Board of Trustees - Regular Meeting

Hello, it is May 11, 2026. This is a quick business meeting for the village to wrap up a couple of items that weren't ready at our May 6 meeting. When the clerk comes back, we'll do the roll call just to have it on the record. But for the moment, we'll move into board business, which is discussion of Fishkill Avenue and Mountain Avenue bids. This is the FEMA recovery project. It came back much higher than we expected. Tony and I met with Matt Krug from the water department and Bugsy from the highway department and Will, our engineer, review the proposals or the bids that came back. And we divided it, excuse me, to review alternates to figure out how we were going to divide up. I'm not particularly articulate today. To figure out how we could divide up the project so that we could have alternates, if they were too expensive, could drop off. So we had three alternates, they have come out higher than we can afford to do with this contractor. But Will believes that we can get a cheaper rate for a couple of the items, the sewer lining and the sidewalk replacement from other contractors. So he is recommending at this stage that we accept only the primary element of the bid, which is the base bid. from the low bidder, Scape Tech. Han has worked with Scape Tech on a number of projects, and they've been happy with them. So glad that they were the lowest bid. The total base bid is $182,230. Questions first. I realize that was not the most articulate explanation. So we would, go ahead.

Yeah, I guess my question is, what are we getting for $182,230?

Sidewalks and ramps. I don't have that page in front of me.

It's actually lower on the other page.

They were up and down from different bidders and the alternates, but ultimately Will feels that we can do better on all of the alternates when they're remid.

Who? She's right there.

I just got a five text from her. I'm on Zoom in waiting room.

I'm now in. Yeah, I sent that a few minutes ago. Thanks, Tony.

Yeah. The different contractors came back at different prices around the alternatives. And like I said, Will thinks we can rebid all of them and do better. The other item that took us a little while to sort out is because this is a bit more then we had from FEMA money, we are able to combine CHIPS money to balance out. And that was the question the last time we were all together was, could we use CHIPS?

Right.

And it actually took some time for us to get that confirmation from DOT.

So that's my question. It's like net-net compared with what we were looking at before compared with what we're going to pay now. Are we paying more or less out of it?

Compared to what the original project was, the original estimate was from 2023 when the storm first happened.

Yeah.

That was the amount we requested from FEMA. That is the amount we received. It was a project combined between Fishgale Avenue and Mountain Avenue, that intersection and the tunnel. So we have two projects to come out of one pot. The tunnel was a little higher, and this was a little higher. It's also because it's two years after the original, and everything about the economy has shifted. There is the possibility to go back to FEMA to ask for a higher reimbursement. But I think Michelle and I and Will all felt a little unsure that we could depend on FEMA for more money later. So we're looking at other alternatives and determine that chips can be used for the overage that isn't covered by the FEMA money. So it is, yes, it's over our original cost. estimate, and it's higher than we expected on the bid. But between FEMA and CHIPS, we can cover it.

And then is covering it from CHIPS, is that drawing off something else that we were trying to?

I mean, it will.

So it's a priority choice.

CHIPS gets renewed every year. So whatever we spend, we won't get the whole amount replaced next year. Right now, we've got a multi-year savings on CHIPS because from 2017 to 2020, 2021, chips didn't get used. We've been using it down. So every year we, and I'm sorry that I don't know in my head the way Michelle does what the number is that we get every year, but we do get an annual allotment for chips. So right now we have saved chips over, I wouldn't call it saving. It wasn't used for a number of years. Now we're starting to spend it down on actually doing projects. So it may mean using some of it for this project may mean that we use We have slightly less available for paving. We may have to pave a shorter length of linear feet than we expected. But that has to go to bid too now, paving. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I think so, yeah. So this 180 that we're covering has been covered out of expected.

Out of what we have already been allocated, obligated is the word, from FEMA. It's sitting now with the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services in New York State. They hold it. until we turn in documentation that the project's been done, and then reimburse us from that. So 75% of what was originally estimated comes from FEMA. 12.5% comes from New York State. 12.5% comes from us, out of our funds. And then the balance comes from CHIPS.

