by Kathy Savolt -
BOT Votes to Release Confidential Memo
After discussing the existence and contents of a “privileged and confidential” memo regarding affordable housing and the possibilities of earmarking units for Village residents from Village Attorney Robert Spolzino at the February 26th BOT meeting, the BOT vote was unanimous to release said memo to the public. See memo HERE.
In summary, the memo answers several legal questions regarding the Hunter Tier Lot proposal:
1) The Village must do an environmental impact review of any proposal before the sale and development of the site. The process is referred to as “SEQRA” (NYS Environmental Quality Review Act).
2) NYS Village Law gives the Board of Trustees the authority to manage all Village property without a public hearing. Because this power is granted to the BOT there is no legal authority to hold a referendum. This is in contrast to NYS Town Law where the sale of property is subject to a permissive referendum,
3) There are two legal constraints on developing affordable housing at the Hunter Tier Lot – the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Westchester County’s settlement of its affordable housing lawsuit.
4) The conclusion is that a housing program that gives preference to local residents is not a per se violation of the FHA, but it cannot be implemented without doing an impact study on the racial concentration in the area. Based on the case law cited it appears that the Village can give preference to local residents if a thorough analysis of the program shows that such preferences would not create a disparate impact on minority communities and would otherwise comply with the FHA.
5) Westchester County would also have to give their approval for a local preference prior to implementation or risk breaching the settlement agreement and jeopardize future grant money.
Although the path is narrow it looks like there is a way to create a local preference – all dependent upon a thorough analysis of its impact.
Mamaroneck Public Library Reports In
As the due date for the first Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) and the need for the second TAN approaches, Library Board President Ellen Hauptman briefed the Board of Trustees (BOT) on the state of the Library’s finances at the March 11th work session.
The bottom line: things are better than expected. Due to cost cutting and community financial support, the Library did not need to draw down the entire $1.4 million borrowed on their behalf in June 2023.
The arrangement between the Village of Mamaroneck and the Library initially called for $1.4 million to be borrowed in June 2023 and repaid in June 2024. The Library only needed $1.2 million to cover their expenses for this period.
As a reminder, the Library has no authority to issue debt, so the Village issued the notes on the Library’s behalf. The Library will repay the Village the amount borrowed plus interest and fees.
A second TAN for $767,000 will be issued in June 2024 to help repay TAN 1. In addition, the Library will use $438,000 from their reserve to satisfy TAN 1. TAN 2 will be repaid in June 2025 when TAN 3 is issued. June 2026 will end the process with the repayment of TAN 3.
In addition, Hauptman officially requested the Village to issue the second TAN and the BOT agreed to add the item to the next agenda.
Hauptman also thanked Augie Fusco, Clerk-Treasurer, and Laura Vasami, Deputy Treasurer for their assistance in this matter. Hauptman also thanked the community for their support.
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