Plandome Heights trustees unanimously approved the hiring of a summer intern Monday following a vetting process in which three other candidates were considered.
The board decided on a SUNY Binghamton alum named Jordan who Plandome Heights Mayor Ken Riscica said “made me comfortable right away.”
“He’s interested in the position and his skills are compatible with working here,” Riscica said
Riscica said one of the first projects he’s had Jordan work on is the tree and brush removal and trimming process, which village officials are vetting with a licensed arborist.
Trees flagged by the village as potential safety hazards are inspected to determine whether they should be removed.
Riscica noted that, while most people do not like being told what to do to their private property, he has seen an improvement in the willingness of citizens and businesses to cooperate for safety reasons.
“I’m a firm believer in government as servant not government as master,” Riscica said. “I believe that how we interface with residents has to reflect that and the tree program is a perfect example of how to serve the residents.”
In the past, residents were given a 10-day window to take care of whatever landscaping was deemed dangerous by the arborist. That window was preceded by a undetermined amount of time where the arborist or the board mulled over what course action to take.
Riscica said the village realized that method was not in the best interests of residents and has over the last month reevaluated how the board interacts with the public regarding trees.
“We told the residents, ‘we did the arborist survey and this is what the arborist found,’ we’d like you to deal with this and we can help you deal with it through the resources of the tree companies that we deal with,’” he said. “The bottom line is that we have reached an agreement with each of the residents on a course of action on the trees, therefore there is no tree on the list that needs to come to the board for action that it has to come down.”
