Let The Truth Be Known

To the Editor:

Most of Garden City has been following the situation surrounding St. Paul's and the people involved in the decision making process for the final destination of the property. Unfortunately, the discussions have been aired at our Trustee meetings and in the press with several people being maligned, especially John Mauk.

After reading regularly about the remarks made against John Mauk and his response in the Garden City News explaining why he resigned and stepped down as the Chairman of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, I would be remiss if I did not write an epilogue and explain to the Garden City community how John Mauk got involved in our village government.

As many of you probably know, trying to find people to volunteer is a most difficult task. It was difficult years ago and it is even more difficult today since there are many more organizations that need volunteers.

As a point of information, it is important to know something about our village government and how it works. Our village government is very unique. We are one of the few communities that have a Board of Trustees which run our village. The decisions are made at the Trustee level and then are executed by our paid village staff. The village has run this way successfully for many years.

In most instances, before one becomes a Trustee, they serve on one of the four Property Owners' Associations for a number of years in order to better understand how our village government functions and solves issues facing the community.

After spending 12 years as a director of the Estates Property Owners, I was asked to be Chairman of the Five Person Nominating Committee. It is the duty of the Chairman to seek out interested citizens who live in the estates section to see if they would like to participate in our village government and if they would consider being a member of the Board of Directors. Most candidates are identified by seeing who shows up at school board meetings, trustee meetings, church meetings, coaches and people who have shown an interest in what goes on in the village. The committee gets together and discusses and shares information on each candidate before they are considered to become a director.

I knew John and his family for many years through our children at school. We spent time together when we went on several ski vacations. You get to know people when you have to get six young children ready to ski. When it was time to look for new candidates, I approached John to see if he would be interested in being a director on our property owners association. I called John and after an hour on the phone explaining the duties of a director, he graciously declined because he felt he could not give it his best effort since he was very busy coaching and working for the New Jersey Port Authority handling their legal work.

Since director positions open up on a regular basis, the next year I asked John again to consider being a director. If fact, I pleaded with him since I knew John would be an excellent choice. Again, after much pleading, John finally acquiesced and said to add his name up for consideration. After being approved by the committee and spending several years as a director and serving on various committee assignments with the Estates Property Owners Organization, he continued on in our village government system and was selected to be a Trustee. By that time he was very involved in our village government and wanted to continue to contribute his time and effort to ensure our village would continue to be governed efficiently and to stay involved until his time was up or the issues facing the village were resolved.

I hope my letter clears the air and sheds some light on how our government works and in particular, how John Mauk got involved. Our governmental system can be summed up in one sentence, "The man does not seek the office, the office seeks the man."

John E. Appelt

Resignation From Committee

The following letter was sent by Trustee John Mauk to Mayor Peter Bee regarding Mr. Mauk's resignation from the St. Paul's Committee

The Honorable Peter A. Bee, MayorVillage of

Garden City

Dear Mayor Bee:

I believe in the value of public service, especially in a community like Garden City that prides itself on the idea that, under the Community Agreement, Village residents will volunteer their time to help all of us achieve shared objectives and benefits for the Village. Since first becoming involved in Village Government, I've spent 9 years on the Village Planning Commission, additional years working on the Committee for the School Construction Bond, and the last 8 years serving as a member of the Board of Trustees.

During this time, as I think you well know, I have never received any financial benefit - directly or indirectly - for the many long hours devoted to Village business. Those who know me well, know that I pride myself on my reputation for personal integrity and fair dealing, and they trust me to make reasoned decisions in the best interests of our Village residents.

One of the speakers at the February 7, Board of Trustees meeting indicated that my employer, CB Richard Ellis, Inc, has business connections with AvalonBay Companies, the designated developer for St. Paul's. Until the issue was raised at the Board meeting, I was unaware of any such relationship; and if I had known of one, I would have announced that fact in public immediately.

I have since determined that there is, indeed, a business relationship, although far different from what was portrayed at the Board meeting. CBRE's investment in AvalonBay amounts to a tiny fraction, approximately .00074%, of the total $37.8 billion invested by CBRE Global Investment Management. In addition, CBRE's stock ownership doesn't represent 12% of AvalonBay's outstanding stock, as alleged at the meeting, but a much less substantial 0.4%. Many of the other "facts" cited at the Board Meeting were also presented out of context, or are completely inaccurate. I also want to make it clear that none of this has absolutely anything to do with any decisions I have made - about St. Paul's or anything else. Once I learned of the connection, however, I resolved to take steps immediately to avoid even an inference of any impropriety.

