Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-1974 ....,..'" " .-.-\.'""11;'~ ,~, .- ','y'....-~k..\'-- '<'i-'1""::~~(",",,~-~~~;---" '~""i"-'~:~,:~"~t>",~.~j,!, ~V-T~'~'I',-~r""'ifi'''''''''''I';.;'' ""'>l'~'~~'F~l~"m.,.:w;""r;':"<,\:~?-;";'C-;- i' , I. .~ . FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC. ASSOCIATION REPORT 1873 ~ 74 .- ,.. . FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL REPORT JUly 1. 1974 Blue Cross F.I. Civic Association President's Report F.I. Civio Association Treawurer's Report F.I. Fire Department F.I. Ferry District F.I. Garbage District Island Peoples' Projeot Medical Committee H.L. Ferguson Museum & H. Lee Ferguson, Jr. Sanctuary Rouemt Control School District Town Justice and Southold Town Board Member Fishers Island Civic Association Conservation Report ANNUAL MEETINGI TUESDAY JULY 16, 1971f- 8,00 P.M. AT THE SCHOOL DATES TO REME11BEH: HOUSE TOUR: We,L:C;[3day, 'l'('.VlN FATHEHS ]/iEETING: July 2~, 1974 - 10:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Tuesday, August 13, 1974 . FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION BLUE CROSS-CMS As of July 12. 1974. the funds in our checkbook are $3417.32. The Savings Account has been closed as o! June 1974. On January 1. 1974 the Blue CrosB was increased due to their paying out more money than what we put in. Also in November of 1973. the CMS was also inoreased. As of the present date. we have 167 Blue Cross members and 16) CMS members. Husband-Wi!e not 65 Husband-Wife (lor more children) Single Over 65 $44.19 CMS&:BC 46.84 17.96 5.95 Norma Thibodeau .--, / . PRESIJErIT'g R~PORT - FISHERS ISLAJiD CIVIC ASSOCIATION i<O. of rr!~mt~('s - 40C Num...1:er of Hee,ings per year - i; This h"" b",m a lJU&j iCc..olthaugh looking ba'"k ov?r our minut"&, it is hard to see very !!'..:'my accomplif.hments. ~re have "looked into" and "given away", shifted inten'st and reorganized. As tor giving away, we have given away our annual llallowe' "n p"rty ard the Easter Egg hu.-it to the Island People's Project, for they became more recre"t:!.ou oriented as we became leos. \\e have g'.vcn our backing to the Fishers Islaad Volur,taer Fice Departmc,nt 5 year ~"pital fund raising drive to help ass:\ml.1ate cos~ of Lnr ,!Iatc:ly necessary lCqu1.pment. ~ie are givL1l the lle<'':'cal Cc.nmitte€, "'.wteve~ profits ..e make from th1.s year's Hoese Tour July 24tl', and We gi"I" ocr bleB~,.n,;s to CuokIe Ecwards, and Elsie Parsons and Alice Cary Lyons-Brown for rup~iug the Tour. We hO:ITe glven the Village Greens Conunittee its own bank book to handle but maintain it "8 a cmnmitt"" of the Civic Association. Plec"se note the fine p>ogr',ss of the tre~s growing along the fort area and the screening along the garbage dump. We are trying benches by the pl;.one at the Post Office and on the triangle for one more year, but due to vandalism we have lost two and two to go? Please help to keep them intact. We g~ve Judee Doyen our support against the Dominick Gommisaion which w1.shed cO dissolve our local judgeship system. It works well here for us economically and i9 a grea; comanience~ jury triills may be held on the Is:!.?nd from the jurisdiction spectrum of violation area through Class A misdemeanor including vehiculsr and traffic cases. We gave a "ig:;ed p"Ution to the navy ""king to k"e;:> i:'le Coast Guard here ct"d Washington arsmec us that that' will be, and we will have a year-round staff and boat and six families housed on the Island. Cases for sea rescue have jumped from 237 - 368. The men uork well with our Island boat men and we have an arrange- ment in the winteoc with the aux1.1iary use of a Fishers Island boat and crew for emergencles. For the summer we have been "iven twe New York State Trocpers to patrol with