Suffolk County Legislature General Meeting Seventh
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SUFFOLK COUNTY LEGISLATURE GENERAL MEETING SEVENTH DAY May 13, 2014 Verbatim Transcript MEETING HELD AT THE WILLIAM H. ROGERS LEGISLATURE BUILDING IN THE ROSE Y. CARACAPPA LEGISLATIVE AUDITORIUM 725 VETERANS MEMORIAL HIGHWAY SMITHTOWN, NEW YORK Minutes Taken By: Lucia Braaten & Alison Mahoney - Court Reporters Minutes Transcribed By: Lucia Braaten, Alison Mahoney & Kim Castiglione - Legislative Secretary 1 (*The following was taken and transcribed by Lucia Braaten - Court Reporter*) (*The meeting was called to order at 9:32 a.m.*) P.O. GREGORY: Good morning, Mr. Clerk. May I have a roll call? MR. LAUBE: Good morning, Mr. Presiding Officer. (Roll Called by Mr. Laube, Clerk of the Legislature) LEG. KRUPSKI: (Present in auditorium). LEG. BROWNING: (Not Present) LEG. MURATORE: (Not Present) LEG. HAHN: Present. LEG. ANKER: Here. LEG. CALARCO: Present. LEG. LINDSAY: (Present in auditorium). LEG. MARTINEZ: Here. LEG. CILMI: (Present in auditorium). LEG. BARRAGA: Here. LEG. KENNEDY: Here. LEG. TROTTA: Here. LEG. MC CAFFREY: Here. 2 General Meeting 5/13/14 LEG. STERN: Here. LEG. D'AMARO: Here. LEG. SPENCER: (Not Present) D.P.O. SCHNEIDERMAN: Here. P.O. GREGORY: Here. LEG. KRUPSKI: Tim. MR. LAUBE: Fourteen. P.O. GREGORY: Okay. This morning we'll have -- if you'll all please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Legislator Lindsay. (*Salutation*) Legislator Lindsay will introduce the Clergy for our invocation today. LEG. LINDSAY: Good morning. This morning it's my pleasure to introduce Pastor Scott Rees. He has served in New Life Community Church in Sayville since August of 2007. After growing up near Los Angeles and serving the Chicago area for 20 years, he is now experiencing the Northeast life of Long Island for the first time. Pastor Rees has been married for over 30 years and has been fortunate enough to have four grown children and is now enjoying two grandchildren. The two things Pastor Rees enjoys most about Long Island are the food and the great opportunities to enjoy nature. And I'm proud to say that Pastor Rees is my Pastor and has been a great mentor and advisor to me. And with that, I would like to turn the mic over to him for the blessing. PASTOR REES: Thank you, Bill. I'm here to tell you all about Bill's life, so if you'll just sit down for an hour, we'll uncover the details. (*Laughter*) One technicality that I didn't put in there, actually, I was the only family member born in the East Coast, I was born in Massachusetts. And so somehow my parents took a wrong turn, we ended up in Massachusetts, I was born, and I'm kind of living and working back near the East Coast. 3 General Meeting 5/13/14 I'm thankful to be here. Whenever I look at the audience, I think of -- see some students here. How cool you're here to check out the Legislative process, and that's a great thing, because you will have various kinds of leadership over your life, and knowing more about it will help your community and us as a nation. And I see various other people here with interests, and that's what is important, and that's why this Legislative body gathers. And then I see the Legislators. And, like you, I stand between the people and authority, and that's usually a rock and a hard place. You never make everybody happy, so I hope you give up on that. Do what is right and do what is good, and we the people, and I stand with you in this, will thank you for it, though sometimes we won't project that in our words or postures. But I want to thank you for what you do for us, for the untold hours and the untold grief, all for the sake that Suffolk County would be a great place to live in. So my prayer is for all of us, that God would bless us in all our various places, especially my hardest for those leaders who stand between the people and authority. It is a unique position, a humbling position and a very important one. So let us pray. Almighty God, we give you thanks today for the life we have. We thank you for the breath we have, the way our brains work, the people in our lives, the family we're a part of. We acknowledge that in a room this size of this many people, there are many sorrows and difficulties, and we ask your grace and mercy and strength upon each one of us that carries a heavy burden. And as we gather as a people, we have many different interests, many different concerns, and we oftentimes can't find middle ground. So we have Legislators who help us find that place where we can live together for the