The Farmingdale Village Board held its June 4 meeting before a sparse crowd of 10 residents.

The board accepted Salerno Brokerage as the 2007/08 fiscal year general fire insurance broker for the village. Salerno's bid of $115,950 represents an $18,514 savings over the other bidder, for the same coverage and deductibles.

"Salerno provides services for about 70 percent of the villages in Nassau and Suffolk Counties," Smollett added.

According to Village Clerk Dave Smollett it also saves the village over $20,000, as the bid came in under the 2007/08 budgeted amount.

The 2007/08 adopted budget is $5,656,667, of which $3,327,096 is to be raised by property taxes. This represents a 2.74 percent increase over last year. The average household will experience a $17.85 increase per $100 of net assessed valuation. The fiscal year begins in July 2007.

Public Hearings for two building proposals were scheduled for the July 9 trustee's meeting. The first is regarding the 20 Merritts Road subdivision. This is the first time the board will hear this proposal. The second is regarding the 776-780 Fulton Street townhouse proposal. This proposal is for four next-generation housing units.

"This will be the village's first attempt at embracing the master plan allowing affordable housing to be generated," Building Superintendent Ron Craig said. "This will give first-time homebuyers the chance to purchase homes at below market value."

The units, which as of six months ago would sell for $273,000 each, would include 20 percent down payment that could be subsidized by the Long Island Housing Partnership. Very low financing would also be available to homeowners.

"The amount of assistance you can receive is determined on the income levels," Deputy Mayor Joe Rachiele said. "This is only the first one that we're looking at and we'll learn from it."

The builders received a waiver from the village to proceed and will not be affected by the moratorium.

The board then opened the Public Hearing on extending the moratorium, which is slated to expire this month.

A six-month moratorium extension with an option for two, three-month renewals was approved. The reason for the extension, according to Village Attorney Kevin Walsh, is because the "board is considering more local laws."

"We have already made local laws about a number of zoning laws and there are some more we would like to look at," Mayor George Graf added.

"It becomes more detailed the more [you] get into it," Trustee Tom Langon said.

Mayor Graf reminded residents that waivers can be granted if the building proposals are within reason and the board can vote to stop the moratorium at any time.

"It's worked out very well so far and no one is being harmed from this," he added. "Half of the time it is residents that bring up issues to the board that inspire changes."

Mayor Graf asked Department of Public Works Superintendent Fred Zamparelle to update residents on the road bond project. While the project is still continuing with Prospect Street currently under construction, Mayor Graf said almost $3 million has been accomplished so far.

"We still need about $6 million to continue, not including the lots," he added. "The estimate keeps increasing as oil and asphalt prices increase. This could be afforded and digested by our tax base with minimal impact to the residents."

Village Fire Commissioner and Merokee Place resident Mike O'Brien inquired about a general list of which roads are scheduled to be repaved and when.

Zamparelle responded that when the Road Bond project began three years ago, H2M, the village's engineering firm, generated a list, but it's not updated.

The first road bond, which was generated under the previous administration, did not cover the whole project as it was supposed to.

The only immediate solution would be a significant tax increase, Mayor Graf said, and "we're not looking to do that right now".

"Two-to-three years out we will be looking at the next phase of this," he added.

The next village board meeting is slated for Monday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. The next trustee's work session is scheduled for Monday, June 18 at 6 p.m. All meetings are held at Village Hall on Main Street. For more information call 249-0093 or visit www.farmingdalevillage.com.