Mineola,town end feud over flood project

Richard Tedesco

The Village of Mineola will grant the Town of North Hempstead access to an area bordering Mineola and Carle Place so the town can do the work on its part of a flood mitigation project for Bruce Terrace, East Second Street and surrounding streets.

A verbal land-use agreement struck last week by town and Mineola officials has put an end to rancorous comments from both sides over the $3.5 million project, which is intended to alleviate chronic flood problems in the area.

“The meeting went well,” Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said. “We’re moving forward. I told him we want it done.”

Officials from the village and the town had been blaming each other for delaying the flood relief project that is being primarily funded through a $2.4 million state grant applied for by the town.

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman had said the village had resisted ceding the land to the town or negotiating a land-use agreement to enable the project to go forward. Village officials said the town should have conducted a survey – which the village has now undertaken – to delineate the area in Mineola where the town will do its work.

The two sides settled their differences in a meeting last Friday afternoon and the town board was expected to approve a resolution for the town to enter into an intermunicipal land-use agreement at its Wednesday night meeting.

Strauss said the land survey of the flood area has been completed and the town will receive the survey results soon. He said he gave Kaiman a draft letter of agreement at the meeting.

“I think we’re on the same track right now, so I think it was a positive meeting,” Kaiman said. “We’re going to be approving the agreement and authorizing the engineer.”

Kaiman said he anticipated the town would retain Dvirka & Bartolucci as engineers. That same company has been retained by the Village of Mineola and Nassau County, which also has a role in the work to relieve flooding on the border of Mineola and Carle Place.

The town, the village and the county are sharing equal portions of the $2.4 million grant originally applied for in 2009. It was among nearly $10 million in grants left in limbo after Republican Jack Martins defeated Democratic state Sen. Craig Johnson in the 2010 general election. Martins worked to restore the grant, with the proviso that the money would be shared.

The total cost for the town’s part of the project is $1.1 million. Kaiman said the town may take money from its own capital resources or seek additional outside funding.

“We don’t know what actual additional money is necessary,” he said.

The town is responsible for installing new catch basins and drainage pipes on three or four streets adjacent to the Mineola-Carle Place border. It will also construct a catch basin on Mineola land at the Old Motor Parkway property north of Westbury Avenue.

The village’s portion of the project will cost $1.7 million. Rini said the village’s work will include installation of two new drainage manholes, four new catch basins and removal of approximately 300 feet of existing 18-inch-drainage pipe to be replaced with a new 30-inch drainage pipe on Bruce Terrace.

It also will include installation of five new catch basins, corresponding manholes and approximately 1,420 feet of 18-inch or 24 -inch drainage pipe on Liberty Avenue. A new structure feeding into the Mineola storm basin is planned to provide storm water relief for East Second Street.

Strauss said the village can proceed with the money from the grant, but will have to figure out where it will get the rest of the funds by year’s end.

“I’ve got to get it done. I don’t have a choice,” Strauss said. “These people need relief. And so do the businesses on Second Street.”

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