LaValle looks for a second term on Brookhaven Town Board
Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) is always on the move.
The 38-year-old Brookhaven Town councilman, who is running for a second term, said he is trying to bring energy back to his district.
“You want to get people back into government,” LaValle said during an interview at the Times Beacon Record Newspapers office. “[You] have to make people feel the government is their for them.”
His Democratic opponent, Christian DeGeorge, did not return a request for an interview.
One big accomplishment of LaValle’s first term was finishing negotiations for athletic fields by Hawkins Path Elementary School in Selden, near where Boyle Road meets Hawkins Road. The Middle Country area has long needed field space, and LaValle began targeting that property when he was an aide for Legislator Tom Muratore. The county now owns the land, and the town is utilizing it and making improvements to it.
LaValle said he wants to continue work on that property, perhaps adding a walking trail and a parking lot to make it easier for people to use.
Moving forward, taxes and road maintenance are two of the most important issues in the 3rd Council District, according to LaValle, who grew up in Centereach. He said he tried to prioritize the roads in need of maintenance, like filling potholes and improving drainage, in his past term and will continue to do so if re-elected.,
“I tell every resident this: We can’t pave every road. I’d love to pave every road, but we don’t have the money to do that.”
He also sees cleaning up graffiti as an important issue. Greentree Park in Farmingville, for one, has been tagged over and over. Since removing graffiti is costly, LaValle hopes to help law enforcement gather enough information to build a case and eventually catch those responsible for the graffitti.
To improve the flow of traffic and safety on the roads, LaValle wants to push more businesses along Middle Country Road to allow vehicular access between their properties.
“There’s so many entrances and exits [on Middle Country Road],” the councilman said. “There’s always somebody jumping out in front of you or the car in front of you. [It] backs up [the lane and] causes all the accidents.”
The cross-accesses would allow drivers to move between businesses without having to get back onto the road as frequently.
Regardless of the problem at hand, LaValle said action is important when it comes to improving the district.
“[A decision] may not change the problem tomorrow, but 20 years from now it could completely solve … a problem, so every decision you make, you always have to think four or five steps ahead.”
