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Politics & Government

Northport Village Notebook: Betty's Back and More

Updates were given on work at the wastewater treatment plant and on sewer-rent appeals at the March 15 meeting.

Commissioner Reports
Deputy mayor Henry Tobin said that there would be a meeting with local residents regarding the T21 Project on on Saturday, March 26.

The meeting will be a general inspection tour, where everyone from the neighborhood can walk along the street and make observations and comments. The residents were asked to meet at at 10 a.m.

Mayor George Doll noted that the highway department has been sweeping up the sand sprayed over the roadways during the period of intense snowfall experienced this winter. He also said that the village now has to travel further to gather materials to patch streets with blacktop, costing them more money, although the village does get support from the New York State Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program, known more commonly as CHIPS, to patch the streets.

Village Administrator Gene Guido stated that the owner of the building next to was looking for a new crane operator to lift air conditioning units off the now out-of-business Northport Gourmet Deli as the previously-hired crane company decided not to do it. The resolution to permit the work was passed .

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Sewer Rent Grievances
Bayview Avenue resident Effie Huber asked the Board of Trustees for an update on appeals for the , as the deadline to appeal was the day of the meeting.

The board stated that they received roughly 70 appeals and were now deciding whether to reduce them or to deny the requests. They noted that the Harbour Point condominium appeals count as two separate appeals. When asked about their water usage, the board noted that it varies dramatically depending on the season.

Centerport resident Peter Hefter wanted an update on a  received by Northport from the New York State Water Quality Improvement Project, a division of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, which was to be used to get the sastewater treatment plant up to nitrogen-emission standards by 2014. Guido said that two work plans were submitted on time to the NYS DEC and that the DEC has 60 days to respond.

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Hefter also asked about a $9 million loan from the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation. Guido said that the village was currently in meetings with the DEC to get everyone on the same page over what money the village was requesting.

The $9 million loan cannot be accepted until the $1.8 million is used to upgrade the technology at the treatment plant to bring it to 2014 standards. Deputy Mayor Tobin added that while the village's request was not approved, as it was one or two points below an EFC cutoff point, it was likely that some projects higher up on the list would not be approved either.

Village resident and Huntington native Betty Koerner voiced her displeasure that the plans to  are set to go through following a public hearing at the Town of Huntington Board of Trustees meeting on March 8.

She was specifically irked by the appearance of numerous TD Bank employees at the hearing, who she said had no historical perspective on what the Huntington Hotel meant to the community. She also was upset about a separate decision allowing docks to extend further out into waterways, saying that "the waterways belong to the people."

Requests
A request by the to hold its annual Memorial Day parade on May 30 was approved without much discussion.

Resolutions
Five resolutions were passed by the Village Board of Trustees. The most notable was a $6,000 contract with Gannett Fleming's to continue the engineering consultant's involvement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation over the 2014 permit limits at the  The services provided will include working with the DEC on finalizing permit language as well as developing nitrogen offshore credits.

A separate resolution permitted a salary increase to Code Compliance Officer Robert "Beefy" Varese to $25 per hour, not exceeding 17 1/2 hours per week, following his completion of code-enforcement training on March 1. Varese was hired following the resignation of Michael Schoonmaker in 2008. Until recently Bud Rudloff was also a code inspector for the village. However, he retired Friday, Feb. 25 .

Another resolution approved seasonal dockmaster jobs for Liz Drew (senior dockmaster, $12.50/hour), Joseph Koch (dockmaster, $10/hour), and Rob Varese (dockmaster, $10/hour). 

The other two resolutions approved the minutes from the and meetings.

Miscellaneous
Mayor Doll came sporting a shaved head, a result of his participation in the at Napper Tandy's, as did Trustee Jerry Maline. 

Trustee Thomas Kehoe was not at the meeting.

The Northport Village Board of Trustees meets twice a month on Tuesday nights at 6p.m. Their next meeting is scheduled for April 5.

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