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Robert L. Cox III, Mayor
November 2014
FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK
Our next Board meeting will be held at 6:00 PM this upcoming Thursday, November 20th, at the Hotel
Pennsylvania, at 401 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan. Unfortunately the days have long passed when we could
reserve the discussions of critical items to the summer season. There are simply too many important and time
sensitive matters that require our attention and action on a year round basis. For that reason we do our best to
communicate frequently and strive to alert the community to important matters that we have on our agenda. The
meeting coming up this Thursday is no exception and we strongly encourage you to participate whether in person
or via a web based connection. We have a full and important agenda of items before us. The agenda can be
found at http://www.saltaire.org/agenda.pdf, but there are certain items on the agenda that are very timely and
have more significance to our off-season plans and for next season, and therefore I will provide a brief overview
here.
Saltaire Market
We conducted a public bid opening on November 14th for the construction of the Saltaire Market pursuant to
the approved conceptual plan. New York State Law requires that a project of this size and scope be publically
bid in four separate categories, on top of which we requested a number of alternates to find the least expensive
solution without compromising quality. All of this makes analysis of the bid results more complicated and we
are are still working through the numerous bid numbers to come up with a set of the most feasible and cost
effective options for the Village. One of those options will include waiting to construct the permanent market
building in the following (2015-16) offseason, and in that scenario we would look to put up a temporary market
to serve the needs of the Village for the summer of 2015.
We will present the cost and scheduling options for discussion at the meeting, to be followed by a discussion of
the best mix of methods to finance the project. The various methods include asset reallocation (cash and/or
land), special per-home assessments (one-time or multiple-year), and long-term borrowing. Trustee Connolly
will lead the discussion on the matrix of options available for financing the Market.
On the ground in the meantime, the old buildings have been demolished and carted away. The property is vacant
and ready for the installation of the sanitary and foundation systems, but we are still waiting to hear final word
from the Department of Environmental Conservation regarding our application to rebuild. Our building
application was delayed by a few weeks as a result of a last minute protest that was filed, but that has now been
resolved and we feel confident that we are now very close to obtaining the necessary environmental and health
permits. While we have a contract in place and a builder on site and ready to begin, we cannot begin the first
phase of the construction, i.e., the construction of the foundation and sanitary system, until the DEC permit is
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issued. This will certainly impact our very tight schedule to have a Market, whether temporary or permanent,
up and running by next summer.
We will delve into these issues in much greater detail at the Board meeting.
The Municipal Building
The construction proposals that we solicited contained a provision as an optional addition, the construction of a
municipal building. This building is an option, not a requirement, and does not impact the construction of the
market building. We are currently preparing a more detailed analysis of the feasibility and costs of renovating
the second floor of Village Hall to determine what the potential is for creating within that space an efficient,
modern, code compliant office space for the Village administration. This analysis will help us make a more
informed decision with regard to the need for the construction of a municipal building in the market complex
property, this year or in the future, or if at all.
Ball Field
The renovation of the Saltaire Ball Field is complete. You can see the finishing touches being completed on the
field at http://www.saltaire.org/ballfield.htm. We are waiting for the contractor to install the new, higher fence
and replace the back stop. That should be done before Thanksgiving. The only thing that will be left is to rebuild
a more functional bleacher system to match the quality of the new field.
Walkways
The Contractors are making good progress on both Marine Walk- http://www.saltaire.org/marine.htm, and
Broadway- http://www.saltaire.org/broadway.htm. Marine from Lighthouse to Bay Prom should be complete
by the end of November, while Broadway will take a little longer due to its width. When other sections of
walkways are started, the Village office will reach out to the impacted homeowners to keep them abreast of
walk-closures and progress.
Beach Project
Now that the lawsuit filed by the National Audubon Society - which challenged the sufficiency of the
environmental assessment performed by the Army Corp of Engineers (ACE) - has been dismissed in our favor,
we are working with the ACE, the County and the State to get the project back on track. Although there appears
to be no more legal or regulatory impediments in our way, that delay has made the schedule for getting sand
onto Saltaire’s beach this off-season even tighter. However, if we can process all of the easements and
acquisitions required, we may still be able to piggy-back onto the Robert Moses Park project and beat the Piping
Plover deadline of April 1st. We will be coordinating with our oceanfront homeowners in the next few weeks to
assist in that process, and therefore make Saltaire available to the dredges if the schedule allows. Failing that,
we will have to cross our fingers for a mild winter storm season and rely on the Trapbag system and the natural
accretion of sand on the beach to protect us.
Revisions to the Village Zoning Code
The comprehensive revision to the zoning code is being presented for discussion at a Public Hearing during the
November 20th meeting. It has been a long and arduous process to arrive at this point, and there will probably
have to be a few more tweaks after the Board hears public comments at the meeting. However, the current draft
is the product of the work of the Board of Trustees in conjunction with extensive public discussion and input
from the Architectural Review Committee as well as an expanded group of resident builders, architects and
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engineers. The document is available on the village web site at http://www.saltaire.org/ll1.pdf, which includes
a one page summary of the changes, and we encourage you to review it and provide the Board with any questions
or comments at the meeting or in writing.
Other Matters
 We will be emailing the link for the 2015 parking application within the next couple of weeks. Look
out for the email and send back the application within the prescribed time if you want to reserve your
parking spot for the 2015 summer season.
Board of Trustee Meeting Attendance Options
As stated earlier, our next Board meeting will be held at 6:00 PM this upcoming Thursday, November 20th, at
the Hotel Pennsylvania, at 401 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan. You may also remotely join the meeting via your
computer at Go To Meeting. You can find the specific agenda items and the remote connection instructions at
the following link to the Village website - http://www.saltaire.org/agenda.pdf.
I hope to see or hear from you at the meeting, and if not, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
Mayor Robert L. Cox III
Trustee John Zaccaro Jr
Trustee Alexander K. Chefetz
Trustee Frank Wolf
Trustee Ann Connolly
Village Office (631) 583-5566
Village Security (631) 583-5572
In Case of Emergency While in Saltaire, Call 911
Village Website: www.saltaire.org; Email: [email protected]
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