State Senator Michael Balboni was the guest speaker at the Manhasset Rotary Club on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The club now meets at Manhasset Bay Yacht Club. The senator first spoke warmly about the Manhasset Chamber of commerce's street fair which had been held on the previous Saturday. "I was there with two of my children," he said, "and it was really pleasant. The children could run around without me having to worry about them. There's a wonderful quality of life here in Manhasset."

He then dropped a bombshell. "I've been talking to Betsy Chesebrough, the president of the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce, and I think there may be money available to put sewers in the commercial district around Plandome Road." In the past residents in Manhasset have resisted sewers because of a fear that after sewers come apartment houses. However, it has been increasingly clear in recent years that the commercial district is severely hampered by the lack of sewers. There are stores on Plandome Road with no access to running water. Many storeowners are unable to hose down the street in front of their stores because of a lack of access to water. "Septic systems don't work with commercial properties, " Senator Balboni said, adding that $2.2 million had been spent sewering Bar Beach and the new North Hempstead golf course, Harbor Links. "Sewers will reduce the chemicals being introduced into Manhasset Bay and Long Island Sound," he said. He reported that statistics show that the sound is getting cleaner every year. The recent "fish kill" resulted from our very dry summer, leading to a lack of oxygenation of the water, not from pollution. As a matter of fact, such "mossbunker" deaths occur every year or so both in the Sound and in the ocean.

Senator Balboni has recently been named chairman of the Senate committee on Water Resources. Wearing that hat, he discussed the problems currently being experienced by the Port of New York which, he said, is in desperate need of dredging. This presents two problems¬cost and what to do with the dredged soil. "If not cleaned that contaminated soil would probably come to Long Island."

On another topic, Senator Balboni said that under New York State's "Community Facilities Enhancement Program," he could probably get $150,000 for Manhasset. He deplored the "political rhetoric" that has confused the issue of a playground in Mary Jane Davies Park, but held out hope that an equally good use for the money would be found.

On the state level, Senator Balboni was very upbeat, seeing "no tough, divisive issues" this year.Five years ago, he said, New York was Allied Van Lines number one customer as people left New York because of high taxes or lack of job opportunities. "Today we're number seven," he said, "and things are continuing to improve.

In a question and answer period after his talk, Senator Balboni discussed the LIPA takeover of LILCO and Governor Pataki's STAR program. The change from LILCO has already resulted in lower electric rates and checks of reimbursement for past overbilling should soon be in the mail. Asked how the schools will be reimbursed for monies lost due to a reduction of real estate taxes under STAR, the senator said the the schools will be reimbursed with lottery money "dedicated in a locked box to STAR." STAR will cost $1.2 billion when fully implemented and New York State has a $75 million budget. He believes that welfare reforms are "driving money into the system" but that the state still has too much debt. In fact, he said, debt service is the fastest growing portion of the budget and that we should take our surplus and start paying down our debt.

The senator concluded his remarks with a tip of the hat to Town of North Hempstead Supervisor May Newburger for having accomplished the building of Harbor Links. "I'm a golfer," he said, "and I'm hearing people say that it's one of the top courses in New York State." Next week the Manhasset Rotary club will hear from Senator Balboni's Democratic opponent in November, Jon Brooks.