Mayor George Graf opened the Dec. 14 Village of Farmingdale board meeting a little differently. In an effort to encourage more community involvement with the village government, Mayor Graf asked those present if they had any inquiries about items on the agenda from the previous board meeting.

When no questions were raised, the board continued on to approve all expenses for the month. Mayor Graf then honored Karen Benson, the outgoing chairperson for the beautification committee, with a proclamation in recognition for her dedication and service to the village.

"I would like to thank you for all of your hard work," Mayor Graf said. He also noted that he had recently been substitute teaching for one of Benson's children in the Farmingdale School District.

The board then voted to fill a clerk-typist position that had been vacant since September of this year. The possibility of comprising a board of ethics, however, was turned down.

"The board wanted to address certain things that they saw over the years in the village," Village Attorney Greg Carman said.

A board of ethics is a body comprised of individuals who look into issues where there is a conflict of interest. The board currently follows its own village code and Nassau County already has a board of ethics in place. The board thought it would be best to utilize that mechanism.

"Instead of actually comprising a board, we can go to Nassau County," Carman said. "The board did not feel that would be appropriate right now."

The taxicab issue was brought into the spotlight again for a second time. At the Nov. 30 board meeting, LI Yellow Cab Corp. representative Steve Dash approached the board stating that the company will be raising regular fares from $3.50 to $4. Instead of abolishing the senior discount, as the cab company was originally planning to do, Village Clerk John Giordano came up with a plan for the village to pay a lump sum subsidy of $7,000 which will offset the fares for senior citizens. This amount was reached by studying five-year usage estimates.

"Seniors have been paying 60 cents for the past 12 years without an increase," Deputy Mayor Joe Rachiele said.

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. Now seniors will be paying that flat fee without having to use a voucher.

"From an administrative standpoint, it's a benefit and it will be more convenient for the seniors who use the cab service," Mayor Graf said.'

This service will be provided for a one-year-trial period to see what the usage is. A village resident addressed the board, questioning how the village will be able to keep track of how many seniors are utilizing the cab service if they no longer have to turn in coupons.

"As part of their agreement, we'll ask them to keep a log of the seniors they are picking up," Carman said.

The board then voted to sign an agreement for a NCCD (Nassau County Community Development) grant for $50,000. According to Giordano, it will be divided into two different components.

Giordano said that $35,000 will go toward completing the village green gazebo and $15,000 will go toward the Main Street sign program.

The village ended up accepting a bid from a Farmingdale-based company who came in at $245 per square foot, where each sign averages 10 square feet.

"This will enable us to continue the sign program," Giordano said, "We have a waiting list of about a dozen stores right now and this grant will enable us to get about seven or eight done."

They also voted on the contract with the Town of Oyster Bay in regard to fire services. The village has agreed to provide fire protection/service to three areas outside of the village [about 200 homes] in a new contract for 2005. Based on a tax assessment, that contract amount will be $37,480 and will be paid to the village by the Town of Oyster Bay.

A red alert system was purchased last month for the fire department; however, it is costly to set up. A red alert system is a computerized dispatching system that will provide village firefighters with information regarding the call to which they are responding.

"We need to hire a company to collect all of the data and input it into the system," Giordano said.

The board recommended that the fire commissioner look into getting more bids.

When the board was about to move onto the public-be-heard portion of the meeting, Trustee Dr. Benjamin Giminero inquired why the board has decided to have their work sessions during the day.

"There is no reason to have work sessions during the day," Dr. Giminero said. "The public should have an opportunity to voice their opinion."

"Nothing is voted on at the work sessions," Carman said. "Much of it is for our own information."

Currently the village board meets once a month to discuss what is going on in the community as well as to review agenda items in preparation for the board meetings. These meetings are held at 12:30 p.m. at town hall and are open to community members.

Village resident Chuck Goslin attended the last one and said, "it was conducted very well."

The work sessions are something new that the administration is trying. According to the board, they create more time for discussing issues.

"These work sessions were non-existent until we came into office," Mayor Graf said. "What you heard at tonight's meeting is what we discussed in last week's work session."

The end result, in an effort to accommodate Dr. Giminero, was to switch the Jan. 11, 2005 work session to 7:30 p.m. The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2005. For more information call 249-0093.