There was a strange but familiar figure in the audience for the village’s April 1 reorganization meeting. It had been 21 years since Mark Edsall had a view of the dais from the other side. After 20 years as a trustee, Edsall decided to step down, at the end of March.
“It’s a lot more relaxing,” he said prior to the April 1 meeting. Afterwards he said it was nice to be able to leave and not have to stay for a closed session.
Prior to being elected in 1999, Edsall had never been involved in politics, but he had served multiple communities as an engineer. It wasn’t until Eugene Randazzo approached him that Edsall gave serious thought about running for office.
“Eugene indicated he wasn’t going to run and he thought I had something to offer,” Edsall said. “I thought about it for a little while and decided I would make the run.”
Once elected, Edsall credits former trustees Tony Ferrara and Rudy Hahn for showing him the ropes.
“It’s real easy to do my job as an engineer and work for a community, but how you act when you’re elected is a little different. They took me under their wing and gave me some good guidance on what the job was and how to approach it.”
Edsall had worked with municipalities but wasn’t familiar with their financial issues.
“If they had a procedural problem, engineering problem, planning board problem, I was absolutely confident I had the experience. Municipal budgets were something I had to learn.”
He learned quickly and was influential in helping the village work itself out of a $12 million debt. Working with former Trustee Bill Fogarty, the two found ways to make expensive purchases through the budget. Through their aggressive approach, the village debt has been reduced by $10 million.
Edsall disliked a two-year period where board members fought against each other and didn’t get anything accomplished. It was during this time the DPW garage had to be evacuated until it was stabilized.
As a trustee, Edsall said one has to be willing to listen to others and compromise when necessary. He recalled early in his career where he was the lone “no” vote on a proposal. The other board members asked him what could be done so everyone could be in agreement and a compromise was reached.
One of his proudest moments as trustee and deputy mayor was filling in for the mayor when Hurricane Irene hit. Edsall made sure all employees were on hand before the storm hit. When the Moodna Creek became compromised by debris, Shore Road flooded forcing residents to evacuate.
Looking back on his career, Edsall said he’s going to miss working with the board members and coming up with solutions to help the residents. He said 20 years is a good round number to call it quits, adding he didn’t think he had another two years in him as he prepares for retirement at the end of next year.
Edsall believes the village is in good hands because of its diversity and the knowledge each board member is able to bring to the table.
