By Laura Lane
Among the meeting's attendees were Barry Fox, president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association; Joe Kralovich, president of the Old Lindenmere Civic Association, and Michele Walsh, president of the Central Merrick Homeowners Association. All agreed that more research was needed to determine whether incorporation would be a wise move, but the consensus was that incorporation might improve the Merricks.
"Everyone has trouble communicating with the Town of Hempstead. There seems to be a dysfunction there," said Kralovich. "It's our lowest level of government and has 160,000 constituents. Maybe that's just too much."
Kralovich encouraged Old Lindenmere residents to contact the town with their complaints. "Everyone comes back with the same thing -- frustration from a lack of response -- and then [the civic associations] have to get involved, and even then it's difficult for us to get a response," he said. "We have to follow up with the town and keep them on task, or the issue is forgotten."
Kralovich believes that Town Council representatives should be required to regularly attend civic association meetings. "We voted for someone; it would be nice to have them show up at meetings, which they don't have to do," said Kralovich, who added that if council representatives were required to attend meetings, they would feel compelled to follow up with information about issues that are raised. "As it is now, I'm one of 160,000 constituents trying to contact the council representatives, who are probably people who live in an incorporated village and are required to only work two days a week," he said.
Merrick civic leaders have other issues as well. "We're concerned with the state, county and town," said Fox. "The county parks are no cleaner than town parks. The level of services in the Merricks provided by the state, town and county could all be improved."
Derek Donnelly, president of the Merrick Gables Homeowners Association, was unable to attend the Joint Council meeting because he was out of town. He supports investigating incorporation, but has concerns about the Merrick train station.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency, is responsible for maintaining the station's elevators, steps and platforms, and Nassau County pays 9 percent of the MTA's maintenance bill. The Town of Hempstead is responsible for upkeep of the parking lots.
Donnelly and Fox have complained to the town for years that the train station parking lot is often littered with fliers that people discard from their car windshields. They have contacted the MTA about urine in the station's elevators and on the platforms, which are also frequently speckled by pigeon droppings and litter. And lately, Fox is concerned about steps that are cracked on Hewlett Avenue stairways.
"That platform is a sewer. Rockville Centre, an incorporated village, doesn't have that problem," said Donnelly. "When I have a business meeting, I tell people who are commuting into Merrick for the meeting to get off at the Rockville Centre station and I'll pick them up. The Merrick station embarrasses me."
Fox agreed, saying that Rockville Centre has also succeeded in maintaining its roads. "Sunrise Highway ... a state road, looks a lot better in Rockville Centre. They weed it, even add flowers," said Fox. "In Levittown, the state has spent all of that money fixing up Hempstead Turnpike, and it looks terrible. No one weeds it; it's all overgrown."
For now, civic leaders are exploring the possibilities. They are also keeping an eye on Sagaponack in the Town of Southampton, which recently became the first Suffolk County village to be incorporated in a decade. Kralovich is setting up a meeting with village officials there, hoping to become more knowledgeable about incorporation.
Only residents of a community can decide whether to incorporate. State law requires that 20 percent of registered voters sign a petition calling for a public meeting on incorporation, which must go to a public referendum.
If Merrick were incorporated, the Town of Hempstead clerk would appoint a part-time village clerk, and a public election would be held to elect a mayor and four trustees, who would work as volunteers. An incorporated village would remain part of the Town of Hempstead. Village residents could continue to vote in town elections and receive town services, for which they would be required to pay taxes.
"We're looking for the least intrusive, smallest government possible," said Fox. "We would turn everything over to the town, except that we'd enforce it. We'd try to increase zoning regulations to improve the quality of life in the Merricks, and it wouldn't cost residents any more than they're paying right now."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
