Thomas Rini, superintendent of the Mineola Department of Public Works, put the final cost of the village’s Hurricane Sandy damages at $1,211,650 during last Wednesday night’s village board meeting and said most of the cost would be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Rini said the representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been “very cooperative” in reviewing the damage costs and FEMA has approved a payment of $311,000 to the village.
Rini said FEMA would cover 75 percent of the storm damage costs, with the state covering 12.5 percent of the costs and the village responsible for the remaining 12.5 percent.
He said some repairs have not yet been made so the bills have not yet been processed.
“We have to put all these repairs and these costs through our insurer,” Rini said.
Rini said storm-related costs included $461,480 for emergency contractors the village DPW hired for the post-storm cleanup, $25,443 for debris removal, $70,000 for removing uprooted trees, $75,000 to $85,000 for sidewalk repairs, and village property damage of $100,000. Repairs to the Little League batting cage at Wilson Field and a fence at the municipal pool cost $160,000.
Rini said a representative for the village insurance company, New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, concurred with his assessment of the damage costs. He said money spent for sidewalk repairs and debris removal have not yet been submitted for reimbursement.
FEMA, he said, will cover cost of labor, both regular time and overtime, the village incurred in the first 30 days after the storm.
Previously, he said FEMA did not cover regular time labor costs. He also said the cost of tree stump removal, which he said FEMA covered in the wake of Hurricane Irene, may no longer be covered.
Rini said the process of compiling the records FEMA requires for reimbursement includes providing a GPS location for each repair site.
“It’s a lot of work,” he said. “We’re going to keep working and get things repaired.”
On street lights needing replacement, Rini said most fixtures have been received and will be in place soon. Some village lights were what he called “carriage” lights that are no longer made. He said the village board should consider more “efficient” lighting alternatives to replace those fixtures.
“If you have street lights out, we’re aware of it,” Village of Mineola Scott Strauss told residents. “We appreciate your patience.”
Rini reported phase one of the project to relieve recurrent flooding in the Bruce Terrace area is complete with new catch basins and a 30-inch drainage pipe in place. Road Work Ahead is the village contractor on the project.
“It has been connected and is operational at this time,” Rini said.
He said work in the Dow Avenue area is awaiting the county to begin its part of the project.
The overall flood-relief project entails work to be done by the village, the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County to relieve flooding problems on the border of Mineola and Carle Place. The village, the town and the county each received $800,000 in state grant funds for their respective segments of the flood relief project.
The county’s $1.7 million portion of the project includes installation of 1,715 feet of 36-inch or 48-inch interceptor pipe on Sheridan Boulevard from Raff Avenue, crossing Westbury Avenue and entering the Mineola catch basin.
The village’s portion of the project will cost a total of $1.7 million. The total cost for the town’s portion of the project is $1.1 million.
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.
Rini said the village is moving on to the third phase its part of the project, installing 1,030 feet of pipe to new catch basins to be built north, south and east of Liberty Avenue. He said a fourth phase is construction of a catch basin on the border between Mineola and Carle Place.
“Things are moving along. It should move relatively quickly,” Rini said.
In other developments:
• East Hills resident Richard Brummel made his fourth appeal to the village board at last Thursday night’s meeting to save a 125-year-old red oak tree Brummel said may be endangered. Brummel has said he thinks the tree, in a back yard of a property in foreclosure on 208 Roslyn Road, could be removed by a developer if the property is purchased.
“There is a lot of public support to save this tree,” said Brummel, who claims to have more than 200 signatures on a petition to save the tree.
Strauss, who had no response last Thursday, has told Brummel no residents have talked to him about the tree.
• Brown Street resident Bernadette Quinn followed Brummel, asking the village board to remove a tree from the utility median in front of her house. She said the tree lost a limb during Hurricane Sandy and she and her neighbors are concerned the tree may come down and cause damage to their homes or injure their children. She also said neighbors in one house on her block have been sleeping in their basement during adverse weather in fear that the tree may fall on their house.
Strauss said he would have the village DPW evaluate the tree.
“Nobody should be sleeping in their basement because of a tree,” Strauss said.
