Holiday Cheer Missing From Board Meeting

Holiday Cheer Missing From Board Meeting

By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese It may be the season for peace on earth and goodwill toward men, but you would never know it if you attended the December 20th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees.

This year the usually congenial meeting held days before Christmas degenerated into a bitter, acrimonious personality clash after several trustees lost patience with fellow trustee Thomas Lamberti as he voiced his dissenting opinion on several topics. At one point, Trustees Robert Rothschild and Nicholas Episcopia abruptly left the boardroom during one of Lamberti's speeches.

Tension started rising when Lamberti addressed Village Administrator Robert Schoelle's handling of a lease agreement between the Village and Town of Hempstead Sanitary District No. 6 for the Cherry Valley Parking Field. The lease was set to expire on Dec. 22.

Lamberti said he had an issue with how the matter was handled. He said trustees were given new materials pertaining to the lease at their doorsteps the night before the meeting. He admonished Schoelle for listing it as a license agreement in the agenda, when it was actually a lease. Lamberti was also concerned that trustees were not given adequate time to digest the materials before being asked to vote.

Deputy Mayor John Mauk, who was acting mayor at the meeting in Peter Bee's absence, acknowledged that trustees should have been provided with information in an easier-to-digest form. However, he said that it was the job of Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg, not the Board of Trustees, to scrutinize legal documents to ensure the Village's best interest was considered. Lamberti was the only one who voted against the agreement.

Lamberti next expressed his dissatisfaction with Fishberg's handling of the CSEA contract, which he also addressed at the last meeting. At the Dec. 6th meeting, Trustees Lamberti and John Watras voted against a memorandum of understanding with the Civil Service Employees Association for rank and file members covering June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2010. Lamberti, a labor attorney, said he was concerned that the memo called for an annual increase between 3.6 and 3.7 percent. In the private sector, he explained, increases hover around 3 percent.

This is when the meeting took a turn for the worse. Acting Mayor Mauk abruptly curtailed Lamberti's comments, and began with an update on Village negotiations with St. Paul's designated developer AvalonBay. He said he expects trustees to vote on a memo of understanding with the developer at the first Board meeting of the new year on January 10.

Without commenting on what just happened, Lamberti instead seized the opportunity to expound on the topic of St. Paul's. He voiced his displeasure with the Village Facts, a newsletter recently mailed to residents which provides an update on the St. Paul's issue. His main argument was with the copy on page 5, which reads, "As stated in the RFP, the primary objectives for any redevelopment are to (a) return the Main Building to productive use, (b) restore its historic exterior and other distinguishing features to the extent possible, and (c) provide for its long-term maintenance at minimal or no cost to Village taxpayers."

Lamberti argued that the original RFP drafted 18 months ago says "no cost to Village taxpayers" and does not say "minimal." Trustees were provided drafts of the Facts for their review and Lamberti said he sent Mauk, who serves as chairman of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, several e-mails with suggested changes, including the one on page 5. While Mauk did make several changes Lamberti suggested, he did not address his concern about the wording on that specific page.

Lamberti argued that accuracy is imperative when quoting from a document. He recognized the fact that once developers responded to the RFP, the mayor's committee may have realized that no cost to taxpayers may be impossible. However, the Village Facts should have stated that, instead of misquoting from the original RFP and misleading the public.

During Lamberti's speech, Trustees Robert Rothschild and Nicholas Episcopia abruptly got up, walked behind Lamberti and left the boardroom. They returned after his comments when Mauk began his response.

Not directly addressing the trustees' behavior, and becoming increasingly agitated and defensive, Mauk responded to Lamberti that the draft was reviewed by all trustees, the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's and several others who agreed with the copy. He said that Lamberti chooses to focus on "minor issues" because he doesn't like the direction the Board is going. He asked him if he wanted to be part of the problem, or was truly interested in working for a solution.

Lamberti responded that residents cannot make an informed decision if they do not have all of the accurate facts.

Lamberti wasn't the only person unhappy with the newsletter. Garden City resident Rochelle Dowling said she "got nothing" from the Facts or a recent CPOA meeting where Matthew Whalen, AvalonBay's vice president of development, spoke about the proposal for St. Paul's. She asked Mauk what Village residents were getting from the deal, and Mauk responded that the building was being saved. "That's not enough," she said. "You might even have a lawsuit."

When reached after the meeting by phone, Trustee Rothschild said he does not regret leaving during a "tirade." He said he was tired of Lamberti publicly belittling the other trustees and staff, and claims the trustee has a condescending, "I'm better than you" attitude. "I've had it and I'm not going to take it anymore," he said. Rothschild said he has talked to Lamberti in the past and told him that he should not address his concerns with staff and trustees in a public forum.

Trustee Episcopia also said he does not regret walking out of the meeting and said if Lamberti continues, he will walk out again, or address the issue with his own public comments. He said Lamberti's "tirades" go back to as early as 2005. If he does not agree with something, he becomes "extremely obnoxious" and begins degrading everyone else. Episcopia said he does regret what has happened to the Board, saying "it is very bad for the Village that it has come to this."

In a phone conversation the day after the meeting, Trustee Lamberti said there is a "sense of arrogance" among some trustees who are reluctant to debate issues in public. He said that he had told Schoelle several times in the past that trustees should be given adequate time to digest materials before a meeting. He acknowledged that some people take issue with his personal "cut to the chase, irritating but not unreasonable" style and his strong convictions.

As for the trustees who left when he was talking, Lamberti said it is "an insult to the public to leave the room when a trustee speaks" and said as acting mayor, Mauk should have restored order. Mauk did not respond to a request by the News for comment after the meeting.

Lamberti said he is determined to remain on the Board, at least until the St. Paul's issue is resolved. "I will continue to be forthright and direct in a respectful manner," he said.

The Garden City News contacted Mayor Peter Bee for comment, even though he was not present at the meeting. He said he was aware of the conflict that exists between several Board members. "It is sometimes difficult to balance a rigorous debate with civility, but we will continue to try to reach that goal," he said.