The campaign for mayor heated up at last Wednesday's Village of Mineola Board of Trustees meeting when the board discussed the Long Island Rail Road's idea of implementing a third track that would run through Mineola among other communities.

The discussion came after the Hometown Party and Trustee Linda Fairgrieve, who is a candidate for mayor, and Peggy May, who is a candidate for trustee, circulated a letter in the village about the third track. The letter, some felt, accused Mayor Jack M. Martins, of withholding information about the third track.

Although Fairgrieve and Martins appear to be united in their concerns about the potential impact the third track would have on the village, the letter caused a stir at the village meeting.

The letter stated, "While the mayor has met several times with MTA and LIRR officials, he has reported very little information to the board or the public."

Fairgrieve and May called upon the mayor to schedule a public hearing or meeting with the MTA and LIRR and urged the board to pass resolution opposing the third track.

Mayor Martins called the letter unconscionable and unforgivable, saying that the interest in the third track on the part of Fairgrieve and May three weeks before the village election is suspect.

Fairgrieve maintained that she has read in Newsday about the communities the third track would affect and the other communities seem to have more information than Mineola does.

Martins explained that as part of the Long Island Rail Road's scoping process for the proposed third track, meetings were held in June 2005. Mayor Martins said the village submitted a written statement about the concerns a third track would bring to the community as part of the record of those scoping meetings. The mayor said the village has yet to receive a response to those concerns and the MTA hasn't submitted its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to the Federal Transportation Authority (FTA).

Once the MTA/LIRR submits its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to the Federal Transportation Authority, there will be another opportunity for public review and comments, which should be scheduled sometime between September and December, according to an article in the Floral Park Dispatch, an Anton Community Newspaper.

Martins said that there hasn't been a decision made on whether the project will move forward. The mayor believes the letter circulated by the Hometown Party is a political ploy and scare tactic.

He said the third track has been discussed at numerous community forums he has held and the Mineola Village government has been open to the public, noting that Mineola is the only municipality in the Town of North Hempstead, including the town itself, that televises its meetings.

As far as passing a resolution against the third track, Martins said it would be irresponsible to pass a resolution since the LIRR/MTA hasn't released its DEIS yet. "We can't allow politics to jeopardize our ability to protect the residents," he said.

Mayor Martins maintains that he has met with LIRR officials about numerous issues in the past such as the Intermodal Center and getting the KeySpan building back on the tax roll since it was purchased by the MTA for the Intermodal Center.

Fairgrieve withdrew her motion to pass a resolution against the third track. However, she also suggested inviting the MTA/LIRR for a public meeting/hearing. Martins said he had no issue with sending an invitation.

The village board also discussed a local law that would permit the village board to grant exceptions to its zoning laws for real estate developers who want to develop in Mineola in the B-2 and B-3 zoning district in the village in exchange for those developers offering the village amenities such as parks and recreational facilities, streetscape amenities, landscaping, road improvements, water and sewer system improvements or other amenities such as cash.

The zoning law the village has now forbids building over three stories but the proposed law would allow the village board to allow, for example, a developer to build over three stories, if that developer offers the village acceptable amenities in return.

Mayor Martins has spoken about development along the Old Country Road corridor south of the tracks. Both Martins and Fairgrieve believe that the village board should not allow a developer to build over six stories high. However, Fairgrieve wanted to make it part of the proposed local law that no developer could build past six stories high.

Mayor Martins and Deputy Mayor Larry Werther and Trustee John DaVanzo as well as some of the residents who spoke at the hearing believe that putting such a stipulation in the proposed law would handcuff the board to consider future development projects.

Martins pointed out that all applications for real estate development projects would come before the village board. The village would then hold a public hearing and if the height of the proposal is not acceptable to the village board or the residents, then the application can be denied.

"I want to bring housing into the village that our children can afford, that our seniors can afford. I trust the people of the village will make their will known to us," said Werther.

The purpose of the local law is to allow the village to grant permission to developers as it sees fit for projects that would not only allow the board to seek amenities from the developers but also such projects would expand the village's tax base.

"Taxes are killing us and we need to increase our tax base," said DaVanzo.

Fairgrieve also proposed increasing the notification on hearing for development projects. However, village attorney John Spellman said the 400-foot notification the village currently provides for in its code is sufficient and more than other municipalities. The Town of North Hempstead, for example, provides for a 200-foot notification.