Despite contentious elections in the past, this year the Village of Poquott’s races for mayor and two trustee seats are both unchallenged.
Chris Schleider is running for mayor of Poquott. Photo from candidate
Trustee Christopher Schleider will be running for mayor Sept. 15. A teacher and lifeguard at Robert Moses State Park, he has been a trustee in the village for three years. He said he decided to run for mayor because he wants “to be a part of all of the good things that are happening in the village.”
Schleider is impressed with how Poquott has dealt with the pandemic, and during the last few months he has witnessed residents volunteering their time to help with landscaping and cleaning up debris after Tropical Storm Isaias.
“Through all of the uncertainty of these past months, I have been inspired as residents and the board displayed their ‘can do’ spirit, working together to overcome the many challenges the village faced,” he said.
As mayor, Schleider said he hopes to build not only on the sense of community but also “ensure that, together, our village will be able to handle whatever comes next.”
Current mayor Dee Parrish as well as trustee Jacqueline Taylor will be running for the two empty trustee seats. Taylor was appointed to the board after William Poupis’ departure as trustee in July 2019.
Parrish has been mayor for six years. One of her main projects during her tenure was ensuring the construction of the village dock, which was completed in June 2019. The mayor said in an email that the dock has been an asset to the Poquott community, and during the pandemic, “it gave our residents a place to go and a place to run into neighbors during a troubling period of isolation.”
She said besides resident boaters and fishers using the dock, the Setauket Harbor Task Force has used it twice for environmental studies.
Parrish, who publicly stated on the three candidates’ campaign website that she didn’t receive much training from the administration prior to hers, has also said she spent a good amount of time during her last term to train and prepare the “next generation.” In an email she said she decided to stay on as trustee to provide a smooth transition among other things.
“I decided to stay on as trustee because there are still other projects that I want to see completed for the village — projects I’ve been working on directly with residents that are still counting on,” she said. “I’m also staying on to facilitate a smooth transition for the next mayor by being available to answer any questions or assist in any way based on my six-and-a-half years’ experience on the board of trustees. I have always volunteered for the village and plan on doing so for years to come with or without a position on the board.”
Village of Poquott residents can vote in person Tuesday, Sept. 15, from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall located at 45 Birchwood Ave. One voter at a time will be admitted inside to vote and everybody is required to wear a mask and socially distance.
Dee Parrish will begin her third term as Poquott mayor. Photo from Dee Parish
Voters in the Village of Poquott said yes to the future while keeping the status quo.
Chris Schleider. Photo from Chris Schleider
Incumbent mayor Dee Parrish and sitting trustees William Poupis and Chris Schleider, who ran on the Future ticket in the June 19 village election, retained their seats.
Parrish defeated challenger John Richardson 240 to 204, according to village Deputy Clerk Cindy Schleider. Richardson is a board trustee who is currently serving his first term.
Trustees Poupis and Schleider received 235 and 241 votes, respectively, beating challengers Felicia Chillak, who received 199 votes, and Dianna Padilla, who garnered 204, according to the deputy clerk.
An issue of contention in the village for the last few years has been the proposal of a community dock, which all Future candidates support despite tabling a vote on the dock earlier this year due to bids coming in at more than the $150,000 originally expected.
“We have to look at everything before we decide how this is going to impact residents in the future,” Parrish said in a previous interview with TBR News Media.
Poupis and Schleider, who were appointed to their positions by the mayor in 2017, said they felt it was important to get the stamp of approval from their fellow residents.
William Poupis. Photo from William Poupis
“One of the things about being appointed you don’t necessarily feel that you have the mandate of the people behind you,” Schleider said in a prior interview with TBR News Media. “I was honored by Dee asking, but I think it’s important to have the voice of the people to elect the official.”
The day after the election Poupis said he looked forward to getting back to work with his fellow village board members.
“There’s lots of work ahead,” Poupis said. “We got a village to bring together. We got a lot of great ideas about incorporating some things into our standard once-a-month village meetings, maybe having some town hall meetings every other month, so that people in an unofficial forum can come in, speak freely, voice concerns, with those concerns voice some solutions and as a group work together to find the common goals.”
On the Facebook page Poquott Life Matters, Richardson thanked those who supported him, Chillak and Padilla.
“The plans and ideas we spoke about on your doorstep, I truly hope will become a reality in the future of our village,” Richardson wrote. “As a trustee, I will continue to be your voice on the board. I welcome all concerns big or small.”
As residents prepare to vote in the Village of Poquott June 19, candidates still see a proposed dock and communication among the village’s biggest issues.
Dee Parrish
Incumbent Dee Parrish is running for a third term as mayor on the Future ticket along with current trustees William Poupis and Chris Schleider. Both were appointed by the mayor in 2017 after former trustees, Michael Schaefer and John Mastauskas, resigned.
Sitting board member John Richardson is challenging Parrish for mayor and is running on the We the People ticket along with trustee candidates, Felicia Chillak and Dianna Padilla.
