The North Shore Library held its annual budget and trustee election on Tuesday, April 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The vote was held in one of the rooms of the library, which is located next to the Shoreham-Wading River High School.
The total budget was $3,936,406, with revenues of $231,645, which leaves $3,704,761 to be funded by taxation. This is a $96,745 increase over last year’s budget. The budget passed with 168 in favor and 52 against. There was only one trustee position to fill, with two people running. Charlotte Karpf-Fritts garnered 112 votes and Andrew Breslin with 92 votes.
When asked why she had run, Karpf-Fritts said she wanted “to help make the library a great place for people to visit.” In addition, she wanted to see someone from Sound Beach represented on the board. Her new position will start in July.
Port Jefferson resident Xena Ugrinsky has announced her bid for the village board of trustees.
Ugrinsky served as the head of financial reporting, budgeting and planning at Young & Rubicam, a New York advertising agency/public relations firm. After becoming involved in the software and technology fields, she worked with clients in the utility industry. She moved into management consulting with national companies including Arizona Power, PG&E, Con Edison and National Grid.
She described her background in a letter to The Port Times Record editor on June 29 last year: “The proudest day of my life was when my parents and I took the oath to become citizens of the United States. I was 8 years old. As a Russian emigrant, my father applied for and received a Tolstoy grant, which sponsored our family’s journey to America. They arrived on these shores with a baby, a box of books and dreams for a brighter future.”
In an interview, Ugrinsky, who currently sits on the village’s Budget and Finance Committee, said that she was running for trustee because “I’ve reached a point in my career where I want to give back to the community I live in.”
One of her major issues is figuring out the future of the Port Jefferson power plant.
“My goal was to figure out a way that I could help the village be involved in the broader conversation, and I believe we have a moment in time where we have the opportunity to be in the forefront of what is happening in energy,” said Ugrinsky, who also sits on the village’s Power Plant Working Group. She suggested the plant could be used to start producing “green hydrogen.”
Ugrinsky said that while she may not have the solution for how to handle the power plant’s future, she is trying to “create a collective conversation among all of the stakeholders so that Port Jeff has a voice, has visibility into what’s happening and, in a best case scenario, can become a beacon to the rest of the United States for innovative power.”
“Let’s collectively figure out what we need to build so that Port Jefferson has a future with this power plant,” she said.
Ugrinsky’s other key issues include fiscal responsibility and transparency. She believes that Mayor Lauren Sheprow has increased transparency, including establishing an ethics board, along with other volunteer committees.
The election for the trustees is on Tuesday, June 18.
Friends of Port Jefferson village resident, Ana Hozyainova, reflect on her work as a local change agent
Photo by Lynn Hallarman
By Lynn Hallarman
Ana Hozyainova’s house in Port Jefferson village sits nestled among the native garden she has been coaxing into maturity. The garden reimagines a former suburban lawn, once jammed with ornamental flowers and bushes meant for show. She points to a thicket along the perimeter. “You see that shrub, it doesn’t belong here, and its berries are junk food for birds — they have no nutrition,” she tells me on a walk around her property.
I met Hozyainova about two years ago, shortly after her failed bid to become a Port Jefferson Village trustee. After hearing her speak at a campaign debate, I was impressed with her approach to village issues and wanted to get to know her. We met for coffee and talked. As it turned out, this first meeting began a series of conversations between us about her vision of the village as part of, not instead of, the surrounding natural world. “When you talk with people about the natural landscape, it is difficult to turn the thinking away from the land as a commodity from which wealth is to be extracted,” she said. She wants to help people get out of their heads to connect with others and nature.
Her campaign platform for village trustee translated this vision into a practical plan — she wanted sidewalks, lots of them, in smartly configured networks. She wanted to redesign village roads to heal a long-standing safety problem with speeding vehicles. She wanted, in other words, for the village to slow down.
