Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) sponsored legislation (Res. 64-2008) that funded a new program for 2008, aimed at aiding Veterans and families of active duty military service-persons in need through the creation of a partnership between the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Suffolk County Council. The goal of the program is to supply Veterans and military families with food and emergency assistance in times of need. The new program was recently launched by the cooperating agencies in the last week of October 2008.

The Suffolk County Legislature has increased the funding amount for this program from the 2008 level of $10,000 to $25,000 for 2009.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender said, “I am proud to stand with my colleagues in extending this vital program to our citizen soldiers and their families. We can never do enough to thank those noble patriots among us, and this program addresses the tragic fact that many are in need.”

The program is the result of a request Legislator Beedenbender received from a local Veteran who witnessed many of his fellow Vets in need and had no way to help them. In many cases Veterans do not reach out to the government for help, but in a number of instances they reach out to each other. To ensure that those Veterans are reached, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Suffolk County Council has taken the lead in operating the program.

Veterans, families of active duty military servicepersons, and Gold Star Families can learn more about the program by contacting the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency at 631-853-VETS (8387).

The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved legislation (Res. 724-2008), sponsored by Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach), aimed at aiding military families at their August 19, 2008 meeting in Riverhead. The legislation will allow for an extended time period for deployed military servicepersons and their families to regain their home from Suffolk County if it is lost to tax default.

In some cases military deployment can result in a sharp decrease in a family’s income resulting in financial hardship and possibly defaulting on property taxes. This bill creates a mechanism for military families to regain their property through the redemption process by showing that they were actively deployed when their property went into tax default.

“The men and women of our armed forces and their families’ sacrifice deeply to serve the United States,” said Beedenbender. “The last thing we should do is penalize them for that sacrifice.”

The law on the books already allowed for any property owner in Suffolk County to redeem their property for back taxes six months after foreclosure. The law also granted an additional two years to homeowners that can provide documentation of hardship proving serious illness or unemployment. Legislator Beedenbender’s legislation enhances the law by adding language that allows families to apply for the same two year hardship benefit by documenting loss of income due to military deployment during any time period, whether one day or two years, during tax default years.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) was joined by Gold Star Families, Veterans, and public officials on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppauge to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gold Star Families Memorial.

Once the memorial is completed, a ceremony will be held annually in September when Gold Star Mother’s Day is observed.

Legislation sponsored by Legislator Beedenbender to site a Gold Star Families Memorial at Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppauge, was approved unanimously at the March 24th meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature. The idea to create the memorial was brought forward by the Suffolk County Veterans Advisory Board last year in order to recognize the sacrifices made by military families that have lost loved ones in armed conflict.

To make the memorial a reality, Legislator Beedenbender appropriated legislative grant funding for the purchase of the memorial. Legislators Stern, Gregory, and Browning also appropriated grant funding for the memorial.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender said, “I am proud to stand with the Gold Star Families, Veterans, and my colleagues in breaking ground for this Gold Star Families Memorial. This memorial will stand as a reminder of the sacrifice that our military families make.”

The memorial will display a prominent gold star and read: In honor of our Gold Star Families and in the memory of their sons and daughters who gave their lives while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America – Greater love hath no man.

Residents can learn more about upcoming ceremonies to be held at Armed Forces Plaza by contacting the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency at 631-853-VETS (8387).

Legislator Brian Beedenbender refused to accept a county car, refused to accept a county cell phone, refused a 2009 salary increase, opted in to a lag payroll, and moved his district office to a dramatically less expensive space in order to save tax dollars. He has called on his elected colleagues on every level of government to make the same effort to do everything possible to save tax dollars and hold the line on taxes.

“It’s important for county government to save taxpayers hard earned money in every way possible. As promised, I am doing my part,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

Legislator Beedenbender (Centereach) kept his promise to the residents of the 4th Legislative District and voted to freeze the 2009 County General Fund Property Tax. The 2009 Suffolk County Operating Budget secures essential County programs to protect the residents of Suffolk County and cuts $15.1 million in expenditures.

2009 Suffolk County Operating Budget Highlights include:

• FROZE 2009 County General Fund Property Taxes
• cut $15.1 million in non-essential expenditures
• funded Veterans and Active Duty Military Families Assistance Program
• funded food pantries for Suffolk families
• funded childcare services
• funded Health Centers
• funded class of 80 new police officers, while keeping Suffolk County Police District costs within the tax cap
• funded 6 new “911” operators

Legislator Brian Beedenbender’s (Centereach) legislation (Res. 560-2008) which will reform the process in which County government leases space to house various departments and offices of elected officials was approved by the County Legislature at their June 24, 2008 meeting. By establishing advertising requirements, search requirements, and reporting requirements, this legislation will make the County lease process more transparent, competitive and produce cost savings for taxpayers.