our Island Sherif,s, Otis Horu and Dick Gre~e,to add strength and authority to our law enforcment. I have been told we have the only New York State resident State Troopers all""ed whieh is sone comfort, for the fact 1.s that your Clvic Asso- eiation has had no luck in requesU.ng year-round t.:ooper protec.tion. Incidentally, Otis Horn has grave CClocern foc the health of our Dog population on the Island. Island Heart Worm cases have jumpe" so be sure to have your dog checked and use a preventat1.ve medicine suggested by your veterinarian. We are "looking into" the new wet lands laws and looked into the possibility ot a new county formed ',lith the East e"d of Long Islanc last fall, but it appeared expeasive and impractlcal at the time c,d was later voted down. We draw your attention to the existence of a very informative pamphlet put out by the Riverhead- Southhold LW1. $ 1 at Se.G~ Doyen's Liquor Store and at the Drug Store. We also urge you to call on ou!' elec~ed Con....1ssioners and appointed Committeemen for informa- tion for thlOY h.we a Mrect pipe-line to Southhold and Suffolk County officials. . -2- Mr. Fred Grebe, Planning Board and Commissioner of the Fire District; Mr. Raymond Doyen , Commissioner of the Ferry District and the Garbage District; Mr. Serge Doyen, Zoning Board and Judge Doyen, our Town representative. Our greatest amount of time and effort have been given to the direction of Conservation and looking into protecting our natural resources and our thanks to everyone on the Island for joining in. Mary Russell, Chairman of our Conservation Advisory Committee, includes a report on the New London Dredging project. At the same time we are looking into the Long Island Refinery and Nuclear Plants. We have recently been questioned on our feeling about dumping Mycelial residues 5 miles South East of Fishers Island, but at this time we feel we must rely on the proper EPA organization to protect our interest. No one can visualize how much time, thought and effort our Advisory Com- mittee headed by Mary Russell have had to expend. Other members are Matty Matheis- sen, lAw Thatcher and Tom Parrot. I strongly rec01lDllend the need for such a group of the Civic Association appointed as a committee to the Civic Association depend- ing on the problem at hand. This year we are working under new amendments to our by laws - a smaller board of seven which is more flexible but adds to the job criteria of the Board. Another change is more flexibility in meeting dates and the number of required meetings of the Board were cut to four. This was extremely timely and useful in view of the Energy Crisis. This winter, we were able to hold meetings weekends in Union Chapel and week nights at the school which ~oincided with the planned, activities, thus hopefully saving of fuel and overhead. The Civic Association contribution to the cause. We urge you to make suggestions and ask questions and attend all public meetings - Town, School and Civic for it is a tremendous help to know what you are thinking. Respectfully submitted, ~R~ Cherry Rafferty, President Fishers Island Civic Association Board Members Mrs. R. Ahman Mr. S. Doyen Mr.. R. Doyen Mrs. H.L. Ferguson Mrs. Wm. Gallaher Mrs. B. Rafferty Mr. T. Stedman Mr. E. White . FINANCIAL REPORT OF FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION 73-74 Balance on Hand ae of July 1. 