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THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ^®
OF SHELTER ISLAND

Notes on the Town Board Work Session
March 12, 2008

Note: Saturday’s meeting on the proposed addiction Center rescheduled from the Ram’s Head Inn to the School will be televised for Channel 22.

Dear Friends and Members of the League of Women Voters,

All members except Town Councilmen, Ed Brown and Peter Reich were in attendance at today’s Work Session, as well as Town Attorney, Laury Dowd and Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar. Other attendees include Planning Board member, Emory Breiner, Christina Cunningham, Shelter Island Reporter Editor, Cara Loriz, Town Media’s Mary Ellen McGayey, Police Chief, Jim Read and Town Justice, Helen Rosenblum.

Bridge Street Park Designs – Mary Ellen McGayey stepped out from her usual spot behind the camera to report on designs she has been collecting and organizing for the Town Board. Some 16 designs are displayed in Town Hall and will be posted on the town website –http:// www.shelterislandtown.us --tomorrow or on the weekend for public viewing. The designs, she said, all had great ideas, citing solar lighting, bicycle racks particular and praised those from school children brought in by Al Loretto [sp?]. No single design has been chosen, she reported, noting that the newly-formed park committee will review with the option of combining various elements.

Justices Re: Parking – Police Chief, Jim Read, introduced the discussion with distribution [to Town Council members only] and brief review of proposed changes to summons, fine structure and related Town codes, the latter of which will be drafted in proposed revisions by Laury Dowd. The revisions were made in response to the new administrative consultant hired by the Town to collect fines on traffic and parking violations.

Justice Helen Rosenblum noted that the new fine structure represents, mostly, increases and that they were consistently categorized by violation regardless of location. She pointed out that the fee structure had been compared to those in neighboring towns, noting that Riverhead had the highest fines in the area. She noted that the biggest problem was parking on beaches without a Town permit and a brief discussion was held about parking fines on Bridge Street, which had been reduced (from $100 to $50).

Supervisor, Jim Dougherty, asked about methodology to be used by the new consultant and Justice Rosenblum confirmed they would use standard practices of letters and phone calls (to collect fines not paid after 30 days) and volunteered a copy of the contract, which was executed in the previous administration, and further details.

Police Chief Read reported that he has been in communication with Julie Ben-Susan regarding overnight parking at the bulkhead along Cedar Avenue to which the Heights Property Owners Association object because they are reluctant to open the door to long-term parking, mostly by boaters.

Pending review and approval of the Town Council, Attorney Laury Dowd will draft proposed Code changes noted in revised fine structure. An April public hearing, which both Justices Rosenblum and Quigley will attend, will be scheduled.

Chamber of Commerce July Fireworks – Police Chief, Jim Read, reported on meetings held with the fireworks’ ad hoc committee – representatives from the Highway, Police, Fire and Ambulance/Red Cross Department, the Town (Supervisor) and the Chamber of Commerce. This year’s 4th of July Fireworks will be held on Saturday, July 12th – the date available for the vendor – but the venue has not been finally decided. “There are not a lot of options,” he said, explaining that there would be “a change in presentation” at 1) Crescent beach, with modifications, perhaps (and preferably) on a barge, which Jim Dougherty said would be an ideal supplement to the Chamber of Commerce’s plan, but noted that it is problematic, including for other towns; or 2) Shell Beach, which puts explosives away from crowd, but involves other issues.

Chris Lewis asked about the number of boats, which Chief Read said was not a problem because a boat safety area had been established.

Chief Read said that the ideal would be to keep the fireworks where it is, plus detonating from a barge – “We have it down to a science...” he said – but also cited problems caused by the increasing volume of spectators and their proximity to explosive.

Glenn Waddington, noting that because of current road conditions on Shell Beach, doubted if fire trucks, ambulances or any vehicles would even be able to get access, and Chris Lewis expressed concerns for the safety of spectators. There was little enthusiasm for Shell Beach as a venue, which Jim Dougherty summarized by suggesting that it “might be the ultimate long-term plan for the fireworks – realizing that the days at Louie’s (Crescent) Beach may be coming to an end, but maybe not this year.” Asked if it were possible to just push people on “Louie’s Beach” farther toward the Pridwin end, Chief Read said that it had been tried. He noted that the Fire Department had suggested a 30-minute cooling-off period to allow for clearing shot shells, sweeping the road etc. before crowds were allowed to disperse, adding that that would be problematic. Chris Lewis suggested a temporary fence to create a restricted area, but Chief Read and Jim Dougherty saw that as a difficult enforcement problem.

Chris Lewis asked about the cost of the barge, which Jim Dougherty put at $12K-$15K, noting that cost is not the issue and that with a July 12th date might open the barge’s availability and that crowds might be less on an off-holiday weekend. He dryly noted that the committee has been meeting on this since the first week of January and “we’ve progressed about 3/4 of an inch so far.”

Ad Hoc committee meetings will continue.

OTHER BUSINESS

Jim Dougherty reported –
on two positive items on open space – 1) this is the 10th anniversary of this state legislation, and Assemblyman, Fred Thiele’s task force will mark the signing of the bill and “a decade of fine-tuning the statute.” and, 2) that two enlightened and good citizens of Shelter Island [Karen and Sam] had signed a conservation easement to the Peconic Land Trust for property adjacent to Cackle Hill;

that the Town had received a petition signed by 70 Shelter Island residents who oppose 4-Poster implementation on the grounds of toxic chemicals involved – and that he will meet with them, but noted that the 4-Poster Program is being implemented;

having received a letter from a private citizen saying “don’t bother” reactivating a fire alarm on Route 114 which has been inactive for quite a while;

and thanked an anonymous donor for funds for a new defibrilator.

Glenn Waddington reported that the WAC is set for the seminar on pesticides and fertilizer on Saturday, March 22nd at 8:30 to be held at the School, which will also be covered by Channel 22. Light refreshments and coffee will be served.

Earlier, concerned about process and time delays with no LIPA presence, he asked Chief Read about the procedure LIPA follows when responding to power outages on Shelter Island caused by fallen branches or trees reported to the police. The Chief explained that when the officer calls in the incident, he reports the pole number and location which is identified in LIPA’s computer and proper personnel and resources are dispatched. Stressing he is not opposed to having a dedicated LIPA repairman on the Island, he said, “It’s not perfect all of the time, but 80 percent of the time it’s pretty good,” adding that his real worry is about a storm that might require dividing LIPA staff and equipment among areas on the East End or Long Island generally.

Finally, he asked that Garth Griffin and Lee Oliver from the Recreation Department be invited to talk to the Town Board at next week’s work session.

The Work Session was adjourned at 3:50 pm to accommodate discussion on contract negotiations at Executive Session.

Phyllis Gates
for
The League of Women Voters of Shelter Island

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