Town Supervisor Candidate Steve Snair - 10% Pay Cut For Supervisor

Snair Pledges to Slash Salary as Supervisor

Monday, September 30, 2013

SMITHTOWN, NY – Steve Snair, the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families candidate for Smithtown town supervisor, pledged his commitment to be a full-time supervisor, and that he intends to cut his annual salary by 10% once in office.

“There are many challenges facing this government. In these tough economic times we need to be proactive when it comes to saving money for taxpayers. It is incumbent upon our elected officials to remove waste, fraud and redundancy so that we continue to make our government efficient as possible. That’s why today, as a sign of my commitment towards increasing efficiency, I pledge to cut my annual salary as supervisor by 10%,” said Snair.  

The current annual salary for the supervisor is $111,635. Since taking office in 1978, Supervisor Vecchio has consistently received numerous salary increases. In 1998, Supervisor Vecchio’s annual salary was $73,336; since then, his annual salary has increased over 50%. A 10% pay cut to the supervisor’s salary would get it below the salaries of both, the town supervisors of Islip and Southampton.

“We need reassurances from our politicians that they are committed to doing more with less. I hope this pledge serves as a reminder to the voters that I am serious about saving money and looking out for their best interests,” added Snair.

 Snair challenged his opponents, Supervisor Vecchio and Councilman Creighton, to make the same pledge to reduce the supervisor’s salary, “I’ve put my money where my mouth is. I encourage my opponents to do the same.”

Dredging In The Nissequogue Set To Begin This Week

Dredging in the Nissequogue River is scheduled to begin this week. Earlier in September, Town Board members in a 4-0 vote (Councilman McCarthy was absent)  granted the necessary approvals to Suffolk County’s Department of Public Works allowing them to commence with the necessary dredging. 

The dredging will begin in the Nissequogue on October 1 and finish in Stony Brook Harbor and Porpoise Channel at the end of March 2014. 

According to Department of Environment and Waterways Director Russ Barnett,Russ Barnettdredging will take place in the existing navigation channel located in the Nissequogue River and the adjacent area of the Long Island Sound. The channel will be dredged to a depth of six feet. “We’re very pleased that we have been able to successfully work with Suffolk County to get both channel systems dredged this winter. It’s a tremendous investment in favor of Smithtown residents” said Barnett. 

On July 30, 2013 the Suffolk County Legislature approved funding for the Nissequogue dredging project set to cost approximately $2.1 million. The contract was awarded by the County to Gibson & Cushman. The last dredging project in the channel began in 2008 with activities completed in January of 2009. Gibson & Cushman took over the 2008/09 dredging project after Possillico, who won the bid, ran into some difficulties and was unable to complete the project.

According to Smithtown’s Environmental Director Russ Barnett, Gibson & Cushman are experienced in dredging in Smithtown, having worked  on the 2008/09 dredging project. People were pleased with the way they handled the removal of approximately 90,000 cubic yards of material and moved it to Sunken Meadow.

The channel has experienced a build up of sand due to the two major storms that hit our area over the past two years.  Approximately 93,000 cubic yards of material will be removed from the channel and deposited on Short Beach to be used for beach nourishment. The main differences between this project and the previous dredging done in the area is the amount of yardage being removed and the relocation of the material to Short Beach. 

Town Board Meeting Notes - September 26, 2013

The Town Board meeting was quiet. The scheduled public hearing, a special exception petition altering the height of the pre-existing telecommunications facility at the Paul J. Fitzpatrick Country Club, was postponed until November 21, 2013.   The petitioner, Site Tech Wireless, is proposing to increase the height of their pre-existing cell tower by 50 ft., from 75 ft to 125 ft.  

According to Planning Director Frank DeRubeis, adding 50 ft. to the structure changes the classification of the tower from a Tier I to a Tier III. The location of the tower is within the Wild and Scenic River boundary and a Tier III telecommunications tower would require a more extensive review under the Town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. 

The proposal to advertise for a public hearing on a petition by West Development Partners located on Old Northport Rd and Greenwood Road in Kings Park was tabled with a unanimous vote.

Item 4 A on the agenda - The issuance of a Negative Declaration for the Hess Corporation’s proposed gas station on Harned Rd and Rte. 25 in Commack was approved with a 4-1 vote. Supervisor Vecchio voted no.

A Town Board meeting has been scheduled for October 4,2013 at 10 a.m. to present the tentative budget to the Town Board.

There were no speakers from the audience.

Kings Park Student Andrew He - National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist

“Andrew He, a student enrolled in Kings Park High School joined approximately 16,000 others from across the country vying for approximately 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $35-million.  They have became eligible for semifinalist status by taking the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) as juniors and being among the highest-scoring students in the state.

To become a finalist, the semifinalists must submit a detailed scholarship application from their school and themselves. Finalists will be announced in Feb. 2014 and the winners announced in spring.”

(Standing L to R – Andrew He, Mr. Lino Bracco-KPHS Principal)

Demolition Day For The Bavarian Inn

L-R Leg. Cilmi, NYS Senator Zeldin, Leg.Kennedy,County Exec. Bellone, Supervisor Vecchio, Leg. Nowick, Supervisor RomaineWith great fanfare the Bavarian Inn in Ronkonkoma was the scene of a demolition “event” Monday morning. Hosting the event was Suffolk County Legislator John Kennedy, who has advocated  the demolition of the building and the creation of a passive park at the site. Kennedy’s elected guests included Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio, Brookhaven Supervisor Edward Romaine, Legislators Lynne Nowick and Tom Cilmi and NYS Senator Lee Zeldin.

The former Bavarian Inn, once a popular dinning and catering facility, fell into disrepair around 2006 and never recovered. The site became a hangout for teenagers and the building a canvas for graffiti. Illegal drug use at the site was a problem, as was flooding in the basement of the building. Smithtown’s Department of public safety was called to the building many times over the years to secure the building to prevent illegal entry and injury. 

The Bavarian Inn, once the site of so many wonderful events, became a blight on the community, the lake and the town. Earlier this year the County took ownership of the property due to non-payment of taxes.

With support from the Nesconset-Sachem Civic Association (NSCA), Legislator Kennedy kept the Bavarian Inn at the forefront of his legislative agenda and recruited support for the demolition from Smithtown and the County.

The property, 2.6 acres on Lake Ronkonkoma’s waterfront, is in the Town of Smithtown and is adjacent to parkland. Kennedy has sponsored a resolution (currently tabled)  to create a park at the site. This idea is very popular with the NSCA and with local residents. Fred Gorman, president of NSCA has long advocated the development of parkland and has promised to do what needs to be done to make the area a beautiful park that local residents can be proud of and can enjoy. 

Some residents, hearing about the demolition came to take photos or have one last look at the building that hosted their wedding, engagement party or school event. Although saddened by the demolition of a site that meant so much to them, they were realistic and recognized that this empty shell of a building was not what they wanted to remember.

Bavarian Inn Chef Peter BodnarStanding in the crowd was Peter Bodnar a former chef at the Bavarian Inn. He briefly spoke at the podium expressing his fond memories of the Bavarian Inn and sadness in seeing the building in its current condition. “I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.”

A surprise announcement was made by Brookhaven Supervisor Edward Romaine that a memorandum of understanding to preserve Lake Ronkonkoma’s waterfront was to be signed by the Towns of Brookhaven, Islip and Smithtown.

The demolition is scheduled to take place over the next two weeks.