Old Westbury trustees awarded the construction bid for a new water well to serve the increasing water needs of village residents.
The project will be carried out by an Islip-based construction firm, R+L Drilling LLC.
With 60 percent of the village’s water supply going toward irrigation, there has been a need for more water, village officials said.
Officials said the well will allow the village to supply most of its own water, resulting in about $400,000 in yearly savings.
The well will be installed in the Spring Hill Farm area, and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2017.
The new well is part of a major capital plan started by village officials to improve the roads and water system throughout Old Westbury.
In July, work began to renovate seven of the roads most in need fixing for $1.6 million.
The renovations will be complete by the end of this year.
Mayor Fred Carillo said the board plans to continue road improvements in coming years until every road in the village is fixed.
Also during the meeting, resolutions for the consolidation of the planning board and architectural review board were passed, as well as a change to the village code that will allow bigger construction projects.
In an effort to have the laws reflect modern building trends, the permissible volume of buildings in the village was increased by 20 percent and the amount of the lot that can be covered was increased by 5 percent, officials said.
The planning and architectural review boards were merged to make it more efficient for builders and homeowners to apply for construction projects in the village.
Previously with two separate boards, applicants had to resolve issues between the boards, which meet on separate dates, sometimes delaying the process for months.
With the new planning board, all communication will be done in one place, and issues can be resolved more quickly, Trustee Ed Novick said.
“If anything, it will hopefully make it a more enjoyable experience for a homeowner in Old Westbury,” Novick said.
The project was started last November with the creation of a seven-person committee headed by Novick.
The merger required repealing and amending current village laws to eliminate the architectural review board, and effectively extend the power of the planning board.