1973 Total Depoeits (Dues end Contributione) IllOl.58 13532.8B 14634.46 Total Expensee 12195.89 Printing, Postege Clgrical Supplies 1647.26 Blue Croes Cuetodian $200.00 Secretary Carole Antis $233.36 Youth Entertainment (Moviea) $100.90 Rodent Control 1137.94 Miscellaneous I 83.00 Town Fathers $ 69.90 Savinge Account 1720.00 Service Charge $ 3.53 Balance on Hand July, 1, 1974 $2438.57 Savings Account as of July $7.54.8.5 Mrs. WII. Gallaher I=ISHERS ISLAND I=IRE DEPARTMENT FIS~IFRS ISLAND, NFW YORK 00390 The pa.t year'ha. been .n important one for your Fire Department. Thank. to our renerou. friendl and the proaeed. from vlrious fUnd raising aotivities, we heve purahllled a new ATTACK TRUCK. Thie purah...e will relul t in no inerea.e in the tax rate of the Fire Diatriot. Thenew eQuipment 11 a rurged truck thst add. a grent deal of fire fighting power to the Department. It reneratel very high pre..urea and therefor uses ccmparatively amall quanitiea of water. The truGk i. a powerful four wheel drive vehide that will ['0 over rough terrain it need be. During the yelr we Ilao acquired a surplus Army vehicle. Thia wn without'coat. This vehiole will be modified at a OOlt of a few thouaand dollara to fit ~le needa of the Department. We feel that we are ahead of Ichedule in workinr, out our plan for ourrent:and future equipment needs. The Department's Truok Committee and the Diltrict Com- millioner. have worked out pllns that will bring eur Deplrtment to I full complement of modern equipment wi thin a five year I,ertod. In addition to the ~bove purchalea, the DepC'rt""mt "co edded v.rious tools, ~afety devices, spccid onuip- mont for reaGue work and routine replaoements of hOle, persons1 foar, ..tc. N"w rnd improved aupplies have ~lao been added to the emhuh,nae. Durinr: the year our nin.. man Jlmbulence Squed ha.. been very busy an.werinl' many call., ett"ndinl' off'-the- blend treininp' couroeo rnd joiltin!" .Ii th full D"pHtment in drill probl""s. The Annual Open House of the Departmnnt will be held Au!~st 11,1974 from 10100 A M to 1100 PM .nd we hope to meet all of' our Fi.ahera blond friend. at that time. Cur new equipment will be on displey with exhibit. end per- .onnel .veilahle to "xplein the varioua new item.. Robert E. W~ll, Chief ~EPORT OF THE FISHERS ISLAND FERRY DISTRICT TO THE FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION At the request of the Fishers Isl.nd Civic Association your Board of Commissioners will sUMmarize some of the high lights of this District from January 1, 1'74 to the ~reseRt. In December of 1'73 this District suffered the loss of CommissiDner Baldwin who had served on the Board from the day of iRce~tion of this Di~trict. His mechanical knowledge aad "know how" made cOJlltribut:l.oll.lIl to this District which call never be duplicated. On February 20, 1'74 Richard B.ker w.s .~,ointed to the Bo.rd of Commissioners to fill the position held by Larry. On January 1, 1'74 we lost another friend, Jack Bowles. Jack after serving as purser for twenty two years retired uJllder the N~w York State RetireMeat System. To replace a lIIal'l of Jack's calibre all.d.,.integri ty l'roved to be quite a job. After going through over thirty ap,lication. the Board of Commissioners selected Arnold Toivenon. Arnold is a retired Navy Chief and is doing an excellent job in filling the Purser position. III the last quarter of 1'73 the 50ard of Commissioners held lIIallY Meetings relative to our Marine Insurance Coverages. It was felt at that tillle that we should seek bids for this particular coverage with the idea that cOMl'etitive biddiag might produce better quotations and effect substantial saviRgs over l'ast ex,erience. When all bids were received it wa. noted that AdaMS & Porter Inc. of New York was the appareat low bidder aad substaintial saviags were realized. In March of 1'7~ the Board of COMMissioners held a hearing on a pro~osed lease between the Fishers Island Ferry District and Richard Grebe of Fishers Is1ollv1 for the oIJeration of Elizabeth Air,ort for the period A,ril 1, 1'74 ~nd ending March 31, 1'7'. As there were no objections raised the ~oard of