“With millions of taxpayer dollars spent annually on leases, it is essential that each dollar is spent in the best interest of the County taxpayer. More competition, increased advertising, and fair market analysis will do just that,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

The legislation:

• Requires the advertisement of all County leased space searches to be posted in the official County newspapers and on the County web-site.
• Requires multiple spaces to be explored in order to promote competition, ultimately saving tax dollars.
• Requires municipally owned space be searched as an alternative to leasing private space.
• Requires a rent survey and a fair market analysis to ensure the County is paying a fair price.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender’s (Centereach) proposal directing the Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology to study and put forward a plan to launch a Suffolk County government transparency web-site similar to New York State’s “Project Sunlight” web-site was approved unanimously at the November 18, 2008 meeting of the County Legislature. The legislation (Res. 964-2008) calls for the findings of the study and a plan to be presented to the Suffolk County Legislature within four months of adoption of the legislation.

The goal of the new web-site is to give the general public unfettered access to view, all on one convenient web-site, county member item grants aka “community support initiatives” and “omnibus funding”, county contract awards, and political contributions to individuals holding and running for county office.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has established the New York State program entitled “Project Sunlight”, that allows the public to review campaign finance records, contracts awarded to outside firms, and member items allocated to community organizations on-line. Representatives from the Attorney General’s office gave a presentation to the County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee highlighting all the helpful features offered on the open government web-site.

Legislator Beedenbender said, “I am pleased that my colleagues unanimously supported this plan to move towards a more open government. This will further Suffolk County’s reputation as one of the most transparent governments in New York State.”

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) announced that county efforts to launch a Suffolk County transparency web-site similar to New York State’s “Project Sunlight” have reached the next step. The Suffolk County Legislature and the County Executive approved 2010 capital program funding for the purchase of hardware and software needed to launch the new transparency web-site.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has established the New York State program entitled “Project Sunlight”, that allows the public to review campaign finance records, contracts awarded to outside firms, and member items allocated to community organizations on-line. Suffolk’s goal is to launch a similar web-site, focused on county government, where citizens can see how their tax-dollars are spent.

Legislator Beedenbender said, “I am pleased that my colleagues continue to support this plan to move the county towards a more open government.”

County Executive Steve Levy and Legislator Brian Beedenbender announced the approval of mandatory ethics training legislation at a ceremonial bill signing on July 2, 2009.

The bill, which was sponsored by Legislator Beedenbender and signed into law by County Executive Levy, requires that Suffolk County elected officials along with their appointed staff members receive ethics training beginning in 2010. It also requires that civil service employees receive an ethics booklet at new employee orientation beginning in 2010. The training will be developed and conducted by the Director of the Suffolk County Ethics Commission.

Legislator Beedenbender said, “The aim of this ethics training program is to make sure our county elected officials and staff members are knowledgeable of the ethics code, resulting in more professionalism and ethical conduct in our government.”

“I am pleased to work with Legislator Beedenbender in establishing a proactive effort to educate public servants on proper ethical standards,” said County Executive Levy.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender’s (Centereach) legislation (PM 7-2008) which will require the Clerk of the Legislature to post public hearing notices on the Legislature’s web-site was approved unanimously by the County Legislature at their May 13, 2008 meeting. The goal of the new requirement is to make public hearings more widely known to the residents of Suffolk County.

“By posting County Legislature public hearing notices on the world wide web, it is my hope more Suffolk residents will be informed and become involved in County government,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) announced that the 2008 improvements for County Road 83 are complete, on schedule, and on budget. The improvement project included road resurfacing, intersection improvements, rehabilitation of existing drainage, and safety improvements from the North Service Road of the Long Island Expressway to Middle Country Road aka Route 25.

“This re-construction of County Road 83 has resulted in a smoother roadway, improved traffic flow, and less congestion in this area,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) co-sponsored legislation (Res. 113-2008) to improve Nicolls Road from the Long Island Expressway to Middle Country Road. The project was approved unanimously at the March 4th meeting of the Legislature. The much needed improvements were necessary to mitigate rush hour traffic on this heavily congested County road. Construction began in the summer of 2008, which includes the elimination of the traffic light and extension of the median at the Horseblock Place intersection, improvements to the community college entrance, and added green light time at the S. Coleman Road intersection. The 2008 improvement project was completed on-time and on-budget.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) has secured funding through the passage of a capital improvement project in the 2009-2011 Capital Budget and Program for Patchogue-Holbrook Road from the Long Island Expressway N. Service Road to Portion Road. The project calls for traffic calming and safety improvements in the vicinity of Hiawatha Elementary School.

