Fred Nicholson: An Effective Mayor and OEM Sales Manager

Re: Observations towards our Village and its Government

Dear Resident,

Has been a long time since I have written to all of you, and no, we are not running for Mayor again.

We sat in on last week’s Village monthly meeting, and learned quite a lot. For starters, the Board has a tough time being respectful to folks in the audience and the “black robe syndrome” has definitely set in.

Attached here is our Village tax levy since we left Mayor Ship. During my tenure, we reduced taxes with no cuts in services, staff or quality of life. In fact resources were realigned for the betterment of everyone. We have no leaf service this year? Really? No biggie for our family, but this service set the Village apart from others with this one simple item.

I attended this meeting because it was a public hear regarding some building code changes to include measurement of area square footage etc. My comment was simple, changes are good and thank you, but we need to enforce what we already fairly and evenly to all residents. Referencing the house next to ours, that today, it remains out of compliance, and continues to receive pool permits when criteria not met.

The new Village office was secured under my administration. We chose to hold off on any other capital improvements until the five year note, we secured at 1.68%, was paid off. We basically put down half, and finance $450K. Final payment should have been paid last month.

The Village has always held large cash balances, to deal with unexpected expenses and been vigilant with keeping cost down. Personally, we did numerous physical tasks along with others, to see this occur. My recommendation at the time was, plans and drawings for road restoration should be underway, by year four of note, so we’d be paving this summer. Not the case, read on:

I’m aware Hilltop is expected to be paved this year, with grant money ($80k), but we shouldn’t need outside funding for this. I believe any political clout should have gone to Central Drive. We can pay for things ourselves, always have. Tianderah is crumbling and will be very expensive to fix if not attended to. I was challenged by this at the meeting that a grant will take care of this in time. My views are different. We should pay for this, not a political favor from Senator Phillips. These items create political debts. VBE does not need any help, never has. If we do accept, they should be for Shore Road Flooding, High Street and Baxter Pond washout and a light at Central to save lives. Bay Walk is another area that VBE could use assistance with. These benefit everyone.

When you visit the Village Office, take pride in the structure, its location, and the reconfigure of the downstairs to accommodate a governmental business. Upstairs, we negotiated two class “A” tenants with favorable terms. Both occupants treat this historic structure as their own. This was done before we left office. The office has new generator. Told it is 38Kw. Building with A/C likely does not draw close to five. New security system, furniture, repainting and decorating, significant landscaping, with what was mentioned by the Mayor at the meeting, more to follow, and now window replacement. A new storage shed backyard paving and new surrounding retaining walls. Grants or not, this was never the intent of the board back in my term. In fact, they would only allow me to paint the front of the structure, no safety railings, handicap railing or community deck towards the rear. Judge Golder and I raised $26k from a court grant. Money was in our account for years and the board would not allow us to spend a dime of it. My goal was to install bullet proof window to the North to protect the Justice, cameras, bench, and door way for robing area for the judge. These were all normal business items towards running a compliant and safe court.

Baxter House was a true shame. Should never have happened. There are guidelines for securing vacant properties; Parameter fencing, chains through doors, postings etc. People were illegally occupying this structure. Was featured in the local Newspaper. Occupants were apparently urinating on the building waiving to passersby. This was not in a hidden area, right out in the open. Board members as well as ZBA members all live and walk their dogs nearby. How did this happen?

We provide this backdrop for a reason. During the latter years of my term, we lobbied hard to see the old Fleet Bank building property developed. Without too much detail; owner wanted to put residential units there. High quality, requesting four floors, all to enter from the rear, much like the new building across from Village Hall next to Good Year. In exchange, Mayor negotiated the owner would pay for light at Bayside, all enter and exit would be from Bayside, and owner would also be part of the Beach restoration. Board came back no. Please pay careful attention here. In my opinion, this is the biggest issue before the Village. Owner owns free and clear. Was the Village landlord. Building is occupied by as a house of worship. Owner is a prominent person in town with many holdings. They maintain the property. My understanding the rent does not carry the taxes and overhead of maintaining the property. From a pure estate perspective, reasonable man’s thinking would be to appraise the property, (who knows 5, 6, 7? Mil.) and donate to church. This would come off the tax roll to the Village, (probably second to Pierre), and allow them to take ownership of the most valuable piece of remaining buildable property on the Bay. Governing or mandating a religious organization is one of the most challenging items for a municipality. Brighter minds need to address this very probable abyss.

