Politics & Government

Mineola Village Board Notebook: March 2

Other news from the March 2 village board meeting.

The Mineola  held a meeting on Wednesday, March 2. Here are some of the things you may have missed.

Police Athletic League

  • The ’s schedule will kick off on Saturday,  March 19 when the soccer program opens.
  • Superintendent of Public Works Tom Rini said that the department has begun to  prepare and line the fields in anticipation of opening day.
  • The PAL’s lacrosse program will begin on March 21, with opening day weekend set for the first week of April.
  • The little league opening day parade will be held on Saturday, April 9.
  • “Between the next three to four weeks we’re going to be pretty busy trying to catch up on some of the damages that the winter had caused as well as now trying to get some of the ball fields and everything prepared to get the spring sports underway,” Rini said.

Water Department Report

Find out what's happening in Mineolawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • The Mineola Water and Sewer Department’s total pumpage for the month of January was 82.6 million gallons, the highest day being 3.117 million gallons pumped with a daily average of 2.67 million gallons.
  • The sewer department performed 32 preventive maintenance services during January, issued 125 preventive maintenance notices to residents, 20 house notices and two main line stoppages, one of which resulted in overtime. “Normally we do perform monthly maintenance jetting of our main lines, unfortunately given the weather conditions in January we weren’t able to put the equipment out to do that,” Rini said.
  • Pumpage during the month of February totaled 78.54 million gallons, the highest day being 3.38 million gallons pumped, with a daily average of 2.8 million gallons.
  • In February the sewer department issued 29 preventive maintenance service appointments, 143 notices sent to residents, six house stoppages, two main line stoppages and serviced 1,115 ft. of sewer main.
  • The highway department began  in mid-February and have repaired 114 potholes in the village. The department is currently assessing locations for larger pothole repair where the street will have to be cut once weather gets warmer.
  • Rini reported that street sweepers are back on daily routes and the department also trimmed 141 trees following the snow storm.

Building Permit

  • The board approved a 90-day extension of a building permit issued to  for the renovation of the parking garage at 259 First St.
  • The project was moving  until the series of blizzards hit Long Island.

Other News

Find out what's happening in Mineolawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Cub Scout Pack 246 requested the use of  for their annual picnic on Saturday, May 21 with a rain date of May 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • The board approved the latest updated list of the election inspectors for the March 15 village elections. Candidates include , George Durham and incumbent Lawrence Werther for the two open seats on the board. Scott Strauss is running unopposed for mayor.
  • The board approved several budget line changes including a decrease in the solid waste disposal fees line by $170,253.74, due to savings realized on tipping fees.
  • Rini reported that the village had received a request to remove a handicapped parking space from in front of 93 Skelly Place by the new homeowner. The board had previously authorized the installation of the space from the previous homeowner and approved the removal of the handicapped space.
  • Three pending workers compensation cases came before the board, with the village board settling one case while the other two settlements are being written up. Mineola is self-insured in terms of worker’s compensation for up to $300,000 per occurrence. The village has an excess carrier for any claims higher than $300,000. “It has saved us a lot of money over the years” Werther said.
  • It was reported that the village is currently in the design phase of installing solar panels on the roof of the Department of Public Works. The panels would generate approximately 50 kw worth of electricity. “It will help us allay some of the energy charges that we have incurred here in the village,” Mayor Werther said. Mineola received almost $400,000 in a grant for the project, but had to pay a minimum matching amount of $75,000. Much of the expense of the facility is incurred during the installation.

The next meeting of the  will be on Wednesday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the .


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