Preparations for the City of Peekskill’s 2026 budget are underway.

On Monday, June 23, the Common Council passed one local law and 15 resolutions, including a resolution to authorize the acceptance of the city’s 2026-2033 capital plan.

The city’s charter requires the comptroller to prepare a five-year capital program to be presented to the council three months prior to the final submission of the budget.

The general fund project total is over $144M. Of that, about $78.6M is funded and about $35.3M is not funded. The fund has about $51.26M in grant money, matched by the city at about $11.06M.

The capital plan is distributed as follows: Buildings/Department of Public Works admin ($6.46M), Police Department ($2.28M), Fire Department ($8.4M), Building Department ($402K), Public Works ($41.3M), Youth Bureau ($5.5M), Planning and Economic Development ($49.1M), and Nutrition ($405K).

Council changes city code on procurement policy and ‘best value’

The council passed a local law and resolution making changes to the city’s procurement policy.

The local law repeals a chapter of the city code concerning “procurement policy” and adopts a new “best value” procurement policy for contracts over $20K. It allows the city the option to award certain contracts subject to competitive bidding on the basis of best value, as defined in the original proposal documents, instead of the lowest bid.

The resolution authorized approving the new policy regarding expenditures for purchase contracts, public work contracts, and other city procurements.

The policy allows a department head to award a contract without obtaining multiple quotes for purchases over $3K and under $20K and public works contracts or procurement of professional services for under $35K. 

Both resolutions were passed by majority, with Councilman Ramon Fernandez the sole no vote. Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot was absent. Fernandez did not respond for comment, as of this writing.

Mayor Vivian McKenzie told the Peekskill Herald in a phone call that “best value” gives the city the opportunity to work with other municipalities. She added it looks at procurement not just by the dollar amount but by what’s best for the city.

“Sometimes you’re stuck with getting a vendor who gives you the lowest price, but they don’t give you the best work,” McKenzie said. “And then you have to go back after that vendor to get things redone, and sometimes you wind up spending more money.” 

By switching to best value, said McKenzie, the city goes beyond examining only price, to consider how often a contractor has worked in the city, how many times it has done the job, and whether it’s been successful.

“You’re looking at more things than just a bottom-line dollar, and I think that’s important,” McKenzie said.

Two residents at the meeting voiced their opposition to the resolution; Arne Paglia and Elena Walker took issue with contracts up to about $5K able to be awarded at the discretion of a city manager.

“We really need transparency for government,” Paglia said. “We really need the taxpayers to be paying attention, and it just looks like another dodge.”

Council defers decision on adding bank for city use

The council removed from the agenda a resolution that would add New York Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System (NYCLASS) to the list of official banks for the City of Peekskill to use in 2025.

Prior to the resolution’s pulling, Comptroller Toni Tracy said the bank offered a higher interest rate than the city typically gets through its current banks. 

However, after Tracy answered a council member that the bank was Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)insured, resident Elena Walker pointed out that it was not, leading council members to ultimately pull the item.

Tracy acknowledged that the bank was not FDIC insured but added it only invests in securities allowable by New York State law for public funds like collateralized deposits, securities, and treasury bills. She added she could return to the council with history and a list of other municipalities that use the bank.

The list of the 11 current official banks on the memo, which were authorized for use in 2025 earlier this year, includes Signature Bank, a former New York City bank that shut down in March of 2023.

Comptroller Tracy previously told the Herald the inclusion of Signature Bank was an error and was supposed to be updated to Flagstar Bank, which acquired loans and branches from Signature Bank.

The resolution to include NYCLASS is adjourned to the next meeting.

Passed resolutions: Cannabis microbusiness, indoor soccer, and more

Other resolutions passed include referring a special permit for a cannabis microbusiness to the Planning Commission; reappointing three members to the Peekskill Arts Alliance; and authorizing the termination of an inactive sewer easement at 4-6 John Walsh Boulevard.

The council also voted to refer to the Planning Commission a special permit for an indoor soccer training center at 1 Highland Industrial Park Drive.

Westchester Sports Arena LLC proposes to convert about 18,000 square feet of an existing large commercial building to three fields, practice space, restrooms, and office space. Other current uses in the building include a skate park and a truck mechanic, which would remain if the training center is approved. Developers propose 100 dedicated parking spaces. 

A public hearing on both the center and the proposed cannabis microbusiness will be held at City Hall on July 14 at 7 p.m.

The council also voted to authorize a water grant application to make improvements to the Wiccopee Dam and a broken water main located underneath the Metro-North Railroad Tracks, and a sewer grant application for improvements to sewers along Lower South Street and South Water Street.

In addition, two projects that previously had environmental concerns were authorized special use permits. The Planning Commission previously said it would give its approval on those projects if the applicants followed its recommended mitigations to ensure there were no impacts on the environment.

One of those projects, a proposed auto repair facility for minor repairs at 614 South Street, had concerns from some on the council due to the apartments resting above the proposed facility where work would be done. 

The commission recommended applicants provide a fire barrier and vapor seal between the residents and repair shop, carbon monoxide monitors, a mechanical ventilation system for the repair shop, and a visual and auditory signal to indicate vehicle use of the repair shop driveway with a flagger.

A Zoning Board session on the matter was held on June 18, in which the board voted to approve it without any conditions, Director of Planning Carol Samol said.

The commission also gave several recommendations for a proposed indoor/outdoor go-kart racetrack at 7 John Walsh Boulevard. These include installing an oil-water separator at the catch basins, prohibiting outdoor amplified announcements or spectator viewing areas, and installing a carbon monoxide monitoring system with an emergency exhaust fan within the internal part of the facility.

A sound study of one gas vehicle was measured at 75 decibels at the source, and about 40 to 47 decibels from the public walkway, which is about 50 to 60 feet away. If seven vehicles were on at once, there would be an estimated increase of 11 percent over one vehicle, Samol said to the council on June 16.

The council also voted on a number of items pertaining to youth, including:

• Authorizing the city manager to sign an agreement with the White Plains Youth Bureau to accept a 2024-2025 grant in the amount of $10K to conduct a Grandpas United Program, which mentors youth
• Authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with the Westchester County Youth Bureau to accept a 2025 grant award to implement and operate the 2025 summer youth employment training program for youth aged 16 to 24
• Authorizing the city manager to submit an application for a temporary assistance to needy families grant on behalf of the City of Peekskill Youth Bureau to operate the city’s summer youth employment program

Two residents during the Citizens Desiring to Be Heard portion of the meeting raised concerns about insufficient parking at the Nelson Avenue Garage during the Juneteenth celebration.