At the opening of the Dec. 11 Farmingdale Village Board meeting, the Farmingdale Fire Department presented the Beautification Committee with a $1,000 check. The money was raised during the Columbus Day Fair.

"Just to remind you, Mayor, that this is the 17th one that the village has gotten [from the fire department]," quipped 1st Assistant Chief Fred Schumeyer.

Mayor George Graf then continued to honor the FBLI U10 Greendogs for their first place win at the Plainedge Youth Baseball Tournament. Each player was awarded a Certificate of Recognition.

Business proceeded as usual as the board voted unanimously to accept a bid for a radio dispatch console for the fire department. The $30,825 bid came in from a company that Village Clerk Dave Smollett deemed to "meet all the appropriate criteria."

The total cost of $25,000 will be paid with grant money received to purchase the console and the fire department came up with $6,000 from one of their surplus line items in their budget.

They also voted unanimously to accept a bid remove and install the brick walkway along Village Hall. May Landscaping of Bayport came in with a bid of $7 per square foot to install the brick and $3 per square foot to remove the old brick, for a total of $10 per square foot to complete the job.

The board then voted to increase water tap fees for new installations, as per Code 102-4, for 1", 1.5" and 2" taps.

"The last increase was in 1991," Department of Public Works Superintendent Fred Zamparelle said. "In canvassing six other districts, I found we are far behind the norm."

The fee for a 1" tap, which includes pumping and usage in a home, will be $1,400 and a 2" will be $2,800, whereas the fee for a 4" tap, which would be for a sprinkler fire system, would be $400.

The reason for the $400 fee for the larger, 4" tap is "because it is a sprinkler and is not going to be used normally, only in the event of a fire," explained Trustee Butch Starkie.

They put off voting on the 4" and 6" fee increases until a future meeting.

"The board has the right to set the new fees and renew these fees on an annual basis," Smollett said.

The board granted all building permits applied for. Of the 19, most were interior improvements, building facelifts or demolition of existing one family homes and construction of new ones in their place. One third of the apartments in the 675 Main St. complex are completely renovated.

"This goes hand in hand with the new roofing, siding, driveway and landscaping that has been done," Building Superintendent Ron Craig said.

The board referred a shopping center proposal to the Planning Board for a Jan. 19, 2007 hearing. The Fulton Street and Merritt Road project includes the demolition of 13 existing non-conforming buildings and the construction of a "50,000-sq. ft. Rite Aid, a bank and something comparable to Farmingdale Plaza sandwiched in between," according to Craig.

"Not only is this going to clean up the area, but it will make it much safer as well," Mayor Graf said.

8th Precinct Deputy Inspector and Commanding Officer Mike Cronin visited the village meeting.

"This is the close of my first year as commanding officer of the 8th Precinct," Cronin explained. "I have maintained an excellent working relationship with the village."

Cronin said that major crime - robberies, homicides, burglaries, etc. - are down 8.5 percent from last year.

"I understand that it is the smaller things like graffiti and vehicle and traffic issues is what concerns you," he added. "The good thing is the majority of graffiti is being reported and most of it is not gang related."

He addressed the ongoing parking and drop off issues at Howitt Middle School. The traffic issues are mainly due to the increased number of kids attending the school, the change in busing and the decreased number of available parking spots.

"A lot of the problem is that parents are dropping off kids. The parents need to be educated," he explained.

Cronin said it isn't going to be an instant fix, but parents should stop parking close to stop signs and not parking in crosswalks.

Cronin said he has suggested in the past to the school superintendent that a letter be sent home to parents that officers will begin issuing tickets.

"Enforcement is not the problem," he said. "The answer hopefully is going to be making more parking spots and creating a spot for parents to drop off their kids."

"In the end it's up to the individual parent to use common sense," Mayor Graf added.

One parent who is also a member of the Howitt Safety Committee inquired about appointing a crossing guard to the area.

"There has never been a crossing guard in that area, although there are several nearby," Cronin said.

A study completed two years ago found there wasn't a need.

"In my professional opinion you're not going to get one either," he added.

The mayor asked Cronin to move police resources stationed in the Secatogue area to Van Cott in the morning and afternoon hours.

"I have been very pleased with the resources made available by the 8th Precinct," he said.

"We have been working with the school district and the village to make that a safer situation," Cronin added. "There's nothing more important than the safety of your children."

The next village board meeting is slated for Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall. For more information visit www.farmingdalevillage.com.