Before the Consent Calendar was approved by the trustees at the Village Board meeting of Oct. 15, Trustee Kettner requested that item #2 be removed for discussion. This item was listed on the agenda as "Amendment to Bond Resolution -- Franklin Avenue Project." It was explained by Mayor Tauches that the amendment would budget $3,100,000 for the project, an increase of $900,000 from the original bond of $2,200,000 that had been approved.

Kettner questioned if increasing the bond by approximately 40 percent would commit the Village to accepting a bid if it came in under the $3.1 million. Village Administrator Schoelle explained that, "the ultimate decision" belongs to the Board of Trustees, and by allocating an additional $900,000, it in no way obligated them to accept any particular bid. Kettner also asked, "One explanation when given for the difference between the estimates we were given and the bids that came in was that when the RFPs [Requests for Proposals] were sent out, the contractors were busy with work and gave a high price. If we're hoping that these prices will go down now as fall has set in, why inflate?" Schoelle responded that this was "a measure of safety" as the Village re-enters the bidding process. The approach taken, the adoption of an amendment to the orginal bond as opposed to other avenues, also allows the Village to maintain a swift momentum through the bidding process, according to Schoelle.

Mayor Tauches commented, "We can speculate as to why the bids came in above what we expected all we want, but the fact is that's where the bids came in. What we need to do now is utilize that information." He added that while the timing of the project may be delayed, he feels that the timing of this amendment and the "scope of the project" will provide the Village with "truly competitive bids, beyond two or three bids." Kettner asked if it might not be prudent to consider "reducing the scope or level of luxury of the plans to match the level of the dollars originally approved." He noted, "I'm not sure we want to spend $3.1 million at this time." Schoelle answered that there were aspects of the project that could be scaled down, such as the pavers and crosswalks. He added that the architectural consultant, Bill Kuhl, has stated that he will be working to bring in manufacturers to bid to help reduce the costs of the materials, which will provide more competition.

Trustee Torino noted before he offered his comments on the subject that what he was about to say should not be seen in any way as a lack of support for the streetscape project, but he felt it was important to note that the percent increase does not actually reflect the raw numbers difference between the estimates given and the actual bids that came in from the contractors. He explained that there had been a "10 percent float in the plan" to allow for some room for increased costs, so the hardcost difference between the original bond and the bids was more than 40 percent. He also added that, "the explanation given for the difference was not satisfactory to me" and he stated that "in any profession except for weathermen, if they were off by 40 percent, they'd be severely criticized." He seconded Kettner's concerns that perhaps the scope of the project needed to be reduced and commented, "there's no guarantee that the previous bidders will come down in their bids and this project has now gotten substantially more expensive." Torino requested that a more detailed explanation of the cost of goods versus the cost of labor be provided to adequately analyze the situation.

Trustee Asselta stated that she shares Torino's concerns about Kuhl's estimates, but said that she does not want to see the scope of the project scaled down, as she feels it will diminish the overall quality of the beautification. She pointed to the fact that the deductions suggested would only reduce the costs by $258,000, and that this was not a significant enough savings to warrant cutting what she termed, "an essential part of the overall designs," such as the pavers and crosswalks.

Trustee Hecken asked Schoelle to clarify his earlier answer to Kettner and assure the Board that by passing a bond issue for more money, the Village was not obligated to spend the entire amount if they decided to remove pieces of the project. Schoelle responded, "the bond sets forth a ceiling" and does not require the Village to utilize the entire amount. Schoelle also added that $100,000 was obtained from the State's multimodal project, which can be applied to the streetscape project.

Trustee Lewis expressed concern that the timeline set forth by the Village may be contributing to the high costs of the bids. He explained that he felt that perhaps the fact that the Village wanted the work done so quickly was putting pressure on the contractors to assemble their crews and get the work done faster than they feel comfortable, so the prices they gave reflect the effects of that pressure. He suggested that perhaps the Village consider allowing for more time than the four months planned for the completion of the work from the time the bid is awarded.

Mayor Tauches argued that it would be better to pay a premium if it meant that Franklin Avenue would be on the path to revitalization that much sooner. He noted that the Board has "looked at this thing six ways from everywhere that we can" and that "the important thing to do now is to take this step, pass this bond amendment" and allow the RFPs to go out again and move the project, which he noted was examined by the Board, the POAs, and the Chamber of Commerce, along.

The Board members agreed to vote and passed the amendment unanimously.

