The following is an update from the Garden City Mayor Theresa A. Trouvé.
The Board of Trustees and I urge you to continue following all CDC and Health Department social distancing directives. If you don’t feel well, contact your doctor immediately. If you need immediate medical assistance, call 911. We have a Village email: mayor@gardencityny.net and a telephone number: 516-465-4000. Let us know if we can help you.
VILLAGE TO RECEIVE AIM-RELATED PAYMENT
The New York State Comptroller’s Office has advised the Village it has processed a payment in the amount of $207,449 to the Village for what was previously known as State Aid to Municipalities (AIM).
The 2019-20 Enacted State Budget reduced AIM funding by eliminating funding to towns and villages where AIM funding represented less than 2 percent of total expenditures, according to Village Treasurer Irene Woo. The 2019-20 Enacted State Budget also amended the Tax Law to provide that a portion of county-imposed sales tax revenues be distributed this year, and every future year, to fund the gap in revenues resulting from the elimination of AIM moneys for such towns and villages.
Although the Village was to receive funding from Nassau County, there was no legal mechanism in place to allow the County to forward those payments to the Village. At the close of last year, it was uncertain whether the Village would receive the funding. Therefore, it was not budgeted.
The Village is receiving what is now called “AIM-Related Payments” as a result of a recent amendment to the New York State Tax Law that requires a portion of county imposed sales tax revenues to be withheld and distributed by the State Comptroller to certain towns and villages in accordance with new Tax Law Section 1261.
The amended Law directs the State Comptroller to withhold a portion of county sales tax revenues from each county in order to fund this gap in revenues and requires that the State Comptroller distribute these moneys to the towns and villages eliminated from the AIM Program. Villages with a May 31 fiscal year end will receive their initial AIM-Related payment by May 15, 2020 and every May thereafter, Ms. Woo advised.
EMERGING CONTAMINANTS
During the May 7, 2020 meeting, the Board declared an emergency related to the health and safety of residents and water quality on the basis of emerging contaminant presence in the water supply for the design, purchase, installation and placement into service of interim emergency AOP Treatment Systems for the removal of 1,4 Dioxane from Village water wells without competitive bidding.
In addition, Trustees entered into a contract with Bensin Contracting, Inc., in the amount of $933,000 for the plumbing, electrical and site work for the installation of a new filtration system for the removal of the contaminants at Well No. 7. Trustees also entered into a contract with Philip Ross Industries, Inc., in the amount of $1,976,000, for the plumbing, electrical and site work for the installation of a new filtration system for the removal of the contaminants at Well No. 10 and 11. In April, H2M Architects and Engineers, the Village’s water consultant, received three proposals and requested these proposals be awarded to these two companies.
Trustees also approved a new $5.2 million capital project, which will be bonded, to remove 1,4-Dioxane from Well No. 9 after 1,4 Dioxane levels at this site increased, causing them to exceed the MCL (maximum contaminant level) proposed by the state. The new well treatment system for 1,4-Dioxane removal includes pilot testing.
This is the fourth emergency declared in order to purchase remediation-related equipment. At the October 3, 2019 Board meeting, Trustees declared an emergency to forego the competitive bidding process in order to approve the purchase of ultraviolet advanced oxidation equipment, a water-shed UV reactor and control stations for Wells 13 and 14, and a UV reactor and control stations for Well Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. These stations are needed to house the ultraviolet advanced oxidation equipment. Further, at the October 17 Board meeting, Trustees declared an emergency to forego the competitive bidding process in order to approve the purchase of oxidant storage tanks for Well Nos. 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. In December 2019, Trustees declared an emergency to forego the competitive bidding process in order to approve and purchase oxidant storage tanks for Well Nos. 15 and 16 without competitive bidding. These tanks are required for use with the Trojanuflex Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) Systems for the removal of 1,4 Dioxane.
PROPERTY FOLDER REQUEST DEADLINE EXTENDED TO END OF YEAR
The Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to extend the deadline for Village residents to request their property folders from the Building Department from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. After that date, only copies made from the scanned electronic copies will be available. Residents may request “original hard copy” property folders of records maintained by the Department. Please note that this is the only “original” hard copy that the Village maintains, and (for Village record-keeping purposes) is being completely replaced by an electronic “scanned” copy. While the Department has made every effort to make its newly scanned electronic copies as clear and “readable” as the originals, we recognize there are some documents (amongst the thousands already scanned) that may be more easily read in “hard copy original” form. As a courtesy, the Village is offering your original hard copy to you as the current homeowner. If you wish to have the “original file” you must show proof of ownership of the property requested. Please allow staff ample time to retrieve the folder, which will be released in a timely manner. The Department will notify you when your request is ready for pickup. Folder requests will be held for 30 days after a call back is made. If residents do not pick up their request it will be discarded. This “folder request project” commenced June 1, 2019.
