Katonah Village Improvment forum takes on issues hamlet is facing

The panel at KVIS forum, from left: Supervisor Ellen Calves, Recreation & Parks Commissioner Chris Soi, DPW Commissioner Kevin Winn, Police Chief Melvin Padilla and Katonah Fire Chief John Whalen. Moderator Don Scott is at right. PHOTO COURTESY DON SCOTT

By JEFF MORRIS

The Katonah Village Improvement Society held its annual hamlet forum Nov. 12 and town officials made a rare joint appearance on the panel.

They included Supervisor Ellen Calves, Recreation & Parks Commissioner Chris Soi, DPW Commissioner Kevin Winn, Police Chief Melvin Padilla, and Katonah Fire Chief John Whalen.

Whalen, though he said he doesn’t usually speak in public, used his introduction at the Katonah Village Library’s Garden Room to make a plea for more volunteers. He noted that the requirement for 250 hours of training may seem daunting, but is achievable.

After brief introductions, the panel members responded to questions from the audience, moderated by Don Scott. 

Concerns were raised by several people about pedestrians, traffic, and the Jay Street railroad crossing. One question regarded the desire for sidewalks from Harris Road to DeCicco’s shopping center, which was requested as part of the comprehensive plan. Calves said they had received a grant to do the technical design work necessary for part of the sidewalk, and were now seeking a grant to do the actual construction.

Winn said the Planning Department is looking to put together a conceptual design for a path to go from Harris Road to DeCicco Family Markets, which will probably be a shared-use path.

Another question was asked about increased commercial traffic on Bedford Road. Padilla said there had been an increase reported, probably because of more enforcement being done on Cherry Street. He said they have done traffic studies and are using the data to try to strategically handle the situation, but dealing with it is “kind of like trying to hold water in your hand.” The department has a few officers specifically trained in commercial vehicle enforcement, he said, and real-time reports would be helpful. Scott added that anyone seeing a tractor-trailer come through on Bedford Road should take pictures and send them in to the police immediately. He said the rules are that the road is supposed to be for local deliveries only. Scott also noted that at one time there was a problem with tractor-trailers cutting through on Adams Street in Bedford Hills, but that Padilla had acquired scales and put a weigh station in on Adams Street, which reduced the traffic when the word got out. Padilla confirmed that he still has that equipment.

Additional questions referred to both dangers to pedestrians crossing the railroad tracks at Jay Street, and traffic that backs up across the tracks, often because vehicles are yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. It was noted that the hamlet is increasingly busy with visitors on weekends. Winn said Metro-North has a project to redesign the crossing gates at that intersection, to put in a separate pedestrian gate, but that will not address the problem of cars stopping on the tracks. He suggested additional signage may be required to warn drivers to avoid stopping.

The condition of Todd’s Pond, and what’s being done about it, was brought up. The pond, which is man-made, is located off Cherry Street and has been shrinking and becoming increasingly choked with weeds for years, with several unsuccessful efforts made to remediate the problem. Soi said based on the studies that have been done, it is “a very expensive endeavor” to try and dredge the pond. He said the Todd’s Pond Advisory Committee has some recent proposals. “We are still discussing some potential options, but we’ve been stuck at a place where the costs have been above” what is feasible. He pushed back against the questioner’s suggestion that the town had simply given up; he said that even though the price tag to completely dredge the pond was “kind of astronomical” they are still looking at other options that could improve the pond. Scott added that he serves on the Todd’s Pond committee, and the town has “been great” and receptive to making improvements. Another resident suggested that they should look at using some of the funds the town no longer has to include in its budget for the libraries, to address the Todd’s Pond situation.

Scott noted that in a survey sent out by KVIS, 90% of respondents said it was very important that the town address the condition of the medians on Katonah Avenue and the Parkway. Winn said one problem is that while the trees that are there may not be the best species, they are mature and hide the wires. “If we cut them down and start with something that is 10 or 15-feet tall, it’ll take a long time to grow up, and of course NYSEG doesn’t want it up in their wires.” He said once they get up above 20 feet, NYSEG will come and prune them. “We’re working with KVIS, which has a landscape architect,” he said. “The right approach is to beautify it without deteriorating the screening or hiding of the wires.”

Soi said the Parks Department does the maintenance on the islands, and has resumed trimming the shrubs which had gotten overgrown for a couple of years. Calves said the town has consistently budgeted for maintaining the islands, but the Chamber of Commerce and KVIS had wanted to think about doing something “bigger and bolder” which might exceed the amount the town budgeted. She said they will continue to work together to get something done, with the challenge being to find trees that won’t die there.

A lot of the subsequent discussion dealt with the need for affordable housing in town and the difficulties people faced in applying for approval of accessory dwelling units. That topic was also addressed in a forum held the following evening in Bedford Hills by Blue Mountain Housing Development Corp., and was the subject of a story in last week’s issue.