My only question is, they're not going to do everything. Are there going to be things left open up there? No, it won't be left open. Okay, so they're going to do that whole corner, then the sidewalks down the street towards the main, they're going to leave that.

This contractor won't do it, but we'll bid it to other contractors.

Remember that was an extra thing we talked about at the time.

Okay, great. So the whole street, the whole of Fishkill won't get done at one time as we had hoped, but the storm damaged intersection.

Sure, thank you.

Any other discussion?

So if we're approving a section of it now, will the future sections also be covered under FEMA or you're saying that that's fully?

The other sections that we were thinking of weren't part of FEMA to begin with. FEMA only covered a portion. We only qualified for FEMA money for a portion of the problem in the intersection at Fish Gill and Mountain because there were some preexisting conditions there that couldn't be counted. So when we bid out all of Fish Gill, it was taking the FEMA damage plus the items that weren't part of the storm damage plus the rest of the street to see if we could do it all at once. And the answer is the way prices have risen, we can't do it all at once. So we're doing the FEMA damage portion and the pre-existing damage at Fishgill and Mountain.

We didn't do a roll call.

We didn't do a roll call because we got out of the room. Let's finish. Did that answer your question? Yeah. This one has been really complicated.

So we're scaling down the total spend at this particular point, right? There may be a future spend, and we're trying to cover that as well out of chips, main chips primarily, right?

But the timing of that will have to determine when we go out for paving. So we've taken a big FEMA sort of, if you think about it visually, the FEMA project was this much damage. The existing damage was this much, and we bid this much just to try to do it all at once. Can't do this piece, but we can do this piece, which has the FEMA bubble inside. Okay.

That's good.

Okay. Okay. So Marjorie, we did not take a roll call because you were being very helpful in copying the agenda. So do you feel like you want to do a roll call before we vote?

I think it's helpful for the people who are watching the video. So just for the sake of who's missing, Trustee Vardis,

Chair.

Trustee Bosie is with us remotely. Chair. Trustee Hall. Present. Deputy Mayor Woods is absent. And Mayor Foley.

Here.

If there are no further questions, we'll make a motion to accept engineering consultant James J. Hahn's recommendation to accept scape tech landscape technology as the low bidder for the project base bid in the amount of $182,230 to authorize the mayor to proceed with contracts pending the submission of acceptable bonds and insurance by the contractor.

Is that the correct name of the scape tech? Can you read the scape tech?

Yeah. Is that correct? Yeah, it's correct. Yep. So there's a motion on the table. All in favor?

Aye. And did you read the part about and to authorize the mayor to proceed with the contract?

So I made the motion. Andrew seconded. Laura has voted. Tony has not. Tony seconded, right? Oh, you seconded. So say again. All in favor? Aye. And they opposed. All right. What we're trying to get this out, the contractor would like to get started sooner than we were next meeting. All right, the next item we were not ready for on Wednesday last week. This is a conversation that's been underway for some time. The last year or the year before, we bought impact signs for crosswalks on Main Street. And for the two primary crosswalks to the school, Locust Ridge and 90 at Craigside. They have been requested by the school additionally for the tennis court crosswalk and for Academy Street and for, I'm sorry, we have one at Academy Street, and for Mountain and Fishkill. There have been public requests for, after they worked well on Main Street, to install them at a number of intersections along 9D to help slow and calm the traffic in the busy season. They go out in the spring on Main Street and get pulled in in the winter. It would be the same in this case. So this is not a bid that normally I would need approval for. Normally, I could do it. But the low bidder is someone we have done a lot of business with over the last year. And just as best practice, Michelle asked Bugsy to get two alternatives. So Glencoe, the company that we normally do our signed business with, bid them at $460 with us picking them up. National Highway Products, they're $638 apiece with shipping. Granger, which is another state bid, is $894. So Glencoe's are much cheaper. Part of the reason they're cheaper is that we can drive there and pick them up ourselves. So there is a request to purchase seven. One is a backup. On which one? National? Yes, it's the sign, the base, the shipping and handling all comes out to $638 each. 298 plus 65 plus 275.

