RVC Village Board Candidate: Kevin Glynn

Four people will be seeking two seats on the Rockville Centre Village Board on Tuesday, June 18. The election is at-large, meaning the two candidates with the highest votes will serve on the board for four years. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Anderson Recreation Center on North Oceanside Road.

Kevin Glynn, a trustee seeking reelection, sent the following responses to Patch’s candidate questionnaire.

Tell us about yourself (age, town, profession, family, etc.)

I am a 36 year old lifelong resident of Rockville Centre and parishioner of St. Agnes. After graduating from South Side High School I received my B.A. from The Catholic University of America and my J.D. from St. John's University, School of Law. I currently work at a Bethpage law office representing auto insurance companies. Prior to being elected to the village board in 2009, I served as a deputy village attorney and as an alternate member to the Rockville Centre Zoning Board of Appeals.

Why are you running for the village board?

Having seen the successful results of the implementation of my common sense proposals I want to see our village achieve even greater success. There is much more we can and must do to continue to beautify our downtown, improve on the village infrastructure, repair and rebuild our firehouses and assist our recreation and senior departments in continuing to provide their great level of services without detrimental increases in fees called for by others.

What qualifies you to serve on the village board?

Over the past four years, while some have sought out the spotlight, I have worked quietly and diligently to see the implementation of common sense solutions that have greatly helped our village through the great recession. The ability to work with others, to be resolutely focused on accomplishing my goals, and my understanding of the needs and concerns of all of my constituents is second to none and is necessary for any board member.

What is your opinion of the budget that was recently passed by the village board? What you have done something differently with it?

Each budget over the past four years has brought us closer to my goal of the fairest possible budget that is kept within the rate of inflation. This past budget came within 0.2% of that goal and contained the lowest tax increase in six years and second lowest in over ten years. If my goal is met, we would see an even fairer village tax burden for our residents.

What do you think of the current parking situation in the village? How would you address it?

The fact that we have a need for more parking downtown is a symptom of the success of RVC policies these past two years, particularly with the board vote to do away with night time metered parking we have attracted many new businesses to our Village. In the past year, when the village worked with the Fire Council and School Board to repave the Fireman's Field parking lot we saw that we could redesign parking fields while repaving them in order to increase the number of available spaces. This upcoming year we should have funds available from our road repair program to redesign and repave at least one and possibly two parking fields. This will go a long way in increasing available spaces for our residents.

Do you have any ideas as to how to continue to attract business to Rockville Centre?

Obviously we must continue efforts to improve and beautify our downtown and improve the amount of available parking, but attracting quality businesses requires a more active effort among board members. Not satisfied to sit back and wait for business to find our village, I have met with local realtors to actively work to present our village to quality businesses and to convince them to open in Rockville Centre.

Aside from those mentioned above, what do you think is the biggest issue facing the village?

The three biggest issues facing our village is to ensure the public safety of our residents, trying to limit the tax burden on our residents, and ensure sufficient parking for our village to continue to attract quality businesses. There is always the unknown issue as well. This could be another catastrophic storm, international economic meltdown or some other previously unforeseen problem. That is why is it so important that we elect reasoned, responsible, common sense village board members who can keep a level head in responding appropriately to ensure our residents are properly represented no matter what our village is faced with.

What is the village's greatest strength and weakness?

The greatest strength of Rockville Centre has always been and always will be her residents. As seen in the aftermath of 9/11, Sandy and countless other emergency situations Rockville Centre's residents have always risen to the challenge and lead the way in providing care and support to others. Our weakness is one not of our making, as we are faced with an ever increasing amount of unfunded mandated spending that make it more difficult to provide the services our residents deserve while ensuring a village tax level that allows our residents to continue to stay and enjoy those services.

If you are elected, what is the one thing you'd like to see accomplished during your term?

To see the full implementation of my common sense proposals so that our tax burden is kept as low as possible, while continuing to work to ensure that with sufficient alternative sources of revenue our departments are sufficiently funded, our firehouses properly repaired and maintained, and our senior services and recreation department able to continue to serve our residents. I also want to see greater use of our village channel, with recorded senior programs from our senior center and programs about the history of Rockville Centre from the Phillips House Museum broadcast to all of our residents.

Would you like to add anything else?

It has been an honor to serve my neighbors as their village trustee these past four years. I have always believed that success should be judged by actual accomplishments rather than the number of words spoken at a meeting. By that measure I hope you will consider me worthy of a second term as your village trustee.