With Mayor Harold Hecken stressing that the decision to enter into negotiations for 116 Eleventh Street and the easterly 100 feet of the 114 Sixth Street property did not mean that the village would ultimately purchase these pieces of property, the Garden City Board of Trustees voted 5-3 in favor of both these items which were on Thursday night's agenda.

Though it did not receive a unanimous vote, the approval of item 1, entering into negotiations for the easterly 100 feet of 114 Sixth Street, drew little response. Item 2, however, entering into negotiations for 116 Eleventh Street, the property currently owned by the Albanese Corporation, while it received the same vote, drew comments from several trustees, the mayor, and the public.

Following his vote against item 1 on the agenda, Trustee Bruce Torino delivered a speech warning the board and residents against the "Twin falsehoods of Hypocrisy and Seduction." Torino first questioned whether the issue of acquiring the 116 Eleventh Street property for the purpose of turning it into municipal parking was about providing parking spaces, "or is it about a commercial property owner who wants to economically benefit and make his property more attractive at the expense of the residential community?" Torino further asked, if the village could provide more parking, at a lower cost, quicker, without destroying homes, what the rush to judgment was on the acquisition of this property. He then quoted the parking study which stated that the problem was parking distribution rather than a parking shortage and said that he believed he had the solution to this problem. According to Torino, his plan would increase the number of spaces in the location of Tenth Street from the current 198 spaces to 236 spaces, possibly more, an increase of approximately 20 percent. The planning commission had developed a plan that would have increased the number of spaces to 213.

Torino urged the board to consider the hypocrisy of them fighting the Roosevelt Field expansion later this month, citing environmental and traffic concerns and asking Simon Properties "when is enough, enough?" when the village is considering turning a property that currrently has a home on it into a parking lot. Torino noted that the increase in the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of Roosevelt Field is "mathematically negligible" but said that it was the impact on the surrounding community, both business and residential, that the village was fighting. He went to say that one judge at the appellate level even asked what the big deal was, because it was such a minor increase. Torino compared that judge's statement, to the statements of the proponents of acquiring the remaining homes in the decades-old Park Buffer Strip Plan to turn them into additional parking, who have commented on the fact that there are only a few more homes left in the plan.

The "easy fix" as he called it, was the seduction that Torino referred to. He said that though it might be easy to knock down the house at 116 Eleventh Street and increase the parking in municipal lot 10, by doing some creative reconfiguring, he has come up with a plan to increase parking without destroying any homes. According to Torino, his plan involves those going to the buildings surrounding Field 10 walking 300 feet, the same distance as they would need to walk to get from the 116 Eleventh Street property to the buildings in that vicinity. He urged the board to "look outside the envelope" and to avoid the seduction of the "easy fix."

Trustee Dr. Barbara Miller, said that she felt that she had a "moral obligation" to address this issue and asked that the residents in the area be considered. She too urged that the board look at other alternatives to tearing down a house. Miller said that the board has often been criticized for moving too slowly and said that they move slowly in order to make the right decisions. She quoted a Latin proverb, which translated to, "make haste slowly" and encouraged her fellow trustees to do just that when making this decision. She too voted against both agenda items.

Hecken, said that though he had not prepared a written statement, had been reviewing the transcripts of the public forum on parking that was held on Feb. 15 and wanted to bring further attention to statements made by three community members. The mayor then quoted former mayor Frank Tauches' speech, Roger Eltringham's speech, and a portion of Bertram Donley's speech. All three speakers, at the forum, spoke in favor of acquiring the available properties. Hecken then stated, "One of the features of this village is its commercial business district. It provides residents with services which they otherwise would have to go outside the village to obtain. I'd like to see those vacancies filled." He proceeded to vote in favor of item 2, as he did with item 1.

