The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees met last Wednesday and heard an array of complaints, many of which came from residents of Burkhard Avenue who say a nearby Friendly's Restaurant on Jericho Turnpike is disturbing their quality of life.

Several residents from the street complained about a newly installed air conditioner system at Friendly's that is loud, keeping residents up at night since it is on all night.

However, residential concerns weren't just limited to the noise generated by the air conditioner, but also by trucks making deliveries early in the morning.

Another problem brought to the attention of the board was that the area has become a source of loitering as residents complained of garbage in the area, including condoms, as well as pot smoking, urinating in front of a home and loud music.

Mineola Mayor John P. Colbert took immediate action, visiting the Friendly's area after the board meeting. The mayor said he was astonished at the noisy and smoky conditions near the residential area. The village proceeded to give Friendly's notices of violation on 13 counts, all for the outside of the restaurant.

Since then, the mayor has met with representatives from Friendly's including the manager of the Mineola Friendly's and the district manager. The mayor reports that Friendly's appears willing to rectify the situation by reducing the noise in the area by installing a sound barrier system to cut down on the air conditioner noise. The restaurant will also plan to redesign its ventilation system for more filtration as well as changing the direction of the kitchen vent to hopefully eliminate the emission of odor. The restaurant representatives also told the mayor they are working to replace the compact dumpster outside the restaurant.

As far as the loitering goes, Mayor Colbert said he would like to facilitate a meeting between area residents and the Nassau County Police Department Third Precinct.

Some residents feel the situation will only get worse when 7-Eleven opens on Mineola Boulevard and Jericho Turnpike since 7-Eleven stores are generally open 24 hours a day.

The 7-Eleven store is coming to Mineola against the wishes of the mayor and the board who denied the application. However, the village's decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. Now, Mineola will have a 7-Eleven whether residents want it or not. "None of the members of the board wanted it," said Mayor Colbert, as he expressed the sentiment that the 7-Eleven store was shoved down the village's throat.

The village board denied the application because it felt the southwest corner of Mineola Boulevard and Jericho Turnpike is a troublesome corner and the addition of a 7-Eleven store could impact the safety of the area.

Within the confines of Mineola Memorial Park, a monument of significant size, dedicated to the memory of Sept. 11, waits two weeks to be uncovered. Surrounding the monument is brick pavement and benches arranged in the shape of an octagon. Nearby is another monument, this one dedicated to the veterans from Mineola. It is a nice monument but is significantly less in size and glamour from its Sept. 11 counterpart.

Commander of the American Legion Sal Cataldo addressed the board last Wednesday and the monument issue, referring to the Sept. 11 monument by asking the board, "What are you doing over there, building the Taj Mahal?"

However, it was the efforts of the Boy Scout Eddie Kaiser, who is trying to attain the level of Eagle Scout, that allowed the monument to be built, although the village did absorb some of the cost for the entire project.

One resident who spoke at last Wednesday's meeting believes the veterans have been short changed by the village while Mayor Colbert defended the village, saying the village will redo the veteran's monument and will rededicate it on Nov. 11, a day, the mayor said, which was agreed upon by the commander of the Mineola Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The Sept. 11 monument came to Memorial Park through Kaiser's efforts as the scout wanted to dedicate his project to the tragedy of Sept. 11 with a monument.

Kaiser appeared before the mayor and the board of trustees with the plan. The village granted permission for the Scout to erect the monument in Memorial Park with the understanding that the Scout would look for donations to pay for the monument and whatever wasn't raised would be paid for by a benefactor.

Ever since the village gave permission to erect the monument, Kaiser was busy showing his plan and getting donations. However, the village was hit with an expense of up to $30,000 for elements of the plan not included in the cost of the actual monument such as the base, pavers, benches and wiring for lighting up the monument. Half of the $30,000 may come from a grant from Senator Michael Balboni.

The resident who appeared visibly upset that the veterans didn't get their monument redone before an Eagle Scout project was completed claims the veterans have been trying for two years to get their monument redone. Mayor Colbert said the board already determined it would redo the veteran's monument and voted to expend up to $30,000, half of which may also come from a grant, to redo the veterans monument and set a date of Nov. 11 to rededicate it.

Mayor Colbert said he was never dissuaded from redoing the monument and set Nov. 11, Veterans Day, as the day to rededicate it only because he felt that the date was agreed upon by the commander of the VFW.

Prior to the start of the meeting, the village board held two hearings on historical landmark designations. The two buildings in question were the Mineola Athletic Association (MAA) facility, located at Willis Avenue and First Street and the Police Athletic League (PAL) house, located on Second Street and Willis Avenue.

Village Historian Neil Young made the presentation on the two buildings and their historical significance. The MAA building was built in 1887 as part of the Children's Home. It was an outbuilding not attached to the main building. In 1919, it no longer existed as a children's home and became a cardiac hospital for children. In 1924, the main building was demolished and the use of the outbuilding was donated to the Boy Scout Troop of Mineola. The property was still owned by the Children's Home and sometime in the 1940s, it was finally donated to the Village of Mineola for use in its park and baseball field. It is currently used by the MAA as a clubhouse at the Willis Avenue Little League Complex.

