HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-07/05/2023 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK: STATE OF NEW YORK
2 ------------------------------------------- X
3
TOWN BOARD
4 REGULAR BOARD MEETING
5 ------------------------------------------- X
6
7
Southold , New York
8
July 5 , 2023
9 7 : 00 P .M.
10
11
12
13
14
15 B E F 0 R E :
16
17 SCOTT A. RUSSELL, SUPERVISOR
18 LOUISA P . EVANS , JUSTICE
19 JILL DOHERTY , COUNCILWOMAN
20 BRIAN 0 . MEALY, COUNCILMAN
21 GREG DOROSKI , COUNCILMAN
22 SARAH E . NAPPA, COUNCILWOMAN
23
24
25
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 2
1 PUBLIC COMMENTS
2 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : This is
3 the part of the meeting where I ' m going
4 to invite anybody up that would like to
5 comment on any of the specific agenda
6 items , to please feel free .
7 GWYNN SCHROEDER : Hi . Gwynn
8 Schroeder , from Cutchogue . Also from
9 Legislator Krupski ' s Office earlier, and
10 we ' re here tonight to support 609 , which
11 is a donation of underwater lands to
12 Southold Town . And I ' m really here just
13 to say thank you to you all . This is an
14 important . I know it -- it was a lot of
15 work. And so I wanna thank you for your
16 support . And I also wanna thank the
17 Trustees for bringing this to our
18 attention , I think three years ago . And
19 for their willingness to take this on as
20 stewards . And they will be the best
21 stewards . And nobody takes this is in
22 Suffolk County Parks . Nobody takes the
23 alienation of parkland lightly . And
24 because of the reputation and the
25 history of our Trustees , it was pretty
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 3
1 much an easy sell . So it was
2 complicated, as you know. We had to go
3 through three levels of government . Up
4 and down, to try to untangle this . But
5 for us , for our office , I think it
6 deserves a bit of a celebration . So
7 thanks for your support .
8 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Well ,
9 thank you guys for keep pushing it all
10 these years .
11 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : I love
12 the language . The underwater nature of
13 the parcel .
14 AL KRUPSKI : Al Krupski, Cutchogue .
15 I wanna -- and I wanna thank Supervisor
16 Russell and the Town Board for engaging
17 in this . It was -- as Gwynn said -- and
18 thank you Gwynn Schroeder . You know,
19 Katherine Stark, John ( inaudible ) who
20 were in my office for years and worked .
21 It took, you know ( inaudible ) and
22 Senator Assembly Giglio, Assemblyman
23 Thiele . You know, everybody worked with
24 us on this together for literally years
25 to alienate this parkland . That should
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 4
1 never have been put inside the Suffolk
2 County Park System, and instead it ended
3 up -- in the park system. So alienated
4 was a heavy lift . We tried to -- we
5 tried to maneuver it out . Municipality
6 to municipality without going through
7 the alienation process . The attorneys
8 involved, just shook their heads , right .
9 They we ' re not gonna have it . So thank
10 you for taking this final step . It will
11 be with Southold Town where it belongs ,
12 and it will be stewarded properly .
13 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : And I
14 think that originally was probably
15 through tax sale . Once it goes through
16 tax sale , they couldn ' t roll it back
17 into the tax sale . Once it goes to the
18 Parks , that sat --
19 AL KRUPSKI : They should never have
20 called Parks . They should have -- we
21 have a list about 10 pages long, at the
22 time that they put it into Parks . And
23 this is the last one on the list . And
24 someone should have made a call .
25 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Right .
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 5
1 Who else would like to address the Town
2 Board on any of the resolutions?
3 NICK KRUPSKI : Good evening . Nick
4 Krupski . This is just to follow-up on
5 what Al was saying there . As a --
6 speaking as a Trustee , this has been a
7 problem with James Creek . Where people
8 go to apply to do something and if it
9 extends out into the wetland whatsoever,
10 whether it be for restoration efforts or
11 mitigation with -- you know, tidal
12 surge , they ' re not allowed to do it
13 without the County granting them
14 permission, which is nearly impossible .
15 So two years ago, we decided this is
16 something we really had to get on .
17 Roughly two years ago . So I thank you
18 for your support . I appreciate the
19 support and bringing it back down to,
20 you know, the Southold Town Trustees
21 ownership . So thank you .
22 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Take good
23 care of it . Thank you .
