Death and Retirement Shift Deerpark Board Seats as Hoovler Proposes Ethics Policy
The late Ken Smith was replaced on the Town of Deerpark board by
By David Ofshinsky
Councilman Aurthur Trovei opened the March 6 Deerpark Town Board meeting with an emotional tribute to his late brother-in-law, Councilman Kenneth Smith, who died unexpectedly on February 24. He acknowledged Smith as a family man and contributor to the local economy, creating jobs with with his business. Following Trovei, other Town Board members paid homage to Smith.
Then Robert Whitney resigned from the Town Planning Board and was appointed and sworn into Smith’s vacant Town Board seat. Patrick Kean was appointed to fill Whitney’s seat on the Planning Board.
Supervisor Gary Spears handed the gavel to Deputy Supervisor Alan Schock to accept the resignation of Raymond Cerulli as Deputy Highway Department Superintendent. Schock then moved to appoint and approve Cerulli as Highway Department Superintendent. Cerulli, Spears’ son-in-law, replaces Edward Hughson, who retired on March 1. Hughson was Highway Superintendent for 17 of his 38 years with the Town Highway Department. Cerulli was also appointed as parks maintenance superintendent.
Burton Thelander and Philip Niosi were appointed to the Deerpark Police Commission. Then two local laws were proposed. Local Law #1 was proposed to create a moratorium on battery storage facilities prompted by a recent application to the Planning Board for a commercial battery storage facility. As the Town currently does not have zoning laws regarding these types of facilities, the laws need to be decided to assure their proper siting and safety. These are large scale operations that draw electricity off the grid during lower cost off peak hours and pump it back into the grid during higher cost peak hours. The intent is to help meet ever increasing peak electrical demand without having to build new power plants. The law would not impact small residential battery storage applications. A public hearing for the proposed law was set for April 1 at 7 p.m.
Local Law #2 was proposed to revamp the Town’s ethics policy, which has remained unchanged for decades. The effort is led by Councilwoman Christa Hoovler, who is working on draft documents. A public hearing for the proposed changes was set for April 1 at 7:10 p.m. The Town Board decided to delay appointments to the Ethics Committee until the new policy is in place.
The Board approved preparation of an application for 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The Town has received these funds in the past, and they can be used for a number of public service efforts. A public hearing to review the application was set for April 1 at 7:15 p.m.
With the low bid of $56,363, Circle Electric Corp. was awarded the contract for electrical work at the new Highway Department pole building.
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