Mineola Village Board Notebook: Jan. 19

The Mineola held a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Here are some of the things you may have missed.

Refinancing of Water Funds

• The board approved the refinancing of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, series 1996C and 1998A.
• The bonds were issued as part of a larger bond issue by New York State, and therefore, guaranteed.
• Through this deal with the state, the village receives lower rates on the bonds, which both pertain to water issues.
• “The reason we have not refinanced these previous to this was because they are part of a New York state issue, and New York state had to take a proactive stance to get this done,” Mayor Lawrence Werther said.

Gas Company Settlements

• The village settled with two defendant gasoline companies, Irving Oil Limited and Highlands Fuel Delivery, LLC, for a total of $5,779.90 as part of the ongoing liability litigation.
• With these settlements, the village is only in litigation with four remaining oil companies.
• The village sued the companies for adding a lubricant to gasoline which added pollutants to the groundwater.

Fair Housing in Mineola

• The village has agreed to implement a program to “affirmatively further fair housing.”
• Through this agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the village will receive community development funding. The funding has been used in the past for residents and businesses that need funds to complete certain renovations, and part of the Jericho Turnpike reconstruction.
• As part of the fair housing program, the village must analyze the community to see if there are any impediments to fair housing in the village, take measures to overcome them and keep records the findings and completion of any steps to rectify any inequality found.
• “There will be no discrimination with respect to housing on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sex or family status,” village attorney John Spellman said.

Village Clerk’s Report

• The village board approved an election resolution stating that polls will be open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 15 at the .

Court Report

• In December 2010, the justice court disposed of the following violations:
  • 114 moving violations for a total of $11,880
  • 20 village ordinances for moving vehicles for a total of $3,355
  • 5 housing violations for a total of $4,000
  • 1,996 parking violations for a total of $110,034
  • 1 bail forfeiture for $50
  • 11 suspension clearance fees for a total of $770
  • Total for December 2010: $130,089

Other News

• Mayor Werther congratulated senior Bethanne Bartscherer, the first student from the school system to be . “It always appeared to me that the school districts that produced Intel semi-finalists, finalists and winners were striving to be just a cut above everyone else,” Werther said, also extending his congratulations to school principal Ed Escobar for implementing the program 3 years ago. “It’s pretty impressive that in just three years we have produced an Intel semi-finalist,” Trustee Paul Pereira said.
• Mayor Werther read a posting from "The Old Village News" sent in by the Great Neck Board of Trustees thanking the Village of Mineola for its help during a storm a few months ago. The posting read, “a special thanks goes out to the Village of Mineola. Their people and equipment were critical in clearing roads, properties and other critical areas of our village from falling or dangerous trees.”
• Mayor Werther reminded residents that if there is the potential for more than two inches of snow, the village will declare a snow emergency. Residents can be alerted if there is a snow emergency in a number of ways, including a scrolling bar on the village channels (channel 18 on Cablevision and the Metric channel on FiOS), a notification on the village website (www.mineola-ny.gov), and a pre-recorded message on the village phone system (516-746-0750). If a snow emergency is declared, residents must remove all cars from the street and place them either in driveways or public parking fields.
• Trustee Paul Cusato thanks the Mineola Key Club for purchasing and wrapping presents for less fortunate village residents around the holidays. “Not every kid in this town is a bad kid,” he said. “We have some great kids in this community.”
• Cusato notified residents that the will begin its 2011 fund drive this week. All fund requests will be sent out in the mail, so any phone calls from anyone saying they are with the fire department asking for money can be disregarded.
• Cusato announced that he has a new grandson. Connor Daniel Cusato was born on Jan. 18 at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 19.5 in.
• Resident Artie Barnett came to the village board meeting with his black lab from the Guide Dog Foundation of America to make known the need for volunteers. He gave the board flyers to post around the village and said that the Guide Dog Foundation is looking for people willing to train puppies or simply make a donation.

The next meeting of the Mineola Village Board will be on , at 6:30 p.m. at the .