Parrish, an accountant, said she has not raised village taxes for the last three years. When she entered office in 2014, she said there was $86,000 in the village’s account and now there is nearly $154,000, a savings the board accomplished while improving village parks, roads and drainage.
“I actually ran the village for the last three years like a business, because [my husband and I] have our own business, because that’s what really needed to be done to keep us on track on the budget, to keep spending to finally doing things cheaper,” she said, adding her family owns an environmental consulting company.
Richardson, a New York City firefighter, said his reason for running for mayor this year is the same reason he ran for trustee in 2017 — he feels residents cannot speak freely at public hearings.
John Richardson
“I feel that people should have more say in what’s going on,” he said. “I know we elect our officials to make decisions for us. But if people are griping about it … and they’re not being heard, maybe there’s more to it.”
Chillak, a realtor, and Padilla, a Stony Brook University ecology professor, want residents to feel comfortable speaking up, something they feel some villagers are hesitant to do. One issue they say needs more community input is the proposed community dock.
Parrish, who is in favor of the dock, said due to bids coming in at more than the $150,000 originally expected, the board is holding off on a vote. She said the idea of a dock developed from a simple pier, where people could fish and dock boats, to a bigger project due to the village having to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and required lighting.
“We have to look at everything before we decide how this is going to impact residents in the future,” Parrish said, adding she will be affected by the decision too.
Richardson, Chillak and Padilla said the dock should be put to a referendum, so residents can vote on it instead of the board making the decision.
Felicia Chillak
“I believe everybody should have a voice, whether you agree with me or don’t agree with me let’s talk about it,” Chillak said.
Both Schleider, a teacher, and Poupis, vice president of operations for a nationwide drilling company, said they feel the board is open to residents’ comments on the docks and other issues. Poupis said he hopes to put a procedure in place to make it even easier for them.
“I just wish for every complaint [that] you had three potential ways to repair it,” the current trustee said he asks critics.
While Padilla said she believes residents should have more input when it comes to a dock, she is against it. The challenger said it can be environmentally damaging, including disrupting living creatures at the bottom of the water during installation and its shade negatively impacting fish and shellfish.
“There is no need for this dock,” she said. “There are nearby docks that people can use. This is not going to be a place where people can tie up their boats. It will be for loading and unloading only.”
All three challengers also have concerns as to whether or not the dock is financially responsible, especially with the board considering taking $34,000 from the village’s fund balance for the first installment of a five-year note.
“I’m not saying the dock is not an option,” Chillak said. “I’m saying let the people decide, and we will openly discuss.”
Chris Schleider
Schleider, who said he became trustee to show his kids the importance of civic responsibility, is in favor of the community dock.
“I think that the village hasn’t spent money on something like this in a long time,” he said “It’s nice to have a centerpiece for the village to utilize.”
Poupis said the dock would draw more people to the village and possibly increase real estate values.
“It’s being able to look at the village and trying to project out where it’s going to be in five or 10 years,” he said. “That’s where you really separate someone who is just sitting in the mayor’s chair versus someone who is actively looking at the growth of the village.”
The We the People ticket said many who have spoken out against the board have received code violations. While they don’t deny that violations exist in village homes, some infractions are similar to neighbors who haven’t been reported.
Parrish said the building department, code enforcement, public works and the board meet every week. The mayor said any complaints the village clerk receives from residents are given to code enforcement, which inspects the problem and decides what to do. Parrish said everyone is given an appropriate amount of time to address the issue.
Dianna Padilla
Richardson said he was targeted after running for trustee last year. When he applied to renew a permit to work on his balcony, he said he received it and then the permit was rescinded by the village attorney. He said he needed an extension because once he started working on the balcony it needed more work than anticipated. He alleged code enforcement is unfairly cracking down on people. While he believes there are issues that need to be addressed, he feels there is overregulation, and the village should reach out to residents before penalizing them to fully understand what is going on.
“There’s always a different side to every story,” he said about reaching out to potential code violators. “I think in a village with only 357 households we have the capacity to do that as a village and a community.”
Parrish said when Richardson asked for an extension to continue working on his balcony, the village court discovered he never closed out a 2003 permit for a second floor on his home and therefore he doesn’t have a current certificate of occupancy. Richardson said the building inspector approved and signed off on his CO April 20, and he is waiting for the village to approve it.
William Poupis
All the candidates are in agreement that improvements need to be made to Walnut Beach. Parrish said they are cleaning the beach up and are thinking of bringing in sand to replenish it. Padilla said replenishing the beach with sand may not be the answer as it’s environmentally unsound because dredge spoils can smother anything aliveunderneath it.
Incumbent Schleider said the beach brings back many happy memories for his in-laws, and he hopes the spot will be preserved for his children to visit one day.
“It’s one of the things I am most passionate about is maintaining that shoreline we have,” he said.
The Village of Poquott will hold its annual election Tuesday, June 19, at Village Hall, located at 45 Birchwood Ave. The polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m.
