[2. Public Session - 7:30 p.m.]
[00:00:06]
ALL RIGHT. SO VERY HAPPY TO WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE PELHAM BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING OF JANUARY 17TH, 2024.PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
AND I'LL ASK MR. ROWE FOR A REITERATION OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTIONS.
WE ENTERED EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS.
OKAY. BY WAY OF OPENING REMARKS, I JUST WANT TO WELCOME EVERYBODY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING ON THIS ICY EVENING.
I THINK WE COULD HAVE ALMOST OFFERED AN ENRICHMENT PROGRAM, AN ICE SKATING OR SOMETHING.
THE WAY THINGS ARE AROUND HERE.
WE HAVE AN EXCITING EVENING FOCUSED ON EDUCATION IN PELHAM.
SO, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO WELCOME OUR STUDENT HONOREE TONIGHT, VINCENT SALERNO.
AND IN A FEW MOMENTS, DOCTOR CHAMP WILL SPEAK TO HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HARD WORK.
ALSO, THE BOARD CONTINUES OUR FOCUS ON EDUCATION AND HIGH ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR EVERY STUDENT BY INVITING MR. BERKOWITZ TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON HIS VISION FOR PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL.
AS PART OF FULFILLING THE EDUCATIONAL VISION FOR PELHAM AND PROVIDING THE BEST POSSIBLE EDUCATION FOR EVERY STUDENT, THE BOARD HAS INTERVIEWED AND ENGAGED CONSULTANTS DOCTOR MONICA BROWN AND PREM EITEL FROM THE EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING FIRM OF HAZARD AND YOUNG, TO BEGIN WORK ON OUR NEXT FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
AND FROM HAVING MET THEM, I JUST WANT TO SAY I HAVE VERY POSITIVE FEELINGS.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET A GREAT PLAN OUT OF THIS PROCESS.
SO, WITH INPUT FROM THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM, OVER THE NEXT WEEKS, THEY WILL BEGIN WORK ON SURVEYS AND FOCUS GROUPS TO PUT START PUTTING TOGETHER THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
THE BOARD IS ALSO PROUD TO SUPPORT THE PERFORMING ARTS IN PELHAM AND WILL BE VOTING TONIGHT TO WAIVE ALL FACILITY FEES, WHICH I BELIEVE COMES UP TO SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIATION FESTIVAL THAT WILL BE HOSTED IN PELHAM THIS YEAR.
FINALLY, I KNOW WE'RE ALL DEEPLY COMMITTED TO PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATE EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND WE'LL BE VOTING TO APPROVE FUNDING FOR SERVICES AS RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE ON SPECIAL EDUCATION.
ALSO TONIGHT, WE ARE COMMITTED TO HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC, FROM PARENTS AND LISTENING, AND WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MAYOR MULLEN AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SPEAK ABOUT THE PROPOSED STORMWATER, PUMPING STATION AND, TANK AT JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND. I KNOW, I UNDERSTAND, MR. BERKOWITZ AND DOCTOR CHAMP HAVE GRACIOUSLY SAID THAT THEY WILL MOVE THEIR PRESENTATIONS BACK, SO THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN SHARE THEIR SHARE THEIR VOICES.
AND WE'RE ALSO HAPPY TO WELCOME VALERIE MILLER.
YES. I'D LIKE TO JUST TAKE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE, BEFORE WE MOVE AHEAD JUST TO SAY, REALLY, THANKS TO PAULINE, I KNOW SHE WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN SHE FOUND OUT THIS WHOLE CROWD WAS NOT HERE TO HONOR HER, BUT PAULINE HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL, REAL SUPPORT TO ME AS ASSISTANT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
[00:05:04]
AS SECRETARY OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, IN ADDITION TO CLERK FOR THE BOARD.PAULINE CAME IN AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME.
WE HAD HAD A CLERK IN THE DISTRICT FOR 22 YEARS.
AND THEN WE HAD A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SOMEONE CAME NEW TO THE DISTRICT, BROUGHT SOME GREAT ENERGY.
AND THEN CAME, PAULINE, WHO HAD THE EXPERIENCE THAT WE REALLY, REALLY NEEDED AND WAS LOOKING TO STEP INTO FROM A PART TIME ROLE AS A DISTRICT CLERK INTO A FULL-TIME ROLE AND TO REALLY BRING SOME EXCELLENCE TO THAT OFFICE.
PAULINE HAS SINGLE HANDEDLY SHIFTED US INTO THE 21ST CENTURY ON VOTING.
WE WENT FROM PUNCH CARDS WAY BACK IN THE DAY TO A FULLY AUTOMATED SYSTEM.
NOW, IT LITERALLY ALL FITS IN ONE BIN THAT SHE CAN CARRY THERE.
PAULINE IS THERE, START TO FINISH, DAY IN, DAY OUT OF EACH AND EVERY DAY.
AND SHE COULD NOT BE JUST A BETTER PARTNER FOR ME.
SO, SHE IS GOING TO BE SORELY MISSED.
A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I LOVE ABOUT HER.
SHE'S CANADIAN, SO SHE IS SO NICE.
I KNOW THAT'S A GENERALIZATION, BUT IT IS 100% TRUE.
SHE JUST BROUGHT SOME GREAT, GREAT SPIRIT AND KINDNESS TO THE OFFICE.
SHE'S BEEN A GREAT LEADER IN THE OFFICE.
AND SHE MANAGES TO KEEP ME GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO, I JUST WANT TO PROBABLY THANK YOU, PAULINE, AND WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
AND THANKFULLY, SHE'S NOT GOING TOO FAR AWAY.
SHE'S GOING TO BE HELPING US TO TRANSITION.
VALERIE. WHO WE'RE STEALING FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL.
SO NICE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE SOMEBODY INTERNALLY UP IN THE DISTRICT TO FILL HER BIG SHOES.
BUT JUST A LITTLE A LITTLE BIT OF, GIFT FROM ME TO PAULINE.
AND I KNOW THE BOARD HAS SOME THINGS TO SAY, TOO.
AGAIN, I'D INVITE ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT PAULINE.
OH, PAULINE, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT YOUR DEDICATION AS DISTRICT CLERK HAS MADE A LASTING IMPACT.
AND YOU WILL BE GREATLY MISSED BY THIS BOARD.
AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T INTIMIDATE VERY EASILY BECAUSE YOU KEPT US IN CHECK.
YOU WERE LIKE, YOU NEED TO SIGN UP FOR THIS CLASS.
YOU NEED TO BE HERE AT THIS TIME.
AND I REALLY DO, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DID BECAUSE IT MADE THE TRANSITION VERY EASY.
THANK YOU. PAULINE, I KNOW I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE A FEW MONTHS, BUT YOU'VE BEEN SUPER SUPPORTIVE.
THERE'S A LOT TO LEARN, A LOT OF TRAINING AND OTHER THINGS TO DO.
AND THINGS THAT I NEEDED, SO I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
FROM THE MOMENT I EVEN FIRST WAS CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR BOARD OF ELECTION, YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I INTERACTED WITH AND YOUR LEVEL OF ORGANIZATION AND CLARITY OF STEPS AND PURPOSE, LIKE, WOW, IF THIS IS IF THIS IS INDICATIVE OF HOW THE DISTRICT IS RUNNING, I'D LOVE TO BE PART OF IT.
SO, THANK YOU FOR LIVING UP TO THAT INITIAL EXPECTATION AND BEING ON THE BOARD.
AND I THINK I KNOW I CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON YOU TO BE ON TOP OF OUR POLICIES.
ALL THE UPDATES AND DEFINITELY READING THE ELECTION RESULTS.
LAST YEAR I KNEW HAD CONFIDENCE BECAUSE EVERYTHING RAN SMOOTHLY AND BY THE BOOK.
SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND MANY LATE NIGHTS.
AND WHEN YOU'RE DISTRACTED, PAULINE, YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE PAPER AND THE THINGS IN HERE.
[00:10:07]
SO, RESOLUTION.WHEREAS THE BOARD OF THE PELHAM BOARD OF EDUCATION RECOGNIZES MISS PAULINE DAVIES, DISTRICT CLERK AND SECRETARY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT FROM 2020 TO 2024 FOR HER FOUR YEARS SERVING THE DISTRICT AS CLERK AND SECRETARY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
AND WHEREAS MISS DAVIES SKILLFULLY PROVIDED SUPPORT AND PROFESSIONALISM IN HER ROLE AS SECRETARY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, PROVIDING LEADERSHIP AND HELPING TO KEEP THE CENTRAL OFFICE RUNNING SMOOTHLY, AND WHEREAS MISS DAVIES ADMINISTERED THREE SUCCESSFUL BUDGET VOTES AND SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS DURING HER TIME IN PELHAM, HELPING TRANSITION THE DISTRICT FULLY TO A MODERN COMPUTER-BASED VOTING RECORD SYSTEM.
WHEREAS MISS DAVIES HAS PRESIDED OVER COUNTLESS HOURS OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS, TAKING DETAILED MINUTES AND SPENDING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME PREPARING FOR THESE MEETINGS, SUPPORTING THE BOARD AS A WHOLE AND BEING A PART OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE.
AND WHEREAS MISS DAVIES IS RENOWNED FOR MAKING HIGHLY COMPLEX TASKS LOOK EFFORTLESS, AND WHEREAS MISS DAVIES PROVIDED PATIENT GUIDANCE TO NEW BOARD MEMBERS DURING THEIR ONBOARDING, ENSURING A SMOOTH TRANSITION INTO THEIR ROLES AS TRUSTEES AND WAS ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
AND THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, ON BEHALF OF THE STUDENTS, ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS AND PELHAM RESIDENTS, HEREBY EXPRESS ITS GRATITUDE TO MISS DAVIES. AND ALTHOUGH HER PROFESSIONALISM, HUMOR AND EXPERTISE WILL BE SORELY MISSED, WE WISH HER THE BEST OF LUCK IN HER NEXT CHAPTER.
ALL RIGHT. NOW WE'RE GOING TO VOTE ON THIS.
SORRY, VALERIE, DO WE NEED TO? YES. WE ALREADY APPOINTED HER LAST TIME.
OKAY, SO THIS IS JUST SWEARING.
ALL RIGHT. OKAY, SO NOW WE'LL MOVE AHEAD AND SWEAR IN.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
NOW I REALLY DO NEED TO RETIRE.
SO NOW I WILL TRANSITION TO VALERIE, AND SHE'LL DO THE OATH OF OFFICE READING.
I, VALERIE MILLER, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF DISTRICT CLERK OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, ACCORDING TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. OKAY.
OKAY. AND NEXT, WE HAVE A STUDENT RECOGNITION.
[4.1 Student Recognition]
SO, EACH YEAR WE ARE HONORED TO BE INVITED AS A DISTRICT TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE US PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM.AND GENERALLY, FOR US, THAT INVITATION HAS COME THROUGH.
OUR LOCAL ASSEMBLYWOMAN AMY PAULIN AND PELHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE, FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW THAT A PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT HAS BEEN SELECTED AS JUST ONE OF 25 NEW YORK STATE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO BE NOMINATED FOR THIS PROGRAM.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE THAT STUDENT UP AT THIS POINT IN TIME, AND THAT STUDENT IS VINCENT SALERNO.
WE COULD NOT BE PROUDER OF VINCE, AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIM.
AND MR. BERKOWITZ, OF COURSE, IS HERE TO CELEBRATE ALONG WITH HIM.
[00:15:04]
THE US PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE NATION'S THE NATION'S HIGHEST HONORS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.THESE WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS SELECTS SCHOLARS ANNUALLY BASED ON THEIR ACADEMIC SUCCESS, ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE, ESSAYS, SCHOOL EVALUATIONS AND TRANSCRIPTS, AS WELL AS EVIDENCE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEADERSHIP AND DEMONSTRATED COMMITMENT TO HIGH IDEALS WHICH FITS IN SO WELL WITH THE VALUES OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL.
VINCENT HAS EXCELLED AS A STUDENT AT PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND GET READY FOR THE LIST HERE.
HE IS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY, THE NATIONAL MATH HONOR SOCIETY, THE ENGLISH HONOR SOCIETY, SOCIAL STUDIES HONOR SOCIETY, AND SCIENCE HONOR SOCIETY, IN WHICH HE SERVES AS TREASURER.
HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE VARSITY BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL TEAMS AND HAS PARTICIPATED IN VARIOUS EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, THE STOCK MARKET CLUB, BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AWARENESS CLUB, SENIOR PEN PALS CLUB, THE FIGHT ALS CLUB AND THE PELHAM CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CLUB.
WE COULD NOT BE PROUDER OF VINCENT.
THE WORK THAT HE HAS DONE ALREADY AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IS JUST INCREDIBLE.
I THINK IT OVERSHADOWS, I THINK, WHAT MOST OF US THINK THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED IN THREE TIMES THE LENGTH OF LIFE, BUT VINCENT, IS YOU REALLY EVERYTHING THAT YOU EXEMPLIFY IS WHO PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND THE PELHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS REALLY HOPE ALL STUDENTS EMULATE.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AWARD.
OKAY. SO. YEAH, JUST WE'RE HAVING LIVE STREAM TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON AND EVERYTHING'S BEING RECORDED.
YES. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD AGAIN.
THANK YOU TO MR. BERKOWITZ, WHO VOLUNTEERED TO MOVE HIS PRESENTATION BACK SO THAT WE COULD GO FORWARD TO, HEARING FROM PARENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND MAYOR MULLEN.
SO, WE'LL INVITE MAYOR MULLEN TO GIVE HIS PRESENTATION.
[5. Communications and Comments from the Public]
THANK YOU.AND THANK YOU SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS PUBLICLY.
RIGHT NOW, WE'RE FINALIZING THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT TRANSPARENTLY.
OFTENTIMES WHEN PEOPLE ONLY SEE THE FINAL DECISION, THEY DON'T TRUST IT.
AND THEY WONDER WHY OTHER DECISIONS WEREN'T MADE.
SO, WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW EVERYTHING WE KNOW.
I AM JOINED HERE, BY THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM TRUSTEES.
DEPUTY MAYOR MIKE CARPENTER, TRUSTEE HANNON AL-DHARI.
[00:20:02]
ANTHONY OLIVARI FROM I ENGINEERS, ROCKVILLE DIVISION.AS YOU KNOW, I'M CHANCE MULLEN.
I'M THE MAYOR IN THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM.
AFTER WE FINALIZE THE CONCEPTUAL PLANS, WE'LL APPLY FOR GRANTS.
SOME ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS ON THE SMALLER LINES.
CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS, BID DOCUMENTS, THAT SORT OF THING.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION.
WE'RE 18 MONTHS INTO A MULTI-YEAR PROCESS.
WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THE THING MOVING OUT OF RESPECT FOR THOSE, GETTING IMPACTED BY FLOODING.
RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ON PAUSE, UNTIL WE GET A COMMITMENT FROM YOU ON THE EASEMENT.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT TO JAM YOU UP.
AND I'M NOT TRYING TO FORCE AN ANSWER FROM YOU THAT YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH.
I'M SAYING IT BECAUSE IT'S TRUE.
SO, I JUST ASK THAT YOU KEEP IT IN MIND.
I WAS TOLD I SHOULD MAKE A PRESENTATION SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 10 AND 20 MINUTES.
THAT WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY A Q&A WITH YOU.
I'VE SPENT THE LAST FEW WEEKS, CONDENSING THIS PROJECT DOWN TO JUST SEVEN SLIDES.
I WAS FEELING VERY GOOD ABOUT MYSELF.
AND THEN LAST NIGHT, WHEN I WAS ON THE TRAIN COMING HOME FROM WORK, YOU SENT ME 19 QUESTIONS.
SO I'M STILL FEELING OKAY ABOUT MYSELF.
BUT I'VE INCORPORATED ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS INTO THE PRESENTATION.
MY ONE REQUEST, TO ALL OF YOU, IS TO PLEASE LET ME GET THROUGH THE SEVEN SLIDES.
EVERYTHING THAT'S IN HERE IS INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE A GOOD DECISION.
AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK AND ANSWER ANYTHING I MISSED.
SO A LOT OF YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO SEE THIS.
WHY ARE WE HERE? WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FLOODING, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE ONE THAT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS SEE FIRSTHAND.
WHEN FLOODING OCCURS, NEARLY EVERY VILLAGE DEPARTMENT IS DISPATCHED TO PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS, RESCUING PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES AND VEHICLES, REDIRECTING TRAFFIC OR JUMPING IN TO HELP WHEN SCHOOLS NEED TO BE EVACUATED IN THE MIDDLE OF A DOWNPOUR.
THIS CRISIS HAS BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE IN RECENT YEARS.
AND NOW THAT WESTCHESTER HOMEOWNERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE A PROPERTY'S FLOOD HISTORY WHEN SELLING TO A NEW OWNER, PROPERTY VALUES THAT MAKE UP OUR SHARED TAX BASE ARE LIKELY TO SUFFER AS WELL.
MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS NOW OWN PROPERTIES THAT MAY ONLY SELL FOR A FRACTION OF THEIR ASSESSED VALUES, TRIGGERING POTENTIAL CERCIARY CLAIMS, UNDERMINING RESIDENTS' RETIREMENT PLANS, ERODING THE GENERATIONAL WEALTH SO MANY OF US PLACE IN OUR FAMILY'S HOMES.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SOME REALTORS ARE OPENLY TELLING THEIR LOCAL CLIENTS NOT TO JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS ABOUT FLOODING AND NOT TO SPEAK PUBLICLY ABOUT THEIR SITUATION OUT OF FEAR THAT THEY'LL GO ON THE RECORD HAVING FLOODED HOMES.
BUT WE KNOW WE'VE ESTIMATED ROUGHLY 243 HOMES DIRECTLY IN THE FLOOD PATH.
THE PROBLEM IS A THREAT TO EVERY JURISDICTION AT EVERY LEVEL.
THAT'S WHY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN NEW YORK STATE HAVE CREATED SO MANY GRANT PROGRAMS. AND ITS WHY WESTCHESTER COUNTY, THANKFULLY, HAS COMMITTED $16 MILLION TO THE VILLAGE'S FLOOD MITIGATION EFFORT.
AND BY THE WAY, THE PICTURE, UP IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER IS OF GIBBS SMITH.
WHEN IT FLOODS, THE WATER RISES SO HIGH AND FAST THAT IT PULLS LOTS OF STUFF OFF OF PEOPLE'S CURBS AND YARDS INTO THE ROAD, AND IT SUCKS THEM TOWARD THE DRAINS WHERE THE DRAINS CAN GET CLOGGED.
SO, WHEN IT RAINS, HE SWIMS OUT INTO THE WATER WITH A RAKE TO KEEP THE DRAIN CLEAR JUST TO PROTECT HIS NEIGHBOR'S HOMES, WHICH IS BOTH TERRIFYING AND INCREDIBLY HEROIC.
[00:25:01]
I WILL SPARE YOU ALMOST ALL OF THE DETAILS OF THAT.BUT THE MAIN POINT IS THIS BY MAPPING THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH A WATERSHED, ENGINEERS ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPACT WILL BE FOR DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF STORMS, AND MAKE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO BUILD RESILIENCE.
OUR CURRENT DRAINS ARE NOT EVEN ADEQUATE TO MANAGE A ONE-YEAR STORM.
IN OTHER WORDS, A STORM THAT HAS A 100% CHANCE OF HAPPENING IN ANY GIVEN YEAR.
ALL OF US HAVE CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS IN THE MANOR, ALL OF US ON THE VILLAGE BOARD.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WE'RE NOT ADDING WATER TO THE RIVER.
THE WATER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ALREADY GOING TO THE RIVER.
