Tension Rises As St. Paul's Decision Looms
By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

Even though a decision on the future of the historic Main Building at St. Paul's is several months away, it was clearly evident at the October 5th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees that a group of residents have strong opinions on the controversial community issue and are not confident that Board members are listening.

The subject of St. Paul's was initially raised at the meeting when Trustee John Mauk, chair of the trustees' St. Paul's Committee, announced that the Village received proposals from six respondents in response to their request to save the building and put it to productive use at no cost to the Village. The committee will spend four to six weeks evaluating the proposals before embarking on an interview process with the leading candidates.

According to a press release issued that night by the Village, if the trustees agree on one or more finalists, the Board will widely disseminate information about the selected proposal to the public and will seek community input before a final decision is made. Mayor Gerard Lundquist and Trustee Mauk assured residents that public meetings will not be scheduled during the hectic holiday season. A decision on what to do with the building is expected some time next year.

"This is a very deliberate process," Mauk said. "It's something that has been carried out for 13 years. We don't want to be delayed in this. We are going to try and move with all deliberate dispatch to come to some sort of a resolution."

Tension rose when resident Rachel Cashwell accused the Board of not making an effort to listen to the public. She said she and members of the Committee to Save St. Paul's have talked to hundreds of people and received 340 signatures on a petition in support of a public use for the building. She said they have made a special effort to speak to young families who plan to stay in the Village and would be willing to bear the cost "for a very long time." Cashwell also said that they have talked with people on the St. Paul's field who live outside the Village who are "amazed" that the Village would consider selling property in the "heart of Garden City."

"I don't see at this point any effort at all from the Board to listen to the public and listen to the villagers," she said.

Mayor Lundquist responded that there will be a number of different forums for the public to be heard after the trustee's committee makes its recommendation to the Board some time in November. He said trustees are not concerned with the opinions of people in other communities.

Trustees Robert Rothschild and John Mauk also responded to Cashwell's accusation. "I find it unbelievable that you say that," Rothschild said. He added that Board members are trying to get opinions from all sides of the issue.

"To suggest that we have not considered public opinion on this really is not accurate," Mauk said. According to Trustee Mauk, the Village needs to find a use for the building and a way to pay for it. He cited results from a 2004 survey which concluded that the majority of respondents want the building to be demolished or to be used privately for residential/condominium development.

Resident Kathy Cavanaugh asked if residents will be allowed to vote on the issue. Mayor Lundquist responded that it does not require a public vote. "New York State has ruled that it is an improper expenditure of public funds to have a vote which is not specifically authorized by statute," he explained. "We are not an initiative referendum state, so we are not allowed to spend dollars to have a vote in this regard."

When pressed why the public was allowed to vote 13 years ago on the bond to purchase the property, Mayor Lundquist explained, "The vote was specifically to authorize the expenditure for a bond. That's the clarification: It wasn't specifically a vote to determine to buy the property or not."

Trustee Thomas Lamberti added that the Board's goal is to get all of the facts out to the public and then to solicit opinions. He said there is "no magical way" to get public opinion, but trustees will make the process as fair as possible.