Main Street is going through a revamping of tree removal and new sidewalks. Village should be more active with this. One of the most important roles as a Mayor must accept responsibility for is protecting assets, adhering to the by-laws, and enforcing them uniformly. Another is having vision for the future from many perspectives. These are not easy assignments, but this is the job.

There certainly is a tone here, and we often do not explain ourselves that well. Our president has this problem too. I have dyslexia, and with that come a strong memory and a methodical thinking approach. We struggle when folks do not agree, then when they are wrong, will not admit same. Pretty successful in my business. At age 58, do not believe there is room for change. One thing for certain, my character and integrity are not up for grabs, and we wake up every day wanting to do the right thing.

God bless all of you. If we can make your day any better, let us know.

Fondly, and with Pride,

Past Mayor Fred ’06-’14 Thirty year resident, 5th generation family, 1849, Life time in Cow Bay area

Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 3:00 AM
To: Nicholson, Fred - USA6257103
Subject: RE: Tiandera Road
MAN ON FIRE
On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 04:32 PM, fnicholson@constructionriskpartners.com wrote:
Where’s our money? We never used grant money before. We just spent $500,000.00 on a new Village Hall, foregoing the road work till the 4-5 year of this note. Again, where’s our money? My taxes went up 33%, no leaf pick up and no roads. I have to drive on the other side of street to get up Tianderah. This to Me is totally unacceptable. One of the reasons we chose not to run, Alice denied a $700 requisition for cleaning of storm drains last week in 2013 to avoid frozen ponds at every intersection. Many thanked me for getting out in front on this matter. I offered to pay. Check was not cut till March. I left and never came back. Again, Where’s our tax dollars going? We need new signs, stripping, curbs, landscaping tree trimming and Planting. This are normal services for the Village. Each year we put money in Capital fund for Roads etc. Grants are nice, but it is just reshuffling of our income. Grants should only be used where needed and for specialty, and every tax payer enjoying. Not specific streets, by select few. That should come from our normal Levy.
Wish to point out, TONH is doing the same thing. Just paved Plandome rd. For second time in two years. Should Never have been paved period. 100 year concrete road bed that kept traffic slow and area cool on hot days. They saved face by paving Jackson and Covert. Look out front of our office. Most heavily traveled and heavily worn, and they skipped. What engineer was that? Everyone knows the paving was for Knickerbocker unit sales. Look at the sidewalk out front of Knickerbocker, crazy. TONH was so strict with our 299 Main Project and those sidewalks. Another noteworthy item. Notice how Marty’s new building has full view of the Bay now? Several trees were taken down in Sunset park this winter on the sly, stump grinding in falling snow.
Nothing gets past me
“Sunshine is the BestDisinfectant”
Thank you. Fn

Sent with BlackBerry Work
(www.blackberry.com)

