Earlier this year, Farmingdale received some very prestigious news; the Barclays will be coming to Bethpage State Park’s Black Course from August 23 to 26 in 2012, and again in 2016. The Barclays, part of the PGA Golf Tour, is the opening playoff event for the FedEx Cup.
Trustee Ralph Ekstrand gave a brief introduction and reported that the organization is in conversation with the Village for the planning and preparations for bringing their world-class event to Farmingdale.
“We are having preliminary meetings with the PGA; to make a long story short they expect to have 35,000 per day at the Black Course,” said Ekstrand. “They expect to use the railroad in pretty much the same set up as the USGA used it in both Opens.
“They seem to be very willing to work with us for traffic and safety of the residents, which is our concern, especially traffic up in the Lenox Hill area, which got a little hairy there for a couple of the days during the U.S. Open,” said Ekstrand.
The Village will continue to keep the community informed as the event draws near. For more information about the event including volunteering, purchasing tickets, email newsletter sign-up, and more from the PGA visit: www.thebarclaysgolf.com.
During the public meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3 the Village board reserved to continue the public hearing on the proposed local law (LL6-2011) that would add uses to the Office-Residence district of the Village Code section 105-78.2. The hearing will be continued at the next public board meeting on Monday, Feb. 6. Of the 12 people in attendance at the current meeting, none were in attendance to speak publicly about this matter. One resident did request zoning maps at the continued hearing, to which Mayor Butch Starkie agreed to make available. Community members are encouraged to attend and have their comments recorded. Copies of the local zoning law can be viewed at Village Hall.
The members of the Village board resolved to approve the agreement between the Village of Farmingdale and the Town of Oyster Bay to provide Fire Protection for the Northeast Farmingdale Fire Protection District. Approximately 300 homes are affected by this agreement. The board agreed to continue the existing contract.
The board approved the elimination of “night differential” for any Code Enforcement Officer who works after 5 p.m. This decision reverses a resolution made on January 24, 2006, and a policy change made on April 7, 2008 when night differential was established to be paid until midnight for code officers. The typical code enforcement shift ends at 9 p.m.
The remaining funds, $5,900, of the Residential Rehabs funds will cover a resolution to approve a change order for the non-handicap portion of a previously approved resident to add $1,900, to the prior approval of $7,600, to fireproof the boiler room and to bring it up to code. In addition, the board approved the use of CDBG Residential Rehab funds to make homes handicapped accessible for income-qualified residents of the Village.
Mayor Starkie read a list of the new employee classifications for those employees eligible for the NYSHIP (health insurance) program. Classifications include: mayor and board of trustees; justice court; appointed part-time officials; appointed full-time officials; unionized staff; non-union full-time staff; vested/not retired/no longer working for the Village. Starkie explained, “The reason for this is that if we want to make any changes to benefits for anyone in the Village, we have to have classes set up.”
The next public board of trustees meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. at Village Hall, 361 Main Street, in the conference room. Copies of the past minutes and future agendas can be found on the village website. Regular meetings are typically on the first Monday of each month at 8 p.m.
