo told the board that he had had used parks,
water, and environmental conservation laborers interchangeably on a few
projects; Parks people helped turn some water valves and water, parks and
environmental conservation worked at park site. Bianco
reminded him that he has to be careful about properly accounting for water
department staff as it's a special district. DiBartolo
said he was being careful to do that.
1/22/2008
(work session)
Mr. DiBartolo reported the following projects had been begun
and/or completed:
· He has developed a
maintenance plan for Town Hall's bathrooms with an hourly checklist for each
bathroom.
· Swimming Pools: He had a
"long" meeting with Recreation Commission regarding
maintenance/repair issues at the pools. He is drawing up specs for the work
to be done by an outside contractor.
· YCC: Some unspecified drainage
work was done.
· Outdoor lighting: He is reviewing
the need for outdoor lights at some of town's facilities. He is currently
planning to install lights at the Shrub Oak pool which is dark and has been
subject to vandalism. No costs were discussed.
April 1, 2008: Report on overtime
Mr. DiBartolo announced that for the first quarter
ending March 31st, combining the labor services of several
departments had reduced overtime costs to $17,800, compared with $64,000 for
the same period in 2007. He asked to meet with the board in a work session to
provide a fuller report.
Personnel
The board approved a resolution approving the stipend for the Deputy Highway
Superintendent that was discussed during the 2008 budget hearing. There was
no discussion on the resolution or mention of the amount of the stipend.
April
8, 2008 (Work Session): Quarterly report
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo,
accompanied by Patrick Lofaro, head of the
Department of Environmental Conservation and the Deputy Highway Superintent gave the board a quarterly update on projects
undertaken by the combined labor forces of the Parks, Water, Highway,
Environmental Conservation and Sewer Departments.
75 projects have been completed including
· getting the town's ballfields
ready three weeks earlier than last year
· improvements to the Hunterbrook soccer field
· improvements to the London Woods
fields
· completion of new parking lot adjacent
to the high school
· lowering the level of Sparkle Lake
(see below)
· demolition of old Parks & Rec office building at Sparkle Lake
· swimming pools have been
sandblasted and are ready for painting
Mr. DiBartolo also said that the town had saved
$80,000 on the new boiler for the YCC by changing the installation date and
that $45,573 had been saved on overtime, mostly in the Water Dept, and not
including any snow related overtime.
In the Water Department he has instituted a value turning program that should
reduce water loss and is going after non payment of
water bills. He mentioned one business that has not paid a bill in 10 years;
the total was $20,800. The department is also metering water sales to
businesses that fill up at hydrants for spraying.
His goal is to reduce water loss, which he estimated at 14% and called
"way out of control," to 5-6%. He can accomplish this, in part,
with new software that allows him to shut off specific lines once a leak is
discovered.
On the Legacy Ballfields, he told the board that
this would be the highest priority for all the departments under his control
in the coming weeks. He could not estimate how long the job would take (the
town has the responsibility for cutting the trees and preparing the site; an
outside firm will do the final "finishing" for the fields.) as the
DEC and DEP will only allow the town to disturb 3.3 acres at a time; as each
area is stabilized, crews will move on to the next area.
Mr. DiBartolo is investigating purchasing a used
"roller" for use in preparing the fields. The roller would be sold
when the job is finished. He estimates that renting a roller for four months
would cost $20,000-$30,000 but that he could get a used roller for
$12,000-$18,000 which he could then sell.
Blacktop: Because the price has risen from $60.20 to $89.90 a ton from 2007
to 2008, the highway department will only be able to pave 3-4 miles of road
this coming season.
Sparkle Lake: Mr. DiBartolo has obtained a
wetland's permit to lower the level of the lake (which has already been done)
although he said that town engineer Sharon Robinson said that one wasn't
needed. He told the board that neither Mohegan Lake or
Shrub Oak Lake get wetland's permits when they are lowered.
He defended his plans for the revitalization of the lake in the face of being
"beaten up on" and that one or two people didn't like the plans. He
said that if the fish didn't like the blue fiber optic light on the fountain,
he would shut off the light. He didn't think the light would alter the
ecology of the lake. He also stated that the lake was looking "great"
after having lowered the water level.
