Plans to improve recreation field conditions relayed

From page 1 chatting with associations and youth groups using the St. Paul’s fields and we have reached an agreement where a good portion of the field will be shut down this summer, once their spring season is over. In particular we need to take more care of the smaller ‘window’ fields right by Stewart Avenue where kindergarten children play – those are in the worst shape of all the fields. It’s down to bare dirt in a lot of spots.”

No pesticides on St. Paul’s fields

For the St. Paul’s fields, Garden City Recreation committed to using no pesticides and only organic treatments for the fields, due to health considerations for families discussed with the Environmental Advisory Board members nearly five years ago. Blake said while the organic field maintenance is now in a fourth year on these fields, the expectation is for conditions to be effectively improved (with zero chemicals used) within a period of five years.

“We are just starting year 4 so we are hopeful to see some improvements towards the end of this year and going into next year,” Blake said.

Last fall the Recreation and Parks Department put down about 27 truckloads of topsoil, peat moss and grass seed on the fields at Grove Park. The material was regraded and seeded, and the early results were encouraging. The goal was to keep that field closed for this spring season however the field at Nassau Haven Park has been heavily overused, with no rest.

“There, after a week the soccer club came to us and said Nassau Haven was really not usable. We had to reopen the Grove field so instead of getting two growing seasons that field is now being used. Blake reported that new grass there which “is not terribly well-established is starting to get beaten up.”

The new strategy for St. Paul’s fields involves deep tine aeration, which has not been done before in Garden City, and the overseeding method to allow new growth. Blake added that in addition to the ‘window’ fields at least one and possibly two of the full-size athletic fields at St. Paul’s will be shut down for heavy-duty maintenance.

He advised the trustees that Recreation has no choice but to be more aggressive in advising athletic groups about the periods of time needing to be scheduled, in order for maintenance and regrowth to occur and improve field conditions.

“In the fall we will also be putting down some turf covers at St. Paul’s, which we used last winter to try to grow the turf in the goal-mouth areas as they get worn out badly every year. We are acting aggressively to try to improve our turf – we know it isn’t up to our standards. We’re aware of the issues and our crews are at work. The effort is there, and we are getting good advice from our turf company,” Blake told the board.

Senior Center repairs

Blake also explained an agenda item for trustees’ approval on May 4 – a change order in the amount of $5,760 for the Senior Center HVAC project, as submitted by contractor Energy Mechanical Inc.

“When the contractors opened up an outside wall to go in and repair termite damage they had to remove one of the condensers. When they opened up the condenser they found that it was rusted and non-operative so it needs to be replaced,” Blake told the board.

The news Blake delivered to the Board aside from the cost allocated highlighted the reopening of a full schedule of events at the Senior Center on Golf Club Lane, effective May 1. “There are still a few small items on the punch list but nothing serious, and we have a crew arriving May 8 to clear them up. The programs have carried on and our community’s response has been really good,” Blake shared.

Other expenditures

The bid for the retaining wall project at Community Park, described by Recreation Superintendent Blake last month, was awarded to Galvin Brothers/ Medue JV for $478,000 – the lowest bidder among the six bids Garden City received. DPW Superintendent Borroni said the budgeted amount for this project was estimated at $700,000. Funding for it comes from the capital budget.

Last week the village’s Department of Public Works requested Board of Trustees’ authorization for two change orders related to work on the Village Hall HVAC system upgrade, submitted to Garden City by vendor Intricate Tech Solutions. The first change order for $16,561.44 will pay for adding a new system in the Information Technology (IT) Room, and funding comes from the village’s Computer Renovation budget. DPW Superintendent John Borroni said this cost is similar to the system that was installed two years ago in the GCPD Detectives’ office.

Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi said a separate project for relocation of the Village administration computer/ server room requires air conditioning to keep equipment at the right temperature. “With the A/C team on board here we thought it would be best for them to do it while they are here and to get the room ready. That’s probably the most intrusive part of the construction. We are moving the equipment from the room we currently have because it has water pipes, and we have had multiple leaks in there in the past few years. We are trying to prevent a major catastrophe,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Lawrence Marciano asked how big the new computer room being built at Village Hall will be, and Suozzi’s estimate was for about 15’ by 12’. He said the GCPD 911 system will also be housed among the village IT and servers and the setup will require climate control.

The second change order, for $4,066.69 to replace three grilles in the second floor meeting room – under the windows facing Stewart Avenue. That cost will be funded through Capital budget funds.

Another Public Works’ expense approved at the May 4 board meeting was $11,000 to engage water system consultants H2M Architects + Engineers, to conduct semi-annual inspections of the Village of Garden City’s five water storage tanks, which are required by the Nassau County Health Department. Reports must be delivered bi-annually following the tanks’ inspections. Borroni said H2M will do a comprehensive and detailed report which will include both interior and exterior photographs.

Also related to water operations, the Board approved a one-year agreement for Frank Feeley to provide professional services to the village Water Department, on an as-needed basis for the period June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. Feeley administers a water sampling program part-time, and Superintendent Borroni lauded his expertise in new required treatments.

The Board also approved the engagement of Pace Analytical Services Inc. of Melville to perform U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-mandated Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR-5) sampling for $17,4000. The sampling is required every five years, and samples must be collected twice – six months apart.

Another approval confirmed May 4 was the engagement of Duke’s Root Control to perform an environmentally-friendly chemical treatment (RAZOROOTER II Root Control) on Garden City’s sanitary sewers, to control roots, with a cost of $33,411.80. The village notes that Duke’s is registered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and is the only commercial applicator Sewer Sciences, Inc. licensed to apply RAZOROOTER II in New York.

With another approval for the Recreation Department, the village trustees authorized a rental agreement with Adelphi University, with a cost of $2,865, for use of the Olmstead Theatre in the AU Performing Arts Center. Village Recreation will hold a rehearsal and set of dance ensemble performances at the venue in early June. The dance rehearsal will be on Thursday June 1 and the Annual Dance Showcase will feature two performances – on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3.

“This license agreement calls for one full rehearsal and two shows, on Friday and Saturday nights. The rental cost includes technical aspects for the performances – people who will run the sound, spotlights and curtains. The event gives our students a chance to put on a show in a truly professional theater,” Superintendent Blake said.

LED Lighting

The final Public Works expense item approved on May 4 was the award of a bid to replace LED street light fixtures in village parking fields 7S, 9E and 12. Denis O’Regan Inc. of Glen Cove was awarded the project bid with a cost of $22,152. Six bids were received for the project. Superintendent Borroni informed the board that the village would receive grant funding from NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) upon completion of the LED lighting upgrades to offset the project costs.

Last Thursday the Board of Trustees reappointed Certified Electrical Inspections, Inc. to provide the village’s Building Department with electrical inspections for the next two years, at no cost to the municipality.

Superintendent of Building Giuseppe Giovanniello explained that the current third-party electrical inspectors have given the village “excellent and highly professional services.”

“They have been with us since 2008 and CEI performs the electrical inspections our Department can’t perform because electrical inspection needs to be completed by a third party agency. The cost is deferred to the homeowner depending on the type of inspections performed. Certified Electrical Inspections has been great in working with our Building Department team over the years,” Giovanniello said.

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