North Castle’s Berra Looks to Continue Service on Town Board

North Castle Councilman Jose Berra may not have taken a traditional path to the town board but it didn’t take long for the 25-year Armonk resident to get acclimated once called upon to serve.

After finishing third in last year’s town board race for two seats, Berra was unanimously appointed in January to fill the seat vacated by Michael Schiliro, who was elected supervisor last year. In the roughly nine months since his appointment, Berra said he’s enjoyed the interaction with residents and tackling the wide assortment of issues that have surfaced.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to be able to do something good for the town,” said Berra, a CPA and attorney who once worked in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. and is a longtime community volunteer.

“Importantly, we clearly have rounded the corner in terms of the Town Board members working well with each other and with the town’s residents, although there has been some potential disruption on the town front recently. I find being on the Town Board very interesting and it’s gratifying to be able to contribute to the place in which I love living.”

In this year’s election, Berra, who has been endorsed by the Democratic, Conservative and Independence parties, faces planning board member Guy Mezzancello for the one year remaining in Schiliro’s unexpired term. In 2013, Berra ran as an independent with Democratic backing, but has since registered as a Democrat.

Road Repair

The tax cap signed into law three years ago has impacted how virtually all municipalities balance budgets. While there are many costs a town must manage, Berra said it’s critical to focus on managing capital costs for important projects that affect quality of life.

One example is the need for the town to maximize the life of the expensive Highway Department vehicles that provide crucial services. Another is road repair. Berra dislikes borrowing, but indicated that it potentially could be much cheaper to borrow at current very low interest rates to improve the roads more quickly rather than trying to catch up with more expensive expenditures through the annual operating budget. Ultimately, road maintenance costs could be lower and the town could have superior road quality faster and at a lower cost, he said.

“It could get done sooner, and by taking care of the roads properly, they should last longer,” Berra said.

Downtown Parking

The opening of Armonk Square has helped create a more vibrant downtown for the hamlet, with stores filled and scores of customers. Accompanying that added activity, however, is more traffic. Berra said the current parking situation “needs improvement and is something we will fix.” This year the board has been working to extend the parking area behind Hergenhan Recreation Center. The goal is to provide additional parking there that will be used by employees of the various businesses, which, in turn, will free up convenient parking spaces for customers of the stores and restaurants that otherwise would be occupied by employees for extended periods.

The town also is exploring other options for more parking, including at the end of Kent Place, although he does not believe that location is the ideal option. He also considered the possibility of a multilevel parking structure behind the stores on the west side of Main Street that would be partially submerged with the top level at street level, but the indications to date are that it probably is not economically feasible.

Affordable Housing

Earlier this year Berra cast his vote in the unanimous approval of the town’s model ordinance which established the guidelines for the future development of affordable housing in North Castle. However, he voted against rezoning an additional parcel next to the previously rezoned old lumberyard property on Bedford Road to allow for 14 units of multifamily housing taxed at preferential condominium rates, which was presented as providing for the possibility of 14 affordable units. Although he hopes he ultimately is proven wrong, Berra felt that necessary assurances from developer Michael Fareri to ensure that the proposed affordable units would be built were absent. Berra said it’s important for the town to comply with the affordable housing settlement with the federal government and the location “makes a lot of sense.” “It has the necessary infrastructure, in particular, sewers, water and public transportation.”

Brynwood

During the past year, there has been no further activity on the Brynwood Golf & Country Club’s residential development and golf course redesign. Berra opposes the project at its current level of density–88 units–but could support a reasonable density bonus at the site.

If Brynwood were to be granted a density bonus, there would have to be a clear benefit for the town and the quality of life could not be significantly degraded for existing residents most affected by the change, in particular nearby neighbors at Windmill Farms.

Berra maintains that with rare exceptions, housing in town should be taxed the same as private homes, not at a preferential condominium rate.

Ward System

Berra opposes the ward system for the town. A Nov. 13 referendum will decide whether the town board continues with four at-large council seats or a Ward system whereby each Ward elects just one Councilperson. For a town of about 12,000 residents, wards are not needed, he said.

“One of the principal objections I have is that it is divisive and flies in the face of the efforts we have made to have the board and all the residents work together constructively,” Berra said.