RSS 2.0 FeedDecember 2, 2010, Freeport-Baldwin Leader
Audience airs complaints at village board meeting
Two women expelled as Mayor Hardwick is harshly criticized
by Jim Golding
It was one of those meetings for the village Board of Trustees on November 22 as audience members aired various complaints, several aimed at Mayor Andrew Hardwick, that resulted in the expulsion of two women from the meeting room, with two school board officials and a former village trustee strongly criticizing him on his performance.
The board approved an amendment with Nassau County permitting the Community Development Agency to undertake projects under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which would allow the CDA to act as an agent for the village. In July the state passed a law making community development agencies separate entities.
This brought several responses from audience members as to whether the CDA would be responsible for paying for services from the village, which Village Attorney Howard Colton said is being discussed.
One resident, Dewey Smalls, a former mayoral candidate, expressed criticism about a recent CDA board meeting, charging there was confusion because board members “couldn’t conduct the meeting” according to Roberts Rules of Order, had “no clue as to what was going on” and members of the public were not permitted to raise questions on any agenda item.
Mr. Smalls also said he asked for information on funding sources and accounts but received no response.
But CDA Executive Director Norman G. Wells disputed Mr. Smalls’ account of the meeting.
“He was very intolerant at the meeting,” said Mr. Wells. “Any questions were answered on the agenda.
“I don’t know what his intentions are tonight, but his criticism is directed at the CDA for more than one reason,” he added. “We have nothing to hide. I don’t know why he’s here tonight.”
Addressing Mr. Smalls directly, the CDA executive director told him to “continue to come to the meetings. Any information you need, come to us, you don’t have to grandstand here.”
Mayor Hardwick interjected, “This is totally unnecessary and insulting to other members of that [CDA] board. We’re open and we’re available.”
During public comment, the mayor fielded several questions.
Pat Lewis asked when the Master Planning Committee would start its work and begin holding meetings.
Mayor Hardwick said a date has not been set and was still in the process of selecting committee members. He estimated it might be “sometime in December.”
Ms. Lewis also questioned why no photos were posted on the village website from the recent Veterans Day celebration. The mayor indicated they would be on “soon.”
James Butler criticized the need for the village’s public access TV presentation of its meetings on Channel 18.
He summed it up as “a lot of grandstanding that would go away if we didn’t have this TV.” He recommended keeping the money used for the program in the general fund.
Mr. Butler also commented on the camera shots and angles presented. “The camera crews zoom in on people unnecessarily.” He charged that “games are being played here. The TV is making us look like laughing stocks.”
Mark Rouvella, a Realtor, raised the issue of the Recreation Center’s annual deficit that he said was about $3 million and called for its privatization. He added that “sooner or later,” the center would not sustain itself because of the debt.
“It needs to be privatized,” he said. “Bring in a private vendor and have village employees hired.
But Deputy Mayor Robert Kennedy said the Rec Center’s expenses have been “substantially reduced” while the facility has increased its programs.
“They’re doing tremendous jobs,” he said of the Rec Center’s employees.
Mayor Hardwick added, “It’s hard to contemplate going private. A lot of jobs are tied to the Rec Center. Much of quality of life is dependent on parks and recreation centers.”
He declared, “They were never intended to pay for themselves. There’s no way to get the public to be able to afford what it costs.”
“Parks are for recreation, none are profitable,” added audience member and former Deputy Village Attorney Stephen Malone.
Mr. Malone raised the issue of the status of the Village Treasurer Ismaela Hernandez who has been under two months’ suspension with pay in connection with a financial investigation.
“Has there been any action to replace her?” he said. Mr. Malone recommended that the treasurer be removed or have her duties diminished.
Mr. Malone also warned the village could risk becoming involved in a lawsuit over the issue.
Village Attorney Howard Colton said “the village has no authority to bring action under state law” because she is not under civil service, though individual citizens could.
Mr. Malone responded that “board members as individuals and as village residents have the right to bring taxpayers action. All on the dais could bring citizens’ action,” he said.
Dilapidated properties in Freeport concern Annette Dennis, who told the board of the successful economic development initiative program in Brookhaven, “Blight to Light,” where such properties are renovated and refurbished. “It would help eliminate blighted areas in Freeport,” Ms. Dennis said.
