MAYOR'S UPDATE
From the desk of Mayor Rika Levin
On Friday, I had the pleasure of participating in one of our time-honored Ossining traditions, the Ossining Volunteer Fire Department Annual Firefighters Parade! It was, as always, the highlight of the summer.

August Primary Change of Party Enrollment:

- Following a new court order, the party enrollment deadline for the August primary is Thursday, August 11. Voters wishing to change their party or enroll in a party for the first time must do so by Thursday, August 11 the latest. Any enrollment change request received on or after August 12 will not be effective until seven days after the August primary.

- Voters can change their party enrollment online with a valid DMV issued ID or license HERE or by completing a paper registration form and returning it to their County Board of Elections. Any change of party enrollment done via the DMV site requires an extra day to allow for transmission, therefore it must be completed by Wednesday, August 10 in order to be effective for the August primary.

Absentee Ballot Information for the August 23 Primary Election:

- August 22 is the last day for an applicant or agent to apply in person at the Board of Elections for the August Primary Election absentee ballot.

- August 23 is the last day to postmark the Primary Election absentee ballot by mail. The ballot must be received by the Board of Elections no later than August 30.

- August 23 is the last day to deliver the Primary Election absentee ballot in person to the Board of Elections or at any poll site throughout the county, by the close of the polls on election day.

Please join me for this week’s upcoming events throughout Ossining. Tomorrow night, we wrap up this summers Acoustic Music Series at Market Square with SUNDAD playing from 7-8:30 PM – don't forget you can also play Chess with Detective Chavez while listening to music! Then on Friday, Ossining RiverJam is back with the Marc Von Em - Food trucks at 5, concert at 7. We’ll see you there!

This week’s Work Session will take place on Wednesday, 8/10 at 7:30PM over Zoom. Our agenda items will be as follows:

- Dr. Jeremy Wood and his wife Katia Schlienger wish to plant a wildflower meadow at Sparta Park (along with seating signage and a trail) to benefit local wildlife and improve the site's natural beauty. They plan to bear all costs associated with the planning, creation, and maintenance of the meadow, and the land will remain the property of the Village. The trees will remain, but most of the underbrush will be replaced with new plantings. Dr. Wood will be with us to discuss their plan, as well as going maintenance and what hold harmless documentation and coordination with Metro North will be required.

- For much of the past year, the Village has been working with a group of stakeholders from the Village/Town, as well as the Towns of New Castle and Yorktown, and a consultant team to better understand what is needed to protect the Indian Brook watershed under the DEC's DWSP2 (Drinking Water Source Protection) program. The final report, which requires NYS approval, also needs to be approved by the VBOT. Paul Fraioli, P.E. Village Engineer, Andrew Tiess, Superintendent of Water/Sewer, will be joined by EcoLogic and H2M to explain why the Village embarked on this program and explain some of the recommendations for looking ahead.

- There will be a discussion on a proposal by Arcadis to a) work on a grant to get the Village funding to complete the Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) project, which we are required to complete by 2024 per NYS, and b) to do reporting on the project (we will need to do this whether or not we receive a grant to offset our expense).

- Sirenita Lounge has resubmitted its cabaret license renewal application. Corporation Counsel Stuart Kahan and Chief Kevin Sylvester will join us to discuss the application.

- Last but not least, Trustee Lopez will lead us in a discussion about the Quality Roads, Quality Village initiative.

Village of Ossining - www.villageofossining.org