Step By Step in Lake Peekskill
Lake Peekskill residents moved one step closer today to final resolution of the septic problems that have plagued their neighborhood for months, some say years.
At a hearing this morning at Putnam County's Department of Health, Administrative Law Judge Eric Zaidins finalized the stipulation of Jemab Family Limited Partnership and its general partner Eileen Myers. In what was described as "closing out the case", the judge sought final details that would enable him to write his report with recommendations for civil penalties. In about a month, he is expected to submit that report to the county's director of public health, Rian Rodriguez, who will determine the fines Myers ultimately receives. Rodriguez has attended almost all of the many hearings involving the Myers cases.
In Myers absence, Jemab attorney Heath Gurinsky provided the judge with a summary of the costs associated with correcting the failed septic systems at Myers' three rental properties at 62, 64 and 66 Lake Drive. Gurinsky slid the paperwork across the table to Judge Zaidins, saying that Myers did not want him to say the numbers out loud. The judge later confirmed that Myers says she spent a total of $126,741 on those repairs. Gurinsky said Myers had taken out a loan to finance the work.
Gurinsky attributed the length of time it took to get the repairs done to "bad advice" from their architect, who he says told them initially that the septic tanks did not need to be replaced. He also cited delays getting permits and finding contractors willing to do the work. "Nobody wanted this job," he said.
After hearing Gurinsky's account, Deputy County Attorney Sarah English tried to weigh in. She said the most egregious aspect of these cases was that a family was living in 64 Lake Drive with a child while the septic was failing. "The conditions inside the home were not livable," she said. She cited the terrible smell which, among other things, made it difficult for the family to sleep. The judge stopped English from continuing, saying that kind of information was not relevant to the proceeding.
In concluding, Judge Zaidins said he had not made his mind up about the penalties he would recommend. "I don't know yet, I've got to think about it," he said. He offered his thanks to Gurinsky for what he called his "diligent work in getting it done," but offered no similar thanks to the Health Department staff who had visited the properties issuing violations repeatedly for months.
Settling these cases will likely bring some relief to Myers, who has clearly not enjoyed being in the spotlight. After another story about her appeared in the Peekskill Herald, she called the Putnam County Sheriff's Office to complain that she and her workers were being harassed by the reporter, David McKay Wilson. The deputy sheriff who received her call, Robert Noble, then called Wilson to suggest that he tone things down and refrain from being so aggressive.
Wilson called the sheriff's office to register his displeasure with the interaction: "I told them I was very surprised that the county sheriff's department would take it upon itself to inform me how to conduct research for my story," he said. In an interview, Public Information Officer Michael DiVeglio attributed the issue to a deputy sheriff who was brand new to the department and inexperienced at dealing with the media. "I don't believe David is being harassing at all, he's doing his job," DiVeglio said. A complaint was also filed to the Putnam County Health Department about a photograph taken of Myers by this reporter in its public waiting room.
Myers has to endure one more significant chapter before she can truly consider this case closed. Next month Jemab is scheduled to appear in Putnam Valley's Town Court to address violations issued by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. Those include "unlawfully deposit deleterious substance in stream" and "refuse in public waters" and violations by the Putnam Valley Building Department for doing work without permits and pumping "illicit discharge" from a property "onto the road and into a storm drain". Code Enforcement Officer Richard Quaglietta has previously indicated his intention to use that forum to try to get financial restitution for the Lake Peekskill district.
Myers is not over the finish line yet.
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