He explained that the aerator/fountain would not involve any digging of
trenches (the hose would drop into the water where the current cage is
located) and that therefore no wetland's permit would be needed for that
activity. He said that an aerator/fountain would be better than a simple
aerator. Councilman Bianco stated that as long as
the fountain didn't require any electric cable in the lake, no permit was
needed.
Councilman Metz said he had received inquires from
homeowners in the Junior Lake area wanting to know if Mr. DiBartolo
could initiate similar type improvements for Junior Lake.
Councilman Bianco asked Mr. DiBartolo
to copy the board on his projects as he does for highway department projects.
Mr. DiBartolo said he appreciated the trust the
board had in him.
July
15, 2008
French Hill Pump Station
The board authorized the supervisor to sign an agreement for the design of
the French Hill Pump Station Rehabilitation Project.
August 5, 2008
Sparkle Lake: Eric DiBartolo,
Director of Labor Operations stated that he wanted to correct the record on
two issues dealing with the town work force. He noted that despite the
criticism he had taken about the renovation of Sparkle Lake, the lake was in
very good condition and that he had received many letters thanking him for
the improvements he had made. He said that he was looking in to
rehabilitating Crystal Lake next year.
Vactor machine: Mr. DiBartolo also said that the vactor
machine that had been purchased by the Water Department for $284,725 but
which could not be used because it had been incorrectly speced
would be returned to the vendor for a 4% restocking fee that would cost the
town $11,360. He is currently checking with other towns before drawing up new
specs and purchasing a new machine.
August 19, 2008
Although on the agenda, Councilman Campisi said he
thought that the board wasn't ready to advertise for bids for the a new sewer
vaccum truck, to which Town Clerk Alice Roker responded, “trust me, it's
okay” without adding any explanation.
In response to a question during the second Courtesy of the Floor as to what
the unspoken issue was about, Ms. Roker said she
had had a discussion with the town comptroller and there was some question
about the disposition of the existing vactor truck
that the town had tried to sell at auction but for which it received no bids.
She did not elaborate. She explained that if the board voted to authorize her
to advertise for bids, she would not proceed with the advertising until the
board was ready to proceed with the purchase. The board gave her the
authorization.
September
23, 2008, work session: Update on combined operations
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo and Pat
Lafero, head of the town's Department of
Environmental Conservation, gave a third quarter update to the town. A copy
of the full report is available in the town clerk's office.
Mr. DiBartolo reported that five budgeted position
have not been filled and will not be included in his 2009 budget request,
resulting in a $365,000 savings. He said that overtime in 2008 from Jan-Sept
had been reduced by about $95,000. He attributed the savings to the ability
to combine the labor of several departments. Overtime in the water department
was down but up in the highway department due to the illness of one worker
who had to be replaced by a higher salaried person. In general he said that
town staff was “doing more with less.”
Mr. DiBartolo also explained that he had notified
condominium owners that the town would charge a $350 fee if water department
services were needed over the weekend for non emergency calls.
He also suggested that the town try to add Sunday flextime to the CSEA
contract.
He is also planning to centralize all town purchasing in the town's central
garage, although Town Clerk Alice Roker noted that
the Yorktown school district was interested in working with the town on joint
purchases and that this issue needed to be discussed further.
Councilman Metz noted that he had gotten lots of compliments about Sparkle
Lake (Mr. DiBartolo said the iimprovements
cost under $10,000) and requests from residents of the Junior Lake who wanted
similar improvements be made there. Mr. Di Bartolo
said he was planning to cut shrubs and aerate Junior Lake at a possible cost
of only $2,00-$3,000 as there was no swimming in the
lake and as long as his plan didn't present any problems with the town's
insurance carrier. He said that improving Crystal Lake would be more
difficult as there wasn't as much town owned land surrounding it as Junior
Lake.
Ms. Roker asked if there was any correlation
between the aerators in Sparkle lake and the absence of geese in the water.
Mr. DiBartolo said he didn't know but would look
into it.
YCCC: Mr. Lafaro reported that the new boiler has
been installed in the YCCC and that it will use between 8-9 gallons/hr
compared to the older boiler that used 22 gallons/hr.