The Mayor's Committee for St. Paul's, with assistance from professionals, has followed a long, difficult and systematic process trying to find a solution for saving the St. Paul's Main Building without major taxpayer expense. As you know, I've devoted a lot of personal time and energy to that task, and I take pride in knowing that, for better or worse, we are now close to presenting the residents with detailed alternatives for saving the building. The fact that these recent allegations about my employment were made at all, however, is an indication of just how contentious the St. Paul's issue remains in Garden City. The relationship between

AvalonBay and my employer is tangential and inconsequental to the St. Paul's project. But I'm convinced that any connection will always cloud the process and enable others to question my motives in seeking to advance the redevelopment.

I consider a decision on the future of St. Paul's to be among the most important the Village will ever make. I don't want that obscured by people who would prefer to make me the issue, instead of allowing an honest examination of the facts. This letter, therefore, is to confirm my decision, which I suggested to you a few days ago, to relinquish my position as chairman of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, and to remove myself from the Committee altogether.

By removing myself from further decisions regarding an AvalonBay redevelopment of St. Paul's, I hope to refocus the discussion on the facts and merits of the redevelopment options, and to keep this important decision from being distorted by irrelevant side issues. I wish you, the Mayor's Committee and the rest of the Trustees all the best in completing this important endeavor.

John L. Mauk

Trustee, Village of

Garden City

CSSP Continues Commitment

To the Editor:

The Committee to Save St. Paul's was organized with the following objectives in mind: 1) save the main building that is a priceless treasure; 2) provide meaningful historical renovation; 3) provide quality community space in the building; 4) have no or minimal additional development; and 5) retain Village control, and last but not least, do so at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers of this Village.

As a group of concerned citizens, funded and staffed by volunteers, with the active support of hundreds of residents, we partnered with leading professionals and an experienced developer, and submitted a proposal to the Village that met all of our objectives. We wanted our proposal to be wholly "transparent" to the residents and made countless public and private presentations, established a website, and had open and honest communication with all.

The Mayor's Subcommittee did not select our proposal, but we continue to remain active as advocates for development that would serve the best interests of the taxpayers who purchased the site and building and who retain ownership.

In light of the above, the Committee to Save St. Paul's commends Trustee Mauk for resigning as a leader and member of the Subcommittee, and we hope he will be true to his word, that by stepping aside, he removes himself from further decisions regarding an AvalonBay redevelopment of St. Paul's.

The Committee to Save St. Paul's will continue its efforts, and welcomes the input and support of our fellow residents and concerned Village officials.

Peter Negri

President, Committee

to Save St. Paul's

Silence Is Deafening

To the Editor:

On January 14th I forwarded a letter to Kemp Hannon requesting him to inform GC residents of his methodology to determine if there is "Widespread Public Support" for Home Rule legislation for the St. Paul's property. This letter was also published in the GC News.

Much to my chagrin I never received a perfunctory response nor has Mr. Hannon publicly stated how he intends to accomplish this essential undertaking. Why am I not surprised? Could it be that he has bigger fish to fry or possibly is too busy trying to earmark funds for a fence? Speaking of fences, I believe he is sitting on the proverbial fence and will continue to do so unless the residents demand a reasonable and logical explanation as to his 'mystical' methodology. You must realize that it was Mr. Hannon who on numerous occasions ensured his Village constituency that he will not proceed without "Widespread Public Support."

Mr. Hannon needs to publicly reveal how he will determine the final outcome. If this isn't important to our residents I don't know what is. Perhaps he will seek guidance from the former chairman of the internal Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's. Then again he could confer with AvalonBay, as they only want the best for our taxpayers. Maybe he is a Roger Clemens fan and suddenly "misrembered" what he has stated in the past. Sound jaded? Absolutely! Oh well, we can't expect too much as a politician is always a politician.

Mr. Hannon, get off the fence and make an immediate disclosure as we hear you as clearly as Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence."

Michael L. Ryder

Wrangling

Must Stop

To the Editor:

I too agree that St. Paul's building should be torn down and a nice Victorian gathering house should be built for the Garden City residents to use. This wrangling must stop.

I've lived here for 40 years and want to see Garden City continue to be a model Community for Long Island. Does anyone remember the wrangling that went on concerning the Garden City Hotel. We lived with a big hole in the ground for too many years.

The Trustees should make a decision and that's that. That building is much too costly to keep and in my opinion, not worth it.