Date: Monday, Sep 17, 2018, 4:00 PM
To: Nicholson, Fred - USA6257103 <fnicholson@constructionriskpartners.com>
Cc:
Subject: RE: Tiandera Road
Good Afternoon! It was a beautiful weekend in Baxter Estates. I hope you are well. Let me clarify because I believe there is confusion on both the ranking of the condition of the roads and what is planned to be covered by each grant. Our Village Engineer felt that Hilltop Road was the worst road of the roads covered in a $75,000 grant that we had applied for. The $75,000 grant was originally for full width patching of Hilltop Road and also covered portions of Overlook Drive and Hillside Avenue. Those latter portions of road will be funded by a third grant for $250,000 and will also cover any additional roads that need work, and catch basins and curbs. As you heard at the meeting, the Board approved engaging an engineer to come up with a plan for the $125,000 roadwork grant we received from Senator Phillips and we certainly will use our 2016 Road Survey which has been updated to inform our decisions. The ranking system by Bowne in the 2016 Road Survey is what we originally used to apply for all of our grants. Another roadwork grant, which was applied for before we applied for the $75,000 grant in the amount of $125,000, will cover roads that were ranked in worse condition than the $75,000 road project and that includes 537 linear feet of road of Harborview Road from Shoreview Road to Overlook Drive; Overlook Drive for 603 feet from Hilltop Road to Woodcleft Drive; Shoreview Road for 191 feet from Hillside Avenue to Harborview Road; and Tianderah Road for 419 feet from Central Drive to Locust Avenue. Tianderah will be covered under this, but we are awaiting the state’s approval. You are not wrong in what you witnessed when looking at the streets in terms of condition of Hilltop versus the aforementioned, but the larger funded projects sometimes take a bit longer to get approval from the Dormitory Authority. I am sure you can recall when you did the paperwork for Senator Johnson for grant projects which I remember because I was his Deputy Chief of Staff at the time and organized them for his constituent groups, that sometimes the process with the state is slower than we would like. We are hopeful that by spring, the $125,000 grant for portions of road mentioned above will be released. Of course, if we have to change tracks or the condition worsen, or we find the grant funding is taking too long, we can always re-evaluate. As for Central Drive, we have been in contact with our County Legislator and are told Central Drive is part of the County’s Capital Plan. We continue to advocate for this road as we have in the past as regardless of ownership we want what is best and safe. We also have an IMA with the Town to have our stormwater systems mapped and that will determine needs for catch basins and drainage. That is about 90% complete. I appreciate your reaching out. The meetings move very fast and it is difficult to digest information as the infrastructure projects are complex in nature and changing annually. Please let me know if you need any further clarification.
Chrissy Kiernan, MPA, CMC
Village Clerk-Treasurer
Inc. Village of Baxter Estates
315 Main Street, Port Washington, NY 11050
(516) 767-0096

Sent: Monday, September 17, 2018 2:53 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: FW: Tiandera Road
Hi Chrissy,
Spent some time walking the entire Village this weekend. In doing so, would like to offer my professional opinion on the roads.
Hill Top is not that bad of shape. Down at bottom near Overlook is crumbling, and a patch there would do the trick with our own funds. The top, near Griffin is a ponding area. That was my project, we replaced the three old driveway entrances to stop the water leaving he street and going on private property by using Belgium block, It worked. There is a problem we predicted, but Board did not want to spend the dollars at the time. There remains a bird bath area, that could be resolved with a catch basin to nowhere. Not large volume unit, and the problem would be fixed. New pavement will not correct this, so if not factored in for adjustment, do not proceed, with or without grant money. This is the right thing to do. If contractor says he’ll address this slight problem, contract provision this and get a bond for call back.
Central Drive is the bugger. We need to partner with the County to fix the storm drains to creek, install catch basins the right way, and then pave the entire road with large aprons going up Overlook, Woodcleft, Tianderah, Hillside and Ridgeway. This is the right way to correct this pavement and runoff to Bay the right way, once and for all. Seed from lawns, fertilizer, road salt and oils are all washing down against federal guidelines. If the access to the creek and Baxter’s Pond are blocked due to new power line to Port North, then we should go legal against all those that let this happen. Personally, We fought tirelessly to avoid this.
Based on what I heard and read in the Port News, Tianderah is not getting addressed this year. This is a shame. We pay good taxes for the Village services. By ignoring this till financing is available, is wasteful and will cost so much more. Kindna like not cleaning your gutters, eventually, new roof, soffits, and tails have to be replaced, very costly. As a homeowner, one’s own choice. As a government, use of tax payer dollars needs to be done judiciously.
Hope these comments are helpful and reposition the boards thought towards; service, maintenance, capital improvement and cost of same, with matching accounting principles towards revenue receipts, that benefit all Village residents.
Appreciate your service. Have a great day.
Fred
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2018 3:51 PM
To: Nicholson, Fred - USA6257103
Subject: Re: Tiandera Road
Hi Fred,
Sorry I took so long to respond. I just got back yesterday from a funeral
Very impressive letters, intelligent and to the point. I especially liked your solution for Tiandera Road. I wish I could be optimistic but after all these years I can't. Good luck.

