As reported at the Oct. 6 board of trustees meeting, six RFPs (Request For Proposal) were returned for the Historic Main Building at St. Paul's. Trustee John Mauk, chairman of the St. Paul's Committee, reported that the Committee will spend four to six weeks evaluating the complex proposals, including an interview process with the leading candidates. A time-line will then be established by the board, including public comment and participation by each property owners association, before a decision is made by the board of trustees.

New York State Village Law prohibits the expenditure of village money that would be used toward conducting a public referendum. It is anticipated that a public opinion poll regarding the final decision relating to the Historic Main Building at St. Paul's will be conducted.

In my last column I spoke about the special meeting that was held with regard to a public hearing required in conjunction with the village's grant application to the Empire State Development Corporation for the Historic Main Building at St. Paul's under the Restore New York Communities Initiative. As stated at the beginning of this public hearing, the purpose of the public hearing was to determine if a particular property should not be listed on the grant application. There were no negative comments received during the hearing. Mr. Gould from Port City Preservation, who is part of a team that responded to the RFP, was a speaker at the public hearing speaking in favor of the board's attempt to secure funding for the Historic Main Building at St. Paul's. Additional written comments would be welcomed. It would be inappropriate for a responder to the RFP be given a public forum without offering it to all who submitted responses to the RFP.

Please mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 28, as it will be a very festive day in our village marked by the Chamber of Commerce's 27th annual "Fall Festival Street Fair," combined with the annual High School Homecoming Day Parade and the annual Street Fair. Bring your family and enjoy the community spirit and fun.

The chamber's Street Fair on Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and will run through midafternoon. Seventh Street, between Franklin and Hilton Avenues, will be closed to all traffic from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. For your convenience, please use the Hilton and Franklin Avenue entrances to Parking Field 7S and the Stewart Avenue entrances to Parking Field 7N. The high school Homecoming Parade will step off promptly at 12:15 p.m. from the most easterly end of Seventh Street and proceed west along Seventh Street to Cathedral Avenue, north onto Stewart Avenue, west to Oxford Boulevard and north to the high school parking field. The Homecoming festivities and football game will follow the parade at the Warren King Field.