Two Trustees Recap the March 24, 2026 Village Board Meeting

Notes from Trustee David Wilkes

Notes from Trustee David Wilkes

Source: Trustee David Wilkes (trusteedwilkes@gmail.com), sent March 25, 2026

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Hi neighbors,

Here's a summary of last night's regular Board meeting (the full meeting agenda and meeting packet can be found here):

Regular Meeting Agenda:

1. Boy Scout Project – Bryson Kosha

- This agenda item was a review of a proposal from local Boy Scout Bryson Kosha who is pursuing his Eagle Scout rank - The proposed project would be to design and install a new 10'x10' vernal pond within the Village Arboretum, thus creating a seasonal wetland that enhances the natural habitat by supporting amphibians, pollinators, and other wildlife - The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposed project

1. Nazareth College – Biodiversity Project

- This agenda item was a presentation by Patrick Garrett, a biology professor at Nazareth University, and two of his students regarding a proposed biodiversity project in the Arboretum - The core focus of the project would be ecological monitoring of frog species in and around the vernal ponds; the term of the project would be >20 years (Patrick is on a tenure track at the university), with a goal of continued Naz involvement beyond that point - The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposed project

1. Resolution for Siemens Services

- This agenda item was a continuation of our discussion on March 10th with Chris Catt from the Siemens company regarding Article 9 of New York State's Energy Law - As a reminder, Article 9's focus is on creating energy and operational savings for municipalities on their existing utility expenses, opening the door to finance the installation of new, efficient equipment and support major infrastructure upgrades - Siemens's involvement would focus on project execution (including bidding, compliance, and management), guarantee no change orders or cost overruns, and would help the Village apply for and utilize all applicable utility rebates / federal and state grants - The Board voted unanimously to move forward with Siemens as a contracted service provider

1. Arboretum Bench Donation

- This agenda item was regarding a donation of two wood and concrete benches by First Presbyterian Church - The church noted a potential use in the Village Arboretum; however, the Village would have final authority on where they would be installed (should they be installed) - The Board voted unanimously to approve / allow the donation

1. Records Management Policy

- This agenda item was for the Board to adopt a comprehensive Records Management Policy with formal procedures for the organization, retention, storage, and disposition of Village records - The proposed policy would improve compliance with state archival standards, ensure that official documents are properly maintained, and make records more easily accessible by the public - The Board voted unanimously to approve the new policy

1. Review of mixed uses in the Business District

- This agenda item was initiated by Trustee Dave Marshall and was a review of current mixed-use regulations in the Business District - Trustee Marshall believes there are too many hair salons in this zoning district and would like to remove hair salons as a permitted use in the area - I asked if he had spoken to the property owners and/or leasing agents to ask them about demand dynamics re: potential alternative tenants to get a better idea of other businesses that have shown interest vs. hair salons; however, it does not appear he has done that (yet? ever? Bueller?) - Trustee Dave Marshall made a motion to remove hair salons as a permitted use in the zoning district; however, he did not receive a second, so the motion failed

1. Discussion on Incentive Zoning

- This agenda item was tabled / will be discussed at a later meeting

Public Hearings:

"Pedestrian Safety Bicycle Convenience Initiative"

• The Board had another public hearing re: Chapter 176, Article X of the Village Code regarding sidewalk rules and regulations
• After taking comments from the public, Trustee Dave Marshall and Trustee Lisa Cove noted they want to "take some time to reflect" and "really read the changes" (as you once again see, our Board is well versed in the ancient art of "kick the can and hope the public thinks we're actually doing something at these long ass meetings")
• Additionally, Trustee Dave Marshall and Trustee Lisa Cove are now looking into whether we should go against current New York State Law and allow e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks...in addition to regular bicycles (and who said the Village doesn't have bike lanes...they're just the sidewalks now!)
• If we go that path, then I'm not really sure what the point of this whole 8 month exercise was given nothing will have meaningfully changed except for adding more dangers to the pedestrian refuge via explicitly allowing e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks, something, again, currently banned by the State of New York / something that requires a motorized bicycle license and liability insurance in the State of New Jersey
• Our lawyer seemed equally confused, noting that "once the Board actually figures out what it wants to do, I can make the changes"
• I guess this will be brought back to public hearing at some point, possibly in May given Trustee Cove will be on vacation in Florida in April, so, yeah
• I'm going to work on my mental health and take a big step away from this initiative that I started with such good intentions and saw ruined when I underestimated how little my fellow man / woman cares about others when their own convenience is disturbed

