Mount Kisco trustees upheld the village’s Board of Ethics’ opinion Monday night that former Planning Board Chairman Doug Hertz’s involvement in an application where he has a financial stake violated the code of ethics.
The Feb. 16 advisory opinion followed separate complaints lodged by two unnamed residents. Hertz, a principal for Sunrise Solar Solutions in Briarcliff Manor which submitted the SCS Sarles St., LLC application for the controversial solar farm at 180 S. Bedford Rd., resigned from the board the following day.
Despite Hertz’s recusal from the matter from the time the project was first introduced, his continued presence on the board raised concerns, the Board of Ethics concluded.
“Mr. Hertz’s processing of an application before the Planning Board on which he sat, creates a conflict of interest that can never truly be mitigated,” the board stated in its opinion. “His conduct caused an appearance of impropriety, which undermines the Planning Board’s credibility to members of the public.”
The Board of Ethics stated that Hertz knowingly went ahead with the project that would require approval from the board on which he served.
“Mr. Hertz, an owner of SCS Sarles, made the deliberate decision to invest in the site, located in Mount Kisco, knowing that it would require an application before the very board for which he Chairs. In doing so, he violated both the letter and spirit of the Ethics Code.”
In its determination Monday night, read by Mayor Gina Picinich, the Village Board accepted the conclusion. Picinich said that trustees wanted to make sure in the future that any person on a village board, committee or council, whether elected or appointed, cannot bring an application before the body for which they are a member if they have a financial interest or are being compensated in any way in connection with the application.
“The only appropriate cure to eliminate an ethical conflict and to ensure there is no appearance of impropriety, is to resign from an appointed or elected position before bringing forward an application in which they have a commercial financial interest,” Picinich said.
She said recusal could still be appropriate for other potential conflicts, but is insufficient when a board member brings an application before the board in which they sit where they could profit unless it’s for their residence.
This was not the first time that Hertz’s company had proposed a solar array to the village. In 2019, Sunrise Solar Solutions received village approval to install panels on an unused portion of Oakwood Cemetery.
However, his involvement in the Sarles Street application drew greater scrutiny from project opponents, particularly starting last summer when a separate application for a cell tower was suddenly submitted for another portion of the 25-acre site at South Bedford Road and Sarles Street, which triggered increased outcry.
Picinich said the Village Board has asked Village Manager Ed Brancati to arrange for ethics training for every elected or appointed member to positions in village government and acknowledges receipt and understanding of the Code of Ethics. The training will begin as soon as it can be organized, she said.
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