Four Nassau County police officers looked on as residents packed the Manorhaven Village Hall on Sept. 17 for the first regular meeting of the board of trustees following a controversial reorganization meeting last month. Continued division among the mayor and trustees was apparent from the start, the most contentious issue involving the village attorney. Following the call to order, newly installed trustee James Avena questioned the accuracy of the minutes of the reorganization meeting held on Aug. 20, citing concerns that the summary presented was editorialized and not a statement of fact. Trustee Avena recommended that a full transcript of the meeting be voted on as the minutes. A compromise to leave the minutes as is and attach a copy of the transcript as an exhibit was brought to a vote and was subsequently defeated, trustee Avena and trustee Pricilla von Roeschlaub voting no, Mayor Giovanna Giunta and trustee Kevin Gately in favor and trustee Rita DiLucia abstaining.
Trustee Avena also objected to the list of accounts payable in the abstract of claims. Both trustee Avena and trustee von Roeschlaub were vocal in their objection to a September retainer payment of $6,400 to attorney James Toner, alleging Toner was removed as village attorney at the prior meeting and not entitled to the payment. Additionally, trustee Avena questioned why the firm of Leventhal, Cursio, Mullaney & Blinkoff, LLC, was left off the list since he believed Steven Leventhal was appointed to assume the duties of village attorney after Toner was allegedly dismissed. Leventhal, who was present at the meeting, confirmed that his firm had submitted an invoice to the village for $8,877. Mayor Giunta refuted the claim that Toner was lawfully dismissed and objected to the removal of his invoice from the list of accounts payable.
Trustees Avena, von Roeschlaub and DiLucia also asked that a $10,000 payment to Vision Long Island, an organization that counsels Long Island municipalities on downtown revitalization, planning and infrastructure, be withheld from the list of claims until the village was able to receive feedback or a plan of revitalization from the group. As of the meeting date, Vision Long Island had conducted a walking tour of the business district but had not yet provided feedback or recommendations. None of the trustees or the mayor objected to withholding payments to Vision Long Island.
Prior to the vote on the abstract of claims, Toner addressed the meeting concerning the controversy surrounding his invoice, stating that he intended to bring an action in court for what he believed was an unlawful termination of his services. Trustee DiLucia agreed it was best to let the courts sort it out and suggested Toner’s retainer agreement be honored by the village and he be paid until the matter is adjudicated. Toner currently has a two-year retainer agreement with the village which does not expire for another year. A motion by the mayor to approve the abstract of claims, exclusive of the Vision Long Island payment, was defeated, with trustees Avena, von Roeschlaub and Gately voting no. Trustee Gately then proposed that the abstract be approved, exclusive of payments to Vision Long Island and Toner. The motion passed with the mayor being the sole dissenter and trustee DiLucia voting yes with an explanation, stating that the village should not suffer over this as the bills need to be paid. Leventhal’s invoice was not included in the vote.
The meeting continued covering employee matters, grant applications, mooring rights, tree removal, permit waivers and setting a date for the mandatory Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) referendum. The LOSAP is a pension-like program for volunteer firefighters and EMT workers and requires a referendum for amendment. All parties were in agreement that the LOSAP amendment was an important issue and acknowledged its urgency in that most, if not all, participating municipalities had already held referendums. Both Toner and Leventhal advised the board in its discussions of the LOSAP amendment and referendum. Deputy Village Clerk Sharon Natalie-Abramski also reported on the progress at Morgan’s Dock, noting that Phase I is nearing completion and that the village will likely be sending out bid packets for Phase II of the project: installation of the floating dock. The board went on to approve a waiver of permit fees for residents to perform sidewalk repair through Oct. 31.
The meeting, however, turned combative when trustees von Roeschlaub, Avena and Gately attempted to bring last minute resolutions before the board for a vote. Trustee von Roeschlaub led with a resolution demanding that Toner cease and desist as village attorney, directing him to turn over all village property in his possession to the village no later than Sept. 30 and authorizing Leventhal to bring suit on behalf of the village should he not comply. Toner again addressed the meeting restating his position that the actions taken by the board at the August meeting were unlawful and that the village attorney is an appointment of the mayor, not the board. Calling the resolution illegal and “absurd,” Toner asked that both he and Leventhal allow the courts to decide the issue. Leventhal countered by stating he believed the resolution was a necessary vehicle to bring the matter before a court. Toner again reiterated that he intended to bring suit on the matter and reaffirmed his belief that the law was in his favor and said if a court determined he was wrong, he would walk away. Toner also pledged that he would not bill the village for the ensuing litigation and asked Leventhal to make the same pledge. He declined to do so. Toner then advised the mayor not to entertain the question despite the insistence by trustee von Roeschlaub to call the question.
Trustee von Roeschlaub’s resolution was followed by resolutions of trustee Avena to set dates for public work sessions and trustee Gately to move funds from the planning board to a newly created conflicts of interest counsel fund for the future. Both trustee Avena and trustee Roeschlaub complained that no work sessions had been scheduled in weeks despite their repeated requests, and trustee Gately explained that the creation of a conflicts counsel fund, while necessary, was precautionary and not due to an immediate issue. Again, both trustees Roeschlaub and Avena demanded the resolutions be called for a vote several times and attempted to call votes of the board themselves, despite the mayor reminding them that she runs the meetings. Mayor Giunta, clearly frustrated by the disruptions and ongoing attempts to usurp her authority, admonished all three trustees, stating that the board was blindsided by these last-minute resolutions and citing their failure to follow proper procedure “unacceptable.”
In the end, Mayor Giunta refused to entertain the resolutions and opened the meeting to the public for comment, after which the meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