Regards,

Fred Nicholson
To: Fred Work <fnicholson@constructionriskpartners.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <fnicholson@constructionriskpartners.com> Date: Fri, May 25, 2018 at 2:36PM
Subject: FW: Wednesday evening meeting.
To:

========Communication is meant for the addressees. Distribution is not consented to, nor encouraged in any manner whatsoever ==========

Good Morning Commissioners,

Awards presentation last evening was very nice. When I was Mayor of Baxter estates, to pull that off, would be like moving mountains, $1,500 bucks, Board would never have voted me to do so. Nice gesture on Commissioners part. Personally, we outlined all the recognition items for the several retired PWPD Officers during my eight year tenure as Mayor.

Several take a ways;

-Not so sure 60 Tasers is the right quantity. Seems like an awful lot. Steve, from the audience, asked how many officers on patrol at any one time. We never received an answer from Chief Del Muro. So with the exception of 21 non patrolling District employees, everyone receives one? Guess that is normal. How many units were budgeted last year knowing the five year shelf life?

5/29/;2018 Gmail -Wednesday evening meeting.

-As far as License Plate Readers, how did we get so far behind on technology, equipment, software and storage.District has a salaried six figure full time IT person on staff. Data budget separate line item is now $150k, twice that of prior years. LPR's are great tool as discussed and will help in so many ways. Good vote to upgrade, but the cost here to the District is now approaching quarter of million dollars.
-Seems the Chiefs report of traffic tickets written should be broadened so the Board can help set policy for the town. Where predominantly are the problem areas requiring so many tickets?; ticket type, single or multiple given, demographics and whether drivers are from out of town or not? Areas prone to accidents should be discussed as well, like Shore and Central, which as per discussions with tow truck drivers, claims to be biggest money maker in town for them. Writers opinion, seldom policed. We are referring to the corner right near the former Baxter House that recently burned.

-Secretary's report seam unclear this evening.Responsibilities include to track minutes, create agendas, and make adjustments, and see to it that matters tabled from previous meetings are brought up again until addressed and/or remain in process with update commentary. This includes public forum/public safety issues.
-Treasurer's report in writer's opinion, is very vague in the way of detail for a
$22,400,000 budgeted District operation. May 9th, 2018 approval of claims was
$53,508.24. April 11th was $52,913.57. Wednesday's tally for 5/23 was
$311,121.32, largest being "Legal" with special projects at $20k and "Hosp. &
Med" at $270k

:This is a general fund ledger with an annual budget of $1,350,000. Why is this this latter expense drawn from this fund balance? Shouldn't this come from an employee benefit account? We note the budget this year for Hospital and Medical Insurance has jumped from $2.9m, $3.2m and now $3.5m annually. Overall 30% of payroll. Any containment going on in this area, savings, sharing, etc? Should there have been some commentary during this claim
approval process as per general municipal procedures?

:The discussion on American Express payment of $4,600 was not clear. This should be detailed:

*Purpose of these conferences for $3,700?, were these previously appropriated? Detail on Travel, lodging, meals, entertainment are what the IRS requires, GAAP too.

*The uniform purchases for $770. While not large, again, purpose was not clear. $150,000 is budgeted this year again for Uniforms & Maintenance.Seems like an awful lot on a per person basis every year. What maintenance does this entail? What is the breakout?

:Balance sheet for the district has not been disclosed? Assets, liabilities, Surplus, Cash balances, funding of Capital accounts etc.

*Cash last year was$ 7,100,000, District took in $21,700,000, Disbursed $20,000,000 and now @ 12/31/17 had $8,800,000. Realizing these are likely reserves of sorts, is $1,700,000 a typical amount?

*On April 11th the Board approve the purchase of four new police vehicles for $202,000, assuming for cash, what other capital expenditures are expected?

