INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
46 North Ocean Avenue
Freeport, New York
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
2 1 / 2 $ Paid
Freeport, N. Y,
Permit 647
LLAGE NEWS
HOUSING PROJECT CONST-RUSTION TO START SOON . . ._._
Low bids on construction of the senior citizen apartments, South
Main St. , have been approved by the Freeport Housing Authority and
forwarded to Federal officials for approval. They total $587,913, a
sum which comes within the estimated cost of the project.
Mrs. Anna Amber man, secretary of the Housing Authority, has
resigned for health reasons, effective March 1, and her resignation
was accepted with regret.
The Authority recently approved Stephen A. Coffey, former village
Superintendent of Public Works, for appointment as Clerk of the Work
to see that plans and specifications are carried out by the contractors.
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NEW APPOINTMENT
Frank J. Smith, 16 Atlantic Avenue, Member of Park Commission.
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- - -,TAX-..PA.YMEN-TS DUE . .._— _ -.
Village tax bills for the year 1962-63 were mailed Feb. 27. The
first half must be paid by April 1 to avoid penalties.
Special note to new taxpayers and those who have recently paid off
their mortgages: Taxes must be paid even though a billmaynot have
been received. , If you do not get a bill, please contact the Village
Treasurer's office for a duplicate, as penalties must be added (by
State Law) regardless of whether or not you received a bill. If a bank
or other agency pays your taxes, disregard the above.
First half taxes must be in the Treasurer's office by the close of
business April 1 -- not merely in the mail by that time -- to avoid
penalties.
VILLAGE NEWS
A PUBLIC INFORMATION BULLETIN OF THE VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
Mayor
ROBERT J. SWEENEY
Trustees
HENRY M. ALTENGARTEN
GEORGE FAIRBERG
ARTHUR MULLER
FRANK SOMERS
JOHN MACDONALD
Acting Village Clerk
LEONARD D. B. SMITH
Treasurer
JOHN O. TESSIER
Counsel
•TELEPHONE FR 8-4OOO
March, 1962
THE VOTING AT A GLANCE
(Further Details on Inside Pages)
REGISTRATION DAY
Sat. , March 10
9A.M. - 6 P. M.
Question One:
Shall the Village
Buy Cow Meadow?
ELECTION DAY
Tues., March 20
7A.M. - 9 P. M.
Police
Justice
Election
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<
Que_s^t_ion Two:
Shall Mayor's, Trustees'
Terms Be 2, Not 4, Years?
MORE POWER FOR THE SEWER COMMISSION
Sanitation ranks among the most important of all municipal activ-ities.
But unlike electricity production, water, parks and sewers,
the sanitation program in Freeport is carried onwithout the guidance
of a citizen commissibn.
The Village Board feels that the Sewer Commission's responsibil-ities
should be expanded to include the Sanitation Department, there-by
bringing into use its ability and experience gained through its ef-fective
work under Chairman Edward M. Voelker.
Asa technical matter, to expand the commission's authority, the
Board must abolish it and then set up a Municipal Board of Sewer and
Sanitation Commissioners. There will be a public hearing March 26
at 9 P. M. on abolition of the Sewer Commission to make way for its
re-appointment, enlargement and added juristiction over the Sanita -
tion Department.
[VOTER QUALIFICATIONS IN MARCH 20 ELECTION
To qualify for voting, a person must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen for 90 days, and have lived
in New York State one year|, in Nassau four months and in his Freeport election district for 30 days pre-ceding
the election. i
A qualified voter who has once registered under permanent registration is thereafter entitled to vote
without further registration if his or her home address remains unchanged and if he or she votes at a gen-eral
election at least once in each period of two successive calendar years. If the voter moves to another
location withis the SAME election district, he or she may notify the inspectors on Election Day. But if the
new address is OUTSIDEthe election district, re-registrationis necessary on Registration Day, March 10.
QUESTION NUMBER ONE:
COW MEADOW; ACQUISITION
"Shall that certain tract of land situate in
the Town of Hempstead, commonly known as
"Cow Meadow", be acquired by the Village of
Freeport for park or recreational us eat a price
not to exceed $1,400,000?"
