There were four public hearings held at Monday’s Common Council meeting.

The City of Peekskill held hearings on graduated fines, battery energy storage system moratoriums, the designation of bus loading on 1200 Brown Street, and amendments to the water department city code.

The proposed Water & Sewer Department amendments would make property owners responsible for replacing their water meters at their own cost if those meters monitor water flow in pipes of diameter greater than one inch.

Water & Sewer Superintendent David Rambo said the department and city attorney determined there was a lot of ambiguity to one inch and over one inch meters in the city code, necessitating clarification.

“The Water & Sewer Department can handle replacing and taking out an up to a one inch water meter, that’s an easy fix for us,” Rambo said. “But when it gets into the larger meters, and it’s listed here as over one inch, we’re not capable.”

According to City Attorney Eric Gordon, while the city is responsible for less than one inch meters going forward, there is still a significant fee to have the city install those meters.

Robert Sullivan, resident and president of the Woods III of Westchester Homeowners Association, said there was nothing ambiguous about the city code, saying that the replacement and repair of meters is at the cost of the city.

“It’s not like we’re getting a service here,” Sullivan said. “They’re your meters for your purposes and for us to have to pay this cost, simply because the city doesn’t have the capability of maintaining them, replacing them, is not fair.”

Resident Elena Walker agreed with Sullivan, saying the cost would be tough on seniors and those on fixed incomes.

“Insurance has gone up, and everything’s going up,” Walker said. “So passing it on is not fair.”

Hearings held on batteries, bus loading, and graduated fines

The city is also proposing a local law implementing a six month moratorium on battery energy storage systems over 80 kilowatt hours.

City Attorney Gordon said several significant fires from the systems raised concerns from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office who formed a fire safety inter-agency to study the systems before approving them on a large scale. 

Gordon noted the small scale ones under 80 kilowatt hours will not be impacted by the moratorium.

Resident Walker said she was content that the city was putting a hold on the systems, adding she believed six months wasn’t enough. She was worried about “the contaminants that come from these things [batteries] when these fires happen,” since the city is located close to the riverfront and waterways.

A public hearing on designating a bus loading zone for an early intervention program at 1200 Brown Street saw no participation from the public and was voted unanimously by the council afterwards. Two parking spaces will be converted to allow six buses to drop off for different sessions during the day.

A public hearing was also held on implementing graduated fines for quality of life offenses, including commercial maintenance violations, fire safety and property maintenance violations, lack of snow and ice removal, and property and building nuisances. The hearing saw no participation from the public.

Residents talk proposed transformation of Peekskill Gazebo

The public did animatedly participate when it was for  comments on agenda items, with dozens of residents speaking on the street closure for the flea market and several more on a proposed design for the “Civic Hub.”

The Civic Hub project seeks to transform the Peekskill gazebo into an expanded plaza space with a sculptural pavilion. But some residents said they are not the biggest fan of the proposed design.

Resident Polly Byers said the design did not blend in with downtown and said it looked like “two giant copper bird feeders.”

“Most people want a gazebo,” Byers said. “So whether it needs to be tidied up or, I don’t know, tear it down and put up a new one.” 

Sepp Spenlinhauer, co-owner of Vivid RGB Lighting with husband Councilman Brian Fassett, said he believed it was a beautiful design but ultimately one not appropriate for the location.

“I’m having a hard time getting a sense that it would be a place that people would gather,” Spenlinhauer said. “ It could be a meeting spot where you meet someone, go do something else, but not a space to gather which is how we use that as a community.”

Resident Jen Zawacki noted that she liked the design but shared concerns with another resident about designers not yet being fully sure how they will drain rainwater from the sculpture. Last week the architect said they are figuring out a way to have drainage in a way that nobody can really see it.

Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot, who shared concerns last week about public input this late into the project, also commented, saying she wasn’t arguing for or against any design but noting people tend to want to stay with the old.

“The thing that comes to my mind is the tremendous uproar that happened in Paris decades ago when it was decided to build a glass pyramid in front of the Louvre, and now that has become completely iconic,” Talbot said.

The council voted by majority to open bids for the construction of streetscape improvements and the Civic Hub & Pedestrian/Cyclist Connectivity Project, which includes the proposed sculptural design.

