The Village of Great Neck will focus on revitalization plans for part of Middle Neck Road, Mayor Pedram Bral said at a Tuesday night board meeting.
“In 2018 we’re going to have multiple meetings regarding the revitalization of our downtown and our main roads,” Bral told attendees, adding he hopes these meetings “will bring in new ideas.”
In November, trustees increased the scope of a study by VHB, an engineering consultant company, conducted along Middle Neck Road for potential zoning changes and an eventual master plan for development.
A representative for VHB previously said it would analyze the corridor, what is currently there and what could potentially go there.
Originally slated to get no more than $10,000, the company will be authorized to get up to $100,000 so it can conduct an environmental impact study.
Bral said the revitalization meetings will be announced in “about or month or so,” when VHB gets closer to finishing its assessment of the area.
In unrelated business, village officials said they have finished phase one of the LED light installation and will begin activation of the smart cell system on Wednesday night, which would allow the village to control the strength of the lights and adjust them accordingly.
This marks the beginning of the second phase, which will address outstanding issues like replacing lights missed in the initial survey and areas lacking a source of electricity.
“Within a couple of weeks they should be able to address all of the issues, and some of this is going to be outside the RealTerm contract because it doesn’t need to be in there and commission them on it,” Village Clerk-Treasurer Joe Gill said, referring to RealTerm Energy, the company managing the project. “We’re just going to treat it as a regular maintenance piece, a separate project.”
Ankers Electric has been installing the lights and smart system.
Village trustees also set a public hearing date of Tuesday, Jan. 16, for a law that would allow them to exceed the tax cap levy of 2 percent if necessary.
“This proposed law will do as just described – it will authorize this board to have a tax levy in excess of the tax cap limit written into the general municipal law. It does not require one, it simply says that if the need should arise, you would be authorized under law to do so,” Peter Bee, the village attorney, explained. “Absent this local law, you would not even have this option.”
Gill said the village has not begun its budget process yet, so officials do not know if they will need to breach the tax levy or not.