WE JUST WANT IT TO GET THERE UNDER THE ROAD INSTEAD OF OVER THE ROAD.
WE'RE ALSO NOT IMPACTING THE PEAK FLOWS OF THE RIVER, WHICH IS A TIMING QUESTION.
OUR ENGINEER HAS CONFIRMED THIS AND WE SHARED THAT ANALYSIS WITH YOU SEPARATELY.
WE HAVE ALSO POSTED IT ON THE VILLAGE'S WEBSITE.
AND TO BE CLEAR, THE VILLAGE'S ENGINEERING FIRM IS ALSO PELHAM MANOR'S ENGINEERING FIRM.
NOW, I'M GOING TO BRIEFLY HIGHLIGHT THE TWO ARTERIAL LINES THAT SERVE THIS WATERSHED AREA.
BUT EVEN THOUGH WE DISCUSS THIS AS TWO LINES, THIS IS ONE BIG PROJECT FOR ONE BIG WATERSHED.
YOU'LL SEE THAT IT RUNS WEST ALONG COLONIAL AVENUE AT THE BOTTOM AS WELL, COLLECTING WATER RIGHT ALONG THE BORDER AND FROM WOLFS LANE AND TAKING IT OUT TO THE RIVER BEFORE IT GETS TO THE LIBRARY.
THE ENTIRE LINE IS TOO SMALL, AND IT HAS OBSTRUCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
SO, WE NEED TO CREATE A NEW LINE THAT AVOIDS THOSE UTILITIES.
NOW THERE'S A GOOD SLOPE TO WORK WITH FOR THIS LINE.
IT'S THE BIGGEST PIPE WE CAN PUT IN WITHOUT RECONSTRUCTING ALL THE OTHER UTILITY LINES.
NOW, PUTTING IN THIS NEW LINE IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROTECTING COLONIAL ELEMENTARY.
THIS WAS ARTICULATED IN THE REPORT PRETTY CLEARLY.
BUT HERE'S THE WAY I UNDERSTAND IT.
RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NO CAPACITY IN THE DRAIN LINE THAT RUNS RIGHT IN FRONT OF COLONIAL.
SO THE LINE FILLS UP AND NO NEW WATER CAN GO IN THE LINE.
SO THE WATER JUST FLOWS RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF THE DRAINS AND DOWN THE ROAD.
AND THAT'S HOW WE GET A RIVER.
SO NOW ALL THE MANHOLES ALL ALONG THERE ARE UNDERWATER.
WATER ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO GET INTO THE LINES.
NOW, EVEN AFTER WE'VE RELINED A WHOLE BUNCH OF SANITARY LINES ALL AROUND THE AREA.
ADDITIONALLY, AS LONG AS EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS BLOCK HAS NOWHERE TO PUMP THEIR WATER TO, THERE'S A PRETTY HIGH LIKELIHOOD, THAT THEY'LL PUMP THEIR WATER INTO THEIR TOILETS AND THEIR BASEMENT SINKS AND THAT.
AND THAT WATER ALSO GETS INTO THE SANITARY LINE.
SO, THE POINT BEING, UNTIL WE ADD CAPACITY TO THE DRAINS SO THAT WATER CAN GET TO THE RIVER, OR AT THE VERY LEAST HOLD MORE WATER UNDERGROUND WHEN THE RIVER IS HIGH, THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT COLONIAL ELEMENTARY.
THE WORST FLOODING IN TOWN, AND POSSIBLY THE WORST FLOODING OF ANYWHERE IN SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER, IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING HERE IN THIS RED TRIANGLE IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE MAP ON THE RIGHT.
[00:30:05]
CAFE AMI. THERE IS ALSO REALLY, REALLY BAD FLOODING ALONG FOURTH AVENUE ALONGSIDE THE TENNIS COURTS.SO, TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW BAD THIS IS, THE LAST FLASH FLOOD.
FLASH FLOOD. WE HAD MOST OF THE WATER IN THE HIGH BROOK AREA, WHICH WAS REALLY BAD, HAD RECEDED BY ABOUT 11 A.M.-ISH, BASICALLY ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER THE WORST OF IT HAD PASSED.
IT TOOK AN ADDITIONAL 4 OR 5 HOURS FOR THE WATER TO RECEDE FROM THIS RED TRIANGLE.
IT FLOWS THROUGH THE TRIANGLE ALONG SIXTH STREET TO THE TENNIS COURTS.
MANY OF THE HOMES ARE BELOW GRADE OR HAVE SLOPING DRIVEWAYS THAT FLOW RIGHT INTO THEIR BASEMENTS.
THERE'S FAR MORE WATER TO DEAL WITH AND IT'S VERY, VERY FLAT.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE ALSO NEED TO CONSTRUCT A DETENTION SYSTEM BELOW THE BLACKTOP AND TENNIS COURTS ON FOURTH AVENUE WITH PUMPS SOMEWHERE ON THAT PROPERTY, WHICH WE CAN DISCUSS IN A MOMENT BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THE DETAILS.
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT THE MAP ON THE RIGHT IS A LITTLE MORE CARTOONY THAN THE OTHER MAPS.
THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT A FLOOD MAP.
IT'S A REDLINING MAP FROM 1937.
IT WAS A WAY FOR BANKS AND REALTORS TO DENY SERVICES LIKE MORTGAGES AND HOME LOANS, INSURANCE AND OTHER FINANCIAL SERVICES TO CERTAIN AREAS BASED ON THAT NEIGHBORHOOD'S RACIAL OR ETHNIC PROFILE.
IN THE MARGINS OF THIS MAP, RESEARCHED AND ORGANIZED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, YOU CAN READ THAT THIS PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD WAS REDLINED DUE TO WHAT WAS DESCRIBED AS INFILTRATION BY BLACKS AND ITALIANS.
FAST FORWARD 75 YEARS THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
OUR BOARD BELIEVES THIS NEEDS TO BE A PRIORITY.
THERE'S AN OBSTRUCTION THAT'S EXISTED SINCE AT LEAST 1924, AND IT'S BEEN NOTED IN LITERALLY EVERY FLOOD STUDY THE VILLAGE HAS EVER COMMISSIONED. THIS OBSTRUCTION IS THE ENTIRE REASON WE ARE HERE TONIGHT.
THERE'S A SANITARY SEWER LINE THAT RUNS NORTH TO SOUTH ALONG FIFTH AVENUE, WHICH CROSSES THE STORM DRAIN THAT RUNS EAST TO WEST ALONG SIXTH STREET. BECAUSE THEY'RE BOTH GRAVITY FED LINES, THEY'RE AT THE SAME LEVEL, AND THE SEWAGE LINE ACTUALLY RUNS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM DRAIN PIPE WITHIN A PIPE.
TO CLEAR THIS OBSTRUCTION, ONE OF THEM HAS TO BE LOWERED.
SO WHAT OUR ENGINEERING, WHAT OUR ENGINEER IS RECOMMENDING IS THAT WE EXPAND THE DRAIN AND LOWER IT.
SO THE WATER FLOWS PAST THE SEWAGE LINE.
THAT WAY IT DOESN'T HAVE TO FLOW DOWN FOURTH AVENUE, FLOODING ALL THOSE PROPERTIES ALONG THE WAY.
YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S UNDER OUR STREETS RIGHT NOW.
GAS LINES, WATER LINES, DRAINAGE EQUIPMENT.
THE DETENTION SYSTEM IS UNDER THE GROUND.
THE PUMPS CAN BASICALLY GO ANYWHERE WE WANT THEM TO GO.
ON THE PROPERTY AS BIG AS THE PUMP STATION SEEMS, IN TOTAL, IT'S RELATIVELY SMALL.
YOU CAN SEE COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE PARK.
[00:35:06]
STATION THERE OR JUST TO OPEN UP ADDITIONAL PLAY SPACE, WE CAN EXPLORE THAT.WE WOULD LIKE TO ENGAGE THE TOWN OF PELHAM AND THE JUNIOR LEAGUE TO FIND A DESIGN THAT WORKS.
SECOND, WE'VE EARMARKED $1 MILLION IN THE BUDGET FOR BOTH RENOVATION AND RESTORATION.
WE ESTIMATE IT WILL ONLY TAKE ABOUT 400,000 TO RESTORE THE BLACKTOP AND TENNIS COURTS, AS WELL AS ANYTHING WE NEED TO DO TO RESTORE IN THE PLAYGROUND AREA THAT GETS REMOVED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION.
SO THAT GIVES US ANOTHER 600,000 FOR UPGRADES.
NOW, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, WE'D LIKE TO PRICED OUT THE COST OF REMOVING THE ROCK.
WE'D LIKE TO PRICE OUT THE COST OF PUTTING IN A BATHROOM OR A WATER FEATURE.
I BELIEVE THE TOWN, HAS BEEN HOPING FOR PICKLEBALL COURTS.
OUR PROPOSAL IS REALLY BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU'D WANT US TO SPEND OUR MONEY ON THINGS THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE PEOPLE WHO USE THE PARK, SINCE THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE IS WHERE THE REAL IMPACT IS NOW.
WE'RE REALLY HOPING FOR SOME SIGNAL OF WHAT YOU THINK IS BEST.
THIRD, THE LENGTH OF THE CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO DEPEND ON WHAT WE DO.
WE'RE ASSUMING SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR.
IT'S NOT NEARLY AS COMPLICATED AS A WHOLE BUILDING.
AND THE RETENTION SYSTEMS, DETENTION SYSTEMS THEMSELVES ARE PREFAB.
FINALLY, LET ME ADD A DISCLAIMER.
THESE DESIGNS ARE ENTIRELY CONCEPTUAL.
THE THING THAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO US IS THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN A PIECE OF LAND THAT IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT TO THOSE OF US WHO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
FIRST YOU GOT TO KNOW DETENTION SYSTEMS ARE VERY, VERY COMMON AND VERY, VERY SAFE.
139 FIFTH AVENUE'S ENTIRE BACK PARKING LOT IS A RETENTION SYSTEM.
YOU'LL ALSO FIND THEM UNDER BIG PARKING LOTS FOR MALLS AND HOME DEPOTS AND PLACES LIKE THAT.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE'S AN ENTIRE WATER TREATMENT PLANT UNDERNEATH VAN CORTLANDT PARK RIGHT NOW.
SO, THINK OF THIS LESS LIKE A FRAGILE AQUARIUM OR A SINKHOLE THAT WE'RE HOLLOWING OUT BELOW THE BLACKTOP, AND MORE LIKE A SERIES OF CONCRETE CHAMBERS BURIED BELOW THE GROUND, JUST LIKE THE STORM DRAIN.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED IS THAT THE SYSTEM CAN EVEN BE DESIGNED TO FILTER THE WATER IT COLLECTS, TO REMOVE OIL AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS, SO THAT WE CAN SEND FRESH, CLEAN WATER TO THE HUTCHINSON RIVER.
THAT WOULD BE A MASSIVE BENEFIT.
SO, I KNOW IT'S EASY TO FEAR THINGS THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND, BUT IN THE STORMWATER ENGINEERING WORLD, THIS SYSTEM IS NO RISKIER THAN PUTTING DRAINS UNDER OUR ROADS OR ELECTRIC WIRES ABOVE OUR SIDEWALKS.
IT'S BEEN STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR FLOOD MITIGATION FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND IN FACT, THE IDEA TO PUT A DETENTION SYSTEM AND PUMP STATION AT THIS EXACT LOCATION WAS FIRST PROPOSED BY THE VILLAGE'S FORMER ENGINEER IN 1962. SO IT'S BEEN AROUND.
NOW, SECOND, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PUMPS.
I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT DIESEL.
FIRST, BECAUSE DIESEL IS A FOSSIL FUEL, AND WE ALL KNOW FOSSIL FUELS CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
MOST CONCERNING IS THAT WITHOUT PROPER CARE, DIESEL CAN RELEASE PARTICULATE MATTER LIKE SULFUR, OTHER CONTAMINANTS THAT CAN BE BREATHED IN AND CAUSE VARIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS. TO BE CLEAR, THE PARTICULATE MATTER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ALREADY IN OUR AIR, BUT IT CAN PRODUCE IT AT HIGHER LEVELS AND DENSER LEVELS.
NOW, FORTUNATELY FOR US, IT'S NOT 1987.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CREATED A SYSTEM FOR REGULATING NON-ROAD DIESEL ENGINES THAT HAS FOUR TIERS, ONE BEING THE WORST, FOUR BEING THE BEST.
THE EU CREATED A SIMILAR SYSTEM WITH FIVE STAGES AND OUR ENGINEERS FLOOD REPORT.
[00:40:08]
TIER FOUR IS THE HIGHEST STANDARD, AND TO CERTIFY, THE ENGINES HAVE TO FURTHER REDUCE PARTICULATE MATTER BY AN ADDITIONAL 90% OF WHATEVER'S LEFT AFTER THE TIER THREE CERTIFICATION.SO, THE ENGINE HAS TO REMOVE 98% OF THESE DIFFERENT CONTAMINANTS USING TECHNOLOGY CALLED DPFS.
THERE'S ALSO ULSDS, DFCS, BUT DPFS ARE DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTERS, AND THE VILLAGE IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT BECAUSE IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY IN OUR GARBAGE TRUCKS. THE RATING SYSTEM FOR ON ROAD VEHICLES IS DIFFERENT, BUT AS AN EXAMPLE, OUR GARBAGE TRUCKS HAVE THE DPFS AND THE AIR COMING OUT OF THE EXHAUST HAS LESS PARTICULATE MATTER THAN THE AIR WE BREATHE IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S MUCH CLEANER THAN WHAT YOU'D EXPECT, AND IT'S FAR MORE EFFICIENT TOO.
SO LAST WEEK WE CONNECTED WITH JOHN DEERE.
WE WERE EXCITED TO FIND THAT THEIR NEWEST MODEL OF THE PUMPS WE WANT TO GET WOULD BE EPA CERTIFIED TIER FOUR, STAGE FIVE, AND THEY WERE JUST CERTIFIED IN 2022 WITH FILTER EFFICIENCY AT 98%.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO.
WE'RE GOING TO PUT THESE SLIDES ON OUR WEBSITE SO FOLKS CAN GO.
AND THEY CAN CHECK IT OUT FOR THEMSELVES.
I'M A BELIEVER THAT THE BEST ANTIDOTE TO FEAR IS GOOD INFORMATION.
AND IN THIS CASE, THERE REALLY IS NOTHING TO FEAR.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING TO SAY IS THAT WHEN THESE PUMPS ARE OPERATING, IT'S VERY UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE WILL BE AROUND THEM AND THEY'LL BE OUTSIDE IN THE OPEN AIR, WHICH FURTHER DISSIPATES THE PARTICULATE MATTER.
THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN, SAY, A SCHOOL BUS, WHERE PARTICULATE MATTER HAS BEEN MEASURED INSIDE BUSSES AT RATES THAT ARE 5 TO 10 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE AMOUNT JUST OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL BUS.
THESE PUMPS WILL NEED MONTHLY MAINTENANCE, WHICH WE CAN SCHEDULE AT APPROPRIATE TIMES, BUT THEY'LL OTHERWISE ONLY RUN DURING SEVERE STORMS AND IN SMALLER, SEVERE STORMS LIKE A TEN OR A 25 YEAR, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT ONLY ONE PUMP WILL EVEN BE OPERATING.
LAST THING TO SAY ON THIS POINT THE SIZE OF THE DETENTION.
SYSTEM IS A BENEFIT WHEN IT COMES TO HOW OFTEN THE PUMPS RUN WHEN THERE'S A BIG RAIN.
THE CHAMBERS WILL FILL UP AT A CERTAIN LEVEL.
AND THAT OUTFALL PROCESS, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, IS ALL REGULATED BY THE STATE.
AT THAT POINT, THE PUMPS WILL DRAIN THE DETENTION TANK VERY FAST.
SO, AS BIG AS THE DETENTION SYSTEM SEEMS, THE SIZE OF THE DETENTION SYSTEM IS WHAT ALLOWS THE PUMPS TO OPERATE LESS FREQUENTLY AND MORE EFFICIENTLY, AVOIDING THE SCENARIO OF CYCLING THE TANKS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
NOW, YOU HAVE SPOKEN MANY TIMES, DR.
OWEN-MICHAANE, YOU'VE SAID A PHRASE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT FORUMS. THE DETENTION SYSTEM WOULD HOLD THE WATER FROM SIX OLYMPIC SIZE SWIMMING POOLS.
THAT'S HOW MUCH WATER IS CURRENTLY GOING INTO PEOPLE'S HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
AND JUST LIKE THE STORM DRAINS, WE WANT THAT WATER TO BE UNDERGROUND WHERE IT CAN'T HURT ANYONE.
NOW, THE NEXT POINT IN TERMS OF SCREENING, THAT'S THE EASIEST PART.
THEY'LL TAKE UP SOME SPACE, BUT YOU CAN SEE BRONXVILLE'S PUMPS ARE HIDDEN BEHIND A FENCE.
IN TERMS OF FUTURE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILD ABILITY, THAT IS GENUINELY COMPLICATED.
SO, I DO WANT TO PAUSE HERE BECAUSE, LET ME JUST ASK BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY FREAKED OUT BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT MAYBE YOU'RE GOING TO BUILD ON THE ON THE SITE OR WE'RE GOING TO BUY IT AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BUILD ON THE SITE.
SO JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE PUBLIC, ARE YOU PLANNING TO BUILD SOMETHING ON THE SITE? HERE IT IS. BUT WE'LL LISTEN TO YOUR PRESENTATION.
BUT WE'RE NOT HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
OKAY, SO THE DETENTION SYSTEM.
WHAT'S THAT? WE'RE AT 25 MINUTES.
ARE YOU FINISHED? IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESCHEDULE THIS FOR ANOTHER TIME, WE CAN DO THAT.
THIS IS A HEALTH AND SAFETY MATTER.
SO WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO? I'M SAYING WE'RE AT 25 MINUTES.
[00:45:04]
SO IF YOU WANTED TO BUILD A FACILITY, YOU'D HAVE TO INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM, OR YOU'D HAVE TO REDO THE DETENTION SYSTEM IF YOU WANTED TO BUILD HERE LATER ON. TRUTHFULLY, YOU WOULD LIKELY JUST WANT TO PUT ANY FUTURE STRUCTURES ON THE THIRD AVENUE SIDE, WHICH YOU COULD STILL DO, AND THEN USE THIS AREA AS A PARKING LOT OR A PLAY AREA. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO HAVE ASPHALT ON TOP.YOU COULD PUT A GARDEN OR OTHER MORE NATURAL SPACE ON TOP.
AND JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL CLEAR, IF YOU WANTED TO BUILD ON THE BLACKTOP RIGHT NOW, YOU'D STILL PROBABLY WANT TO PUT ANY NEW BUILDINGS ON THE THIRD AVENUE SIDE, BECAUSE IF YOU PUT IT ON THE BLACKTOP, YOU'D PROBABLY GET FLOODED.
IT'S A SHOCKING AND REALLY EXCITING DIFFERENCE.
THIS WOULD DO AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, AND OUR SYSTEM WOULD ALSO HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING DESIGNED WITH LESSONS LEARNED FROM BRONXVILLE'S EXPERIENCE.
THE VILLAGE'S PROPOSAL IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION, IT'S JUST THE ONLY ONE THAT'S NOT HORRIBLE.
THIS IS FLOOD MITIGATION, SO OUR OPTIONS ARE GENUINELY LIMITED.
OUR PROPOSAL WOULD BE FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO APPROVE THE APPEASEMENT.
