Residents of the East, concerned with a letter they received from the village regarding sidewalk and curb replacement and repair, told trustees earlier this month that they wanted the 30-day compliance to complete the work extended until officials clarified several outstanding issues.

Residents of Pell Terrace, Avalon Road, Iris Lane, Seabury Road, East Drive, Surrey Lane and all homes requiring sidewalk repair in the East, requested that the village issue a permit to those who decide to use a private contractor after the village accepts a bid price. Currently, there is nothing in the code that states otherwise. Bids opened up April 15 and village officials hope a bid will be awarded during the May 1 meeting.

"Reconsider the excessive permit fee," Frank Ruggiero told trustees during the April 7 board meeting. "Justify, via the code, and designate the flags that need to be replaced to each resident. Please clarify the additional costs by the village and address all our questions. We would like to coordinate the repairs that are necessary. However, we need some clarification and modifications made before we undertake this work."

Mayor Barbara Miller, aware of the residents' concerns, said, "We will look at the situation with new lenses," after one resident said, "There's a new mayor and a new board. We have to change the way business is done. I will not accept 'This is how it's been done' as an answer."

On April 16 representatives from Pell Terrace, Avalon Road, East Drive and Seabury Road met with Village Engineer Chris Markin, Trustees Peter Bee and Jon Segerdahl and Eastern Property Owners' Association President Nick Episcopia. Perhaps the biggest gripe residents of the East had was with the 30-day compliance letter. "The window was too close and they acknowledged that," Ruggiero told the Garden City Life last Friday.

"We all understand that a cracked, deteriorated raised flag or one with holes or missing concrete should be repaired," he said. "Our concern is that, in many cases, residents are being arbitrarily required to replace flags that are older and of a darker color, older and pebbled but not missing concrete or sloped towards the owner's house."

But nowhere in the village code or in the village's regulations does it state that a sidewalk must slope a certain way or be a certain color or that older flags, made with pebbles that are in good condition, need to be repaired. Ruggiero questioned the regulations, specifically a section that states, "When replacement of an apron is necessary, PVC electrical conduit 1-1/2 in diameter must be placed one foot off the sidewalk and one foot past forms on either side of apron and must be capped off." He asked trustees why they are required to add this, "Is this to facilitate LIPA, Verizon or another public utility?" he asked.

Barbara Trentacoste of Pell Terrace told trustees, "We're not trying to 'stir the pot,' and no one's arguing about not fixing something that's broken, but residents want the mayor and this board to stop the clock." The letter stated that if residents did not comply within the 30 days, the village would undertake the work and bill them.

Ruggiero argued that they never received a square foot price from the village to compare to a private bid. "While the village has provided us with last year's prices, we do not know the bid price for this year's work and an estimate is just not satisfactory since in the past, residents did receive a price per flag," he said.

Elaine Trentacoste, also of Pell Terrace, is working closely with Ruggiero on this matter and is funneling information she receives from the village to her neighbors. "They are addressing our concerns right now," she said after the April 16 meeting. A concern for many, she said, was which flags need to be replaced. At the follow-up meeting at village hall last Wednesday, officials clarified that issue - if the concrete is cracked and/or if concrete is missing, damaged or raised, it needs to be replaced.

Trentacoste, in a follow-up letter she sent to residents, wrote that those who have a question about their cited flags should first call Construction Inspector Dominick Stanco. "If you disagree with him, then call Chris Markin to set up a meeting to review your disputed flags," the letter states. "Chris has been lovely to deal with. He's been polite and helpful. He truly has been a gentleman to everybody," she said.

Ruggiero is in the process of accumulating private bids. "We want to work with the village and its trustees," he said. "We've been in touch with the mayor and we're getting private bids now so hopefully we'll reach a resolution."

Trentacoste added, "I think there was a lack of communication. People were calling Dominick Stanco but he went on vacation after the village issued the letter.

"They couldn't leave a message for him because his mailbox was full and he couldn't get back to anyone because he was away. Unfortunately, residents were not aware of this. People were more irate about that than anything else," she said.

Elaine Trentacoste said an issue that's going to continue and which village officials have agreed to work on deals with exposed tree roots in the area. "Because the trees have such shallow roots, within a short period of time, the roots push up out of the concrete again, causing a hazardous condition," she said.

Eastern Property Owners' Association (POA) President Nick Episcopia said he'd contact the Joint Conference Committee of POA in order to form a committee, consisting of all village residents, to discuss the problem and reach an acceptable resolution.

"Residents don't want to annually incur expenses for the same thing," Trentacoste said. "So hopefully this committee will come to a resolution on this." She added that the village is "really open" to having such a committee formed.