It has been an honor to serve our community as a Trustee during the past four years and I would like to thank you for your confidence and support during my tenure.
As I leave the Board, I would like to support my fellow trustee, Christopher Siciliano, in his bid for re- election. Our village has been blessed to have such an honest, hard-working and conscientious person on the board and I wholeheartedly hope that we keep him in that position for as long as he is willing to serve. He is truly a pillar of our community and a credit to us all.
I would also like to support Ellen Ritz in her effort to serve as trustee. Ellen has a long history of service to our community as School Board member and President. She is an intelligent and concerned member of our community who I believe will work together with our Mayor and other board members to ensure that our Village thrives in the years to come.
When I was elected four years ago, the most glaring issue facing our village was a longstanding dispute with Williston Park regarding the supply and cost of water. The issue was highly contentious and caused real divisions between our two communities. My hope was to assist in bridging the gap and bringing about a reasonable solution. Through the hard work and dedication of our Mayor and my fellow Trustees, I believe we have reached a point where our Village has two clear and reasonable options that will provide a solution for the next twenty five years and beyond.
While we all may not agree on which solution is best, we can all agree that a solution that provides certainty for the next quarter century is a vast improvement over the conditions that have prevailed for the last decade. Our two Villages have finalized an agreement in principal that sets forth the terms of water distribution and costs for the next twenty-five years. As many of you are aware, our Board has also pursued a parallel path of building our own, independent water supply system.
This choice is one of the most important and permanent issues that our Village has ever faced. It is a choice that may never present itself again. Because of the far reaching implications of this decision, I feel that it is crucially important that all of our residents have as much input as possible into which course of action we should take. We are not permitted to hold a referendum on the direct question of whether or not to build a well. However, we are permitted to hold a referendum on whether or not to approve financing for such a project. In doing so, our residents will have the opportunity to be heard on the issue. Residents would have the ability to vote to approve the financing for the construction of the well or to strike down the financing, which would, I believe, provide the basis to finalize the agreement with Williston Park for the supply of water.
With warm regards, I thank you all for the opportunity to have served as Trustee of this wonderful village.
Rob Vella
East Williston
