by Kathy Magrini

After waiting for more than three years, the Village of Amityville is preparing to take legal action against Brunswick Hospital Center to recoup back taxes the Village says it is owed from 1999.

At the Village Board Meeting May 13, 2002 the board authorized its attorney, Bruce Kennedy to serve a Notice of Redemption on the Hospital. Once complete, this entitles the village to act on the liens they hold against the property, putting the owners at risk of losing the land.

"They owe five years of back taxes," said Kennedy. "We are entitled to move on this after two years, so the Village has been patient and has waited a long time."

Brunswick Hospital owes the Village $957,000 in back taxes, while the Village owes Brunswick approximately $464,000 under a settlement on a case brought by the hospital against the Village and the Town for overassessing its property for years. Mayor Peter T. Imbert, said the hospital has been pressuring the Village for the settlement money.

"The Village owes the hospital some money but the amount owed the village in back taxes far exceeds the amount owed to the hospital," he said, in discussing the Village's decision.

But just who is responsible for the back taxes seems to be the subject of some debate. According to J. Stewart McLaughlin the hospital's court-appointed receiver, the taxes apply to the real property, not the hospital, which is a separate legal entity. The land is owned by ST-MED, a limited liability company, which may be associated with the hospital's owners, the Steins.

John Juliano, a Northport attorney who is representing the Steins in an unrelated contractual lawsuit against the hospital's administrators, said he was unaware of the Village's move to recoup the back taxes. He said he would check out the question, but did not call back to comment on behalf of his clients. Efforts to reach him again were unsuccessful.

Prior to authorizing Kennedy to institute the redemption process, Imbert met with McLaughlin. "I told him at the time that the hospital was not responsible for the back taxes" said McLaughlin who has helped to revive the ailing health care facility. "Our census is up and we've stopped the hemorrhaging," he said. "The morale of staff is dramatically improved and there is renewed interest in the hospital. As for any lawsuits, I try to keep them out there in Riverhead because my focus is the patients we care for and the employees on staff."

In addition, McLaughlin said the hospital has purchased new nuclear equipment and has attracted several new orthopedic physicians, which he described as a natural partnership because the the doctors can treat their patients in the hopsital and then move them to the hospital's rehabilitation center.

"We've made great strides and even the coffee machines are working again because we paid the coffee bill," he said. In other business,

â022the Village recently announced the retirement of former Highway Superintendent Harry Weed. While Weed's decision to step down was described as an amicable agreement by Mayor Imbert, there has been evidence of some friction between Weed and the Village. Following the signing of a new contract between the Village and employees of the highway department recently, Imbert said publicly that he was not satisfied with the performance of the department;

Named as a temporary replacement for Weed is Bruce Hopper, a highway department foreman. He was recognized for his work. "Bruce has been most responsive to complaints and concerns from both residents and trustees alike," said Trustee Peter Casserly.

Mayor Imbert said the Village would evaluate the situation in September and decide what to do about naming a permanent replacement at that time.

â022the Park Commission, under the direction of Celeste Kusmerski, planted annuals and perennials in the flower boxes, entranceways, and village gardens;

â022the senior citizens group announced the retirement of Dorothy Waltrop and the appointment of Pat O'Neill as the new Senior Citizens Director;

â022Trustee Casserly announced that samples taken from one of the wells behind the Police Department still had unacceptable levels of contamination. Cashin Associates, the engineering firm monitoring the clean up, is revising the remediation plan and it will be submitting it back to the village for approval;

â022the board placed the repaving of Louden Avenue on high priority because of its state of disrepair;

â022the board authorized an amendment to the existing cooperation agreement between the Village of Amityville and the Town of Babylon extending Community Development another three years.