Trustee John Mauk, who voted in favor of both items, said that he has considered the feeling of the residents of the central section, as he believes other trustees have, and respects their position. Though he said that he does not believe the lack of parking is the sole reason for the empty buildings on Franklin Avenue, he does believe that there is a parking shortage and it has contributed to the vacancies. Mauk further commented that he feels the Park Buffer Strip Plan was a good one and the problems that the village is now encountering come from the fact that the plan was abandoned and the decision had been made not to follow through with purchasing houses from the plan when they became available.

Trustee Brian Murray, who voted in favor of item 1, again pointed out that though they were entering into negotiations for these properties, to find out prices and other relevant information from the property owners, they were not voting to acquire the properties. "Acquisition is a question for another day," said Murray, voting in favor of item 2.

Torino argued the sentiments of Mauk and went on to speak about what the prior acquisitions have cost the village in taxes and what the acquisition of these properties would cost the village in taxes. He noted that there are businesses such as Gross Jewelers and Edmunds Restaurant that have minimal parking but are still successful.

Along with Miller and Torino, Trustee Robert Lewis voted against entering into negotiations on both these pieces of property.

Following the vote, Trustee Peter Bee noted that it would be necessary to hold a public hearing is the board did choose to consider the purchase of these properties and suggested that the board schedule a hearing for as soon as possible. Following a brief discussion, it was determined that the earliest date a public hearing could be scheduled was March 22.

Village Attorney Gary Fishberg noted that if the board does vote to purchase the properties, it would not cost the taxpayers money, because that would be paid for by benefit assessment.

Torino quickly objected to Bee's notion of setting a date for a public hearing, commenting on the "legendary speed" with which this was going through. He added that this item was not even on the agenda in the packet he received the previous Friday . "I don't have to see the train to hear it coming," Torino said, responding to the comments that these agenda items were to just negotiate and find out what the asking prices were for the properties.

Murray agreed with Torino and suggested that the board complete negotiations before scheduling a public hearing. Trustee Gerard Lundquist agreed with this sentiment. Noting that he could see it would not pass, Bee withdrew his motion.

Following the vote on the agenda items, the board moved onto the consent calendar, where Torino questioned the hiring of a consultant to draw up plans and specifications for the repair of the Mansard roof on the historic main building at St. Paul's. Village Administrator Robert Schoelle noted that it had been a tough winter and the roof had sustained some holes, which were resulting in water damage to the building. Torino stated, "Since we are in a mood for moving with speed, let's turn to a topic that has moved with the lethargy of a turtle in a snowstorm- St. Paul's." Torino compared St. Paul's with the old adage which called a boat "an object which you pour money into." He said that this was basically all that was happening with St. Paul's. Torino added that as of yet, the board has not heard back from the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's with regard to possible future uses for the building and said, "It's time to face reality, since we're in a tearing down mood, and say, 'Let's not pour any more money into St. Paul's.'" He went on to comment on how much money that the village has already spent on the building which currently is not being used and for which there are no plans for the future. Torino questioned, "Do we all, as a community, have the wherewithal to say either we want to save our heritage or that our heritage is not salvageable?" He suggested that the board not agree to the cost involved in repairing the roof until the mayor's committee came back with a recommendation.

Trustee John Mauk stated that the loss of houses for parking would "certainly pale by comparison to the idea of the destruction of St. Paul's." As the board's liaison to the mayor's committee, Mauk explained that the committee was not ready to make any recommendations right now and that, in discussing the matter with the village administrator, discovered that the repairs to the roof could not wait if the village wished to save the historic building.

Lewis, who also voted against beginning negotiations on the available properties, stated, "I don't think we want to hold St. Paul's hostage to 116 Eleventh Street ... We don't want to trade one off for the other."

Following a lengthy discussion, the motion to hire a consultant for the plans and specifications for the repair of the roof, was passed unanimously.

