By Kathy Savolt -
As the March 24th regular meeting of the Board of Trustees (BOT) was winding down, two motions were made to add items to the agenda. Both were unanimously approved and the items – Rescinding the Designation of Westhab as Preferred Developer for the Hunter Tier Project and Discontinuing Consideration of Proposals was then followed by a Resolution directing the Village Manager to initiate the Preparation of a New Request For Qualifications for a Public/Private Partnership to Develop the Hunter Tier Property and Other Village Properties.
Discontinuing the Hunter Tier Project
After the Work Session, the BOT went into Executive Session to discuss the Hunter Tier Project. That apparently led to the addition of this new item on the agenda. The Resolution was not available in advance and Trustee Dan Kushnick read the long litany of reasons why the BOT thought the Hunter Tier Project should be stopped. See Resolution HERE. The list was all encompassing from the involvement of Westhab in the development of the Request to Proposals to all the emails between Village officials and Westhab, to the Ethics Board findings of former Trustee Rawlings’ violation of the Ethics Code to, finally, “a Trustee or Trustees” discussions directly with Westhab while negotiations were ongoing between the respective legal teams.
The BOT voted unanimously to discontinue the project.
New Initiative
After abandoning the previous Hunter Tier Project, the BOT voted unanimously to direct the Village Manager to develop a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for firms to enter into a public-private partnership with the Village to review Village-owned properties near the downtown area. These include 169 Prospect Avenue, the Hunter Tier parking lot, the condominium space at The Regatta and the former Hook and Ladder Firehouse on Mamaroneck Avenue. The Village hopes to achieve modern office space, a new police station and court facilities along with both affordable and market-rate housing, and parking. The plan would also include an interim parking plan for the construction period. The BOT voted unanimously to proceed with this initiative. See Resolution HERE.