THE EASEMENT. AND LET THE LAWYERS HASH OUT A REASONABLE INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE THAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE KEEPING IN MIND THAT BEING NAMED IN A LAWSUIT IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING LIABLE. IN THE MEANTIME, SIGN THE MOU SO WE CAN GET STARTED WITH GRANTS, AND THEN WE CAN JOINTLY ENGAGE THE TOWN OF PELHAM AND THE JUNIOR LEAGUE TO USE THAT 600,000 TO IDENTIFY SOME COOL UPGRADES FOR THE PARK.
WE'LL KEEP MOVING FORWARD AND WE'LL SOLVE FLOODING.
NEXT SCENARIO, WE DON'T CLEAR THE OBSTRUCTION.
EVERY PREVIOUS BOARD HAS LEARNED AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER THAT UNLESS YOU GO BIG HERE, YOU'RE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON SOMETHING THAT WILL NOT REALLY MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR THE PEOPLE GETTING HIT THE HARDEST, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO THE PARK AND EAST OF FIFTH AVENUE.
IS THERE SOME OTHER WAY TO CLEAR THE OBSTRUCTION? LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT NOW.
AND THAT TRIGGERS A NUMBER OF THINGS.
FIRST, YOU'LL NOW HAVE TO PUT A SEWAGE PUMP STATION ON FIFTH AVENUE SOMEWHERE IN OUR DOWNTOWN THAT'S PUMPING SEWAGE 24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR, AND IT'S SEWAGE.
AT THE TOP OF THAT LINE, YOU'D HAVE TO PUT IN AN 18-FOOT-WIDE BOX CULVERT.
NOW, THE PROBLEM IS THE STORM DRAIN ISN'T THE ONLY THING UNDER THE ROAD.
IN FACT, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO CREATE TWO SEPARATE LINES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CULVERT FOR THE HOMES ON EACH SIDE GAS LINES, WATER LINES, SEWAGE LINES.
MAKING THAT WORSE, THE GAS LINES ARE OWNED BY CON ED.
THE WATER LINES ARE OWNED BY VEOLIA.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO LAND ON A SINGLE COST FOR THIS.
WE HAVE ASKED OUR ENGINEER AND IN FULL TRANSPARENCY, HE JUST REFUSED.
BECAUSE THERE'S NO HONEST NUMBER HE CAN COME UP WITH.
THE HARD COSTS OF THE UTILITY REPLACEMENTS WOULD LIKELY BE TENS OF MILLIONS BY THEMSELVES.
THE DELAYS IN PRICE INCREASES BECAUSE OF DEALING WITH CON ED AND VEOLIA, LET'S PUT IT THIS WAY.
ADDITIONALLY, IF WE'RE BEING HONEST, IF WE FOUND THAT MONEY AND STARTED DOING IT, MOST LIKELY CON ED AND VEOLIA WOULD LOOK AT THIS PLAN AND IMMEDIATELY COMPLAIN TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND THEN NEW YORK STATE, AND THEN THE STATE WOULD COME TO PELHAM AND SAY, WHY IN THE WORLD IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PREVENTING THE VILLAGE FROM PUTTING STANDARD FLOOD MITIGATION EQUIPMENT BELOW A PIECE OF ASPHALT IN TWO TENNIS COURTS? AND I WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
SCENARIO THREE WE SECURE A DIFFERENT LOCATION.
NOW, EMINENT DOMAIN WOULD DISPLACE FIVE ISH FAMILIES WHO WOULD BE ENTITLED TO JUST COMPENSATION, WHICH TO BE CLEAR, THAT FEE IS BASED ON THE ACTUAL VALUE OF A PROPERTY, NOT THE SPECULATIVE VALUE.
[00:50:02]
THE OVERALL EXPENSE, THE LEGAL FEES AND OUR TIMELINE WOULD MAKE THIS OPTION NOT FEASIBLE.AND WE DON'T THINK THAT'S A GOOD PATH TO GO DOWN.
BUT THE AMOUNT WE'VE BUDGETED FOR POTENTIAL UPGRADES WOULD BE OFF THE TABLE.
TO BE CLEAR, IT'S THE VILLAGE'S POSITION AT THIS POINT THAT WE'D PREFER TO AVOID THAT, AT ALL COSTS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE PROPOSING THIS PATH.
BEFORE I OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS, LET ME SAY THIS.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE EACH OF YOU STANDS ON THIS.
I KNOW THAT NONE OF YOU ASKED FOR THIS.
AND FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, I'D GIVE ANYTHING IN THE WORLD TO NOT BE HERE RIGHT NOW.
BUT YOU'RE A PUBLIC BODY THAT OWNS LAND IN THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM.
NOW, FORTUNATELY, THERE'S A LONG HISTORY OF PATIENT BETWEEN OUR DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS.
THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM RUNS AN ENTIRE POLICE STATION ON TOWN PROPERTY IN A TOWN OWNED BUILDING.
FOR A $30,000 A YEAR FEE TO OFFSET THE TOWN'S EXPENSES.
MANY YEARS AGO, GLOVER FIELD WAS SOLD TO THE DISTRICT FOR $1.
RIGHT NOW, THE VILLAGE IS WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO DO A MASTER PLAN FOR THE DPW PARKING LOT, VILLAGE HALL, AND WE'RE TRYING TO INCORPORATE A FACILITY FOR THE TOWN AMBULANCE.
COOPERATION IS NOT AN ABDICATION OF OUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY, IT'S THE FULFILLMENT OF IT.
BECAUSE WE SERVE THE SAME PEOPLE.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT WHAT WOULD NOT BE FAIR AND REASONABLE IS TREATING THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF VILLAGE RESIDENTS AS A BARGAINING CHIP, OR TREATING THIS ENTIRE ISSUE LIKE IT'S THE VILLAGE'S PROBLEM AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE JUST FINE IF WE DON'T ADDRESS IT.
IF THE DECISIONS MADE BY YOUR BOARD JEOPARDIZE OUR ABILITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, OR IF YOUR DECISIONS ADD UNNECESSARY EXPENSE TO AN ALREADY EXPENSIVE PROJECT, OR IF WE'RE DELAYED AND WE MISS OUT ON THE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, THE IMPACT OF THOSE DECISIONS WILL BE EXPERIENCED NOT BY ME OR MY COLLEAGUES ON THE VILLAGE BOARD. OUR HOMES DON'T FLOOD.
AND 70% OF THOSE DOLLARS GO TO YOU ALREADY, WHETHER THEY HAVE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL OR NOT.
THIS IS GOOD AND MEANINGFUL THING THAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO.
WE WANT TO DO THIS WITH YOU IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY.
WE HOPE YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY.
THANK YOU. MAYOR MULLIN DID AGREE TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS.
MAYOR. SO, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, 100 PLUS YEARS AGO, THESE PROPERTIES WERE PURCHASED BY THE DISTRICT WITH A VERY EXPLICIT, PURPOSE TO PRESERVE THE ABILITY TO USE THIS LAND FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
AND GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, THIS ROOM COULD BE POPULATED BY A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BOARD WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET OF, INITIAL INTERESTS, BUT STILL BOUND BY THAT ORIGINAL VISION FROM 100 YEARS AGO.
HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THAT? HOW IS THIS PRESERVING OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO USE THIS PROPERTY, FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, WHICH INCLUDES POTENTIALLY PRESERVING JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND.
BUT HOW WOULD THIS BE CONSISTENT WITH THAT OBLIGATION? BOUND BY WHAT? IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, NOT ON THE DEEDS.
OKAY. SO OKAY, SO YOUR UNDERSTANDING IS WE'RE NOT BOUND BY ANY EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE.
[00:55:04]
YOU'VE HAD THE PROPERTY FOR 100 YEARS AND YOU HAVEN'T BUILT ON IT.SO, WHAT ARE WE BOUND BY IN A VILLAGE THAT'S 0.8MI²? WE'RE JUST GOING TO. WHAT ARE WE DOING? OKAY, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOMES AND FAMILIES.
SO, I GUESS, WHATEVER THAT IS AGAINST THE BENEFIT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IF AN EASEMENT WERE APPROVED, AS YOU SAID, WE WOULD STILL THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD STILL, RETAIN OWNERSHIP, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT. SO, AND I THINK YOU'RE SAYING, THERE'D BE SOME KIND OF INDEMNIFICATION.
WE'VE BEEN THE VILLAGE HAS BEEN NAMED IN SCHOOL DISTRICT LAWSUITS THAT WERE PERSONNEL MATTERS.
BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUST SOMEONE TRYING TO SUE YOU AND BEING LIABLE FOR SOMETHING.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE EASEMENT DOES.
IT'S AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT.
ALL RIGHT. AND DO WE FEEL CONFIDENT OF THAT, THAT THERE'S LANGUAGE IN AN EASEMENT INDEMNIFICATION THAT WILL IN PERPETUITY PROTECT THE DISTRICT.
SO, THE QUESTION FOR THE ATTORNEYS I DON'T WANT TO MISSPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF.
ARE THERE ARE THERE ANY ATTORNEYS THAT CAN COMMENT ON THAT? I THINK YOU SHOULD. WE DID.
WE REVIEWED WITH THE ARCHITECT.
THE RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR FACILITIES COMMITTEE WAS NOT TO ENTER INTO AN EASEMENT AGREEMENT.
SURE. SO, I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE.
OKAY, I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOREVER AND ARE ALL OVER THOUSANDS OF THEM.
WHAT IF IT DOESN'T WORK? WELL, YOU MEAN IF IT DOESN'T WORK TO REDUCE FLOODING.
YEAH. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THAT? SURE. ANTHONY, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT? I DON'T KNOW QUITE.
I MEAN, IF IT DOESN'T WORK, THEN WE GET FLOODING, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE NOW.
AND WE GET FLOODING SPECIFICALLY THERE, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE NOW, I GUESS.
HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE THEY BEEN? INCREDIBLY ACCESSIBLE.
DO YOU WANT TO DO YOU WANT? YEAH. WHY DON'T YOU SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH. JUST TO BE CLEAR, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN BROAD SCALE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF ARE THERE HAVE THERE BEEN SITUATIONS WHERE YOU'VE RUN INTO PROBLEMS THAT THEY'VE NOT WORKED? I MEAN, IS THIS ON? YEAH. YEAH. AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, USING DETENTION SYSTEMS FOR STORMWATER MITIGATION IS WIDELY DONE.
IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, THEORETICAL SCIENCE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW WORKS.
THERE'S 3 MILLION GALLONS OF STORAGE THERE, AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED.
THAT LARGE AMOUNT THEN REDUCES THE CYCLING OF THE PUMPS.
THE PUMPS ARE GOING TO EVACUATE THAT WATER AT A CERTAIN RATE.
PREDICTING THE WATER RUNOFF FROM A WATERSHED IS NOT A MYSTERY.
WE'RE DESIGNING THIS THING TO WORK.
I CAN'T IMAGINE A SITUATION WHERE IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.
IT'S NOT. WE'RE NOT RELYING ON THE GROUND TO INFILTRATE WATER.
THAT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE GROUND IS SATURATED.
IT DOESN'T WORK. THIS IS TAKING THE WATER AND MOVING IT OUT AND TAKING IT AWAY.
IT'S SOMETHING. WELL, WELL, YOU KNOW, OFTEN USED.
WHILE YOU'RE STANDING THERE, MAYBE YOU COULD SPEAK TO A MINUTE FOR A MINUTE TO, WHAT MAYOR MULLEN WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, ABOUT THE IMPACT ON SOME OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES OR LACK OF IMPACT FROM A PROJECT LIKE THIS.
[01:00:04]
YEAH. IN TERMS OF, I GUESS THE PEAK FLOW AND WHATEVER ELSE WOULD BE RELEVANT.THAT QUESTION CAME UP SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, AND ONE OF OUR SUBCONSULTANTS THAT WE WORK WITH ACTUALLY HAD A DETAILED ANALYSIS THAT HE HAD WORKED ON THE HUTCHINSON RIVER.
IT'S CALLED A HECK A HECK ANALYSIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE USE A 24-HOUR STORM EVENT AS KIND OF THE DESIGN CRITERIA.
WE'RE JUST CHANGING TIMING THAT WE'RE SENDING THE WATER OUT.
AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, THERE'S NO NEW WATERSHED AREAS ENTERING THE HUTCHINSON RIVER.
AND OUR PEAKS ENTER AT ABOUT THE 12TH HOUR.
SO, YOU DON'T SEE ANY APPRECIABLE INCREASES IN PEAK FLOWS IN THE HUTCHINSON RIVER.
SO, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU'RE OBSERVING THE RIVER.
AGAIN, WE'RE NOT ADDING WATER.
NOW, YOU KNOW THAT THE OLD MAPS FROM 1924, IT SHOWED A STREAM GOING DOWN BASICALLY AROUND, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE FOURTH AVENUE CORRIDOR THAT THAT ENDED UP GOING OUT ACTUALLY UNDER WHERE THE RAILROAD IS.
AND SO, THIS IS THE CORRIDOR WHERE THE WATER JUST NATURALLY GOES.
AND IT'S, WE'RE NOT CHANGING ANYTHING IN THAT RESPECT.
HI. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
YEAH, BECAUSE AS I WAS LISTENING.
SO, YOU HAVE THESE TWO SEPARATE KINDS OF WORK PROJECTS, RIGHT? THE HIGH BROOK LINE TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM THE PUMPS AND THE TANKS THAT WILL FUNNEL THE WATER DOWN.
THAT'S THE WATER THAT HITS THE BACKFLOW, THAT GOES INTO COLONIAL AND WOLF LANE.
AND SO THAT THAT COULD PROCEED IN REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE.
WHEN WE GO OUT FOR GRANTS, IT'S FIRST OF ALL, I'VE MADE A COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY THAT I'M NOT GOING TO FIX ONE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEN LEAVE THE HISTORICALLY REDLINED NEIGHBORHOOD TO FEND FOR ITSELF.
AND THE VILLAGE BOARD, I THINK IS UNANIMOUS IN THAT PERSPECTIVE.
NOW, ADDITIONALLY, STRATEGICALLY, IT ACTUALLY IF WE'RE JUST GOING TO TALK NUMBERS, DOING THIS AS ONE BIG PROJECT IS LIKELY GOING TO GET A GOOD CHUNK OF IT PAID. WHEREAS DOING GOING OUT FOR GRANTS FOR A SMALL PART, RELATIVELY, IN HIGHER INCOME NEIGHBORHOOD IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET A LOT OF GRANT SUPPORT.
NOW, WHEN WE START GETTING DOWN TO CONSTRUCTION, THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO BE PIECING IT TOGETHER, TRYING TO GET THINGS DONE WITHOUT TEARING EVERYTHING UP AT THE SAME TIME. BUT WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW, THE WHOLE THING IS ONE THING.
IT IS ONE BIG WATERSHED, AND WE'RE GOING TO FIX IT.
THIS ISN'T AN AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION.
IS THE WATER FROM HIGH BROOK GETTING FUNNELED TO WHERE? NO. SO CAN BE DONE.
THIS IS WHAT WE. THIS IS WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR.
WHEN THE BOARD'S DONE THE QUESTIONS, THEY CAN COME BACK IS IT THERE? YOU MENTIONED THERE ARE A LOT OF THESE SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IS IT COMMON PRACTICE OR COMMON TO HAVE THEM ON PLAYGROUNDS OR IN PARKS THAT ARE IN KIND OF A HIGHLY DENSELY LIKE RESIDENTIAL AREA? THAT'S TYPICALLY WHERE YOU PUT THEM, RIGHT? YEAH. I MEAN, THE LARGE, LARGE DETENTION SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED TO GO UNDER, YOU KNOW, PARKING LOTS, OPEN SPACES.
UNDERGROUND. WE MENTIONED BRONXVILLE.
THERE'S A DETENTION SYSTEM UNDER THE FIELD THERE THEY USED.
IT'S MUCH SMALLER, AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THEY'RE MAYBE CYCLING DIFFERENTLY WITH THE PUMPING.
BUT THEY STARTED WITH TWO PUMPS, AND THEN THEY ADDED MORE PUMPS TO TRY TO BRING IT UP.
AND THEY USE LIKE FOR THAT IT WAS SMALLER.
[01:05:03]
SO, THEY USED JUST, ROUND DIAMETER PIPES IN A GALLERY.WE'RE PROPOSING LARGE PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURES THAT WILL LAST 100 PLUS YEARS.
I THINK YOU MAY HAVE ALLUDED TO THIS, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
HOW OFTEN WILL THE PUMPS NEED TO BE RUN FOR MAINTENANCE PURPOSES, TO BE CYCLED, TO MAKE SURE THE FUEL DOESN'T SEPARATE THINGS LIKE THAT? IT'S MONTHLY. YEAH.
AND THEY DO IT. YEAH, THEY DO A MONTHLY MAINTENANCE WHERE THEY'LL RUN THE PUMPS.
BUT NO MORE THAN EVERY 2 TO 3 WEEKS WITH THEY EXERCISE THE PUMP ENGINES.
AND THAT'D BE JUST FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME.
SHORT. LESS. LESS THAN AN HOUR.
YOU ANSWERED MANY OF THE YOU ANSWERED MANY OF THE QUESTIONS I TRIED.
AND LET ME SAY, JUST OUT OF RESPECT, IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS FOR THE VILLAGE BOARD OR THE ENGINEER, COME TO OUR NEXT VILLAGE BOARD MEETING AND BRING THOSE QUESTIONS THERE JUST SO WE CAN RESPECT THE TIME OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, OR I'M NOT SAYING YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO THE SCHOOL BOARD.
I'M JUST SAYING. I'M JUST SAYING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SYSTEM.
NEXT VILLAGE MEETING BE LIVE WILL VERY SOON.
YOU CAN BOTH BE REALLY NICE TO HAVE AN IN-PERSON.
WE'RE GOING TO COME. WE'RE GOING TO FALL.
IT'S OUR LAST. I HEARD IT WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
YES. SO, OPEN UP THE LINE WITH THE OTHER TWO SESSIONS IN OCTOBER LIKE HE DOES, BECAUSE WE KNEW THERE WOULD BE MORE PEOPLE OKAY TO SHOW HIS SLIDES ON THE SCREEN.
OKAY. LET'S OPEN IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TO THE BOARD.
YEAH. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT? I WANT TO HEAR WHAT.
AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT WE DO ALL VALUE HEARING AND LISTENING TO PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND OUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS.
AND I GUESS FIRST I JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
SO, THANK YOU, EVERYBODY FOR HANGING IN THERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST PLEASE BE MINDFUL.
I KNOW WE ALL WANT TO GET HOME AT SOME POINT.
SO, WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
IF YOU IF SOMEBODY ELSE STOLE YOUR COMMENT, FEEL FREE TO SAY I AGREE WITH THEM.
BUT DO WE HAVE A SIGN IN SHEET PAULINE, OR SHOULD WE GO BY SIGN IN SHEET ORDER? YEAH. AND THE STATE NAME AND ADDRESS.
OKAY. SO, I'LL CALL PEOPLE UP IN THE ORDER THAT I HAVE HERE.
IF YOU COULD JUST RESTATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, I SEE ROSEMARY BROOKE.
OH, IF YOU'LL COME TO THE MICROPHONE, PLEASE.
AND JUST STATE YOUR NAME AND PELHAM OR YOUR ADDRESS AND WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
ROSEMARY BROOK, I HAVE LIVED AT 166 SPARKS AVENUE SINCE 1972.
BUT THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY IS THAT I AM VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF SOME TYPE OF FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT, BECAUSE THE ENTIRE TOWN NEEDS ONE.
AND HAVING HAD TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, TO ASK IF THEY COULD COME TO PUMP MY BASEMENT OUT AND BEING TOLD, WELL, YOU HAVE LESS THAN TWO FEET, BUT PEOPLE AT OTHER PARTS OF TOWN HAVE THREE AND FOUR FEET.
