By Neal Rentz //
The Pound Ridge Town Board agreed June 4 to authorize Supervisor Kevin Hansan to seek state grants for a potential establishment of a Scotts Corners Water District and subsequent water treatment plan for the area. The vote was 3-1 with Councilman Dan Paschkes voting against the resolution and Hansan absent.
Councilwoman Alison Boak said at the June 4 meeting there is $325 million available from the state. “We are working around the clock to get our application in for this,” she said. The deadline for the grant application was June 14. The resolution indicated support for the grant application, Boak also said.
Explaining his “no” vote, Paschkes said the resolution would give the supervisor “unfettered authority to execute any contract.”
An official public hearing to establish the district was held June 11. The importance of creating the new district was discussed in detail at the May 21 Pound Ridge Town Board meeting where several residents, including many from the business district, voiced their support for creating the water district. The discussion included Scotts Corners business owners who spoke of the dire situation created by inadequate water/wastewater solutions that has plagued their stores and restaurants for decades.
Resident Norman Bernstein said there should be “full and fair disclosure” to the town board about details of the project, the water use levels for property owners prior to the completion of the project and how long the project will take to complete. Bernstein said the sewer and water treatment project could cost between $24 and $30 million.
The grant terms need to be presented to the public by Hansan before he is permitted to sign an agreement with the state, Bernstein said. Paschkes said an environmental review was needed and the town board needed to approve a negative declaration, meaning an extensive environmental review would not be required because the action would not have a significant negative environmental impact. If the determination was not being made at this meeting, he wanted to know when it would be voted on.
“I think this is a separate issue,” said Deputy Supervisor Diane Briggs, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Hansan. “This is just allowing us to go forward with the application.”
Paschkes said he wanted to be assured that the project “would be subject to the normal permitting process through the Water Control Commission.'
“This resolution is just authorizing the application,” Briggs replied.
If an environmental review is not conducted, there would be “less points” for the town in seeking funding for the project, said Paschkes.
“We do have a serious problem,” resident James Best said. “This project will not happen without grants.”
Louise Paolicelli resigns
Also at the June 4 meeting, the board voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Senior Program Coordinator Louise Paolicelli, effective June 14. The board also approved a proclamation to honor Paolicelli. Paolicelli, who resides in town, has been in her position for 15 years, running the highly popular Neighbor to Neighbor program.
In a follow up interview, Paolicelli said she was leaving on account of personal health issues and her decision was unrelated to her role in the Recreation Department. “I love my job,” she said. She also explained that her position was created at the request of organizations that work with local seniors. Her duties include organizing events for seniors, such as field trips, and helping seniors receive access to social services, Paolicelli said, stressing that she is not a social worker.
Paolicelli praised volunteers who provide assistance to Pound Ridge seniors, for instance, by helping seniors with grocery shopping and driving to medical appointments. Volunteers also regularly assist in the Café Conant program, which is held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays at Conant Hall. At these weekly events, seniors bring their lunches and enjoy the chance to socialize; tea and coffee are provided.
Paolicelli’s last day was June 13, the day of the N2N Senior Picnic BBQ, which she worked to organize and didn’t want to miss.
‘A safe space for survivors’
Also at the meeting, a presentation on the New Dawn Resource Center in Pound Ridge was made by its vice president, David Ryan, who was the town’s police chief for 23 years. New Dawn is a nonprofit organization that provides and expands support for programs and services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse and human trafficking.
The New Dawn concept began when Gary Warshauer was town supervisor and Richard Lyman was serving on the town board in 2011, Ryan said. Warshauer wanted to create “a safe space here in this building,” Ryan said. “Dick was really the one who got it off the ground,” Ryan said. Prior to the establishment of New Dawn, victims seeking assistance had no local options, and had to travel either down county or north to Putnam County, Ryan said.
Supervisors from five local towns, including Pound Ridge, Bedford and Lewisboro, agreed to create the North East Westchester Domestic Abuse Alliance, Ryan said. “A pretty diverse group” of representatives from faith-based organizations and law enforcement and others comprised the original board of directors, Ryan said.
He noted there have been nine domestic violence-related murders in the five towns, including Pound Ridge, underscoring the need for a local resource like New Day, he said. Each of the towns provides $3,000 in annual funding to the organization, he added. “We don’t disclose the space for obvious safety reasons,” Ryan said, adding no one working for New Dawn receives a salary.
New Dawn, which rents the space but does not itself provide services, has commitments of about $55,000 a year in donations, and it recently received a $50,000 grant from the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Ryan said. “We probably have the most successful peer support group in Westchester County” for victims of abuse,” Ryan said. “It really has blossomed as a safe space for survivors.”
New Dawn provides food for Thanksgiving dinners on an annual basis for 300 families, mainly from northern Westchester, Ryan said. “Thank you, Dave, for your hard work and dedication,” Boak said during the update.
2021 annual financial report dispute
During the first public comment period of the meeting, resident John McCown sharply criticized the town’s handling of its financial statements. The town filed its 2021 annual financial report with the state comptroller’s office a week before the meeting, McCown said. He faulted the report for “improper revenue recognition.”
“What surprised me is that it showed $42 million in revenue for 2021, or four times what the 2021 audit shows for revenue. That is similar to the 2020 filing where revenue was also four times the audit,” McCown said. “Neither of those is GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. You don’t need to take my word for that. The town’s auditor has twice called that improper revenue recognition and has sent correcting journal entries in a letter to management. Because of this, for two straight years the auditor has also stated that a significant risk they identified during the audit was improper revenue recognition.”
Despite the auditor’s warnings, the town filed reports for two years based on improper revenue recognition and the mistakes needed to be corrected, McCown said.
In January when the auditors presented the 2021 audit, they said most of the fieldwork for the 2022 was complete and would be finalized the following week, McCown said. Residents have been told that the 2022 audit would be presented to the town board in March and the 2023 audits presented soon after that; neither have been, he said.
“I don’t understand what is going on with our financials,” McCown said. “Disclosure is good and when the financials are materially wrong and the latest is from 2021, that is bad.” Though town board members did not respond to McCown’s comments during the meeting, Director of Finance Steven Conti did reply to Mr. McCown’s statements later in the week.
“There were inaccurate and misleading public comments related to the 2021 Annual Financial Report,” Conti said. “Mr. McCown was incorrect in his statements that we showed four times the revenue as compared to the audited financials for 2020 and 2021.
Our auditors have explained that this variance is the amount in the custodial account in which we receive taxes for other jurisdictions. The GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) released GASB 84 which changed the treatment of custodial funds. The New York State Open Book website shows $42 million in revenue for 2021 but the detail of the report includes $32,456,902 as an offsetting revenue and expense that accounts for the sharp increase. This is also the exact amount on page 26 of the 2021 audited financial statements.”
“The auditors have not twice called out the town for improper revenue recognition and have not stated that a significant risk they identified during audit was improper revenue recognition,” Conti also said. “The town has not filed reports with improper revenue recognition and the reports that were filed do not need to be corrected. New York state auditors closed their review of the 2021 report and we are moving forward. Mr. McCown makes these statements as factual and absolute which can lead to public confusion. There is a responsibility with public comment to verify the information which could have been resolved before the meeting.”
“Regarding the 2022 town audit, the New York State Comptroller’s Office has been conducting an audit since November 2023,” Conti said. “As they finalize their report, we will work with our auditors to close the 2022 audit and release the financial statements.” Conti said he planned to discuss the 2021 Annual Financial Report at the June 11 town board meeting.
Comentarios