Leonard Park Tea House overhaul delays rankle committee, officials

A photo of the Tea House at Leonard Park in the spring. The 60-year-old structure has been undergoing refurbishment, but delays in its completion have raised concerns.

By MARTIN WILBUR

The leaders of one of the village’s committees urged municipal officials for greater accountability and transparency regarding the delayed completion of the Tea House refurbishment in Leonard Park.

Erin Heaton and Mey Marple, the chair and co-chair of the Leonard Park Committee, respectively, confronted the Village Board at its last public meeting of 2025 to address their growing concerns over the rate of construction progress, potential cost implications, protecting the site overnight and making sure the committee and the public are kept aware of any headway. They sent a letter to the board in early December outlining their objections and recommendations moving forward.

“We began discussion with the village approximately one year ago, and despite our committee’s constant engagement and cooperation, the project has not progressed as expected,” Heaton said while reading the letter to the board at the Dec. 15 meeting. “Over the course of this year, we have experienced repeated setbacks from delays in the bidding process to revisions in the proposal, to errors in ordering material, including incorrect quantities and colors. These missteps have resulted not only in scheduling delays but also increased project costs.”

The committee also took issue with the failure of the village to assign a project manager to oversee the work, monitor contractor accountability and maintain a timeline.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich and Village Manager Ed Brancati said that several occurrences have set the project back. The board awarded the bid to ELQ Industries Inc. in May for $282,817, a few weeks after the Tea House deck was damaged in a fire that was deemed by authorities to be arson.

Cindrich said the village planned for the Building Department to oversee the project and effectively serve as the project manager after the first manager was fired, but the building inspector has faced health issues, which has curtailed the department’s ability to oversee the work.

The first project manager did a poor job and had to be let go by the contractor, setting the project back about three to four months, Brancati said. There were also delays between the architect and the contractor.

“A lot of that adds to the frustration experienced by the committee, actually by the village, myself. The architect is through the roof,” Brancati said. “So we are making progress.”

Brancati said that as of mid-December the decking, electrical work, benches and new fans have all been installed along with the concrete footing leading to the ramp. The ramp in the rear of the structure still needed to be finished and the new glass was due to arrive about a week before Christmas.

Concerns about inflated costs because of the delay have not materialized, Brancati said.

“We haven’t paid the contractor anything. The contractor hasn’t been paid a dime,” he said. “They have to submit a pay application; it has to be reviewed by the architect. They finally submitted one. We are reviewing that.”

The village also received a $100,000 state grant from Assemblymember Chris Burdick and $32,000 from the insurance company because of the fire, both of which will be applied toward the cost of the project, Brancati added.

He acknowledged the work probably should have been completed by now but the obstacles, including weather, have caused delays.

“So, it’s been a challenge and a problem with the contractor, but we are far enough along, I think, at this point that we’re sort of all in and we need to continue to push, to drive to get this finished,” Brancati said.

Recommendations from Heaton and the committee included hiring another project manager; creating an updated timeline for completion with regular updates; delaying certain work that is weather-dependent, such as installation of tiles, until it gets warmer in spring; a guarantee of the work through a two-year bond; updates on costs; and security provided to make sure the site is secured overnight. Brancati said that there is already a bond.

“I think we can all agree it’s a beautiful building, the gateway to Mount Kisco. It needs to be completed,” Heaton said. 

Deputy Mayor Karen Schleimer agreed that a punctual completion is urgent, given that there are typically many community activities at the Tea House starting in the spring.

“Nobody wants that project finished more than I do,” Brancati said.

The Tea House opened in 1965 and is near the pond close to the Route 172 entrance to Leonard Park