WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. November 5, 2005: As predicted by WPCNR earlier Monday, the legal counsel for  Hale LLC submitted a letter prior to last night's council meeting asking that the Monday evening Public Hearing on the proposed 10 story condominiums at 97-111 and 100-114 Hale Avenue be postponed until January 3, making it a short 45-minute Common Council meeting Monday.

In other business, the council extended the site plans for Calvary Baptist Church and the senior housing project at South Kensico Avenue and Hadden Avenue for the third straight year, (with the only evidence of construction for the latter, a pile of dirt in the middle of the lot as of last week).

The council approved $100,000 in improvements from the General Fund for renovation of the Thomas Slater Center which Councilman Benjamin Boykin said consisting of replacement of carpeting, restoring exterior retaining walls, and improvements to the rest rooms, and $100,000 for the White Plains Performing Arts Center, a project that was supposed to be self-sustaining when the Council first approved the operators.

In consent agenda ordinance # 31, the council quietly approved $100,000 for the White Plains Performing Arts Center by transferring urban renewal funds into the Main Mamaroneck Plaza Fountain Design and Construction  fund, (the $100,000 coming from that fund), without mentioning the amount of funds on the live telecast of the meeting.

This is $100,000 in addition to the payment the city sends to the White Plains Performing Arts Center nonprofit organization which runs the theater, and in addition to the estimated $192,860  (This was the amount in in-kind services the city provided to the WPPAC in the first year of the theatre’s operation in 2003-2004 – the only year for which “in-kind services provided by the city are documented)  in services the city provides the center at city expense. No one on the Common Council made any comment on this $100,000 bailout of the theatre. Nor has the Council made any public effort or inquiry of the Center’s Board for the direction they are taking the theater which continues to lose money.

By Mr. Stimac’s comments at the recent Common Council meeting, the Performing Arts Center has lost $197,000 its first year, $107,000, its second year, and stands to lose $300,000 in its third year, without $100,000 from the city, and another $200,000 promised by developer Louis Cappelli. In addition, it should be noted that the next show, opening this week, A Christmas Carol, is being advertised as being sponsored  by the Louis Cappelli Foundation.

Environmental Scopings approved for North Shore Community, DEIS for the Pinnacle.

The Final Environmental Scoping Outline, with three pages of amendments was approved for the North Street Community, the senior assisted living luxury condo project proposed for the former St. Agnes Hospital property. Rita Malmud, Councilperson insisted on the inclusion of the three pages, which asked more indepth explanation of issues involving affordable housing; possible impacts of alternatives if the council decided the density and number of units of the proposed senior assisted living condominiums on the former St. Agnes property was too big, and decided to cut the number of units from the proposed 381, and environmental recycling and environmental construction procedures.

The council approved a resolution accepting the Draft Environmental Impact Statement of The Pinnacle. However, environmental activist Daniel Seidel has pointed out to WPCNR that a copy of the DEIS as of Friday was not available to the public in the library or from the city, a violation of SEQR procedures.

Malmud, Delfino support Grace Social Services Center at 96 East Post Road.

Rita Malmud noted that in setting a hearing for the Grace Church Community Services organization on its plans to operate a social service center for homeless persons dropped off in White Plains a few doors down from the Open Arms shelter at 96 Post Road should have hours that allow the center to be “immediately” available when the homeless are dropped off by Westchester County policy at about 6 in the morning when they have leave the county homeless shelter at the County Airport, and when they have to leave the Open Arms Shelter.

New Grace Social Services Center is Planned to locate in the vacant storefront at 96 East Post Road slightly to the left of the white van in this photograph. Open Arms Shelter is the building at far left. Photo, WPCNR News.

Both Mrs. Malmud and Mayor Delfino were very supportive of this project. Mr. Delfino said Grace Church Community Services did a great job and that it was great the county had contracted with them to run the center. The Mayor pointed out that he had said it was horrendous that the county would drop these persons off in White Plains with no place to go, at the time of the Galleria murder in June when a White Plains woman was allegedly killed by one of the homeless persons the county had dropped off.

Malmud sees rosy scenario as CAFRA is released.

With the announcement of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Rita Malmud stated to the audience of thousands out in White Plains in the live telecast.

Holding up the CAFRA report, Malmud said the CAFRA “confirms some good news,” that the work of the last eight years was beginning to pay off, and that the CAFRA “confirms” that “the city is an excellent financial situation.” (Video Capture from WPGA-TV, Channel 75 Live Cablecast by WPCNR News)

She reported the CAFRA shows the city earned a “a surplus of $1.5 million,” (first reported by WPCNR in August, 2005), which she said goes into the general fund, and that the city income has risen 6.8% last year, and that the city fund balance is risen to 22.8 million, as well as an 8.6% increase in sales tax, (also first reported by WPCNR in October, 2005).

Mrs. Malmud did not comment on the First Quarter Financials for 2005-2006, which were also quietly presented at the meeting as part of the consent agenda. Those figures show the sales tax perking at the same rate as one year ago.

Benjamin Boykin in commenting on the CAFRA explained that most of the budget pressures the city was experiencing were personnel-related relating to salary increases and benefits and retirement costs, saying 80% of the city budget was in salaries, which increased the budge automatically 5-6% every year.

Roughly, this means the $89,868,335 in actual salary and benefits expenditures reported by the city for 2005-2005 will increase at the very least $5,392,100 increasing the $117,516,912 expenditure of the general fund  to  $122,909,012, with increases in other costs still to be budgeted.

Mayor Joseph Delfino noted that the CAFRA was showing the development of the city was beginning to pay off. “We knew it wasn’t going to happen right away. We’re starting to get our rewards.”

Nazael Fernandez, Junior Engineer in the Department of Public Works was honored as Employee of the Month for his work on  traffic projections and DPW projects. Mayor Delfino said he was "an engineer's engineer." Mr. Fernandez said "It does feel pretty good in a setting like this to impact the infrastructure of this wonderful city, this promising environment that I love...as I continue to serve. (Video Capture from WPGA-TV, Government Access Live Cablecast by WPCNR News.)