Incumbent Peter Chimenti defeated challenger Joe Wendling Tuesday night for another three-year term as commissioner of the Garden City Park Fire and Water District.

Incumbents Ron Sakowich and Mark Sauvigne were also re-elected in their uncontested races for New Hyde Park Fire and Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District commissioners, respectively. 

Chimenti had 193 tallied votes to Wendling’s 156, enough for 55.3% of the 349 total votes. The Herricks resident will start another three-year term alongside Commissioners Robert Mirabile and Alan Cooper, who is up for re-election next year. 

The two candidates disagreed in the days leading up to the election regarding the Garden City Park Fire Station No. 2, which had a $5.9 million bond to renovate the property rejected by 77% of district voters earlier this year in September.

If the vote passed, it would have rebuilt the firehouse that was first built in 1970 to fit today’s regulations and provide additional space for the first responders.

Chimenti previously said to Blank Slate Media the station is both old and in disarray and that the district is still considering new proposals and evaluating whether or not to look at alternative plans, if needed, for renovations.

Chimenti has served as commissioner since 2014 and said he is focused in his newest term on modernizing both districts, increasing recruitment and enhancing the fire district’s paramedic program. 

The district covers parts of Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, parts of New Hyde Park, parts of Mineola, parts of North Hills, parts of Roslyn, parts of Williston Park, parts of Albertson and parts of Garden City.

The fire district’s budget for 2024 is $3,760,000 and the water district’s budget is $7,305,360.

The water district was founded in 1922 and serves approximately 6,500 residential and 650 commercial customers, according to its website.

The district pumps an average of 1 billion gallons of water a year to its customers and has six wells, two water storage towers, four underground storage tanks and six treatment plants.

Sakowich previously said to Blank Slate Media if re-elected to another five-year term he would focus to continue improving and maintaining the district.

Sakowich will continue to serve alongside Joe Papa, Joe Abukoush, Robert Teetz and his brother, Reid Sakowich.

“I’ve always been active in the fire department and I just felt that I could offer something to the board with my background in business and firefighting,” Sakowich previously said to Blank Slate Media.

During his time on the board, Sakowich said the district has been able to modernize the department, including the purchases of an aerial ladder firetruck, a pumper firetruck and two new ambulances.

Sakowich has served in the village’s Fire Department for over 50 years, joining when he was 18. He was one of 38 members recognized last year when the village unveiled a memorial wall and bronze firefighter statue for reaching half a century in the department.

He is the current president of Engine Company No. 2 and president of the department’s exemption association, a branch dedicated to those who have been injured while serving. Sakowich is also a former fire captain.

Professionally, Sakowich is a licensed master plumber and has been in the business for nearly 50 years since obtaining his license when he was 22 years old.

He was born and raised in New Hyde Park, and his five grandchildren are now the sixth generation of his family in the village.

The New Hyde Park Fire Department currently has five companies, but starting next year it will switch to four, with the rescue company turning into a squad. Sakowich said the move was made to open up membership for rescue to the entirety of the department.

Sauvigne had 348 total votes out of 361 cast. The other 13 were for write-in candidates, according to Manhasset-Lakeville.

He will serve alongside Commissioners Steve Flynn and Brian Morris–who is up for re-election next year.

The Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District takes in all of Manhasset except for Plandome, half of Great Neck and some of northern New Hyde Park.

Though the board oversees both the fire and water districts, which cover the same geographic area, the two are technically independent of each other.

The fire district has a $9.7 million budget next year and the water district has a $11.2 million budget, according to the North Hempstead 2024 budget.

The Manhasset-Lakeville Water District serves approximately 45,000 customers who use 7.4 million gallons of water a day within the service area of 10.2 square miles, according to the water district’s website.

Eighteen wells at 13 locations provide water to Manhasset and portions of Great Neck and North New Hyde Park.

Sauvigne, who was first elected in 2014, also serves as Manhasset Park District treasurer alongside Weigand.

District residents in October voted to approve a $10 million bond to build a new ambulance unit building in Lake Success.

The vote ended a years-long search to move the 40-person ambulance unit out of the department’s Company No. 3 firehouse in Great Neck, where it shared a space since 1988.