Town board extends battery moratorium

By JEFF MORRIS

The Bedford Town Board extended the town’s moratorium on applications for battery storage sites at its Feb. 18 meeting, and also heard about parking pay stations, created a senior programming task force, and did a quick overview of the 10-year capital plan.

Battery storage moratorium

A public hearing was held regarding a proposed six-month extension on the town’s moratorium on battery energy storage systems.

Supervisor Ellen Calves said the battery storage working group is still working on regulations for battery storage sites, and the state is proposing new regulations. 

“We are anxious to see what is included in that law,” she said. “That is why we are extending the moratorium.”

The town originally held a public hearing on imposing a six-month moratorium on battery energy storage systems, and approved it, last August. In January, with that moratorium set to expire, Calves said the initial moratorium was passed when they had hints that an application might be coming for a large-scale battery storage system, and they decided to take action before permits were issued.

In a Jan. 27 letter from Bernard Thombs of the Westchester County Planning Board, the town was informed that the county had reviewed the proposed moratorium extension, and that it appeared to be consistent with General Municipal Law and Section 277.61 of the County Administrative Code, and that it should be enacted with specific intent and purpose and should not extend beyond a reasonable time frame.

The public hearing was opened and closed with no comments being made, and the resolution was adopted.

Parking pay stations

Comptroller Brian Kenneally, who is also the administrator of the town’s parking bureau, gave a report on possibly eliminating the kiosk machines to pay for daily parking passes in the commuter lots.

Kenneally said there are six machines — two at Bedford Hills Lot 4, two at Katonah Lot 1, and two in Woods Bridge Lot 3 — and they have gotten notification from the vendor that the machines will be sunsetted starting in March.

“The first thing we did was get prices for full replacement,” he said. “To replace all six machines, the initial capital investment would be $50,000. In addition to that, for support over the life of the machines, it would be about another $50,000, so we’re looking at a $100,000 investment over the life of the machines, about 10 years.”

He noted that they had implemented a pay-by-phone app a few months ago, with a website available for those who do not wish to download an app. “So the question becomes,” said Kenneally, “do we make the investment of $100,000, or do we go with the pay-by-phone option?” 

Kenneally said people have been very receptive to pay-by-phone, and he has heard from colleagues in other towns that still have kiosks who do not plan to invest in them as they become sunsetted. He said it is probably too early to come to any conclusions; there is currently about a 2-1 split among those still using the kiosks versus those who are using the phone app, but he thinks using the $100,000 to make other improvements to the commuter lots would be a better call than putting it into new machines.

There have been some concerns expressed about security issues with paying by phone, said Kenneally, particularly with scammers placing stickers over the QR codes on signs to lead users to fraudulent sites. Board members and Kenneally discussed various methods for reducing and avoiding such risks, many of which are common to all mobile apps.

Senior task force

The board voted to approve a resolution creating a Senior Programming Task Force. The group will assess the recreation and engagement needs of residents aged 60 and older; conduct community outreach through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with local service providers; identify programming gaps and opportunities that promote physical activity, social connection, mental stimulation, and creative expression; collaborate with organizations serving the 60-plus population to explore potential partnerships; and provide actionable recommendations to the town board by June 2025.

Stephanie McCaine will serve as the town board liaison, with David Dobbins, a Bedford Hills resident and current member of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee as chair. Rosemary Vorel, the town’s senior advocate, will participate and assist with outreach efforts. 

Capital plan

Kenneally returned to provide a quick overview of the town’s 10-year capital plan. He said the most important thing in planning long-term for debt service is to avoid fluctuations, and showed that the town’s debt service each year from 2024 and over the next 10 years ranges from a high of about $5.9 million to a low of about $4.7 million. “If we do every project we planned for, there’s really no major spikes,” he said. 

The big ticket items in the current capital plan are pool renovations at the three town pools, which currently have placeholder amounts of $4 million each, with Bedford Hills slated for 2027, Katonah for 2030, and Bedford Village for 2031. The Crusher Road highway yard upgrade, slated to begin in 2026, is next at $1.9 million. Calves said the town has already started some of the analysis on Crusher Road, with money already set aside for some of the engineering and planning work. Similarly, she said, there is already $130,000 set aside for some of the pool assessment work that needs to be done before beginning work on the Bedford Hills project, so 2027 is not really that far away.

Calves also mentioned major 2025 expenses including a new senior bus, for which they’ve applied for a grant, that is on the list for $125,000; a grant for energy efficiency and some of the work on HVAC in Town Hall, which is listed for $500,000; $250,000 for improvements in hamlet centers; IT and software upgrades for $200,000; and an additional $200,000 for Todd’s Pond, bringing the total this year to $300,000. She is hoping police can apply for a grant for body cams, which are listed for $190,000, and also have applied for a grant for portable road barriers the police want to prevent assaults on crowds, which are on the list for $120,000. Another upgrade being sought is $125,000 to replace the HVAC in the Adams Street highway department administration building with heat pumps, which will provide air conditioning for their break room. Calves also cited $60,000 to replace the sidewalk from DeCicco & Sons to the village green in Bedford Village.

The board voted to accept the current version of the 10-year capital plan.