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By Joyce Farrell

At the Village of Pelham Board of Trustees meeting on January 9, the board passed two resolutions regarding police equipment. The first one authorizes the Village Administrator to execute the First Amendment to the License Agreement with Westchester County concerning the replacement of the existing police antenna and related equipment at Police Headquarters; the second one authorizes the Village Administrator to execute the Inter-Municipal Agreement between the County of Westchester and the Village of Pelham to provide mobile radios for police vehicles from January 1, 2024, through January 1, 2029.

At the Board of Trustees meeting on January 23, Trustee Hanan Kamal Eldahry thanked the school board for the recent opportunity to present what the board of trustees and the mayor are trying to do regarding flood mitigation efforts.

Trustee Russell Solomon echoed Trustee Eldahry’s thanks to the school board and updated the board about the board regarding pedestrian safety efforts and  Cliff Avenue and Boulevard and at Wolfs Lane and Colonial Avenue, stating that what was planned is 7/8 completed and will probably be fully complete within the next two weeks. He also congratulated the participants in the Pelham Music Festival, which took place on January 20 at the Pelham Country Club, commenting that they are amazingly talented musicians and singers. He also congratulated Danielee’s Helping Hands on its grand reopening.

Mayor Chance Mullen, too, congratulated Danielee’s and then announced that Westchester County has committed $16 million towards Pelham’s flood mitigation efforts. It was a request that was put into the county’s capital budget, but there is a process by which the funds can be accessed. There’s a 50% match, and it’s a reimbursable grant.

Mayor Mullen also met with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s office to discuss the different ways to obtain federal funding, which are budget earmarks and grants. Since obtaining a grant is more likely, the senator’s office suggested the ones that they thought were the best to pursue.

The mayor also spoke about the presentation to the school board to solve the flooding issues that affect it. Although there is a conceptual plan, that considers the different sizes of drains and pipes needed in different areas and the different flow heights of the Hutchinson River, geotechnical studies are still needed before the construction phase can be planned and grant applications are made. For more information about the flooding issues or any other topic, or to hear public commentary about the flooding issues, visit www.pelhamgov.com/AgendaCenter and click on the media link for this meeting.

At the end of the meeting, the board passed a resolution authorizing the execution of an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) between the Village and the union that represents the Village’s Parking Enforcement Officers and School Crossing Guards regarding the terms and conditions for employment from June 1, 2024, through May 31, 2029.