By: Chris Boyle FARMINGDALE@ANTONMEDIAGROUP.COM

Farmingdale village residents worrying about what’s coming our of the faucets will soon get the answers they’ve been looking for, as the Monday, Feb. 2 public board of trustees meeting kicked off with a recent hot-button topic: Public Drinking Water.

Mayor Ralph Ekstrand gave an update on issues surrounding the village’s in-house managed public water supply, the quality of which had come under fire in recent years due to the threat of underground toxic chemical plumes. An upcoming meeting, he said, would address the current path the village would be taking in this matter.

“Our April 20 meeting will be dedicated to the discussion of the Village Water Department, maintenance, fiscal impact to the village residents and merchants,” he said. “As we have done over and over again during my administration, we have properly noticed public meetings in connection with our changes to our Water Department.”

The toxic plumes in question have sprung from two major local sources; one due to ground contamination from the location of the former Farmingdale Plaza Cleaners located at 450 Main St., and the other from waste dumped years ago at the now-defunct Grumman Defense Plant in Bethpage. However, Ekstrand pointed out that the trajectory of the toxic plumes do not place them near any Farmingdale drinking water wells.

“We have studied the water issue very seriously…when we first started, we believed that our water supply was threatened, and we studied the alternative of getting out of the water business,” he said. “However, in the past year out experts have told us that there is no longer a threat to our water from plumes, and we are now considering alternatives that would allow the Village to retain a very valuable resource…fresh, clean water.”

Ekstrand requested that the public not listen to what he called “unfounded rumors” regarding water quality and that the Board of Trustees would do what was in the best interest of village residents and their health.

“We will be holding public hearings on the issue,” he said. “And we won’t make any decisions on the matter until we’ve heard from anyone that wants to be heard.”
Several public hearings were also held at the board of trustees meeting, including a proposed change if zoning for properties at 100 Secatogue Ave. and 143 N. Front St.; a change which stands to benefit the village a great deal if it were to go through, Ekstrand said.

“That area currently has a taxi stand, a diesel truck repair and a family home, all right near the Long Island Rail Road tracks…a developer wants to tear that whole area down and put up 42 apartments, and about two-thirds will be studios for the youth,” he said. “In addition, they would also build a paved, lit walkway on the north side of the railroad tracks to the Farmingdale train station, which is a major inventive to the village…you’d be able to walk to the train station from either side of the tracks instead of having to run across from the north side when the gate’s down.”
Ekstrand noted that the developer will hold a presentation on the matter at the village’s March 2 board meeting; if approved the mayor said that he envisioned the project completed possibly by the summer of 2016.

In a separate public hearing, a special Use Permit was granted to Reem Hussein, owner of 230 Main.” The permit will potentially allow her to serve alcohol-specifically wine-on the premises during adult art classes.

“We want to incorporate a new facet into our business, which is what we call our ‘Paint and Sip’ wine nights, which have become very popular in other towns that have art galleries,” she said. “People can sign up for classes and enjoy a glass of wine while they’re painting…a lot of towns that have an active night scene have something like that, and since we’re currently the only art studio here, we thought this would be great for us.”

The board approved Hussein’s Special Use Permit with three votes in favor of it; two board members-trustee Cheryl Parisi and Deputy Mayor Patricia Christiansen-abstained from voting, citing a perception that Paint and Main was not adhering strictly to previous permits issued by the board.
A previous attempt on Hussein’s part to obtain the permit in January was denied due to the absence of one of the trustees, resulting in a 2-2 tie vote, Now that it has been approved by the board, the permit must go before New York State Liquor Authority for final approval.