Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral, during Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, said that Mojo Stumer Associates was selected to design the new village hall.
The question was raised by village resident David Zielenziger regarding an abstract sheet with a payment of $11,282 to Mojo Stumer Associates with “GN VILLAGE HALL” next to it listed on the third page.
Bral confirmed that Mojo Stumer was selected to design the new village hall. The design of the interior of the new village hall, he said, was to the board’s liking, but the two parties are still discussing the exterior design.
“The last meeting we had was a very successful one, I think we pretty much liked the final design, we just have to move a couple of very small, minute things,” Bral said. “We are going to have an initial exterior design, I think, at the next meeting which is going to be held in about a week. So when we have a design that is worthy to be shown to the public we will show it.”
Bral said village officials and representatives of Mojo Stumer will meet in about a week to finalize the interior design and continue to work on the exterior.
“We have met about five times already … and again we have the court, the Building Department, Tax Department, all these different divisions need to be set up and we need to make sure their needs are taken care of,” Bral said.
A representative from Mojo Stumer confirmed that the two parties were still in the design process, but did not provide any further information. Efforts to reach another representative from Mojo Stumer for further comment were unavailing.
The village, according to Clerk-Treasurer Abraham Cohan, received 11 proposals to construct the new building at 756 Middle Neck Road before the deadline in January. Bral, during a January meeting, said some of the proposals were around 55 pages in length.
Bral, who was granted the authority to purchase the property by the trustees in November, said during a June meeting that the village needs to remain fiscally responsible and try to save money wherever possible, while developing a structure that would be a fixture in the village for years to come.
“We are trying to save money on the building and also on the size, and we want to maximize it as much as possible,” he said.
Officials also held a preliminary discussion on potentially forming a committee of village residents, on a volunteer basis, to help plan a 100th anniversary celebration for the Village of Great Neck next year. The specific date for the celebration, Bral said, has not yet been determined but he said he does not believe the celebration will be held in the winter.
“I am looking for individuals who would like to volunteer their time,” Bral said. “Obviously, this is a very historic time for our village … I think it would be great to have individuals who are committed to come in and have a program set up, and possibly a date of what they’d like to see.”
