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Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, and Searingtown

guide to schools & education

r publications media / litmo a blank slate

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Friday, March 11, 2016

Vol. 65, No. 11

guide to schools gov sez no land and education for third track

gop, conservatives pick martins

PAGEs 35-46

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2016 n • march 11, special sectio

Differences settled, water saga goes on E.W. to put well plan to vote even after agreement reached with W.P. By N o a h M a n s k a r East Williston and Williston Park’s village boards left Williston Park’s Village Hall with the final framework for a water-service agreement Thursday after settling their remaining differences. But the path to an independent water supply system is still open in East Williston, frustrating Williston Park trustees. “I thought we had an agreement. This is why we were here, and we don’t have an agreement,” Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said. While some East Williston trustees said they favored the 25-year agreement, reached after years of negotiations, the village plans to put a $7.5 million bond for an independent system to a referendum. History indicates such a referendum will be defeated, Mayor David Tanner said, but the board thinks letting residents decide how to settle “the largest public issue we’ve ever faced as a village” is the most demo-

cratic approach. “It is my strong belief that this is an issue that is too large and, in my village, it’s too contested within the community for us to impose our views on it,” Trustee Robert Vella said. The boards reached compromises Thursday to settle disagreements that had emerged since Williston Park approved a draft agreement in January. Williston Park Trustees Teresa Thomann and Michael Uttaro were absent Thursday night. The boards removed a clause that would have allowed Williston Park to opt out of the agreement with 12 months notice to East Williston if it couldn’t meet its own water supply needs, which had raised alarm among East Williston residents in January. East Williston will likely not have to build its own emergency chlorination system, as its Village Board had worried last month. Continued on Page 65

PHOTO BY stephen takacs

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day The Irish American Society of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens held its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Mineola March 6. See story on page 3.

Election turns into vote on Mineola developments By N o a h M a n s k a r With one downtown apartment complex open, another nearing completion and two more on the horizon, the four-way race for two seats on Mineola’s Village Board has become a referendum on the village’s residential devel-

challengers John Colbert of the Save Our Suburb Party and Larry Werther of the My Home Party — both former trustees and mayPAGE 2 ors — told Blank Slate Media in sit-down interviews the four projopment over the past decade. ects containing 1,075 units have While they said they do not compromised Mineola’s suburban oppose development outright, Continued on Page 65

See Williston election story

For the latest news visit us at www.theislandnow.com D on’t forget to follow us on Twitter @Theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow


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