Funding for Roundabout Still Intact as Ossining Ponders Future
The Village of Ossining Board of Trustees voted last week to table a resolution that would have defunded a controversial downtown roundabout.
Instead of opting to no longer finance $500,000 in serial bonds for the project that it authorized earlier this year, trustees decided to stand pat while it gauges public opinion on how to proceed with making improvements in the Main Street business district.
A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. at Ossining Library for trustees to hear from residents about the roundabout and other related issues.
“We have done a lot of studying. How can we get to that next level?” Mayor Victoria Gearity remarked during a March 22 work session. “It’s our job to listen to all of you, listen to all the experts and do the best we can for the best interest of Ossining.”
A petition effort spearheaded by the Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce to trigger a permissive referendum on the roundabout was unsuccessful after more than 1,000 signatures out of 2,683 were determined to be invalid for several reasons, including signature flaws, election districts not listed and signatures obtained from unregistered voters. To force a referendum, at least 2,146 valid signatures were required.
Trustee John Codman, who voted to finance the bonds earlier this year despite being opposed to the roundabout because “to do nothing was not acceptable to me,” said the petition drive that created many rifts in the community was a learning experience.
“Unfortunately it became somewhat of a toxic scenario. It became really personal,” he said. “I’m not ready to close the door yet. I am not convinced that the success of our village and downtown will rest on a traffic pattern. I’m not convinced that it will make or break our downtown.”
Former Mayor Miguel Hernandez, who publicly backed the chamber, applauded trustees for considering the will of the people.
“I’m grateful that we will take a second look at this,” he said. “Working together in a non-adversarial way to come to a win-win situation is the way to go here.”
But not everyone shared Hernandez’s point of view. In a letter to the editor this week, Gayle Marchica, president of the chamber, stated chamber members were “disappointed that the scheduled revocation of Resolution Q did not take place as was promised at the March 15, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting.”
“This was an unexpected and unfortunate development, for in our view, “tabling” the revocation, while continuing to act toward implementation of Resolution Q, is inapposite of the Village Board’s previously stated intent to press the restart button on the above-mentioned bond matter. Instead, the result is that Resolution Q remains fully alive and kicking,” Marchica stated.
Marchica also stated the chamber views the April 6 town meeting as “the beginning of a conversation and a baby step.”
“What is needed is a series of roundtable meetings comprised of representatives of the Village Board and of such organizations as the GOCC, the Historic Preservation Commission, Architectural Review Board, Environmental Advisory Board, other “land use” boards, and factions of the community that might wish to participate and so should be properly included,” she stated.
Trustee Quantel Bazemore, who was the lone board member who voted against tabling the resolution last week, also criticized his colleague’s action.
“I thought after the March 8 meeting we were going to start with a clean slate,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like a clean slate to me.”
Trustee Rika Levin, who noted she was personally offended by some of the character assassinations posted on social media against board members over the roundabout, contended tabling the financing resolution “creates a clean slate so people can calm down.”
“I don’t see any upside now to forcing votes,” she said.
Gearity has said the current intersection is “antiquated” and options have been explored for nearly two years. Village officials also have maintained the roundabout will save money long-term, be safer for pedestrians, calm traffic while improving flow, be environmentally-friendly, and expand sidewalks inviting greater seating, greenery and public gathering spaces.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve had a lot of conservations and we’ve heard from a lot of different folks. We’re in that cooling off period,” Gearity said last week. “We’re also in a moment where nothing is irreversible. This is a demonstration of our desire to be responsive to what we’re hearing from everyone in the community.”
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