Pawliczek handily wins third term in Florida

Florida — James Pawliczek, the soft-spoken real-estate-broker-turned-mayor of Florida, easily defeated challenger Edward Mythen Tuesday and started looking ahead almost immediately. “I was happy with the end result,” said Pawliczek, owner of Village Realty on Main Street in the village. He should have been. Pawliczek garnered nearly twice as many votes as his opponent in this mainly quiet election. It was the turnout that left more to be desired, according to Pawliczek. Out of about 1,750 registered voters, just 497 actually came out for this vote, one of the only a few contested mayoral races in the entire county. “The turnout could have been better,” said Pawliczek. “But that’s okay. The result was fine.” Now he is focusing on the future. Pawliczek said the village is looking at several changes coming, including the expansion of the sewer plant, the development of off-street parking, the proposal for age-restricted housing, and the development of a park near Glenmere Lake. “We are looking at possibly 300 units for people 55 and older,” said the mayor, referring to the proposals that would put 200 units on Route 94, 17A and South Main Street and another 100 single family homes on land across from Remee Products on Route 17A. Pawliczek said if these developments are completed, they will generate $6 million in fees for the village, and add $2 million in revenue for the school district. No children will be allowed in either of the developments. “That was our motivation with these developments,” said Pawliczek. “Taxes are our big motivating factor. Anything we can do to reduce taxes, we’ll try it.” Ground breaking is still two years off. The mayor was excited about the $120,000 in federal grant money the village received to develop off-street parking. He is looking into getting affordable senior housing in the village, too. “There are really no rental units in the village,” he said. “I feel our senior citizens are entitled to stay here in Florida when they sell their houses. This could help.” The two trustees, Thomas W. Fuller and Thomas Chevrier, ran unopposed. In the crowded Greenwood Lake field, incumbent Agnus Kilduff was the top vote-getter, followed closely by Brian Fisher.