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Politics & Government

East Hampton Village Board Postpones Garage Repairs with Bid at $34,000

New roofs are needed, but with unfunded state mandates, the village board wants to hold off.

The East Hampton Village Board decided on Thursday to postpone making a decision on accepting a bid that would cost the village over $34,000 to replace shingled roofs at two village garages located at 91 Main Street.

Deputy Mayor Barbara Borsack said that this decision has no relationship to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed tax cap, but Village Administrator Larry Cantwell said that the price the village has to pay to make these repairs is related to the unfunded spending mandates that the state poses on their municipality.   

Board members passed a resolution in December asking the then Governor Elect and the State Legislature for .

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According to Cantwell, under state laws the village is required to pay contractors New York State labor rates, which are much higher than what local contractors pay for their labor.

He said although the bid of $34,000 is better than a $41,000 bid they received, but it is still $14,000 more than the $20,000 bid the village initially received. Cantwell said because of state mandates the village is not able to accept the offer of the $20,000 bid.

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The bid to replace the roof comes from J.P. Hunter Co., Inc., a roofing company located in Riverhead. During a phone conversation on Friday, Cantwell said, at this time there are no better offers on the table.

"We just think the bid was high, and are going to discuss whether or not this needs to be done right now, or whether we can look at other options," said Borsack.

Cantwell said the roofs need to be replaced, and they are in poor condition, but they are still looking to explore other options.  "We're struggling with it," he said, but for now they are holding off on repairs.

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