By Jacky Gerzema
Residents would pay for dredging, bulkhead repairs and replacement, and other repairs through their tax dollars over a period of 30 years.
Of the roughly 110 homes along the Grand Canal and West End Canal, over 100 residents' signatures have been signed in favor of the bills. Despite the seemingly overwhelming support, one Grand Canal resident is voicing opposition to the project, saying that the Town of Hempstead, not the residents, should be responsible for the canal repairs since the Grand Canal receives water from storm drains that are under the Town's jurisdiction.
"Let us make the Town do what is required to by law--not request the homeowner to pay for what is the Town's responsibility," Thomas said, who has written letters opposing the bill to several legislators and this paper. The Herald received one other letter opposing the bills.
Dena Miller from the Department of Public Works said the Town of Hempstead and the DPW are working on a federal Storm Water Outfall Permitting Program plan that will help make some of the dredging and repair work on receiving waters such as the Grand Canal the responsibility of the Town of Hempstead.
"Our ultimate goal would be to ensure that these canal owners will never have to see another dredging again," Miller said.
Thomas's other gripe is that the bills will cause financial stress on those who can't pay the extra taxes and will especially hurt retirees.
Sandy Camenzuli, a Grand Canal resident who is at the forefront of pushing the tax-benefit bills, said that if some residents could not afford to pay the extra taxes, community-elected tax-benefit district commissioners would try to assist them.
If the tax-benefit districts are formed, each step of the canals' repairs, from preliminary studies to the actual dredging, will be budgeted and voted on, Camenzuli said. Citizens have the option of voting down each step of the process.
To underscore the community's support for the project, Camenzuli provided several supportive letters written by canal residents, including many retirees.
Grand Canal retiree John Rauert wrote that he has lived on the Grand Canal for over 25 years and remembers when the larger boats used the basin of the Canal to turn around and the days when his children used to swim in the water.
Rauert agrees with Thomas that the Town of Hempstead should take responsibility to clean up the damage caused by their storm drains and road construction, but because the canal is a private one, they are willing to pay for the repairs through their tax dollars.
Even Camenzuli agrees with Thomas in theory but says residents have to look for realistic solutions to the problem. "I think the Town of Hempstead should take responsibility for the dredging of our canals," Camenzuli said. "But they won't because it's private, and this canal district is supposed to first and foremost help citizens rather than hurt them."
Camenzuli explained that not only would the tax district help residents clean up their canals and remove hazardous material, it would also help homeowners pay for their own bulkhead repairs through taxes over a period of 30 years, instead of paying thousands of dollars at once.
In the next few weeks, residents will decide how they want their votes to be weighed, by either one vote to each household or based on the amount of frontage property each resident has.
Thomas said that one vote per household is the only fair way to go.
Camenzuli said she and many others think that voting should be weighed on the amount of frontage property owned. If a citizen has more frontage property, he or she will have more votes, but in return, those with more property will pay more taxes. If the voting is distributed by one vote per home, each homeowner will pay exactly the same amount of taxes on canal repair and work.
"This tax district will allow us to enjoy our canals," Camenzuli said. "We're creating a tax benefit district to help taxpayers, not hurt them. If people don't want to pay for this, then why live by the water?"
For his part, Thomas believes dredging will be an "exercise in futility," anyways, and the canal will still be empty at low tide.
"They're asking us to sign our rights away to a fascist, communist-style takeover," Thomas said. "They take my land and start interfering with the will of God because low tide is low tide, dredging isn't going to change that."