Isn't the shipping a total of $270? So it would be divided by?

Oh, I'm reading it wrong. No, shipping and handling for each, 275.

No, one, yeah, but it's only one.

Look, up above, IRS in street. Pedestrians signed two-sided, seven at 298 for 2086. Seven bases at 65 for 455, 275 shipping. What's the total? For one each.

No, because it says one each. For shipping and handling.

But the total amount is... All right, so that is... Can you do the math?

Yeah, I'm doing 286. So the shipping covers all.

Shipping covers all. I'm answering the total. I read it wrong. I read the shipping as that on each of them.

Or to a piece.

OK. So it's about the same. It's a little bit less than Glencoe. But Glencoe, we can pick them up ourselves and have them. So we do have a best value clause in our procurement policy if the board chooses to use it, where we can pick Glencoe over the lowest bid. But if people feel more comfortable with the lowest bid, it's a $58 difference. I'm fine with that too.

So we're going to go with national.

No, I'm asking what you'd like to do. My recommendation was to choose Glencoe because we can pick them up ourselves and have them quicker because the school is wanting to get them out on the street as quickly as possible.

That's a saving of $52?

They are $58 more expensive each. So if we don't want to spend that additional $58, we can choose national.

So when you say pick up, is that because

Because Bugsy can go literally put them in the back of the truck. I don't feel strongly one way or the other. We do a lot of business with Glencoe. That's why Michelle asked us to do the bids. One bid came in lower.

And the school's paying for two of them, right?

And the school reimbursed for two. Does anyone have a strong feeling one way or the other?

I mean, on the upside of getting them delivered, Bugsy doesn't have to spend time going to get them, and he's pretty busy. You know, it's in New Jersey, so they're not local, but they're not getting shipped too far. I don't feel super strongly just pointing out the time efficiency.

That's a reasonable thing to consider. Andrew, did you have?

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, that's a good point. I mean, if you factor that into the $458 difference, it becomes material. It's exactly the same product.

It's exactly the same product. So given all of these factors, it makes sense. We won't have them as quickly, which the school may not be happy with, but that's how it is.

So we're going to go with the national one.

I'm just, I'm just doing the math with one storage. So I just to be, so we can get it on the record. So it's $402 for each from national plus a, so 402 times seven, right?

402 times seven.

is $2,814 and then the shipping price is $275.

No, that includes the shipping price. They just took $28.16 and divided it by seven. The school's going to pay for two of these tools.

Would you like to correct me on that? Marjorie's just asking the question a different way.

I mean, I think the more realistic, they're not going to charge you one-seventh of a shipping fee to send one. No, they'll send them all at once.

I would have had So what does Gregory say?

Plus 275.

They're just trying to break out the unit.

What the actual cost would be, right?

So 2816 minus 275, right? Equals that. 2086 for the seven plus 455 for the bases. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And then 275 once. Six.

Did you get it? Sorry, I'm kind of lost. I don't know what we're trying to do.

The total is 2086 and 455. That's for all seven of them. It's 11, 9, 14, 5, 2,541 plus 275 shipping, 6, 11, 8, And from Glencoe, the total is $3,220. So it's a $400 difference, roughly.

Yeah.

So I say go with national.

Yeah. Is there anything I'm going to turn around, Simon? I would imagine it's pretty quick, right?

That I don't know the answer to.

OK. Yeah, I'm fine with national.

Somebody want to make a motion?

Yeah, my only thing with the signs is I just wanted to make sure we complied and you answered that question. So I guess we're good.

Yeah, I mean, it is notable that Parks is using them on New York State Road on the weekend.

A few years back and during the Sethian regime, there was some issue with signs and insurance.

I can tell you what that sign was. That issue was different. These say yield to pedestrians and crosswalks. The ones that that administration bought said stop. And those were not lawful. But these say yield and they aren't. They don't do it. He doesn't love them, but they understand why we need them.

So we need a motion.

Yeah, so to accept the national bid.

I'll make a motion to accept the national bid for the signs for 2816. Second. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Thank you. That's it. Anything else? Motion to adjourn.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye. Thank you.