At its Nov. 19th meeting, the Garden City Board of Trustees touched upon several different topics, many of which have been discussed at Board meetings held in recent months.

Parking Permit

Fee Update

The $150 parking permit fee, which affects the Village parking field on Fair Court, which is located at the corner of Old Country Road and Washington Avenue, and Village Parking Field 5, which is located behind the Garden City Medical Building at 520 Franklin Avenue, has angered many tenants and the landlord of affected office buildings along Old Country Road that use the Fair Court lot. A large group attended the Nov. 5th Board meeting, and two tenants and the landlord spoke again at the Nov. 19th meeting.

Mayor Robert Rothschild said the Board had sent the parking permit fee issue back to the Village’s Traffic Commission for review. He also referred it back to Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr. and Dept. of Public Works Director Robert Mangan to work with the property owners’ associations to help reconfigure the lots by adjusting the hour restrictions and/or possibly eliminating permits. Their analysis has not been completed.

Althea Robinson, executive director of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce, said as a resident she would be upset if the Village broke away from their long-standing tradition of offering free parking behind every building in the business district. She said the Village developed an off-street parking concept between the years 1935 to 1937. “We have touted, from those years up to now, that we have over 10,000 free parking spaces in the Village, unmetered, free.”

Hub Update

Mayor Rothschild said he, along with Village Administrator Schoelle, Deputy Mayor Donald Brudie and Trustees Nicholas Epsicopia and Dennis Donnelly recently met with Patricia Bourne and other representatives from the Nassau County Planning Commission.

He said this meeting was arranged after the Village was concerned that the Board was not notified of a July 23rd bidders conference held by the county’s Planning Commission on the Nassau Hub study for those interesting in constructing a mass transit system. A Power Point presentation shown at the conference revealed the possibility of a light rail transit system running through the Village, along the unused right-of-way behind Arthur Street homes and the inactive railroad line between St. James Streets North and South.

“It was a very good meeting,” the Mayor said of the more recent gathering. “They laid out exactly what that conference was all about.” The county told the Village that they have internally selected a consultant and will make the announcement in January or February.

The consultant will work with the county on transportation alternatives, which include a light rail, bus or AirTram system connecting Long Island Rail Road train stations with activity centers, including the proposed Lighthouse development.

“We were very definitive in our notice to them that we are honestly not happy and we will fight to the end on light rail,” Mayor Rothschild said. The county said they understood the Village’s position, but had to include light rail as a possibility because they received money from the federal government to conduct this study. If they arbitrarily removed an alternative they would be required to return the money, according to the Mayor.

He added that this is all dependent on what happens with the proposed Lighthouse development. The county told the Village that no matter what happens, they plan to still move forward with the transportation study because they believe there is a need for a bus system in the Hub district.

Citizens’ Budget

Review Committee

Mayor Rothschild announced that Brian Daughney, president of the Estates POA and chairman of the Joint Conference Committee, has prepared a charter to reconstitute the Citizens’ Budget Review Committee.

Daughney said the four POA presidents met several times to draft a charter which will include the committee’s scope and goals. “We felt there were some great things about the committee, and some things that didn’t work very well,” he said.

A draft has been presented to the Mayor and Trustee John Mauk, who serves as chairman of the Board’s finance committee. The relationship between the CBRC and Board became strained during several tense budget meetings held earlier this year as members of the Citizens’ Budget Review Committee and trustees argued over who was at fault for the Village’s budget problems.

Trustee Mauk placed blame on a Board decision two years ago to follow a CBRC recommendation to take money out of reserves to keep the tax rate low, and their recommendation to remove $1.7 million that was set aside for St. Paul’s School maintenance to keep last year’s tax rate low. The money was removed from the fund established for that purpose, added as revenue and returned to the taxpayers to reduce the tax rate.

The CBRC argued that along with the recommendation to use reserves to achieve a zero tax increase, were also stringent ways to cut costs and exert better management controls, which the Village did not follow. They were also angry that, in their opinion, their 15-page report filled with recommendations was not properly addressed. Mauk denied their claim, saying that they were just not happy that some of their recommendations were not accepted by the Board.

The Village is expected to face very difficult decisions again as they begin their budget work sessions in early February.

NextG Installation Concerns

Mayor Rothschild said he wants to meet with Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr. and Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg to get a final understanding of the project before the Village finalizes an agreement with NextG Networks, Inc.

In October, NextG Networks, Inc. representatives spoke at the Board meeting in an effort to keep a cordial business relationship with the Village of Garden City as they prepare to install their Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) on 15 light poles on residential streets within the Village. NextG has been hired by MetroPCS Communications Inc. to install the systems, which consist of an antenna and box, to close gaps in cellular service coverage.

Under federal law, NextG has the right to deploy its equipment in public rights of way, with the understanding that public rights of way are held in public trust. The right has been given to NextG because the state Public Service Commission recognizes it as a public utility. The right of way use agreement presented to the Board is not necessary, but is being offered by NextG in an attempt to be a “good corporate citizen.”

At the Nov. 19th Board meeting, Patrick S. Ryan, NextG’s vice president of government relations and regulatory affairs, asked the Board to take action on their agreement. He said the company has been working “very closely” with the Village for 18 months to finalize the design of the light poles. The design has changed significantly, according to Ryan. The original plan called for 20 poles over 40 feet in height. The current proposal calls for 15 converted street lights that are all less than 29 feet in height. The highest street light will measure 28.5 feet in height. The average height of a street light without the antenna is 10 to 14 feet.

Mayor Rothschild said that many residents are concerned about the appearance of the street lights. “Obviously what they look like is still a very important issue with us,” he said.

Garden City resident Kathy Wood asked if the boxes attached to the side of the poles can be smaller. Ryan responded that the boxes are 35 inches tall and 15.5 inches wide and they are used to conceal equipment. He would be willing to discuss with the Village installing the equipment directly on the pole without the box, although he believes the box, which is painted to match the color of the pole, is the more attractive option.

Marketing Campaign

Drawing Shoppers

John Wilton of Garden City Properties, who chairs the Merchants Group, an independent committee of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce consisting of several independent Village retail establishments, was happy to announce that the recent advertising and marketing campaign designed to drive business to the Village and to keep residents shopping locally has been effective.

The group has received an intern from Adelphi University and two from Senator Kemp Hannon’s office and the Young Republicans Committee to assist the Merchants Group with their efforts. Raffle coupons are now available at all participating Garden City merchants.

The group is trying to organize a “Shop ‘Til You Drop” event on December 1st. All participating merchants will be open until 11 p.m. as the countdown of remaining shopping days until Christmas and Hanukkah begins.

“If we keep doing this, I think it will grow,” Wilton said. “We have plans for January now.”

For more information on the Garden City Shopping initiative, visit www.gardencityshopping.com.