NOEL FEUSTEL
208 NAVY WALK
SALTAIRE, NY 11706

Dear Fellow Saltairian:

Here's my take in a "clamshell" on the upcoming village election - you, as an overtaxed village resident, are either satisfied with the status quo, or you have taken the time to analyze the current economic state of the village and determined that we are in a status woe condition. I myself, take the latter view.

Thus, my campaign theme for Mayor is "Just Say No to the Status Quo." The election is NOT a personal congeniality contest for mayor and trustee positions. There are SERIOUS financial, safety and quality of life issues at stake. At the recent mayoral forum I gave straight-forward yes or no responses to questions posed by those in attendance. You can agree or disagree with my stand on certain issues but at least you know where I stand. I believe we experience enough in the ways of "spin doctoring" in the real world to have to stoop to that level in Saltaire. Several of those in attendance complimented me on my use of humor in the dialogue. I abhor what's known as the "politics of personal destruction." In a small town such as Saltaire, false gossip and petty backbiting too often enter the equation. I may strongly differ or agree with my fellow candidates, but I still respect and admire them for placing their names in contention for what at times seem like thankless positions.

The issues that I feel we should "Just Say No" to are as follows:

The Ferry Contract - this has got to be one of the worst examples of village double dealing and ineptness to date. We have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to rid ourselves of a long time monopoly and obtain both faster better and EXCLUSIVE service to Saltaire by an alternate vendor. This individual dutifully submitted elaborate proposals for new services which were then given, by a former village official, to the incumbent company to better. These actions have put the village in the non-enviable position of facing legal action for what in essence could be construed as bid-rigging. This has also put an incumbent trustee in the position of having to negotiate a new contract from a position of weakness. Opposition candidates are using this a campaign platform against this individual. Believe me, it "doesn't wash." If elected, my position would be to re-open the whole process to an open and honest bidding process.

The Parking Lot Contract - Major fiasco number two. The village has through the actions of certain board members been forced too pick the worst of three alternatives to the BayShore parking lot. The superior bid again came from Maple Avenue Marina. This proposal was also "tossed" over the fence to the incumbent vendor for "fine tuning." This proposal included more parking spaces, five mainland courtesy boat slips for Saltairians who had mainland business, shopping or the pick-up of guests. In addition there would be advance reservation parking for residents guests on weekends. The third proposal(offered by one of the two trustees who are being so roundly criticized by the challengers) would be for Saltaire to revert to the pre-1982 position whereby the Village ran the lot themselves. Had this proposal been accepted by the board the Village would have realized a probable two-fold increase in parking lot revenues. If elected I would reopen the dialogue to explore what would be the best case(financial) scenario for the Village. I commend Trustees McCann and Zaccaro for raising these issues and voting for the superior, alternative proposals.

The Saltaire Dock - Fiasco number three - The Village has spent over $20,000 on "consultant" fees to do eel grass studies, configuration studies, etc. and proposed dock plans A through I. I made two phone calls and one visit to the DEC office to establish the fact that all this money had been spent for no gain. The DEC will NOT approve any project other than following the "footprint" of the existing dock(s). My recommendation, if elected, to the trustees would be to put a halt in the frivolous waste of money on consultants unless it was absolutely imperative. In past years may bridges have been burned by Saltaire's elected officials to regulatory agencies essential to the ongoing operation of our Village. I would work to rebuild those bridges to those agencies. I have spoken with dockbuilders on the mainland who state that in addition to being esthetically distasteful the costs of reconstructing the dock in steel would be astronomical. The proposal by one of the other mayoral candidates to build in steel and face it with wood(for esthetics) is absolutely ludicrous. Vinyl is far less expensive and with the choice of wood we would be using an element that has served the village well for some seventy years.

The BayShore Marina - Another wasteful consultants project. I know the individual who planned, negotiated, and saw to the completion of the previous renovation in the early '80's. He has all the plans(down to the exact number of materials, backfill, etc.) that were used in this project. He is also privy to some interesting facts concerning the title to this property. He has offered his services to the Village.

A Second "Solo" Saltaire Renourishment Project - I realize this issue is almost sacrosanct - as stated by an incumbent trustee "without a beach there is no Saltaire." Reality check - we are still paying(and will for the next six years) for sand that is no longer on the beach. What many people seem not to realize is how destructive the forces of Nature are. Twenty-four hours a day for time im memorium the tides giveth sand and take it away. No amount of sand(or money!!) can stop this process. Are we too arrogant or too stupid not to realize this. We have all chosen to assume the risk of investing sizeable amounts of money to live in an extremely fragile eco-system. Assuming long term debt(bonds) to finance short lived projects is financially irresponsible. I would propose, where and when possible, the time honored process of snow fencing, beach scrapping, and dune grass planting. Then buy as much primary and excess flood insurance that is available to indemnify yourself when the "big wave" comes. Also, you may wish to pray for southwest winds which help build up the beach and dunes.