:What is in the budget for Capital Expenditures.The budget reports shared with the town only include operational items, not balance sheet items. At a previous meeting chaired by Commissioner Duncan, this question was asked, and the response was it is dealt in executive session.Writer pointed out not the proper venue, this is reserved for litigation and personal matters. Counselor, Richard Finkel, agreed with the writer.

:Lastly, knowing Overtime, Vacation and Holiday pay aggregate
$1,600,000.00, ($2.3mm when factoring benefits) Board should be aware for the public's interest on how this is trending throughout the year and report same periodically. The 2018 budget is 15.8% of overall payroll. In
2016 this number grew to 19%.This is one of the few areas the Board
currently has with staff expense to the District.Total expense budget for Police District is $22,400,000 with $20,500,000 going to personal. If our numbers are right, with 9,800 households on the peninsula , that is almost

5/29(2018 Gmail -Wednesday evening meeting.

$2,300.00 per home. The overtime elasticity is $235.00 per tax levy.This may not be so accurate, as the analysis would have to net out the cost of Nassau County and Sands Point police service areas. The budgeted 81 employees cost the District $ 250,000 per headcount. Seems awfully large.
-Other New Business;

Executive Session: Writer questioned the duration of May 9th executive session lasting 2.5hrs. The Board's answer was vague. We re-questioned, with no specific specific agenda, "Is there anything the public should be made aware of" Answer: No. Then commentary was made towards litigation, Collective Bargaining Agreements, etc.and a long lunch was enjoyed. Abstract report shared with audience reflect same attorney is used for three areas, General Retainer, Labor and Legal "Other", this month, $3,250,$2,932 and
$12,988 respectively. This raises a question. Are the CBA's presenting a
challenge to the District currently? One would imagine not with the headcount cost to the District and the heavy benefits burden of recent. If there is any problem, writer would strongly suggest independent council that specializes in this area. Writer has thirty plus years experience in labor agreements and the impact they present. Staff should not be participating in these discussions. Separate council and Board only. Forgive our ignorance, why is there a budget line item for PBA Welfare Fund of $114,375. Shouldn't this organization be funded on it's own, by its members and the community that supports same.

Traffic During Peak Hours: The writer's multi page traffic study was on point from so many perspectives with supporting photos and diagrams etc. The Minutes from the 4/11 meeting reflected public concern here.The April 25 meeting held a lengthy conversation, and the May 9th meeting Commissioner Rice commented on traffic cameras on Main St. being possibly sought by Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton. The public again commented on traffic conditions that morning. Cameras are not the panacea.

The body language of the Board and District representatives was quite evident towards the writers recommendations. Not one facet was considered

5/29/j2018 Gmail- Wednesday evening meeting.

or allowed to be discussed to help solve the problem, which is a multi
(
jurisdictional matter. Chief Salerno and Assistant Chief Morris, as well as
Commissioner Franklin were not in attendance, so we cannot comment on their views. Personally, I was not interested in Deputy Del Muro's single commentary of shredding my entire report. As clearly outlined, many players, agencies, districts, towns and villages need to pull together to make this
happen and improve the situation for the betterment of all. What we do know is the town is frustrated, and banners were being hung again this week during peak times, spaces at LIRR were being used unwisely, and employee cars with expired window stickers dated February '18, and reserved spots going to
waste. This all clearly demonstrates this pick up/drop off area could go to
much better use and reduce congestion in the very heart of our Town.

: None of this effects our family anymore. My kids are through the school system. My wife leaves for work to the OR at North Shore by way of
Manhasset. Thankfully we walk to the train when going to the city.

: We put forth this effort because we care. Always have, it's in my DNA. Those that know this person, know this to be true. Others, well, as Bill O'Rielly recounts over and over in in one of his best books " Pinheads and Patriots"

A meaningful quote from the Police Chief:

Message from Chief James Salerno:

PWPD Mission Statement: "By working together with the community, we can solve problems, maintain the peace, provide safety and security for our citizens"

Fred Nicholson, Former Mayor (2006-2014)

Inc. Village of Baxter Estates

38 Locust Avenue (30 year Resident) Port Washington, NY 11050