Good day, Residents of Sands Point,
As shared in our last budget report, as a general overview on the health and state of the Village, financially and physically, we are strong and getting stronger.
Beyond running the business of this Village on a day-to-day basis, we, as a Board, prioritize strengthening some of the remaining weaknesses in our Village finances, preparing for major investment in our water infrastructure for the next 25 years (as well as paying for it), maintaining the character of the neighborhood, updating our systems to current and forward-looking technologies, and continuing to strengthen the Village Club for what will likely be an inevitable downturn in golf (hopefully not for many years).
As a reminder, if you haven’t already done so, please sign up at VillageClub.org to join us for the upcoming Labor Day “Light Up The Sky” fireworks at the Club. It will include bbq, food trucks, kid’s rides, music, and, of course, spectacular fireworks.
In advance, best wishes for a pleasant end of Summer!
/s/ Peter A. Forman
Mayor
Sands Point Police Department Update
Promotions: After an extensive interview process and after considering several alternative candidates, we promoted Casey Wall (who was a Sergeant) to the position of Lieutenant (to succeed now-retired Don Tag) and Officer Daniel Buettner to the position of Sergeant. Both are great officers and strengthen our Sands Point police leadership team.
Officer Injured: Just recently, while on patrol in a marked patrol car one of our officers collided with an (allegedly) drunk driver, who was arrested. The driver was (allegedly) leaving the Sands Point Preserve after an evening event. The cars collided on Middle Neck Rd. The patrol car was significantly damaged and the officer was injured, transported to the hospital, and is on leave (as of this writing) recovering at home. We wish him a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, the SPPD will be investigating various safety and event-related matters at the Preserve.
Cell Service
I am extremely pleased to report that a new 140’ monopole was placed into service a few months ago at the Water Department HQ on Governors Lane (next to Sands Point Preserve).
While the initial service is from Verizon, which built the tower, ATT has reported that they, too, will soon be on the tower but are unable to give us a date.
Reports from the surrounding areas are that service is better. (Please note that service inside one’s home is often affected by the house itself.)
In addition to the benefit of improved cell service, we will benefit from annual revenues to our village that will likely escalate from $50k to $80k per annum as the other carriers add their antennas to the monopole.
Harbor Acres Road repaving status: Completed
An extensive, end-to-end repaving of Harbor Acres Rd has been completed. It included replacing all curbs that were asphalt “humps” with beautiful Belgium Block curbs. We also had the vendor replace or add Belgium Blocks in the driveway “curb cuts” of the homeowners. We hope everyone appreciates the more polished and finished look.
We also significantly expanded the drainage along Harbor Acres Rd and in the cul-de-sac at the end.
And, best of all, we brought the final cost to $100,000 less than the originally contracted amount!
Sands Point Golf Club fence
A belated big “thank you” to the Sands Point Golf Club for responding so very quickly to our request to replace the unsightly barbed wire/chain link fencing that had existed on Cow Neck Rd for at least 20 years. They replaced it with beautiful split-rail fencing within just two weeks of the request. A “Good Neighbor Award” is due to SPGC for their responsiveness!
Tree City and SP Garden Club
The Village continues to be recognized annually as a “Tree City, USA” village due to its overwhelming tree “inventory”. We intend to keep things that way, while still allowing for respectful redevelopment of homes. And a “‘shout-out’ to the Sands Point Garden Club for their continued efforts in beautifying Sands Point.
Sands Point Road Water Main Break
Belated kudos and a thank you to our Public Works Department including our Superindent Christian DiMartino and the entire Public Works team for their superb and rapid response to the water main break which occurred early this year in the middle of the night on Sands Point Road.
The break was not due to any known issues.
The water pressure from the nearby Tibbits Lane/Round Hill water tower caused the leak to expand with high-pressure underground. Eventually, the water undermined the roadway, washing away the soil below, until the asphalt at street level collapsed down into the void created.
Within an hour or two, the water valves were shut off--our staff is on call 24 x 7.
We then began an emergency resection of the water main which was accomplished by around 8am.
We then began filling in the open roadway with RCA (recycled concrete aggregate) and were able to reopen the roadway to traffic by 4pm. Unbelievable considering how extensive the damage.
Congrats again to our small, but strong team for addressing this emergency as well as they did.
In conclusion:
We will send another email newsletter soon with more updates.
Again, best wishes for a good end of summer. And hopefully will see you at the fireworks--Peter Forman
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