CONMissioners approved of this lease wtth Mr. Grebe. By direction of the Board of Co~is.ioners the Manager was directed to go thrcugb to legally sto, all touch and go laftdings at.Bliz;!lbeth Airptort for the period June 1 through and including Se,tember 30th each year. The District has also beeR eMpowered by the Fed~ral Aviation Administration and by the Town of Southold to s~ll fill from th(! ^ir~ort Property to local Cofttractors and or iftdividua15 ~o aesiring same. Iftformation on buying fill may be obtained from the F~rry Di~trict Office during regular business hours. We trust that this informal rerort will be of interest to you and will keel' you abreast of what has tr.ns~ired during this ,eriod. ~OARD OF COMMISSIONERS FISHERS ISLAND FERRY DISTRICT Report of F.I. Garba~e pnd Refuse District On January 1, IS74, the Uistrict entered into contract with Quinn and Co. for tne C'''llectlol1 and hmd-fill disposal of garbai'e and refuse. 'r!.ib includes tlou;.,ellol.J f'or-llRve, car-dboar'd boxes, bottl,,"s, newspapers, cans etc. w',ich sijould he reedied for' pick up in sllitable conLainers. Quinn and Co. hLG a telephone recoI'ding servioe for residellts to call when service is desired. The tele;hone numi,er' .is 211. Because of state Lnd county restrictions on solid waste methods of diB[JOCiEl, all residents are asV",d not to take any waste of ony kind to the land-fill site. This oreR is now kept locked and is solely for t,\e use of Quinn and Co. In order to serve the communi ty wi tll r,n area that 'IlOuld allow burnin:' of brush, stumps [Jlld demolition matel'ial, the district has leased :5attery "utterfiel(:, also known as "gun pi ts" locatec~ at Hace Foint. This locked nnd rated area will be manned during certain t~ours of the day. Strict state requirements necessitate this.:',urning, which will not occur during the summer months, will conform to state El'A rep;ulations. These facilities will be made accessible to all residents and contractors during hours to he announced. Residents wishing to dispose of old stoves, refrigerators, bed spI'inl~s etc. may contDct Dick :;rebe of Dick's Garage at Eliu,heth l'ielci fer UOie of tLe aute' disposal "gun pits." Hefrige"ators wi11 b" eUI':ined for door removal iilHl ct",.r noticeable safety hn~erds. It is the hope of tbe commissioners that every resident will cooper'ate by usin{T tlle P"OI"'.1' areas 'nentioned CiO tttat no violations to Ltate and county laws will occur. These fncilitieH nre unw unejer constnnt lJU1'vejl1ance by the New York ~.;tate ]Jel'artrnent of r~onnf'rvntion flJ,r1 the Suffolk County Uoard of H"alth. Board of Commissioners Raymond Doyen, GOl'don f\hmun, 1\ 1'1.1'1u1' '. al sh , Chairman Secretary '1'reEl.8urer MI~Dlr;AL liEVt: We would like to, at this time, thAnk Dr. Ralph Hoch for his "return to duty" giving the Island residents exoellent medioAl services this wintor. From Juno 15th to June 30th, we hAv~ had the services of Dr. Peter Beuler and D::'. Jolm Grl'mt. On July 1, Dr. Fred Burdett moved to the 181 and with his ,.life And tr,lO children Dnd he will practice here giving us medicAl covernge throughout the summer. Dr. Burdett was at Roosevelt Hospital before coming to the Island. These Doctors are here on a fee for service basis. As yeu all !mow, the Hedic 8.1 Commi t'l;oe has been searching diligently for a perrflanent Doctor for FiIJhers. After inter- viewing coveral Doctors, the Medical Committee determined that a subsidy would have to be forthcom:l.ng to attract someone here. We sent you all letters and to data :pl'( ,220.00 has bAen pledged. '1'he response was gratifying, however, there are some of you who have not retnrnec1 their pledge. May we hear from you? Mr. He;nry King of Davis, Polk, 11ardwell is s.ctively trying to obtain tax-deductible status for our clinic. His efforts in this area are certA:lnly appreciated by the Medical Committee. Maintenance has boen continuing at the Medical hOlIse. The back porch Has repaired, living room floor sanded and finished and painting completed. Several people were responsible for furni8h- Ltg the honse for tho summer. Our th9.W{S to these volunteers. The Insurn.n!