Mayor George J. Graf opened the Nov. 30 Farmingdale Village Board meeting announcing the arrival of a new code enforcement vehicle and the hiring of several more code enforcers.

Mayor Graf continued on to recognize Olga and Bob Romano for their contribution to the gazebo and the Columbus Day Fair. Mayor Graf also recognized former trustee Mike Kelly who was honored at an awards dinner for his contribution to the village green gazebo; Kelly did the electrical work.

Kelly then addressed the board regarding the fire siren on the roof of the firehouse. The siren is used as a secondary alert for the firefighters, some of which are also equipped with pagers.

Many Farmingdale residents think, the siren is very loud and disruptive. Resident Jim Laflavor presented the board with a petition of 500 signatures requesting that the siren be turned off. Throughout the years, the method of alerting firefighters about a call has gone from a mobile pager to a contact system to the current siren. There used to be five sirens throughout Farmingdale, however the one atop the firehouse is the sole remainder. Kelly went on to explain to both the board and citizens that the siren cannot be turned off completely, but that they can shorten the duration of the blast and lower the volume while also looking into another alternative means for alerting the firefighters. Kelly added that a baffle system, which would point the noise of the siren up and outwards, might also be a good idea. A proposal for the siren will be written up by January.

"We will do everything we can to work with the fire commissioner to try and silence it, but our ultimate concern is your safety," Mayor Graf said.

In other safety news, the board announced that the village is looking into purchasing their own electronic speed enforcement unit through a grant application from the state. The village would rotate the sign around the village in an effort to curtail speeding and raise safety and driver awareness. In November, a speed enforcement sign was loaned to the village by the Town of Oyster Bay.

Business then continued with the request to amend taxi fares. LI Yellow Cab Corp. representative Steve Dash approached the board to notify the community of a 50 cents fare increase in the Village of Farmingdale. This would be the first fare hike in four years. Dash told the board that in addition to the fare hike, the senior citizen discount will also have to be increased. Currently, seniors are given coupons by the Village of Farmingdale, and they give the driver that coupon along with 60 cents for the ride. The town then reimburses the cab company 90 cents totaling $1.50 for the cab company. Dash originally wanted to do away with the discount all together, but village clerk John Giordano and Dash came up with a plan to charge the seniors $2, with a coupon for a cab ride plus the village reimbursing the cab company $1. The board will be thinking about this proposal and will have an answer in the near future. Until then, the original senior citizen discount is still in effect and will be extended until January 2005.

Other issues on the agenda included a permit application to raise the weight limit on Merritts Road to 40 tons for trucks. In an effort to calm traffic on Prospect Street, a speed radar or a crosswalk system to help slow down traffic was discussed. Also on the agenda, imposing a school zone at St. Luke's, which would slow traffic down to 15 miles per hour 300 feet east and west of St. Luke's; and the change order of the engineer service for highway projects raising the cost from $675,000 to $801,000 due to weather delays and the change of contractors. Village Clerk John Giordano said that the extra expense will be covered by the bond, but citizens in the audience were upset by this rise in price.

The next board meeting has been rescheduled for Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.