The Village of East Williston will hire H2M Architects and Engineers to handle environmental reviews relating to the proposed construction of their own water supply wells at Devlin Park, breaking away from the Village of Williston Park—their current carrier and neighboring village. At the village board’s Aug. 10 meeting, East Williston approved H2M’s plan. Though Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente was absent, Mayor David Tanner publicly stated, at her request, that it was her intent to vote in favor of the resolution.
According to H2M, the project would take 30 months to complete if approved, with actual construction time totaling 18 and 24 months. The supply wells would sit at Devlin Park on the north side of East Williston Avenue, between the Long Island Rail Road to the west and Bengeyfield Drive to the east.
“Part of the process is for the board to declare the type of application that will be utilized in order to go through the [State Environmental Quality Review Act] process,” Tanner said. “We’re declaring our intent to be the lead agency, and we’re declaring it to be a type one action.”
According to the village’s resolution, “the board determined that the best interest of the village is served by conducting this process.” Tanner insisted that no decisions will be made without the village holding a public hearing, with another informational meeting to be held in either September or October.
“We want to continue to hear from everyone and keep our residents informed on where we are in this process,” Tanner said.
According to Tanner, East Williston still plans on negotiating with Williston Park to reach “an amicable compromise” on the water rates. East Williston attorney Jeffrey Blinkoff reached out to arrange another meeting with Williston Park, however Tanner said that East Williston will continue to protect their interests and plan their own water system.
The proposal for East Williston to build its own water system has generated strong waves of rejection and support from residents, as East Williston and Williston Park have been unable to reach an agreement.
East Williston filed two lawsuits against Williston Park after the increases. In July 2014, a New York State Appellate Court found in favor of East Williston in the first lawsuit, stating that Williston Park should have held a public hearing before enacting the first increase. However, the court ruled in favor of Williston Park in the second lawsuit, saying they were within its right to raise the water rates in 2012.
