The Garden City Village Board of Trustees saw a presentation on the issue of the bond; both members of the Ad Hoc Citizens Advisory Committee and School Board President Linda Leone were present before the Village Board.

A documentary-like video was shown, describing the physical conditions of the Garden City school buildings and the workings of the bond.

According to the video, if residents vote yes for the bond and file their STAR application with the state by Dec. 31, 1998, their property taxes should go down.

Ad Hoc Chairperson John Sullivan stated, "The major portion of the bond is about buildings." He said that about 70 percent of the bond is to repair deteriorating buildings and to satisfy building and fire codes.

These buildings are expected to accommodate a projected 27 percent increase in enrollment in the next few years, and necessary adjustments to the buildings will have to be made. Sullivan noted that while the demographics may change in the next ten years, the majority of the bond would not.

"Demographics will change, but the cost of the bond would not change drastically," he said. "It would change from $37 million to $35 or $34 million."

Both Sullivan and Leone urged the Village Board to inform citizens not only about the bond vote date of Dec. 10, but about the open house which was held Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the high school. Leone commented on the open house, "It will be a great opportunity for citizens to come and ask questions and discuss the bond with representatives from the schools and the School Board, as well as the Ad Hoc Committee, in a conversational tone." A public hearing on the bond is proposed for Dec. 2 ( more details to follow in upcoming issues).

The Village Board also heard from two members of the public on the St. Paul's issue.

Former Village Administrator James Kenny, who currently has a lawsuit pending against the Village concerning the St. Paul's property, questioned the Board as to the start date of its agreement with CareMatrix, the assisted living company with which the Village is in the due diligence process to lease the property from the Village.

The start date of the lease was recently delayed.

"Because of the delay, it appears to me that CareMatrix is having some reservations about the project," Kenny said. "If they are saying the property should be bigger, I believe the public has the right to know."

While none of the Village Board members would respond on details of the issue while it was still pending, another community member also spoke up about St. Paul's.

William Haynes said he attended the last meeting of the Recreation Commission at Trustee Bruce Torino's request.

"I would like to note that I was greatly impressed by Recreation Director Paul Blake and his commitment to the project [the examination of future uses for the St. Paul's fields]," he said. He added, "And Trustee Torino should be praised."

Haynes concluded, "I think that a village that holds itself up as a premier village can afford a decent park."