Lewis then went back to discuss his vote regarding the two pieces of property. He noted that he has an office in 1010 Franklin Avenue and doesn't mind walking and echoed Torino's sentiments that "sometimes the easiest solution is not the best solution." He said that he would be in favor of other methods to achieving additional parking other than destroying a house. With regard to the 100 feet of 114 Sixth Street, Lewis stated, "Just because I did not vote for it does not mean I'm not in favor of it." He said that because that property was going to be subdivided anyway, he would rather that the village keep control of those 100 feet.

During the portion of the meeting reserved for public comment, Anthony Albanese said, "It is most unfortunate that we still have three trustees who have been in the position to review what has been done in the past. The planning commission, the coalition, three property owners' associations have all exhaustively tried to find other alternatives. There aren't any." He then discussed the other plans that had been raised, the other alternatives which failed in the past and said, "I think we can all live with the Park Buffer Strip Plan."

Dennis Armstrong, a resident of Sixth Street said that he was disappointed by the fact that the property negotiations were approved by the board. He further stated that he was pleased that Torino was discussing fiscal responsibility and he questioned what good the property acquisition, which will cost the village tax revenue, will do the village.

Susan Williams-Furrey a Tenth Street resident, also an attorney, noted that she understands that the process has not been completed and thanked the board for keeping an open mind.

John McKay, an 11th Street resident, questioned the process of the village, noting that in several instances the property owners' associations were given little notice about what was taking place. "If the process appears to be unfair, it is unfair," said McKay. He also questioned what non-invasive measures the village has taken since October, when the planning commission's study came out, to address the parking shortfall. "I urge you to take the time for some measure of compromise," said McKay.

Gregory Hesterberg, a Ninth Street resident, said that the biggest problem is that the 116 Eleventh Street house was bought by a commercial business owner and not a family. He asked that the board pass a resolution stating that from now on commercial business owners not be allowed to purchase a home, for the purpose of turning it into parking.

Russell Matthews, representing the Albanese Corporation, reinforced Mauk's statements about the problem being that the village chose not to purchase that property even though it was offered to them and was one of the houses on the Park Buffer Strip Plan. Matthews argued the idea of a parking distribution problem and added that there is a very serious real estate problem up and down Franklin Avenue. He noted that Garden City is at a disadvantage to other downtown communities because it is not convenient for people to get to and added that it is for that reason that Garden City needs to make itself as attractive as possible to tenants and shoppers by providing adequate parking. "We have a government that has now become dysfunctional ... What we seem to be doing here tonight is to get unanimity among trustees. That will never happen. It is sabotaging the efforts of the good property owners' to do something with Franklin Avenue." He added that the reason why some of the lots on the other side of Franklin are available is because the buildings that are near those lots are vacant. He added that the acquisition of 116 Eleventh Street will not cost taxpayers, "one penny." He noted that in the past it has been determined by several outside consultants and previous boards, that there are no other parking alternatives.

Robert Alvey, a resident of Fenimore and a WPOA director said that when the directors met in November, "The WPOA approved recommendation was only to support restriping and reconfiguration of the 10-11th Street Parking lot, not to endorse acquisition of any further homes." A month later, according to Alvey, the WPOA president informed the directors that the letter they saw was not the one sent to the board. He said that the board confirmed their original recommendations and voted to submit their original letter. Alvey said that at the February meeting he discovered that even though the recommendation letter had already been submitted, the WPOA's guests for the meeting were the commercial property owners' representative and that there were no representatives for the affected homeowners present. Alvey questioned validity of the WPOA's support of the purchase of property for the expansion of parking.

John Watras, president of the WPOA argued that no letters were ever held back. "Anything we've done has been in the interest of the village," said Watras.

Dr. Russell Miller, a resident of Tenth Street said that the Albanese's two buildings, according to the Albanese Corporation, are short on parking, actually exceed the village code of four spaces per 1000 square feet and have six parking spaces per 1000 square feet.

At this time the matter is left that the board will negotiate prices with the owners of the 116 Eleventh Street property and the 114 Sixth Street property and in the future may or may not vote to acquire these properties following a public hearing.