At its August 7 meeting, the
Huntington Town Board approved open space improvements, replaced the
architectural firm working on the James D. Conte Community Center, appointed an
alternate member to the Zoning Board of Appeals, appointed various department
directors and deputy directors, and accepted two wheelchairs for the Sgt. Paul
Tuozzolo Memorial Spray Park, among other Town business.
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci and
Councilman Ed Smyth co-sponsored a resolution for energy-efficient open space
improvements at Manor Field Park in Huntington Station. The measure, seconded
by Councilman Eugene Cook, includes the installation of new poles and energy
efficient LED light fixtures at Field #32 (the synthetic turf field) at Manor
Field Park, as recommended by EOSPA Committee, paid for by $180,000 in EOSPA open
space funds and $100,000 from the Neighborhood Parks Fund.
“This improvement will reduce
electrical costs, provide better-focused field lighting, increase player
safety, and it is in compliance with recommendations in the Town’s Climate
Action Plan,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci.
Councilman Ed Smyth stated: “It is
important to preserve open space, especially in Huntington Station, and these
improvements do that while keeping costs down and ensuring safety at Manor
Field Park.”
In a
cost-saving measure, the Town replaced the current architect working on the
James D. Conte Community Center project with BBS Architects, Landscape
Architects and Engineers, P.C. The current architect had not advanced project
beyond conceptual design. On May 22, 2018, they submitted a supplemental fee
request of $850,000, raising their total fee to $1.453 million. The features
included in the existing renderings had increased the project cost to $14.2
million.
“We do
expect to receive a modified plan from BBS after contracts are signed, scaling
construction project costs back down within the $9 million range,” said
Supervisor Lupinacci, who sponsored the resolution replacing the architect.
“Their experience provides knowledge and skills necessary as we move into the
important cost management and design phase.”
BBS has
completed $3 billion of municipal and school construction project work and have
a familiarity with municipal bidding costs and industry trends. Their contract
with the Town is not to exceed $711,000 for 4 years with the $9 million project
budget.
Councilman
Eugene Cook sponsored a resolution appointing real estate attorney Mara S.
Manin, Esq., as an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Ms. Manin
was previously an attorney for the Village of Huntington Bay, representing the
Board of Trustees and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Her role included advising
the boards on all municipal matters and drafting the boards’ decisions and
updates to the Village Code.
“I am
proud to sponsor the resolution to add an alternate member to the Town of
Huntington Zoning Board of Appeals; town code had been updated ten years ago to
allow for alternate members and unfortunately the Board had never acted on the
amendment. It was important to add Mara S. Marin, Esq. a highly qualified
individual as an alternate because ZBA meetings had to be cancelled due to lack
of a quorum. I will work with my colleagues to add a second alternate
member as allowed by Town of Huntington Code.”, stated Councilman Eugene Cook
The Town
Code allows the Town Board to appoint alternate members to the Zoning Board of
Appeals to serve as backup members when regular members are unavailable, which
has been a recent issue with members away on vacation. There were two open
spots for alternate members: Ms. Manin was appointed to one of those spots and
the other remains open.
The Town Board appointed directors
and deputy directors to various Town departments: Carmen Kasper, Director of
Human Services; Jacqueline Harris, Deputy Director of Human Services; Scott R.
Spittal, P.E., Deputy Director of Transportation and Traffic Safety; Lisa
Putignano, Deputy Director of General Services; Timothy Francis, Deputy
Director of General Services; Daniel Martin, Director of Building and Engineering
Services; Joseph Cline, P.E., Deputy Director of Building and Engineering
Services; David Genaway, Deputy Director of Planning and Environment; and
Thelma Neira, Acting Deputy Town Attorney.
The Town accepted a donation of two
water-use wheelchairs for the Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Spray Park, which
opened July 11th. The chairs were donated by Town employee Margo Myles and her
husband Sean, who wanted children with special physical needs to be able to
enjoy the spray park. The chairs, which have specially-designed wheels, are
valued at $2,178.
“We are very appreciative of the
Myles family for their generous and thoughtful donation,” said Supervisor
Lupinacci, who pointed out, “there are many opportunities for people to help
the Town do things that aren’t budgeted for and this is a wonderful example.”
In other action, the Town Board:
·
Appointed
Sidney B. Joyner as Commissioner of the Huntington Housing Authority for a term
expiring June 22, 2020.
·
Approved
emergency repairs to Crab Meadow Golf Course, which had been vandalized July
30, appropriating funds from the Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement
Reserve Fund to limit revenue loss.
·
Accepted
a donation of labor and materials from Posillico, Inc. for the
already-completed repaving of existing golf cart paths at Crab Meadow Golf
Course, unrelated to the vandalism.
·
Approved
an agreement with Rain or Shine Creative Arts Therapy Services to provide art
therapy at the Town’s Senior Center.
·
Approved
an intermunicipal agreement with the Incorporate Village of Northport for road
paving services on Waterside Avenue.
·
Accepted
an $84,958 grant from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Services (OASAS) for the Town of Huntington Youth Bureau’s Drug and
Alcohol Treatment and Prevention Program.
·
Accepted
a “Manor Hairdresser” exhibit on loan for the Max & Rosie Teich Homestead
in Gateway park.
·
Greenlighted
the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce’s Long Island Fall Festival taking
place in Heckscher Park on the following dates: Friday, October 5, 2018,
5:00 PM to 11:00 PM; Saturday, October 6, 2018, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Sunday,
October 7, 2018, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; and Monday, October 8, 2018, 11:00 AM to
5:00 PM.
·
Agreed
to co-sponsor the Drug Free Long Island United Walk for Recovery event on
September 30, 2018, in Heckscher Park.
·
Scheduled a public hearing for the September 5, 2018
Town Board Meeting at 2:00 PM to consider adding a stop sign for
northbound traffic on Bradford Place at Tappen Drive in Melville.
Lupinacci presented a proclamation
on behalf of the Town Board to Danielle Birnbaum, who won the Gold Medal in the
400-meter freestyle and Bronze Medals for the 200-meter freestyle and the
100-meter butterfly, representing New York State in the 2018 Special Olympics
which took place in Seattle, Washington.
"Danielle’s success and
perseverance has inspired the Town Board to honor her with this proclamation
today," said Supervisor Lupinacci. "We know Danielle will continue to
achieve greatness and we cannot wait to see her compete again!"
Supervisor Lupinacci presented Angel
Athenas a proclamation on behalf of the Town Board for winning four Gold Medals
in Powerlifting event at the 2018 Special Olympics in Seattle, Washington.
"Prior to this year’s USA
Games, Angel broke the women’s deadlifting record at the 2018 New York Special
Olympics in Albany," said Lupinacci. "The road to the 2019 USA Games
will be challenging but we know that Angel will continue to thrive!"
In the photos: Town Board after
presenting proclamation to Danielle Birnbaum and her family. Angel Athenas;
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci; and Angel’s parents prior to the Town Board
Meeting.
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