\iJ cO'\Ol'rg6 H;\O :!.lJerensecl on the bouse Rnd the house was pl'otectec1 all winter by a heat and burglar ala.rm. Furni "Cure for the Hai ti.ng room and some aCIni pmant for the Doctor's offictl vlere pure hased this yeAr. It is wi 'ell regret tha.t vie accepted tho resignAtion of E. Perry Edwards as 'l'reasuror effective June }O, 197).J.?el'ry has been 'rreasnrer for 25 yeArs and we .,ill miiHl him but f'ully under- stand his Hish to retire. '.t'hank you, Perry, for :rOlu> serv:lce to this Oommittee. 'fhe Hedical Committee vlelcowH' any oOlrments ,or sur;p;eoti onsyou may hnve. lrh Hould like to heal' fl'om you. Medical Committee: Mrs. R. S. Balcer, Gh&irn1!3Tl Mrs. H. L. Bogort Mr. Serge Doyon Jr. Mr. '.illiam Feullmer Mrg. R. A. Hovmrd Mr. George Lord Mr. Stephen O'Neil Mr. James Peishoff Mr. Arthur \Jalsh Mr. lrl:l.lliam Wood Jr. Mrs. Cutherine Jenssen, Secretary 'liUt; IfEr:RY jJ/t FERGUSON I,'lUSEUf'/'J H_nd 'rHl-:: H. Jj:;E liiRGUSON. ,JR. BIRD SANCTUlI.kY Those two rcl,,-;;(!d instj.tutIons Sh8XO in pl"oviding important and unique additions to the many privileges which thos" who live on Fishers Ialancl enjoy. Tho hlUS/lUm has ~. very finG display of birds, most of which were collClcte,d by Harry Ferguson. Leo l".rguson, and othl'irf'l, add- /td to this colloction. It also has a large colloction of Indian arti- facts mostly found by thos'" who hit'!::' dug in the Indian mounds and shell hoaps on the Island. 'rJu !'IIUS')Um is in thlll proc9ss of providing histor- ical material which will give much infor:mation about Fishers Island through the years since it was first discovered. The opportunity to presorve these exhibits, and make! thorn available to all on the Island, was furthered by tho gift of th", Musoum building by r.Jr. Jansen Noyes L, m<ilmory of his wiI., Agn~Hl Blanc!,.. Noyes. - Two recent gifts to th<B Musflum have addll!d much to its interest and appearance. ~Jrs. Stephan T. Kels~y, Jr. gave a Diorama in memory of her Aunt, l>lary Chapin Glenn. The painting, and other work in con- nection with this display is b"ing don!) by Charles B. l"orguson. A very boautiful sculptur", of an Ospray in flight has bun placed in front of the Museum. This was dosigned and oculptured by Dr. Willla.m H. Gallaher shortlY2.Ili'or" the tragic acr; id,~l1t in which ho died, and is the gift of his wif", , G:lrol Gallah.n'. 'rhe Bire: S:u.ctuai:y was ,I[:r~ablishod in memory of H. Lee Forguson, ,Jr. who had s"'l'vod ns Prosidlilnt fmd Curator of thll ;.ius0um which bears his father 's namo. It is 10c& tod on sQveral aCrA!) just back of the Museum with its main entrance on West street. Fishers Island is one of the few placGs which has a bird sanctusTY locntr.ld at the center of its communi ty lif0, and thi~, h~',.' proven to b~ not only a plac. for the pre- f'(~rvation and nurturing of birds, bll", ;l.h,o an area to b. used by t>lIlople who want It qlli~t and dfll15{';htful place to <lmjoy nature. The ll,uscum i~ ope!. on '1':\):0" d';lYG bot":I\J"n 10 Ilnd 12 a.m. Those who want to makti an appointlw~t; to visit :\.t at other times may do so by calling the Curator, Edwin H, HorninC';-T-'l. 293., Contributions ,)f l.1orJY or ,u..;icl/H'! (cGp"ci.nll~r historical material) are always .:~o6t wolcom~, and may bll Illl,de through N"lTs. H.Lee Ferguson, Charles B. Forguson, E. Perry Edwards, b~ Henry W. Hobson. Hsnry W. Hobson . Rodent Control Committee DurinlC the ye.r the Civio Anooi.etion, throurh the oommi ttee, dietributed three hundred pound. of "b.it" for rodent feeder .totiOllS. Rolient. .re .till . problem on the Il1.nd and prob.bly alwaYI will be, but it is felt with the exoellent manner th.t the f.rbefe .re. il beinr h.ndled, that they are being w'll oontrolled. The feader .t.tion. have been modified to keep bird. from anterinf. One of our oitizen. noted thet birdl were anterinr: the It.tionl. They are nClW fitted with a cloth oaffl. th.t the rodent. will pe'l but the birds will not. We .rain urr.& all peorlA on the Island to be nlert to the rodent problem .nd to take edvantafe of the Ci vie Aesociation' a free diatrJbuti on of "b"i t" for feeder .tationa. A. D. Dewson, Chairman FISHERS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL SUMMARY 1913-14 Th~ 60ttow~ng ~hatl hop~6utty po~t~ay, anatyz~, and d~aw eon- etu~~on~ ~n ~~tat~on to ~dueat~onat p~og~amm~ng eonduct~d th~~ pMt y~aJt. In ~t~ ~~eond yeaJt 06 opeJtation a~ an "op~n ~paee" ~ehoot, many ~hoJtteom~ng~ to b~ 60und ~n the "otd 6ehoot" hav~ not onty b~~n eoJtJteeted, but 6uJtth~Jt, pJtogJtam~ have been ~mpte- mented on a ~ound edueat~onat ba~~~. A ~ound 6~~eat budget 6Jtom wh~ch to opeJtate undeJt, good educat~onat eq~pment and ~uppt~~ ~nventoJty, cuJt~eulum eont~nu~ty, a ~ound and eompJte- h~n6~ve pup~t te6t~ng pJtogJtam, a new tunch and tJtan~poJttat~on pJtogJtam, the ~mpt~mentat~on 06 an expanded Phy~ieat Edueat~on pJtogJtam d~~igned to ea~e 60Jt the nee~ 06 ouJt 6emate ~tud~nt~, and ineJtea~ed paJttie~pation ~n Fed~Jtat and State 6unded pJtogJtam~ de6igned to ea~e the toeat taxat~on bUJtden. The new buitding ha~ been put to the te~t 06 "~e" and ~~ a.~ ~mmacutat~ a~ ~h~ ~tood on the eve 06 ouJt open~ng day d~dica.tion c~Jt~mony. An expanded Adutt ~ducat~on pJtogJtam, coupted to an ~v~n~ng open Jteclteationat aetiv~ty pltogJtam, 0.6 wett a~ b~tding ~ag~ by out6ide ~choot-eommunity oJtganizat~oM 60Jt me~ting ~it~~ have att g~v~n Jtea~on to bet~eve that the 6ehoot ~~ Iteaching out to att. A comptete ehange 06 educationat pJtog~amm~ng at the etementaJty 6choot t~vet enabt~d Jteading and math ~eoJte~ to Jtoc~et upwaJtd 6JtOm a d~~ appo~nt~ng 20th peJteenUte to an 85th peJteentUe ~at~ng on State t~~t~ d~~igned to 6e~~ out accountabi~ty 06 both ~tudent~ and ~tCl.66. The plte~ent M~cat ~Y6t~m 06 the d~~t~~et pJtov~de~ 6M auto- mated 06 Mee pltO eeduJtef> cotlpted to eomputeJt~zed ban~~ng ~ e~v~ce and th~ attow~ng nOJt a b~oad ~peet~um 06 Jound 6~nane~at ~eJtviee ~xeeution. F~nane~at dee~6~on~ have been di66~eutt, but w~th a dual obt~gat~on both to the eh~tdJten 06 the ~~tand M w~tt 0.6 the tCl.xpaye~6 who r.1UJ..t 6houtde~ the e06,t 06 educat~on, ~ueh deci~~on6 weJte (tI(_~~ved at th~ough eOM-eJ.ent,(,OU6 e660Jtt de6~gned to pJtov~de quatlty educatlon. In 6ummaJty, ~t'~ been a yea~ 06 J.nnovat~on, h~gh edueat~onat p~oductiv~ty and 6ttcee66 nut budgetoJty management. The Fi6helt6 I6tand Schoot Di~t~ct i~ on a paJt with any ~ucce~~6ut ma~ntand 6ehoot d~6tlt~et. Re~peet6utty 6ubmltted, V~ncent S. Sp~netta VL\t~.(_et PJt-i.ne~pat REPORT OF TObiN JUSTICE In the past year Justice Doyen attended 3 training sessions to become fully qualified to preside in the jus- tice courte of the Town of Southo1d. During 1973, thirty eix motor vehicle caees, twelve criminal ceses and one civil ection were handled by the Court on Fishers Island. As a Town Board membar, Justice Doyen attended one meet- ing esch month at Greenport, New York. With regard to Fishers Island matters, the tennis court adjacent to the school wae completed; buoye have been installed in West Harbor; and changes in street layouts in the vicinity of the achoo1 and ferry dock are under study by the Highway