24 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Anybody
25 else that would like to address on any
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 6
1 of the agenda?
2 (No Response ) .
3 (Whereupon, the Regular Meeting
4 continued on to Resolutions at this
5 time . )
6 ****************************************
7 PUBLIC COMMENTS .
8 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : I ' m
9 going to invite anybody that would like
10 to address the Town Board on any issue ,
11 to please feel free?
12 ROBERT DUNN : You guys talk about a
13 couple of things in this morning, and
14 it ' s funny, but I had to give you guys
15 this . I was gonna speak to you about it
16 tonight anyway --
17 PAUL DECHANCE : Can I ask you just
18 to start with your name , please?
19 ROBERT DUNN : Sorry . Robert Dunn .
20 The rental thing, you discussed that
21 this morning . And I didn ' t think you ' d
22 get right to it , but I see it ' s the
23 29th . Part of this problem here is --
24 is rentals . This is -- this is Gold
25 Smith ' s and I know it happens at every
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 7
1 meeting everywhere . I think first we
2 need to report the guys who drive the
3 truck, because every time this happens ,
4 they clean it up . And I don ' t believe
5 that ' s the Town ' s job or their job .
6 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Excuse
7 me , Robert . Can I interrupt you? He
8 just handed us a picture of overflowing
9 garbage at the Town beaches .
10 ROBERT DUNN : Normally there ' s two
11 cans there . There was only one .
12 Somebody stole one during the Winter .
13 And I spoke to Highways about that , but
14 today there was -- there was a second
15 can . They do their job, but they
16 shouldn ' t have to clean up this stuff .
17 Sometimes it gets really bad . When the
18 seagulls get a hold of the bags . And
19 then it ' s all over the lot or all over
20 wherever . Whether it ' s a parking lot or
21 wherever it is . There are people -- and
22 it ' s not just rental people . I know
23 people that live here or that did live
24 here year round , that were regularly . I
25 mean, I could see those kids from my
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 8
1 living room window. And they would
2 regularly put -- put their stuff there .
3 I think it needs to be -- you were
4 talking about enforcement on a few
5 things today . There certainly needs to
6 be a better enforcement here . If only
7 just to make an example of somebody so
8 that everybody knows . And I also think
9 that truly by Goldsmith ' s , there are a
10 fair amount of rentals . I think that
11 while you ' re considering changes to the
12 rental laws , you consider that if people
13 are gonna rent , they need to provide
14 their tenant short term. If people are
15 gonna run short term, they need to
16 provide their tenant the means to get
17 rid of their garage . Shouldn ' t fall
18 onto the Town . Whether it ' s buying a
19 permit or buying pickup service or
20 whatever . That -- that ' s on them. It ' s
21 not on the Town . You gotta realize that
22 most of the people that come out here
23 don ' t come here from Southold . They
24 come from the city . And what you do
25 with your garbage in the city, is you
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 9
1 put it on the curb . Twice a week . You
2 don ' t worry about it . Somebody comes
3 and picks it up . We don ' t have that
4 here . And nobody wants to pay for it .
5 So we shouldn ' t have to live with this .
6 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : I agree .
7 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' s a
8 good idea .
9 ROBERT DUNN : So it ' s simply --
10 it ' s their responsibility . And then
11 maybe you ' d have to figure out a way,
12 and that the gentleman at the end of the
13 road, to figure out a way that maybe
14 they ' d get a temporary permit . I would
15 say that is a good percentage of people
16 in this Town that have no idea where the
17 Transfer Station is . They just don ' t .
18 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : They
19 don ' t need to . The owner, the landlord
20 could leave yellow bags with
21 instructions inside the home . And then
22 hire any one of two or three local
23 prominent carters . To get up every
24 Tuesday morning .
25 ROBERT DUNN : Agreed . But what I ' m
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 10
1 saying is , that should be part of the
2 rule . Add that in , that it ' s their
3 responsibility . And if -- if somebody
4 staying there , maybe they both get
5 fines . You know, maybe the owner and
6 the tenant get a fine . But I ' m just
7 throwing it out there . You know,
8 throwing the ball in the air . I don ' t
9 know all the answers . I got -- I got a
10 lot of questions as you all know. I --
11 I don ' t have it --
12 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : You
13 know, I gotta be honest . It ' s been
14 going on for years . It cost us over
15 $200 , 000 a year to be in the garbage
16 business . It ' s ridiculous . I don ' t
17 even know why we ' re in it . I don ' t know
18 why we decided years ago that we have to
19 leave pails at the end of the road ends
20 to deal with other people ' s garbage .
