They buried a time capsule in Mineola. Or maybe it was a time bomb.
Among the dozens of documents and artifacts interred in a hard, plastic capsule in front of the village library late last month was a copy of last year’s report from the Mineola Police Task Force.
That panel recommended the village create its own police force, triggering a bitter political battle that should have ended on Dec. 5 when voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.
Bill Murphy
Instead, the police debate has lingered, splitting three members of the village board who belong to the New Line Party, including Mayor Jack Martins, and the two members of the minority Home Town Party. It is expected to be a major topic in the village election campaign next month.
When Mineola opens the box in 25 years, will residents wonder what all the fuss was about? Or will they resume the feud?
Comments (5)
The fact that we continue to pay an exorbitant amount of taxes for the amount of police coverage we receive from Nassau County should absolutely remain an issue for the upcoming village election campaign, in my opinion. I sincerely doubt any of us will need to wait 25 years to realize how insightful the recommendations of the Mineola PD Task Force Operational Report actually are. You want to create a time bomb? Watch county police taxes increase over the next few years with no commensurate increase in service.
Our discussion regarding the possibility of Mineola forming its own police department was clearly and unequivocally decided by the December 5th referendum. Mineola residents overwhelmingly decided that our village should not pursue a Village police department.
The people have spoken and their collective will must be followed and respected. And it has been. This applies equally to those who favored the creation of a Mineola Police Department and those who opposed it. Now that the issue has been resolved, it is unusual that anyone would continue to press the issue. To what end?
In next month’s Village election the residents of Mineola will vote for the team they believe is best equipped to handle issues that the Village is facing and is expected to face as we move forward, not rehash the past.
There are a long string of issues and items that threaten to affect Mineola. Our residents will vote for the team they believe is best equipped to fight for our Village and
- effectively address the Village’s finances;
- effectively address the MTA’s attempts to construct a Third Track;
- effectively address Nassau County’s move to develop the Coliseum HUB and construct a transportation system tied to Mineola’s train station;
- effectively address the reconstruction of the Village’s infrastructure including roadways and parks;
- effectively address the implementation of the Village’s Master Plan including residential redevelopment of our historic downtown;
- effectively enforce the Village’s ordinances and codes; and
- effectively address a myriad of issues that will inevitably come up over the next two years.
In short, in our Village elections in March the residents of Mineola will be voting on Mineola’s future, not it’s past.
When the time capsule is opened 25 years from now, I hope the residents will neither questions what all the fuss was about, nor resume any feud. It is my hope that when it is opened, the residents will simply look back at the police referendum vote as an issue that was well intentioned, but ultimately, soundly defeated.
Mr. Murphy
I wish you would explain your inapt interest in the politial workings of the Village of Mineola. Are you a member of the Mustang run, do you have a political agenda associated with the Hometown party. It can't be because you are a reporter because reporters should be fair and balanced and that Mr. Murphy you are not!
Mr. Murphy, What was your opinion when the Village recently openned the time capsule, did you think that was a bomb also? It appears that you are grasphing at straws. It is my hubble opinion that you are trying to cause the divide and dragg out the police issue. However, the unsuccessful attempt by the Hometown Party's five point plan admits there are serious issues in our village. There are many issues in this village that The New Line Party has addressed and are now on the right track. And your support clearly spins in favor of the Hometown party and you are not impartial.
Mr. Murphy, apparently you do not understand what a time capsule is so let me provide you with a text book definition. A time capsule is a cache of goods and/or information, intended as a method of communicating past history with people in the future. The key being past history, the only people who seem to want to keep the police referendum in the present are you and the Hometown party. Like it or not the referendum is part of Mineola’s history. I for one would like people to know 25 years from now that we had a mayor and a couple of board members who thought enough of the safety and security of the residents of Mineola, and cared enough about the residents paying excessive taxes in relation to the police coverage we were receiving to actually try and come up with an option. In addition, to demonstrate to future generations that we had a group of caring residents that conducted a review and prepared a study to show that such an option was feasible. Maybe we should have buried one of your columns to provide an example to future generations of the sensationalism and unprofessional practices of some of the people in the news media.