In response to a question from Mr. Roker about the
status of fire code violations in the building that dated back to the early
1990s, Mr. DiBartolo reported that they had all
been corrected except that some work remained to be done on the sprinkler
system in the auditorium (he was waiting for a plumber to hook up a pipe that
had been installed.) He explained that the new, less expensive system, would create a water curtain spray between the
stage and the rest of the auditorium and would be $60,000-$75,000 less than
other options. The new alarm system has been installed and is functioning and
improperly stored materials have been removed.
Legacy Field: Mr. DiBartolo reported that work had began on the entrance road. If the current work cannot
complete the covering of the gas line by November 1st, additional
work on the project will have to wait until next year. In a separate action,
the board awarded a contract for $131,000 to remove the trees and stumps from
the site. (A second bid came in at $252,000.) How the trees would be disposed
of what not explained.
March 24, 2009, work
session
New Department of Environmental Conservation fees
On the recommendation of Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo, the board voted to increase the following
costs and bring them more into line with the town's actual costs. The new
costs will go into effect immediately.
a. leaf bags, which cost the town 29 cents a bag and
currently sell for 25 cents will be increased to 30 cents. (Mr. DiBartolo initially suggested a 50 cent charge.
b. The cost of recycling bins will be increased to $6.00 from $5.47.
c. The cost of a special bulk pickup will be increased to $35 from $25. The
rate hasn't been changed since 1983. Mr. DiBartolo
explained that it is not possible to charge based on the amount collected and
that only a flat rate was workable. He initially suggested a $50 fee which
the board felt was too high.
Change to bio diesel fuel
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo advised
the board that as part of the town's commitment to be “more
green” he will be switching to bio diesel fuel which will cost 4
centers more per gallon but also cut fumes.
April
7, 2009
Town vehicles
During Courtesy of the Floor, Steve Gardner called attention to the fact that
some town trucks and vehicles did not have adequate safety lights on them and
that slow moving vehicles did not have the required triangular signs. He said
both were needed for safety reasons and suggested the that
the town comply with federal and state regulations.
In response Highway Superintendent Eric DiBartolo
defended the safety record of his department and his record since taking
office in 1995.
Highway Department Vehicles
April 21, 2009
Citing documents relating to the inventory of vehicles and equipment in the
highway department that he had obtained as a result of a Freedom of
Information request, and which he said were incomplete and “like swiss cheese,” Steve Gardner called attention to
the fact that in the 12 years that Eric DiBartolo
has been highway superintendent, the town has spent $134,000 on four, or
possibly five cars, for the superintendent's personal use, or about $40,000
every three years. He compared that expense to the types of cars that
previous highway superintendents had used.
In a second courtesy of the floor, he said that in the past 11-12 years, the
number of vehiccles in the department had doubled
from 32 to 80. He raised the issue of the cost of maintaining and operating
these vehicles, suggesting that it might be more cost effective to contract
out some services, such as snow plowing, tree work, drainage and paving as
was done in the past. He said he had been told that the $245,000 paving
machine the town bought 10 years ago was broken down and was stored uncovered
outside during the winter months, jeopardizing its delicate machinery.
April
29, 2009, work session
Park issue
Although not on the agenda, there was a brief discussion about a disagreement
between Mr. DiBartolo and another town employee
over who had jurisdiction to change some locks at an unnamed town park
facility. Mr. DiBartolo said the locks had been
changed as a common sense measure that would save the town money. Councilman Campisi advised him, however, that changing the locks was
not a maintenance issue and that it was not an issue for Mr. DiBartolo be worry about.
May
5, 2009
Highway Department issues
Steve Gardener maintained that Yorktown is not providing its highway workers
with safety equipment up to NYSDOT standards. This equipment includes
lights and placards on equipment and safety equipment for workers. He
cited worker health and safety issues and potential Town liability. As
part of his presentation, Mr. Gardener provided the Town Board members with
photocopies of a Journal News front page photo showing Yorktown
Highway Department workers working filling potholes without appropriate
safety gear. He also donned a reflective vest and hard hat for his
presentation.
Mr. DiBartolo responded to criticism leveled by Mr.
Gardener at previous Town Board meeting during courtesy of the floor.
He said that prior to 1996 the Town's dependence on private plowing and tree
services had been very costly with poor accountability. Having this work done
by Town employees with Town equipment, as is now the case, provides better
service more economically. Mr. DiBartolo
pointed out that all his predecessors drove Town vehicles, but he requires a
large truck because he actually uses it for snowplowing and carrying
equipment such as chain saws. Mr. DiBartolo
also said he found it strange that Mr. Gardener had money for props used in
his courtesy of the floor presentation, but not to pay outstanding
taxes. He wondered how someone who could not manage personal finances
could hope to manage the Highway Department's $5 million budget.
