St. Paul's RFP

To the Editor:

The Board of Trustees Meeting last Thursday evening was attended by a number of people supporting the redevelopment proposal being promoted by the Committee to Save St. Paul's (CSSP). Although passion has run high about the St. Paul's issue for a long time, I was dismayed by the frustration expressed and lack of tolerance displayed by several of the public speakers at the meeting.

I believe Mayor Lundquist and the trustees did their best to respond candidly to the questions asked. Unfortunately, their responses were often interrupted by those speakers who seemed less interested in getting answers than in challenging the right of the trustees to consider any proposal for redeveloping St. Paul's other than the one the CSSP has been heavily marketing. In my view, those speakers may have let their passions about this issue get in their way. They seem convinced that only they have the solution and were clearly not interested in hearing anything that suggests otherwise.

As explained by the Mayor, each proposal, including the one submitted by the CSSP, is being evaluated based on: (a) its benefit to the Village; (b) the past experience of the contractor to undertake a successful redevelopment; and (c) the ability and willingness of the proposer to pay the cost without significant taxpayer expense. When all of the proposals are complete the public will have an opportunity to view them.

I support the Board's effort in soliciting many different proposals for saving the Main Building. After all the years of public bickering, it is now past time for the trustees, with the professional help they enlisted, to undertake a comparative evaluation of alternatives for the future of the building and to make an informed decision.

As one trustee observed at the meeting, it takes a lot more to do a successful redevelopment proposal than hiring an architect to draw "pretty pictures" showing how the building might look afterward. While I thought the renderings presented during the CSSP presentation at the Middle School looked very positive, I felt there is a need to have financial numbers and to have a developer in place before the CSSP proposal could be properly evaluated. The speakers representing the CSSP at the Board meeting appear to want the trustees to consider only one proposal, theirs which is still incomplete. I believe that most Village residents who have spoken in the past would still want a comparison of various proposals. I hope the CSSP will be able to submit information currently missing from their proposal so that it too can be included in the evaluation process, only then can the trustees and the public make an informed decision.

Harold P. Hecken

Former Mayor of Garden City

Thank You

To The Editor

Dear Twigs Volunteers, Kevin Ocker, Sandy Young, and the Recreation Dept., and the Garden City Police Department,

During this Thanksgiving Holiday, we would like to extend our most sincere appreciation to the wonderful homeowners that generously opened their homes to so many guests, the many volunteers that made these events run seamlessly, Kevin Ocker, Sandy Young and the Garden City Recreation Department and the Garden City Police Department.

For 32 years, one of the signature events that lead Garden City into the holiday season is The Golden Goose Gala, sponsored by Twigs of Winthrop-University Hospital Auxiliary and this past weekend, the hard work of over 100 volunteers at both the House Tour and the Shopping Boutique, held at St. Paul's Field house made these events a huge success.

The collective efforts of all those involved will provide Winthrop-University Hospital's Hagedorn Pediatric Center with significant funding, allowing continued development of it's facilities initiatives that will benefit our community for years to come.

Also, if anyone lost a bracelet on the house tour, please contact Debra Weber @741-9259.

Gratefully,

Twigs Executive Board & Golden Goose Chairs