Hozyainova, 43, seems taller than her 5-foot-6-inch frame, with lanky arms and legs and shoulder-length blond hair, almost always tied with a scrunchy. She is the kind of person who prefers to walk barefoot. She has, it seems, an encyclopedic knowledge of local flora and fauna. Ask her about her choice of plantings for her garden, and she will tell you it is designed to be undisturbed and native, producing some food but “mainly functioning as a sanctuary for insects, birds and small mammals.” She offered me a starter planting for my garden.
Hozyainova emigrated to the United States 20 years ago to attend the Columbia School of Social Work, where she graduated with a master’s degree. Sometime after, she met her now-spouse, and they moved to Port Jefferson for her to pursue a career as a clinical social worker. She is fluent in five languages: English, Russian, Farsi, Uzbek and Kyrgyz — the native language of Kyrgyzstan, where she was born. Some describe her vocal cadence as a calming balm when speaking at contentious village meetings. She never voices an opinion without doing her homework and brings data into any discussion to back up her arguments.
This quality of critical thinking impressed her neighbors. So much so that Michael Mart and Myrna Gordon, longtime residents and regular village government gadflies, volunteered to help her with her trustee campaign. They were drawn to her ability to think beyond the immediate issue to see a solution in a broader context. “She can think forward and not accept, without questioning, unexplained government actions,” Mart said.
Hozyainova, about a year ago, brought the long-dormant Port Jefferson Civic Association back to life. I asked her, on another walk, why she wanted to restart the group. She paused momentarily to pull out an invasive weed, seemingly contemplative. The civic association, she tells me, is her attempt to do what other actions have failed to produce for resident engagement — consensus building around local issues of concern.
“I wanted people in the village to believe again that they have a say in how the government conducts itself,” she said.
The group is growing, even attracting younger people and recent village transplants. Almost everyone showing up will tell you Hozyainova is bringing them. “We shall see if the civic takes hold,” she tells me. The group, she muses, still needs its walking legs.
For her dedicated work in building the Port Jefferson Civic Association and for environmental preservation, TBR News Media makes Ana Hozyainova a 2023 Person of the Year.
The removal of a Trustee is not easy. It takes more than a disagreement or general mistrust of the fiduciary to have him or her removed. General unresponsiveness is not a ground for removal.
Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act § 719 lists several grounds for the removal of a trustee. Reasons include that the trustee:
• cannot be served due to absconding or concealment;
• neglects or refuses to obey a Court order;
• is judicially committed, convicted of a felony or declared an incapacitated person; or
• commingles or deposits money in an account other than one authorized to do business with the trust.
Most of the time issues with trustees are not so straightforward. Unresponsiveness is certainly a problem for the beneficiary, but not enough on its own to warrant removal by the court. Courts are generally hesitant to remove trustees since removal is essentially a judicial nullification of the trustmaker’s choice. Courts take the position that removal of a trustee is a drastic remedy and not every breach of duty rises to the level necessary to warrant removal.
There are generally two procedures for the removal of a trustee. The preferred way is to follow the instructions provided in the trust for removal. The trust document may provide that the beneficiaries can remove the trustee by unanimous or majority vote for any reason or for due cause. If the trust was created in a Will, called a testamentary trust, removal still must go through the Surrogates Court. If an intervivos trust, there is no need to go through the courts so long as the procedure for trustee removal laid out in the trust is followed.
If the trust document is silent on the removal of a trustee or requires court intervention to remove a trustee, a party must petition the Surrogate’s Court for removal of the trustee. To petition the Surrogate’s Court for removal of a trustee, you must have legal standing. Typically, co-trustees and beneficiaries of the trust have legal standing. The court will remove a trustee if the bad acts are proven. However, it is often an expensive and lengthy process that involves the exercise of discretion by a court generally hesitant to remove a chosen trustee. The court is under no obligation to remove the trustee.
