On Wednesday, March 18, Nora Haagenson was elected the first female mayor in the history of the Village of Baxter Estates, succeeding Fred Nicholson, who had been mayor for eight years. Because Nicholson decided not to run again late in February, after the date that petitions were due, Haagenson was elected as a write-in candidate. She will formally begin her two year term as mayor on April 6.
Haagenson moved to Port Washington when she was newly married in 1975, and her love for Baxter Estates is evident. “Our village is so charming,” she said during an interview with the Port Washington News shortly after her election. “The houses aren’t cookie cutter. They are all different styles and ages. And, we are so close to Main Street.” It’s that character that brought Haagenson and her husband to Baxter Estates, and they have never left. They raised their two children in town, and they “both got an excellent education” in the Port Washington School District, she said. Her son still lives in Port Washington and her daughter lives in Boston, with Haagenson’s 6 year old twin grandchildren.
Haagenson’s husband William was a trustee of the village for many years, and is now on the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals. “I was busy raising the children,” Haagenson said, explaining why she only recently became involved in village governance, She also worked full time as a high school English teacher at North Shore High School. With the children grown and out of the house, Haagenson became involved in the village, along with her husband. She has been a trustee for four years, but will give up that position when she is sworn in as mayor.
As mayor, Haagenson will oversee all aspects of the running of the village, including all contracts, leaf removal, street sweeping, road repair, street lights and the budget. It sounds like a great deal, for a volunteer position, but Haagenson is confident that there “are not really any problems.” “It’s a very quiet village,” she said. “Our biggest expense right now is snow removal, especially this year and last year.” Yet, she boasted that no increases in taxes are planned and that the village stays under the tax cap, which is hard to do “because everything goes up.” “We work very hard to do that,” she said.
The village of Baxter Estates, which was incorporated in 1931, is one of 30 incorporated villages in the Town of North Hempstead. With just 300 families, and approximately 1000 residents, Baxter Estates is the second smallst village in both population and size according to area. “It’s a very small village,” Haagenson said. “People are recognizable,” which makes it very desirable. “In the spring, everybody is outside, everybody is talking to each other, everybody gets along,” she said.
Moreover, it is rare to find a house for sale in Baxter Estates for longer than a week, Haagenson said. “It is a very stable community,” she emphasized, “which is one of the things that is so desirable about it.” Because the residents of Baxter Estates love living here, Haagenson said that people try to maintain the village, which will make her job of governing easy.
The village moved to their new headquarters on lower Main Street three years ago. The new Village Hall is a historic house with magnificent views of the water. The village rents out two offices upstairs and uses the main level. Although the mayor, deputy mayor and trustees are volunteers, the village employs a village clerk and building inspector, who are salaried. Village meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, and are open to the public. Haagenson hopes that village residents will plan attend, and assist her with her priority of “keeping the village running smoothly and maintaining the quality of life.”
