It was an evening of well wishes, reflection and anticipation last Thursday which was the final village meeting that Judith Asselta, Laurence Kettner and Frank Tauches presided over as trustees.

Village Administrator Robert Schoelle and Trustees Gerard Lundquist, Bruce Torino, Peter Bee and Robert Lewis, who are all remaining on the board for the coming year, each took the opportunity to thank Asselta, Kettner and Tauches for their service to the village.

Lundquist, who is the newest member of the board for a year, described it as a privilege to work with the departing trustees over the last year.

Torino stated of the departing trustees, "With the years of service, both by Trustee Asselta and Trustee Kettner, they are taking their legacy with them but are leaving with us their experience, their guidance and their efforts in maintaining this village and making it better." He also recognized the contributions of former mayor Tauches who this year was brought back to fill a sudden vacancy on the board. Torino expressed his appreciation for all the efforts of each of the departing board members.

Bee also joined in the goodbyes, noting that Tauches brought the greatest wealth of trustee experience to the shortest trustee tenure.

Lewis thanked not only the departing trustees but the families of the trustees for, "the untold sacrifices over the years." He added that he would miss Kettner and Asselta and to Tauches, joked, "Frank, I don't know about that," to which Tauches responded, "But I'm really going this time!"

There were many comments throughout the evening about Tauches return to the board after leaving his tenure as mayor only a few months prior.

Each of the departing trustees also took the opportunity to thank everyone who assisted them over the years and to share some final thoughts before they concluded their terms.

Kettner, who is moving to New Jersey for a new job, spoke about how much he enjoyed his years of village service. "I can honestly say I got more out of it in enjoyment, knowledge, and learning, than I put into it." Kettner then went on to speak of all the board has accomplished and what he wished had been accomplished. He noted that his biggest disappointment was that the judicial system had been used to stall what he believes to be "an excellent use of the old St. Paul's." Although he acknowledged the rights of those who are opposing the use of St. Paul's as an assisted living facility, he said that he is disappointed that the judicial system has not sped this along and given a final determination in this lawsuit.

"Even if we do not, for some reason use the building for assisted living, I believe the building should be preserved," said Kettner. "It and the cathedral are our heritage and what make Garden City different from other communities." He added that although it is important to stay modern and current, it is also important that the village maintain its history.

Kettner also thanked the property owner's associations of both the estates section and western section, for their encouragement over the years, the village staff and his fellow trustees for their loyal and constant support.

Pledging to come back with his wife, Janet for a visit, Kettner concluded, "I'm looking forward to a warm summer evening, when after a good dinner we can stroll along the newly remodeled Franklin Avenue, admire the streetscape and do some shopping. Perhaps in a few more years we'll be back as potential customers for the assisted living. Until then we bid you, not goodbye, but au revoir."

The senior trustee, Judith Asselta, also reflected on what the board has accomplished and what she would still like to see completed. Asselta began by speaking of the different committees she worked on over her nine year tenure as trustee and how hard each of the commissioners of the village's departments work to maintain their areas of the village. She also commended Village Administrator Schoelle as, "The heart and soul of our village."

Going back to the beginning of her time on the board, nine years ago, Asselta spoke of the issues that concerned her at the time: the revitalization of Franklin Avenue, St. Paul's, Doubleday, and the impact of development to the east of the village. "Those issues are still here today," laughed Asselta. She went on to note, "I'm delighted to see the improvements to Franklin Avenue, to our business district" and commented on what still needs to be done. She encouraged the board to work with the chamber of commerce on developing a Business Improvement District to work on attracting businesses to the downtown area.

Asselta echoed Kettner's sentiments about St. Paul's, adding, "I think the village must understand that we, as a village cannot maintain that beautiful, historic building on our own. We have got to come up with a use for that building or else we are going to lose it... It would be criminal to see that happen, we must find some way to revitalize that building and we need a partner."

With regard to the development in east, Asselta noted that the village must remain vigilant in terms of managing the development, because Garden City is primarily a residential community and must be maintained as such. She pointed out that although controlled development is good, overdevelopment will affect the village's traffic, air quality and water supply, thus "impacting the quality of life for everyone."

Asselta concluded by wishing Dr. Barbara Miller, Brian Murray and whoever replaces Kettner from the estates section, luck as the newest members of the board.

Tauches commented on what both Asselta and Kettner brought to the board and commended them for their efforts. For himself, he stated, "I really mean it this time! Thank you all, you know where to find me, it's been a pleasure serving with you once again."

Mayor Harold Hecken concluded the well-wishes from the board, saying that there was nothing more he could add to the fine things already said about each of the departing trustees and led everyone in a cheer for them. He also noted that at the April 3 organizational meeting they would be joined by three new trustees, one from the estates, one from the west and one from central.

Several residents also acknowledged the departing members of the board, including Barbara Miller, president of the Central POA, who will be replacing Asselta; Althea Robinson, executive director of the chamber of commerce; Mort Yuter, who faithfully attends each of the village meetings; and Robert Rothschild, the president of the Estates POA.

Yuter brought up the fact that this is the first time, in at least recent memory, that the board has lost three members at once and questioned whether it had ever happened before. While nobody was able to answer that question definitively, the mayor noted that with the community agreement, in which each of the trustees are selected by the property owners' associations rather than running in contested elections, they are able to usually replace the trustees one or two at a time, preventing the sudden loss of half the board.

Throughout the meeting the sacrifice and dedication of the trustees was commented on again and again, reflecting the impact they each had on the village.