In the case of unresponsiveness, the court intervention could be enough to prod the trustee. If an unresponsive trustee has demonstrated animosity toward the beneficiary that results in unreasonable refusal to distribute assets or has a conflict of interest, the court may remove the trustee. The court could also refuse to remove a trustee, but find that distributions are reasonable and order the trustee to make distributions to the beneficiaries through a court mediated settlement. Trustees cannot simply ignore their fiduciary duty.
Removal of a trustee should only be undertaken if it can be proven that the assets of the trust are in danger under the trustee’s control. Mere speculation, distrust or unresponsiveness will not be enough to remove a trustee. If you are dealing with an unresponsive trustee and suspect that the trustee is mismanaging the trust or not fulfilling their duties, you should contact an attorney that specializes in estate litigation to review your options.
Nancy Burner, Esq. practices elder law and estate planning from her East Setauket office. Visit www.burnerlaw.com.
The Port Jefferson Free Library is at the corner of Thompson and East Main streets. File photo
Two spots for trustee on at the Port Jefferson Free Library are coming up for vote in January and five community members are asking library cardholders for their vote.
While current library trustee Christian Neubert is running again for the same spot, trustee Lisa Ballou has decided not to run again for her seat.
Those who wish to vote for the trustees must be a Port Jefferson Village resident and be a cardholder “in good standing,” meaning voters cannot have more than $5 outstanding on their library cards. The vote will be held 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 9, 2019, at the library.
Christian Neubert. Photo by Kyle Barr
Christian Neubert
As the incumbent, Christian Neubert said he feels he has become intimate with the qualities and the issues of the library over his six-year tenure.
“It’s important to not lose sight of the day-to-day processes we have going on here,” Neubert said.
Neubert said the library is missing out on the demographics of fourth- or fifth-graders as well as young professionals. He said if he were elected, he would work toward reaching out to those groups in conjunction with the library and is thinking of integrating the teen center with the main library building.
Lynn Hallarman. Photo by Kyle Barr
Lynn Hallarman
Dr. Lynn Hallarman, the director of Palliative Medicine Services at Stony Brook University Hospital said she is throwing her hat into the ring based on her unique background looking strategically at programs and institutions, as well as with urban planning, development and programming. Hallarman said the biggest changes will come to the library through urbanization, traffic, an aging population and higher taxes.
“The board has to be extremely forward thinking and out of the box in thinking about how a small-town library will survive,” she said.
Nancy Loddigs. Photo by Kyle Barr
Nancy Loddigs
Nancy Loddigs has been a resident of Port Jefferson for more than 30 years and boasts of her experience working in the libraries at Comsewogue School District and both Port Jefferson and Comsewogue public libraries.
The longtime Port Jeff resident said the library has already done a good job in its programming, with various adult programs being the most popular. She said she hopes those programs continue, but that the library will keep up with changing technology in order to stay current.
“I am interested in seeing how the library would be physically changed by incorporating all of these things,” Loddigs said.
Wailin Ng
Wailin Ng, an engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been a Port Jefferson resident for a year, but she has been a patron of the library for close to a decade before that.
Wailin Ng. Photo by Kyle Barr
Ng said there is potential for growth in the number of educational programs the library provides,
especially those that could get kids interested in STEM.
“We can increase the focus on introducing children to science,” Ng said. “We are in a very diverse community, and we have many people from other districts coming here. We need to assess where our needs are for educational programs.”
Joseph Orofino. Photo by Kyle Barr
Joseph Orofino
Joseph Orofino is a lifelong Port Jefferson resident with two kids currently in the Port Jeff school district. As a person who has worked in finance for 25 years, in both an upper management and on a voluntary basis with several local community organizations, he said he would work to make sure the library stays on top of its finances.
“My contribution could be making sure the library stays fiscally solvent,” he said.
When it comes to renovating the library’s currently owned properties, Orofino said the board should look at it from a long-term point of view.
“We need to weigh in on the existing plans and look at how financially they fit into the library on a long-term basis,” Orofino said.
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.”
