LI Now: Cameras to monitor solar carport snow

SUFFOLK COUNTY

Cameras to monitor solar carport snow

Cameras will be installed at solar carports at Suffolk County parking lots to monitor snow accumulation, the company that owns the panels said in a statement.

TerraForm Power, of Beltsville, Maryland, was working with the previous panel owners to "ensure the snow mitigation measures previously agreed to with the County are being completed in a timely manner."

That includes the cameras and clearing snow off the panels when more than 4 inches accumulate, the county has said.

TerraForm, which is majority owned by Missouri-based SunEdison, bought the solar carports last month from Switzerland-based Capital Dynamics.

Ice and snow slid off the angled panels and damaged cars last winter, after a heavy snowfall was followed by rain and warmer temperatures. The solar panels atop carports were built in 2011 at six county parking lots.

Capital Dynamics paid for damages and installed warning signs at county parking lots.

Capital Dynamics had agreed to monitor and remove snow if more than 4 inches fell. TerraForm said it would comply with measures Capital Dynamics had agreed to with the county.

The company did not respond to follow-up questions for comment.

County spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said the county was supportive of the cameras and would monitor the company's maintenance of the panels.

The power generated from the solar panels is sold to LIPA, while the county is paid $315,000 a year for the use of the spaces.

-- DAVID M. SCHWARTZ

AMITYVILLE

Vote delayed on taxi driver requirements

Amityville trustees will delay voting on a bill that would have tightened licensing requirements for cabbies because of concerns that compliance would be too onerous.

The bill, written in consultation with Police Chief Donald Dobby, would have substantially mirrored one already in place in the Town of Babylon. But trustee Nick LaLota, speaking at Monday night's village board meeting, said some requirements added "a layer of bureaucracy that makes it very difficult for a taxi operator."

Much of the bill covers background checks, driving records and license conditions. But LaLota singled out two requirements as unreasonable: an affidavit of good health from a doctor and an employment history stretching back 10 years.

The measure also drew criticism from Frank Paolino, general manager for Islandia-based Lindy's Taxi, who said village government should instead focus enforcement on unlicensed drivers who troll for passengers at Amityville's Long Island Rail Road station, siphoning business from legitimate drivers.

"You're not even doing the law here, and yet you're asking us to do something else," he said. Even a simple physical at a doctor's office would cost his drivers $75, a steep fee for some of them, he said.

That argument did little to sway Dobby. "You should already be in compliance" because of town requirements, he said. "It should be very easy for your workers to come here and produce the same paperwork."

Police will check for unlicensed cabdrivers at the train station, he said.

-- NICHOLAS SPANGLER

BROOKHAVEN TOWN

Waste disposal for electronics, paper

Brookhaven Town officials have announced they will hold a dozen events this year at which residents may dispose of electronic and paper waste.

Town officials said residents will be able to deposit electronic devices such as televisions, computers, VCRs, DVD players, printers, fax machines and answering machines at the events, the first of which is scheduled for March 28 at the Charles E. Walters Elementary School in Yaphank.

Additional disposal events will be held as follows:

April 18, William Floyd Middle School, Moriches; May 16, Rose Caracappa Center, Mount Sinai; May 30, Henrietta Acampora Center, Blue Point; June 6, Newfield High School, Selden; July 13, Boys & Girls Club of Bellport; July 25, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook; Aug. 8, Setauket Fire Department, Setauket; Aug. 29, Patchogue-Medford High School, Medford; Sept. 12, Rose Caracappa Center, Mount Sinai; Oct. 10, Setauket Fire Department, Setauket; Oct. 17, William Floyd Middle School, Moriches.

Prescription medications will be accepted at the May 16 and Sept. 12 collections in Mount Sinai, officials said. For information, call 631-451-8696 or visit brookhaven.org.

-- CARL MACGOWAN

NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Work session on five-year capital plan

The Town of North Hempstead has planned a work session to discuss its capital plan next month.

The capital plan is the town's five-year financial plan and covers infrastructure projects, such as upgrades to the roads, town-managed buildings and the environment. The 2014 capital plan called for improvements to ponds, parks and other waterways that are to be funded through bonds and grants.

The town board must vote on Supervisor Judi Bosworth's capital plan.

-- SCOTT EIDLER