Valley Stream to borrow for roads, equipment

Valley Stream will borrow about $3.4 million this year for a variety of projects and purchases. The village board recently approved bonding for the 2011-12 capital program, which will address street repairs, safety upgrades for Fire Department and renovations to the pool complex, among other items.

The big-ticket item is $1.95 million for road repairs. According to Tom McAleer, the superintendent of buildings, that money will be used to resurface 1.7 miles of village roads. Among the streets to be repaved are portions of Cochran Place, Foster Avenue and Hendrickson Avenue.

McAleer said that roads are rated on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest. Roads with the lowest rating were chosen for this year’s repaving project. Preliminary work has already begun on Cochran Place, he said. Foster Avenue is next and then crews will go road-by-road through the summer until this year’s list is complete.

The village will be borrowing $175,000 to upgrade the heating and air conditioning system at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library. Village Treasurer Michael Fox said this work, which includes the replacement of duct work, is more than halfway complete.

Four new vehicles will be purchased at an estimated cost of $153,000. This will include four Ford Fusion cars for the Public Safety and Code Enforcement departments, and four Ford pick-up trucks for the Parks and Highway departments.

A new state regulation requires the village to purchase new breathing packs for the Valley Stream Fire Department. The village will be borrowing $350,000 to meet this mandate. The equipment includes air packs, regulator hoses and electronic locators. Fox said the village will purchase 86 packs.

The village was able to save $90,000 for the new breathing apparatus by trading in its old equipment.

An additional $750,000 will be borrowed for repairs to the Hendrickson Park pool complex. The last projects are $60,000 for new fencing at the Firemen’s Field athletic complex, and $47,000 for miscellaneous equipment for the Highway Department, including two truck lifts, a concrete saw and two plows.

Fox said that the village is retiring $2.9 million in past debt this year. Although officials are borrowing more money than they are paying back, Fox said it won’t impact village financing. He noted that the village did not borrow any money in the 2009-10 fiscal year, and in the past five years Valley Stream has paid off more than it is has borrowed for its capital plans.

He also said it is possible that the village might not need to borrow the full $3.4 million — that number is a maximum amount. “Hopefully, we don’t have to go up to that amount when all the bids come in,” Fox said.

Road repairs

The following village streets will be repaved in 2012:

-Cochran Place — Roosevelt Avenue to Birch Lane
-Foster Avenue — Cornwell Avenue to the village line
-Dover Street — Grove Street to Emerson Place
-Chester Street — Grove Street to Albermarle Avenue
-Felton Avenue — Central Avenue to East Avenue
-Williams Street — Guenther Avenue to Shaw Avenue
-Louise Place — Clear Stream Avenue to Midwood Street
-Hendrickson Avenue — Grant Drive West to Fletcher Avenue
-Newbold Avenue — Mineola Avenue to Hawthorne Avenue