Lewisboro board approves funding measures for equipment and facilities

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - The Lewisboro Town Board okayed a host of borrowing resolutions at its April 27 meeting – all of which provide funding for equipment and infrastructure deemed critical by both town leaders and Lewisboro’s Comprehensive Plan.

The first resolution the board passed was for a $465,000 bond anticipatory note. The funds will be used to purchase heavy equipment and vehicles for the maintenance of Lewisboro roads. The vehicles include a dump truck, two pickups, and a plow truck.

“The items that are in this resolution were discussed with the board members and were presented at a prior board meeting,” noted Lewisboro Town Supervisor Tony Gonçalves. “So, it's nothing new.”

The town’s bond counsel divided the cost for each over the useful life for these items, which is necessary for drafting any future bonding encompassing the same number of years. “These are the same trucks and vehicles that our highway superintendent and his staff, as well as our facilities team, need to do the excellent job that they're doing,” noted Deputy Town Supervisor Mary Shah.

The second funding measure that earned the board’s approval: a bond-anticipatory note for $491,000, which would fund equipment and improvements in town-owned facilities. This resolution covered a wide range of parks-related items. The larger items include new water systems for Lewisboro Town Park and the Cyrus Russell Community House, composting toilets at other spots, and a retaining wall at Lewisboro Town Park.

The funding total also encompasses a host of repairs and improvements at sports facilities and at the Highway Department complex, among others. With the exception of the water systems, these have a lifespan of five years.

Town comptroller Annie Burnham explained the difference between a bond anticipatory note and a bond measure. A bond anticipatory note typically spans one year before becoming due.

“A bond anticipation note gives us a little bit of flexibility to go into borrowing now and when that [sum] becomes due in one year,” Burnham said. “We have the option to renew, pay it off, or roll it into a bond. So, this is just a way for us to finance it without going into the fund balance any more than we already have.”

This type of borrowing also enables the town to better plan future resources. The alternative is for the town to fix equipment after it breaks down, Burnham said. Doing so can be costly because replacement parts become expensive as equipment ages. What’s more, such an approach would requires an emergency withdrawal from the town’s fund balance, diminishing the fund for future needs.

Maintaining a certain level in monetary reserves also enhances the town’s overall financial rating. This enables it to borrow any funds required on more favorable terms.

Independent of the two resolutions covering bond anticipatory notes, the Town Board okayed $160,000 in bond funding for town needs. These include a hybrid SUV for the police, another work vehicle, an electric vehicle for the deputy building inspector, and a second EV for the Facilities Department.

PD Design Approved

A design proposal by KG+D architects of Mount Kisco for the town’s new police headquarters also received a thumbs-up from the board. As proposed, the building would occupy a site at 81 Spring Street in South Salem, home to a much smaller building that houses a smaller cohort of New York State Police.

“We have had several meetings, discussions, and we decided to break this out into phases and start with phase one, which is the design phase for $137,500,” said Gonçalves. “Basically, that includes refining the site layout based on the recently received site survey [and] review of the building setbacks from Spring Street and the adjacent property.”

There’s more in phase one, starting with exterior attributes such as stormwater systems, parking, and walkways. Interior work encompassed by the design plan includes the building’s floor plan, materials and finishes, and mechanical systems such as HVAC, fire protection, security, and technology.

Addressing Town Attorney Greg Forchetti, Councilman Rich Sklarin noted that the town’s relationship with KG+D has been informal and ad hoc. ““What do we have by way of options to ensure that this proposal is competitive?” he asked.

Forchetti noted that proposals had been considered from three architectural firms. “After interviewing those three architectural firms and together with the chief… we made a decision to go KG&D,” Forchetti said. The other firms’ prices were significantly higher, he said.

Forchetti also noted that the town can select a different bidder for the two subsequent phases of design-and-engineering work. The construction phase of the project would follow those two phases.

Revisiting Short-Term Rentals

The meeting also continued a public meeting to air a proposed ordinance governing short-term rentals. Most residents expressed comments against the proposal.

South Salem resident Tadeusz (“T”) Rajwer said the rule appeared to be guided by a “get-off-my-lawn” philosophy more than the welcoming spirit that Lewisboro seeks to embody. “The title of our comprehensive plan is making connections, not making it harder for people to visit,” Rajwer said. “I haven't heard one good reason for this law yet. Not one. Short-term rentals are so quiet you would hardly know that they're there.”

Cove Road resident Linda Clark disagreed, saying regulations are needed in the current environment. “I'm the person who's living next door to the people who are renting,” Clark said. “I'm the one that's dealing with the dog poo in the yard or the people who are walking up on my dock or [other] things that really shouldn't be done because the host has not set any rules and regulations. Last Saturday, the people next to me had a party…started out with six people, ended up with 16 people and dogs and chaos running around. I had to hide in my house.”

One person who sent an email in opposition to the regulations was Fernanda Reini. Reini owns a cleaning service and serves many of the owners of short-term rentals and expressed worry that such a regulation might negatively affect her enterprise.

“I have generally been surprised at how the short-term renters have looked after the space and been good citizens in these neighborhoods,” said Reini. “I've never heard of any quality-of-life complaints about these renters from any neighbors of these short-term rentals. I therefore oppose the need for proposed short-term rental regulations.”

The Town Board closed the public hearing, but noted that it will schedule a series of public meetings to discuss the issue of short-term rentals in the near future.

Among other measures, the Town Board made the following announcements:

• The Town of Lewisboro received a Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities award for achieving the highest municipal curbside recycling rate in Westchester County in 2025.

• The recertification of Janet Donoghue, municipal clerk for the Town of Lewisboro, by the New York State Town Clerks Association.