January 16, 2024

Saturday was very special, with the post-Covid return of the Cooperative Scholarship Fund honoring local leaders in our community and raising funds for college scholarships for local students. The Fund also celebrated its 60^th anniversary, and we hope it continues to grow for years to come.

On Sunday, many of our local elected officials and members of more than 20 houses of worship in the greater Ossining area attended a moving and meaningful interfaith celebration at Star of Bethlehem in Ossining. Thank you, BOMA (Briarcliff Ossining Ministerial Association), for all you do in our community. This is a beautiful event held every MLK Day for the community, so mark your calendars now for 2025!

As we enter a new year, we want to remind everyone in the community of a few quality-of-life issues that affect all of us. With the thought that every action by one person affects many, here are some ideas for your consideration.

Please recognize that going around stopped school buses is illegal and extremely dangerous. With the winter conditions in mind, please take the time to drive cautiously near and around school buses – for the sake of all our children.

As the winter conditions intensify for the next couple of months, please take the extra step to properly dispose of your garbage, large and small. Click here for the Village's Recycle Right Calendar.

This past weekend, we saw lots of garbage flying around, blocking sewers, and hitting cars. If you see trash put to the curb incorrectly or in a manner that can endanger your neighbors, please call the Department of Public Works at 914-941-6111 during regular business hours or the police during evenings and weekends at 914-941-4099. The Village will pick up trash as soon as possible and issue tickets as appropriate. Thank you for helping to keep Ossining clean.

Lastly, a word about idling: In Westchester County, idling motor vehicles within the County is prohibited for more than three consecutive minutes when the vehicle is not in motion. This applies to drivers who own, operate, lease, supervise, or who otherwise have charge, supervision, or control of a non-emergency motor vehicle. Below is helpful information from the Department of Environmental Conservation for why you should not idle:

Health Effects of Idling - Keeping the engine of a parked car running increases the exhaust levels around the vehicle and increases people's exposure to harmful pollutants if they are nearby. Vehicle exhaust contains pollutants that mainly affect the heart and lungs but can also affect other organs. Health problems that may result from exposure to pollutants in exhaust range from small changes in health that are hard to detect to fatal heart attacks, as well as a range of respiratory effects and lung cancer. Everyone near an idling vehicle is at risk, but young children and people with existing heart or lung disease are more vulnerable to the effects of exhaust.

Environmental Effects of Idling - Exhaust from idling vehicles also damages the environment around us. Carbon dioxide exhaust is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Nitrogen and sulfur oxides from exhaust contribute to acid rain and ozone formation. To avoid negative impacts on our environment, Shut it off!

Last week, I met with the chairs of many of our volunteer municipal committees. The goal was to hear from each of the Chairs how the Board of Trustees can support their work. We covered many areas, and as always, we are grateful for the work these 13 committees conduct throughout the year in support of a more cohesive and problem-solving local government enterprise. The committees, their structures, charters, and contact information are listed on our site. You will notice that on our agenda this week is the proposed appointment of a new Chair for the Landlord Tenant Advisory Committee. 



One specific outcome of this meeting was a request to inform and educate the public more deeply and widely about each of these committees. Beginning next week and each week after, I plan to add a new section to my weekly communication with a "Spotlight" on Ossining's Advisory Committees.

This week’s Legislative Meeting will take place at 7:30PM on Wednesday, January 17^th, at the Court House.

Some items of note:

1. The Board has a resolution authorizing the Village Manager to sign an agreement with Wendel (formerly Mitchell Architects) for a plan to triage renovations at our (5) Village-owned firehouses.

1. Following will be a resolution to appointment Felicia Marquie as Chair of the LTRC for 2024.

1. The Board then has a series of resolutions awarding bids for the various elements of the new Indian Brook Water Treatment Plant construction, including General Construction, Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical.

1. The Board then has a resolution denying the Cabaret License for El Manabita.

1. Next is a set of (7) resolutions establishing the capital projects discussed this week by Treasurer Brennan.

1. Relatedly, there is a set of (5) bond resolutions, each of which is subject to a 30-day permissive referendum, for several of said capital projects, including OFD & OPD radios ($1.1M), a new OPD records management system (RMS) ($500K), a new fire rescue truck ($950K), paving ($590K), and a six-wheel dump truck for DPW ($300K).

Village of Ossining | www.villageofossining.org