Outdoor Barbecues - Lonelyville almost became a lot lonelier last fall following a disastrous house fire. Count me with our Fire Department volunteers who oppose the risk to property as well as their well being for a fire fueled by an exploding propane tank on a barbecue grill. If you have ever witnessed a propane tank explosion you can understand our fire departments concern.

Expensive Toothless Security - They do need some "stinking badges" to legitimize themselves. My father raised this issue some thirty odd years ago when "Officer Joe Kelly" appeared on the scene. The board is well aware, as is the village justice, how powerless our security department is, without being conferred with peace officer status. The Security Department is currently budgeted for $137,000(6% of our total budget) for this we generate $1,500 in revenues, collected in fines! This mess has gone on for some thirty years. It's about time the problem was addressed. It is sheer folly to spend more money to regulate traffic and enforce code violations in the village when out ability to legitimately enforce our Village codes is compromised.

Motor Vehicles - Fire Islands unique roadless character has been under assault for many years. Robert Moses over sixty years ago envisioned a road from Jones Beach to the Hamptons. When he bridged the inlet in 1964 the island came under the direct attack of forces that wanted to make our island enclave an extension of Jones Beach. We used to take pride in our united opposition to his encroachment by oversized environmentally degrading SUV's, utility trucks, garbage haulers and assorted other commercial interests. Add to this the driving permit abusers who maintain dual residences and you have the mess we have today. I'm opposed to the reg-neg process. Let's just enforce the existing FINS regulations and let the chips fall where they may. If the pro-vehicle people find this onerous, let them move to Robert Moses old home town of Oak Beach where they have access to the kind of four lane highway he wanted to pave Fire Island with. Some thirty years ago I ran for Village Trustee. My campaign slogan then was "Keep Fire Island an Island." Why should we wish for anything different today?

Deer - They arrived in Saltaire in the late 1970's. I have yet to discover whether they walked over the bridge or came by ferry. My proposal is to send them back over the bridge or via ferry(after the contract is consummated) dead or alive. They have long worn out their welcome and steps, other than immunocontraception, should be explored to cull the herd. Those of you who are PETA proponents obviously have never talked to park rangers who find them dead of starvation during the winter because the island can't support a herd as large as that which exists on Fire Island. Euthanizing them is far more humane than starvation.

Recreation - Trustee Zaccaro did an analysis of the current expenditures and revenues for the camp program. He determined that rather than the program generating $40,000 in revenue that in actual fact it was running some $50,000+ in the red. I know that domestic socialism is alive and well in Saltaire but why do we have to allow non-taxpaying residents of other communities to enjoy the fruits of our tax dollars. Unless we increased the fees to a level what would be become onerous to our neighboring communities we should limit the program to our own residents. This would also limit the amount paid in salaries and benefits to camp personnel. We can no longer afford to let non-residents to enjoy our bay beach(swimming lessons), our recreation facilities, and our camp program. Not only should we be concerned about the monetary expenditures but we should exercise caution in assuming potential liability arising out of children from neighboring communities being injured while enjoying our facilities.

Taxes - Unless something is done to control the wasteful, profligate spending of our prior administrations and mindful of the fact that we are facing some five million dollars in capital spending we can expect nothing but significant future tax increases. Even a cursory analysis of budgets from the last few years confirms the fact that the Village faces massive tax increases or bankruptcy. For too many years previous boards have let the infrastructure of the village deteriorate while extolling the importance of window dressings(bike racks, flowers on the dockhouse, etc.). This shortsightedness must be stopped.

In Conclusion - I've been an astute real estate investor for half my life. I know value. I also know waste when I see it. I know that sentimental attachment can warp one's perception. If this Village does not get a handle on its finances, the negatives of owning a home here will far outweigh the positives for many residents. People will vote with their feet by leaving Saltaire for other summer enclaves. I feel that some of the candidates do not realize the precarious state our Village is in. They opt for the easy way out by pandering to certain groups and promise a continuation of the status quo. We can't permit this to happen. I promise that if elected I will investigate all options available to tighten Saltaires financial belt a few notches. I certainly appreciate your suggestions as well as your vote.

Thank you.