Village Board OKs $6M Capital Improvement Bond

The Babylon Village Board has approved a $6 million dollar bond for capital improvements projects that range from a new fire truck to a street repaving project.

The timing is good for such a bond project, according to village attorney Joel Sikowitz, given current low interest rates. The village board's decision to move forward, made during Tuesday night's meeting, was unanimously approved by trustees Kevin Muldowney, Anthony Davida, Alice Vanderveldt, and Debbie Basile and Mayor Ralph Scordino.

The bond projects include $300,000 for a new fire truck; $40,000 for a new sidewalk sweeper; $28,000 for a new garbage truck; $2.2 million for a street repaving project; and $1.26 million for bulkhead work at the village pool, among others.

Improvements to the village hall telephone system, village hall building, and general pool upgrades are also included.

The village will publish a public notice in local publications on the bond project. Residents interested in having the bond voted on publicly need to initiate a petition effort to have it placed on a ballot, according to village officials.

If a public vote isn't initiated, the project will likely begin by March, said village officials, with village hall renovation and repair at the top to the to-do list.

Besides the bond project, there was also discussion at the meeting of amending the traffic light on The Crescent, and results from a village-ordered survey were still being processed, said Scordino.

"There are some conclusive materials to justify traffic slowdowns in that area," he said, "but it's premature to reach a conclusion at this point."

Scordino noted that he would request additional Suffolk County police presence in that area to discourage speeding reported by residents.