“This project will create a safer environment for the school children, parents, and teachers of Hiawatha Elementary School as well as the residents in the surrounding community,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

Patchogue-Holbrook Road improvements include:

• Decorative, highly visible crosswalks
• Pedestrian improvements at Hiawatha Elementary School
• Raised, colored/embossed concrete medians
• Countdown pedestrian signals
• New striped crosswalks
• New handicap ramps
• Additional signs and replacement of signs
• Lowered speed limit
• Consistent advisory speeds in the school zone and two horizontal curves
• Designated bike lanes

Planning and design for the project will begin in 2009, with construction expected to begin in 2010.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) has worked with the County Department of Public Works to finalize the inclusion of community requests for the long awaited Portion Road improvement project. The project began as scheduled in the spring of 2009. The community requests that Legislator Beedenbender has secured for the project include decorative lighting, enhanced crosswalks, enhanced medians, enhanced bus shelters, street lining trees, and bike lanes. The aim of the project is to make the roadway safer, mitigate traffic congestion, create pedestrian and bike friendly areas, and the creation of a more aesthetically pleasing roadway.

Businesses along the Portion Road corridor have been given informational packets related to the project and a hotline has been provided to report disruption of business during construction.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) has worked with the County Department of Public Works to finalize the inclusion of community requests for the long awaited Portion Road improvement project. The project began as scheduled in the spring of 2009. The community requests that Legislator Beedenbender has secured for the project include decorative lighting, enhanced crosswalks, enhanced medians, enhanced bus shelters, street lining trees, and bike lanes. The aim of the project is to make the roadway safer, mitigate traffic congestion, create pedestrian and bike friendly areas, and the creation of a more aesthetically pleasing roadway.

Businesses along the Portion Road corridor have been given informational packets related to the project and a hotline has been provided to report disruption of business during construction.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender’s legislation (Res. 770-2008) to conduct a safety and traffic mitigation study at the intersections of Nicolls Road and Hammond Road and Nicolls Road and Hawkins Road was approved by the County Legislature on September 16, 2008. The study will create a planning document in 2009 for the reconfiguration of both intersections aimed at improving safety as well as traffic flow, ultimately resulting in the construction for improvements to the intersection.

These congested intersections and the surrounding roadways leading to nearby town park “Centereach Pools” have become an increasing concern.

Once completed, the County could use funds that are already in place to accomplish the work proposed by the study. Having the funds already in place will accelerate the timeline to accomplish the intersection reconstruction and eliminate the need to wait for future budget approvals.

The work at these two intersections, once combined with the completed work at the three traffic lights to the south should further the County’s goal of reducing congestion and increasing safety on Nicolls Road.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 20, 2009 for the opening of Farmingville Hills County Park, located on Horseblock Road in Farmingville. Legislator Beedenbender was joined by Suffolk County Parks Commissioner John Pavacic and local residents.

“The opening of Farmingville Hills Park is another step in the right direction toward creating open space for residents of the 4th Legislative District to enjoy,” said Legislator Beedenbender.

Farmingville Hills is a primarily wooded parcel of County parkland approximately 100 acres in size, located on the north side of County Road 16 (Horseblock Road), east of Nicolls Road and west of Patchogue-Mt. Sinai Road (CR 83), in Farmingville. The site lies across part of the Ronkonkoma Moraine, a geological feature formed by glaciers from the last Ice Age, which contains steep topography and rolling hills that run across the center of much of Suffolk County. The highest natural elevations in Suffolk County generally occur on the Ronkonkoma Moraine.

As part of the revitalization of the park, the Parks Department installed and established a fenced-in, off-street parking area on the south side of the property adjacent to County Road 16, a gravel semi-circular driveway and signage, and also established a formal trailhead leading to several trails on site which run across the Ronkonkoma Moraine. Existing trails were also renovated. The parking area opens to a large, mowed field and then to the woodland trails located further to the north and northeast.

The new access area is also adjacent to two County-owned historic buildings, the Terry House and the Bald Hill Schoolhouse, which are managed by the Parks Department. The parking area therefore also provides access to these sites.

Farmingville Hills will serve as a new passive recreational facility for hiking, bird watching and the like.

Legislator Brian Beedenbender (Centereach) announced that legislation he sponsored was approved by the Suffolk County Legislature on June 9, 2009 to create a new park behind the Grace Presbyterian Church on Hawkins Road in Selden. The legislation creates a partnership between Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town. Under the terms of this partnership, the county will own the property and the town will improve and manage the property. Two little league baseball fields will be developed at the 3 ½ acre site.

“The creation of this park is an important step in the right direction toward meeting community demand for parkland and recreation space,” said Legislator Brian Beedenbender. “I would like to thank Supervisor Lesko and Councilwoman Walsh for their efforts to make the town a partner in creating these ball fields.”

The passage of this legislation completes a multi-year effort started by former Legislator Joe Caracappa. The acquisition of this property is the first open-space purchase in the 4th Legislative District in recent memory.

The Middle Country Visioning Plan, issued by the Middle Country Coalition for Smart Growth this year, places a strong emphasis on the development of community recreation space.