At the second courtesy of the floor, Mr. Gardener said he fell behind in his
property taxes during a time period when his parents were ill and caring for them was his first priority.
Library roof
April 22, 2008 work session
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
advised the board that bids for the new library roof had come in at $242,000.
(The bid will be awarded at the May 6th public meeting but he
wanted to give the board a "heads up" so that work could begin
ASAP.) He explained that $70,000 of the cost will come from a grant the
library obtained through Senator Liebell; the
remaining funds will come from the $5M bond authorization the town approved
earlier. Councilman Bianco noted that the project
had not been included in the earlier plans for the bond issue but Councilman Campisi said that since the town had saved money on other
capital projects funded with the $5M, there would be funds to finance the
unplanned for roof expense. (Note: to date, only a portion of the $5M has
been borrowed or committed.)
May 6, 2008
The board unanimously approved a bond authorization for $100,000 to pay for a
portion of a new roof at the library. The total cost of the project will be
$252,727, with $70,000 coming from a grant that Senator Liebell
previously had obtained for the library. Mr. Bianco
asked where the additional $80,000 would come from and told Mr. DiBartolo that he would appreciate getting the paperwork
on this type of expense prior to the meeting. Mr. Campisi
thought the additional funds might be in the 2008 library budget but no one
was sure. Mr. DiBartolo said that town comptroller
Joan Goldberg would email the board the next day with the details of the
financing. The bid was awarded. The new roof is expected to last for 30
years.
September
22, 2009 work session
Security gate at rear of police station
At the request of Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo,
the board agreed to erect a gate at the rear of the police station to secure
gas pumps used by town vehicles. The gate will be closed during off hours and
a key will be in the police station. He explained that this location was the
only one with gas pumps that was wide open. Her
added that the gate will only be an inconvenience for employees needing to
fill up during “weird hours.” The gate will remain open on Tue
and Thur evenings when court is in session as
prisoners are brought in from a rear entrance.
Shrub Oak Swimming Pool
April 22, 2008 work session
In a brief discussion, Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo advised the board that an additional work had
to be done on the pool before it will be ready for use. The town had planned
to cement and paint the pool surface after it had been sandblasted, but the
Westchester County Department of Health said that the pool surface had to be
retiled, not painted. No cost for the additional work was discussed. The
project will be advertised for bids at the May 6th meeting. The
board is anxious to have the pool ready by the beginning of the swimming
season.
Central Garage
May 6, 2008
Mr. DiBartolo announced that in the next few days
the central garage located behind the Police Building would relocate to the
Highway Department building and that all town vehicles would now be repaired
at that site. Mechanics who previously worked for the Water Department, the
Central Garage and the Highway Department would now all be located in the
same facility.
Initially, the plan was to relocate the central garage to the Water
Department building in Shrub Oak but the needed renovations proved too
costly. Under the new plan, the Highway Department will store some of its
vehicles in the Water Department garage.
Wood chips
for playgrounds
May 6, 2008
Wood chips prepared by the town will now be used for the town's playgrounds,
replacing chips that were previously purchased from other vendors (and the
town prepared chips sold to other vendors). Mr. Di Bartolo
reported that the chips had been tested by a outside
firm for its compaction properties and that the town “now has a permit
to use the chips for the next five years.” He did not say who issued
the permit.
Energy
Conservation
May 20, 2008
During the Courtesy of the Floor portion of the meeting, Director of Labor
Operations Eric DiBartolo provided the board with
the following updates.
a. Energy efficient vehicles. He has put a hold on his earlier plans to
purchase energy efficient “smart cars” while he is looking into
some negative reports about them. Councilman Bianco
noted that he had advised Mr. DiBartolo that one
problem with the cars was that they required hi-test gasoline which would
make them more expensive to operate. Mr. DiBartolo
also plans to purchase some 3-wheel vehicles (possibly known as “cushmans”) for use by town employees for running
errands in and about town. Memos have also gone out to town employees that
when using town vehicles, they should not let cars idle more than 3 minutes.
