The Manhasset-Lakeville Water District, which has collaborated with the Village of Plandome Heights on a water main replacement on Summit Drive and Grandview Circle since May, recently requested approximately $6,000 in additional funding from the village, said Plandome Heights Mayor Kenneth C. Riscica.
Initially, the village contributed $40,000 for the $125,000 portion of the project devoted to road repairs.
“We had an agreement to repave some roadways and some patches were bigger than estimated,” said the district’s superintendent, Paul J. Schrader. The need for additional funds stemmed from two stretches of roadwork at 75 Grandview Circle: one on the east side and the other adjacent to the water main crossing. “Our engineers went out and approved the quantities,” said Schrader of the request.
Schrader admitted that “when engineers first gave [Mayor Rescica] the numbers, a red flag came up and he questioned them.”
At Monday night’s Plandome Heights Board of Trustees meeting, Mayor Riscica suggested the village agree to pay for the repairs on the east side of 75 Grandview Circle but not those adjacent to the water main. “One was their responsibility and one was ours,” he said. The suggestion received unanimous approval from the trustees in attendance: Aida Ferman, Gus Panopoulos and Dianne Sheehan.
Asked if the dispute had been resolved, Schrader said the two sides had “come to an agreement.” He confirmed that the MWLD had agreed to pay for the road repairs completed at the 75 Grandview Circle location adjacent to the water main.
Schrader said the project as a whole is “99.9 percent done,” though some curb restoration remains.
“This worked out very well for both MLWD and the Village of Plandome Heights,” Schrader added. “They got streets paved and we got a water main put in.”
Mayor Rescica echoed Schrader’s sentiments at the trustees meeting. “Manhasset Lakeview has done a fantastic job as a partner on this project. We’ve gone back and forth about the responsibility here at the end but that’s been cleared up,” he said.
