In the absence of Mayor Ralph V. Suozzi, Glen Cove City Councilman Nick DiLeo presided over the city council meeting of Tuesday, April 8. The business portion of the meeting began with a reopening of the public hearing extending the city's moratorium on residential subdivisions on parcels of 13 or more acres. There were no further comments from the public, and the hearing was closed. According to Councilman DiLeo, the moratorium is expected to last until September.

A resolution was offered and passed allowing the city to enter into an agreement with Gilbert Gallego to retain his services "to work with the mayor's office and city council in a marketing/advertising program for 2008." The agreement would run from April through December of this year, with a cap of $39,500. Councilman DiLeo said that Mr. Gallego will be working to "create interest in Glen Cove by developers, businesses and tourists" by making the city "more attractive" to them. Four newsletters will be developed this year, which will include concepts and designs of Glen Cove as it moves forward. Resident Janet Blatt questioned the wisdom of spending $39,500 when the city is experiencing such financial difficulties. A resident asked if Mr. Gallego would be an employee of the city, and as such receive medical benefits. When she was told that he is working as an independent contractor, Ms. Blatt stood to ask if he is receiving benefits from past employment with the city. The council was hard-pressed to answer, and the question of whether Mr. Gallego's past service on the CDA constituted allowance for lifelong medical benefits was raised. City attorney Vincent Taranto responded that no one on any board in Glen Cove receives compensation, but this was questioned by Joan Hawkins. The banter was a back-and-forth, until Paul Meli remarked, "It's too bad the CDA director isn't here; we could ask her." The current interim executive director of the Glen Cove IDA/CDA is Glen Cove Deputy Mayor Kelly Morris.

Mr. Meli also questioned the hiring of Mr. Gallego, asking, "Is it fair to say that Mr. Gallego goes way back with the Suozzis?" It was noted that Mr. Gallego did work for Mayor Thomas R. Suozzi, and Mr. Meli recalled the consultant working with Mayor Vincent "Jimmy" Suozzi prior to that. He said, "I'm just wondering if Mr. Gallego is qualified for this position, or if this is a case of political cronyism." Councilman DiLeo reiterated that the contract is just for this year.

Mr. Meli further inquired into the duties of Mr. Gallego, in addition to the marketing program. He asked if the consultant would be working with the Downtown BID, for example, or sending out press releases from city hall and was told by Councilman Sean Dwyer that the important thing is that he will be "getting information to the public."

As the members of the council were not sure of Mr. Gallego's specific duties, Mr. Meli suggested they not vote until they were sure of the responsibilities, but was told by Councilman DiLeo that any councilperson not comfortable with the resolution could vote no; there was no need to table the appointment, which was ultimately passed unanimously.

Mr. Meli also questioned the continued moratorium, saying, "When the mayor first introduced the idea, it was for six months...that was two years ago. Why were you so off-base with the timing?" He was told that Mayor Suozzi had "hoped" to have a shorter moratorium, but was advised by people in charge of other municipalities that a six-month estimate was unrealistic. Mr. DiLeo added that most of the original moratorium has been lifted, leaving restrictions on only about six large properties.

Maureen Tracy, stating that she has been out of town for some time, wished to make a statement concerning the subject of the deputy mayor not being a Glen Cove resident. She recommended the council amend the charter to make city residency of the deputy mayor mandatory, as "the duties of the deputy mayor on a day-to-day basis are of a critical nature and as such, the appointee should be a resident of the city."

Marie Coyle questioned the status of the sewage treatment plant, which has been taken over by Nassau County. "In the agreement we had a six-month window," she said, referring to the allowance of either party to renege on the deal, and added, "But we haven't heard anything more." City Controller Sal Lombardi stated that as of March 1 the county took over operation of the plant and added that the city is still "looking at options." Director of Public Works James DeKoening added that the turnover to the county has been quite successful, and that the county is "moving forward" with its part of the agreement. He later stated that the City of Glen Cove has sent out Requests for Letters of Interest to private waste management firms, direct-mailing six companies, and has received three responses. The city has also advertised locally and in The New York Times. The consulting firm of Gannett Fleming, Inc. will be making recommendations on any offers.

The question of whether the six-month opt-out began with the county legislative vote in January or with the March 1 takeover was raised by residents, but none of the officials present were sure. All promised to look into it.

The next regular meeting of the Glen Cove City Council will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 7:30 p.m. in city hall.