The Village of Roslyn has finalized an agreement with KeySpan Corporation, one that provides for the funding of the final repairs on Church Street. The total cost of the agreement is $34,000. Up to $20,000 of that amount will be used as funds toward the restoration of the Ellen E. Ward Clock Tower.

Last summer, KeySpan did major construction work on Church Street, one that included reconstructing and installing a natural gas regulator and transmission line appurtenances. The new pipeline equipment was needed to replace a gas facility being retired at the Glenwood Landing Plant. The construction was completed over the summer to meet the needs of KeySpan's heating customers.

The project required KeySpan to rebuild the construction area by providing new curbs and paving for Church Street and Witte Lane. The area now has new streetlights and traffic control signage. Replacement trees have been planted. During the course of the project, three trees were cut down by KeySpan personnel. Last June, the company agreed to replace them with four new trees. The village will not, at first, maintain the newly planted trees. Instead, KeySpan is giving the village a one-year guarantee that the trees will be in good condition.

Also with the funds from KeySpan, village workers will complete the additional landscaping and minor curb repairs. Mayor Janet Galante said the repair work would begin this spring, weather permitting. Because of the KeySpan funding, the complete rehabilitation project will take place without any cost to the village, Mayor Galante added.

Concerning the Clock Tower, KeySpan funds will be used to replace windows in that 106-year-old structure. "The board of trustees and myself appreciate the community responsibility displayed by KeySpan in responding to village concerns regarding this extraordinary construction project," the mayor said, adding that both the size of the project and the neighborhood disruption it caused was not "anticipated or disclosed" by KeySpan when the work permit process took place.

Such actions tend to bring a circle to the administration of Mayor Janet Galante, one that will end this April. One of Mayor Galante's earliest achievements in the village was having her stepfather, Morris Welte, do extensive Clock Tower renovation, including getting three of the tower's four clocks back in working order.