By Rose Weldon
Williston Park’s long-awaited water tower is officially operational, Mayor Paul Ehrbar said Monday.
At the village’s Board of Trustees meeting, Ehrbar announced that the Williston Park water system was online as of that day. This marked the first day that the village was off the water system in neighboring Mineola.
While acknowledging that there is still some “groundwork” to complete, Ehrbar said the main tank was “up and running,” and that he would take a walk-through of the site on Wednesday.
Ehrbar also thanked Mineola officials for their assistance in a smooth transition, mentioning Mayor Scott Strauss, Superintendent of Public Works Tom Rini, water operator Jim Martin, and Deputy Superintendent of Public Works Leonard Palumbo in his remarks.
“Thank you to the village of Mineola for cooperating with us during this operation, specifically,” Ehrbar said. “We’re finished with Mineola in terms of using their water tower.”
The new tower replaced the village’s original tower on Syracuse Street, which was dismantled in the fall after 90 years of operation. Williston Park’s new tower on the same site was constructed by Landmark Structures, whose $4.1 million plan was approved by the Board of Trustees last July. It stands 180 feet tall and holds up to 500,000 gallons of water.
In keeping with the water theme, Ehrbar also reported favorably at the meeting on the use of the village pool in the wake of last week’s heat wave.
“We have a good membership this year,” Ehrbar said of the pool. “We expect more hot weather and more use this week.”
The next public meeting of the Williston Park Board of Trustees is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 8 p.m.
