Rye Brook candidates – Where do they differ?
The village election in Rye Brook is contested this year, but you have to listen pretty closely to hear differences in the candidates’ positions.
Having listened to the three trustee candidates speak during tonight’s League of Women Voters debate and in prior conversations with the Journal News editorial board, I’ll note some of the differences here. They are competing for two open seats: Toby Marrow and Jeffrey Rednick on the Rye Brook Together Line, and Moge Agahian on an independent line. Agahian is emphasizing her status as an outsider, given that Rye Brook Together has all five seats on the board. Marrow and Rednick defend the village as well-run and inclusive, and emphasize their extensive civic experience.
One clear-cut difference was over a tennis court renovation, of all things. Agahian said it should have been delayed to save the $200,000; Rednick said the project was necessary because of a dangerous condition, and Marrow said it was necessary under an agreement between the village and schools.
Agahian struck a different tone overall on finances. She called for sacrifices in order to achieve a zero tax increase, but declined to specify any cuts she would favor. The Rye Brook Together candidates said it was premature to commit to a zero tax increase.
All agreed on the idea of saving money through shared services, but Rednick was the most specific, pointing to possible savings in the highway department, purchasing, mechanics’ services and garbage pickups.
On zoning, all three voiced concerns over the new housing units envisioned near the Rye Town Hilton. Agahian describes the village zoning enforcement as punitive, while the others say some of permits should be streamlined.
One subtext of the campaign is the situation at the 250-unit Arbors housing development, where Agahian and Marrow both reside and once served as presidents. The homeowners association is having to update its 30-year-old site plan to match what’s actually been built there over time. Agahian says the process is the reason why she’s running, because it’s been needlessly complex and hampered by a lack of clear information from the village.
Agahian served as association president until recently and Marrow was president years ago, and both cite the experience as an example of their leadership skills. But during the debate, Agahian took a shot at Marrow’s record there, if I heard correctly, and Marrow and Rednick shot back by criticizing the recent $20 increase in dues. When Rednick accused her of the biggest increase in common charges in recent history, the moderator cut off the comment as “too personal.” “Way over the line” said someone in the audience.
One more difference seemed revealing in terms of the candidates’ styles. Dick Hubert described how the Bronxville mayor spoke up about the school budget there, calling for zero change in school taxes this year. He asked whether the candidates would consider speaking up that way in Rye Brook. No, Rednick responded, that would be overstepping the bounds of the board. Marrow agreed that it wasn’t the village board’s role to instruct the school board, and vice-versa. Agahian said it depends; that if officials feel strongly enough about the issue, they should speak up.
If Jeff Rednick had been allowed to continue, perhaps the voters would at least know the facts. The truth is that the Arbors homeowners have been hit with staggering increases in their monthly fees. Over the past decade, their assessments from the Association have nearly doubled from $170 to $330 per month or approximately $2,000 to $4,000 per year.
Relief was expected during Agahian’s presidency as the Village took over providing some services formerly funded by the Association and the Tennessee Gas Company offered to purchase a parcel of land owned by the Arbors. The sale alone would have brought relief of up to nearly $600 per homeowner. Instead, with Agahian as president, the Association failed to finalize the sale and then spent the homeowners’ money on unnecessary legal fees and a land survey that proved unusable. The bottom line for Arbors homeowners is the imposition of an additional $240-per-year financial burden instead of the expected decrease. This is not the kind of result anyone would want to see repeated at the Village level, especially in today’s difficult times.