Baxter Estates approves landscape permit fees

Luke Torrance
The Village of Baxter Estates is one of two villages in the Port area with unopposed races this March. (Photo courtesy of the Village of Baxter Estates)

Landscapers who want to work in Baxter Estates will now need to acquire a permit to do so, and a sticker for each car.

The fee will be $15 for a permit and $3 per sticker.

“Our intention is not to make this onerous for the landscapers,” said Mayor Nora Haagenson. “We’re not trying to zing it to them.”

In previous meetings, the board said that the decision to require a permit was spurred by the illegal dumping of leaves in Baxter Estates by landscapers working outside the village. This drove up costs and frustrated residents, leading one to make a death threat against a village employee. Last month, the board decided not to do leaf pickup in 2018.

Haagenson said that concern over illegal dumping of leaves, rather than a new source of revenue, was the reason for the permit and the fee.

The board discussed repainting a faded crosswalk on the edge of the village, near the Port Washington Library. But any vote on it was tabled until spring, as work on the crosswalk could not be done until after winter. Trustee Chris Ficalora said the board would look into possible funding from the library or the Town of North Hempstead.

Winter might also postpone work on Village Hall. Baxter Estates is planning on purchasing 44 windows for Village Hall, but since the building’s windows are a unique size and shape, the windows will have to be custom made. Haagenson wanted to get the windows installed this year, but it was estimated that the manufacturing of the windows will take four to six weeks, making them available by December at the earliest.

The cost of the window replacement would be $46,780 but would not come out of the village budget, Haagenson said.

She also announced that the village had received a United States flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol and was given to the village by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). It will be on display in Village Hall.

Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.

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