Village to start $1M in work

Construction work is coming to the village. The board of trustees approved $992,800 worth of projects and contracts at the town hall meeting on Monday.

The projects include the replacement of the wood chips at the Rec Center playground with a rubberized surface, and the installation of new swings and slides. The work will be funded by a $390,000 grant from Nassau County’s Community Revitalization Program. The village has already signed the agreement.

“Then the village has to wait for Nassau County to sign the agreement, which can take several months,” village spokeswoman Julie Scully wrote in an email. The village will not begin the work until it has signed agreement from the county, Scully said. Once the village has the agreement, it will perform the project and pay for it, and the county will then reimburse the funds.

The village also approved $150,000 worth of work on the dock and path at Smith Pond, with the winning bid made by Woodstock Construction Group, based in Oyster Bay. The plan is to build a new dock and add a permanent paved path, lighting and seating and a kiosk with information on the history of the area. This will be funded by a payment in lieu of taxes by the developer AvalonBay and by a village community development grant — $100,000 and $50,000, respectively.

At the meeting, resident Joe Thrapp questioned the work at Smith Pond, which has been designated a wetland by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as AvalonBay’s involvement. “The shore surrounding the pond is a New York State DEC-protected wetland and estuary to the ocean that does not allow any building,” Thrapp said.

Village Administrator Keith Spadaro explained that the village would reuse the old pier’s posts for the new dock, which means the DEC does not need to get involved. At the village briefing session, Deputy Village Administrator Kathleen Murray said that vegetation would not be removed.

The third project the village approved will total $452,800, for work on the Water Department building at 142 Maple Ave., to be done by Brooklyn-based NJK contractors. The building will receive a new roof, pointing and masonry work will be done on the exterior, the flooring, ceiling tiles and drywall will be replaced, and the building will be painted.

It will be paid for with a bond that will be repaid from the water fund over 15 years. According to village Comptroller Michael Schussheim, the bond will most likely be issued late this fall or early next winter. Five other bids for the project ranged from $458,210 to $976,076.