A brief agenda for the monthly meeting of the trustees of Munsey Park provided a long and contentious evening. After the usual reports from the clerk, the village justice and the mayor, attention was directed to items requiring resolutions and approvals.

The village engineering firm, Dvirka & Bartilucci represented by Ken Pritchard, had proposed a list of five roads that were to be resurfaced, repaired or repaved. The official proposal had been sent out for bidding and only the final approval of the board was necessary to set the work in motion. Thus began the extremely lengthy question and answer session that ultimately caused an "analysis paralysis." This phrase, used by Mayor Harry Nicolaides after more than an hour and a half of debating the merits of whether or not a gutter repair was more important than a repaving; if sidewalks were more dangerous than intersections if left unrepaired; if resident complaints should move a repair project ahead of other more needy work; if there should be an overall plan which would lead to the final goal of repaving all the village roads, etc., etc., etc., finally concluded that portion of the evening. It was ultimately resolved that four of the five projects were approved and work will begin as soon as possible; one project was removed from the list and another project, discussed at the last two meetings was tabled, once again.

As a result of all the discussion, the mayor proposed a walking tour of the entire village by the board with the hope that a comprehensive schedule could be generated which would prioritize the roadwork that needed to be done. This arrangement would permit each project to be listed in order of necessity and would therefore provide a guide for future repairs. If you have any suggestions for street work please let the village know. They are interested in your input.

Further along in the evening there was a proposal for the purchase of a laser gun to aid in the enforcement of speeding limits. Again, after listening to the police officer presenting the facts, there was lengthy discussion. After a time, it was decided to approve the purchase and to allow the police to position the laser gun where the officers assigned to Munsey Park felt it was most needed. "The professionals should be the ones in charge," stated trustee Bastone.

Village elections will take place on March 15, 2005 with the position of mayor and two trustee seats, those of Al Jaronczyk and Andrew Bastone, to be decided. If you wish to join the board by running for these positions, contact the village hall for the exact details of what is needed to place your name on the ballot. Residents are strongly encouraged to participate in the election process: Your vote does count.

The lighting contract for the village was questioned by a resident who has been instrumental in following through on a complaint about the number of street light outages. It was pointed out that Lighting Maintenance, the contractor, has replaced many of the bulbs that have burned out but is not responsible for underground wiring. Trustee Puttre presented a sample of a new fixture but it was decided to continue the search for new and more efficient replacements.

The evening concluded with the announcement that talks are underway to fill the vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals.