At the June 15 meeting Mayor Brian Daughney asked Kevin Ocker, the department head for Recreation and Parks, about progress for the new synthetic turf Multi-Use field (for soccer, lacrosse, football and more). The original date of completion was June 30. Ocker told the Board last week that the progress remained great and the project was 70% complete then, with an early July date for 100% completion.

“All the light poles are in and wired and just ready for connection at the power source. Fence posts are installed and the sub-base was rolled and compacted. The geo-grid that goes in is also complete. Over the next two weeks, they will complete permanent turf-nailer, the chain link fencing will be up and the turf will be delivered June 22. If people don’t recall on turf fields 3 and 4 along the perimeter fences of the new field will be a warning track, and that is a nice addition to go with this project,” he explained.

Trustee John Delany asked about the timing for the biggest new turf field’s use. Ocker says after the turf settles and maintenance is checked on the first practices on it will be in the last weeks of July. “We are already getting calls and inquiries for renting the field,” he said.

Trustee Robert Bolebruch asked about how Recreation would schedule usage of the new field with the anticipated high demand for Garden City’s latest sports asset. Ocker says this was foreseen as the various sport organizations operating in the village had come together in focus groups last fall, and their input is consistent with Recreation’s planning and scheduling. “There is grace period of cooperation and everybody is going to get a piece, a time to use this field. Football, soccer, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse – we will run it similarly to the way we manage the Fieldhouse and it’s proven to be a great system over the years. It will be on great demand,” Ocker said on June 15.

Trustee Mark Hyer asked Ocker about the 2017 Pool season for the enterprise fund. Ocker says numbers looked encouraging with the first weekend of summer’s season. “As of Tuesday (June 13) last year, today we have 102 more family memberships this year. Overall numbers counting families, individuals and every category we are up by about 350 more people in memberships. We are on a good trend and we think we can anticipate this to be a good year,” Ocker says.

Hyer considered the new indoor seating for food/concessions, and two weeks after the Board of Trustees’ meeting (Thursday, June 29) the Recreation Commission was set to hold its meeting in that section of the village’s pool complex to examine its dynam- ics. Ocker says residents and visitors’ feedback on it in the first week of pool season was extremely positive.

Fire HQ Repairs and Street Pole Improvements Approved

A $150,000 capital project for HVAC system renovation of the Garden City Fire headquarters (behind Village Hall) was approved by the Board of Trustees at their Thursday, June 15 meeting. The project requires a transfer of funds from Contingent into the Capital Project account, also approved by the trustees’ vote. Simultaneously the Board approved a resolution for Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi to award the contract for HVAC to the lowest bidder, once the bidding process was complete, and upon a recommendation from the Department of Public Works and the Village Purchasing Department.

At the start of the trustees’ June 15 meeting an agenda item was added and soon approved for emergency masonry repairs at Garden City’s Fire Station 3, for an amount not to exceed $34,750. This also required a transfer of funds of $34,000.

At the Board of Trustees’ May 18 meeting a grant application for the reconstruction of the Fire Headquarters radio room, estimated at $185,112, was approved. The village had received the application for New York State’s Municipal Facilities Program (SAM) grant. Also on May 18 a professional services contract for $13,500 was approved as Garden City hired Alpine Software Corp. for fire department controls. The updated system, used for call tracking, payroll and more, has new features for facilitating its use.

Contracts totaling $57,669 for five vendors of the village’s streetlight poles were approved at the June 15 meeting. Fifteen vendors were invited to bid. Michael’s Electric of Lynbrook received a $44,248 contract as the only bidder on seven streetlight items. Other contracts included Kelly & Hayes Electrical Supply of Long Island of Nesconset, Graybar Electric of Teterboro, New Jersey, and Sentry Electric of Freeport. Items numbers 12 and 13 of the capital project were incorrectly bid on by vendors and the board voted to reject the bids.

A total $60,226 for street light poles and accessories was allocated from the 2017-2018 budget with the Board’s approval. Kelly & Hayes Electrical Supply of Long Island received a subtotal bid award of $28,329, an additional one-year renewal of its village contract. Sentry Electric also received a one-year contract renewal, for $19,127.

Back at the Board of Trustees’ February 2 meeting, a $120,000 transfer of funds was approved for the village’s Street Lighting – Electricity account coming from the Contingency account (in the 2016-2017 budget). This was specified as a sum to fund a budget shortfall as Garden City awaited credits from PSE&G for the municipality’s LED lighting project. It was scheduled to be reversed once credits from PSE&G were applied to the village’s account.

The 2017-2018 village budget approved by the Board of Trustees on April 4 included 44 capital project items in the general fund, and seven of eight are allocated into the Water Department. Six village projects were specifically chosen for bonding in the next 11 months, Suozzi said.

Two bonded village projects were approved by the Board of Trustees on June 15. First the roof at the Department of Public Works facility will be replaced, and the village’s bonded amount is $229,000. Administrator Ralph Suozzi said the roof above the DPW mechanic shop has severe leaking and it needs to be re-done immediately.

The other was a $109,000 expense for replacing eight very large garage doors at the DPW Yard.

“The mechanic shop down at the DPW Yard has very large doors that are its original doors. They take a lot to repair and they need replacement,” Suozzi said. The project is classified for SEQRA Type II and would be exempt from further environmental reviews.

Building Consultants Hired

Richard Barbieri of BP Associates in Amity Harbor, a former Village of Garden City employee, was approved as a consultant to the Building Department with a resolution by the Board of Trustees on June 15. He will receive $75 per hour to provide plan review and inspection services on an “as needed basis.” The contract agreement runs from June 15, 2017 through May 31, 2018, and includes insurance premiums paid by the village and required for his services.

In October of 2014, Barbieri was hired as a consultant to the Building Department. He provided plan review and inspection services to the village then for an average of 20 hours a week and a rate of $67 per hour, allocated from the departmental budget.

At the June 1 Board of Trustees’ meeting the International Code Council firm was hired, with a $21,500 estimate for review of plans for the Ring Road OTO Development/Simon Properties Residence Inn by Marriott. OTO Development had submitted plans to the village, which last appeared on the Architectural Design Review Board (ADRB) meeting agendas in spring and again on Tuesday, June 27. The OTO application was a Fast Track “to subsidize the encumbered cost through the village’s (Building Department) Fast Track revenue line.” The amount approved by Trustees June 1, as a transfer of funds from Contingent to Safety Inspection Contractual Services, was not to exceed $25,000 as a final figure had not been pinpointed by the meeting.

 

Source:gcnews.com

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