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Two sides of plan for the Town to take over the Preserve A proposal to transfer ownership of the Massapequa Preserve from the County to the Town of Oyster Bay is currently under review, but the likelihood of that ever happening depends who you talk to. "There's no support to do this and if it comes before the legislature we will vote it down," said N.C. Leg. Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) who added that in addition to the lack of support by the legislature, the change could also face some legal "ownership" issues dating back to when Brooklyn Water gave the county the property in 1981. "I am for certain types of consolidation like for roads, but this plan wouldn't make any sense. There's no equipment and no maintenance costs- I mean a tree grows and that's it," said Schmitt. Supporting Schmitt's view is N.C. Leg. Dave Mejias (D-North Massapequa). "How could this benefit us?" he asked. "It doesn't make sense. I have invested a lot of my political and personal time to make sure the preserve is pristine and I am adamantly opposed to any transference." Mejias said the concept was discussed in the legislature but that's about as far as it went. "If it's not broke, why fix it?" asked another opponent of the plan, Richard Schary of the Friends of the Massapequa Preserve. "Its like the old saying; I'd rather deal with a devil I already know...Nassau County." Schary said his group is worried about a possible transfer because the Town of Oyster Bay does not have adequate laws on the books to protect the preserve. But according to Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, the proposal is real and the town and county are moving forward with it. "About three years ago I approached (N.C. Executive Tom) Suozzi about the idea because we need to start somewhere with consolidation to save money. We need to stop the insanity," said Venditto "Each level of government has a strength, ours is parks and roads, and the county's is the police department and social services. Our test run was the Field of Dreams which everyone is happy with." The Field of Dreams in East Massapequa was originally county-owned property that was slated for sale and evelopment. When residents vehemently opposed that plan, the town stepped in and negotiated its purchase and developed athletic fields there. Although Venditto acknowledges that there's nothing on paper yet, he anticipates the results from a feasibility study due late January will determine whether it would make sense, from a financial standpoint, to go through with the plan. "It may or may not be a good idea consolidation wise and that's what the study will tell us," said the Supervisor, acknowledging that the area is not costly to maintain and that it would not be a financial burden on the town if it took it over. A similar proposal went through in North Hempstead this year, transferring parks and county roads, but Schmitt said that was a different issue because residents did not oppose the transfers, and it made sense financially. Nassau County recently spent $7-million on renovations in and around the preserve, but figures on how much money the county could save under the proposed turnover were not available. Calls to Suozzi's office for that information were not returned. "The County spends hardly any money on the preserve, so how could it save us money?" said Schary who said the county spent less than $2,000 in maintaining g the preserve in 2006. During a packed meeting at the Massapequa Library last month, Schary told the crowd that he was concerned that this would be the first step in a series of steps that could lead to other takeovers by the town such as that of Mansfield and Brady parks in Massapequa Park in Massapequa Park Village. Massapequa Park Village Mayor James Altadonna said, however, that would never happen. "We lease the preserve for very little right now and I know Supervisor Venditto would honor that," said Altadonna, who said they rent a small portion of the parks. In addition to the preserve plan, the study also looked into the Stillwell Preserve in Syosset and Cantiague Park in Hicksville, as well as consolidation of the county's libraries, roads and special taxing districts for services including garbage pick up and water.
A recent report released by N.C. Comptroller Howard Weitzman found that savings could be achieved by keeping the entities in place and operating more efficiently.
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