PRESENT: Chair: Pinto. Members: Abinanti, Carsky, Maisano, Noto, Ryan, Wishnie, Latimer. Staff: Emilia Vita, Secretary to the Committee.

ALSO IN ATENDANCE: Village of Mamaroneck: Joe Lanza, Mayor, Phil Trifiletti, Board Trustee; Former Village Officials: Carl Alterman, Myron Tannenbaum, Kate Weingarten, Bob Funicello. Town of Mamaroneck: Elaine Price, Supervisor; Steve Altieri, Town Administrator. Village of Larchmont: Cheryl Lewy, Mayor; Joe Morgan, Village Engineer. City of New Rochelle: Tim Maxwell, Public Works Engineer. Dolph Rotfield, Engineer/Consultant; Melanie Snedcop, resident of the Village of Larchmont.

Mr. Pinto called the meeting to order at 745 p.m. at the Mamaroneck Town Hall, located on Prospect Avenue, Mamaroneck. He thanked all for attending. Mr. Pinto said the reason for this meeting was to be centrally located to better serve the communities and to listen to the comments from the people.

Mr. Pinto mentioned that this Committee has a sub-committee on Infiltration and Inflow, also known as I and I for the sewer system, Chaired by former Mayor Paul Noto and Legislator Richard Wishnie, a former Chairman of the Public Works Committee. This sub-committee was formed at the suggestion of Board Chairman George Latimer, who also represents a majority of the Sound Shore area.

The Committee will conduct a short order of regular business and then follow with comments from the audience which will focus on two areas of discussion: Inflow and Infiltration and Sewer District Consolidation.

*For more details, a tape is on file.

On the motion of Legislator Carsky, seconded by Legislator Wishnie, the minutes of April 14^th were approved as amended and the minutes of April 21^st and 30^th, were approved by a vote of 8-0, none opposed.

Agenda Item #3 (1A7-4/20/98): Croton River Pedestrian Bridge: The Resolution #64-1998, was adopted as last evening’s Board meeting by a vote of 17-0 and is removed from the agenda.

Agenda Item #2 (1A1-4/6/98): Six new projects at the Refuse Disposal District #1, was held over by Legislator Noto. Mr. Pinto said the legislation would be discussed at the next Board meeting. All six projects will be up for bonding, independent from each other and the cost will be $44.7 million dollars over a period of four years (about $11 million annually).

Mr. Pinto gave a brief background on the long standing issue of Inflow and Infiltration, noting the county has to make a decision shortly regarding this issue. He said the sewer problems are causing pollution. Each community will have input in whether the County will act as the lead agency and pay for this via the sewer district or whether each community will be responsible for their own. Mr. Pinto handed out a packet that includes estimated SSES rehabilitation costs, broken down by communities as projected by Commissioner Trelewicz.

The following were comments from the audience:

Elaine Price: Wanted clarification of the numbers in terms of estimated costs in order to discuss at her executive meeting. She also noted that only the State puts the burden on the local and there should be a centralized solution to the I and I.

Joe Lanza: Stressed the importance for dispensation for the local communities who complied with the law and did the necessary repairs, spending millions of dollars and unfair not to get something back in return compared to those communities who did nothing.

Steve Altieri: Referred to the estimated numbers noting that the total is greater for all the communities and needed to have the numbers reconciled.

Dolph Rotfield: The County has always taken the approach to spend the money based on the way they taxed the sewer districts. If this can be done with treatment plants, then tax those who use the sewers including the "tax exempt" institutions, therefore it levels off payments.

Cheryl Lewy: All the sewage treatment lines in the Village of Larchmont converge into one 27-inch pipe. When there are heavy storms, the entryway to that sewage line is not, therefore causing flooding within the residential areas. The entire sewer district needs to be repairs and the problems corrected – a countywide solution.

Mr. Pinto commented that the biggest problem and concern was with those who have complied with the law and the number of communities that have minimal sewers (North Castle for example). Those who have completed renovations of all their problems will be taken into account. He will address everyone’s concerns with the committee and direct the questions to Commissioner Trelewicz for review.

Mr. Latimer said this has been an ongoing problem with his district and other districts along the Sound and the Hudson. There is an overall question that needs to be answered, -- what is the proper role for the County to organize and coordinate this work.

Mr. Latimer asked should the county take the financial burden of the County or should the County tell the municipalities to take the lead. There will be losers and winners under any game plan within the communities.

Mr. Abinanti asked Mamaroneck Village Mayor if he had a type of formula for reimbursement and how far back would he go for a cut off date. Mr. Lanza said he had not yet thought of a formula, but the cut off date should go back as far as when the consent order was sent.

Mr. Wishnie said instead of looking to what was spent, we should move forward to a solution of an ongoing problem. The Committee is currently waiting for an opinion of the County Attorney’s office, noted that the new Administration agrees to solve this problem.

Mr. Ryan inquired about whether a centralized maintenance program would be more cost effective or whether a regional approach would be less expensive. He asked Mr. Rotfeld to comment on why it would be wiser to leave the ongoing maintenance of lines responsibility to the locals.

Being there are such a wide range of issues pertaining to the Inflow and Infiltration, Mr. Pinto will favor the communities’ concerns and bring them forward to the table for review.

Mr. Funicello passed a letter from the Federated Conservationists Association to the Committee members. It noted while in the past the initiative to come to an agreement has differed, the problem still exists. It is hoped that, with the support of the Board and the Administration, action will take place to resolve this problem soon.

While listening to the dialog of the audience and the legislators, Mr. Latimer said everyone should understand that this problem has existed for the past several years. This is a complicated issue; money, taxes, and maintenance are involved and make the issue no longer a singular issue.

Mr. Maisano enjoyed listening to all the officials. As an advocate of the environment, he wants to make sure that when this problem is addressed, there is a permanent solution. He would hope to make a decision this year.

On the motion of Legislator Wishnie, seconded by Legislator Abinanti, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.