The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees held its October public meeting last week. Prior to the meeting, the board discussed the village's upcoming Halloween party, scheduled for Oct. 25.

In order to avoid a problem that occurred last year in which citizens from other communities came to the party, which was supposed to be for Mineola residents and their family members only, the village is instituting a new system for this year's party.

Admittance to the party will only be given to those who hold tickets, which can be obtained at village hall by displaying a leisure pass. The party will take place in the community center and an outdoor fenced-in area in the parking lot to accommodate as many people who pick up tickets. However, there will be only one entrance, where tickets will be checked.

Village trustee Jack Martins expressed concern that parents who work during the week won't be able to pick up tickets at village hall. Trustee Martins said those parents and guardians should still be able to bring their children to the party.

While there was an initial plan to limit the number of children that could attend the party, the village opted to not put a limit on the number of tickets given out.

See more details on the party in the mayor's column in this newspaper.

The village board also discussed the village parking field on Banbury Road and Mineola Boulevard. Currently, the meters in the parking field are 12 hours. It seems commuters may be parking their cars in that field and then getting a ride to the train station. The board tabled the possibility of converting the meters to two-hour meters, which could still be long enough for the patrons of businesses on Jericho Turnpike.

Prior to the public meeting, the village held a hearing on a proposed local law concerning parking for buildings fronting Old Country Road. The proposed law, if passed, would enable parking structures to be built adjacent to buildings fronting Old Country Road. The parking structures could be built equal in height to the parapet wall of the building it serves. The parking garages cannot be built on Old Country Road, but must serve a building on Old Country Road. Also, the parking structures must make 35 percent of its parking spaces available to the public. The purpose of the law is to take cars off the street in a maximum congested area. The village board closed the hearing and reserved decision. Trustee Jack Martins, the board's liaison to the justice court, continues to search for ways to get violators to pay their unpaid parking tickets. The top three offenders, if convicted of all the violations they are accused of, would owe the village over $10,000 each. Possible ways to get violators to pay are putting clubs on cars and towing cars. The village and the Mineola School District must come to some sort of agreement concerning the pedestrian sidewalk in front of the site of the new Willis Avenue School on Willis Avenue. Currently, there is a sidewalk that separates the road from the fenced-in construction area where the new school is being built. Builders expressed the need to move the fence further out toward the street in order to allow more room for construction, thereby possibly eliminating the sidewalk. The village and the district must decide on whether there will be a pedestrian walkway along Willis Avenue in front of the construction site and how it would be implemented. Trustees Linda Fairgrieve and Elizabeth Conlon and Superintendent of Public Works Tom Rini met with Mineola Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorenzo Licopoli on Thursday morning. Former village justice William Dempsey, who was the village judge under Mayor Stanley Krause, passed away. He also had served on the Mineola Library Board. The veterans monument in Memorial Park will be rededicated on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Mayor John P. Colbert said he hopes for big turnout for the ceremony. American Legion Post 349 Commander Sal Cataldo, who was in attendance, echoed the sentiment. The village's flu shot program will take place on Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The county is supplying the flu shots and Winthrop and Molloy are supplying the staff. The shots will be by appointment. Seniors can begin making appointments on Oct. 20 by calling 746-2326, Monday thru Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

* Several residents of Florence Road complained about the unsanitary and run-down condition of a neighbor's property. Among some of the complaints were squirrels and a raccoon living in the roof. One resident went through the village's housing code book and found that the property is in violation on numerous codes. Another resident said the conditions have been going on for years and the many summonses the village may have issued don't seem to be helping the situation. The residents are concerned that the property values in the neighborhood are lower than what they should be because of this one home. Village workers, accompanied by two Nassau County Police officers, were at the home on Friday, cleaning the outside property.

* A resident urged the village board to use some of the funds that are coming in for the downtown revitalization to spruce up Jericho Turnpike. The mayor said the village plans to use funds to improve Jericho Turnpike, between Willis Avenue and Mineola Boulevard.

* Residents in the areas of Dow and Raff Avenues may have experienced a decrease in water pressure due to the flushing of hydrants.

* Based on a question by a resident, it was stated that the wood has been taken off the windows and the perimeter fence has been taken down at the Shell Station site at Roslyn Road and Jericho Turnpike. However, building superintendent Dan Whalen said he wasn't sure if the tanks were abated from the site or what it planned for.

* Sal Cataldo expressed concern that the village will be losing tax revenue from businesses such as Allied and New York Ravioli, which are areas scheduled to be condemned for the depression of Roslyn Road under the railroad. The tax burden would then be passed on to the taxpayers of Mineola. Cataldo also expressed concern about the expansion for such tax exempt institutions as Winthrop-University Hospital and Chaminade High School since the village doesn't collect tax revenue for such institutions except for, in the case of Winthrop, housing for hospital residents. Chaminade was said to be in negotiations to purchase Koeppel Ford. However, according to the village, there is no contract between the two sides since contamination was found at the Koeppel Ford site and the owners must have it cleaned up before Chaminade can purchase it. Cataldo also reiterated his belief that the village should not have reassessed commercial properties in the past and the taxpayers are still paying for it since the village continues having to allocate funds and bonds for tax certiorari payments.

* Bill Urianek expressed concern over the number of vacant stores on Jericho Turnpike. He believes the village isn't enforcing the two-hour parking on Jericho Turnpike and stores could be losing customers because of a lack of parking.