THEY DID CALL BACK, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT MORNING AND ASKED.
[01:10:02]
SO, I KNOW THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.AND I HAVE LISTENED EXTENSIVELY TO THE MAYOR'S TWO PRESENTATIONS IN OCTOBER.
ONE IS THE PLAN FOR HIGH BROOK, IS A 25-YEAR STORM PLAN, AND I REALLY FEEL IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST A 50-YEAR PLAN B, BECAUSE THE PRESENTATION WAS THE 25, THE MAYOR SAID HE WOULD LOOK INTO IT.
THE SECOND THING IS, AT THE END OF HIS OCTOBER 26TH PRESENTATION, HE SAID, THE NEXT THING WE HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SCHOOL BOARD, AND I DON'T THINK THERE'LL BE AN ISSUE WITH THAT.
BUT IF THERE IS, WE CAN EITHER TAKE FOUR HOMES OR WE CAN GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND LOOK AT ANOTHER TYPE OF PROJECT.
I'M HERE TO ASK THAT THAT'S WHAT THE MAYOR SHOULD DO, IS GO LOOK AT ANOTHER TYPE OF PROJECT THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE SCHOOL PROPERTY, DOES NOT INVOLVE JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND.
AND 100 YEARS AGO AND I WENT AND LOOKED AT WHAT WAS WRITTEN WHEN THE BOARD BOUGHT THIS LAND, IT WAS FOR THE FUTURE USE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN NOW.
PROBABLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TOWN IS GOING TO EXPLODE VERY SOON.
THERE'RE 127 APARTMENTS BEING BUILT ACROSS FROM VILLAGE HALL.
THERE'S 39 AT 130, 27 AT 139 FIFTH AVENUE.
THERE'S A GAS STATION ON WOLFE LANE THAT HAD A PROPOSAL FOR APARTMENTS.
AND I KNOW WHAT THE DEVELOPERS SAY.
THEY SAY, OH, THEY'RE ONLY ONE- AND TWO-BEDROOM APARTMENTS.
THEY WON'T BRING MANY CHILDREN TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WHEN I ASKED THE MAYOR ABOUT THE 75 UNITS AND THE CHILDREN, HE SAID HE SPOKE TO THE SCHOOL BOARD, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD ABSORB THE STUDENTS. WELL, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ABSORB THOSE STUDENTS, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S COMING TO PELHAM, BECAUSE WHEN THOSE ALL ARE BUILT, THE WORK ETHIC OR THE WORK HOURS HAVE COMPLETELY CHANGED FROM WHEN THOSE WERE WHEN THE CONCEPT OF WE'LL GET YOUNG PEOPLE THERE, GO TO NEW YORK TO WORK, THERE'LL BE YOUNG COUPLES.
THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS ANYMORE.
COUPLES, PEOPLE KNOW THE PELHAM SCHOOLS.
THEY KNOW THEIR EXCELLENT SCHOOLS.
THEY WANT THEIR KIDS TO COME HERE, AND THEY WILL SACRIFICE TO COME HERE.
I WORKED FOR HARRISON FOR 34 YEARS, AND I WAS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.
BURKE, I SLEEP ON A PULL-OUT SOFA IN MY LIVING ROOM.
AND PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT FOR PELHAM, THEY WANT TO COME TO PELHAM ON SPARKS AVENUE.
WE HAVE 18 KIDS UNDER 18 YEARS OLD.
15 YEARS AGO, WE HAD FIVE PEOPLE ARE MOVING IN BROOKLYN, BRONX, WHEREVER OUT OF STATE THEY WANT TO COME TO PELHAM YOU NEED TO KEEP THE LAND YOU HAVE BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER.
AND SOME DAY, SOME BOARD OF EDUCATION IS GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS.
IN HARRISON, THEY JUST PASSED THE $79.8 MILLION BOND TO ADD TO THEIR SCHOOLS BECAUSE THEY DID.
WHAT PELHAM IS DOING, ADDING ALL THE APARTMENTS AND HALSTADT AVENUE PEOPLE HAVE MOVED IN.
AND WHAT HAPPENS? THE SCHOOL DISTRICT EXPLODED.
GIVE AWAY YOUR RIGHTS TO THAT LAND.
AND WE ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR FROM FORMER EDUCATORS.
[01:15:03]
THAT WAS WONDERFUL.ALL RIGHT. NEXT, EILEEN FELDMAN AND LOOKS LIKE PLEASE BE ON DECK, JOE MARTY.
HI. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS EILEEN FELDMAN.
I LIVE AT 86 FIRST STREET, WHICH IS AT THE CORNER OF HIGH BROOK AND FIRST STREET.
I HAVE TWO CHILDREN, SEVENTH GRADER AND A NINTH GRADER, AND THEY WALK TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY.
BESIDES BEING A RESIDENT AND SOMEONE PERSONALLY AFFECTED BY THE FLOODING THAT OCCURS IN TOWN AND HAS PUT IN A LOT OF PERSONAL FUNDS TO REMEDIATE WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
I'M ALSO A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON WATER RESOURCES, SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND THE DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPLORED AND THE WAY TO DO IT, AND FROM A FIRST FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY AND STUDENT SAFETY STANDPOINT.
I STOOD ON MY DECK AND WATCHED THE DAY ON SEPTEMBER WHEN THE BROOK WAS FLOODING AND I SAW FIRE TRUCKS IN THE INTERSECTION AND THE SCHOOLS WERE CLOSING, COLONIAL WAS CLOSING, AND PARENTS WERE SUPPOSED TO GO AND GET THEIR CHILDREN.
AS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER DOING WATER RESOURCES.
I THINK IT'S SO EXCITING THAT WE CAN PUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE UNDER PARKS, UNDER SPACES THAT ARE PUBLIC AMENITIES, THAT WE CAN ALL USE AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR PERPETUITY, TO BE ABLE TO USE JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND AND STILL HAVE A GREAT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE UNDERNEATH IT.
I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THESE PROJECTS.
I KNOW THEY WORK. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO REALLY SUPPORT THIS FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN, FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND FOR JUST THE BETTERMENT OF THE WHOLE VILLAGE AND TOWN. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
HI, BROOKE. MY SON GRADUATE IN 2015.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THREE THINGS.
ONE, I WANTED TO FOCUS VERY BRIEFLY, SINCE I THINK YOU'VE HEARD SOME OF THE RISKS OF FLOODING.
YOU'VE HEARD IT. I WANT TO HIT ON A FEW OTHER THINGS, TWO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
I WANT TO SUPPORT WHAT THE MAYOR IS ASKING FOR.
THERE'S REAL PROMISE IN FIXING FLOODING WITH WHAT HE IS PROPOSING.
AND FINALLY, I WANTED TO MAKE A PITCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION, YOUR COOPERATION AS A PARTNER WITH THE VILLAGE AND FIXING THIS ON THE ON THE FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH AVENUE NORTH PELHAM.
THEY'VE LIVED WITH THIS MISERY FOR YEARS, AND IT'S GETTING WORSE.
MANY OF THEM AREN'T EVEN USING THE BASEMENTS FOR SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED LIVING SPACE.
BUT THEY HAVE THINGS DOWN THERE.
THEY GET RUINED YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR, AND IT'S GETTING WORSE.
DURING STORM, AS A SIGN OF HOW BAD THAT IS DURING STORM, SUPERSTORM IDA IN 2021, JUST HALF THE LENGTH OF HEIBERG AVENUE AS A METRIC, LOST 22 CARS, 14 WASHING MACHINES AND DRYERS, AND 12, FURNACES.
NEXT. I MEAN, HOW BROAD IS THE EFFECT THE.
IT AFFECTS EVERY CHILD, EVERY CHILD AT COLONIAL, IT AFFECTS THE FLOODING.
IT AFFECTS EVERY PERSON WHO HAS A CHILD AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HAS A CHILD AT THE HIGH SCHOOL.
THAT'S 200 MILLION IN EXCESS OF $200 MILLION OF ASSESSED VALUE.
HE HINTED AT SOME MARKET DEPRESSION, AND ONCE PEOPLE START FIGURING OUT FIGURING OUT THAT THESE HOUSES ARE FLOODING, THEY ARE EITHER REDUCED IN VALUE NOW OR THEY WILL BE REDUCED, AND IT WON'T TAKE A LAWYER VERY LONG.
IT'S NOT A THREAT. BUT WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO ASK FOR ASSESSMENTS TO BE REDUCED.
IF ASSESSMENTS WERE REDUCED EITHER BY SALES PRICE OR BY, OR BY JUST IN GENERAL, PEOPLE, DOING SURGERIES AND TRYING TO REDUCE THEIR TAX ASSESSMENT BY 15%, THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF $31 MILLION DROP IN ASSESSED VALUE.
IT HAS AN EFFECT BECAUSE IT MOVES THAT BURDEN OFF TO OTHER PEOPLE IN THE VILLAGE.
FINALLY, IT'S A BIG PROBLEM AND I RESPECT THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM TRYING TO FIX THIS BIG PROBLEM.
BUT YOU GUYS CAME TOGETHER, BUILT.
HUTCHINSON SCHOOL AND IT'S REMARKABLE.
WE'RE ASKING FOR THE SAME LEVEL OF COOPERATION WITH THE VILLAGE.
WORK. PLEASE WORK WITH THE VILLAGE.
DON'T TREAT THEM AS A DISINTERESTED PARTNER.
[01:20:02]
DON'T TREAT THEM AS ARM'S LENGTH TO BE BARGAINED WITH AT THE AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE ONLY.YOU KNOW, THOSE CHILDREN ARE YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. I'VE BEEN A TRUSTEE FOR TWO TERMS, SO I KNOW THAT THIS IS HARD.
JUST SAY. SAY YOU'RE SARAH FERRARA.
I'M ON THE CORNER OF HIGH BROOK AND FIRST.
I HAVE ALREADY SPENT MORE THAN $35,000, DUE TO FLOODING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TWO SUMP PUMPS AND OTHER SYSTEMS IN PLACE, IT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH.
I REALLY URGE YOU TO CONSIDER THESE EASEMENTS, AND JUST FIND A WAY TO REALLY MAKE THIS WORK.
I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER BEFORE, AND WE CAN DO THIS AGAIN.
I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CAN WE DO THE HYBRID CORRIDOR BUT NOT DO NORTH PELHAM? AS SOMEONE WHO LIVES ON HIGH BROOK, I FIND THAT NOT TO BE A SOLUTION.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO FIX THE HYBRID CORRIDOR, WE CANNOT LEAVE NORTH PELHAM BEHIND.
AND AGAIN, JUST THINK OF THIS AS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL NEIGHBORS.
WE'RE IN THE SAME TOWN AND THIS IMPACTS ALL OF OUR KIDS.
SCOTT BANDOLPH? OH, SORRY FOR MISPRONOUNCING.
HI, SCOTT BARDOLPH, 455 THIRD AVENUE.
AND MY WIFE IS HERE TONIGHT WITH.
SO, WE LIVE ACROSS FROM THE PLAYGROUND.
THAT PARK IS SACRED TO THE TOWN OF PELHAM.
IS THERE NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE THAT WE HAVE TO.
I KNOW EVERY INCH OF THAT CIRCUMFERENCE WHERE THOSE MACHINES ARE GOING TO BE.
I GET THE PROBLEM OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND FLOODING.
I HAD TO MAX OUT A CREDIT CARD THIS PAST FALL TO BUY MATERIALS TO MITIGATE MY FLOODING, WHICH I DID, AND I GET THE NEED FOR PEOPLE TO NEED ASSISTANCE.
BUT TO RELY ON THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SOLVE THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM'S PROBLEMS SEEMS INSANE THAT THEY WOULD RESORT TO JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND, GO UP TO THE SANBORN MAP FACTORY.
THERE'RE TONS OF ASPHALT UP THERE.
PARKING LOTS UP AT THE AT THE MAP PLACE.
IF NOW WE'RE JUST THROWING PARKS OUT, LET'S DO IT IN CHESTER PARK.
AS EDUCATORS, WHAT'S MORE SACRED THAN LITTLE CHILDREN PLAYING SOCCER THERE EVERY DAY, WAITING FOR THE ICE CREAM MAN TO COME? AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT THESE.
IT SEEMS INSANE THAT THE WORDS ARE EVEN COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH, THAT THAT'S AN OPTION TO A SACRED SPACE, LIKE A PLAYGROUND IN A TOWN THAT'S SHRINKING, THAT PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OTHER TOWNS TO COME TO THAT PLAYGROUND, BECAUSE THAT IS A SACRED SPOT FOR YOUNG PARENTS.
I DON'T THINK YOU GUYS NEED TO FINANCE THIS, THIS, THIS OPERATION.
AND I COMMEND YOU AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
OH, THIS IS FROM THE PELHAM EXAMINER.
FROM THE, ANTHONY OLIVERI, WHO WORKS FOR DOLPH ROTFELD ENGINEERING, WHO I BELIEVE IS THE ONES WHO ARE DOING THIS, THIS, THIS PROJECT IS THAT, QUOTE UNQUOTE, AS ENGINEERS, WE CAN'T TELL YOU THAT WE'LL SOLVE EVERY FLOOD EVENT.
SO NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 25 YEAR, 100 STORMS. NEXT YEAR IT'S GOING TO BE A 200-YEAR STORM AS CLIMATE CHANGE GETS WORSE.
AND THEY'RE SAYING IN THE ARTICLE THAT THEY CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO WILL WORK.
ALISON ANDERSON? HI THERE, I'M ALLISON ANDERSON.
[01:25:01]
I LIVE AT 231 NYACK AVENUE.I HAVE A SON AT COLONIAL AND A DAUGHTER AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND I REALLY JUST WANT TO VOICE MY SUPPORT FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN COLLABORATING AND COORDINATING WITH THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM IN FLOOD MITIGATION.
PELHAM, ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT PELHAM IS THAT IT'S A COMMUNITY THAT PRIDES ITSELF ON THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY, INCLUDING IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITIES AROUND OUR SCHOOL AND THE FLOODING THAT WE ARE FACING NOW.
IT NOT ONLY IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, IT DOES IMPACT OUR CHILDREN'S ABILITY TO LEARN, WHICH IS DIRECTLY, YOU KNOW, THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. I SEE THIS IN MY OWN CHILDREN.
MY SON, WHO HAS FACED THE FLOODING AT COLONIAL, IS ANXIOUS EVERY TIME IT RAINS A LOT, CONSTANTLY ASKING ME, MOM, DO YOU THINK THAT THE BATHROOMS ARE GOING TO CLOSE AT COLONIAL AGAIN? IS THERE GOING TO BE A PROBLEM? LIKE WHAT IF YOU'RE NOT HOME? WHAT IF YOU'RE AT WORK WHEN I GET SENT HOME, DO YOU KNOW? SO, THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS DIRECTLY IN THE PURVIEW OF THE OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE FLOODING IN PELHAM.
BUT IT ALSO IMPACTS CHILDREN WHEN THEY SEE THEIR ABILITY TO LEARN, THEIR ABILITY TO FUNCTION, THEIR WELL-BEING, WHEN NOT JUST THE SCHOOLS, BUT THE STREETS FLOOD AROUND THEM, THEIR HOMES, HOMES FLOOD AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS FLOOD.
I ALSO UNDERSTAND FROM ALL THE PRESENTATION JUST THUS FAR THAT JULIANNE'SIS ACTUALLY WILL BE IMPROVED, THROUGH THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SHUTTING DOWN, JULIAN'S, BUT MAKING THIS PLACE FOR OUR CHILDREN TO PLAY SAFER, ULTIMATELY THROUGH FLOOD MITIGATION.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S WHY I'M, YOU KNOW, A VOICE IN SUPPORT OF COOPERATION WITH THE VILLAGE.
SANDY FIORE? SANDY FIORE, 4 54TH AVENUE, LIVED HERE 69 YEARS.
TAUGHT AT HUTCHINSON SCHOOL FOR 25 YEARS.
I'M SORRY. DID YOU MISS ALL OF THAT? OKAY. SORRY.
TAUGHT AND TAUGHT AT HUTCHINSON SCHOOL FOR 25 YEARS.
SO, BLESS THEIR--LIVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM JULIANNE'SPLAYGROUND FOR 35 YEARS.
AND I JUST I DID NOT KNOW A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOING ON.
SO, I CAME TONIGHT, AND THIS IS ALL VERY OVERWHELMING.
YES, WE ALL NEED, THE FLOODING SITUATION TO BE ADDRESSED.
OUR HOME FLOODS TO THE BASEMENT.
BUT JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND IS ALSO AN AREA THAT IS, I AGREE, SACRED TO THE CHILDREN.
ONCE YOU LOSE THAT, IT'S GONE.
AND I THINK I AGREE THAT WE ARE HAVING SO MUCH CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN THE TOWN.
WE ARE GOING TO GET SO MANY MORE CHILDREN THAT WE MAY NEED THAT PROPERTY.
AS A TEACHER. WE USED IT AND IT MAY CERTAINLY BECOME SOMETHING THAT WE NEED IN THE FUTURE.
I'M NOT AGAINST THE RETENTION.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE WATER TAKEN CARE OF, BUT CAN WE LOOK AT OTHER PLACES WHERE THOSE PUMPS CAN BE AND NOT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE SMALL AREA THAT OUR CHILDREN HAVE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WHO ARE YOU? MY NAME IS PETER CAMARDELLA.
I'M IN AGREEANCE WITH OUR FRIENDS FROM NORTH PELHAM THAT JULIANNE'S SHOULD NOT BE IMPOSED ON.
WE WANT TO TAKE NOTHING AWAY FROM OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS IN THE HEIGHTS.
THE HIGH BROOK PROJECT SHOULD BE A COMPLETELY SEPARATE PROJECT.
YES, IT DOES AFFECT COLONIAL SCHOOL.
YES, OUR MAYOR AND OUR VILLAGE BOARD SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE PLANS.
LIKE HE MENTIONED THAT THE ENGINEERING FIRM, HE SAID, BLATANTLY DID NOT WANT TO PRICE OUT.
DO WE MAYBE GO TO ANOTHER ENGINEERING FIRM THAT CAN PRICE THIS OUT, THAT CAN LOOK INTO IT, AND YOU GIGGLE? THAT'S FUNNY. I'M GLAD.
[01:30:02]
NO, I'M SORRY WE DIDN'T MISS THE POINT.I'M GLAD. I'M GLAD IT IS YOURS ALSO.
BUT IT'S AFFECTING A LOT OF PEOPLE.
MY PARENTS STILL LIVE TWO HOUSES DOWN FROM THE PLAYGROUND.
MY CHILDREN STILL PLAY AT THAT PLAYGROUND.
WE TALKED ABOUT PARTICULATES, AND 80% OF IT GETS EVACUATED AND FILTERED OUT.
THOSE PARTICULATES ARE GOING TO LAND SOMEWHERE.
THEY'RE GOING TO LAND ON PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT WHERE OUR CHILDREN PLAY.
IT'S UTTERLY INSANE THAT THAT'S EVEN AN OPTION.
OKAY. COLIN LEE SANG ? HOW ARE YOU DOING? MY NAME IS COLIN LEE SANG.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PLAYGROUND.
YOU'RE NOT LOSING THE PLAYGROUND.
I HEAR EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE THE PLAYGROUND.
YOU'RE NOT LOSING THE PLAYGROUND.
WE'RE ASKING TO BUILD SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE PLAYGROUND.
LET ME SAY THIS, AS SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR CONN ED, ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS ON THE GROUND.
ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS ON THE GROUND.
WE HAVE ELECTRICITY IN LOWER MANHATTAN.
