Brookhaven OKs paving firm, ending delay

A nearly two-month delay in Brookhaven Town's summer road repaving will soon be over as the town board Thursday signed off on paving contracts.

Repaving typically begins in June and ends in November. But it lagged this year, a byproduct of a dispute between Supervisor Mark Lesko and Highway Superintendent John Rouse over one of the firms bidding on the contracts.

Lesko said the town needed Rouse's recommendation to issue approvals.

But Rouse declined to endorse Suffolk Asphalt of Medford, which bid on a portion of the job that town officials said will likely cost between $5 million and $7 million by the time it is finished. Townwide, repaving is budgeted to cost about $16.5 million.

The town board -- which includes Lesko -- Thursday unanimously approved 36 contracts, including seven awarded to Suffolk Asphalt.

Lesko cited a letter Rouse sent to town officials on July 21 that criticized Suffolk Asphalt but also included the sentence: "It is my recommendation that the town board make an immediate decision regarding this matter consistent with the best interests of the residents of the Town of Brookhaven."

That was enough to constitute the recommendation the board needed, Lesko said.

"Now we can get about the business of paving the streets, which is what the public wants and what I want," Lesko said.

Rouse disagreed that his letter constituted a recommendation but added he was "grateful" the board had resolved what "had become a long and very difficult process."

Rouse added the town has "plenty of time" to get the roads paved. Highway workers said the work will begin soon.

Rouse last week defended his refusal to recommend Suffolk Asphalt by citing a federal lawsuit in which workers accused a related company -- Suffolk Paving of Medford, owned by the father of Suffolk Asphalt's owner -- of failing to pay wages. An attorney for Suffolk Asphalt said Suffolk Paving owner Louis Vecchia has "at the best" a limited role in Suffolk Asphalt.