Munsey Park residents who live near the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District’s site on Eakins Road are questioning the safety and stability of a proposed water tower that would hold 250,000 more gallons of water than the structure that has been in place there since 1929.
In a letter to the editor published in this week’s Manhasset Times, Gene Papa, Henry Hinz and Mark Shackel wrote they want the water district to consider all alternative projects in formulating a plan to replace the water tower.
“We have high regard for our firemen and those responsible for the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District,” they wrote. “We also care about our families and homes. Can something be worked out to satisfy everyone? We believe so!”
The current tower is one of the district’s two elevated water storage tanks that distributes water across the 10.2 square miles in Manhasset and parts of Great Neck and New Hyde Park served by the Manhasset Lakeville Water District.
The water district has proposed to replace the 85-year-old, 500,000 gallon-capacity tower that borders the villages of Munsey Park and Flower Hill with one the same 165-foot height but holding 750,000 gallons of water.
Officials have said that the current water tower does not comply with building and safety codes, while the proposed tower would meet regulations and be able to withstand extreme weather conditions in the future.
“They’re going to say this thing is safe, but it’s never safe,” said Hinz, a 36-year Munsey Park resident, in an interview on Tuesday. “The World Trade Center was safe.”
The water tower was last rehabilitated in 1998, and the water district has since made regular repairs to curtail its corrosion and deterioration.
But based on recent analysis and testing conducted by H2M Architects + Engineers, officials have said the tower would have to undergo major rehabilitation in the next few years or be replaced completely.
The proposed tower would cost $3.2 million that the district intends to pay for using money in its capital fund. Officials have said a new tower would increase the water district’s annual operating costs by approximately $90,000.
Hinz said H2M has been reluctant to consider other design options for the project or alternative locations for the tower in its proposal.
“When the existing water tower was built, what is now Munsey Park was essentially a farm,” Hinz said. “What was acceptable then, I’m sure, is not acceptable now.”
Papa said he and Hinz have made information requests about the project to the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District and the Town of North Hempstead, but have only learned of new developments in the proposal through public meetings with Munsey Park village government officials.
He added he does not know what role the town will have in the project, though a forum in which H2M officials answered questions from residents about the proposal was held in early April at Town Hall.
Andrew DeMartin, North Hempstead’s public safety commissioner, said Wednesday that the town will not have a role in the project, as it will not require Manhasset-Lakeville to propose a bond to cover the water tower’s costs.
“If this thing goes, houses will be demolished and I don’t even know who would be liable for it,” said Papa, also a 36-year Munsey Park resident, on Tuesday. “We paid off our houses and paid off our mortgages. Who’s going to compensate for that?”
