Snowstorm Nemo dropped a foot of snow on Williston Park and at the village board meeting on Tuesday night, Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar commended the village Department of Public Works on its snow removal job.
“They did an exceptionally fine job on clearing our streets and making them safe for all residents,” Ehrbar said.
Ehrbar said streets throughout Williston Park were cleared early the on Saturday morning after the snowstorm struck on Feb. 8.
The only concern the mayor had other than the snow itself was residents depositing snow into the streets from using their snow blowers to clear driveways and sidewalks.
Ehrbar said snow plows cannot complete icing the streets due to the hazards of snow in the streets. The fine for displacing snow onto the street is $150.
In response to a resident’s question about the current status of litigation over water rates between the Villages of East Williston and Williston Park, Christopher Prior, an associate filling in for village attorney James Bradley, declined to comment.
“I would prefer not to get into a public discussion on that but it is a matter of litigation right now that is pending so we’ll stay away from that,” Prior said.
The Village of East Williston filed suit against the Village of Williston Park last year after Williston Park announced in April 2011 that it would be raising East Williston’s water rates from $2.99 per thousand gallons to $3.83 per thousand gallons. The East Williston Village Board filed a lawsuit in Nassau County Supreme Court contesting the rate increase.
The Williston Park village board voted in August to raise East Williston’s water rates a second time – 13 percent increase to $4.33 per 1,000 gallons of water from the $3.83 per 1,000 gallons of water – prompting a second lawsuit filed on behalf of the East Williston Village Board.
Williston Park village attorney James Bradley recently filed a reply to the second lawsuit. East Williston won the first round in the initial suit it filed on procedural grounds and Bradley is drafting an appeal in that case.
In other developments:
•The town board, which has been working on the budget since the fall, confirmed it is still hosting workshops to factor in budget increments. Ehrbar said the budget will be presented as early as next month.
• The board reported progress on the installation of information kiosks throughout the town. The first out of projected four information kiosks was installed on Feb. 20 in the village gazebo on Hillside Avenue. Community development funds were used to finance this project. The village board hopes to acquire more funds to complete the last three booths.
