By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

AvalonBay, yes or no?

That's what the board of directors of the Central Property Owners' Association wants to know from residents in their section. On Tuesday evening, CPOA leaders voted to form a committee to investigate the possibility of conducting a Central section-wide survey to more accurately gauge whether their constituency supports development of the site by AvalonBay.

CPOA directors Robert Nouryan, Edward Finneran and Harold Golden, along with Central residents Rochelle Dowling and Kevin Curtin, will delve into the cost and time frame involved with hiring a professional pollster to survey the approximate 4,000 residents in the Central section. They will report their findings to the other CPOA directors at a special private meeting on Oct. 21st.

The survey is not to be confused with the Village-wide public opinion poll scheduled to be conducted on Dec. 2nd. The Eastern and Estates POAs are organizing and paying for the opinion poll, which will present all adult Village residents with three options for the property: move forward with the AvalonBay proposal as detailed in the Report of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's released in July; demolish the building; or maintain the building in its current condition. Both the poll and survey are non-binding.

The exact wording has not yet been determined, according to Dennis Donnelly, president of the Eastern Property Owners' Association and chair of the Joint Conference Committee of property owners' associations. Since voting machines will be utilized, spacing is very limited for describing each proposition.

Last month, the CPOA board of directors voted to not participate in the organization and cost of running the Village-wide poll because they believe presenting three options will lead to inconclusive results. According to CPOA President Patricia DiMattia, the CPOA directors want their own survey with one question to make sure they are following the will of the people in their section.

The Garden City Board of Trustees will ultimately decide the fate of the building, and have set a Dec. 18th decision deadline. DiMattia does not believe the Board of Trustees is listening to residents, and said the CPOA will most likely present their survey results directly to state Senator Kemp Hannon. The senator has emphasized that he will only go forward in Albany to secure the necessary Home Rule legislation and relief from Parkland designation if he sees widespread public support for one proposal. Without the legislation, the land can strictly be used for public purposes only.

Before the Central directors voted on forming a committee to look into hiring a pollster, some members of the group expressed concern that residents have all of the facts on AvalonBay, especially their financial solubility given the perilous state of the nation's economy at the moment. Garden City resident Matthew Whalen, AvalonBay's vice president of development, told the Garden City News that residents can access the company's financial information on various internet sites. He also referred to an article in Sunday's New York Times, which mentions AvalonBay and focuses on how and why Real Estate Investment Trusts are remaining solid in today's shaky economy.

DiMattia said that AvalonBay "threatened to walk away" if the POAs offered residents a one-question, yes or no option on the ballot. Whalen told the Garden City News that his words were not meant as a threat; he was explaining to the POA presidents that his company believes a one-question poll would be a waste of time since it does not allow anyone to make a choice of what should happen to the building.

The Western POA has agreed with the CPOA that only one question should be offered and has decided not to be involved in the organization and cost of the Village-wide poll. All residents in every section, however, are encouraged to vote. More details concerning the Dec. 2nd vote, such as time and location, are expected in the next few weeks.

Second Deputy Mayor Thomas Lamberti, who is one of two trustees representing the Central section, said residents should be turning their focus away from St. Paul's to deal with a more important matter: the impending budget crisis. He said school, Village and county taxes will increase at least 12 to 15 percent as expenses continue to rise and the tax burden shifts away from commercial entities to residential property owners. He emphasized that structural changes have to be made in the way services are delivered to Village residents and accused the Board of Trustees of not taking the necessary steps to "try to turn this around."