Next Meeting:

• The Board's next REGULAR meeting will be Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Notes from Trustee Lisa Cove

Notes from Trustee Lisa Cove

Source: Compiled by Trustee Lisa Cove, distributed by Colleen Anderson (vv_pittsford@icloud.com), sent March 26, 2026

WHAT'S THE BUZZ; compiled by Trustee Cove

General Trustee Board Meeting

Wednesday, March 24th, 2026

6-8:05pm

Trustee Attendees; Mayor Plummer, Trustees Cove, Wilkes, Marshall - Village of Pittsford 2023

Absent-Family Emergency, Trustee John P. Limbeck

6pm — people on zoom-2 / people in room 8 (6 were presenters)

Scout Project

Bryson Kosha (Eagle Scout) presented a self funding project to implement 2 Vernal ponds 10'X10' one in the Our Native Trees, Friends of the Robert C. Corby Arboretum and one at the Frog House between April 16-26, 2026. Approved

Nazareth University Biodiversity Project

Non-Municipal Use Permit was granted to a biology professor and 2 students to do a 20-30 year long monitoring of the arboretum Vernal Ponds for research on pond ecology and amphibian population growth. This is a new collaboration with students from our local college.

Siemens Service motion approved

We will work with Siemens for technical support, maintenance and system optimization to outline potential projects that we can do to make us more green energy efficient and satisfy our Climate Smart initiatives. There is no cost to the Village unless a cost effective project is discovered and is brought forth for us to review and vote on.

PUBLIC HEARING Pedestrian and Bike Safety initiative Local Law

A few residents spoke out about recommended changes to the current proposed local law. Public comment continues to remain open about this. The board wants to have a special workshop to discuss these ideas before it is brought to vote. Thank you to everyone who helped provide us with guidance as we work to improve safety in our Village.

Bench Donation

The 1st Presbyterian Church has graciously donated 2 heavy stone/wood benches to the Village for un-defined use. DPW will evaluate the ability to transport them and what is the best location will be decided by the board in the future.

Records Management Policy

Village staff (using grant monies) have been diligently working on a written thorough policy for our record keeping. The document was adopted as presented.

Mixed Use Business District

Trustee David Marshall - Village of Pittsford - 2023 has once again brought up changing our current permitting code to restrict additional salons in our business district, claiming hearing residents that want more diversity of businesses in our Village. He made a motion but it was not seconded and did not move forward. More discussion on this topic will be combined with a workshop to discuss potential Incentive Zoning to incorporate this concept.

Incentive Zoning

This was tabled as Trustee John P. Limbeck, who was leading the discussion could not attend the meeting due to a family emergency.

Village Fiscal Strength report

The Village Clerk provided the board with a report from the NYS Comptrollers office revealing scores that constitute the highest rating of fiscal strength for our Village.

Infrastructure support

The board app-roved monies for Skanex Pipe Service to repair Elmbrook Dr sewer/pipe dysfunction and for P&CC to repair the street light at State St and Schoen Place entrance.

street safety Report

I have dedicated my time to work closely with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) with the goal to move forward in a non-traditional way to improve street safety. I met for 2 hours with Regional Traffic Engineer Matthew Oravec on March 18th to start the process. I will form an advisory committee with Trustee Wilkes and 3-4 interested community residents to work towards projects that may remediate safety concerns in our Village. If you are interested in serving on my committee, please send me a message.

To hear the whole discussion please go to: Village of Pittsford YouTube Channel