Gerri Moratti

Brilliant Letter

To the Editor:

Mayor Martins' letter was absolutely brilliant and illustrates a rational and economics-based approach to the problems of Mineola, in contrast to the reactionary 1950s approach that the leadership of Garden City takes towards most problems. Garden City leadership has to realize the realities of life in the 21st century and logically address the issues.

To wit: Garden City is no longer a suburban town--we have a large business base with the needs of an urban environment--including efficient public transportation, access to truly top tier education, access to affordable housing for younger individuals entering the workforce as well as housing for the growing population of baby boomers who are entering retirement. The Winston housing project, for Mineola, begins to do that.

For Garden City, the needs are: Enthusiastic support of mass transportation alternatives (light rail) that will be required in an era of $200/barrel oil. Cities around the world have developed highly efficient light rail systems that efficiently transport the population and blend in seamlessly with the environment. We already have available right of ways that can be used. The light rail will also significantly help to reduce the traffic jams that our misguided leaders are concerned about and offer opportunities to attract workers to our office buildings.

There is no reason why Garden City schools should not have several winners of such programs as the Intel Science award. In order for the US to survive in the 21st century, we need to significantly improve our math and science skills to avoid being overtaken by the Asian countries. Garden City schools should re-allocate funds to further improve these areas, even at the expense of smaller athletic programs. After all, it will be brains, not brawn that will help us improve and maintain our standards of living.

Everyone recognizes that St Paul's has been a disaster for the last 15+ years. The tax losses to the community, not to mention the multiplier effect on money that would have been spent at local stores is in the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. These lost taxes would have helped reduce the tax burden on the community or enable us to solve some of our transportation and education needs.

J Bauer

Law Firm Retained

To the Editor:

Contrary to the assertions by School Board President Monaghan, the Board has retained the law firm of Ingerman and Smith LLP of Hauppauge to represent the Board and residents in its lawsuit against the retired teachers of the District for the claimed mistake made by the Board's lack of oversight since 1995 with regard to health insurance premiums.

This is the same law firm of which we have read so much in Newsday recently as referred to in your recent article. I assume that Board President Monaghan failure to mention this was again a mere oversight.

Dennis A Bengels

(The author represents many of the retired Garden City teachers sued by Ingerman and Smith on behalf of the School Board.)

Donations Needed

To the Editor:

In 2007, many Garden City families participated in a Lenten Project geared towards instilling the value of love, compassion, generosity, service and charity in our children. The Lenten Project required families to "spiritually adopt" orphan children sponsored by the St. John's Kenyan Children's Foundation. The 2007 project was a great success and we believe that we accomplished our goal of getting our children to think about the meaning of Lent and committing them to performing certain acts of love, prayer and sacrifice.

For the 2008 Lenten season, Kathy Billanti, a Board member of the St. John's Kenyan Children's Foundation, has informed me that, due to the political situation in Kenya, the supply of food is not reaching all the small villages where the orphan children and their host families live. The Foundation has made contact with a store owner in Kenya who is able to supply food to all of the 50 families sponsored by the Foundation. The food order for each family costs $25 and will consist of 10 Kg. Maize, 5 Kg. Beans, 2 Kg. Rice, 2 Kg. Wheat Flour, 5 Kg. Maize Flour, 2 Kg. cooking oil, 2 Kg. Sugar, 1 Kg. Tea leaves and 1 Pkt. of salt. This amount of food will keep the families fed and nourished for 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the amount of people in each family.

In order to raise the necessary funds to provide food for the orphan children (and their host families) in need, the Foundation has established a 2008 Lenten project named FACE (Feed A Child on Easter) and is seeking minimum donations of $25 per participating family. Participating families can save the money from now until Easter, to cover the fee to pay for the food supply for one Kenyan family. For example, families may choose to make some sacrifices during lent (e.g., give up pizza night, movies or other treats) and provide the minimum donation of $25. Any donations received in excess of the funds needed for the food supply will be applied to future needs of the orphan children sponsored by the Foundation.

FACE also gives all participants the opportunity to pray together as a family, for all the innocent Kenyan children who are being affected by the current political situation. Since this is a Lenten project, we are inviting families to participate in the FACE project by committing to praying daily for peace in Kenya and spiritually adopting these orphan children (and their families) through daily prayer for their safety and good health. In addition, our children are invited to write letters to the orphan children in Kenya.

Families wishing to participate in this project, please feel free to email me at marta.waters@att.net or call me at 739-0842. You may also contact Kathy Billanti at kob322@optonline.net or at 742-2991. Donation checks should be made payable to the St. John's Kenyan Children's Foundation and mailed by March 22, 2008 to P.O. Box 411 Garden City, New York 11530. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Marta Waters