Sands Point and Manorhaven residents head to the polls on Tuesday with the names of their current village trustees being the only ones listed on the ballot.
Mayor Edward Adler and Trustees Marc Silbert and Katherine Ullman seek re-election in uncontested races in Sands Point, while Manorhaven Trustees Rita Di Lucia and John Popeleski run unopposed in a bid to return to the village board.
Sands Point
Edward Adler – mayor, two-year term
Adler is running for his fifth term as mayor and if elected will have served in the position for 10 years at the conclusion of his term and 30 years total on the village board.
He is a lawyer by training and works at his family-owned-and-operated real estate company where he focuses on development and management.
Katherine Ullman – trustee, two-year term
Ullman is seeking election to her 13th term on the Board of Trustees. She is retired from her career as a librarian.
Marc Silbert – trustee, two-year term
Silbert has served as a trustee for over 10 terms. Professionally, Silbert has been in the personnel and temporary employment industry for many years.
Adler said he is particularly proud of the transparency the village has maintained while he has been in office.
He said his email is listed on the website and he keeps a publicly listed number to allow residents the opportunity to reach him with questions or concerns.
Another accomplishment that the mayor cited was the Village Club’s return to the level it was a decade ago.
The club suffered after there was a decreased interest in golf across the country and there were concerns over the club’s vitality, Adler said.
He said now with the membership level restored to where it should be, he would like to see the club continue to get stronger in every way so his eventual successor will not have to worry about the club’s continued success.
Adler said the board works hard to maintain the village’s high quality of life and preserve its unique look and feel.
The state property tax cap was established the year he took office as mayor, Adler said, and it has posed a challenge while the board continues to maintain the village Police Department, Water Department and Village Club.
Ullman said while sustaining these services and an “outstanding bond rating,” she is especially proud of the board’s ability to operate with minimal tax increases.
Another proud accomplishment of hers was the board’s acquisition of the Village Club, which continues to “be an enhancement of value and lifestyle for our residents for the past 25 years,” she said.
Giving back and volunteering has been a “dominant and personal goal” throughout her life and her service does not just end in the village, she said. Ullman has also volunteered her time at Port Washington’s public schools and other social benefit organizations.
She said she “devotes a great deal of time” to fulfilling her duties as an elected official and village road commissioner, in which she has overseen the village’s spending to maintain its 25 miles of public roads with “quality paving, stone block curbing, and appropriate drainage systems.”
Silbert said he joined the board after he sold his business and wanted to become more involved in his community. After volunteering in several capacities throughout the town and the village, he said he found the most interest in the Sands Point Civic Association.
“I believe that my services make a real impact in the life of my fellow residents that enhances the experience of living in the village,” he said.
Silbert said he takes personal pride in several of the board’s accomplishments, such as his role in installing solar panels on the Village Hall and being the point person on its remodeling.
He also said he is especially proud of the highly professional police force in Sands Point, for which he is commissioner.
The Sands Point village elections will be held at Village Hall at 26 Tibbets Lane on Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m.
Manorhaven
Rita Di Lucia – trustee, two-year term
Di Lucia seeks election to her seventh term on the Manorhaven Board of Trustees, which she has been a part of since 2007.
She is employed by the Port Washington school district as a school aide at Schreiber High School.
John Popeleksi – trustee, two-year term
Popeleski seeks election to his second full term as trustee. He was appointed to Jim Avena’s trustee seat after Avena was elected as mayor. Popeleski is retired after 32 years working as a public servant, starting his career in the Village of Mineola and working the remainder for the Port Washington Water District.
Both Di Lucia and Popeleski said they joined the board because of their love of the Manorhaven community and wanting to have a role in its positive changes.
Di Lucia said she is particularly proud of the upcoming completion of Morgan’s Dock, which is slated for June 22.
“But honestly, I’m proud of everything this board has accomplished so far,” she said.
With the completion of Morgan’s Dock, she will now focus her attention on assisting Deputy Mayor Priscilla von Roeschlaub in the revitalization of Manorhaven Boulevard.
Meanwhile, Popeleski is working to have infrastructure repairs along Manorhaven Boulevard completed before the road is repaved to avoid having it ripped up in a few years to accommodate for utility work, he said.
“I want all of the sewers done prior to the asphalt going down,” he said.
Popeleski said that currently, the village is having its sewer system evaluated by lowering a camera into the pipes to see what types of repairs would be required.
A few little problems have been identified, he said, and since the work has commenced the backups in the sewer system have decreased dramatically.
He is especially proud of the village snow program that he said he designed with a map and a highlighter, he said, in which he designated certain areas where snow removal is handled by village employees and other areas for subcontractors.
Bringing electricity to the village’s nature preserve, which he oversaw from start to finish, is another project Popeleski said he is particularly proud of. He said with the way he designed it, there was enough power to light up the walkways as well.
“The village looks so much nicer, you can actually see it,” he said.
Manorhaven residents can vote for trustees at Village Hall at 33 Manorhaven Blvd. on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
