At the Village of Manorhaven's November meeting, Mayor James Tomlinson advised that he had met with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Inserra to discuss the possibility that students who are not entitled to be educated in the district are using Manorhaven addresses so that they can attend school here. Dr. Inserra advised that as many as 14 addresses are suspected of being used illegally and need to be investigated by the village.

Resident Mike Ragusa, who had helped the former Pagano administration clean up illegal apartments in the past, told the mayor that the overoccupancy problem has "resurfaced." He asked the mayor how many illegal housing violations have been issued over the last two years. He said he had not heard of anybody being brought to court for this type of matter. The mayor said he would look into this.

Mr. Ragusa also noted that he's personally observed one student being dropped off in the morning and picked up every day at 5 p.m.

Mr. Ragusa also expressed concerns over the fact that the mayor changed the date of a meeting that was to be a joint one with himself, the mayor and the superintendent of schools, which ultimately led to the fact that the three of them didn't meet together.

Mr. Ragusa then asked the mayor if he agreed that he (Ragusa) had a certain expertise in the area of overoccupancy and illegal students. The mayor acknowledged that he had.

Alluding to the acrimony in the village, Mr. Ragusa said that he wants this issue to be nonpolitical. He urged the mayor to not "cut" him out because "I want to help out," and pointed out that the problem is "costing the taxpayers a lot of money."

Maria Carpinelli questioned the status of the village's search for a building superintendent and code enforcer, noting that currently the building department is being run by temporary people and consultants. Mayor Tomlinson advised that the village is in the process of trying to fill those positions.

Mrs. Carpinelli also questioned the increased amount of money being spent for village office staff. According to her calculations, the village now spends $30,000 more per year to run the village hall. She noted that during their campaign for office, the current PIC administration's elected officials had been very critical of the prior administration's "high" office expenses.

Continuing the ongoing controversy over which administration, Pagano's or Tomlinson's, is responsible for the village's books being out of balance for the first nine months of the Tomlinson administration, Maria Carpinelli took issue with remarks made by Alice Peckelis about her own investigation into the matter, which she disclosed at the village's October meeting.

Mrs. Carpinelli stated that it's her understanding that former Village Clerk Carol Pogrell's last day was Thursday, July 2, 1998 and that that's the day she turned in her keys. This would mean that the memo from the auditors indicating that an adjustment had to be made to the books to balance them, which was sent out on or about July 2, would not have been received by her and therefore not her responsibility to post.

Mayor Tomlinson claims that he signed for the petty cash and that Mrs. Pogrell turned in her keys on Monday, July 6, not July 2 as Mrs. Pogrell maintains. (In a previous interview with the Port News, Mrs. Pogrell said that she has a witness who saw her turn her keys over to Mayor Tomlinson on July 2. However, the mayor stated that he "had no business being" at Village Hall on any day earlier than the day he took office, which was July 6.)

Mrs. Carpinelli also challenged Mrs. Peckelis' claim that Mrs. Pogrell said at a June 1999 meeting that she had village documents at her home. Mrs. Carpinelli said that she recalls that Mrs. Pogrell said she had copies of documents at home (which she had copied in the event that anything had been questioned after she left office).

Mrs. Carpinelli concluded her comments by saying that she "would have thought that anyone making any kind of investigation would have spoken to everyone concerned in the incident, not just interviewed and depend upon the recollection of one person, especially when you're making statements about someone and you don't give them the opportunity to have their say."

Another resident complained about the proliferation of shopping carts around the village. He noted that he had called Nassau County's 6th Precinct about the matter and was told that it's the village's problem. Mayor Tomlinson advised that he spoke with the manager of King Kullen and was told that the supermarket makes a pass through the village three times a week.

Fred Strang complained to the board that it hadn't responded to a complaint he made last April regarding lot 98, which was recently purchased by DeJana Industries and is located behind the Port Jewish Center next to lot 70 where DeJana has some of its operations. In a letter dated April 28, Mr. Strang claims that DeJana has moved many of its trucks used in connection with their business and is currently storing them there. This use, he says, is in violation of the zoning code. Additionally, a danger to the Manorhaven Wildlife Preserve that it borders is posed because of the maintenance of these trucks (i.e. changing and leaking fluids along with the daily remnants of what the trucks are used for), creates a risk of runoff of many chemicals into the Preserve and surrounding wetlands.

His complaint further states that DeJana has constructed a cement wall on the perimeter of this property, as well as backfilling wetlands and cementing in the ground poles for a fence.

Mr. Strang was reminded by Village Attorney Ken Gray from the firm of Bee & Eysman, the new law firm for the village that was appointed by the Tomlinson administration after they took office, that an outside counsel had been appointed because Bee & Eysman have represented DeJana in the past, and they wanted to avoid the appearance of any impropriety.

Mr. Strang was then told that a response would be forthcoming at the village's December meeting.