The Village of East Hills Board of Trustees approved a $2.5 million bond to finance the construction of a new village playground during its meeting on Tuesday, March 10, advancing a project expected to cost several million dollars and begin as early as April.
“We’ve announced that we are building a new playground that’s going to cost a couple of million bucks, so we have to approve bonds,” said Mayor Michael Koblenz.
Koblenz said the village will issue a bond not to exceed $2,500,000 to move the project forward on schedule, with payments for the work expected this summer. Construction could start in early April and be completed by mid-July, according to Trustee Emmanuel Zuckerman.
Koblenz emphasized that the borrowing would not increase village taxes because previous bonds have been paid off, freeing up capacity in the village budget.
The playground project is part of a broader series of capital improvements the village is considering. Officials said additional bonds for other upgrades — including renovations to the village theater and a new air-conditioning system for village hall — may be considered at a future board meeting.
During the meeting, trustees also approved several administrative and infrastructure-related items.
The board authorized the mayor to sign a contract increasing the hourly rate for athletic field lining services, citing higher labor and paint costs. Park Executive David Squillante said a case of paint now costs about $90 and that multiple cases are used regularly to maintain the fields.
Trustees also approved payments and authorizations related to village operations, including a $700 fee to the Nassau County Health Department for the village pool’s permanent operator certification and $8,000 to Long Island Power Systems for the placement of a generator at the village police building. Officials said the generator expense will be reimbursed through county grant funding tied to renovations of the police facility.
Trustees also voted to accept a proposal for the village’s mandatory stormwater management program and renewed an agreement for food service at the village park grill with Delicacies. Deputy Mayor Brian Meyerson said an earlier attempt to switch vendors fell through due to insurance and contractual issues.
