It is hoped that considerations which follow will discourage further discussion of "mothballing" the St. Paul's Main Building.

* Wholesale window glass breakage and spray-on graffiti at the empty Doubleday Press Building provide clear warning of one problem.

* A recent break-in at the Main Building of St. Paul's itself and subsequent vandalism of the interior prepares us for a second.

The attempt to guard against these problems will require substantial screening and/or boarding up the main building's windows. No matter how discreetly such protective measures are planned, they can be expected only to diminish the character and appearance of the building.

And then there is the matter of pre-mothballing costs. Integrity of roofs and exterior masonry walls must be realized to prevent ongoing deterioration. The Police Report of April 1994, commissioned by the Village, estimated these combined costs of $1,235,800. While annual construction cost escalation has been relatively modest over the ensuing four years, it has hardly been nonexistent. That factor, together with security and safety systems' improvements will significantly increase the estimate.

The fact of the matter is that mothballing will not prove a simple and inexpensive stop-gap measures on top of which comes annual maintenance costs-which includes maintaining the building in a nonincome producing status.

We will be shooting ourselves in the collective foot should we deny CareMatrix the opportunity:

a. To take these problems and costs off our collective hands.

b. Create a needed and desired assisted-living residence.