In response to Councilman Metz's question about the feasibility of using
ethanol, Mr. DiBartolo said that there were
currently problems associated with their use in town vehicles.
b. Mr. DiBartolo advised
the board that diesel fuel has increased in cost from $1.52/9/per gallon in
2007 to $3.79/9.
c. At the YCC, efforts are underway to reduce electric usage by installing
automatic light switches and installing more energy efficient light bulbs.
Fleet Committee (Town Vehicles)
11/27/2007 (work session)
1. issue was whether to bring police cars into
purview of existing committee.
2. Bianco felt police cars had different needs;
maybe should be left to police to decide
3. DiBartolo said police chief was on committee
4. There had been past issue where chief has done things with old cars that
might have been done differently if under purview of the committee
5. all agreed that chief has done a good job on
getting very good price on new police cars
6. after chief walked in to discuss another issue, DiBartolo must have spoken to him as he later told board
that chief had no problem with fleet committee dealing with police cars
7. as a result of fleet committee, town vehicles are
now almost all same brands; very much unlike before when each department head
could recommend his personal brand preference and town had to stock parts for
different brands.
8. DiBartolo talked about how there would be a
central garage
May 20, 2008
For a discussion about "smart cars" and 3-wheel "cushmans" see: Energy
Conservation
October 28, 2008, work session
Town Vehicle Repairs
Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo
requested the board adopt a policy statement that all town vehicle repairs
will go through the Fleet Committee composed of Town Comptroller Joan
Goldberg, Pat Lofaro, Environmental Conservation
Superintendent, and himself.
The town's central garage was recently relocated from behind the police
station to the highway garage. As vehicles come in for repair, they will be
attended to according to a schedule and work will only stop on vehicles
currently being repaired in the event of an emergency. Mr. DiBartolo also said that the town had an unexplained
inventory of 500 tires and that from now on,
departments would not be able to purchase tires on an “as needed”
basis but would have to go through the central garage.
There was also a discussion questioning how many actual police cars there
were (and were some being “hidden”) and the discovery last fall
that in the water department some vehicles were “reserved” for
use by only certain individuals.
Mr. DiBartolo said that by the first of the year,
his office should have computerized records for all vehicles indicating their
mileage, repair history, etc. The records for some departments are already
computerized and the remaining ones are on paper and are being transferred to
the comput.
The board will draft the policy statement for approval at a future board
meeting.
See
also Bids & Contracts for
more information about the purchase of trucks, and Highway Department Vehicles for
comments relating to the number of highway department vehicles.
July 28, 2009, work session
Drainage project on Underhill Ave.
This item was not on the agenda. The town expects $100,000 as a reimbursement
for work done on the Route 118 turning lane. When the money is received,
approximately $62,000 will be used to repair a drainage pipe along an
easement on Underhill Avenue in the general vicinity of Meadows Farm and the
bike path. Details of the project were not discussed.
August 11, 2009, work session
Emergency Culvert Repair/Underhill Ave.
The board authorized the emergency repair to clean and realign of a 36'
culvert on Underhill Ave opposite Yorktown Glass that is on a town easement.
Because the work is considered an emergency (Deputy Town Clerk Diana Quast said there were two memos on file regarding to
issue and that there is a danger of a falling telephone pole), the work was
not bid out. Green Mountain Pipeline Services was selected as the sole
supplier of the type of pipe being used on the job and the highway department
will do additional work on the site. The cost of the job was not disclosed,
only the cost of the piping, at $276 per linear foot.
Fire Zone Regulations
Regulations governing stripping and signage in fire zones
July 28, 2009, work session
This item was not on the agenda and was brought up by Town Clerk Alice Roker.
The town court has thrown out some tickets for illegally parking in fire
zones because the stripping lines were not clearly visible or the no parking signs were not present.
Ms. Roker gave the board copies of a letter from
the NYS comptroller's office that included a copy of a 1987 state attorney
general's opinion that it was the town's responsibility to see to it that the
stripping was done and property maintained. Highway Superintendent Eric DiBartolo said that doing this in all the town's shopping
centers would cost $17,000 a year. He also raised the issue of how the town
could do something on private property.
It was decided that the town attorney would send a letter to shopping center
owners reminding them of the stripping requirement but that the town would
also consider adopting a local law making commercial property owners
responsible for doing the stripping.
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