Ichabod's Landing, Sleepy Hollow Rework Agreement

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. – Ichabod’s Landing officials believe they can save money by reconsidering an agreement it has with Sleepy Hollow for maintenance work the village does at common and waterfront areas around townhomes.

For several years now, Ichabod’s Landing has refused to pay the $5,000-a-year fee , saying the service the village’s Department of Public Works provides is not up to par. Now, Ichabod’s Landing would like to redo the agreement between itself and the village.

“What we’d like to do is use our landscapers in coordination with the village,” said Alex MacFarlane, vice president of the board of directors of Ichabod’s Landing. “We would like very much to work with the village to remove the invasive species and help to make the area something everyone is proud of.”

Ichabod’s Landing is proposing to use the $5,000 per year it would have paid to the village to pay its own landscaper. It would also use previous years’ money that was not given to the village, giving it $10,000 for landscaping.

“Landscape gardening isn’t exactly the forte of the DPW, nor probably should it be,” MacFarlane said.

Ichabod’s Landing is already working with a landscaper on its interior areas and has consulted them about how to improve the areas that fall under the agreement with the village. MacFarlane said he wants to replace many of the plants and vegetation that was originally planted, noting that it wasn’t native to the area and is labor-intensive to take care of.

Trustee Barbara Carr lauded Ichabod’s Landing for turning to native plants, noting they require less maintenance.

Ichabod Landing’s Board of Directors said the previous board administration did not have a good relationship with the village.

“The whole process was instead of us doing it and coming up with suggestions, why not work with the village and make this a community effort?” Ichabod’s Landing President Keith Labis said. “That way everyone is successful and that’s what we’re presenting here.”

Trustee Bruce Campbell called the proposed agreement a “win win win win win,” noting that it would free up many of the village’s DPW workers.

Mayor Ken Wray also praised the proposal, calling it a “sane approach.” He assigned the matter to the Parks Committee and asked Ichabod’s Landing to come back with a formal proposal, “the sooner the better.”

“Let’s sit down and get to work,” he said.

 

Click here to follow Daily Voice Tarrytown-SleepyHollow and receive free news updates.