NOW, REGARDING THE QUESTION, WILL IT WORK? IT WILL WORK. THE ROMANS HAVE USED THIS TECHNOLOGY.
THE CITY OF TOKYO IN JAPAN, THEY HAVE HUGE UNDERGROUND CAVERNS.
THE SINGAPORE USED THE SAME THING.
IF YOU ASK, WILL IT WORK? IT WILL WORK LIKE THE WELL WATER WILL FLOW INTO AN OPEN PIT.
YOU WILL NOT LOSE THE PLAYGROUND.
NOW I'M TALKING IN TERMS OF DIESEL.
YOU TALK ABOUT DIESEL AND PARTICULATES.
YOU COULD ALSO USE WHAT THEY CALL RENEWABLE SUSTAINABLE DIESEL, WHICH HAS 90% JUST IN THE FUEL ALONE HAS 90% LESS REDUCTION THAN A REGULAR DIESEL COMBINED THAT WITH PARTICULATE FILTER.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE A UPS TRUCK SITTING IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE AND YOU'RE HAVING A HEART ATTACK.
WE HAVE IT WILL PUT OUT LESS THAN A UPS TRUCK.
WE COULD EVEN EXPLORE WHAT WE USE IN CONNECTICUT.
AND WE MOVE WATER IS WE USE ELECTRIC PUMPS.
SO, YOU COULD GO TO ELECTRIC PUMP, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LOSE THE PLAYGROUND.
AND JUST SO THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, IT'S NOT THE KIDS THAT LIVED, USED THE PLAYGROUND.
THE KIDS IN THE FLOODED AREA USE THE PLAYGROUND.
ALSO, WE'RE NOT LOSING THE PLAYGROUND.
WE'RE ASKING TO BUILD SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE PLAYGROUND.
OKAY. WHAT? THE PUMPS ARE VERY SMALL.
THE HOUSE THAT THE PUMP IS NOT BIGGER THAN THE HOUSE.
THE PUMP IS. YOU'RE TALKING TO A GUY WHO MOVES A MILLION, MILLION GALLONS OF STEAM.
THIS IS. THIS IS NOT BRONZEVILLE.
AND THAT IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT.
BUT. OKAY, LISTEN, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE THE PUMPS.
THANK YOU. OKAY, LISTEN, WE THOUGHT.
EXCUSE ME. ASK THEM IF THEY'LL SEE THE PUMP.
CONFUSED, NOT YELL AT THE PERSON WHO'S LOOKING AT YOU.
THAT'S THE END OF THE SIGNUP SHEET.
BUT. IF THERE'S IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO SPEAK. IT MADE ME JUST.
YEAH. AND JUST SAY YOUR NAME AND DAVID ELAZAR.
I LIVE AT 261 HIGH BROOK AVENUE, ABOUT FOUR HOUSES AWAY FROM COLONIAL SCHOOL.
OUR HOUSE WAS SEVERELY FLOODED BY HURRICANE IDA.
I THINK THAT THIS IS THE BEGINNING.
MY WIFE IS A PHD IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE.
THIS FLOODING IS GOING TO GET WORSE.
IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, COLONIAL SCHOOL IS NOT VIABLE IN THIS SITUATION.
YOU WILL HAVE TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL SOMEWHERE ELSE OR RAISE THE SCHOOL.
IF YOU DON'T FIX THIS PROBLEM, IT WILL NOT BE FIXED ON HIGH BROOK ALONE.
WE'VE HEARD, SO I REALLY DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH CHOICE.
[01:35:06]
IT'S USEFUL, BUT PREVENTS SOME OTHER BUILDING BEING BUILT THERE.MARIAN ZIELINSKI, 61ST STREET.
AND SO IS THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM.
AND WHAT I HEARD IS SOMEONE WHO IS A MESSENGER WHO HAS CLEARLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME MAKING SURE THAT HE EDUCATED HIMSELF AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ON WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AND TRYING TO DEBRIEF ALL OF US AND YOU ON WHAT THE ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS.
THAT'S ALL OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, OBVIOUSLY, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT THE ENGINEERS HAVE TOLD THE VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS THAT THE ONLY REALISTIC OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH THE STORMWATER ARE IN THE AREA WHERE JULIANNE'S IS, OR RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
BEFORE THE VILLAGE, WHAT I HEARD WERE CONDEMNING MULTIPLE HOUSES BY EMINENT DOMAIN, OR USING A PORTION OF JULIANNE'S, AND THEN RETURNING IT TO THE PLAYGROUND TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF WHAT IT IS NOW.
I HEAR THE CONCERNS OF PEOPLE ABOUT LOSING ANY.
IT'S A TOUGH CALL, BUT IT'S ALSO, IT SEEMS TO ME, INCUMBENT ON YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT EVEN IF YOU DECLINE AS A SCHOOL BOARD TO PARTICIPATE, THE VILLAGE MAY FEEL THEY HAVE NO CHOICE.
IF THE OPTIONS ARE CONDEMNING PEOPLE'S HOUSES AND LOSING THAT HOUSING FOR RESIDENTS FOREVER, OR TEMPORARILY CLOSING THE PLAYGROUND AND THEN RESTORING THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT BETTER, THEY MAY.
I MEAN, WHEN I SAY THAT OUT LOUD, I THINK THEY SHOULD DO THAT.
AND I WOULD BET THAT THE MAJORITY OF VILLAGE OF PELHAM RESIDENTS WOULD SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO CONSIDER IS HOW DO YOU WANT TO BALANCE A DECISION THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR EVERYBODY TO GET THE MOST OF WHAT THEY NEED? AND IF YOU JUST SAY NO, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKELY THERE'S GOING TO BE, OR A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT THERE IS A LAWSUIT.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT WE CAN NEGOTIATE TOGETHER IN THE WAY THAT TOUGH NEGOTIATIONS ALWAYS GO, WHICH IS NOBODY GETS EVERYTHING THEY WANT, BUT THEY GET ENOUGH TO AVOID A WORSE OPTION.
YEAH. IS THAT A REALISTIC POSSIBILITY THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD WOULD FACE A LAWSUIT? I GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT.
WELL, THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD POTENTIALLY, SEEK EMINENT DOMAIN OVER THE PORTION OF JULIANNE'S THAT THEY WANT THE EASEMENT FOR. NO, NO, I'M DEFINITELY AWARE THAT COULD END UP IN LITIGATION, I THINK WAS WHAT YOU WERE SAYING AS A RESULT OF THAT.
IF THAT'S THE PATH THEY WENT DOWN.
NO, NO, I UNDERSTAND THE EMINENT DOMAIN HAS BEEN MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES.
I WHAT I JUST HEARD WAS A PARTICULAR LAWSUIT AGAINST THE SCHOOL BOARD.
IS THAT A POSSIBILITY? I THINK WHAT SHE'S REFERRING TO IS THE COURT.
THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? PUBLIC COMMENT.
OKAY, WELL, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY.
WE ALL DESERVE SOME CONGRATULATIONS.
AND YOU CAME AND PARTICIPATED, AND I THINK WE DID A GREAT JOB.
AND I'VE CERTAINLY EXPERIENCED THAT IN MY SERVICE WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
AND I THINK WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF OUR WORK HERE TONIGHT.
[01:40:08]
DO WE NEED A BREAK? THE MEETING IS NOT OVER.PRINCIPAL BERKOWITZ IS PRESENTING THE VISION FOR HIS HIGH SCHOOL.
I MEAN, FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL, IT SHOULD BE OF INTEREST.
ALL RIGHT? YEAH, MIGHT AS WELL.
YEAH. JUST CAUSE I WAS AFRAID IT WAS.
JUST, I GUESS AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
AS WE HEARD, THERE WAS A LIVE STREAMING PROBLEM FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, BUT IT WAS RECORDED, SO THE FULL THING WILL BE UPLOADED ON YOUTUBE SOON. AND NOW WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON TO, WHERE IS IT?
[4.2 Update on PMHS Vision]
MR. BERKOWITZ, REPORT ON THE VISION.YES, FOR PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL.
YEAH. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK MR. BERKOWITZ FOR COMING BACK TONIGHT.
THANK. I SEE DR. CALLAHAN'S HERE IN SUPPORT, TOO.
SO, APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. AND APPRECIATE ESPECIALLY THE LATE HOUR.
REALLY, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
AND I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BRING MR. BERKOWITZ BACK TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON.
WE HEARD FROM ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND I.
VERY THOROUGH WORK SESSION WITH A LARGE, FACULTY TURNOUT.
HERE, HE'S BY HIMSELF TONIGHT WITH DOCTOR CALLAHAN.
SO, MR. BERKOWITZ, TAKE IT AWAY.
YES. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DOCTOR CHAMP.
NEARLY ONE YEAR AGO, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAND BEFORE YOU WITH MEMBERS OF MY TEAM TO PRESENT A VISION FOR PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL THAT HAD BEEN CRAFTED OVER THE PRIOR TEN MONTHS WITH STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.
AND TONIGHT, I'M HERE TO PRESENT A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR YEAR TO DATE ACCOLADES RE-ARTICULATE OUR VISION, PRESENT OUR YEAR TO DATE PROGRESS AND IDENTIFY OUR IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS.
ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE PLEASED, PROUD AND HONORED TO HAVE, REGENERON SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH TOP 300 SEMIFINALISTS IN OUR NATION'S OLDEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCIENCE AND MATH COMPETITION. THIS YEAR, FOR A SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, WE HAVE A STUDENT THAT RECEIVED A PERFECT SCORE ON AN AP EXAM, MOST RECENTLY IN COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES.
AS YOU KNOW, FROM THE FALL FOR NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALISTS, TWO, PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR NOMINEES IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, MOST RECENTLY THIS EVENING'S HONOREE OF VINCENT SALERNO.
AND OF COURSE, THE RECENT, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COLLEAGUES, MASTER TEACHER, MR. AJ QUACKENBUSH, MASTER COUNSELOR LUIS BARCELO, AND UPWARD GROWTH IN OUR REGIONS AND AP SCORES FROM JUNE 2023.
WHEN WE STOOD HERE BEFORE YOU A YEAR AGO, WE PRESENTED A VISION WHICH I'D LIKE TO RESTATE.
WE ARE WORKING EACH DAY TO INSPIRE OUR STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WITHIN AND BEYOND OUR CLASSROOMS, WORKING EACH DAY TO HELP OUR STUDENTS CREATE HIGH LEVEL DEMONSTRATIONS OF LEARNING ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES.
AND IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE CREATE A STRONG SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND DEVELOP STUDENTS OF CHARACTER.
ALSO CONNECTED TO OUR VISION IS HELPING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE BE PREPARED TO ENGAGE AS ADULTS THROUGH COMMUNITY AND THROUGH MEANINGFUL ACTS OF SERVICE RIGHT NOW DURING THEIR YOUTH, SO THEY CAN BE PREPARED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TYPES OF MEETINGS THAT THIS EVENING HAS JUST, HAD THE EVENING'S PRESENTATION.
[01:45:06]
INSTRUCTIONALLY. OURS IS A VISION OF COHERENCE.TO BE CLEAR, WE ALREADY HAVE DYNAMIC COURSES ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES AND THIS MUST CONTINUE.
WE ALREADY HAVE EXPERT TEACHING ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES AND THIS MUST CONTINUE.
RIGHT TO SUPPORT STUDENTS GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT.
THESE HABITS, INTRODUCED LAST YEAR, INCLUDE A COMMITMENT TOWARDS THE TEACHING OF INQUIRY SKILLS, DEVELOPING CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS, MAKING SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES ARE ARTICULATING TO AUTHENTIC AUDIENCES, SEEING MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES, THINKING FLEXIBLY, EMBRACING THE GROWTH MINDSET.
AND OF COURSE, WE'RE PREPARED ENGAGING WITHIN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.
CULTURALLY, OURS IS A VISION OF RELATIONSHIPS, CONNECTION AND BELONGING WHERE EVERY STUDENT, FACULTY MEMBER AND FAMILY FEELS VALUED AND RECOGNIZED IN THE CURRENT LANGUAGE OF NEW YORK STATE, WELCOMED AND AFFIRMED.
WE ALSO HAVE A FOCUS ON ENHANCING THE TRANSITION FOR OUR STUDENTS FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL INTO HIGH SCHOOL, BETWEEN THE GRADES AND OF COURSE, IN PREPARATION FOR STUDENTS POST-SECONDARY PLANNING. SO OVER THE PAST YEAR, UNDER MY LEADERSHIP, WE HAVE WORKED TO IMPLEMENT THE FOLLOWING.
AND I'D LIKE TO PRESENT THESE UPDATES FOR YOU.
AND WHEN COLLEAGUES GATHER TOGETHER FOR THIS TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATION, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE HABITS I'VE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED AND ASKING ONE ANOTHER, HOW EXACTLY DO YOU TEACH THAT WITHIN YOUR CLASSROOM? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR LEARNERS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY'VE MASTERED THESE HABITS? AND HOW ARE YOU TRACKING THIS WITH QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE DATA? WE'VE ALSO VERY PROUDLY BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AS A SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS SCHOOL.
OUR STUDENTS HAVE A PATHWAY TOWARDS GRADUATION THAT IS NOT DEPENDENT ON EXAMS ALONE, BUT FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS AND FOR ANY STUDENT WHEN THEY ARE POSITIONED BY 12TH GRADE TO PURSUE THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS THROUGH THEIR DEMONSTRATED CIVIC KNOWLEDGE, CIVIC SKILLS, MINDSETS, ACTIONS AND EXPERIENCES.
SO VERY DELIBERATELY STARTING IN SOCIAL STUDIES, OUR TEACHERS ARE LOOKING AT PROJECTS AND UNITS OF STUDY THAT APPLY WITH THE GUIDELINES THAT APPLY TO THE GUIDELINES OF THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS. NEXT YEAR'S NINTH GRADE GLOBAL STUDIES TEAM OF TEACHERS WILL BE INTRODUCING THIS TO THE NINTH GRADERS AS A VISION, SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT'S AHEAD OF FOR THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL.
AND OF COURSE, IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TO DEVELOP A SENIOR CAPSTONE PROJECT TO HAVE OUR STUDENTS WORKING AGAIN, TO HAVE CREDIT FOR DIPLOMA AND GRADUATION PURPOSES ON MEANINGFUL WORK, ENGAGED IN THE CIVIC EXPERIENCES OF BEING, AGAIN, A RESIDENT, CIVICALLY INVOLVED AT A HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL AND LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL ISSUES.
OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE MET AS COMMITTEE, BOTH AS PROFESSIONALS, ADULTS WORKING WITHIN THE BUILDING, BUT ALSO WITHIN THE SITE BASED TEAM TO TALK ABOUT OUR SENIOR EXPERIENCE INTERNSHIP, THE VISION THAT EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AT PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL WILL HAVE MULTIWEEK OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THEY GRADUATE TO ENGAGE IN A SELF-DIRECTED INTERNSHIP.
THEY MUST STUDY WITH A MENTOR, AND IT'S INCREDIBLE.
BUT OURS IS A VISION WHERE NOT ONLY DOES THAT ACCESS OF MENTORSHIP AND INTERNSHIP TAKE PLACE FOR SCIENCE RESEARCH STUDENTS, BUT FRANKLY, FOR EVERY STUDENT IN PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE IT'S PART OF BEING READY FOR POST-SECONDARY PLANNING.
WE'RE ALSO VERY PROUD AND GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE COMMUNITY FOR THE DROP IN MATH PROGRAM, WHICH WAS INTRODUCED LAST YEAR AND WHICH HAS CONTINUED UNDER MY LEADERSHIP, DOCTOR CALLAHAN'S PARTNERSHIP AND OUR TEACHERS THIS YEAR, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INTRODUCTORY STEPS WE'VE TAKEN TO CONTINUE OUR DYNAMIC OFFERINGS FOR ALL STUDENTS IS THE DUAL ENROLLMENT AND LINK PROGRAMS. SO, AS YOU KNOW, THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT, WE'VE INTRODUCED THE ASTRONOMY CLASS THIS YEAR, PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED THE DATA SCIENCE COURSE, AND THOSE COURSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE STARTING NEXT YEAR TO BE LINKED FOR COLLEGE CREDIT WITH IONA UNIVERSITY.
WE'VE ALSO SET UP THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUMMER PRE-CALCULUS FOR STUDENTS ALSO FROM AND WITH IONA.
THIS IS AGAIN IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS WHO ARE GOING TO ARRIVE IN HIGH SCHOOL NOT YET PREPARED BY THEIR SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO TAKE CALCULUS, AND HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAY WITHIN OUR SCOPE AND SEQUENCE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, AND THEN TO TAKE THIS ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK OVER THE SUMMER, HELPS THEM REACH THIS GOAL OF CALCULUS BEFORE THEY GRADUATE.
AS YOU KNOW, WITH BOARD SUPPORT, SOME YEARS AGO, WE INTRODUCED CHARACTERS AND CONUNDRUMS UNDER MY LEADERSHIP, AN IMPORTANT COURSE FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY WITHIN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM WITH TEXTS THAT ARE POSING MORAL DILEMMAS.
AND IT'S A REALLY A COURSE IN ETHICS.
HUMANITIES RESEARCH IS A COURSE THAT WAS INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, A VERY IMPORTANT, AGAIN, ADDITION TO OUR STUDENTS LEARNING EXPERIENCES AS THEY ENGAGE IN IN-DEPTH LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCE AGAIN IN DEPTH RESEARCH.
I'M GOING TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT SHORTLY.
[01:50:01]
AND WITH YOUR SUPPORT FOR NEXT YEAR, WE WILL BE INTRODUCING AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A THAT'S A JAVA BASED PROGRAMING LANGUAGE THAT COMPLEMENTS AND PROVIDES AN EXACT SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FOR STUDENTS WHO'VE ALREADY COMPLETED COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES.I'M VERY PROUD THAT OUR SOCIOLOGY COURSE, NOW ASSOCIATED WITH A SEMESTER LONG OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN SUPER AGAIN, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, PROJECT ADVANCE, AND THEN LYRICAL LIT IS A HUMANITIES, ACTUALLY ENGLISH BASED ELECTIVE BEING INTRODUCED NEXT YEAR, WHERE THE CRAFT OF SONGWRITING AND FORM AND LYRICS WILL BE STUDIED IN THE ENGLISH COURSE.
SO THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT CUTTING EDGE COURSES, AND I SHARE THIS WITH YOU TO ARTICULATE THAT, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COURSEWORK IS ALIGNING NOT ONLY WITH STATE STANDARDS, BUT ALSO WITH THE LATEST AND MOST IMPORTANT LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS.
SPEAKING OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS, AS YOU KNOW AND AS WE'VE CELEBRATED, WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY THIS FALL THROUGH THE CHASING SPACE INITIATIVE TO WELCOME LELAND MELVIN TO THE HIGH SCHOOL AND TO THE DISTRICT ARE ON ONGOING ASK A SCIENTIST SPEAKER SERIES, GIVING STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY ENGAGE WITH PROFESSIONALS AND RECENT GRADS WHO ARE PRACTICING SCIENCE AND CREATING, AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT A POWER THROUGH COMMUNITY, A PIPELINE AND VISION FOR WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN THEIR YEARS, BOTH WITHIN PAUL MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND IN THE YEARS BEYOND.
A LONG STANDING TRADITION FROM THE PELHAM CIVICS AND COUNSELING DEPARTMENT, OUR CAREER PANELS.
BUT I'M PLEASED AND PROUD TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT WORK.