Village of Shoreham Town Hall is located at 80 Woodville Road. Photo by Kyle Barr
The votes are in, and in a landslide election June 19 former deputy mayor Brian Vail has become the new mayor of the Village of Shoreham, garnering 109 of 112 votes cast. The other three were for write-in candidates Len Emma (2) and Brian Mahoney (1). Vail will serve a two-year term as mayor.
Mayor Ed Weiss did not run for re-election.
Gathering a similar number of votes were newcomer Marianne Cogan (106) and trustee Sherry Neff (105), the two running for two, two-year terms as trustee. One write-in ballot was cast for John Bates.
One four-year term for village justice was also up for grabs, and with another lopsided result, David Desmond scooped up 82 of 90 total votes.
Miller Place residents listen to the board of education discuss the proposal of hiring armed guards and including it in the 2018-19 budget. File photo by Kevin Redding
Miller Place residents passed this year’s $72,685,864 school budget with 616 yes votes and 209 no. The second proposition, the library budget, passed 722-101.
“The budget increase at 2.1 percent maintains all current academic programs, clubs and athletics, as well as maintaining our capital project planning,” Superintendent Marianne Cartisano said in the weeks before the budget vote.
The budget saw a 2.8 percent increase to the tax levy. The increase stayed within the tax levy cap, so the budget only required a simple majority to pass.
The budget includes a $530,000 transfer to capital funds for initiatives such as new high school courses for honor chemistry, virtual enterprise — a course on learning about global business and enterprise — and Engineering Design using VEX Robotics, which includes design kits used to design automated devices and robots.
Frank ran on a platform of trying to offer programs for all students with different interests, especially including Science, Technology, Engineering and Math classes.
“We’re trying to balance the needs and the wishes of everyone, whether it’s arts, athletics or music — whatever the kids want to do,” Frank said before the election. “Kids should be able to go out and properly tackle the world.”
Board president Johanna Testa said she was happy to see Frank back for another term.
“We’re looking forward to the next couple of years with him here,” she said. “[Keith Frank] is an attorney and he’s had experience dealing with contract negotiations and things of that nature. That’s been a benefit to us.”
Rocky Point board of ed Trustees Joseph Coniglione and Ed Casswell and President Susan Sullivan discuss the vote results May 15. Photo by Kyle Barr
Despite a storm that plowed through Long Island at the same time that many residents were to head out to vote May 15, Rocky Point residents passed the school districts $86,128,785 budget with 499 yes votes to 226 no.
“The most important thing for us was to put forward a budget that is fiscally responsible while we continually try to grow options for students at our schools,” Superintendent Michael Ring said.
The largest increases came from teacher benefits and new general education initiatives, like science, technology, engineering and math initiatives, new Advanced Placement courses and special education services.
Ring said he was disappointed with the voter turnout compared to last year, which saw 909 residents come out to vote. Ring partially blamed Tuesday’s storm that came around when the district usually sees most come out to vote.
“Most come out to vote after 5 p.m.,” Ring said. “Thankfully enough came out.”
Two trustee seats were opened on the board. Incumbent Ed Casswell was voted to his second term with 551 votes and newcomer Gregory Amendola was elected to the board with 571 votes. The race was uncontested, with current board Vice President Scott Reh stepping down.
“We have a great board of education — its going to be a loss that Reh is leaving, but Greg Amendola is going to be a great addition to the team,” said Casswell, a 26-year resident who was elected alongside Reh in 2015.
The vice president, who is Mount Sinai’s athletic director, said he felt it was time to step down after nine years on the board.
“I did it for three terms, but it was very time consuming,” Reh said. “I think the board’s doing a great job. I think I’m leaving it in very good hands. I was honored and privileged to serve on it. I wish everyone the best of luck.”
Casswell has been a member of the North Shore Little League for 10 years and is currently the principal of Center Moriches High School.
“I feel it is important to be an active member of a community,” he said. “High levels of altruism and service among citizens help create vibrant communities. This has always been my driving force and calling. I believe in these notions and love serving.”
