The members of the East Norwich Civic Association voted to hire Liberty Capital Services, LLC as a consultant/financial advisor to explore incorporation at a fee not to exceed $2,500. The civic association has been exploring the concept of becoming a village and this move will help answer the questions some residents have asked about the financial considerations about becoming and being a village.

The vote took place at the Oct. 28 meeting of the ENCA during their monthly meeting held in the community room of the Community United Methodist Church of East Norwich.

ENCA President Matthew Meng said they had hoped a local resident would volunteer to do a study of the financial costs of incorporation but no one did. The board decided it would be better to give the job to an outside expert so they did a search to find one. A group met with David Tanner of LCS on Oct. 6 at IHOP to discuss the study. Mr. Tanner comes highly recommended, said Mr. Meng. He had copies of letters from several groups that recommended Mr. Tanner, including the Cold Spring Harbor Committee on Incorporation and the Nassau County Village Officials Association. Mr. Tanner is an East Williston board trustee.

There is still one problem that has to be addressed: defining the northern boundary of East Norwich. Mr. Meng said it would take a door-to-door survey of homes along what is believed to be the boundary - to find out which hamlet homeowners pay their taxes to, thereby identifying the actual border of the East Norwich area. Some Peerless Drive residents pay their taxes to Oyster Bay and therefore have TOB sanitation pick up, while others do not.

In asking for the vote, Mr. Meng said, "I'd like to allocate the funds. We need to come up with a number; a snapshot number at least to see if the community accepts it. Maybe then we can look into Phase II of the project." Mr. Boorstein objected to the proposal citing the lack of zoning powers for villages according to the current Nassau County Charter. Fourteen members voted to hire LCS; five members were opposed and one abstained.

Bud Rappuhn, recording secretary reported on membership figures saying that there are 103 paid members, most of whom pay more than their annual dues. More than half, 60 percent, are new members.

Mr. Rappuhn read the minutes of the August meeting, since the September meeting had been cancelled so that members could attend the Oyster Bay Civic Association meeting for a forum by AvalonBay Communities. Mr. Meng summarized the East Norwich civic group's concerns about AvalonBay saying, "The main objection is the increase in the problematic traffic in the area." That is of special concern to residents of East Norwich since the proposed 300 unit apartment complex has only one outlet - Route 106, which goes through East Norwich. Additionally, the AvalonBay presenters said most of the traffic from the apartments would be heading south.

Mr. Rappuhn said the civic also met with police in August to discuss issues of surveillance of the area; parked cars with for sale signs on them; and DOT speed limits.

The civic association continues to be concerned at what is happening on the triangle of property located on Split Rock Road, Route 25A and the Spur. "They are going ahead full speed with the foundation," said Mr. Meng. He said the town has some questions on where the foundation has been located and that several trees have been taken down. "The town said if they deviated from their plans they will be fined and will have to go before the town and re-apply for an application."

The Woodstock location on Route 106 also continues to be a problem. Mr. Meng said he and Lisa Nola met during the summer with Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto in regards to the abandoned property. The town said the site would be cleaned up by Labor Day, but there is still a Quonset hut on the property. Mr. Meng said he used to call the supervisor's office once a week about the site and now calls once a day. He said Mr. Venditto's assistant Steve Marks has assured him the last hut will be down by Nov. 1. Mr. Meng said he has contacted a Newsday reporter who is looking into the issue and she said the town is in litigation over the site. "She will pick up the story after the elections," he said. First-Vice President Sean Rainey said he e-mailed the town an aerial view of the property. "It looks like an industrial work site," he said.

The civic is considering having a protest at town hall if the situation isn't resolved. "We can have a press conference and ask the town how come they are not delivering on their word," said Mr. Meng. "We've been fighting this for seven and a half years."

(Representatives of AvalonBay Communities spoke to the membership of the ENCA and that discussion will be in a future issue of this newspaper.)