On Columbus Day 2013 the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire District spent $200,000 to erect a communications antenna. The district is now in the process of spending $21,000 to take down that antenna because some residents say they were properly informed before it was built.
It is hard not to conclude that this is a ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars. And the opponents say they can’t take the tower down fast enough.
Fire District Commissioner Donald O’Brien said the work begun on Dec. 27 had been slowed by inclement weather.
After a storm and freeze the steel had to thaw before it could be taken down. To do the work, contractors have to rent a crane at a cost of $6,000-$8,000 per day on a day in which weather is clear.
What’s the rush?
The tower was part of a larger project to improve communications among emergency personnel and town and village officials
Village of Munsey Park and Flower Hill officials and residents said the district failed to inform them about the antenna.
O’Brien counters that the water district notified Munsey Park, and the Village of Flower Hill of their intention to erect the tower. But he concedes they could have done a better job.
An attorney for the water district said earlier in the year that the district had notified Munsey Park and Village of Flower Hill of the project in April giving village officials time to obtain any additional information they wanted.
The water district officials even attended a Munsey Park trustees meeting to discuss the matter.
The attorney said the project went forward when the district did not hear from the villages.
We are still not certain why the officials hate this tower or what harm it would have done.
The tower isn’t an eyesore, nor is it dangerous to the environment. More important, why are they willing to throw $221,000 of taxpayer money down the toilet?
Do the irate officials believe that better communications is not a worthwhile goal? We remind them of the important role communications played in the recovery from Sandy.
We assume that this tower would have done a great deal of good, especially in an emergency.
Democracy can be an annoying thing and sometimes common sense gets trampled.
