At the last Williston Park Board meeting it was announced that there will be a budget workshop, opened to the public, on March 20 at 10 a.m. to be held at Williston Park Village Hall on Willis Avenue. The Saturday morning meeting will be in lieu of the next village board meeting and all residents are urged to attend this very important meeting that will address the budget for the coming year.

Four-Way Signal: "A Beautiful Thing to See!"

Mayor Joseph Connelly praised the installation of the four-way signal on the corner of Willis Avenue and Hillside Avenue. The mayor said, "It's a beautiful thing to see and congratulations go to: Former Mayor Tom Muldoon, Father Steve, at Saint Aidan's; the parishioners, and Dr. Jaeger of the Chamber of Commerce. It hasn't always been easy to deal with the New York State Department of Transportation so a big thanks goes to Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell and Senator Michael Balboni for easing that situation with the DOT. It was a true community project."

Mayor Connelly also announced that on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. at village hall there will be an explanation of plans by the DOT regarding additional work planned on Hillside Avenue. The mayor said that at that meeting the plans will be discussed in detail and he urged all residents to attend to give their input on this important plan.

The entire board will be traveling to Albany this weekend to be able to advance the cause of villages and revenue sharing. Mayor Connelly said that there had been a commission set up regarding this injustice to the village, but he said that "unfortunately" that committee died and the villages are back where they started.

Connelly added, "I am very concerned. Here we are the most efficient form of government and I am afraid that the little revenue sharing we do get will be cut. STAR is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I just hope that it isn't balanced by the villages. However, we'll discuss those concerns up when we are in Albany."

On February 26, at the Mineola High School, the Village of Williston Park and the Village of Mineola will hold a benefit basketball game, for the benefit of the Athletic Club at Mineola High School. The Williston Park team will be named "The Village Party" and Mayor Connelly and Village of Mineola Mayor John Colbert will act as coaches. Deputy Mayor Doreen Ehrbar announced that Little Make A Difference Day will be on April 10. Deputy Ehrbar said that she hopes that a large number of volunteers will come forward and join this worthwhile event.

Ehrbar announced that since this year has been designated as the "Year of the Older Person" she will be meeting with the Senior Advisory Board to set up events for the coming year.

She also announced that the pool will soon be accepting applications for employment and that village residents may also make application to work at the newly installed concession stand.

Trustee Rocco Iannarelli proposed two names to join the Williston Park Fire Department. They are Arthur Umlauf and Franci Louisi. The voters accepted both applications.

He then announced that prior to the board meeting the trustees of the library had an opportunity to meet with the village board. This practice, instituted last year, by the mayor, to invite various other village-related boards to meet with the village board and to discuss issues of their concern has been very useful both to that board and to the village board.

Trustee Ray Cross announced that the Recreation Committee will hold its bus trip to Atlantic City on March 13. The bus will leave from village hall at 8 a.m. The cost of the trip will be $22 per person and $18 of that will be refunded on arrival. Reservations will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information, please call village hall at 746-2193.

A fishing trip is also being planned and details for that trip may be obtained by calling village hall. The committee is also waiting for the Eisenhower Park Golf lottery so that plans can be made for a golf outing.

Cross also announced that the Historical Committee met to begin work on plans for the Village of Williston Park 75th Anniversary celebration in the year 2001.

Trustee Cross then asked Historical Chairwoman Rita Hess to comment on the plans in motion. She announced that the Historical Committee plans to meet with Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell to help them reach out to the Historical Committee in Albany to see how they might help the committee financially. Plus, they are hoping that Cablevision will also be of help in organizing events for the 75th Anniversary.

Mayor Connelly said that he has already written to all officials that served on the board and asked them to be on the 75th Anniversary Committee and that group will hopefully be able to meet in the very near future.

It was established that the Williston Park Little League Opening Day Parade will be held on April 17 to start at 10:30 a.m.

Mayor Connelly also urged all residents to get out and vote in the March 16th village election from noon to 9 p.m. Election will be for a one-year term for a trustees seat.