Uncontested elections, particularly those without budget votes, are frequently won by the contestant with a handful of voters, mostly good friends and relatives, turning out, so we were interested in Robert Lincoln's take on his recent landslide of 600 plus votes in the park district election. An unassuming man, outgoing chairman Lincoln did not take the outpouring of votes too personally, but rather as an indication of the public's support of the direction being taken by the park district leadership and staff. He also believes that the vote was supportive of the park district's desire to pursue acquiring space on East Shore Road for an intergeneration center and public access to the waterfront. He says, "I think we have had enough support shown to justify spending a few dollars to go further."

The accessibility of the park district commissioners, Ruth Tamarin, Ivar Segalowitz and Mr. Lincoln, to their constituents has been enhanced by a number of factors. During the early summer, the park district held a series of well-publicized town meetings in various locations around town and developed a questionnaire that was sent to each household to better understand the needs and priorities of the residents. (Results from the questionnaire will be available later this month.) Advisory committees for special programs like tennis and the marina report to the commissioners regularly. In addition, the budget working meetings, traditionally held in the morning, were balanced between morning and evening so that more people would have the option of attending. "I think we have made it very clear that we can't make good decisions about future directions without honest input from the public ... For example, how strong is the interest in an indoor pool? Is a vocal minority pushing for it, or is it a widespread need felt by many residents?"

The commissioners were aware that the wading pool at Steppingstone needs to be replaced and the question arose as to whether it should be replaced by spraying structures instead. So the dilemma was posed in a notice posted at the pool so that parents whose children use the wading pool could have their opinions heard. It turned out that the parents strongly wanted the pool replaced instead of changed.

Mr. Lincoln adds, "One thing that came through loud and clear in our town meetings was that people want us to be good stewards and to take care of what we have. Proper maintenance is a given for us. Even though we have fewer people working in maintenance than we did years ago, we are fortunate to have some very talented people who are able to do jobs that we once bid outside and as a result have saved significant time and money."

Up until recently, the park district which is legally a "special district" was not allowed to set up a capital reserve fund which carries over from year to year. This limitation made long-range planning and tax stabilization more difficult, but with the help of Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli and Senator Michael Balboni, this barrier was overcome. "We have a long list of projects that need to be done. Some are small, others big. Some infrastructure items are a big frustration ... like the drainage problems on some of our ball fields. We have fences that need to be replaced. We have some restrooms that are barely handicapped accessible and we have some electrical systems that are inadequate and need to be upgraded before we can be fully computerized. The electric service for the dock at Steppingstone isn't adequate. All of these things add up ... but it's the cost of doing business."

On the other hand, the park district does not have any play equipment made from pressure treated wood that contains high levels of arsenic. "Our playgrounds meet the most current safety standards," Mr. Lincoln says. "We are on a staggered schedule for upgrading play equipment which has a life span of about 12 years. That's the plus side of long-range planning ... we can predict what we need to do to take care of our neighborhood parks." He adds, "We are seeing an increase in year-round use of our facilities. Because of that we are keeping bathrooms open in the winter and are shoveling paths in the parks so that they will be more accessible."

The commissioners have been plugging away with each budget cycle to bring the fund balance back to its legal allowable level. Its appropriate uses are to provide an 8-10 percentage of the total budget to be used for emergencies and to straddle the startup budget year before the Town of North Hempstead releases funds to the district. Mr. Lincoln says that while it is never pleasant to raise taxes, it is important for the park district to be on an accurate fiscal footing and that in the end, the public understands that improvements and infrastructure repairs come with a cost.

Along with savings strategies such as going forward with the co-generation of energy plans that will defray those costs, the park district has established a foundation that will operate independently and will provide a mechanism for bequests and donations to the district. "Years ago, land was donated to the park district and while we don't expect anything of that magnitude, there are people who would like to be able to make donations to the park system," said Mr. Lincoln.

The most recent innovation that Commissioners Ruth Tamarin and Ivar Segalowitz have added to the list of new approaches is Park Watch. Mr. Lincoln says that it is a carbon copy of the Neighborhood Watch program. Residents who live adjacent to parks are volunteering to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior. Mr. Lincoln said, "This is not about harassment, but is a way to keep ahead of any drug dealings going on, vandalism or any other illegal activities. We simply ask them to notify our security officer if they see something strange going on, write down license plate numbers and just generally be alert."

"The parks are for the people ... the more they are part of the decisions about parks, the more supportive they will be of this most valuable community resource," he concludes.