The PAL building was built in 1910 by the Lutheran Church and used as their meeting hall. Sometime in the 1940s, it was donated to the village and moved to its present location. The building is now the headquarters for the PAL programs such as hockey, lacrosse and football.

Mr. Young pointed out that these facilities have served the community for 117 and 93 years respectively as he urged the board to designate them as historical landmarks. "Don't allow Mineola to be known as the 'used to be' village as in that's where the Mineola Theatre used to be, that's' where the Mineola Fair grounds used to be and on and on," he said.

Although the village board reserved decision on the hearing, it is likely the buildings will receive the historical landmark designation as the mayor and the trustees said they support preserving the village's history. Deputy Mayor Lou Santosus noted that the buildings need roofs and perhaps the village can receive funding for the repairs.

If they do receive the historical landmark designation, the two buildings would join the gazebo in Memorial Park, the snack stand in Wilson Park and the Mineola Auxiliary Police Headquarters as village historical landmarks. With the historical landmark designation, no exterior alteration to the aesthetic look of a structure can be done without first obtaining the approval of the village board.

The village may run into some resistance when it comes time to attempt to designate a structure that is privately owned since the owner cannot change the look of his or her building without the permission of the village board. Such a restriction may make a building more difficult to sell. Before making a historical landmark designation, the village board will always hold a hearing.

The village board voted to authorize the spending of $324,000 for new vehicles and equipment. The funds will be spent on one garbage truck, which has been purchased already at approximately $110,000, one Crown Victoria for Mineola 2nd assistant fire chief Jack Gayson, whose car was totaled in an accident, one Crown Victoria for the village clerk, one Tahoe for new chief of Mineola Fire Department in 2003 and 33 new Scott Packs, breathing devices used by the fire department for situations such as a smoke-filled building. The village board voted 4-1 in favor of giving members of the planning board/architectural review board and zoning board a stipend of $100 per meeting. Trustee Jack Martins voted against the $100 per meeting proposal. The Village of Mineola and Eagle Scout candidate Eddie Kaiser will dedicate the Sept. 11 monument in Memorial Park on Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Mineola second assistant fire chief Jack Gayson publicly thanked all the residents for showing their concern after his recent automobile accident. Chief Gayson said many people whom he didn't even know called to see how his was doing. The chief said he was overwhelmed by the concern fellow residents showed. The Village of Mineola hired a new superintendent of building to replace the departed Mike Giardina. Dan Whalen, who comes from the Village of Westbury will start on Sept. 3. Trustee Jack Martins, the board's liaison to the Village of Mineola Justice Court reported that the court is owed $2 million in uncollected fines. Trustee Martins said it is an ongoing problem and steps are being considered on how to address the greater offenders.

* A resident of Roslyn Road complained because the village denied his applications to build another driveway without informing him in writing as to the denial. The residents submitted two applications, but according to Mayor Colbert, they were denied because of safety reasons. The resident submitted a third application on July 22.

* A resident of Burkhard said it is difficult to get in and out of the street from or onto Jericho Turnpike. The coming of 7-Eleven the resident fears would only make the situation worse.

* A resident of Emory Road complained about music at a block party last month on Andrews Road. The resident didn't object to the loudness of the music. He objected that from Emory Road, all he could hear was the beating of the bass from the speakers. He urged the board that when issuing permits for block parties to make sure DJs know to keep the bass sound to a minimum.

* A resident made a suggestion on how the outdoor deck could be used by patrons of the Mineola Memorial Library. The resident who is a former member of the library board suggested having folding chairs at the reference area. Those patrons 18-years-old or over wishing to sit outside would surrender their library card at the reference desk in return for a folding chair they can bring outside. The card would then be returned when the chair is brought back to the reference desk.

* Based on a question, a resident was told there was an application in from Churrasqueira Bairrada Restaurant for a refrigerated waste area. The resident also questioned why trucks have to go down Banbury Road to make deliveries to the back of stores that are located on Jericho Turnpike.

* A resident complimented the board for putting reflectors on some of the stop signs in Mineola. The idea was proposed by trustee Linda Fairgrieve. The resident also pointed out to the board that there is graffiti on a fence by North Fork Bank on Mineola Boulevard that abuts a service station. The graffiti the resident said is a reference to the MS-13 gang.

* A resident said that the presence of commercial vehicles is costing the taxpayers money because he saw garbage that came from a commercial vehicle dumped in front of a home and the garbage was picked up by the village.

* A resident brought to the board's attention the village code that states trees can be only eight feet high on the sidewalk side of a street and 13 feet high on the street side.

The decision this year to not have a Mineola swim team and have an intramural program instead is an issue that won't go away. Some residents are still expressing interest in having a competitive swim team. Mayor Colbert told residents interested in having a competitive swim team that practices and competes against other teams to form their own organization, such as the MAA and PAL have done. The mayor then said he would give them time in the Mineola Pool for practices and ask the proper authorities for time in a Town of North Hempstead or Nassau County Pool if necessary.

However, it may not be so easy for residents to just start an organization. A major component any organization would have to obtain is insurance.

"The standards for the swim team were lowered by a reduction in the amount of practices and the elimination of competition from other communities. This is unacceptable and many parents feel this way. The current swim team program, with limited practices and internal competition only, is not giving these children an opportunity for a future in swimming," said resident Rick Maher, who appeared before the board.