21 And why they ' re not just taking their
22 own garbage home with them. I don ' t
23 know why we have to provide a means for
24 them to throw it out , when they just
25 take it home . Just like a lot of the
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 11
1 private beaches do . But what happens ,
2 once we did an experiment , and I think
3 Al might have been on the Board with me
4 -- more remote location . Let ' s get rid
5 of the can, because it ' s remote . The
6 public , you know, around that area isn ' t
7 using it . We get rid of the cans , the
8 garbage piles up anyway where the can
9 used to be .
10 ROBERT DUNN : And that ' s what often
11 happens in -- in the Winter . Pete and
12 -- after Peter was Vinny . They used to
13 take the cans in . And when the cans
14 were gone , it just got piled on the
15 side . It said -- don ' t put household
16 garbage in it . Big signs . Don ' t put
17 household wreckage in the can . While
18 the cans gone . Just throw it on the
19 ground .
20 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : And then
21 we got lids for them to keep the animals
22 from getting to them, and spreading the
23 garbage around . But then when people
24 couldn ' t fit it in the lid, they left it
25 off to the side . This is what -- what
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 12
1 we need is a couple of deer trail
2 cameras to get them out there .
3 ROBERT DUNN : Well , I mean, that
4 might be a solution to be some cameras
5 on some poles . Catch a few people , like
6 I said , and give them a hell of fine .
7 Once that gets out there , there ' s
8 nothing like knowing your neighbor got
9 fined $500 . 00 for something to make sure
10 you don ' t do it .
11 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : This guy
12 named George from Cutchogue , I knew very
13 well . He had actually called me once
14 with an idea . It ' s probably not legal ,
15 but it ' s a good one . But he said , look,
16 you ' re having a problem with enforcing
17 it . Give me a fee for catching . I ' ll
18 sit in the bushes with a thermos of
19 coffee overnight . If you want to split
20 that $ 1000 fee with me? He was probably
21 right .
22 ROBERT DUNN : It will work. The
23 second thing is , you were also talking
24 about speed limits . And I ' m not gonna
25 get involved in that , but I have a
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 13
1 personal key to drivers in Southold .
2 When you ' re crossing 48 and someone ' s
3 coming from the other side , and they ' re
4 looking to make a left turn . It ' s like
5 a race to make that turn in front of
6 you . In other words , you ' re going this
7 way and instead of them waiting for you
8 to pass or if you ' re making two lefts ,
9 you both go behind the other one , which
10 is what ' s in the little book, where they
11 show you the little Monopoly House . You
12 put a cop on every corner? No . Well , we
13 could stripe those intersections . Now,
14 I don ' t know because 48 is the County .
15 But the intersections -- I don ' t know
16 that the County would have any problem
17 with it . And the intersections might
18 technically be yours because the little
19 island isn ' t really 48 . It ' s -- I don ' t
20 know the -- that ' s for the lawyers to
21 figure out . But I think it would be
22 wise to stripe a lot of them. Not all .
23 Because some don ' t have . Some don ' t
24 have a second road on the other side .
25 It basically -- it ' s a -- it ' s a T stop .
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 14
1 But a lot of them, particularly, the
2 Mill Road in Mattituck. Mill Road by
3 me . Wheeler , Love Lane , Peconic Lane .
4 All the way down . There ' s enough of
5 them, that I just think if you just went
6 out and striped the road , people would
7 realize that if they crossed that line
8 to make their left , they ' re on the other
9 side of the street in the oncoming
10 traffic . It ' s just -- we ' ve been here
11 for these things . All of us . My car
12 actually, the wheel shakes when you hit
13 the yellow line . No, it ' s -- it ' s part
14 of the design of the car . If you ' re
15 going by a line , the wheel kind of tells
16 you you ' re not supposed to be here . So
17 they wouldn ' t cross that line and make a
18 left . I can do -- what I do is , I go
19 over to the middle and I stop, and wait
20 for the other guys to come by . But too
21 often, they ' ll just zoom from the
22 extreme right to the extreme left . And
23 it ' s just -- it ' s just a tragedy waiting
24 to happen .
