A pair of Village of Williston Park trustees are running together for their second four-year terms on the Village Board.
Trustee Michael Uttaro has switched from Williston Park’s Representative Party to join Trustee William Carr on the Integrity Party ticket in their run for re-election to their two seats.
“Billy (Carr) and I worked very well together, got a lot of things accomplished together,” Uttaro said. “We had opposing opinions at times, but we always compromised and I think our compromises led to good things.”
The pair were the top two vote-winners in the 2012 election, in which Uttaro ran with Diane Thorp on the Representative Party line for two seats former Trustees William Damstadt and Barbara Alagna vacated.
Carr ran under the Integrity Party, backed by Mayor Paul Ehrbar and former Mayor Doreen Ehrbar.
The Representative Party has since “just kind of gone away,” Uttaro said. But both trustees said serving the village trumps partisan politics on a board that tries to work through its disagreements.
“There’s dissent, there’s true discussions, there’s true opinions out there and no one’s rolling over for nobody else,” Uttaro said.
Both Carr and Uttaro touted progress toward resolving Williston Park’s water service dispute with East Williston, which started just before they were elected.
At the first Village Board meeting following their election, Uttaro said, trustees discussed holding a public hearing about increasing East Williston’s water rate from $3.83 per thousands gallons to $4.33 per thousand gallons.
That move led to the second of two lawsuits East Williston brought against Williston Park. The first came in 2011, when East Williston’s rate increased from $2.99 per thousand gallons to $3.83 per thousand gallons.
It’s taken lots of compromises and negotiations, Uttaro said, including a “historic” December meeting between the two boards and behind-the-scenes talks among trustees.
Now, with discussion continuing on the tentative agreement, Williston Park’s Village Board is “as close as we ever were” to ending the dispute, Carr said.
“I’m happy that we’re actually at a point where we might actually get something done,” he said.
Uttaro and Carr also touted major improvements at Kelleher Field, Williston Park’s firehouse and on several village roads.
The Little League baseball field and park have seen several upgrades through their first term, including a new basketball court and playground, a handicap-accessible bathroom and a stage.
Despite some delays, many Williston Park roads have been repaved; and renovations to the firehouse are ahead of schedule, Uttaro said.
A $2.6 million bond funded those projects, which the Village Board approved in 2013 at low interest rates.
“When they walk into a park or when they see something new … it just shows that this is where my money’s going,” Uttaro said, “and I think every taxpayer — there’s enough nonsense in government. You just wanna know where your money’s going.”
In his next term, Uttaro said he wants to see the village develop a comprehensive capital plan so it can be prepared to handle and fund similar future projects.
One in the works, Carr said, is the replacement of street lamp bulbs with brighter, more energy-efficient LED lights, which will save the village money in the long run.
The village is testing different bulbs in some lamps now and will soon purchase lights and install them village-wide, Carr said.
“We’re a quaint village and we don’t wanna change that at all,” he said. “… But when you go by those corners now, they’re well lit, and I think people appreciate that.”
Both Uttaro and Carr are parishoners at St. Aidan’s Church and coach teams in the Catholic Youth Organization athletic league there.
Carr, an electrician, has lived in Williston Park since 2001 with his wife and four children.
Uttaro, an assistant chief fire marshal in the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office, moved to the village from New Hyde Park 16 years ago with his wife. They have three children.
Candidates for trustee positions have until Feb. 9 to file a petition with the 100 signatures required to run.
The election is Tuesday, March 15, from 12 to 9 p.m. in Williston Park’s Village Hall at 494 Willis Ave.
