Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto announced the creation of the Traveling Town Hall in March and the mobile facility, that has the ability to bring information and assistance directly to residents in their home communities, began making stops at preset destinations throughout the Town of Oyster Bay last week.

The goal of this concept was to bring town government closer to residents and that is precisely what it has done. The mobile facility made stops in Oyster Bay, Syosset, Jericho, Plainview, Glen Head, Massapequa, Farmingdale and Hicksville allowing residents to voice their concerns, ask questions and receive general information from the comfort of their own community.

The Town of Oyster Bay holds the Music Under the Stars, a summer concert series, every year that is run by the Department of Community and Youth Services. A problem they were facing was the lack of a dressing room for the entertainers to prepare for their shows.

Approximately a year ago, the Town purchased a mobile home, used as a dressing room on wheels, for the summer concert series with the assistance of a $50,000 grant from New York State Senator Charles Fuschillo.

After the summer concert series ended, Venditto was sitting down with his staff talking about the mobile home that was only being used 30 to 45 days out of the year. The idea of a traveling town hall was brought up jokingly. "I nostalgically went back to the days when the milkman, the dairyman, the bread man, the knife sharpening man and everyone came to your house," said Venditto. "One discussion led to another and we actually started making jokes saying that it would be funny if the Supervisor got in [the mobile home] and put on his white ice cream outfit. After a while we stopped laughing and it was modeled after that old concept about bringing a service closer to your home - in this case the town government."

Venditto and his staff began looking into the concept and talked to the people who maintained the vehicle to see how much it could endure and then, according to Venditto, "It was all systems go."

Venditto's staff members are now manning the vehicle, which is actually a supervisor's office on wheels equipped with fax machines and cell phones. "Someone who would normally have to come to Oyster Bay to talk to me can now go in their neighborhood to the traveling town hall and speak to my assistant," said Venditto. "There is no difference if I pick up the phone in Oyster Bay or someone speaks to my assistant." Venditto plans on spending time at the traveling town hall when things slow down in Oyster Bay.

Although the concept seemed good on paper, Venditto didn't know what to expect from local residents. "We never thought it would engender the kind of response that it has," said Venditto. "The response from people seeing me in person, telephoning my home, writing notes and the response at the vehicle itself has been overwhelmingly positive."

One resident, who visited the traveling town hall during the Syosset stop, liked the personal contact the mobile facility created. "This is thrilling to be at the town level," he said. "The local government is great and this is a lovely idea."

Not only can residents ask questions and register their comments with the town at this new facility, but there are also many advantages for senior citizens. According to Christine Bartol, who works with seniors through the Department of Community and Youth Services, the facility offers information about senior programs and trips. Also, seniors can get assistance with filling out forms and applications not only for the town, but on the state and federal level as well.

Although only the first month has been mapped out, Venditto plans to continue this concept after the mobile facility is used for the summer concert series. The initial plan was to take the facility to a central location where people congregate, but other plans are in the works to bring the facility directly to the neighborhoods and local streets. There has also been some talk about extending the hours of the new facility to the evenings and weekends, although no plans have been finalized. "This all involves personnel," said Venditto. "The one thing that we don't want is to have it go out there if it is not properly equipped."

The summer concert series gives the town the opportunity to mull over different ideas for the future of the traveling town hall and to decide what is best for the residents. "I am so happy to see that so many residents are tuned in to town matters," said Venditto, who assures that once plans are made, future locations will be announced through the media and the town's mailings giving residents ample time to visit the facility.