WHICH IS OFTEN FOCUSED ON A RANGE OF CAREERS THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR SKILLED TRADES AND LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, WE WERE INTRODUCING OUR STUDENTS TO A SKILLED TRADE CAREER PANEL JUST LAST SPRING IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THAT AGAIN AND SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING APPLIED LEARNING FIELD TRIPS THAT HAVE HAPPENED THIS SCHOOL YEAR INCLUDE THE HUMANITIES RESEARCH COURSE WITH MISS RICE GOING TO FORDHAM UNIVERSITY'S ARCHIVES, WHERE THEY WERE LITERALLY LOOKING AT PRIMARY SOURCES FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON.
LAST WEEK'S AP BIOLOGY COURSE LED BY MISS BADEMA MR. JOHNSON TO REGENERON'S DNA RESEARCH, LEARNING EXPERIENCE, CHAMBER CHORUS AND JAZZ BAND THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF A LOCAL PARENT WHO'S PROFESSIONAL AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA, MR. POLENZANI, WELCOMING OUR STUDENTS TO THE METROPOLITAN OPERA'S DRESS REHEARSAL AND OF COURSE, FORTHCOMING THROUGH BOARD SUPPORT, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND STUDY TRIPS RETURNING TO OUR STUDENTS FOR FRANCE AND SPAIN.
WHOLE CHILD WORK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
OBVIOUSLY CULTURAL COMPETENCE, WHOLE CHILD CARE AND AUTHENTIC LEARNING.
I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHOLE CHILD WORK THAT WE'VE FOCUSED ON THIS YEAR AND OVER THE LAST YEAR IN THE PAST, OUR HIGH SCHOOL MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, QUITE FRANKLY, WERE TAKING PLACE TWICE A MONTH.
THIS YEAR I'M SO PROUD THAT WE PRESENTED THAT WE WANTED A VISION OF PEER MENTORING, AND WE HAD A COHORT OF STUDENTS, PRIMARILY 11TH GRADERS, BUT ALSO 10TH AND 12TH GRADERS, THAT APPLIED AND ARE BEING SUPPORTED BY JEANETTE CONNOLLY AND LEILA ZAHID, OUR SOCIAL WORKER, MR. TERRENCE HUVANE, FOR ONCE A MONTH LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO SUPPORT NINTH GRADERS.
OURS IS OPEN FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES TEN THROUGH 12.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE DOING WELL, AND WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT WE CAN DEEPEN THE NINTH GRADE TRANSITION THROUGH PEER MENTORING. ONE OF THE COURSES THAT I TALKED ABOUT AND PRESENTED AT AN AUTHENTIC LEARNING COMMITTEE MEETING EARLIER THIS YEAR WAS A NINTH GRADE DISCOVERY CLASS.
THANK YOU TO ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT TRACY HOLTZ, WHO HAD INTRODUCED US LAST YEAR TO SOME MODELS FROM NORTHERN WESTCHESTER AND SOME OTHER SCHOOLS IN THE REGION THAT HAVE A DISCOVERY COURSE. THAT'S A TERMINOLOGY FOR HOW DOES IT FEEL AND HOW DO YOU DISCOVER THE ACADEMIC SKILLS, THE MINDFULNESS, THE DIGITAL LITERACY, AND FRANKLY, THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING TO HELP YOU BE SUCCESSFUL IN HIGH SCHOOL? AND CERTAIN COURSES HAVE A CERTAIN SCHOOLS HAVE A DISCOVERY COURSE.
WE'RE STILL EXPLORING WHETHER OR NOT IT'S THE RIGHT FIT.
AND I CAN TALK MORE ABOUT WHY THAT'S STILL AN EXPLORATION.
BUT WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN MEETING AS A COMMITTEE OF PROFESSIONALS.
IT'S BEEN PART OF OUR CONVERSATION THERE AS WELL.
AND BOY, DID THE COMMUNITY SHOW UP THIS FALL.
WE HAD A FAIR THAT TOOK PLACE IN OCTOBER RIGHT AHEAD OF OUR CLUBS, FAIR AND RIGHT BEFORE HOMECOMING.
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO MEET MEMBERS OF ANY NUMBER OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.
[01:55:05]
SERVICE AND HAS A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE, THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SIMPLY HAVE OUR STUDENTS FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES ON THEIR OWN.THE PELHAM TAKES CARE OF PELHAM.
AND SO WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS THAT IF THEY'RE GOING TO LEARN ABOUT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES, LET'S HELP MAKE SURE THAT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES CAN TAKE PLACE WITHIN PELHAM, IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT TAKE PLACE IN NEARBY SITES SUCH AS HOPE COMMUNITY KITCHEN AND OTHER IMPORTANT VENUES FOR SERVICE.
SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WHOLE CHILD IMPORTANCE AND WHOLE CHILD CARE AND WHOLE CHILD INITIATIVES WITH THE SITE BASED TEAM THROUGH MY MONTHLY PRINCIPALS COFFEES, AND CERTAINLY MOST RECENTLY AT GRADE WIDE ASSEMBLY.
THIS WAS A MESSAGE, REALLY, ABOUT DECISION MAKING, CARE AND COMMUNITY.
BUT WE HAD TWO FULL HOUSE ASSEMBLIES.
ONE WAS FOR GRADES NINE THROUGH TEN, ONE WAS FOR GRADES SEVEN THROUGH 12.
AND THIS CERTAINLY ALIGNS WITH OUR COMMITMENT TO WHOLE CHILD CARE.
THIS IS PHOTOS FROM LAST WEEK'S RECENT.
AGAIN TRIP TO REGENERON WITH STUDENTS FROM AP BIOLOGY, BUT AGAIN, HANDS ON LEARNING.
OF COURSE, YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH LELAND MELVIN'S VISIT.
YOU WERE THERE AND A BIT CLOUDY, BUT A FULL HOUSE, IF YOU WILL, FOR OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES FAIR MANY OTHER PHOTOS TO SHARE, BUT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, THIS IS A HANDFUL OF SNAPSHOTS AND HIGHLIGHTS.
SULLIVAN'S MESSAGE TOOK PLACE IN OCTOBER, AND OUR PTA IS PRESENTLY WORKING TO BRING A LEADERSHIP SERIES THAT WOULD BE AN ONLINE SIMULATION, COMING ACTUALLY FROM HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, WHERE STUDENTS WOULD PARTICIPATE IN DOING A MOUNTAIN CLIMBING SIMULATION.
IT'S ACTUALLY A LEADERSHIP MODEL THAT'S BEEN USED BY ONE OF OUR PTA PARENTS AND BOARD PRESIDENT, TERESA MOHAN, IN SOME OF HER GRADUATE CLASSES, AND THE DATES HAVEN'T BEEN FINALIZED, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT LEADERSHIP SERIES.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE PLACE LATER THIS YEAR WITH MISS WALLS AND MR. SOLLAZZO AND STUDENTS FROM THEIR CLASSES, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT.
I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS YEAR WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE PROJECT COMMUNITY REACHING OUT TO SOME OF OUR STUDENTS, PRIMARILY ATHLETES AFTER SCHOOL, WITH A SERIES THAT'S GOING TO, AGAIN, HELP GIVE THEM A RANGE OF INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTHY CHOICES, IN QUOTES, HOW TO SAVE A FRIEND, AND HOPEFULLY HOW NOT TO HAVE TO HAVE A FRIEND NEED TO BE SAVED AND TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS MAKING VERY HEALTHY DECISIONS.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE BOARD SUPPORT AND FOR THE BUSINESS OFFICE AND THE FACILITIES DEPARTMENT, HELPING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN UPDATED FITNESS CENTER FOR OUR STUDENT ATHLETES AND FOR OUR, OF COURSE, CLASSES AND PELHAM TOGETHER, HAVE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS WITH PELHAM TOGETHER.
THEIR SUMMER INTERNSHIP IS REALLY QUITE HALLMARK FOR OUR STUDENTS.
SO NOW I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND WORK WE'VE DONE OVER THIS LAST YEAR.
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR, PERHAPS NOT, THAT OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING COORDINATOR, MIRIAM GAUCI, HAS REALLY SPEARHEADED A LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL AMBASSADOR PROGRAM THIS YEAR, SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITHIN PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
SO ONE INITIATIVE THAT'S HAPPENED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MISS LONDEE, WHO ADVISES OUR NHS NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY PEER TUTORING PROGRAM, IS TO HAVE NHS PEER TUTORS PRESENTING, MORE IMPORTANTLY, NOT PRESENTING BUT RATHER WORKING WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
THAT'S AMAZING. WE HAVE A COHORT OF STUDENTS THAT ARE SPENDING TIME GOING TO HUTCHINSON SCHOOL.
THAT COHORT HAS BEEN SELECTED BECAUSE THERE ARE LANGUAGE FLUENCY.
WORKING AGAIN WITH K5'S ELLS AT HUTCHINSON SCHOOL AND MOST RECENTLY, MIRIAM GASHI, ON BEHALF OF OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, COORDINATED A PANEL THAT TOOK PLACE AT ALUMNI HALL WITH RECENT GRADS FROM THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AT PAUL MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, WHO ARE NOW IN COLLEGE, MEETING WITH CURRENT ELLS TO TALK ABOUT
[02:00:02]
WHAT THEIR TRANSITION WAS OUT OF PAUL MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND INTO COLLEGE, AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT WAS TO HAVE, AGAIN, STUDENTS WHO KNOW EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL IN HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER, JUST A YEAR OR TWO AGO.AS YOU KNOW, THAT STATE FRAMEWORK HAS FOUR PRIORITIES, BUT THE FIRST TWO, WHICH IS WHAT I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON TONIGHT, FOCUS ON CREATING A WELCOMING AND AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENT AND PROVIDING HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND RIGOROUS INSTRUCTION FOR ALL.
AND WHEN WE HAVE AGAIN A SIMILAR QUESTION OF DO YOU RECEIVE A VARIETY OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES? HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL? AGAIN, 93.4% OF OUR STUDENTS, OVER 700 715 RESPONSES.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT DATA TO DEMONSTRATE THAT OUR FACULTY AND TEACHERS ARE CREATING INCREDIBLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND HELPING EVERY CHILD SEE THEIR POTENTIAL TO FULFILL AND END TO.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, A SCHOOL IS NEVER DONE WITH ITS WORK.
AND SO WE HAVE IMPORTANT WORK TO CONTINUE.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS FOR THIS VISION.
AND I'M GOING TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT.
THE HIGH PERFORMANCE OF THE SCHOOL IS AN ABSOLUTE SOURCE OF PRIDE.
THE ANXIETY THAT SOME STUDENTS EXPERIENCE TO MEET THE STANDARDS OF THE SCHOOL IS AN AREA OF FOCUS.
AND VERY DELIBERATELY. I'M NOT MAKING ANY MOVES.
WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY MOVES FOR NEXT YEAR.
BUT, BUT BUT BASED UPON THE RANGE OF SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ALSO HAVE HIGH PERFORMANCE AND ALSO HAVE STUDENTS THAT HAVE A LUNCH IN A SCHOOL DAY, THAT WAS ONE CONVERSATION POINT. WHY DO WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT DON'T HAVE LUNCH AND MIGHT BE COMING TO SCHOOL FROM 730 IN THE MORNING TILL 251 OR 311 AND NOT HAVE THE PAUSE AND BREAK THAT THEY MIGHT NEED. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO FOCUS ON THE WAYS IN WHICH RIGOR REMAINS ESSENTIAL.
AND ALSO THAT BALANCE MIGHT BE INCORPORATED WITHIN THE SCHOOL DAY.
VERY EXCITED THAT THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS IS GOING TO BE EXPANDING FOR NEXT YEAR.
YOU MAY KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THAT PILOT IS TAKING PLACE ONLY WITH ABOUT 60 STUDENTS.
AGAIN, THIS IS PROFESSIONAL DISCOURSE.
THIS IS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AT ITS BEST.
BUT INDEED, WHEN PROFESSIONALS HAVE THE CHANCE TO NOT JUST TALK UP THE SPINE BETWEEN GRADES NINE THROUGH 12 AND A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT, BUT ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS, THIS STRENGTHENS THEIR PRACTICES AND ULTIMATELY IMPACTS STUDENT LEARNING SO THAT WORK WILL CONTINUE.
I THINK THAT CONNECTS IN SOME WAYS TO THE CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL REDDICK AND OF COURSE, CONVERSATIONS RELATED TO A SENIOR EXPERIENCE INTERNSHIP, WHICH WE'RE EAGER TO PILOT, REMAIN ONGOING.
OUR MTS WORK IS GOING TO CONTINUE.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, AS I'VE JUST MENTIONED, WITH MORE REFERRALS THAN THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST RELATED TO ANXIETY, QUITE FRANKLY, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS ACADEMICALLY BUT ALSO SOCIALLY, EMOTIONALLY, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MEET WITH STUDENT GROUPS IN GROUPS OF STUDENTS, BUT INDIVIDUALLY AS WELL, TO RECEIVE THEIR QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK.
IN ADDITION TO THE SURVEY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RECEIVING THEIR QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH WE ARE AND OR CAN GET BETTER AT CREATING A WELCOMING AND AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL.
AND OUR WORK REMAINS TO NOT ONLY FULFILL THE FUTURE STRATEGIC PLANS, BUT TO PARTNER WITH DISTRICT STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMITTEES TO CREATE NEXT STEPS ALIGNED WITH THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S BLUEPRINT ON GRADUATION MEASURES.
AND I'M GOING TO BEGIN TO CLOSE BY TALKING ABOUT THAT.
SO IN RECAP, OURS IS A VISION OF EXCELLENCE INSPIRED BY TRADITION AND EMPOWERED THROUGH COMMUNITY WITH GRADUATES WHO THINK DEEPLY AND COMMUNICATE CLEARLY AND TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY GRADUATE WITH PURPOSE.
THIS VISION I'M PROUD TO TELL YOU, PRESENTED LAST YEAR, ALIGNS WITH THE NEW YORK STATE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON GRADUATION MEASURES, A REPORT WHICH WAS JUST PUBLICIZED THIS NOVEMBER. SO AGAIN, WE'RE AHEAD OF THE CURVE.
[02:05:01]
I WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW CLOSELY WE ALIGN.OURS IS A VISION OF GRADUATES WHO COMMUNICATE CLEARLY AND TO STATE THEMSELVES AS STATE.
OURS IS A VISION OF GRADUATES WHO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE AFFAIRS OF THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THE STATE HAS A VISION FOR STUDENTS THAT ARE CULTURALLY COMPETENT AND SOCIALLY EMOTIONALLY COMPETENT. I WOULD SUBMIT TO YOU THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO BE CULTURALLY COMPETENT AND WE NEED TO BE SOCIAL, EMOTIONALLY COMPETENT. SO THESE ARE VERY MUCH ALIGNED, EVEN IF THE LANGUAGE ISN'T IDENTICAL.
AND FINALLY, OURS IS A VISION OF GRADUATES WHO GRADUATE WITH PURPOSE.
AND INDEED ALL GLOBAL CITIZENRY IS IN FACT, QUITE LOCAL.
LAST YEAR I STOOD BEFORE YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT, FOR ME, A VERY IMPORTANT NEED FOR A LOGO.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
IT HELPS TO POINT ONE'S COMPASS TOWARDS TRUE NORTH.
ONE IS IN THE STANDARD BLUE AND WHITE OF THE DISTRICT, AND THE OTHER ONE IS WITH THE YELLOW POP OF COLOR THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS TO DO NOT HAVE THE PHRASE, AND THE OTHER ONE DOES.
THE OTHER TWO HAVE THE PHRASE OF EXCELLENCE INSPIRED BY TRADITION AND EMPOWERED THROUGH COMMUNITY.
AND SO TONIGHT, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PUBLIC, I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE 11TH GRADER SOPHIA GRECO, WHO IS THE WINNER OF OUR LOGO CONTEST FOR HER BEAUTIFUL SUBMISSIONS AND ALSO THANK THE FINALISTS. ABSOLUTELY.
AND ALSO THANK THE FINALISTS, MALIKI PERLMAN AND ERIC FONTANELLA.
INSTRUCTIONALLY OUR CUTTING EDGE COURSES, CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO DYNAMIC TEACHING AND ALIGNMENT WITH ACADEMIC HABITS WILL STRENGTHEN OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COHERENCE AND OUR IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING. CULTURALLY, WE'RE USING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK TO ENSURE THAT WE PROVIDE A WELCOMING AND AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL LEARNERS WITH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS, TOO.
CERTAINLY WOULD OFFER IF BOARD HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS I WILL MENTION.
SO WE WILL BE INVITING HER TO AN UPCOMING MEETING.
WE JUST GOT THAT NOTICE LATE LAST WEEK, SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO HONORING HER HERE.
THERE WERE MANY EXCITING, ELEMENTS OF THAT PRESENTATION, PARTICULARLY THE THE PERCENT OF STUDENTS WHO THINK, AGREE AND STRONGLY AGREE TO THE IDEA THAT THEIR TEACHERS EXPECT THEIR BEST.
HOW HOW DO YOU ENVISION THAT GROWING SO THAT ALL STUDENTS WOULD PARTICIPATE? YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THAT.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A COMMITTEE OF TEACHERS THAT WENT INTO SUMMER LOOKING AT AND KIND OF AGREEING, WHO'S GOING TO LOOK AT THIS SCHOOL, WHO'S GOING TO LOOK AT THAT SCHOOL? AND SO YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY QUITE A FEW SCHOOLS IN SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER THAT HAVE SUCH A PROGRAM.
AND ONE MODEL THAT STOOD OUT FOR US WAS A PILOT THAT TOOK PLACE, FRANKLY, IN BYRAM HILLS.
AND IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE, I KNOW THAT DOCTOR GARCIA WAS PART OF THAT FROM BACK IN HIS DAYS.
THEIR WEBSITE IS STILL VERY CLEAR IN SAYING THEY STARTED WITH A PILOT AND THEN THEY EXPANDED IT, AND THEN THEY EXPANDED IT FURTHER, AND IT GOT TO A POINT WHERE IT WAS A TIPPING POINT IN ALL. STUDENTS PARTICIPATED.
WE DID A FOCUS GROUP, ACTUALLY, WITH A GROUP OF CURRENT SENIORS SO THAT THEY COULD TALK OPENLY, BECAUSE OUR SENSE WAS THAT IF WE DID A FOCUS GROUP WITH JUNIORS, IT MIGHT FEEL PRESSURE. SO THE SENIORS, WE JUST KIND OF ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS NOT YET AN OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU'LL GET TO PARTICIPATE.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? THERE ARE A FEW. THERE'S A FEW CRITICAL QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP THAT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO PROBE.
THE FIRST ONE WAS, AND I'LL JUST ACTUALLY START WITH THE ENTHUSIASM.
[02:10:03]
SO THAT WAS LIKE WONDERFUL, RIGHT? AND ANOTHER STUDENT SAID, I AM PART OF SCIENCE RESEARCH AND I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO GET AN INTERNSHIP.AND SO I'M REALLY CONCERNED JUST ABOUT THE LOGISTICS AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION AND A FAIR COMMENT.
AND THE THIRD PERSON, AGAIN, THERE WAS MORE THAN THREE PEOPLE.
BUT THE THIRD COMMENT THAT STOOD OUT FOR ME WAS JUST A VERY REAL CULTURAL REALITY.
AND A STUDENT SAID, MR. BERKOWITZ, YOU'RE DESCRIBING THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INTERNSHIP IN THE FINAL THREE WEEKS OF SCHOOL.