Amendola, a 13-year resident who is looking to get the community more involved, echoed Casswell’s comments about losing Reh, but said he looks forward to being on the board.
“It’s an exciting time,” Amendola said. “I’m excited to be part of the team and make a difference. As of now I really just want to get in and get my feet wet and help any way I can.”
The board members will assume their trustee positions at the July organizational meeting. There the board will also elect a president and vice president for next year.
Trustee Mike Riggio, above on right, is congratulated by current board of ed president Lynn Capobianco after it was announced he won his second term this year. File photo by Desirée Keegan
Instead of three, there’s four cheers for Mount Sinai School District, as all four of the board of education’s propositions passed with flying colors.
Residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the $60,203,745 budget, with 769 voting yes and 193 no. The library budget received even more support on an 849-116 landslide. Receiving the second-highest voter approval was Proposition III, which will transfer $5 million from an unassigned fund balance to the capital fund to start immediate critical facility improvements, with 787 voting in favor and 176 against. The capital projects that will immediately be tackled are repairs to the high school roof, replacement of the turf field and the hardening of campus security, mainly through fencing in the entire campus.
Proposition I [Budget]: 769-193
Proposition II [Library]: 849-116
Proposition III [Capital Project]: 787-176
Proposition IV [Reserve Fund]: 761-199
“I’m ecstatic, especially to see the community support,” Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said. “I was concerned about Proposition III — these are things we absolutely need and couldn’t wait for a bond to do. Even if it were approved tomorrow it would take two years, and our one turf field could be condemned tomorrow.”
He said replacing the roof is of the utmost importance though, noting the issues seen each time it rains, like it did on the day of the budget vote May 15, with wind and heavy rain ravaging the North Shore as a storm rapidly passed.
“I’d hate to see the picture of what it looks like tomorrow,” the superintendent said. “It’s a disaster every time it rains.”
Other security improvements in addition to the fencing, included paying for armed guards and adding security vestibules at the entrances to the campus and adding more patrol routes for security personnel near the new fencing along the perimeter of the schools, among others.
“Ever since that tragedy Feb. 14 we’ve taken measurements necessary to keep our students safe,” Brosdal said, referring to the shooting in Parkland, Florida. “When these schools were first built alongside each other we never thought this would happen, so we will take the appropriate steps so that come the fall this will look like a different campus. There’s no fluff — this is all needed.”
Proposition IV was given the green light 761-199, which transfers money from fund balances to establish a $10 million capital reserve fund.
“If we have emergency repairs that are needed, now we can plan to pay for them,” trustee Mike Riggio said. “It’s a home run. And the best thing is it’s not costing our taxpayers any more money.”
Votes are counted in Mount Sinai. Photo by Desirée Keegan
“I understand much better what my role is in everything that we have to do and I’m ready,” he said. “I ran focused on security three years ago and I’m still focused on that and the fiscal stability of the district. People are losing their jobs, programs are being cut elsewhere, and we don’t want that to happen here. You have to budget right and be fiscally sound into the future.”
Board President Lynn Capobianco, who chose not to seek re-election to focus on family, was sad to see the voter turnout.
“It’s so light — under 1,000 and we usually have 1,400 or 1,500,” she said. “Perhaps it was the weather, the uncontested board or the budget being under the tax cap, but I am disappointed in the low voter turnout.”
The president said she’s proud of some of her accomplishments during her tenure — like seeing through the establishment of a full-day kindergarten program and the Columbia Reading and Columbia Writing programs, and said she’d like to see the creation of a science research or robotics program.
Steve Koepper, who ran unopposed for her seat on the board of education, received 651 votes.
“I felt now was a good time to offer more of my volunteer time in service to educational process to help shape the future of Mount Sinai schools,” said Koepper, an 18-year resident, in a previous interview. The father of two previously volunteered on the district’s bond committee. “There are problems like declining enrollment that need to be looked at, and I’m here so that we can work together and move forward.”
