By JOSEPH KELLARD
The mayor, who took office last April, laid out his plans on Feb. 1 before a small gathering of the chamber at Lambrau¹s restaurant on Austin Boulevard, during what he described as his first ³State of the Village² address, discussing key issues ranging from taxes and crime to proposed new business codes and summer concerts.
Ruzicka said that last year¹s tax increase was driven mainly by increased costs for contributions to the village pension fund, hikes in the village¹s fuel and utility bills for services and supplies and lost revenue due to challenges in tax assessments.
³We had to curtail our employees¹ overtime, and we had to ask them to do more with less,² Ruzicka said of the effects of the tax increase.
The village will also raise fees and fines across the board, and sell a 40-foot-by-100-foot parcel on Pershing Place, adjacent to Masone Beach on Waterford Road, he said. The price of this parcel is subject to a pending assessment, he added.
³We have to try to offset this year¹s tax assessment challenges,² Ruzicka said. ³We can accomplish this by selling off a piece of property that the village no longer has any need for.²
He said that the village would only increase taxes as a last resort.
One resident asked the mayor how much money the village would save by cutting overtime and using less snow-clearing services with the relatively mild winter so far this year. While Ruzicka acknowledged that these measures help, he refocused on the anticipated challenges to the tax assessments as the more significant issue.
³I don¹t know what this year is going to come in as, but it¹s a lot of money,² he said. ³For every $100,000 of deficit that we had, that represents about a 5 percent tax increase for the village. And we have no way of making this money up. We don¹t have a large business area, so it¹s tough.²
The mayor went on to address the increased problem of absentee property owners, who ³have no regard for the condition of their property or, for that matter, who or how many [tenants] they rent to.²
Last September, several residents filed into Village Hall to complain about tenants who had moved into the neighborhood¹s Section 8 housing, government-subsidized apartments for low-income families, and the criminal and drug activity that they said occurred in a number of these dwellings.
³I intend, with the help of the village board, to pass new laws to stem this tide and send a strong message to those who could care less about our village,² Ruzicka said.
In addition, the mayor vowed to propose new local laws for the village¹s business district, located mainly along Long Beach Road, that pertain, in part, to the maintenance of storefronts, and asked the chamber for input.
Barbra Rubin, chamber president, said that the organization gives out a monthly beautification award to a business that has improved its appearance, usually by installing a new facade. But Rubin acknowledged that many businesses are unwilling to spend the money for these types of improvements.
³I¹m hoping we can come up with some good ideas,² Rubin said after Ruzicka¹s address. ³We¹re trying to work in this capacity, not only with the village, but also the Town of Hempstead, with other sections of Island Park like Austin Boulevard.²
Noting that the village is not considered a high crime area, Ruzicka said that he and Deputy Mayor Stephen D¹Esposito would continue to meet periodically with 4th Precinct Commander Richard McCarrick to address issues of concern. He stressed that Island Park residents should report any criminal or suspicious behavior to 911 so the village can present a database of such calls to police about the actual and potential criminal activities in town.
John Cestaro, a resident and chamber member, asked the mayor how the ³escalating drug problem² in Island Park is being addressed.
Ruzicka said that special units, like drug enforcement, are deployed in the village, but added that he was not at liberty to divulge where and when they are around. ³But they are in the village and they have made arrests,² he added.
The mayor said that there had been a reduced presence of ³undesirables² in the village of late. When asked to specify who they were, he said ³the homeless.²
Ruzicka announced that Detective Ron Walsh, commanding officer of Nassau County¹s Department of Community Affairs, will give a presentation on the Neighborhood Watch program at Lincoln Orens Middle School, 150 Trafalgar Blvd., at 8 a.m. on Feb. 21.
Last year, village residents approached Ruzicka about starting their own Neighborhood Watch. ³We just expanded that program to include the outlying areas, Barnum Isle and Harbor Isle,² Ruzicka said about the program, in which police guide residents as they work together to address quality-of-life issues such as vandalism, drug activities and the presence of suspicious individuals, and to correct these and related problems while preventing crimes in their neighborhood.
Addressing other areas of public safety, Ruzicka said the village is in the midst of formulating written plans for major emergencies. ³At the present time we are concentrating our efforts on hurricane and evacuation procedures,² he said.
And he pointed to a report published last year that Island Park has the eighth fastest responding fire department on Long Island. Both the department¹s fire and emergency medical membership levels are more than adequate, and he is confident they will stay that way, Ruzicka said.
The mayor reported that throughout the year the village has replaced drain pipes in an effort to reduce flooding, and has repaired sections of some roads, but that the village must rebuild its general infrastructure. He will ask the board to approve hiring a person to research and secure federal and state grants. ³And we will actively pursue our elected officials to find us aid,² Ruzicka said.
Last summer, heavy rains led to the cancellation of the Labor Day Swimming Race Competition in August, but did not affect any of the three summer concerts held on the beach, including Strawberry Fields, a Beatles tribute band, and a Grucci fireworks display. Ruzicka said that the village will try to add an additional concert to this summer¹s program.
At the start of each new year, the Chamber of Commerce invited former Mayor Jacqueline Papatsos to give a similar talk, and has decided to keep the tradition going with Mayor Ruzicka, who was elected to replace the retiring Papatsos last March.
³We do this because it gives everybody in the village and the Town of Hempstead¹s part of Island Park the opportunity to speak with their politicians one on one and to air anything they want to discuss,² Rubin said.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
