Board Recap: Trustees Discuss Natural Gas Cost-Savings Program for Residents

The village board discussed offering residents and business owners an option to enroll in a program that would reduce their natural gas costs at Thursday's briefing session.

The program, which is run by Gateway Natural Gas in connection with the Nassau County Village Officials Association, offers residents an eight percent discount on natural gas, though only on the supply and not the delivery.

Warren Tackenberg, a representative from NCVOA, said that if businesses signed up, they would also get an eight-percent supply discount, as well as a reprieve on the sales tax for delivery. The village would make $10 for every resident who signed up, Tackenberg said, and $20 for every business.

If the village chooses to participate in this program, a mailing would be sent to residents offering them the option to join in the discount program. The board did not make a decision on this proposal.

The board also discussed preparing a resolution to authorize a memorandum of understanding between the village and on its proposed partnership to . Village Attorney Tom Levin said the resolution does not commit the village to do anything; it just states that both parties are interested in moving forward in the process.

Levin explained that once all the legal issues are discussed and hammered out, the proposal would then go to the board for vote. The resolution to enter into an MOU will most likely be approved at Monday's board meeting.

Trustee Michael Sepe also spoke about the village's air-conditioning regulation that deals with the proximity of central AC units to neighboring homes.

As the code currently states, central air conditioner units have to be 30 feet from the neighbor's property line, or about 50-60 feet from the home. That code was put into affect years ago because units were so loud it disturbed surrounding neighbors. Due to restrictions on how far units had to be from the property line, many homeowners were forced to put their AC unit in the front of their homes.

Sepe has worked on a revision of the regulation and proposed requiring units to be within the side yard setback provided it has an acceptable decibel level. Sepe suggested 60 decibels, which is the equivalent of a conversation between two people separated by three to five feet.

The board did not take any action on this topic and chose to continue its discussion at a later board meeting.

The next village board meeting is on Monday at 2:30 p.m.