The following are trustee reports from the most recent village board meeting.

Deputy Mayor Kevin Greene thanked the Junior Woman's Club for hosting the annual tree lighting ceremony Dec. 2 at Memorial Park and the assistance from the Department of Public Works, the Floral Park Police and Fire Departments in making the evening such a huge success.

Deputy Mayor Greene thanked residents who attended the public information session and the South Side Civic Association meeting in which the Magnolia Avenue reconstruction project was discussed. Both sessions provided an overview of the project as well as a discussion of the impacts that are expected as a result of the construction. One of the more significant impacts to the area involves the removal of 20 trees.

Deputy Mayor Greene again reinforced that the village is not happy about removing any trees. As stated at the meetings, "We asked the village engineer, the Department of Public Works and an arborist to explore other options," he said. "Following a review of those other options, it was decided that they were not good options. As a result of the feedback at one of the meetings, the village is looking into one more option that a resident presented. If feasible, it could help reduce the number of trees that have to be removed."

Deputy Mayor Greene will keep residents posted on the village's findings. If anyone is interested in getting information about the project, please call village hall. The bids for the project are back and are under review.

Winter is here and its time to reinforce a few rules that will help make the roads safer to drive, Deputy Mayor Greene added. "When removing snow from sidewalks, place the snow toward your front lawn. In the past, residents have been observed blowing snow into the street. Besides breaking the law, it is creating an unsafe condition for motorists to operate their vehicles. The Public Works staff work long and hard hours to make our streets safe during and after a snowfall. In addition to creating this unsafe condition, the Public Works staff has to work longer hours, adding to overtime costs but more importantly, putting the workers at a safety risk," Deputy Mayor Greene said.

Further, do not pull your car into the street when you see the plows coming. Besides creating work for yourself by having to shovel your vehicle out, it once again creates an unsafe condition for you and other motorists, Deputy Mayor Greene added.

Moreover, the Public Works Department is currently in the process of planting 100 trees throughout the village, which the department hopes to have done, if weather cooperates, by Christmas.

Deputy Mayor Greene also reported that the Emergency Management Committee is currently looking for residents to serve on it. One of the key concerns of this committee is communication during an emergency. A five-week course is being offered beginning Feb. 15 and will give instruction on emergency procedures such as standard CPR and the use of a portable fire extinguisher. Anyone interested in participating in the course and joining this committee should call village hall.

On behalf of the Department of Public Works, members of the fire department and his family, Deputy Mayor Greene wished residents a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

Trustee Gerry Bambrick reported that foundation work at 115 Jericho Turnpike has started. The owners of the new house on Aspen Street have also started foundation work on their house. Due to the time of year, masonry work at the Flowerview Garden apartment complex is postponed until spring. Construction work at 15 Verbena Avenue will start shortly. They will be removing the remaining asbestos, spraying on fire protection and completing alterations for the new J.P. Morgan Chase Bank branch. Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home will be going back to the Architectural Review Board Wednesday, Dec. 21 with a revised and scaled down version of their project.

Trustee Bambrick wished everyone happy holidays.

Trustee Tom Tweedy reported that the fields have been closed for the winter and the park will close at 4:45 p.m. The Sunday tours at Centennial Gardens have also been suspended until spring.

He reminded residents to look at the next issue of Village Items or on the village website (www.fpvillage.org) for the schedule of classes offered at the Recreation Center's second session starting next year. Registration for these classes will be held Tuesday, Jan. 3, and Thursday, Jan 5. The senior exercise class will continue for the full 12-week cycle and the aerobics class will run for 17 weeks.

Trustee Tweedy also wished all residents a joyous and Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year and he especially thanked the village employees for all they do for the Village of Floral Park.

Trustee James Rhatigan said that with the snow upon us, the library board and director wish to remind residents that they can use many of the library's resources without leaving their homes. Those with home Internet access can log onto www.nassaulibrary.org/fpark to reserve a novel for pickup, to do research for a winter break school project or even find and print tax forms and get a head start toward preparing your return this year.

"If you are searching for a hard to locate or much in demand book, you can see online if an item is available at our library," he said. "If Floral Park does not have it on hand, you can take advantage of the library system interloan program to virtually scan the shelves at a wide number of Nassau's libraries and when you find the book you need you can have it delivered to Floral Park's library so that you can pick it up locally.

"Our library's website can also be your gateway to many useful and informative databases including one where you can obtain instant easy access to accurate information about Long Island agencies, organizations and programs," Trustee Rhatigan added. "If you are stumped trying to help your child complete that project for school, try out the McGraw-Hill Online Encyclopedia of Science and Technology to get an edge up. Of course, the library is still a great place to visit in person where library staff will be most happy to assist you."

Mayor Phil Guarnieri reported that he and Trustee Tweedy recently attended the Garden City village board meeting to do a PowerPoint presentation on the third track expansion, which is a proposal made by the MTA/LIRR for an 11.5-mile electrified track extending from Hicksville to Queens Village at a cost in excess of $670 million.

"Six public hearings were held, two of which were in Floral Park, in which not only our sister villages, public officials and many Floral Park residents attended but over 10,000 signatures were obtained and a letter writing campaign was started," Mayor Guarnieri said.

The MTA/LIRR ended the commenting period on Aug. 31 even though Senator Michael Balboni requested an extension. However, on Oct. 16 the MTA/LIRR decided to reopen the commenting period until Dec. 31 in order to obtain positive testimony for the record from their supporters, Mayor Guarnieri said. In response to the re-opening of the commenting period, Mayor Guarnieri asked all residents to attend a public meeting at village hall Dec. 14 and place their comments on the public record. LIRR President James Dermody was invited to attend but declined the invitation (see story on page 1).

Mayor Guarnieri said he had the pleasure of attending the annual tree lighting ceremony Dec. 2. There was a large turnout and it really felt like winter, he said. Mayor Guarnieri thanked the Department of Public Works and village electrician George Gustafsson for all their work in hanging the lights.

On Dec. 5, Mayor Guarnieri met with senior citizens at the New Hyde Park Inn and presented them with a check from the village to help offset the cost of senior programs. Mayor Guarnieri enjoyed the meeting and said that senior citizens are one of the community's greatest assets.

Further, the mayor, along with Trustee Tweedy, attended the Titan's football awards ceremony. "It was wonderful to see all the youngsters, coaches and parents who participate in this growing program," he said. Mayor Guarnieri said that what is important about a program such as this is the important values that are being taught regarding healthy competition, including discipline and teamwork.

On Dec. 1, he along with the village board attended the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce Christmas party. The mayor and board are happy to support the Floral Park business community and wish them a very Merry Christmas.

On behalf of the board and the village family, Mayor Guarnieri wished all 16,000 Floral Park residents a very Merry Christmas, a blessed New Year and happy holidays to all.