On behalf of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary, Robert Alvey of Garden City, sanctuary president since its inception, requested the village permanently waive water fees at the site. He cited several reasons, including the fact that water is used sparingly, but as needed, during dry conditions. Alvey called on trustees at the last village board meeting but received a letter of denial from the village shortly thereafter.

The site, a storm water storage basin Nassau County owns, is managed by a certified, not-for-profit organization as a community nature preserve and wildlife habitat for public benefit. The bird sanctuary was established as a result of activities of the village's Garden City Environmental Advisory Board with a mission to manage protected green space for environmental stewardship and community services programs. The site is open and available to the public on a limited, supervised basis.

In a letter written to Village Administrator Robert Schoelle last month, Alvey stated, "Through private donations, a metered water service was installed at the site to provide a reliable source of water for newly planted and re-landscaped areas ... I request that the village eliminate the service charges for water consumption by the Garden City Bird Sanctuary for this public benefit."

Alvey added, "It is our contention that the water be provided as a public service as the entire community benefits from the improvements at the preserve." The bird sanctuary's average annual bill to the Garden City Water District is roughly $3,000.

Unsure of whether the bird sanctuary would become a sustainable program, Alvey said the village was not willing to formally support it by obtaining the required use and occupancy permit with Nassau County for the property. "The village, however, did obtain a permit for use of part of the county property in the early 1970s for conversion into the soccer field, which is now a substantial part of Nassau Haven Playground. The Audubon Society obtained the initial permit for use of the remaining county parcel as a bird sanctuary.

"This dual use continues the function of the site for replenishing ground water. As the program continued to show success, the Garden City Bird Sanctuary was incorporated as a certified, not-for-profit corporation and a new permit was obtained with Nassau County in 1998. The program has continued to be a very successful and significant long-term benefit to the community. It is time to make the community nature preserve a permanent and lasting part of the village," he said.

Further pursuing his request, Alvey called on Western Property Owners Association (EPOA) President Peter Hucke, requesting the organization initiate the following actions to ensure the sanctuary becomes a formal part of Garden City:

- It is requested that the village consolidate the two existing county permits into one permit for the entire parcel. There would be no cost to the village for this administrative action.

- It is requested that the "bird sanctuary" portion of the property be formally designated a passive park for recreational purposes.

- It is requested that the Garden City Bird Sanctuary, Inc. and the village establish a mutually beneficial agreement so that management of the bird sanctuary can continue to be planned and conducted for community service and environmental stewardship programs.

- It is recommended that the village remove the private water meter installed by the Garden City Bird Sanctuary Inc., and reconnect the water line feed directly with the line which currently irrigates the county parcel used as a soccer field.

"Basically, the water can be provided if the village has the permit, not the bird sanctuary," he said. But after voicing his request to trustees at the Nov. 21 village meeting, Alvey received a letter from the village. In part the letter stated that the board was "unable to grant your request on the grounds that waiving these charges would represent an unconstitutional gift, which is not allowed and would violate village policy ..."

Admitting the denial was not "unexpected," Alvey said, "The overall preference is to restructure the village-county permit to encompass the entire county basin property, and then set an agreement for the Garden City Bird Sanctuary, Inc. to manage the property ..."

A public meeting will be held at the Garden City Public Library in late January where the issue will be formerly discussed. "The issue keeps evolving. Frankly, I feel we've created another passive park and it's time for the village to actually become involved financially and legally," he said.

(The following is a page from the fall 2002 "Sump-Thing Happenings" edition of the Bird Sanctuary Newsletter, which is mailed to about 500 addresses and distributed at the Garden City Public Library.)

One of the most important gifts to the Garden City Bird Sanctuary was the donation of a water service line. Thanks to extraordinary efforts by Bob Stark, Sr. and Bill Doremus, this critically needed improvement was completed a few years ago. The engineering and construction did not come cheap and was performed in full accordance with all codes and specifications. The many trees and shrubs, annual and perennial plants, which have made this community nature preserve a beautiful haven, would not have survived the fierce droughts and summer heat without a reliable source of water.

Originally, the only source of water came from the generosity of local neighbors, including Bob Smith and others who either dragged a long hose from their nearby homes, or helped lug buckets of water to the site. The Garden City Fire Department also volunteered a truck at times to help water newly planted trees. Since the availability of on-site hose outlets, bird sanctuary members and neighbors have consistently volunteered to help water plants during the hot spells. Thanks go to Alex Gallo, Michelle Berkowitz, Dave Fisher, Jim Zacharias, Tim Martens and several others for their volunteer help this past summer.

The water service is metered, and our average annual bill to the Garden City Water District is roughly $3,000. We use the water sparingly, but wisely and it is particularly needed for newly planted trees and shrubs until they can be acclimated to a site over a period of three to five years.

You may also be aware of the written pleas the village sends out to residents to water newly planted "street trees" each summer. The village has also installed extensive irrigation systems at the parks and recreational fields so soccer, baseball and football teams have high quality fields.

We need your help. It is the community and the village as a whole that benefits from the improvements at the Garden City Bird Sanctuary. This nine acre nature preserve has become a valuable resource for community service and environmental education programs. It is time for the village to provide the needed water. We ask you simply to write a letter to your property owners association and the mayor requesting a permanent waiver of water fees for the Garden City Bird Sanctuary. If you have been pleased with the improvements at the bird sanctuary over the last few years, consider what we could accomplish if our funds were not continually drained paying a water bill. We need to hear from you to help solve this problem.