SO THE QUESTION IS A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, WHO'S READY TO JUMP IN? WHO'S READY TO JUMP IN? AND SO OUR SENSE IS, AGAIN, THAT IF WE CAN START WITH SOMETHING SMALL, AND I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH PELHAM TOGETHER, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF OUR INTERNSHIP AND THINKING ABOUT WAYS IN WHICH, WHAT IF WE COULD HAVE 20 STUDENTS? WHAT IF, IN THEORY, IF WE COULD GET THEM BY CHANCE, ENROLLED IN A COURSE THAT THEY'RE ALREADY CHOOSING TO TAKE? I DON'T WANT TO NAME A COURSE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE TEACHER.
BUT WHAT IF THE POSSIBILITY WAS THAT WE HAVE ONE GROUP OF STUDENTS ALREADY IN AN ENGLISH CLASS AND WE SAY TO THEM, WE'RE ASKING YOU TO PILOT THIS AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO SO. THE TWO STRUCTURAL REALITIES WE HAVE ARE THE FOLLOWING.
AND SO THERE'S SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY IN PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT THE FINANCIAL CONCERNS ARE ABOUT HOW WE CAN INCENTIVIZE, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THAT, HAVING A STUDENT DO THIS OR HAVING A TEACHER SET UP THIS INTERNSHIP FOR 20 STUDENTS, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING IT ALONE.
I THINK IT'S VERY ACHIEVABLE BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INFRASTRUCTURE KNOWLEDGE BASE.
WE CAN LEARN ON THE LEAN, ON THE SCIENCE, RESEARCH, KNOWHOW AND THE PELHAM TOGETHER KNOW HOW.
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU GET READY AND YOU HAVE THAT MARKETING LETTER AND CAN SPREAD WORD NOT ONLY TO THE RESIDENTS OF PELHAM, BUT POTENTIALLY TO YOUR FRIENDS AND SAY, AND BY FRIENDS I MEAN YOUR PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES, RIGHT? IS THERE ANYONE WHO'S WILLING TO MENTOR IN THESE DISCIPLINES? AND WE CAN NAME WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? THIS CAN BE VERY, VERY REAL WORLD EXCITING.
AND THERE'S A LOT THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL THERE.
THERE'S SOME LOGISTICS WE'RE STILL TRYING TO WORK THROUGH.
THANK YOU. AND ARE YOU ENVISIONING LIKE A JOB EXPERIENCE OR IS IT MORE LIKE A SENIOR THESIS OR IS IT? THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
THE FIRST ONE IS, AND I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT HOW THESE COULD GO TO ONE OF TWO WAYS.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS, HAS A VISION FOR A SERVICE PROJECT FOR 25 HOURS.
THEIR COMMUNITY SERVICE WILL ALREADY BE DONE, BUT THE IDEA OF DOING SOMETHING MEANINGFULLY OVER THE YEAR AND THEN CULMINATING IT, POTENTIALLY WITH AN INTERNSHIP THAT'S ALIGNED WITH WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING TOWARDS, THAT'S ALREADY CONNECTED TO THE VISION FOR A SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS.
AND THEN THERE'S THE REALITY THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME STUDENTS WHO, IN FACT, DON'T WANT TO PURSUE THE SEAL FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS, AND THEY TOO DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER. I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR OUR COLLEAGUES THAT ARE IN LOCAL SERVICE, AS IN TOWN MUNICIPALITY, BUT I THINK THAT WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO DO CAREER EXPLORATION FOR ESSENTIALLY THREE WEEKS FOLLOWING THE CULMINATION OF WHAT WOULD BE TRADITIONALLY THE AP TESTING WINDOW.
EVEN FOR STUDENTS THAT AREN'T TAKING AP COURSES, JUST HOW DO WE ALIGN IT FOR THAT FINAL STRETCH SO THAT THE MAY TO JUNE CONTINUUM IS REALLY A STRONG FINISH WHERE STUDENTS ARE OUT OF THE BUILDING ENGAGING IN MEANINGFUL WORK EMBEDDED FOR UP TO, YOU KNOW, THE EXACT HOURS PER DAY NEEDS TO BE CODIFIED.
BUT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF 30 HOURS A WEEK AND THAT THEY'RE REFLECTING.
AND THEN A TEACHER IS CHECKING IN.
LET'S SAY, FOR INSTANCE, YOU ALL WERE MY CLASS, AND NOW YOU ARE NO LONGER COMING TO THE BUILDING.
WELL, I'M GOING TO BE CHECKING IN WITH THIS SET OF THE ROOM ON THIS DAY OF THE WEEK.
AND ALSO, WE NEED TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK IS HAPPENING.
AND THE WORK THAT I'M REFERRING TO IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT JUST SITTING IN AN OFFICE OR AT A JOB SITE AND WATCHING, BUT IS THERE A TASK THAT THEY CAN DO THAT WILL MEANINGFULLY HAVE THEM THINKING FOR A BRIEF MOMENT OF CAREER EXPLORATION? THERE'S SOME REALLY EXCITING MOMENTUM THAT WE'RE SEEING FROM OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE HAD THIS IN PLACE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND I THINK IT CAN BE AN EXCITING WAY, AGAIN, TO TAKE THE REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE THAT SOME OF OUR STUDENTS ALREADY HAVE.
AGAIN, GOING BACK TO SCIENCE RESEARCH OR THOSE THAT PURSUE THE PELHAM TOGETHER INTERNSHIP IN THE SUMMER AND BRING IT TO AS A POSSIBILITY FOR EVERY STUDENT BEFORE THEY GRADUATE FROM OUR HIGH SCHOOL. GO AHEAD.
OKAY. ARE YOU SURE? CAN CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE COURSE? THE NINTH GRADE COURSE THAT'S STILL UNDER CONSIDERATION?
[02:15:01]
SURE, SURE.I'M FORGETTING. I'M FORGETTING WHAT YOU CALL.
AND THE COMPONENTS OF THAT INCLUDE SEVERAL ASPECTS.
I THINK THAT STUDENTS ARE ORGANIZED BECAUSE THEY'RE IN GOOGLE CLASSROOM OR BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CALENDAR THAT'S DIGITAL, BUT IN FACT, IT'S HARD, RIGHT? THE WORLD IS VERY HARD, AND TEACHING TO EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT THAT CAN LOOK LIKE.
AND THERE IS A MODEL AGAIN THAT THE ONE THAT STANDS OUT THAT THAT'S REALLY KIND OF HALLMARK FOR ME IS A HEALTH TEACHER UP IN YORKTOWN WHO, INCIDENTALLY, HAD BEEN A STUDENT TEACHER HERE IN PELHAM SOME TIME AGO AND REALLY HAS A RANGE OF RESOURCES HELPING CHILDREN THINK ABOUT, LET'S START WITH EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.
THEN THERE'S THE REALITY OF DIGITAL LITERACY.
AND OUR STUDENTS AND ALL OF US RIGHT NOW ARE ENGAGED IN SCREEN TIME.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR, IT'S IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND WONDERFUL LESSONS, BUT IT'S A PORTION.
AND SO THE THINKING IS, IF YOU HAD A STANDALONE COURSE IN CONCEPT, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF A WRITING SEMINAR, COULD YOU, INSTEAD OF HAVING A STUDY HALL IN THAT NINTH GRADE FLIP SIDE OF WRITING SEMINAR, HAVE THIS DISCOVERY COURSE POTENTIALLY LED BY A HEALTH TEACHER? RIGHT NOW OUR FACULTY IS IS KIND OF FULL PROGRAMS. SO THE QUESTION OF WHERE IS THE STAFF MEMBER IS A REAL QUESTION.
WHERE WOULD WE GET THIS PERSON? AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SAY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY AND HAVE SOMEONE PUSH BACK AND SAY, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT, IN MEETING WITH MICHAEL RETTIG AND TALKING ABOUT THIS DISCOVERY COURSE AS IT HAPPENS, WHICH I STILL THINK IS VERY MEANINGFUL? THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF AN MOMENT WHERE HE SAID, EVEN IF IT'S JUST ONE STUDENT, IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE STUDENT WHO GOES FROM 730 IN THE MORNING THROUGH ESSENTIALLY 2:51 P.M.
AND DOESN'T HAVE A LUNCH, THAT'S, THAT'S THAT'S PART OF YOUR BALANCE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW.
HOW CAN YOU AND HOW CAN WE POTENTIALLY HAVE STUDENTS ENGAGE IN A DISCOVERY COURSE AND ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING, ADDING IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT'S GOING TO GIVE STUDENTS WHO PRESENTLY MIGHT HAVE A STUDY HALL THAT'S USED NOT ONLY FOR PRODUCTIVE STUDYING, BUT ALSO TO GIVE THEM GREATER TIME MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AFTER SCHOOL AND HAVE THEM ENGAGE IN THIS COURSEWORK.
SO THERE'S THERE'S SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS.
I HOPE THAT THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
THANK YOU. I WAS HOPING YOU WERE TALKING BEFORE ABOUT, THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS, DIPLOMA.
AND I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WORKS.
IT'S A TRACK. HOW DOES THAT QUESTION.
I'M GOING TO BE A LITTLE TECHNICAL.
PERHAPS YOU'RE ALREADY WITH ME.
BUT JUST TO SAY IT, THE STATE ALREADY HAS WHAT'S CALLED A FOUR PLUS ONE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT, RIGHT? A FOUR PLUS ONE. SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN EXAM IN FOUR CORE ACADEMIC SUBJECT AREAS AND A PLUS ONE.
ESSENTIALLY THE SEAL WOULD FULFILL THE PLUS ONE.
SO THAT'S THAT'S THAT'S VERY EXCITING BECAUSE IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE, THEIR CREDENTIAL AND CERTIFICATION FOR BEING READY TO GRADUATE AT A STATE LEVEL FULFILLED BY A PROJECT ORIENTED APPROACH THAT'S NOT CONTINGENT UPON EXAMS, AND PARTICULARLY FOR SOME STUDENTS, THAT MIGHT BE REALLY AN ASSIST. BUT I THINK FOR ALL STUDENTS, WHAT'S SO EXCITING? AND THE LANGUAGE IS A LITTLE BIT COMPLICATED, WE'RE BASICALLY ALREADY PREPARING OUR STUDENTS AS 12TH GRADERS TO PURSUE THIS BECAUSE COURSEWORK, INCLUDING GOING BACK TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, INCLUDING THE INCREDIBLE WORK THEY DO, THE COMMUNITY PROJECT EXAM PERFORMANCE, IN FACT, DESPITE TALKING ABOUT NOT HAVING EXAMS, STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PASS SOCIAL STUDIES EXAMS AND SO CERTAIN PERFORMANCE AT A MASTERY LEVEL, THERE'S BASICALLY A GRID.
THERE'S A THERE'S A TALLY THAT THE STATE GIVES SCHOOLS, AND A LOCAL COMMITTEE NEEDS TO BASICALLY USE A, AN INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT OF EVERY CHILD BASED UPON WHAT THEY'VE PERFORMED, THE COURSEWORK THEY'VE TAKEN, THEIR PERFORMANCE IN THE COURSES, THEIR STATE EXAM PERFORMANCE, AND, AGAIN, COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT OR DEEPER.
ENGAGEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY CAN GET CREDIT FOR.
[02:20:01]
SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS AS A CLEAR WAY OF SAYING THAT THE SEAL IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TO ALL STUDENTS IN NEXT YEAR'S GRADUATING CLASS AS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN PURSUE.MOST OF THEM ARE REALLY CLOSE BY WAY OF WHAT THEY'VE ALREADY DONE TO BE POSITIONED TO EARN IT.
BUT THERE WILL BE MORE STEPS THEY'LL HAVE TO BE TAKING TAKE.
AND IN DUE TIME. WHAT WE'RE THINKING IS THAT THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO HAVE.
RIGHT NOW, I THINK MANY OF OUR STUDENTS ARE DOING IMPORTANT, PURPOSEFUL WORK, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, THE GOAL IS TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT FROM A REQUIREMENT TOWARDS, AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT IS, DELIBERATELY CRAFTED TO HAVE IMPACT.
RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN GET YOUR COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIREMENT BY DOING ANY NUMBER OF THINGS.
AND THE THINKING IS, WELL, WHAT IF YOU DID SOMETHING DELIBERATELY OVER TIME? AND HOW COULD THAT POSITION YOU FOR AN INTERNSHIP? OR HOW COULD THAT POSITION YOU JUST TO FEEL LIKE YOU'VE YOU FOCUSED ON SOMETHING AND THAT FOCUS, EVEN IF IT'S NOT YOUR LONG TERM PURSUIT, CAN BE REALLY, REALLY MEANINGFUL FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. GREAT.
THANK YOU. THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING YOU COULD WRITE ABOUT, LIKE IN A COLLEGE APPLICATION 100%.
SO I'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK ASIDE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO BE LONG WINDED.
AND MR. VANE, MY COLLEAGUE IN THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT, WAS ASKING THE STUDENTS BEFORE THEY CLOSED, WHAT'S ONE MAGIC MOMENT YOU'VE HAD THIS YEAR? AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, ONE OF OUR YOUNG STUDENTS, A NINTH GRADER, SAID, MY MAGIC MOMENT WAS SPEAKING AT A TOWN HALL WHERE I WAS ASKED AS A YOUNG PERSON TO SPEAK ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES IN TOWN.
AND THAT WAS INCREDIBLE BECAUSE ACTUALLY, THAT CONNECTS TO SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS.
THAT YOUNG PERSON IS ALREADY INVOLVED WITH OUR STUDENT ASSOCIATION HERE.
THEY TOOK THEIR TIME TO BE PART OF THE PANEL.
THAT'S A SECOND INSTANCE. AND THE THIRD INSTANCE THAT THIS PERSON CITED WAS THAT THEY WERE ALREADY INVOLVED WITH BASICALLY A COMMUNITY BASED CONVERSATION AT THE DURANGO TOWN HOUSE. NOW, THAT'S A YOUNG PERSON WHO'S POSITIONING THEMSELVES, WHETHER THEY CHOOSE TO OR NOT, TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS AND PROBABLY TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ACTION PROJECT.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO HELP MAKE IT MORE PURPOSEFUL.
THE STUDENTS DID A GREAT JOB TOO.
OH THANK YOU. I MEAN AND THANK THEM.
YES. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT I CAN ANSWER TONIGHT? A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE I THINK THERE WERE TWO COURSES THAT ARE NOW GOING TO BE IONA UNIVERSITY COURSE.
OH, SURE. SO ASTRONOMY AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER ONE.
SO WE HAVE A DATA SCIENCE COURSE WHICH STARTED LAST YEAR.
AND WE HAVE AN ASTRONOMY COURSE THAT STARTED THIS YEAR.
AND THANK YOU TO DOCTOR CALLAHAN AND TO OUR TEACHERS.
IN ADDITION, YOU MAY BE AWARE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES.
I WON'T GIVE YOU THE WHOLE LIST RIGHT NOW, BUT THOSE ARE NEW ADDITIONS.
WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT. SO THE THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN THOSE COURSES CAN APPLY FOR THE CREDIT.
THEY WILL BE ABLE TO AS THEY TAKE THE COURSE, FOR NEXT YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S APPLICABLE RIGHT NOW.
YES. GOTCHA. OKAY. IT'S THIS YEAR AS WELL OKAY OKAY.
THANK YOU, DOCTOR KELLY. OKAY.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU.
THIS WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE WORK, AND I THINK WE CAN ALL APPRECIATE THE VISION.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE VERY INFORMATIVE AS WE WORK ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
ALL RIGHT. I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE OUR ADMINISTRATORS.
WE'VE GOT OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPER.
EARL HUNTER IS IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT.
TOMORROW MORNING COMES VERY QUICKLY.
WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.
[6.1 Superintendent's Report - Mid-Year Update]
SO WE DO HAVE ONE MORE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, AND THAT IS JUST A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE MID-YEAR REPORT FROM ME.JULIE. AND IS THERE A CLICKER SO I CAN STAY HERE OR.
I'D LOVE TO JUST KIND OF TAKE IT FROM YOU.
VERY WELCOME. SO I AM GOING TO GO RATHER QUICKLY THROUGH THIS.
SO JUST AS A REMINDER, THE WE WORK TOGETHER AS A GOVERNANCE TEAM OF EIGHT, BACK IN AUGUST AT OUR BOARD RETREAT OVER ACTUALLY JULY AND AUGUST TO DEVELOP THE THREE GOALS FOR THE YEAR.
SO THE GOAL AREAS AROUND FINANCE AND FACILITIES, ACADEMICS AND CLIMATE AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND USED KIND OF A SMART GOAL FORMAT TO IDENTIFY AND LAY OUT THE REALLY WHERE WE WANT TO GO TO BY THE END OF THIS YEAR AND HOW WE WANTED TO GET THERE, MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY AND DIFFERENT DELIVERABLES.
[02:25:03]
SO AS FAR AS OUTCOMES, PARTICULARLY STARTING WITH FINANCE AND FACILITIES, THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE IDENTIFIED, THAT BY THE END OF THE YEAR, SOME THINGS THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DIG INTO AND HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF.SO PROGRESS THIS FALL, THESE ARE SOME OF THE DELIVERABLES THAT WE HAVE ALREADY TOUCHED ON THIS YEAR THAT ARE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND OR IN PROGRESS, THE DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY, WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN DRAFTS.
WE'RE DOING SOME PROOFREADING THERE.
WE'LL BE GETTING A FINALIZATION SOON.
ROOM UTILIZATION REPORT IS COMING ALONG WITH THE BUILDING CONDITIONS REPORT AS WELL.
OUR ARCHITECT IS WORKING ON BOTH, THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU TO JIM AND JOHN CONDON, WHO LEFT.
HE WAS HERE FOR A WHILE TONIGHT, BUT I'VE ALREADY SET UP.
WE'VE ALREADY SET UP TWO SITE VISITS, AND WE WERE HOPING TO DO TWO MORE, TO CONTINUE TO JUST TO SEE WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS ARE DOING, HOW THEY'RE DOING IT, TRYING TO FIND DISTRICTS THAT HAVE SOME COMPARABLE, PROGRAMS AND CHALLENGES FROM A FACILITIES PERSPECTIVE WITH US, AND TO SEE SOME EXCITING IDEAS AND THINGS THAT MAY SPARK OUR INTEREST FOR THE FUTURE, ESPECIALLY HEADING INTO STRATEGIC PLANNING.
SAFETY COMMITTEE, WE HAVE A COMMITTEE COMING UP, I BELIEVE, NEXT WEEK.
SO WE'RE ACTIVELY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT AND TO MAKING SOME PROGRESS THERE.
AGAIN, THAT'S A VERY BROAD, HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW.
WE JUST DID GET OUR FIRST STATE AID RUN TODAY.
SO WE'RE ANALYZING THAT AS WE SAY AND SEEING WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH ON THAT.
SO IT'S A IT'S AN ESTIMATE TO START WITH.
AND WE'LL BE SHARING MORE OF THAT INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD AT UPCOMING MEETINGS.
AND AS I MICHAEL'S ALREADY MENTIONED, STRATEGIC PLANNING.
WE DID AN A IMPACT WORK SESSION IN THE FALL TO KIND OF LAY THE GROUNDWORK TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THOSE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THE LAST TWO STRATEGIC PLANS THAT COULD SERVE AS A FOUNDATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO WE'LL BE LAUNCHING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
THE CONSULTANTS ARE CONFIRMED TO BE HERE AT OUR FEBRUARY 12TH BOARD MEETING.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE FIRST OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET, THEY WILL BE IN HERE IN PERSON TO PRESENT THE TIMELINE, THE PLAN FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING, DELIVERABLES, ETC., TO GET THAT PROCESS UP AND RUNNING.
AND WE'VE ALREADY INTERNALLY BEGUN OUR BACK A FEW MONTHS AGO, BEGINNING OUR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE GUIDANCE THAT THE BOARD HAD PROVIDED TO US AND WITH SOME OF THE LANDSCAPE OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATED FINANCIALLY.
