Village of Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy and trustees Mark Collins and David Schwartz were sworn in at Wednesday night’s board meeting.
Julia Gabriel, who was due to be sworn in as the Village Justice, was not present at the meeting, and will be sworn in at a later date.
Collins and Schwartz will serve another term after surviving a late electoral challenge from residers Hamid Sharifiazad and Shlomo Zenou. Schwartz and Collins each took in more than 140 votes in March’s elections; Zenou won 52 votes, and Sharifiazed took 51.
Hinda Goldman was also appointed as the new village clerk.
The board also announced commission appointments, including Levy as the new commissioner of the Water Authority of Great Neck North and Mark Collins as the cable commissioner. It was announced at the meeting that there will be an open house on April 18 for Saddle Rock’s new television studio.
The village approved a new procurement policy and Levy said the village planned to narrow down the banking institutions that were used because of too many nagging paper trails.
Assisted by a Saddle Rock resident, the village has been working on updated Web site, which will include Saddle Rock’s agenda and minutes, Levy said. The new Web site will eventually have a .gov domain.
Levy said he was able to secure $79,008 from FEMA for damages incurred to the village by Hurricane Sandy. Levy is hoping to be able to obtain another $11,000 as he originally negotiated for $100,000. The funds are being used for a new catch basin on Byron Lane and Emerson Drive to repair a sea wall and to change some of the Belgian blocks.
Saddle Rock’s kiddie pool, which was flooded during the storm, is being repaired and cracks in the pool are being sealed off. More than $9,000 was also used to repair the village’s tennis courts and install a rubber membrane and screening.
Village officials said under an agreement with the Village of Kensington, Saddle Rock residents will be able to use Kensington’s heated pool during the week, and Kensington residents can use Saddle Rock’s facilities.
Levy said he received a $30,000 grant from Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth (D-Great Neck) to update the kiddie playground.
Residents in attendance expressed concern about individuals speeding on Saddle Rock’s roads and not heeding to stop signs and speed limits.
Resolutions that were proposed included possibly putting speed bumps at stop signs so people are not able to speed without damaging their cars.
A resident also suggested installing a traffic camera, akin to those in Douglaston and Little Neck. Levy said he believed the solution would be too costly, but said he would ensure that something be done about this problem as soon as possible.
