Three officials of “the Bird House,” as the residents of Baxter Estates have come to know their village hall, are seeking re-election on March 19.
Mayor Nora Haagenson, Deputy Mayor Charles Comer and Trustee Chris Ficalora are all running unopposed for two-year terms on the Oak Leaf party ticket.
Haagenson is running for her third term as mayor. She had also served two terms as a trustee.
She said serving as the mayor of Baxter Estates has been one of her greatest joys and she hoped to continue to make the village better for all of her residents.
During her time as a village official, she said, she has “brought the village into the 21st century.”
Haagenson said she has worked on the village’s efficiency through staff changes and bringing them up to speed technologically.
She also sought to improve the village aesthetically with the creation of a village flag and a logo.
Haagenson also said her administration has been the first to go after grants, which she said has helped the village tremendously. The village was recently given a grant to update the village court with security measures, a new podium and a microphone system.
Another grant through former state Sen. Jack Martins was used to renovate village hall.
Haagenson said she loves going around and meeting the residents as well as gifting baskets to welcome new residents.
“It’s always been a friendly village and we want to keep that going,” she said. “It’s nice to know if you ever needed help you have neighbors that will come and help you.”
Her next project, she said, is working to stabilize the village’s beach and when completed she plans to work on its beautification.
Haagenson is now retired after having been an English teacher in the North Shore School District for 35 years and being a tutor for some time after.
Comer said he believes he began serving in the role of village trustee in 2001.
One of his favorite accomplishments as trustee was serving as the village’s emergency management officer during Hurricane Sandy. He said Baxter Estates managed far better than anyone else on the Cow Neck Peninsula following the superstorm’s aftermath.
He attributed the village’s performance to having followed the techniques he learned in his emergency training from the county.
He also said he also prided himself on preventing the “McMansionization” of the village.
Comer said the board added provisions that stated properties could not be built from “lot line to lot line.”
He said McMansions did not match “the character of our village.”
In his professional life, Comer is the owner and operator of a wealth management firm.
Ficalora is seeking re-election for his third full term, he was appointed to the board in 2015.
As trustee, he is in charge of finances including calculating the budget.
He said over his tenure he has revamped the village’s accounting policies which has brought the board huge savings compared to previous years.
Ficalora noted the state’s stress report which ranks villages for their financial status. He said that most villages of their size score in the 38th percentile.
Baxter Estates is in the top 10 percentile for their financial accountability and financial effectiveness, Ficalora said.
He said he has also been tasked with disseminating information to village residents, which has resulted in a huge increase in information flow.
Ficalora said his goal in the upcoming term is for the village to stay well below the tax cap of 2 percent and build up cash reserves for the highway fund and capital projects.
The highway fund is used to update and renovate the village roads.
Newly-retired, Ficalora previously worked as the chief operations Officer of a large logistics company.
All three officials said they were proud of the board’s ability to maintain minimal tax increases, as well as their reduction in spending while prices have continued to rise.
Ficalora said that the board was able to reduce spending by 7.5 percent in 2017-18, by 6 percent in 2016-17 and by 14 percent in 2015-16.
Another source of pride for the three officials was their ability to negotiate and pay off the bond for the village hall.
Haagenson said that with the completed payment of the bond, village officials have been able to reallocate that spending to the village’s capital fund.
In the upcoming term, the candidates said they plan to address the decaying retaining walls and to continue with beautification efforts by planting trees and cleaning up the parklands.
Resident can cast their votes at the village hall at 315 Main St. on March 19 from 12 to 9 p.m.