AND AS WAS MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES TONIGHT.
MISTER MICHAEL REDDIG WAS WITH US LAST WEEK.
DOCTOR BOWMAN, LED A VARIETY OF SESSIONS WITH HIM TO TAKE A LOOK AT BOTH OUR ELEMENTARY SCHEDULE AND THE SECONDARY SCHEDULE AND LOOK FOR SOME WAYS THAT WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT, HOW WE CAN USE THE THE HOW CAN WE USE SPACE? EXCUSE ME? TIME.
IN ADDITION TO THE SPACE AND FACILITIES TO BETTER SUPPORT OUR PROGRAMS AS WE THINK TO THE FUTURE CLIMATE AND COMMUNICATIONS, THESE WERE THE OUTCOMES THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR IN THAT AREA. AND REALLY TWO BIG EFFORTS IN THIS AREA.
ALSO, DOCTOR GARCIA HAS BEEN TAKING THE LEAD WITH OUR STAFF CLIMATE SURVEY.
SO THANKS REALLY TO BOTH OF THEM FOR A LOT OF WORK.
DOCTOR GARCIA WORKED WITH A SMALL TEAM OF ADMINISTRATORS TO REALLY THOUGHTFULLY PLAN OUT QUESTIONS IN THAT, WE, HAD TO WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE OUR FIRST BRIEFING WITH THE RESEARCHER YESTERDAY, SO THAT DIDN'T WORK.
WE WILL BE MEETING WITH HIM IN SAN DIEGO, I'M SURE.
BUT WE WILL BE REGROUPING WITH HIM NEXT WEEK AS ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM.
SO WE DID GET AGAIN THE DRAFT OF THAT REPORT.
AND I THINK A LOT OF POSITIVES THAT I WAS ABLE TO PREVIEW YESTERDAY WHILE I WAS, AT HOME.
SO REALLY EXCITING WORK COMING OUT OF THAT.
SO THOSE REALLY SET THE STAGE FOR THE WORK IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
SO OUR SURVEY HAS BEEN DONE, CLIMATE SURVEYS.
YOU SAW ONE IN MR. BERKOWITZ'S PRESENTATION TONIGHT AS WELL.
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL HAVE BOTH LAUNCHED FALL SURVEYS.
[02:30:07]
RESOURCES TO GO WITH THAT.WE'VE INITIATED STAFF NEWSLETTERS THIS YEAR AND DOING THAT THROUGH, PARENT SQUARE, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY, VERY JUST SUCH A GREAT SEAMLESS SYSTEM. ALSO, I'VE BEEN HOLDING LUNCHEONS WITH STAFF, SO I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THOSE COMING UP.
SO I THINK THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH WILL BE A COUPLE DIFFERENT.
THAT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT CONVERSATIONS.
PARENT SQUARE, WE DID LAUNCH THIS FALL AND WE HAVE FOUND IT AN INCREDIBLY USEFUL TOOL.
STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCILS ARE UP AND RUNNING.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I JUST GENERALLY DO ANNUALLY AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.
WE REALLY IDENTIFIED THESE OUTCOMES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND TO WORK ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, CERTAINLY FOCUSING ON ACADEMIC GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT, AS WELL AS FINDING WAYS TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SIDE OF, WORKING WITH OUR STUDENTS.
HE'S BEEN WITH US SINCE, ABOUT 830 NOW.
HE'S ABOUT 10:00 THIS MORNING, WEEDING WITH OUR SCHOOL CULTURE COACHES.
I WAS ABLE TO BE PART OF THAT AND REALLY SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS THERE.
AND ACTUALLY, THAT MAY LEAD US TO WE'RE HOPING TO, SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT AND DISCUSSION WITH COMMUNITY ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION, WITH THE COMMUNITY. AND AS I HEARD THE, DISCUSSION OF THE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS, MAYBE WE CAN EVEN TAP SOME STUDENTS INTO THOSE EFFORTS NEXT YEAR.
SO OUR COMMITTEES ARE UP AND RUNNING AS WELL.
MANY BOARD MEMBERS ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THOSE.
YOU'VE HEARD REPORTS AND UPDATES THERE.
DOCTOR BOWMAN HAS DONE A, SOME TREMENDOUS, OUTCOMES PRESENTATIONS FOR THE BOARD, FOR THE PUBLIC.
WE HAD A GREAT WORK SESSION AS WELL WITH HER, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO, TAKE A LOOK AT THE PROGRESS THAT THE DISTRICTS MADE, BOTH IN ADVANCING OUR USE OF BRANCHING MINES FOR THE MTS PROCESS. AND ROLLING THAT OUT.
I KNOW THERE'S TIME DEVOTED IN UPCOMING SUPERINTENDENT'S CONFERENCE DAY TO CONTINUE THE EXPANSION OF THAT WORK, AND ALSO WORKING AT THE ADMINISTRATIVE LEVEL TO START TO WRAP OUR MINDS AROUND THE CAPACITY OF THE DATA DASHBOARD, THAT IS CONNECTED TO INFINITE CAMPUS, WHICH IS CALLED DATA VIZ.
SO AND I KNOW THAT AS PART OF STRATEGIC PLANNING, WE'RE ALSO THEN ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE SELECTED HAZARD, YOUNG AND ATTEA WAS A TOOL THAT THEY OFFERED AS WELL TO EXTEND AN OUTWARD FACING DASHBOARD.
SO WHAT'S AHEAD? I'VE TOUCHED ON MOST OF THIS.
SO AGAIN PRESENTATIONS COMING UP AT NEXT MEETINGS, LAUNCH OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE BUDGET PROCESS.
THOSE REALLY I THINK ARE SOME OF OUR BIGGEST KEY, KEY MOVES.
SO THE SITE VISITS, THE ROOM UTILIZATION, THE BUILDING CONDITIONS, ALL THE TOOLS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED IN HAND TO THEN GET US TOWARDS THAT END OF YEAR GOAL, ESPECIALLY IN FINANCE AND FACILITIES, OF HAVING A SOLID REVIEW OF OUR FINANCES AND ALSO A STRONG REVIEW OF OUR FACILITIES THAT SHOULD POSITION US FOR WHATEVER IS NEXT.
SO THOSE WILL BE ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AS WELL.
SO MAY IS GENERALLY OUR TEN YEAR CELEBRATION.
JUNE IS OUR RETIREMENT CELEBRATION.
NOT A LOT OF RETIREMENTS THIS YEAR.
YES. YES WE DO HAVE WE HAVE A COUPLE, DOCTOR ZANKI, WHICH I KNOW HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED EARLIER, AND I'M MARK FINNEGAN, LONG TIME DISTRICT EMPLOYEE, LONGTIME UNION PRESIDENT FOR THE DISTRICT AS WELL. SO HE SERVED IN A KEY LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE DISTRICT, AND HE WILL BE RETIRING AT THE END OF THIS YEAR AS WELL.
THAT BRINGS ME TO THE BRIEF END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO I WILL JUST PAUSE THERE AND ASK FOR ANY QUICK QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD.
[02:35:04]
I KNOW THE BOARD HAS BEEN PART OF MOST OF THIS WORK, SO IT'S IT'S VERY FAMILIAR TERRITORY.SO BUT REALLY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR CONTINUED WORK IN THAT.
I WANT TO THANK MY CABINET AND THEY'VE JUST DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
WE I STILL REMEMBER WE SAT IN AUGUST AND WE MAPPED OUT, OKAY, IF THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO BE, LET'S PUT THE MONTHS UP ON THE WALL AND WE WAR GAMED IT OUT AND DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB OF STAYING REALLY ON TRACK WITH THAT.
SO THIS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING WITHOUT THEM, WITHOUT THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND THEN BY EXTENSION, OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM AT THE, YOU KNOW, THE BUILDING LEVEL.
SO I'M REALLY THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING THE END OF THE CLOSING THING, CLOSING THE LOOP AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WITH EVERYTHING ACCOMPLISHED THAT WE SET OUT TO DO. THANK YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT WHEN WE MET IN, IN AUGUST, WHEN WE DID OUR RETREAT, I KNOW IT WAS A TALL ORDER OF THE THINGS WE THE BOARD GAVE YOU TO ACCOMPLISH, AND, WE'RE ALMOST THERE, RIGHT? LIKE WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR.
SO I'M GLAD TO SEE SO MUCH HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF THAT WE DID ASK, IN AUGUST.
AND I'M GLAD THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATE SURVEY, I MEAN, IT'S A LOT.
THANK YOU TO YOU AND THE CABINET FOR ALL THE WORK.
YES. DID YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT NATALIE MENTIONED WAS, YOU KNOW, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WE SAW THE WORK THAT DOCTOR BOWMAN HAD BEEN DOING WITH THE DATA DATA VISUALIZATION, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS REALLY FIRST CLASS AND FASCINATING AND A GREAT PIECE OF WORK.
RIGHT. AND AND EVEN JUST SHOWING THE PUBLIC HOW, HOW THE DATA IS USED TO SORT OF DRIVE SOME DECISION MAKING IN THE DISTRICT IS WOULD BE PRETTY COOL TO DO THAT.
[6.2 Board of Education Committee Reports]
I THOUGHT WE WERE COMMITTEES, THOUGH.I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAD ANY COMMITTEES LAST TIME.
ALL RIGHT. AND WE'RE EXCUSING.
I WOULD JUST SAY IF IF ANYONE I KNOW.
I KNOW THAT THE CABINET DOES SEND HOME, YOU KNOW, MEMOS.
YOU KNOW, I SEND HOME MEMOS TO THE BOARD, CERTAINLY BEFORE BOARD MEETINGS.
SO WHILE WE'RE NOT HAVING THEM REPORT, IF ANYONE DID HAVE A QUESTION, CERTAINLY WANTED TO OFFER THAT UP, BECAUSE I KNOW, A FEW ITEMS MAY BE ON THE AGENDA FOR VOTE AND CERTAINLY WANT YOU TO FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT YOU HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED ON WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING TONIGHT.
SO JUST OPEN IT UP TO SEE IS ANYBODY HAVE A QUESTION FOR ANY OF THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. WE HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY.
[7. Communications and Comments from the Public]
OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.JUST SAY YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
I CAME FOR THE WASTEWATER DISCUSSION, WHATEVER STORM WATER DISCUSSION.
BUT I STAYED FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATIONS.
I HAVE TWO CHILDREN IN THE DISTRICT.
ONE'S AN EIGHTH GRADER. ONE'S A 12TH GRADER.
WE DON'T REALLY GO VERY MUCH IN THE WEEDS, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO CALL OUT THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN AMAZING ENGLISH DEPARTMENT.
OKAY. LIKE THE, THE DISCUSSIONS THEY HAVE IN CLASS ARE LIKE CHALLENGING AND THEY REALLY DO.
I AND I'VE LIKE REACHED OUT TO A LOT OF THE ENGLISH TEACHERS JUST IN PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES.
I FEEL LIKE THEY'RE VERY THEY SPEAK VERY FREELY.
I AM A EDITOR AT LIKE A LARGE NATIONAL NEWS ORGANIZATION.
[02:40:06]
SCHOOL BOARDS, UP IN ARMS, BANNING BOOKS, YOU KNOW, NOT BANNING BOOKS OR REALLY KIND OF PUTTING RESTRAINTS ON TEACHERS.I GUESS THAT'S ALSO A CREDIT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT THAT DEFINITELY TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE.
AND I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THAT BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE THE DISCUSSIONS SHE'S HAD IN THAT CLASSROOM HAVE BEEN SO CENTRAL TO THAT, LIKE BOTH ACADEMICALLY AND SOCIALLY AND KIND OF FOR HER GROWTH.
SO I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY AND ESPECIALLY THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AND THE ENGLISH TEACHERS.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT.
YEAH. I JUST WANT TO SORT OF ECHO THAT ENGLISH LIT GRAD UNDERGRAD HERE.
AND I READ A VERY SORT OF, FOR ME, DEPRESSING ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND I THINK I SHARED WITH DOCTOR CHAMP DOCTOR BOWMAN ABOUT HOW THE NUMBER OF THE ENROLLMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGLISH COURSES AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL HAS JUST FALLEN OFF A CLIFF.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE DOWN BY SORT OF ALMOST CATASTROPHIC AMOUNT.
OKAY. SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO FINANCIAL MOTIONS, REPORTS AND MOTIONS.
[8. Financial Reports and Motions]
AND I WOULD ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 8.1 THROUGH 8.6 AS A CONSENT AGENDA.ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS.
AND THIS DOES INCLUDE THE CALENDAR.
WHICH HAS TWO WEEKS IN THE WINTER.
YES. I CAN MAYBE TOUCH ON THAT REALLY QUICKLY.
I WAS GOING TO SAY WHILE YOU LOOK FOR THAT.
YEAH. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE NSMA.
AS A PARENT, THAT PUSHES, AND I DO MEAN PUSHES FOR THEIR KIDS TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR.
SO I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY FOR THAT.
THANK YOU. AND I ALSO THINK IT WILL BRING OTHER STUDENTS HERE AND KIND OF THE AWARENESS THAT IT BRINGS WHEN PARENTS COME IN, BECAUSE EVERY TIME I GO TO ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL, I'M ALWAYS LIKE LOOKING AROUND, CHECKING AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE DOORS, WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING ALL AROUND.
YEAH. AND I'D SAY I DO APPRECIATE THE BOARD BEING WILLING TO WAIVE THOSE FEES.
I KNOW, ANDREW VAN BOCHOVE, OUR MUSIC COORDINATOR.
I KNOW HE SPOKE A LOT WITH DOCTOR BOWMAN AND WORKED WITH THE BUSINESS OFFICE MYSELF.
AND IT IS IT IS AN INVESTMENT, AND I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT IS A ON THE ONE SENSE LIKE IT'S EVERYONE TAKES A TURN AT DOING IT, BUT IT IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, A REAL PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO BRING PEOPLE INTO YOUR SPACE AND TO, TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS AND TO GIVE STUDENTS THAT AT HOME OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE THEMSELVES. AS A FORMER MUSIC TEACHER AND MUSIC STUDENT, I, I DID ALL THAT AND IT REALLY IS VERY MEANINGFUL STUDENT TO STUDENTS.
SO THANK THE BOARD FOR IT IS TAKING ON A LOT.
OUR FACILITIES TEAM IS GOING TO BE TAKING ON A LOT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
OF COURSE, IT'S GOING TO BE AMAZING BECAUSE EVERYTHING THEY DO IS TOP NOTCH.
AS FAR AS THE CALENDAR REAL QUICK, THERE ARE A LOT OF REGULATIONS AROUND HOW THIS HAPPENS.
IT'S NOT JUST THAT WE KIND OF MAKE IT UP AND DO WHAT WE DO EACH YEAR.
SO NEXT YEAR IT'S PRETTY LATE AGAIN.
WE HAVE TO GET IN 180 DAYS BY STATE REGULATION.
OUR TEACHER'S CONTRACT IS 185 DAYS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE DO IS WE START WITH THAT LAST DAY AND BACKTRACK IT ALL THE WAY IN TO GET 185 DAYS, PUT IN THE REQUIRED, STATE AND FEDERAL HOLIDAYS, PUT IN THE REQUIRED CONTRACTUAL HOLIDAYS AND BREAKS, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER OF HOURS IN THE IN DAYS OF THE WEEK, HOURS IN THE DAY,
[02:45:01]
HOURS IN THE WEEK.SQUEEZE IN SOME SUPERINTENDENTS CONFERENCE DAYS.
AND I DO WANT TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO TO THE PELHAM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.
WHO HAS AGREED, BY LARGE MAJORITY TO COME BACK TO HAVE THEIR SUPERINTENDENTS CONFERENCE DAYS BEFORE LABOR DAY, WHICH IS WHAT IS GOING TO ENABLE US THEN TO HAVE A SOLID TWO WEEK BREAK AT THE HOLIDAYS.
SO THANKS TO THEM FOR THEIR COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION AND MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
THAT ALSO GIVES US A FULL FEBRUARY BREAK AND A FULL SPRING BREAK WITH AN EXTRA MONDAY AFTER EASTER.
PASSOVER ALIGNS WITH IT THIS YEAR SO THAT THAT WORKS OUT VERY NICELY.
WE DO HAVE THE, THE NEW CONTINGENCY, DATE, COMPENSATORY DAYS THAT ARE IN MAY.
I'LL BRING THOSE UP NOW BECAUSE IT IS RELEVANT TO YESTERDAY.
IF WE TAKE ONE SNOW DAY, WE LOSE.
ONE OF THOSE DAYS WILL THEN BECOME A SCHOOL DAY.
SO IN THE CURRENT SCHEDULE, WE USED A SNOW DAY YESTERDAY.
SO NOW ONE OF THOSE WILL BECOME A SCHOOL DAY.
IF WE USE THE SECOND ONE, THE SECOND ONE BECOMES A SCHOOL DAY.
BUT YEAH, WE TRY TO PRESERVE THOSE ARE GOOD MOTIVATOR TO TRY TO TRY TO PRESERVE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THOSE ARE THEY ARE THERE FOR, KIND OF A BALANCE OUT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF JUST SOME NUTS AND BOLTS.
BUT AGAIN, VERY APPRECIATIVE TO THEM, THEIR COOPERATION.
SO THAT MEANS STUDENTS WILL START ON TUESDAY AFTER LABOR DAY.
IT'S GOING TO BE A SHORT SUMMER.
IT'S GOING TO BE AN EARLY START, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE, A GOOD YEAR.
SO, DOCTOR CHAMP, DO WE ALSO HAVE A NEW HOLIDAY IN JANUARY THAT WE ARE RECOGNIZING? THANK YOU. THANK. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
WE WILL BE RECOGNIZING LUNAR NEW YEAR.
THAT IS A NEW HOLIDAY THAT ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS WILL BE OFF SCHOOL.
WE'RE HAPPY TO PUT THAT IN THERE.
TWO THINGS THAT STILL NEED TO BE ADDED TO THIS CALENDAR.
SO I WILL BE BRINGING IT BACK TO YOU.
ONE OF THAT, ONE OF THOSE IS PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES.
DOCTOR BOWMAN WILL BE MEETING WITH THE TEAM OF TEACHERS THIS SPRING ONCE WE'VE KIND OF GOTTEN THROUGH BOTH CYCLES, BECAUSE AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS THIS YEAR. SO WE WANT TO GO BACK AND SEE HOW THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WORKED OUT.
WE MAY TRY TO MAKE SOME SHIFTS IN ALIGNMENT THAT THAT WOULD IMPACT THE CALENDAR.
SO WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU WITH WITH ADDITIONS OF THOSE.
AND WE ALSO HAVE NOT ADDED IN THE PLC DAYS YET FOR THIS YEAR.
THEN WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT LEAVES US WITH PLC DAYS.
AND THOSE WILL ALSO BE COMING BACK TO YOU LATER ON THIS SPRING.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO I THINK I WOULD ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEMS 9.1 THROUGH
[9. Superintendent's Personnel Recommendations]
9.4 AS A CONSENT AGENDA.ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS HERE? NOPE. PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YEAH. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSITION? NO. ALL RIGHT.
AND THEN I WILL ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 10.1.
[10.1 Motion to Approve Schedule D - Committee on Special Education (Confidential)]
MOTION TO APPROVE SCHEDULE D.ANY OPPOSITION? NO. AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW BUSINESS.
AND SO I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON TO A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
AND THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
ALL RIGHT. AND ONE MORE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR PAULINE FOR HER LAST BOARD MEETING.
THANK YOU. PAULINE.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.