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Supervisor John Venditto responds to political opponent This is submitted in response to the letter from a Democratic candidate for the Oyster Bay Town Board, which was published in the September 12 edition of the Post. Dear Editor: While I appreciate Mr. Scalia's interest in the Town's accomplishments in the area of "green energy," his statements reflect a lack of knowledge about the subject. I would like to point out that signing the U.S. Mayors Agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions is just one piece of the expansive program I have taken to protect the environment as Town Supervisor. Open space preservation has been a top priority of my administration. Ten acres, which had been proposed for a "big box" store, were acquired by the Town and transformed into the "Field of Dreams" in Massapequa. The Town has acquired 15 acres of the former Liberty Industrial Finishing site in Farmingdale, with another 7.5 acres in the process of being acquired. Recently, the Town acquired the 26-acre Littauer Estate in Oyster Bay Cove, which contains bucolic ponds, woodlands, and meadows. Last year, the Town purchased the 3.5-acre Mill Pond Overlook property in Oyster Bay. The Town's aggressive action on open space preservation and recreational enhancement has been facilitated by our successful Save Environmental Assets (SEA) Fund program, which I initiated. Under this program, two successive bonds totaling $60 million were approved by voters in 2000 and 2004. We will be seeking voter approval this November for an additional $60 million. In May of 2005, Oyster Bay became the first Long Island Town to adopt a Clean Energy Plan. We are in the process of implementing this plan through the work of a Green Energy Task Force. This task force, which includes representatives from virtually every Town Department, is engaged in activities covering a wide array of initiatives to increase energy efficiency and implement cleaner, renewable sources of energy in the Town's operations. Our opponent, himself, was compelled to "applaud" the Town Board's unanimous adoption on June 12 of a resolution authorizing Oyster Bay's entry into the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, thereby becoming the first Town in Nassau County to do so. The Town is already satisfying most of the conditions set forth in the agreement. The Sierra Club has recognized the Town's efforts in the area of "green energy" and in signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement by naming us a "Cool Town "under its initiative. Trees are an important environmental resource in our Town. Since I have been Town Supervisor, thousands curbside trees have been planted, at no charge to the homeowner, in communities all across our Town. Earlier this year, the Town was named a "Tree City USA" by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 19th consecutive year. Through my initiative, the Town Board established new Department of Environmental Resources in 2004. This action was undertaken to establish a greater focus on the full range of environmental services performed by the Town. I note with particular pride that the Town is widely known and acknowledged as having one of the most rigorous and demanding review processes for proposed development projects, both large and small, ensuring that only those projects that include adequate environmental protections are allowed to proceed. During my five terms as Supervisor, the Town of Oyster Bay has been extremely active in promoting the protection of the Town's coastal water resources. Harbor Management Plans were completed for the Oyster Bay- Cold Spring Harbor Complex and Hempstead Harbor on the Town's north shore, and for South Oyster Bay on the south shore. The public's enjoyment of coastal resources is closely tied to the preservation of a high level of water quality, with storm water discharges being the most significant source of contaminants. Under my leadership, the Town has pursued various approaches to mitigating these discharges, and we are committed to an aggressive program under a Phase II storm water permit. A shoreline restoration project has been completed at Massapequa's Marjorie R. Post Community Park, which provides a vegetative buffer strip to filter runoff flowing into the pond at this location. The Town also has been certified in the program sponsored by GeesePeace, which, uses humane techniques to control Canada Geese. I have been a strong proponent of the Town's highly successful shellfish management program. In recent years, this has included the grow-out of hard clams and oysters in innovative Floating Upweller Systems (FLUPSYs) moored at dockside locations and the transfer of the seed shellfish from the FLUPSYs to the Oyster Bay Harbor Complex and South Oyster Bay. More than four million seeds were transplanted during 2007, marking the first time seed oysters have been grown and transplanted on our south shore and, hopefully, marking the start of reestablishing oyster fishing in South Oyster Bay. I also played an active role in the development and growth of the Town's award-winning S.O.R.T. (Separate Oyster Bay¿s Recyclables Today) residential recycling program and S.T.O.P. (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) household hazardous waste disposal program and I initiated the Town's Electronic Waste Recycling Program. As can be seen from the foregoing synopsis, my nearly 10 years as Oyster Bay Supervisor have been replete with numerous, real accomplishments on many important environmental issues. This wide-ranging record could have been achieved only by the type of genuine commitment and far-reaching vision that I have with respect to environmental protection. And, by the way, I am proud to be driving a car that is made in America by American workers.
John Venditto Oyster Bay Town Supervisor
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