ST. PAUL’S WINDOW PROTECTION
Trustees did not ratify three change orders from subcontractor Talty Construction, Inc. totaling $35,776.83, for additional labor and materials related to window protection at St. Paul’s. Although funding is available in the St. Paul’s Recreation Facility account, several Trustees expressed concern that the change orders exceed the CNY budget of $69,000 by approximately $6,000. This increased the amount of the St. Paul’s School Window Protection Bid, awarded on January 9, 2020 from $39,400 to $75,176.83. Sixty windows were included in the bid; once crews got closer to the building it was discovered that an additional 49 windows needed attention.
Walter Beal, a project executive at CNY, participated in the May 7, 2020 Board meeting via Zoom. He explained that several factors can account for the addition – the drone wasn’t helpful in identifying broken windows; building architecture didn’t lend itself to viewing all angles of the building and the windows from the ground level; several windows were in tact but the wood frames were rotted; and other windows were obscured behind ivy. Trustees requested Mr. Beal go back to the subcontractor to review the change orders and come before the Board with better pricing.
STEWART FIELD/VANDERBILT PARKWAY UPDATE
The Stewart Field Project budget has increased from $200,000 to $388,000 to cover additional costs related to a required retaining wall with steps and a handicap ramp. As part of the Engineering study done in order to prepare the bid specs for this project it was determined, due to the topography of the area and the location of the lot, a retaining wall would be needed in order to properly support the area. This addition of the retaining wall and the additional work and supplies attributed to it is one of the main reasons for the increase in the cost of the project.
On November 25, 2019, the Nassau County Legislature formally approved the lease agreement between the Village of Garden City and Nassau County. The lease gives the Village the ability to clean up the area north of Stewart Field (formally Motor Parkway) and create an overflow parking lot that will provide approximately 30 additional spaces. The lot will not be paved but rather contain crushed bluestone.
The Village has agreed to make every effort to honor the legacy of the former Motor Parkway by adding signage and retaining any historical aspects of the roadway. According to Public Works Superintendent Joseph DiFrancisco, if crews encounter any historical material during work, they must notify the Village. This project is being undertaken for safety reasons, as people often must park elsewhere and cross Stewart Avenue to get to the field during sporting events.
RECREATION DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES YOUTUBE CHANNEL
The Recreation and Parks Department has launched its very own YouTube channel as another avenue to connect residents with activities and programs during the pandemic. Enjoy chair dancing, chair yoga and other exercise routines and look for many other activities, announcements and videos on the channel in the coming weeks. The link to the YouTube channel can be found on the Department’s Virtual Recreation Center, which launched in April.
WESTERN NASSAU TRANSMISSION PROJECT
The Western Nassau Transmission Project consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a proposed new 138-kilovolt underground transmission line primarily within the public roadway rights-of-way for a total distance of approximately seven miles between the East Garden City substation (located in Uniondale) and the Valley Stream substation (located in Lynbrook).
The project is expected to reinforce LIPA’s electric transmission system in the southwest
Nassau area and ensure continued reliable service. The underground transmission line will be located wholly within the Town of Hempstead and will traverse the Villages of Garden City, Malverne and Lynbrook, and will be constructed primarily underground. The project is on schedule for a December 2020 completion. The two-week construction schedule in Garden City entails:
Monday, May 11, 2020:
- Horizontal Directional Drilling activities continued on Stewart Avenue, between Westbury Road/Butler Place and Village Hall. Timber matting and drilling equipment is stationed on the “Mall” area of Stewart Avenue near Westbury Road
Wednesday, May 13, 2020:
- Trenching was anticipated to begin on Cherry Valley Avenue in the northbound lane, north of Sixth Street in the area of the Long Island Rail Road bridge, until the area of the Garden City Schools administration building
Questions? Call the hotline at 780-0665, email info@westernnassautransmission.com or visit www.westernnassautransmission.com.
