Parks & Environment  
BOL Meeting Minutes -  
Final  
800 Michaelian Office Bldg.  
148 Martine Avenue, 8th Floor  
White Plains, NY 10601  
Committee Chair: Erika Pierce  
WestchesterLegislatorsNY.gov  
Wednesday, February 25, 2026  
10:00 AM  
Committee Room  
Joint with B&A and I&H  
CALL TO ORDER  
Please note: Meetings of the Board of Legislators and its committees are held at the  
Michaelian Office Building, 148 Martine Avenue, 8th Floor, White Plains, New York, 10601,  
and livestreamed via the WebEx video conferencing system. Legislators may participate in  
person or via Webex. Members of the public may attend meetings in person at any of its  
locations, or view the meeting and its video recording online on the Westchester County  
Legislature’s website: https://westchestercountyny.legistar.com/. This website also provides  
the links to documents to be discussed at a given meeting.  
With a quorum present, Chair Pierce called the meeting to order at 12:28PM.  
Others in Attendance: BOL: Legislators: Anant Nambiar, Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, and Nancy  
Barr; Legislator Jenn Puja (Remote); Committee Coordinators: Jill Axelrod, Dayana  
Gómez-Holguín, Ethan Samuel, and Sebastian Loreti; Adrienne Sanders Kaye (remote), Lisa  
Hochman (remote); GUESTS: Parks Dept.: Peter Tartaglia and Robert Lopane  
Legislator Pierce, Legislator Tubiolo, Legislator Williams and Legislator Gashi  
Present:  
Legislator Nolan and Legislator Williams Johnson  
Absent:  
MINUTES APPROVAL  
I.  
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION  
1.  
RES-2026-7  
ENV RES-RKD02-Kensico Dam Plaza Storage Building  
Guests: Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation  
First Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartagia and Director of Park Planning Robert Lopane  
This item was discussed in conjunction with items #2026-75 and -76.  
First Deputy Commissioner Tartaglia explained that an additional $2.5 million was needed for  
the design, construction and construction management of a new maintenance building and  
outdoor storage area at Kensico Dam Plaza, which will bring the total cost to $10.35 million.  
He said the request for additional funding is due to cost escalations, ongoing market volatility  
in material pricing, and additional work related to enhanced security measures and other  
infrastructure improvements.  
Legislator Woodson Samuels asked whether there are other capital projects expected for  
Kensico Dam Plaza in the next five to ten years. Mr. Tartaglia said the concrete area needs  
Parks & Environment  
BOL Meeting Minutes - Final  
February 25, 2026  
upgrading, and they will need to decide what to do with the reflecting pond. He said that the  
pond will be very costly to redo, and they have some creative ideas to turn it into recreation  
space.  
Legislator Barr asked about whether parking will be affected during construction. Mr. Tartaglia  
said there will still be multiple areas for attendees to park their vehicles.  
Legislator Williams asked about solar panels. Mr. Tartaglia said this building will have solar  
panels installed.  
Legislator Nambiar expressed concern about the removal of 24 trees. Mr. Tartaglia said that  
the Parks Department has a policy that for each tree they remove, they replace it with at least  
two new trees.  
Chair Pierce asked whether the cost increase was due to a particular item or was spread  
across the board. Mr. Lopane said it was across the board.  
Chair Pierce requested that Mr. Tartaglia provide a list of older projects that are still sitting out  
there, and said she would like to have a Parks committee meeting to go over them.  
On motion of Legislator Williams, seconded by Legislator Gashi, the above item was signed  
by committee and referred to Board of Legislators. The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye:  
Legislator Pierce, Legislator Tubiolo, Legislator Williams and Legislator Gashi  
Absent:  
Legislator Nolan and Legislator Williams Johnson  
2.  
ACT-2026-25  
CBA-RKD02-Kensico Dam Plaza Storage Building  
Guests: Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation  
First Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartagia and Director of Park Planning Robert Lopane  
See discussion of item #1 above.  
On motion of Legislator Williams, seconded by Legislator Gashi, the above item was signed  
by committee and referred to Board of Legislators. The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye:  
Legislator Pierce, Legislator Tubiolo, Legislator Williams and Legislator Gashi  
Absent:  
Legislator Nolan and Legislator Williams Johnson  
3.  
ACT-2026-26  
BOND ACT(Amended)-RKD02-Kensico Dam Plaza Storage Building  
Guests: Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation  
First Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartagia and Director of Park Planning Robert Lopane  
See discussion of item #1 above.  
On motion of Legislator Williams, seconded by Legislator Gashi, the above item was signed  
by committee and referred to Board of Legislators. The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye:  
Legislator Pierce, Legislator Tubiolo, Legislator Williams and Legislator Gashi  
Absent:  
Legislator Nolan and Legislator Williams Johnson  
4.  
ACT-2026-27  
BOND ACT-RGP15-General Infrastructure-Fuel Tank Replacement  
Parks & Environment  
BOL Meeting Minutes - Final  
February 25, 2026  
'24-'28  
Guests: Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation  
First Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartagia and Director of Park Planning Robert Lopane  
Mr. Tartaglia said that the Parks Department is requesting $800,000 to finance the cost of  
general infrastructure fuel tank replacement, including design, construction, construction  
management, associated removal and replacement of fuel storage tanks. He said these fuel  
tanks are currently underground, will be replaced with above ground tanks, and will have a  
lifespan of about 20 years.  
Chair Pierce if any of the tanks are leaking. Mr. Lopane said there are systems on these tanks  
that detect leaks, so they do not anticipate any leaks, but they will only know for sure once  
they being the work.  
On motion of Legislator Williams, seconded by Legislator Tubiolo, the above item was signed  
by committee and referred to Board of Legislators. The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye:  
Legislator Pierce, Legislator Tubiolo, Legislator Williams and Legislator Gashi  
Absent:  
Legislator Nolan and Legislator Williams Johnson  
II.  
OTHER BUSINESS  
RECEIVE & FILE  
III.  
ADJOURNMENT  
Moved by Legislator Tubiolo, seconded by Legislator Williams, the Committee adjourned at  
1:01pm.