COW MEADOW represents some of the last-re-maining
open land in this ar'ia. Those favoring ac-quisition
of it by Freeport point out that it would take
care of our park and recreational needs for years
to come. At the same time, public acquisition would
prevent objectionable private developments on the
land, and also eliminate the possibility of homes
that would bring heavy increases in school tax rates.
Opponents feel that an income-producing develop-ment
such as Long Island Lighting Company would
provide income without putting a burden on the
schools. There is also a feeling that purchase of
the land by Freeport would involve a large expense
without compensating advantages. These three major
possibilities are discussed briefly below:
ACQUISITION BY FREEPORT:: Freeport would not
pay over $1,400, 000. The tax rate on this full sum
would be 16.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
However, it is expected that Federal aid to the ex-tent
of 20% could be obtained, reducing our outlay
to $1, 120,000. and the tax to 13. 44 cents. Thefirst
phases of developmentwould be accomplished with
existing fill, village equipment and village labor,
slowly and economically. Mayor Sweeney has stated
that if the public votes for acquisition, the cost of
acquiring the land PLUS development costs will not
be allowed to exceed 19 cents of tax rate during any
year of his administration. Acquisition cost would
reduce steadily for 20 years, finally becoming zero.
PRIVATE HOMES: The land owner is in court now,
seeking 6, 000 square foot zoning for homes. This
is the use the owner most ardently desires, and the
one that can be expected if acquisition is not approv-ed
on March 20. The result would be 790 homes,
1224 school-age children, and immediate school tax
increase of over SOcents per $100 of assessed valu-ation.
The Freeport School System would be re-quired
to provide schooling for children from Cow
Meadow homes, because this entire area is within
our School District No. 9. !
LONG ISLAND LIGHTING PLANT: LILCO would
1 ike to acquire Cow Meadow as the site of a 1, 000, 000
kilowatt generating plant. While the plant would pro-duce
heavy taxrevenue and would send no children to
our schools, strong civic opposition has been express-ed
to such a development. All but one of Freeport1 s
Civic Associations have opposed this use. The main
argument against is that a generating plant with four
450-foot smokestacks, four 12 story-high generators,
acres of coal stock-piles, oil storage tanks, barge
docks, conveyors, smoke and other attendant factors,
would destroy the desirability of Freeport as a place
to live for many of its residents.
YOUR VOTE will determine whether Freeport seeks
to acquire Cow Meadow and control its future devel-opment;
or whether the private owner develops it
with homes, a LILCO generating plant, or some oth-er
industrial development.
QUESTION NUMBERTWO:
SHORTER TERMS
"Shall the;Village of Freeport adopt a local
law changing the term of office of Mayor and
Village Trustees from a term of four years to
a term of two years?"
If the people decide to return to a two -year
term a plan will be adopted to avoid having the May-or
andallfour Trustees elected the same year. This
procedure follows:
Election of two Trustees, in 1963, would be for
four years as at present. Election of a Mayor and
two Trustees, in 1965, would befor a term ofthree
years. Thereafter, all elections to these offices
would be for two-year terms.
BALLOTING ON MARCH 20 IS "ADVISORY"
The voters are being asket to give "advice"
to the Village Board, by their votes on the two
questions, In both cases, the reguired legal
action can be takenONLYby the Village Board.
The public votd has no legal significance. But
it will have very real significance in influenc-ing
the votes of the Trustees and the Mayor.
These questions represent the true workings
of our American system of representative
government in action.
POLICE JUSTICE WILL BE ELECTED FOR TERM ENDING IN APRIL, 1965
State law requires Freeport to vote at this time on a Police Justice to complete the unexpired term of
Paul Kelly, who in January became County Judge by appointment of Governor Rockefeller. The success-full
candidate will be chosen to serve until April, 1965. Because an election is required anyhow, quali-fied
residents have an opportunity, without extra cost to the village, to cast ballots letting the Village
Board know their opinion on questions of importance in Freeport1 s government and tax structure.
