Departing council members say goodbye at final meeting

It was a bittersweet moment at Glen Cove City Hall when local residents expressed their gratitude toward the exiting members of the City Council during the council’s final meeting on Dec. 30.

Republican Council members Joseph Capobianco, Pamela Panzenbeck, Nicholas DiLeo, Kevin Maccarone and Donna McNaughton ended their terms on Dec. 31. Although she may no longer be a councilwoman, Panzenbeck, who had served for six years, said she would still be an active presence in the community.  

“I’m not going anywhere,” Panzenbeck said.

“It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve the city that my family and I came to when I was a small child,” Capobianco, an Italian immigrant, added. 

During their final meeting, the council agreed to accept a $100,000 grant from Nassau County, which was secured with the help of County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, to pay for the study and clean up plan to remediate Crescent Beach. The beach has been closed for a decade due to bacterial contaminants that were found in the stream that empties out into the beach.  H2M, an architecture and engineering firm the city hired to help come up with solutions to clean the polluted beach, has suggested the city use helix filters to remediate the beach. The filters spin at a high velocity to separate heavier particles away form the water and flush the accumulated mass. Mayor Timothy Tenke said these filters were relatively simple to use, added no real noise pollution and wouldn’t disturb the environment, as they would be encased in a pipe. Tenke hopes to work together with two residents who own property adjacent to the beach to help install the helix filters in order to get the water cleaned and have the beach open by the summer. 

Another big item the city council dealt with pertained to moving the city’s bidding contracts further into the digital age as the council approved to enter into an agreement with BidNet Direct, a web-based service that would allow the city to post and manage all its bids online. Anthony Frisa, the city’s Information and Technology manager, said the move to BidNet would help streamline the city’s bidding process while being transparent about the process.

“It makes sure all our bids are in one house,” Frisa said. “It’s a lot better than what we have in place right now…and I’m confident about this system.” 

Through BidNet, residents can view the city’s contracts and follow the bidding process. Frisa added that vendors’ bids are still kept confidential until the process ends to assure the city can get the best deal.  

Along with the exiting City Council members, Tina Pemberton, the city clerk for 12 years, has also left her position. She was terminated and replaced with former Town of Hempstead Deputy Clerk Gaspare Tumminello. A spokesperson for the city said that there would be other new department heads named in the coming weeks.