25 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : The car
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 15
1 is actually designed to do that? Like
2 to inform you like a smart car? Mine
3 does that because it needs tires . It ' s
4 a 2009 .
5 COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: So
6 you ' re correct . It is a County road,
7 which -- and even though our roads run
8 through it , we don ' t have jurisdiction
9 to even stripe our roads within those
10 intersections . So if only we knew
11 somebody at the County where we could
12 maybe address his concern . The other
13 thing too --
14 ROBERT DUNN : Well --
15 COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: Let me
16 throw one more thing out there that I ' ve
17 seen before . Is actual , you know,
18 hanging off of the traffic signal , is a
19 sign that shows you where you ' re
20 supposed to go . It shows with arrows
21 that the cars are supposed to go behind
22 each other . So , you know, if striping
23 doesn ' t work for those at the County,
24 maybe some signs , at least , you know, to
25 hang off to inform drivers the way that
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 16
1 they ' re supposed to be going .
2 ROBERT DUNN : This is a serious
3 tragedy waiting to happen .
4 COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: And --
5 yeah, I agree with you . I do the same
6 thing you do . I pull up to the middle ,
7 so that they can ' t go in front of me .
8 And then I get a lot of really nice
9 hands gestures . They don ' t understand .
10 They think I ' m the crazy one . And I ' m
11 like you cover that --
12 ROBERT DUNN : And you ' re crazy .
13 COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: Thank
14 you for bringing it up .
15 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Thank
16 you . Who else would like to address the
17 Town Board on any issue?
18 ERIC MCCLURE : Good evening . My
19 name is Eric McClure . Westview Drive in
20 Mattituck . I came here tonight
21 primarily to say thank you to Council
22 Member Doherty . She called me last
23 week. To let me know that she and the
24 Town Attorney DeChance had met with Jeff
25 Strong regarding the ongoing issue of
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 17
1 noise from Strong ' s Water Club and
2 Windemere . So I really appreciate the
3 action and the effort to work towards
4 some kind of constructive solution that
5 will make the situation better for us .
6 Allow them to continue to do what they
7 like to do, but within reasonable
8 boundaries . So I appreciate that very
9 much . That said, we ' ve gotten several
10 hours of loud music this weekend . I
11 sent you all an e-mail earlier with some
12 links to video . Just to sort of
13 demonstrate the noise levels , and what
14 the -- what I can ' t record in a
15 meaningful way, is the sound that we
16 still get even with all the windows
17 closed . And my wife was saying earlier,
18 we could sing along with the windows
19 closed because you can feel the -- the
20 vibration and it ' s still even in a
21 fairly good quality double paned windows
22 penetrates the house . So I ' m hoping
23 that we can continue to work toward
24 finding some mitigations for that kind
25 of sound level . But I am grateful for
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 18
1 the step forward, and just wanted to say
2 thanks .
3 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Thank
4 you for taking the time to come and say
5 thank you .
6 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Who else
7 would like to address the Town Board on
8 any issue?
9 ERIC MCCLURE : I will say the
10 garbage issue that the Department of
11 Sanitation in New York City has put
12 cameras -- dumping cameras to good use
13 with some very significant fines . And
14 they -- if you follow the DSNY Twitter
15 feed, they ' ll often post videos of
16 people who have pulled up and dumped and
17 the cameras are high quality . You can
18 get the license plate and they issue
19 multi thousand fines , which I think
20 probably at least for those individual
21 perpetrators does put the dent in the
22 repeat .
23 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Probably
24 pays for the camera .
25 ERIC MCCLURE : I ' m sure it does .
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 19
1 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Who else
2 would like to address the Town Board on
3 any issue?
4 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Motion
5 to adjourn .
6 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Second .
7 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : All in
8 favor?
9 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
10 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Aye .
11 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
12 COUNCILWOMAN SARAH NAPPA: Aye .
13 JUSTICE LOUISA EVANS : Aye .
14 SUPERVISOR SCOTT RUSSELL : Aye .
15
16 (Whereupon, the meeting concluded . )
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
JULY 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 20
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo , a Notary Public
4 for and within the State of New York, do
5 hereby certify :
6 THAT , the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to
10 any of the parties to this action ; and
11 that I am in no way interested in the
12 outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF , I have hereunto
14 set my hand this day, July 18 , 2023 .
15
16
17 ( J s ica Di llo )
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25