At their most recent meeting, the Village of Roslyn Board of Trustees passed a motion to sign this year's fire contract with the understanding that the village, in the future, is seeking to sign onto a uniform contract with the eight other municipalities who share fire protection with Roslyn.

The BOT directed village attorneys to work out a contract with the fire companies. However, according to Village Attorney John Spellman, the contract would not be for a full year, but instead run along with the other municipalities so that all nine contracts would be up for a renewal at the same time.

Currently, Roslyn along with Oyster Bay, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, East Hills, Old Westbury, Old Brookville, Flower Hill, and North Hempstead are all covered under the same fire protection plan provided by Roslyn Rescue, Roslyn Highlands and other volunteer fire departments on the North Shore.

Mr. Spellman added that among these municipalities there has emerged a consensus for a standardized contract with local fire companies. Under such an arrangement, one village would agree to be a clearinghouse for all of the other contracts. Officials with that village would, for instance, assess the Roslyn fire contract with other villages to make sure it is a fair one.

Trustee Marshall Bernstein, who has served as the village's liaison with the two fire departments agreed that having a common contract with the eight other municipalities is a good thing. He added that any deliberations on a new contract format should not affect the proceedings for this year's contract. And so, the BOT voted to move ahead with this year's contract while expressing their desire to eventually move into a uniform contract arrangement.

Earlier, Trustee Bernstein said the BOT was trying to "normalize" relations with the village's new volunteer fire companies. This year's budget for the fire companies, he said, has not yet been finalized, but its spending provisions seem likely to be less than last year's budget. No specific numbers were given.

On the legal front, Mr. Spellman said that LCS Realty has only "a few weeks" left to perfect its appeal to earlier decisions which upheld the village's Master Plan concerning the long-ago proposed construction of the Stop & Shop supermarket. Mr. Spellman said he was "not losing any sleep" over the appeals. Nowadays, the large piece of land off Skillman Street is subject to a debate over the proposed building of up to 265 senior housing units by the firm of Forest City Daly.

In other news, Mary Searson has resigned as a village clerk. The village is now accepting applications to fill the position. Over 300 people attended the annual House Tour held June 6 and sponsored by the Roslyn Historical Society. The next BOT meeting will be Tuesday, July 20