Superintendant and the town attorney. Your Town Justice and Town Board representative is available B houra each day at his office in the Mobil Station for any assistance requested by Island residents. Respectfu,lJv sUb~ed, -i~ty:n ~ T o~," Just i ce . . . . FISHERS ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION CONSERVATION REPORT BRmF SUMMARY OF NEW LONDON DREDGING Since spring of 1972, the Civic Association has been following the project of dredgingth~ ThamoB River to allow the new 688 class submarines to go up to tho Navy baew. Noone at any time has opposed the dredging but we hav0 been d~op1y concernod with the problem of disposal of the sludge. Civic Asscciation advisory conservation committee was appointed in th<l wintQc of 1973 consisting of Mattie Matthiessen, IAlw Thatch\lr, Chris Roosl:lvelt. In the summer, Tom Parrott, Cherry Rafforty and myself were addid to make up the com- mi ttee. We a'ttended all public hearings and voiced our opposition to the use of the New London dumping area (approximately 1t miles SW of Fishers Island) at every opportunity. We alerted the N.Y. Stat. Dept. ?f Conservation who had not been consulted. W. rounded up all sppropriate politicians includ- ing Otis Pike, Perry Duryea and Sonators BUckley and Javits, all of whom went on record as opposing this. The Connecticut politicians lined up aleo. Summor residents from ov~r 15 states wrote to their representatives and the response was good. Scientists, conservation groups, fisherman, civic groups and concerned individuals all op- posed the use of this site. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers paid no ntt.ntion and issued a permit to the Navy to dump here. The only concossion being a requiremont that the operation ~3 monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmosphoric Administration (NOAA). Not wanting to oppose this alone. W~ approached the Natural Resources Defense Council of IS ~~st 94th st. to see if they would assist us. They wero recommanded to us as the best non- profit organization in this fiald, consisting mostly of lawyers with environmental liIxperience. ThQ)Y have agreed to take the first legal step and are sending a "d.~~d letter" giVing several legal reasons why the n.s. Corps of Engineers should, revoko the permit. If, as is liklllly, this is ignored, they (tmd we) will decide if trying for an injunction will accomplish our objective, i.e. persuade the Navy to takl'l the sludge much farther out to sea. In both the lett3r and an injunction suit, tho Civic Association would be only one of several plaintiffs in whose name the suit would be brough't by the Natura), Reeourcea Defcms('l Council. After thi injunction WE> would hav" to round U;l all the poli- tical actioi1 we could get. Tho NRDC f"flls that an injunction of this type strenthena t:1G of the politicians and we could expect action by then. .- . . CONSERVATION REPORT - Page 2 According to Dr. John Pearce of NOAA the secondary site is to be an area 5 miles SE of East Pt. Fishors Island. He expects to define the criteria which would make them move to this site before July 16th. In our opinion this sit. also is unsatiSfactory but would probably not disturb the Connecticut groups who are protesting the use of the New London area. To get an injunction would probably cost between $10.000 and $15.000. which would be in the form of tax-deductible contribu- tions to the NRDC. We may not need this much. we might need more. We hope you will pledge what you Can for this if and when a member of the Board of the C.A. or their Conservation Committee calls on you. A more detailed report, copies of correspondence with poli- ticians and others as well as the Environmental statements are all on file in the C.A."s files. Mary Russell