During a special meeting June 12, trustees voted 5 to 3 in favor of seeking legislation to remove the "parkland" designation from a westerly 50 by 250 foot piece of village-owned property known as 113 Tenth Street. This must first be accomplished before the house at 115 Tenth Street, more commonly known as the Kanner house, is moved to that location. This project would result in additional parking spots in Field 10W.

The board voted 5 to 2 in favor of this last June 17 but because the bill was never introduced in the Assembly and died once the legislative session expired, trustees had to vote again. Now, the bill must be reintroduced in the Senate, even though the Senate approved it last year, and the Assembly, where it has yet to be introduced.

According to Village Counsel Gary Fishberg, the legislative session expires June 19 and told trustees they're "running out of time." Getting the bill reintroduced in both the Senate and Assembly may seem unlikely to do in such a short period of time. Officials, however, say it's possible since the bill has been "fast-tracked." Fishberg further noted that although the wording of the bill has changed, its functionality has remained the same.

The village currently has an appraisal, which Trustee Robert Rothschild described as a "piece of garbage," and a contract between the village and the Kanners, which former Mayor Robert Lewis signed.

Trustees also approved a $1.75 million bond resolution this past March. According to Village Auditor James Olivo, the Kanner property will be financed through a 90/10 percent benefit assessment for a 10-year period. This figure, based upon an estimate the village received last year from a general contractor, includes moving the home, along with the construction of the parking lot.

Trustee John Mauk blasted the way in which the village proceeded with this matter. "I have tremendous unease ... This cries out for a much more detailed presentation than what we've got. We're not sure what the dollar amount is for the construction or what the comparison would be if we did the improvements based on this move as opposed to acquiring the property through another means like condemnation ... Why can't I get complete information?" He added that he received much of the information piecemeal. "And now we're told it's zero hour and we have to act on this?"

Mayor Barbara Miller said this is just a "glitch" and hard figures would follow once the board gets the needed legislation, hires an architect and sees the project's plans. "These numbers are a range and this is how we make a decision on this board," she said. Rothschild and Mauk had severe reservations about moving forward without concrete figures. Trustee Peter Bee, who has consistently opposed the project, also voted no.

Majority rules however. So once again, the board is seeking to enact the legislation because without it, this project is null and void.