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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMPD-04/21/2015MATTITUCK PARK DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING — PIKE STREET PARKING LOT PROPERTY APRIL 21, 2015 Attendance Russell Williamson, Chairperson Michael Ryan, Commissioner David Prokop, Legal Counsel Lydia Tortora, Clerk Lynne Krauza, Secretary CALL TO ORDER L. Krauza called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. PROPOSED SALE OF PIKE STREET PARKING LOT PROPERTY D. Prokop stated that the purpose of this meeting was similar to the Press Release sent to the Suffolk Times recently. He said that the Pike Street parking lot was acquired pursuant to a referendum for the sum of $2,500 with the intention to develop said property as a park. Ron McGreevy of Mattituck queried that he doesn't see the need for a Referendum and whether we abide by the State laws or does the property have to be sold. D. Prokop stated that the purpose of the Referendum is to have the purchase price approved by the taxpayers of the Park District. Nicholas Deegan said that in 1989 the property was offered to the Mattituck Fire Department for $200,000 and the Fire Department declined. R. Williamson said there is a rumor going around that the Mattituck Fire Department is interested in the, property again. R. Williamson said he feels the property should remain a parking lot for the residents and that the Town of Southold should purchase the property, because they bought the lot behind Capital One Bank on Love Lane and he doesn't understand why the Town is procrastinating. He also said ,that the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for the maintenance of this parking lot and he estimates $100;000+ in costs to repair the -drainage issues alone. Mr. Deegan said that when the Lease was in effect with the Town, the Town paid $1.00 per year and that the Town never upheld their end of the deal by allowing potholes, weeds, etc. to overtake the parking lot. He said it was a hassle to get the Town to address any repairs to the property. M. Ryan reiterated the fact that we cannot Lease the property any longer and that all Commissioners agree that the property should remain as a parking lot and that the logical purchaser is the Town. He said he hopes the Town will end up purchasing the property and if not, we will find another buyer. He said another option is to convert the property to a park if the property is not sold. R. Williamson said he received a call this past winter from a .woman who fell on ice in the parking lot but she wasn't hurt. He said it cost $750 to plow the lot and another $450 to put sand down. -1- M. Ryan said that we need to do our due diligence to abide by NYS law and to do what is right by the taxpayers. He said that he and D. Prokop met with the Town almost a year ago to discuss the Town purchasing said property and expressed our need for fair market value. Victor-DiPaola asked whether we have approached the businesses in that area about the property and the need to sell it. R. Williamson said he attended a Chamber meeting and the business owners present all said they want it to remain a parking lot. R. Williamson spoke about the Mattituck High School students with junior licenses using the parking lot to park for school and we notified the Principal. It got better for a little while and we will need to contact the Principal again. D. Prokop then introduced the Commissioners present for the public in attendance. D. Prokop stated that G. Goehringer recused himself because he serves in a capacity for the Town. Mr. DiPaola asked about parking meters like Port Jefferson and was told that it was not in our mandate. Mr. Zahra suggested a meeting with representatives from the Town. M. Ryan said we did that last June and gave them 90 days to get back to us with any offer. M. Ryan stated that he has given statements to the Suffolk Times and Southold Local. Mr. Deegan said that this discussion with the Town started back in 2011 and how long will we wait. M. Ryan said the next move is to hold a referendum vote and if the voters decide they don't want the property sold, then we will convert it to a park. He said he feels it will cost a significant amount of money to convert it to a park and we may have to go out for a bond. Ron McGreevy said it is better to decide things up front. M. Ryan said this meeting is the first step and we are still hoping the Town will come through. Ron McGreevy asked whether a buyer could keep the property as a parking lot and obtain sanitary flow credits from the Town. He said the property can never be developed due to the water problem from the corner building onto the lot. Mr. Deegan suggested that if the property is sold that we consider using the funds to develop a park at Marratooka Lake, west of the Lake. Drew Fohrkolb said he is glad we are on the same page as the business owners. He suggested a property swap with the Town might be more viable to the Town. -2- M. Ryan said we are open to any dialogue with the Town. R. Williamson said we made about $45 on the boat ramp over the last two years. Mr. Fohrkolb said the boat ramp is a nice spot and closing off Route 48 would be more secure and we could add picnic tables, etc. He said the property swap or sanitary flow credits sounds good too and it is perplexing to him as to why the Town, is delaying. R. Williamson said the ice from this past winter ripped all pilings for floats at boat ramp and there is only one firm that can do the repair work. Drew Heaney from Greenport was mentioned as a possible contractor for the pilings work. Mr. Deegan suggested approaching the Chamber about forming a Business Improvement District to purchase the property. Mr. Zahra suggested putting a chain across the parking lot to get the Town's attention really fast. Mr. DiPaola said he will let Lombardi's know the issues. M. Ryan thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and everyone from the public left the meeting. D. Prokop showed the Commissioners the three quotes he received for auditing services as follows: John Dennehy, CPA - $7,500 Cullen & Danowski -$4,500 to $7,000 Nawrocki Smith - $4,500 . It was agreed by the Commissioners to retain Nawrocki Smith at a cost not to exceed $4,500. A resolution will be adopted at tonight's meeting. This matter will be placed on the May Work Session Agenda. RESOLUTIONS Resolution 2015-31 retaining Nawrocki Smith to perform professional internal auditing services of the Mattituck Park District's financial records pursuant to their Proposal dated 3/12/15 at a cost not to exceed $4,500. Motion by M. Ryan, seconded by R. Williamson, motion carried to adopt Resolution 2015-31. -3- EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by M. Ryan, seconded by R. Williamson, motion carried to go into Executive Session at 6:50 p.m. to discuss matters involving employment of particular persons. Motion by M. Ryan, seconded by R. Williamson, motion carried to come out of Executive Session at 7:45 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT Charles Zahra, Ron McGreevy, Drew Fohrkolb, Nicholas Deegan, Victor DiPaola, Barbara DiPaola and Steve Ammirati were present at this meeting from the public. There being no further business to come before the meeting, motion by M. Ryan, seconded by R. Williamson, all in favor and motion carried to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m. -4- RESOLUTION 2015-31 RESOLUTION RETAINING NAWROCKI SMITH TO PERFORM PROFESSIONAL INTERNAL AUDITING SERVICES RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners of the Mattituck Park District hereby retain Nawrocki Smith to perform professional internal auditing services of the Mattituck Park District's financial records, pursuant to their Proposal dated March 12, 2015, at a cost not to exceed $4,500.00. ADOPTED: 4/21/15 (Unanimous) NOTE: Gerard Goehringer was not present at this meeting. PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING AGENDA Mattituck Park District Board of Commissioners Meeting Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. Presiding Commissioners Gerard Goehringer, Co -Chairperson Michael Ryan, Co -Chairperson Russell Williamson, Commissioner Public Informational Meeting — Proposed Sale of Pike Street Property located at 630 Pike Street, Mattituck, NY — SCTM #1000-140-3-5 SIGN -IN SHEET PRINT NAME BUSINESS NAME (if applicable)