John Massey commented on the Recreation Center topic. “It’s important that it stays viable. You can’t put a price on that,” he said.
Mr. Massey also commended the village board for “getting more than 20 new businesses” to locate in Freeport.
Freeport school board President Debra McQuillan said she was “very disturbed” about recent critical comments she heard the mayor had made regarding the schools.
Citing a recent meeting with Mr. Hardwick, Ms. McQuillan said, “You agreed you would not make comments about the public school system without getting facts from the superintendent or the board president. That agreement was broken when you stood before the public and trashed the school system once again. It’s got to stop.”
The mayor responded that he did not say anything derogatory about the schools, but that he criticized school officials for not permitting children to participate in a village event.
However, later in the meeting, Mr. Smalls charged that the mayor did criticize the district at a church service.
The poor condition of Nassau Avenue brought complaints from Peggy Lester, who said the mayor had earlier promised the street would be repaired.
Mayor Hardwick replied that, “We all agree Nassau is the number one worst road; but the problem is we don’t have the money to do it. It would cost double the money.”
He explained that, when the village submitted its request for grant funding from the state, “Nassau was not one of streets approved” because of the Department of Transportation’s limiting funds to streets not needing infrastructure work.
Nassau Avenue needs extensive water main repairs and other subsurface work, which Department of Public Works Director Scott Richardson estimated would cost about $4 million.
Deputy Mayor Kennedy also called Nassau “the worst of all village streets that has to be done as soon as possible,” but also cited the underground water mains as the reason why the grant money cannot be used.
Pat Rowen, one of the two women later ejected from the meeting for shouting from the audience, again questioned the mayor about the issue of an incinerator in the village, a project apparently of interest to state Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper, who represents part of Freeport in Albany.
“There’s no such thing as an incinerator to begin with,” replied the mayor. “People are not interested in [building one in] Freeport and neither is the mayor or the board. Unless the board meets on it, none of that can happen.”
Ms. Rowen also expressed concern about health problems associated with cell towers and asked about the village’s rules on their placement.
Village Attorney Colton said efforts are underway to seek advice from the Town of Hempstead on cell tower placement.
Mr. Smalls expressed concern about crime in Freeport, but Assistant Police Chief Miguel Bermudez cited figures that show crime has dropped 26 percent and that special emphasis has been placed on policing the area near the Long Island Rail Road station and Broadway.
Mayor Hardwick commented that “these are great numbers. It’s a credit to the men and women of the Freeport Police Department.”
Off-duty police officer and vice president of the school board, Michael Pomerico, speaking as a private citizen, questioned the mayor on the number of people hired under contract, why a meter reader attended a municipal conference at Lake Placid, why the village attorney has out-of-state plates on his car and about the editing of the televised meeting program.
The mayor responded to his question on the hiring, stating they are “non-civil service employees” that are his choices. “I brought in my people, like everyone else has done in the past,” he declared. He also pointed out that the village is paying about $530,000 less in salaries this year than in the previous year.
Mr. Pomerico, who announced that the mayor and other administration members had asked him not to speak at board meetings, pressed for answers to his other questions and the mayor asked him to repeat them. Mr. Pomerico complained that the mayor should have kept notes.
Kelly Martinez asked about the status of the village budget, to which Mr. Colton replied that the village expects “a moderate surplus to close out the fiscal year” but did not have a specific number.
The last speaker, former village Trustee Vincent Campion who served from 1991-95, complained that “a lot of ridiculous stuff is going on.”
He said the mayor’s plan to hold a raffle, “a street repair grab bag,” as he called it, brought him to the meeting.
“You are elected and you are paid to make decisions,” he told the mayor. “You don’t have a grab bag; that’s not responsible.”
He also chided the mayor for his occasional complaints that people are “picking on you.”
“Nobody is picking on you,” he said, noting that people over the years through several administrations have attended meetings and complained.
Criticizing the time limit placed on speakers, Mr. Campion added, “Not one of those mayors limited people to three minutes. If you’re afraid of political ramifications, tough.”
Regular business
Trustees set two budget workshops, which are open to the public, on November 30 at 7 p.m. and December 4 at 9 a.m.
