Prior to the start of the Nov. 29 Farmingdale Village Trustees meeting Mayor George Graf was wrapping up a discussion with Cub Scout Pack 57 and Boy Scout Troop 261. The children attended the board meeting as part of attaining their Citizenship Patch.

The meeting then continued, business as usual. Buildings Department Superintendent Ron Craig sought approval for five building permits including lowering the occupancy limit at the Nutty Irishman Bar & Pub on Main Street, finishing a cellar for recreational use, a front porch addition and two in-ground pools. All were unanimously approved.

Next up was tax certiorari, which by definition, is the legal process by which a property owner can challenge the real estate tax assessment on a given property in attempt to reduce the property's assessment and real estate taxes. Five businesses in the village were issued refunds ranging from $8,700 to $33,000. Craig stated "most go back a few years."

Department of Public Works Superintendent Fred Zamparelle then addressed the board and residents on a new fixed based radio read water monitoring system. Zamparelle recommended that the board accept a bid for this system, which would overhaul the village's water meter reading system. A bid of $58,000 was accepted for the initial setup of the system. This price breaks down to $1.15 per household over 20 years.

"We have had a vast amount of problems with our meters," Zamparelle said. "This is, by far, state of the art. We are the first in the area to do this."

Previously, the village and surrounding areas maintained a touch read system where a representative would visit each household, accessing a meter on the outside of the residence. Information from the meter is electronically downloaded into a handheld computer and then brought to Village Hall and entered into the system. Water bills are then issued from that information.

"We have now taken it to the next level," Zamparelle said.

The new system, which was unanimously approved by the village board, will include a radio-monitoring device where in place of the touch read meter it sends a radio signal to the water tower. That information will then be radioed to the Village Hall computer and bills will be generated.

According to Zamparelle, over the next three years, each household in the village will receive this new meter, which will be read four times each day.

"Any discrepancies in water usage will be able to be monitored on a daily basis," Zamparelle said. "This system will let us know if something is wrong if you are not there."

The cost will be about $220 per household for the new meters, however, it will be incurred by the Water Department.

"The savings that various other towns have picked up by installing this system is approximately 15 percent," Zamparelle stated.

"The labor that we will save over the next several years will be phenomenal," Zamparelle said. "This system will pay for itself in no time."

The initial setup up will commence within the next few months, and Zamparelle hopes to have each household switched over within three to three-and-a-half years.

Next Deputy Mayor Joe Rachiele addressed the "state of disrepair" of some of the village's holiday decorations.

"I would like to allocate some monies to purchase new decorations," Rachiele suggested.

He then handed out a catalog of such decorations, adding that after Dec. 31, the prices are offered at a 30 percent discount. Rachiele suggested spending a maximum of $15,000 on new decorations. The original decorations were provided by the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce and trustee Dr. Benjamin Giminaro said he would put off on a vote until the matter was discussed with them and therefore, the decision was tabled until the Dec. 13 trustees meeting.

A public hearing then commenced on the floor to area ratio in the village's building code book. This is in effort to restrict the size of buildings on their lots and would apply to all residential homes.

"We have some properties with very large homes going on very small lots," Craig said. "We would like to establish reasonable restrictions for homes."

Citing "proportional development" as the driving force behind this suggestion, Craig handed out the proposed provisions. For example, a lot of up to 3,999 square feet would have a permitted maximum gross floor area permitted of 47 percent and 1,880 square feet and a lot of 4,000 to 5,999 square feet would have a permitted maximum gross floor area permitted of 45 percent and 2,700 square feet. Sheds, detached garages and decks on properties would be included in configuring these numbers.

"No vote will be taken now," Mayor Graf explained. "The board will continue to review the topic and will address it again on Dec. 13."

The second public hearing addressed street and sidewalk obstructions while construction is under way at residences. According to Zamparelle, dumpsters, sand and skids of bricks are all creating damage to blacktops and sidewalks.

"This also creates dangerous vehicular conditions," Craig added.

By creating a $25 permit fee for dumpsters, the village would be able to regulate their use.

"New guidelines are coming to the DPW by the DEC for drainage systems and this debris clogs the drains and ends up in the Great South Bay," Zamparelle said.

Again, no decision was made on this issue and the discussion will continue at the Dec. 13 trustees meeting.

A public hearing on noise ordinance was tabled for a future meeting.

The board then updated residents on the road bond project.

According to Mayor Graf, the board has been working on a plan on how the village will finance and complete the road improvement project "since the money from the bond has been exhausted and more than half of the roads are not complete."

Zamparelle has been touring the village and is bringing in an engineering firm to see which are "severely in need of road repairs."

"We will attack this in a sensible way," Zamparelle added.

Toward the end of the meeting when the public was asked if they had any comments Farmingdale Fire Department Chief John Salerno addressed residents.

"This is the time of year when your carbon monoxide detectors will be going off," Chief Salerno began. "People will be turning on their furnaces and some will set off the detectors."

Chief Salerno advised homeowners not to open their windows to air out their residence in such an instance. He said the fire department will not be able to get an accurate carbon monoxide reading and tell if there is a leak.

Sherman Road resident Brian Healey also addressed the board regarding provisions to the Hueppe Property [Lenox Hills Estates] located behind his house. He inquired about planting near the fence and screens on the street lights to prevent headlight glare from entering his home.

"The planting is ongoing and the I expect the light screens to be installed by the end of the week," Craig said.

The next Farmingdale Village Trustees meeting is on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. For more information call 249-0093 or visit www.farmingdalevillage.org.