Library Snapshot Presented at Board Meeting

By Stephen E. Lipken

A short, concise Harrison Town/Village Board meeting was held on Thursday, December 15th, conducted by Mayor/Supervisor Richard Dionisio, who called for a Moment of Silence “for all the families in Ukraine.”

A highlight of the meeting was a presentation of a Harrison Public Library (HPL) “2022 Third Quarter Snapshot” (Q3) by HPL Trustee Andrea Mignone.  Q3 Library Stats: 46,783 Items Circulated; 27,465 Library Visitors; 8,475 People Attended the 350 Events Held.

In addition, Nikki Erlick, NY Times bestselling novelist, “was our Summer Reading Ambassador and Teatro Grattacielo presented ‘The Neapolitan Song: A Tribute.’”  

Summer Reading Program Recap: 442 Children Registered; 184 Programs Offered; 5,082 children attended, and 18,893 books checked out.  Mignone happily noted that the Library returned to Pre-Pandemic hours.

Mignone then discussed installing generators for disaster mitigation and erecting a digital sign outside Harrison Library, like the one outside of Harrison School to be used in tandem with Town, announcing current events. 

Town Clerk Jackie Greer requested approval to sell up to 50 Non-Resident Commuter Parking Permits for 2023 at cost of $1,000 each.  Harrison residents pay $750.  Village Attorney Jonathan Kraut emphasized that the permits are not subject to automatic renewal.  Greer said that 30 to 40 parking spots are available.

The Board approved Supervisor Dionisio’s request to renew the contract with Weather Works, a complete forecast and storm alert service to deliver weather predictions to DPW, Police and Emergency Services at an annual cost of $1,650.

Finally, Deputy Village Attorney Andrea C. Rendo requested the Board to adopt Public Health Emergency Operations Plan, pursuant to NYS Labor Law, which was amended following the COVID-19 Pandemic and requires public employees to adopt a plan for operations in event of a declared state of emergency involving a communicable disease.