At mid-year meeting, Sea Cliff village board looks ahead

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The Sea Cliff Village Board has a lot to look forward to in the coming months as the summer begins to heat up.

A resolution to approve a public hearing regarding legislation to ban Styrofoam, plastic straws and coffee stirrers in the village has been postponed until further notice. Trustee Dina Epstein, who is the liaison to the Environmental Conservation Commission, said the exact verbiage of the law was still being considered.

Epstein is also the liaison to the village’s Traffic and Safety Committee, whose members have been working with administrators from the North Shore School District since January to research solutions to the safety issue at Littleworth Lane between Sea Cliff Elementary and its adjacent playground. Although the joint taskforce has yet to come to a consensus on a final traffic and safety plan, recommendations will be presented to the village board at the next public comment meeting on July 9.

Deputy Mayor Kevin McGilloway, who oversees the Technology Task Force, said a presentation will be given outlining plans for the new village website. Website chair Liz Baron, who ran against McGilloway during village elections, has been investigating multiple options and packages for the new site with other members of the task force. McGilloway said the revamped website would offer double the content and information available on the current site, and would be better navigable for users.

He then gave an update on the village’s sub-division task force. “This task force was created to strike a balance between healthy, developmental growth while maintaining Sea Cliff’s charm,” he said.

The task force’s three-pronged approach in the coming months is to simplify and clarify the building code; update the village’s 40-year-old sub-division code; and represent Sea Cliff in determinations with adjoining communities in regard to development.

During her report, Trustee Deborah McDermott read an email submitted by Little League Commissioner James Versocki in reference to resurfacing the fields at Clifton Park. The village recently completed a renovation of the backstops and fencing at both fields at a cost of $16,000. Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy stipulated that even a modest renovation would cost $25,000 per infield. McGilloway suggested that Versocki present trustees with a dollar estimate and a level of options for the proposed resurfacing to be considered at the board’s next conference meeting on July 2.

McDermott also gave an update on the village’s five-year plan, which is still in its working stages. She said the board was conducting outreach in the community to identify input groups to contribute to the plan’s discovery process.

“This is an inclusive, collaborative process that tries to find the common voice, and will be important for our village going forward,” she said.