In other news related to Franklin Avenue, at the meeting Trustee Asselta began her report by urging all residents to attend the public hearing scheduled by the Town of Hempstead to hear the Saks Corporation and Roosevelt Field owners' plea for a variance to allow the Saks developers to construct a 150,000 square foot store near Macy's. As was reported in last week's issue of Garden City Life, Saks has officially announced their plans to close the Franklin Avenue store when the new Roosevelt Field store opens in the spring of 2000. Asselta argued that, "The Town had a .4 FAR when Roosevelt Field first put on their second floor, and allowed them a .5 FAR, because they argued around it. Now with this proposal they'd be going way over the .5 FAR. Hempstead would be violating their own zoning." She added that the mall area is "overbuilt already" and noted that the "impact on traffic" in the area would be tremendous.

Trustee Hecken added that if the variance is granted, the FAR would be approaching .7 and he added that in light of the Nassau County Comprehensive Plan's recommendation to build up the Villages of Mineola and Hempstead, Garden City will be dramatically impacted as it lies in the middle of these two centers. Hecken read Hamilton Smith's letter to the County which expressed concern about the impact development will have on the Village. With the County's plans to develop the Hub area to the Village's east, traffic moving in and out of this area will certainly increase. The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Windgate hotel on Stewart Avenue, east of the Village, is scheduled for this week, and there is discussion that new offices are planned for the Mitchel Field area. The Long Island Children's Museum is scheduled to move to Mitchel Field in the year 2000 and many cultural centers are in the works for what will become a larger scale Museum Row. On three of the Village of Garden City's boundaries, tremendous development is planned.

Hecken noted that if Saks is allowed to build this structure at the mall, the area will become significantly denser and the traffic spillover into Garden City will be tremendous. He noted that while Franklin Avenue will be turning a corner with the improvements to its streetscape, by allowing the area east of the Village to build up more it will make things more difficult for the Village.

Mayor Tauches emphatically stated that he will "do everything in my power to get Saks to stay, and if they do go, I'll do everything in my power to get an equal or even better tenant. The government can only do so much. We have a system of free enterprise." He noted that money to beautify Franklin Avenue will be spent and landlords have and will be encouraged to work with the Village for the welfare of the community. He said that he would do his best, as would other Village officials and citizens, to see that the zoning request by Saks is defeated. The mayor also noted that ironically, Saks has been cited as one of the companies leading the efforts to revitalize Main Streets. He added that there is a real shift in business to Main Street and Franklin Avenue is the place to shop. The Lord & Taylor on Franklin Avenue is their second most successful store in the chain, according to the mayor, and he expressed his pride in the efforts of the landlords who have made an effort to beautify their stores.

Bert Donley of the Chamber of Commerce offered his opinion on the Saks matter during the public's opportunity to speak. He thanked the board for encouraging people to attend the hearing and to oppose the issuance of the zoning. He also stated that prior to the hearing the Chamber will be holding a meeting of the major property owners in the Village to discuss what can be done to minimize the impact of the store's closing, should that occur as Saks plans. He said that he believes that "retail creates an ambiance for offices and makes a Village that's alive. The owners have a stake in a vital retail environment." Donley commented, "It's not very likely that Saks will allow any substantive retailer to take that space on their heels." "Hempstead violated their own zoning when they let Nordstrom's go up," he added, and urged the Village to "use any clout we have with the Town officials."

Donley noted that he had been informed that the Franklin Avenue Saks was the second most successful store in their chain, and that many customers shop by phone to the store. Trustee Lewis commented that Saks was bought by Profitt's of the South and that they may be taking a different approach to retail now. Lewis added that he had heard that Bloomingdale's was openly reporting that they were doing in a week at the mall what they did on Franklin Avenue in a month, and that if stores like Saks are hearing that, this may be contributing to the desire to move. The mayor stated that he had written to Saks when he first became mayor and thanked them for their contribution to the Village and expressed his availability to them to aid them. He says that he successfully worked with Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney to encourage them to stay.

The mayor and trustees all expressed their firm belief that with or without Saks on Franklin Avenue it will flourish and propser. The Board essentially predicted that Franklin Avenue's cup will no longer be simply half full, but will be running over by the year 2000.

It should be noted that at press time the hearing was scheduled, according to the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Hemsptead in a telephone conversation with Garden City Life Monday morning, for Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m., in contradiction of reports in other media sources. It was noted by the individual from the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals during Garden City Life's inquiry that lawyers for one of the parties involved in the appeal for a variance has requested an adjournment, but that would be decided at the time the hearing was to take place.