Complaints and business as usual at council meeting

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The City Council last week did not have the opportunity to vote to secure a piece of equipment that would have helped Glen Cove stave off a looming summer water shortage caused by the closure of two wells in which contaminants were found.

The item did not appear on the agenda on March 6, several council members said, because the engineer who proposed the plan — to take a used aluminum shell and fill it with new parts to make the necessary filtration system — did not submit sufficient details, in time for the city attorney to draft a resolution.

The measures that did make it on to the agenda were all passed unanimously, including nearly $1.3 million in budget transfers, which, Councilwoman Marsha Silverman noted, were budget-neutral and not “interfund transfers,” the type that a recent state audit report had chastised the council for making in the past.

The council also voted to establish a “voluntary separation incentive payment program,” also known as a buyout, that would give departing employees who met certain criteria a lump sum of 1 percent of their current salary, per year of service, up to 20 percent. “The city expects save an average of $26,000 for each year for each employee that takes this incentive,” Mayor Tim Tenke said. “The cost of this program will quickly be recouped in 2018, and the savings will continue thereafter.”

Glen Cove residents raised a number of issues during the public comment session. Zefy Christopoulos claimed that Dan Cox, who ran Tenke’s campaign and transition but who is not currently serving the city in any official capacity, had been “discussing … confidential topics with department heads” at City Hall.

“It’s a public building,” Tenke responded. “He’s allowed to walk into City Hall. He’s also a friend of mine, he visits me.”

Councilman Joseph Capobianco said that he didn’t know if the allegation was true, but if it was, “I would oppose that strenuously.”

When asked about her claim after the meeting, Christopoulos said, “I’ve worked for three mayors. After having worked in City Hall for almost 20 years, you could say I have friends. I know things.”

Several residents, including Michael Cervini, vice president of the East Island Association, spoke in opposition to the development of Glen Cove Mansion property, which consists of a proposal to build 40 subdivisions with luxury homes. Cervini brought up a point that Silverman had made at a previous meeting, that there was language written in to the city’s 142-page master plan from 2009 that could allow the council to “revisit” projects every few years.

City Attorney Charles McQuair said that he didn’t believe the council had the right to revisit it. “The master plan is more of a guidance document,” he said.

Indeed, the language in the master plan that Silverman referenced reads, “This Master Plan is that blueprint. But it too should not be allowed to become dated. As such, the City should review progress on its recommendations annually, and subject it to a full update ten years hence, in year 2019.”

Silverman countered that in 2010, the city “circumvented some procedures, and really codified the master plan,” which would elevate it from a guidance document to legally binding code.

Cervini and resident Gigi Ferrante also talked about a pair of wetlands, which are environmentally protected, that were being impacted by the development. The wetlands create a jurisdictional question that Tenke said could open up the council’s ability to address residents’ concerns.