best of our community. And now I ask for you to give them wisdom as they pore over reports, and questions and demands, and have to balance with laws and needs. I pray that you would give that great and awesome gift you gave to Solomon, which is wisdom, in making decisions and giving direction. And give them, dear God, a sense of peace; that at the end of the day, when they have done the best they could do, they'll leave it in your hands and ask you to bless it. We together, as the people of Suffolk, ask these things of your grace and mercy. Amen. P.O. GREGORY: Please remain standing for a moment of silence for Robert Knight, our colleague who passed away suddenly on May 1st. Bobby was a dedicated volunteer firefighter in the Sayville Fire Department. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family. His jovial good-humored nature will be deeply missed by all of us here at the Legislature. Former State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Martin Cromarty, decorated World War II Veteran, and the man for whom the Suffolk County Court Complex in Riverhead is named, recently passed way at the age of 94. Also, let us remember all of those men and women in the military who put themselves in harm's way every day to protect our country. (*Moment of Silence*) P.O. GREGORY: This morning, we have several presentations. First up is Legislators Stern, D'Amaro and Spencer, who will present a proclamation to the -- William Ober of the Marine Corps League, Huntington Detachment, in recognition of his retirement. LEG. STERN: Good morning, everyone. It is really a personal pleasure to be a part of this team's presentation to a special gentleman this morning. Bill Ober, the Commandant of the Marine Corps League in 4 General Meeting 5/13/14 Huntington with Detachment 792. I can read from the proclamation, but, instead, we'll just say, Bill, you've been just a tremendous asset to the Marine Corps League, to your Detachment, but really to all of us throughout the Huntington community. And so with my colleagues, Legislator D'Amaro, Legislator Spencer, we are so pleased to present to you this Legislative proclamation that goes through a lengthy list of all of your accomplishments, all of your recognitions. But what we're here to say this morning to you is congratulations, but, most importantly, thank you. (*Applause*) LEG. D'AMARO: Good morning. Just very briefly, I just want to point out, Bill, and I think everyone here should be interested to learn that Bill also was named New York Marine of the Year by the National Commandant of Marine Corps League in 2013. He's also served as the Detachment's Chaplain and was named as their representative to the Town of Huntington's Veterans Advisory Board, and he's a key contributor to the Scuttlebutt Newsletter, which is actually nationally renowned and known and rated number one detachment newsletter in the entire country. So we're going to miss Bill as you go on to, I guess, new things and new adventures in life, and I just want to personally thank you for your service. Thank you. (*Applause*) LEG. SPENCER: Bill, one of the reasons that we were able to be here today, and assemble, and carry on the business and enjoy the freedoms of this country is because of sacrifice such as men as yourself. I'm very honored to be here in your presence, and this is just really an insignificant thing compared to all that you've done over our lifetime. And so thank you and congratulations. (*Applause*) P.O. GREGORY: Next, we will have Legislator Anker, who will present a proclamation to Patricia Van Middelem, president of the Mount Sinai Harbor Advisory Committee. Patricia is working with local municipalities to rebuild the protective jetties at the Harbor, and also conducts beach cleanups. LEG. ANKER: Okay. And also, Tom O'Grady. Tom, you want to come up here, too? Both of you are wonderful community volunteers in my District. Patricia? Patricia, and I call you Patty. So Patty, she's a Mount Sinai resident. She's been the president of the Mount Sinai Harbor Advisory Committee for a number of years. As president of the organization, she secured Federal funding to help rebuild the protective jetties in Mount Sinai Harbor. Patty also started a petition to raise awareness about the deterioration of the jetties, which is really becoming a safety issue, and it's very important that we continue to advocate for that. I am also preserving the money for the dredging here in Suffolk County. So, as long as I'm here, that money's not going anywhere, except for Mount Sinai Harbor's dredging.