At a somewhat explosive standing room only board meeting March 13, Trustee Tom Lamberti, a proponent of transparency among trustees and those they serve, announced March 13, unbeknownst to Mayor Peter Bee and fellow trustees, that he wants a review of the village's code of ethics. He also believes the village's Board of Ethics - comprised of one trustee and two resident members - should be examining possible conflicts of interest among board members - not village counsel.

"I'm sure you're aware [that] issues have risen with regards to trustees that may or may not involve conflicts covered by that code ... We have a board of ethics. We have a code of ethics. If you read the code it will describe conduct that should take place..." Trustee Lamberti said, adding that he was not accusing any fellow board member of wrongdoing. "We have had issues, let's not be naïve ... It's a mockery to have a board of ethics and never use it."

Hilton Avenue resident Kevin Curtin agreed.

"Many here tonight believe that public confidence in our village government has been diminished recently and needs to be restored," he said. "I personally believe any appearance of impropriety undermines not only the public confidence but also the wisdom of any decision ultimately made by the board."

Curtin pointed to three recent incidents. First, the village's deliberation of the Verizon franchise agreement, which took place, he said, during a time when Mayor Bee was representing Cablevision. "The obvious issue is whether or not the mayor's recusal was timely," he said.

Secondly, Curtin said, was the recent designation of AvalonBay as the conditional developer for the St. Paul's site. The "needless confusion" among residents he thought unnecessary. "I don't need to say more. The local newspapers have reported extensively on the issue," he continued, referring to Trustee John Mauk's employer's relationship with AvalonBay. Since learning of that relationship, Trustee Mauk, former chair of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, resigned. "What is clear is that a process of early disclosure would have avoided confusion."

Thirdly, Curtin referred to Garden City's tardiness in publicly opposing - for the record - Mineola's nine-story Winston condominium proposal. Garden City officials became aware of the proposal back in November or early December, he said. "Many citizens believe but for the last minute intervention of Trustee Lamberti that our village's position with respect to the environmental impact would not have been presented and made part of the record at any of Mineola's three SEQRA hearings," Curtin continued.

He further criticized the mayor's March 6 announcement - which, he said, came well after the conclusion of Mineola's three public hearings - that his Feb. 7 recusal was due to his legal representation of Mineola's planning board.

"In order to restore a high degree of public confidence I ask this board not only to discuss the issue at length not only for our benefit but for yours but to seek advisory opinions on ethics issues raised by these three recent events. Ethics provisions, gentlemen, I submit, are useless if you do not make an effort to seek that they are being followed," Curtin told trustees.

Garden City's code of ethics was first adopted in 1970. According to Village Counsel Gary Fishberg, the code has been looked at from time to time and despite being more than 30 years old, it doesn't need a major overhaul. In fact, he said, remarkably, many neighboring municipalities have a code of ethics quite similar to that of Garden City's.

The code, in part, states that the board of trustees must recognize that rules must be observed if a high degree of moral conduct is to be attained and if public confidence is to be maintained.

Clearly irritated, Mayor Bee and Trustee Mauk defended themselves, believing that they have recognized such rules and followed them accordingly by either recusing themselves or disclosing relationships to the public with respect to the aforementioned incidents.

"I find it disheartening and sad that we have arrived at a state of affairs where insidious insinuations should be made about our trustees," Mayor Bee shot back. "When I started as a volunteer approximately 28 years ago in this village ... it was seen as an advantage to this village that a local businessman who volunteered his time and effort would also bring to the table his network of relationships in both private enterprise and other levels of government. Sadly, today, it seems like a negative for a volunteer to have other relationships and a network of contacts."

Mayor Bee continued, adding, "A volunteer trustee today is presumed untrustworthy to balance them appropriately. I just wonder how this evolving attitude of suspicion and presumed guilt will ultimately serve the village and whether we will be able to continue to encourage local business people to volunteer their time, efforts and their network of contacts to the village."

Trustee Mauk, who serves as chair of Garden City's Board of Ethics, added, "Do you have specific reason to believe that I or any other member of this board has a conflict of interest with respect to any of these items?" he asked Curtin.

Trustee Mauk said he wrote the Port Authority of NY & NJ's first ever code of ethics while working for the agency and believes maintaining character is critically important.

Hilton Avenue resident James Burns, Jr., a 35-year resident and a senior officer of a major international financial institution for more than 40 years, said he too authored his company's code of ethics and rules of business conduct and was also responsible for transparency rules within the company. "The most important part of good character," he said, "... is conducting affairs in an unconflicting manner ... If this reputation is sullied, the public can lose trust," Burns said.

Lamberti intended to propose a resolution March 13 that would refer such issues to the board of ethics and authorize that board to hire its own counsel. "We have had issues. Let's not be naïve. The response to issues that at least give the appearance of substance, that's why we have a board of ethics," he said.

Trustee Lamberti, however, later withdrew that resolution after village counsel deemed it out of order.

Mayor Bee, who heard Trustee Lamberti's resolution for the first time at the March 13 meeting, told Garden City Life, "I am gratified that Trustee Lamberti saw fit to withdraw his motion."

Cathedral Avenue resident Andrew Cavanaugh suggested trustees borrow from the corporate world where it has become commonplace to disclose all prior relationships and update those relationships on an appropriate basis. "I believe therein lies a very good model..." Cavanaugh said.

Mayor Bee said it seemed like a "wieldy task" but certainly a task the board should reflect on. Cavanaugh, whose comments earned applause, said although that may be, he still believes it's a "doable task."