Airmont snow plow contractor gains court stay, delays awarding of new contract

Plaintiff contends village board did not follow proper bidding process

A contract recently awarded to a new snow plow and road salt operator in the Village of Airmont may not go through after all, as CSB Contractors, Inc., the village’s vendor the past five years, has won a court stay.

Con Serv Construction, Inc. had been awarded a four-year contract for the work on November 17, 2014, which prompted CSB to file an Article 78 proceeding in state Supreme Court ,seeking the stay and ultimate reversal of the award. The company’s president George Stoll claims members of the village board had favored Con Serve and proper bid regulations were not followed.

The judge found their case compelling enough to put the hold on the new contract, which had been scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2015.

According to Stoll, CSB had fallen out of favor with the village when he refused to do work that was beyond the scope of his agreed on contract. As a result, Stoll claims board members Ralph Bracco and Dennis Cohen began recruiting Con Serv to do the work. Trustee Phil Gigante also has taken credit for respecifying bid details to attract a lower bidder. Bracco and Gigante also happen to be two of three men running for Airmont mayor.

Stoll’s bid for the work was $330,000 per year.

Bracco and Cohen were not reached for comment in time for the publication of this article.

More on this story as it develops. A Supreme Court ruling is expected later this month.