Christmas is arriving early in the Village of Pelham, in the form of $236,000 in grant money that can be spent on electric vehicles. This windfall, channeled through the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, will allow the village to buy two Chevy Trailblazer EVs, along with two off-road utility vehicles and an electric lawn mower, according to the town’s board of trustees, which discussed the grant money at last week’s meeting.
Mayor Chance Mullen opened the meeting with some background on the grants. He said that through the board’s participation in state-run programs Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energies the village began qualifying for grant money after completing a series of required tasks. Trustee Theresa Mohan worked alongside the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) to draft an application for funds and received approval for more than $236,000 in grant money to enhance clean energy use in Pelham.
Village Administrator Chris Scelza proposed that the best use of the funds would be the purchase of the two Trailblazers, the two off-road utility vehicles and the lawnmower. The village will not receive the money upfront, he said, but will be reimbursed as the purchases are made. As the first step in this process, the board unanimously approved the purchase of the two Chevrolet Blazer EV police pursuit vehicles.
The Chevy Trailblazers will be designated as parking enforcement vehicles and kept in Lot 7, which is behind the old Village Hall on Sparks Avenue. If the board eventually approves the purchase of the off-road utility vehicles, they will go to the Department of Public Works, and will allow workers to access streets and sidewalks that are blocked or impassable due to road work.
In other business, the board reached an agreement with Pelham Green 2 LLC to support a request for an easement that would allow the company, which is developing the multi-use residential building across the street from the Municipal Center, access to the main water line beneath the street.
“There are certain sewer improvements, waterline improvements and storm water management improvements associated with the residential development across the street of the Municipal Center that will be in the village right away,” said David Cooper, the attorney for Pelham Green 2 LLC.  Mullen justified his support of the easement request because it would keep the development from getting bogged down in a delay. “I definitely don’t want to do anything to slow you down,” he said.
In a discussion of the the year-end budget, Mullen said the village spent heavily on infrastructure. “The year prior to last year we had a significant surplus [in money] and so in this past year we were able to do upgrades to Wolf’s and Sparks, double our road-paving budget and we’ve spent a decent amount of money on flood mitigation,” he said. As a result, the village drew down a large portion of last year’s fund balance, as reflected on the end-of-year audit. Audit statements for 2024-2025 will be presented in October.
Scelza told the board that the annual restriping of sidewalks and streets would take place over the next couple of weeks ahead of the school year. Trustee Mohan recognized Pelham firefighter Aidan Reynolds’s graduation from the Westchester County Career Fire Chiefs Firefighters Academy on July 11 as well as the beginning of his in-house training with the Village of Pelham Fire Department.
