Linda Fairgrieve, who was sworn in as a trustee for the Mineola Village Board this past Monday, said last week she was anxious to begin her tenure on the board and begin to work toward the ideas that helped get her elected.

Linda has already done what her husband Scott Fairgrieve, a trustee on the village board from 1982 to 1994, did not¬win an election the first time running.

"I'm anxious to start and I'm anxious to implement what I proposed during the election. Obviously there are a lot of people who supported those beliefs," she said.

Fairgrieve said she would like to see the proposals she made during her campaign such as more financial awareness to the residents concerning the village in the areas of bonding and the budget come to fruition. "I would like to get a summary of the budget to the people before it's voted upon," she said. "I don't know if it's going to be feasible with me just coming in or if the rest of the board will go along with it, but this is what I'm aiming for."

Fairgrieve said she wants residents to be aware of what is going on with Mineola financially so what happened to the county isn't repeated with the village. "We were told for years [that things were] great. Then it seemed within a couple of weeks, we got a whole different picture of what the status was. I think people want the opportunity to be aware of what's going on," she said.

Fairgrieve said she believes the village has to be extra careful when it comes to future bonding. "I feel unless there's an emergency or if it's a major capital improvement, the residents should be able to vote on it," she said, adding that the village should be careful for now when it comes to spending because of a bonding debt Fairgrieve said is close to $18 million. "It depends what it adds up to. Yes, the [renovation] of the library is a major capital improvement. The pool is a major capital improvement. I believe you bond for such things as capital improvements. You don't bond for things such as snow removal where you're paying it for years and you have nothing material in your hands for it...I definitely don't want [the village] to bond for tax refunds or service-oriented [projects]. Major capital improvements¬I believe in bonding [for] and I believe if something is brought up or felt is needed as far as a major capital improvement, it should be the people who vote on it. I feel the board should only vote for any bonding as an emergency at this point."

Besides financial awareness, Fairgrieve would also like to work toward expanding the area wherein the public must be given notification of all proposed significant zoning changes. "I realize it might be a while. You can't come in and change everything all at once but I'd like to initially start perhaps changing the commerical end of it where the notification is increased to 500 feet," she said, citing an example that if a commercial establishment is being built, the public, within a 500 foot radius, would require notification. "I think that's a starting point."

Fairgrieve's election to the board gives the Hometown Party two trustees, including Elizabeth Conlon. The Village Party is also represented by two trustees¬Maryanne Warnecke and Louis Santosus, Jr.¬as well as Mayor John P. Colbert. Fairgrieve believes that having two members of the same party on the board will allow for more ideas to be voted on. In the past, if Conlon, the only member of the Hometown Party serving on the board prior to Fairgrieve's election, had an idea, it may not have been been voted on by the board. "[If] she had an idea, you have to second it to vote on it. If no one seconds anything she had, there wouldn't be a record of a vote anywhere," Fairgrieve said. "If I come up with an idea, I'm not saying it couldn't be seconded by any of the other board members, but there is someone there of the same party that could possibly second and then it is voted on."

Conlon said she is looking foward to working with Fairgrieve as well as continuing to work with the mayor and the two other trustees. She said she has no problems with anyone on the board, although that was not the case five years ago when she became a trustee.

Warnecke also doesn't foresee any problems working with members of another party. "We have always worked together. No matter how it was portrayed, this is not a real party issue in the village. We're really individuals. We run on parties because we have to. That's just how the election was written," she said. "If anybody looked or read the minutes and looked at the votes, trustee Conlon has voted with us 99.9 percent of the time. If there have been any opposing votes, it's really amongst ourselves. It's really not a party issue, I don't feel. I certainly would not oppose anybody because they're in a different party. I vote my conscience and I vote for what I feel is best for Mineola."

Warnecke has been serving on the board for nine years and remains excited to serve for at least the next two. "I just still feel as energetic and enthusiastic as I did when I first started. I enjoy serving the public. I grew up in Mineola. My parents grew up in Mineola and I love this community," she said. "It's a privilege to serve on the board of trustees and get involved with the people in the community."

Warnecke expressed her gratitude to former trustee Warren Brinker of the Village Party, who lost the March 21 election. "He will be missed very much. He has been a real leader. He has shown great leadership, great financial knowledge and I feel the village lost a wonderful public servant when they did not re-elect him," she said. "As far as Linda [Fairgrieve] goes, I congratulate her. I'm sure we will all work together well."

Warnecke said all of the renovations and improvements the village has made, such as those to the athletic fields, pool, community center, fire house and library, are just about finished and she looks forward to maintaining the community. "We're ready to go ahead into the 21st century. We're a modern, updated village and on the board, we're all proud of that," she said.