Port Washington sewer district embroiled in conflict

A sewer district in Port Washington is embroiled in turmoil after two elected commissioners accused the third of violating his "oath of office" over an alleged conflict of interest and are seeking his ouster.

The controversy follows a July report, when the ethics counsel for the Port Washington Water Pollution Control District ruled Brandon Kurz, one of three commissioners, had a conflict of interest. The memo cited Kurz's role with the Port Washington Police Athletic League, which plays its games at district-owned Sunset Park, officials said.

The July 9 memo from Steven Leventhal, a Roslyn-based attorney specializing in municipal ethics law, said Kurz "violated his oath of office" by signing an agreement with PAL last year while also serving as a district commissioner.

In recent weeks, Kurz has been urging residents to oppose an effort by the sewer district to convey Sunset Park to the Town of North Hempstead, including through an online petition. The district's other commissioners, Melanie Cassens and Arduino Marinelli, said there are no active discussions about a transfer, though it was weighed in the past. Town officials said they have no plans to acquire Sunset Park.

On July 29, the district approved two resolutions strongly rebuking Kurz.

In one of them, Cassens and Marinelli approved a resolution that accused Kurz of attempting to "undermine public confidence" in the district by "falsely claiming that youth athletic programs at Sunset Park would be discontinued."

"This has been blown out of proportion by him. We’re very upset with the turn of events and how he’s conducting himself," Marinelli said. "It’s unfortunate."

Marinelli and Cassens voted to strip Kurz of his title as the board's chairman at the July 29 meeting to prevent meetings from "turning into a platform for him shouting and yelling," said Marinelli, who is now chairman. The commissioners are paid $100 for each meeting.

In an interview, Kurz defended his petition and statements about the park. He said he hopes a deal can be reached "for the children to remain at the park for decades to come."

The district is responsible for maintaining sewers in developed parts of the Port Washington peninsula. But in an unusual arrangement, it has controlled the Sunset Park property since 1919. The property was originally home to the district's first sewage treatment plant. It became a "passive park" more than 70 years ago, according to a district document. Today the property includes baseball and soccer fields.

Until July, Kurz said he was the PAL's executive director. Now he says he is filling the role on a volunteer basis.

District officials in the resolution also criticized Kurz for what they described as prior attempts to disrupt conversations to convey Sunset Park. The resolution said Kurz "has attempted to frustrate efforts by the District to permanently preserve Sunset Park as dedicated parkland by its transfer to the Town of North Hempstead for that purpose." District officials told Newsday they were referring to the 2023 effort and have stressed that as of now, no transfer plans are on the table.

Recently, Kurz attempted to give the league a 99-year lease to play at Sunset Park, he said.

Agreement scrutinized

Kurz said as part of his agreement with the PAL, 75% of all registration fees went to Sport Washington, the limited liability company he used to fund league expenses. Kurz, the sole owner of Sport Washington, according to a copy of his agreement with the league, said via text that he did not make a profit. He said he's invested more money into the league's operation than he's earned.

In March, the district hired Leventhal to determine if Kurz had a conflict of interest, the commissioners said. In his July memo, Leventhal found Kurz violated the district's ethics policy, as well as his oath of office, when he "acquired a prohibitory pecuniary interest in the PAL's license to use and occupy District owned real property."

Kurz was sworn in as a sewer district commissioner in December 2022, according to Leventhal's memo. Then, in April 2024, he entered into an agreement to become PAL's executive director, the memo said. In doing so, he "plainly acquired a prohibited interest in the PAL's license to use and occupy District owned real property in violation of the Rules and Regulations of the District."

Kurz defended his decision to sign the agreement, saying in a statement: "Lawyers drafted the contracts. I did not write a single point in the 'Kurz Agreement.' I simply agreed to the terms."

Petition, rebukes

Kurz's petition also seeks to have the park's baseball field named after his father, Donald Kurz, who was a longtime sewer district commissioner. More than 1,400 people have signed it. Marinelli said it's a moot point and that only the PAL can decide on the field's name. Kurz wrote on Facebook that the official ribbon-cutting for the renaming of the baseball field after his father will be held on Sept. 7.

The resolution accusing Kurz of trying to "undermine public confidence" in the district also required him to give written proof that he would no longer provide services to the PAL for compensation; that he had “disgorged all revenue” in connection with his previous agreement with PAL; and that he would “immediately refrain” from engaging in discussion and votes related to the league or the district’s ownership and use of the park. The resolution gave a deadline of two weeks.

If Kurz failed to comply, he should "immediately resign from office," the resolution said.

A second resolution requires the PAL to give proof that it revoked its agreement with Kurz.

Neither Kurz nor the PAL have complied with the resolution, Marinelli said.

A recent memo circulated by Cassens and Marinelli acknowledges the 2023 effort to convey Sunset Park to the town, as well as earlier ones. A sewer district is unable to "dedicate (re-zone) the property as parkland," they wrote. Only the town "has the jurisdiction to dedicate this property as parkland in perpetuity."

But the memo acknowledged officials "decided to temporarily suspend" its conversations with the town in 2023.

Kevin Higgins, a town spokesman, told Newsday in a statement: “The Town can confirm it has no plans to obtain Sunset Park ... it is not looking to take that property from the Port Washington community.”

Newsday's Maureen Mullarkey contributed to this story.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.