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Fire department siren causing alarm with residents After eight years of standing silent, the fire department siren on Shore Road has been activated, raising anger and opposition of residents living near there. Following a presentation by one resident who asked the board to have the department shut down the siren, Amityville Fire Chief Kevin Smith said he understood the concerns raised, and that there is room for discussion on the issue. The siren was voluntarily shut down by the fire department in 1999 after residents living near there from an ear disorder. The family has since moved away. In addition, the siren needed repairs, which took time to complete, said officials. "It (the siren) is as unnecessary and abusive to the community as it was eight years ago," said Lawrence Tullar, a resident of Shore Road. "It is being operated late at night and early in the morning ...and not only do taxpaying residents wake up and lose sleep but some end up staying awake and suffer sleep deprivation," he said. Tullar cited statistics that show that there is a 90 percent increase in saving heart attack victims if they are given CPR or are defribillated within five minutes of an attack. "There is no way, with or without a siren, for a volunteer to meet that time frame, but it is possible for an EMT on duty to do so," he said calling for the Village to consider full time paid EMTs and abandon the siren. He also cited a study by the University of Illinois that showed that daily use of an air-raid siren reduces property values within an entire community by 20 percent. "Why has the board of Trustees chosen to devalue the property of all of the citizens of Amityville in support of the use of a device that is unwanted, unneeded and a health risk to the public?" he asked. "There needs to be some kind of compromise including the possibility of completely shutting it off at night," said Chief Smith. "We definitely need to talk about some compromises here," he told the board and the residents. Mayor Peter T. Imbert said the Village has authorization to shut down the alarm but prefers to enter into negotiatons between the fire department and residents. "We must ensure that no one's safety is compromised-the safety of residents living near the siren and the residents who are in need of emergency assistance," he said. "We will be discussing several options." One option is to begin to reduce the use of the siren and monitor response times, said the Mayor. "If that seems to work okay then we will only use the siren as a last resort," he said. The board also heard a request from two residents who want the Village to do some maintenance and renovations at the Village Beach and Pavilion. "While Merrick Road looks great, I think the beach and park are in terrible disrepair," said resident Corky Amico. "It is really an eyesore." Amico presented the board with photographs showing the proliferation of weeds and said the area has become a "dog park," where people come to let their animals off a leash and allow them to run free. "They don't pick up after them and I even saw one man open the gate to the children's playground, let his dog loose inside and then go back into his car to wait until the dog was finished," she said. Mayor Peter T. Imbert said he appreciated the residents' concerns and that the board was, in fact, discussing the renovation of that beach and pavilion area as its next major project. "We have done a lot and have a lot of balls in the air with the construction of the new Village Hall, the work at Peterkin Park and other projects," he said. "But you can be assured that we will be addressing your concerns." In the meantime, he has asked the Village Highway Department to go down there and do a better job of mowing and weeding the site. Finally, Joan Donnison, a spokeswoman for the Bay Village Civic Association, asked the board if it would also consider addressing the condition of Village roads. That brought a response from Trustee Joe Slack who said that repaving roads was a big ticket item and that would increase taxes. Donnison, upset by the response, countered that new taxes should not be used as a "threat" every time a resident came before the board asking for services. Imbert intervened saying he agreed that road work was needed in the Village and that the board was considering putting a referendum before the public asking if they want the Village to borrow the money needed to redo some of the roads. "The tough reality is that it is very expensive to do this kind of work and I am not going to bond $10 million or so of taxpayers money if they don't want it done," he said. In related matters, the Village Board: •held a public hearing Oct. 22 on a request for a special use permit by the owners of the recently renovated Sunoco gasoline station at 318 Montauk Highway. The applicant wants to increase the size of its operation to include a convenience store. Village attorney Bruce Kennedy said the application was made under the new Village law requiring substantial changes to auto uses along Montauk Highway to come before the Village Board for review and approval;
•approved a request by the Fire Department to purchase and pay for an Alpine Software system at a cost of $5,930 and a GPS radar system for its rescue boat at a cost of $4,372.
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