The Sound & Town Report

A Home Town Media Group weekly publication serving the Town and Village of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont

Vol. 9/Number 203 www.hometwn.com November 30, 2007

IN THIS ISSUE COMMUNITY NEWS 7CLASSIFIED/PUZZLE 20 SPORTS 22-23

Trifiletti and Fava say farewell at Board of Trustees meeting

Studies find E. coli in Beaver Swamp

By Kelechi Ubozoh

Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting started at 7:30 p.m. sharp and ended with a tearful goodbye from Mamaroneck residents to Mayor Phil Trifiletti and Trustee Tony Fava.

The Village Hall court room was filled to the brim those who wanted to be there for Trifiletti’s last Board meeting as mayor. After serving three terms, Trifiletti was defeated during this year’s election by former Trustee and now Mayor-elect Kathy Savolt. Savolt and Randi Robinowitz will be sworn in at a ceremony on Dec. 3.

Before the goodbyes could be formally initiated the meeting started with a brief presentation from Dr. Anna Yeung-Cheung, a Manhattanville College assistant biology professor, about her most recent update on the findings on water and sediment on the upstream areas of Guion Creek. Dr. Cheung has studied the Harbor Island area for the past two years to check the levels of the bacteria enterococci and E. coli from the water and sediment inside and outside of the Gunderboom in comparison to the upstream areas of Guion Creek.

“So far Beaver Swamp has a high level of E. coli, and the lowest level of enterococci and E. coli is inside the Gunderboom,” said Dr. Cheung.

Her studies found that there was a significantly high density of E. coli in the water in four areas: Upper and lower Guion, Rye Neck High School , and Beaver Swamp in comparison to Harbor Island . The sediment studies showed a similar outcome and the highest densities of enterococci and E. coli were found in sediment from Beaver Swamp , Rye Neck High School , and Upper Guion creek.

“You guys are very famous because of your Gunderboom, you spent a lot of effort to clean up your harbor,” said Dr. Cheung.

Last year, Dr. Cheung found that water inside the Gunderboom had E. coli counts that were 77.9 percent lower than the water outside the boom. While Dr. Cheung and her students are still in the process of collecting more data, she said that Guion creek had been a real concern and she could not conclude on why the water and sediment had been contaminated. Many residents seemed to think the water contamination was because of a dump that had existed in Harrison , but Mayor Phil Trifiletti said that the county had spent $7 million to clean the area. Nonetheless Dr. Cheung was thrilled about the progress that the Gunderboom had made and that her studies proved its worth.

A frequent attendee of Board meetings, Glenn Tippett approached the stand to praise Mayor Trifiletti and Trustee Fava for their work.

“I am wearing this tie as a sign of respect for the outgoing board, and I would like to personally thank Tony for filling in and thank Phil for the patience his has shown. Everyone deserves thanks and respect for the time and effort they put into this village,” he said.

Many others came to wish them good luck and thank them for their work. “He has gotten everyone involved by allowing this mic to be open, and your kindness will go down in history,” said Mary Lou Greco.

When the meeting came to an end the entire room stood, including the Board of Trustees stood for a standing ovation for Mayor Trifiletti.

“Whether it’s been difficult issues or the street fair, I’ve enjoyed every second of it.

I’ve made many friends over the years and so many people over the years have supported me. I have brought many volunteers together and it’s definitely been a better place. You have to respect this chair. It’s been an absolute honor,” said Trifiletti.