Monday night's meeting of the Sea Cliff Village Board proved quite eventful and lengthy with village residents making a strong showing on a rainy Monday evening to put forth their concerns over the proposed village garage modifications, construction of a cell phone tower, and raccoon problem to the board.

The meeting opened with County Legislator Brian Muellers presenting the village with a $35,000 county grant check. In keeping with the aim of the county's Community Revitalization Project, the grant will be put toward the purchase of new lights in Central Park and along Sea Cliff Avenue.

Presenting his proposed design for repair of, and modifications to the current Department of Public Works garage, Glen Head architect Robert LaBaw fielded questions from residents and neighbors of the garage. New plans for the building include: a 16 x 50 foot addition to the eastern side; installation of hydraulic jacks to bring the building into compliance with OSHA standards; an increase in roof height to accommodate the new jacks; new neighbor-friendly generators and a new façade reminiscent of Sea Cliff's historic firehouse. Neighbors raised concerns about the proposed increase in the building's height, but were reminded by the board that the modifications and design are not set in stone. The village hopes to send the project to bid early next year, with construction slated to begin April 1 of 2004; the board will continue to take resident opinions into consideration as the project has not yet gone to construction bid.

Hoping to offset the estimated $450,000 cost of the garage modifications, Sea Cliff is looking to sell the incinerator property. Having received a base bid estimate of $350,000 for the site, it will go out for bid within the coming weeks.

Dan Maddock opened the floodgates of discussion in bringing to the fore the possible construction of a cell phone tower in Sea Cliff. T Mobile has applied to the Sea Cliff Water Company for construction of a tower, or use of the current water tower. Bowing to what they see as the legal mandate of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, the board has proposed instead to allow the construction of a flagpole cell tower on village property, with monies from the tower flowing into village coffers. The board said the tower could generate roughly $12,000 per annum per carrier revenue for Sea Cliff. The least visually offensive of four tower designs, the flagpole tower the village looks to construct behind the recycling center would have to clear the tree line at around 100 feet in height. The discussion of the tower and its placement caused some complaints from Altamont residents, who live in the immediate vicinity of the recycling center/village garage property.

Joe Krupinski brought up concerns over raccoons menacing the community, pleading with the board to look into methods of pest removal and extermination for the sake of local residents.

Board members then touched upon the rest of the evening's agenda. The Downtown Task Force discussed a number of beautification projects for the village, including Victorian-themed street signs along Sea Cliff Avenue, construction of an information kiosk, improved sidewalks and beautified crosswalks, new trash receptacles, and the installation of place-of-interest signs.

With a new fire truck on the way, newly-awarded landmark status for the Sea Cliff Fire House, the republication of Charles Ransom's popular Gaslight and Gingerbread (please contact the Sea Cliff Village Museum for purchase information) and the Fire Department seeking new volunteers, the Village of Sea Cliff looks to be a hotbed of activity this fall.