The trustees recently approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the village and AvalonBay that basically provides a roadmap of what each party's responsibilities are leading up to a proposal to be submitted to the board of trustees. This MOU is available on the Village website, www.gardencityny.net, and we invite you to read it.

It has asked AvalonBay to prepare a series of options for development that reflect some of the concerns that have come up from trustees and in AvalonBay's meetings with the property owners' associations and other local groups. Those options will be presented to the community as soon as they are finished, sometime in the next two months.

The Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's continues negotiating with AvalonBay to arrive at a proposal that we hope will save the historic St. Paul's building and provide a residential community that will enhance Garden City.

On behalf of the board of trustees, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all residents, past and current, who volunteer on the village's boards and commissions, as well as members of our Special Police and Volunteer Fire Department. While there is great personal satisfaction to all who serve, it comes with major sacrifices by their families as well as the volunteers who spend time away from their families - missing birthdays, concerts, etc. It is with this in mind that we extend a special word of gratitude to their spouses and families who share them and demonstrate their wonderful community spirit. Unfortunately we often take for granted the tremendous time, talent and effort extended by all of those residents who participate as officers and directors in our four property owners' associations. It is the result of their efforts that perpetuate our unique community agreement form of government. Please note that the next two regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meetings will be held Thursday, March 6, and Thursday, March 20. The board of trustees will be conducting work sessions to review the proposed 2008/09 Operating/Capital Budgets Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, March 1, at 8:30 a.m. These sessions will be held in the Board Room at Village Hall.

The village's solicitation law prohibits all unwanted commercial solicitations and distributions on all private residential property in the village and prohibits non-commercial solicitations and distributions on private property to the extent desired by the resident. This law was designed to protect residents from unwanted invasions of their privacy.

Any resident requesting not to be solicited should complete a "Notice of Objection" form at the Village Hall. Presently, the board has authorized certain groups to solicit door-to-door in the village. As of this writing the only group that has permission to solicit is the New York Youth Club.

Their permit has been issued for the following dates: Saturday, Feb. 23, Saturday, April 26, Saturday, June 21, Saturday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 25.

I encourage residents to periodically utilize the village's website for information regarding the village's operations, as well as items of seasonal and special interest. The address is www.gardencityny.net. Also please be aware that I have a village email address and would be delighted to hear from village residents about their concerns - it is as follows: MayorPBee@gardencityny.net.