Village of East Williston Mayor David Tanner sent a letter to Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar last week that called for a negotiated settlement to the villages’ protracted water rates dispute while criticizing what he said was Williston Park’s unresponsiveness to earlier settlement proposals from East Williston’s trustees.
“As of this date, it is the understanding of the Board of Trustees of East Williston that all of our proposals have been rejected by you. Essentially, Williston Park’s position remains that the rate for the sale of water to East Williston will remain as Williston Park has previously determined, with only the change in services as Williston Park has set out, and apparently with no room for modification,” Tanner wrote. “I urge you and the Board of Trustees of your village to reconsider the proposals outlined above and also to consider and recommend counterproposals that you believe will meet this goal.”
Tanner sent the letter to Ehrbar, with copies to the other Williston Park trustees, on May 6, the day after arguments from the villages’ attorneys were heard in state Appellate Court on two lawsuits the East Williston board has filed against Williston Park over the water rates Williston Park charges its neighbor village.
Lawyers for both villages said a court decision is expected in four to six weeks
In his letter, Tanner recounted three proposals East Williston has offered to resolve the water rates dispute, and suggested the Williston Park trustees reconsider the proposals and recommend counterproposals. He concluded by inviting Ehrbar to contact him “ at your earliest opportunity” so the two boards could meet to “conclude this matter.”
“Every member of the East Williston board is in favor of coming to a resolution between the two parties,” East Williston Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente said when asked about Tanner’s letter.
The East Williston board filed the first of two lawsuits in July 2011 after the Williston Park board imposed a rate increase from $2.99 to $3.83 per 1,000 gallons in April 2011, a move the East Williston suit called “arbitrary or capricious.” The East Williston board filed a second suit in December 2012 after Williston Park trustees imposed a second rate increase in August 2012, increasing the cost per 1,000 gallons from $3.83 to $4.33.
East Williston won the first round in court when Judge R. Bruce Cozzens issued a decision in Nassau County Supreme Court supporting East Williston’s position in its first lawsuit, contending that a public hearing should have preceded Williston Park’s rate increase to $3.83 per 1,000 gallons.
In his May 6 letter, Tanner said the Village of East Williston first suggested returning to the $2.99 rate Williston Park was charging East Williston for water on April 11, 2011 and setting a modified rate for the period prior to the second rate increase to $4.33 per thousand gallons set on August 6, 2012.
In a May 29, 2013 meeting between the two sides, Tanner said Williston Park representatives “steadfastly refused” to modify the $4.33 rate.
Williston Park representatives, he said, proposed maintaining the $4.33 rate while providing meter reading and billing services, and emergency chlorination as part of a 10-year agreement. Tanner said the Williston Park representatives suggested that subsequent rate increases would be the same increases charged to Williston Park residents,
Tanner said East Williston’s second proposal, in a letter sent June 26, 2013, suggested that Williston Park maintain East Williston’s water mains, connections and water-related infrastructure in a non-exclusive deal for up to five years. The letter also suggested Williston Park handle all required testing, monitoring and reporting at no additional cost. Tanner said Williston Park didn’t approve of those suggestions and proposed no rate to cover them.
East Williston’s third proposal suggested that Williston Park provide water services to East Williston residents identical to services it provides its own residents, and bill East Williston at a rate sufficient to cover the additional services based on an experience rating of five years. Tanner said Williston park was unwilling to consider that approach.
Attempts to reach Ehrbar and Williston Park Deputy Mayor Kevin Rynne for comment were unavailing.
Rynne said after the recent state Appellate Court arguments were presented last week, he still sees an opportunity to negotiate a settlement with East Williston .
Williston Park trustees Teresa Thomann and Michael Uttaro both expressed a desire to settle the dispute.
Thomann said the Williston Park board will respond to Tanner’s letter with a letter of its own.
“I’m willing to be open-minded to settle the problem here. My goal is to get an agreement,” Thomann said. “I think it would be healthier for us to reach a solution before the court decision.”
Uttaro said he wasn’t aware of each proposal the East Williston representatives had made, but said a settlement is possible if the two sides can compromise.
“I think we’ve always been motivated to reach a settlement,” Uttaro said. “The general consensus of all of us is to show our citizens we can solve our problems on our own.”
Neither Thomann or Uttaro expressed support for any of the East Williston proposals Tanner presented in his letter.
Williston Park Trustee William Carr said at the moment he not favor a negotiated settlement..
“It’s in the court right now and hopefully the court sees it in our favor,” Carr said
Parente indicated the East Williston trustees are ready to discuss any of the ideas they’ve proposed.
“Any one of these proposals, we would endorse. We want a resolution, so we’re wiling to negotiate any one of these,” she said.
Attempts to reach Tanner for comment were unavailing, as were efforts to reach East Williston trustees Caroline DeBenedittis, Christopher Siciliano and Robert Vella Jr.
Ehrbar recently said he sent a letter to the East Williston trustees two months ago seeking a meeting on the water rates dispute. He said he never received a formal reply.
He said Tanner informally told him that Vella would meet with Rynne to discuss a resolution. Rynne has said he tried to contact Vella, but received no response.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
