The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees voted unanimously to increase rates for local taxi cab rides in Mineola from $3 to $4. However, the cost for senior citizen rides will remain at $2.50. Local rides in Mineola are defined as one location in the village to another location within the village.

There are currently three companies licensed to provide point-to-point transportation in the village. They are All Island Taxi, Young's Taxi and Long Island Checker Cab. Larry Blessinger of All Island and Lawrence Young of Young's Taxi applied to the $1 increase, citing the dramatic increases in the costs of gasoline as well as increasing insurance and maintenance costs.

The $1 increase will be split between the company and the driver, except in the case of Young who is the sole owner operator of Young's Taxi.

The village board also agreed to raise the time that a cab has to wait for a passenger to $25 per hour from $20 per hour.

The taxi rivalry between All Island and Long Island Checker again surfaced during this issue. Since All Island proposed the rate increase, Long Island Checker naturally opposed it. Long Island Checker Vice President Phil Fortuna believes the increase in unnecessary and said he would keep his prices at $3. However, the mayor and the board felt that, in light of increasing costs such as gasoline prices, a cost increase was justified. However, if gasoline prices ever go down, the prices could be decreased.

During the village board's work session, a discussion ensued on what can be done about homeless people living in the downtown area. Homeless people can take advantage of some of the social services that are offered by the county. However, they cannot be forced to unless it is determined that a particular person is a danger to himself or herself or others.

Police officer John Larson was at the meeting to discuss the situation. Larson said the police have a homeless coalition comprised of an officer, a representative from social services, a representative from mental health services and the veterans administration who will offer services to those who are homeless. However, unless it is determined that the person has a mental health issue or an injury, the person cannot be forced to get help.

It's a difficult issue in that although homeless people congregating in the downtown area may be a negative for the downtown area and the merchants, the fact remains that they are human beings who have rights.

The Evening Star Quilters presented a birthday present in honor of the village's 100 years of incorporation by 46 handmade quilts to the village.

Mineola Library Board President Paul May gave a state-of-the-library address. May complimented his fellow board members, library director Charles Sleefe and the staff of the library as well as the village board for its support. He also thanked the Friends of the Library for all their support.

May said in the next village board, the library board will ask for a significant increase in order to invest in the library's collection. May also said the library board and Sleefe are always looking for ways to improve the collection and save money. He pointed out that the library has been successful in getting grants.

Perhaps his most interesting figure is that there have been just over 8,000 library cards issued in a village of over 20,000 residents, meaning less than half the residents have Mineola Library cards.

The village board and the mayor granted Village Attorney John Spellman authority to settle the village's lawsuit with Waste Management. The village is expected to get a very favorable settlement.

Three firms have answered the village's Request for Proposal to hire an independent consultant to conduct a study of whether it's feasible for the Village of Mineola to have its own police department. One of the firms is from Rochester; another is from Washington DC, and another, a New York City-based architectural firm, wants to study whether it's feasible for the village to have its own police facility headquarters. The Request for Proposal to solicit applications for the study was Trustee Fairgrieve's idea, with backing from Trustee Cusato and Mayor Martins.