The sole nay came from Councilman Fassett, who shortly after told the Herald, “I was hoping that we were going to divide the way it went out to bid, so that it didn’t get bid as a complete project, that it got bid with the stuff that we know needs to happen versus the stuff that is still decorative and not finalized.”

Deputy Mayor Patricia Riley was absent due to being sick. Councilman Dwight Douglas, who is also sick, voted virtually.

Peekskill “Emerald” claims pier as its home

The Fleischmann Pier will be home to the Emerald Princess.

The Common Council unanimously voted to enter into a license agreement with RMS Cruises to operate cruises from April 2025 to December 2025.

Before the vote Economic Development Specialist Matthew Rudkioff noted that the license agreement for the 2025 cruising season would not preclude other boat operators from being able to use the dock.

It will also be a positive cash flow for the city, Rudkioff said, providing a number of different revenue streams with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 ridership a year, as well as harbor management activities.

Part of the plan by RMS Cruises Captain Frank Adam includes hiring his boat staff and crew locally, and holding workforce development and marine skills job training opportunities.

Mayor Vivian McKenzie thanked Rudkioff for listening to the council last week and putting a plan in place, “that’s going to kick off on the top of the season, that’s going to bring a great outlet to the City of Peekskill for our residents and for everyone to enjoy.”

Quality of life updates and resolutions passed

A court awarded the City of Peekskill a $75,000 fine in a judgment related to overcrowding and illegally occupancy, City Manager Matthew Alexander shared in his quality of life updates.

Other updates included the Department of Public Works sanitation department implementing a six week trial for downtown pickups each Sunday starting at 4 p.m. and removing garbage cans from Monument Park where Alexander said some people dump household garbage.

It was also shared that the police department made multiple drug and trespassing arrests at 901 Main Street and that on March 18 an officer talked someone out of suicide from the top of James Street Parking Garage.

The Council voted on 21 resolutions, with 19 passing unanimously, two passed by majority, and another two removed from the agenda.

Some of those resolutions included accepting a $14,000 Youth Sports and Education Program grant, requesting to bid for a variety of projects, request to remove oil tanks at the police station, and a letter of support for the YWCA as it pursues federal funding opportunities for its White Plains and Central Westchester’s Activity Center Upgrade Project.

The council also approved two public hearings on April 14 for a proposed law expanding the ban on outdoor smoking in certain public places and another on proposed taxi fare rate increases, and another public hearing on April 28 for proposed family and group family daycare regulations amendments. 

(Councilman Ramon Fernandez who is a taxi driver abstained from the taxi related public hearing vote.)

Mayor McKenzie recused herself from a resolution authorizing the retention of Sterling Appraisals to complete an appraisal of 979 Main Street, which houses McKenzie’s business, Kathleen’s Tea Room. The amount budgeted for the appraisal is $2,500.

Tax Assessor Robert Morin explained to the Herald on Thursday that an independent firm appraising the property is necessary due to Morin’s conflict of interest as a city employee working for McKenzie, Common Council, and city manager.

“It’s a pretty simple appraisal, but I shouldn’t be the one doing it,” Morin said. “We hired an outside independent appraiser to create what we call a preliminary tax certiorari appraisal. It’s the same appraisal that we would obtain if we were litigating commercial property assessment.

According to the city website the tax assessor, “is the official who estimates the value of the real property, which is converted into an assessment (one component in the calculation of real property taxes).”

The sole nay on the resolution came from Fernandez, who in a statement told the Herald he voted no because he does not agree that taxpayers should have to pay for the appraisal of the recently erected building owned by the mayor. 

The funds for the appraisal would come from the Contracts portion of the city budget.

Fernandez, who has previously said he is running for mayor, said, “I disagree with the mayor’s double standards in this entire case. She absented herself from the vote in front of the public and cameras, trying to show that she didn’t participate in the decision or the discussion, because she recognizes it as a conflict of interest.”

Fernandez continued, claiming, “When the cameras weren’t there and there was no public, she participated in the meeting where we discussed this issue. They ignored me when I complained that it was a conflict of interest for her to be present.”

In a statement Friday morning, McKenzie said the council followed the recommendation of the Ethics Board and the Corporation Counsel in the discussion and voting of the matter.

“Unfortunately, as we enter the political season there will always be attempts to politicize issues for political benefit,” McKenzie said. “The people of Peekskill want to see results, integrity and civility from their elected officials, and that is what I will continue to deliver.”