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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/10/1966 . . :, MINUTE~ JOINT EEETING ON THE MASTER PLAN August 10, 1966 A joint meeting on the Master Plan was held at 7:30 P.M., Wednesday, August 10, 1966, at the Supervisor's Office, 16 South Street, Greenport, New York. There were present: Mayor Levine, John Shewwood, Henry Bunce, Dr. Leo GOldin, Harry Monsell of Greenport Billage Board and Villa~e Planning Board. Supervisor Albertson, John Wickham, William Unkelbach, Henry Moisa, of the Town Planning Board, Lawrence Tuthill, P.E., Consultant; Robert Tasker, Town AttorneYi Howard Terry, Building Inspector. Howard Quinn, New York State Department of Conunerce; Miss Elsie Woods, Raymond and May Associates; Robert Villa, District Engineer, Suffolk County Department of Heallth; Bruce Wilkins, Cornell University Staff; Dr. Walter Smith, Suffolk County Conunmnity College; Dr. Whittier of Orient, Rev. Arthur Bryant, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Chairman of the local economics opportunity conunittee. The meeting was opened at 7:45 P.M., by John Sherwood, acting chairman. The minutes of thelast meeting were approved as mailed out. A copy of a letter from the New York State Department of Conunerce to Raymond and May was read. ThE reminded all parties that 10 months were left to complete a list of required items in the Master Plan project and they wanted a schedule of completion of these from Raymond and May. Mr. Quinn conunented on this letter and stated activity must be stepped up on these items so the Planning Board can make their decision and be prepared to complete all items by the end of the 25 month perioa. . . < Joint meeting on the Master Plan -2- August 10, 1966 John Wickham asked each one present to keep the information given tonight confidential until such time as it is ready for public release. Bruce Wilkins of the Cornell Staff gave a preliminary report on the retumns of commercial fishing and outdoor recreational aspects for the Town as a whole, including the Village of Greenport. He distributed several copies of his report, for discussion only, these are not for publication. This report covered several types of fishing and shellfishing. He explained how his figures were obtained and the various sources of information used. Graph charts, (using log-scale), of landings of Bay Scallops showing both pounds of meat and dollar income, as they were recorded from 1900 to 1963 and its significance to the Town's income, particularly in the 1957 period were displayed. There were some question as to the accuracy of the figures during the late 1920's and the early 1930's. Reverend Bryant questioned the inclusion of "direct sales" which are never recorded in any way. This brought on furhher discussion of marketing pax practices, etc. Mr. Wilkins will recheck his figures to see if he can find discrepencies or oversites. A chart of "dockside values" of various species, butter fish, flounders, black tail, yellow tail, fluke, scup, hard clams, oysters, bay scallops, sea scallops, etc., from 1901 to 1965 was shown. Shellfish brought a higher income as much as six to one in years back to eight 10 five now. Also an "income chart" - (log scale), from 1900 to 1965 of fin fish compared to shell fish showed a "peak" in 1946 and a near low point at this time. The question of why sea scallops were included was raised. The answer was they arelanded in Greenport and have a value of over $50,000.00. The average of past~~ars income from commercial fishing interest is about $l,500,OOO.00 . . , Joint Meeting on the Master Plan -3- August 10, 1966 A chart of fin fish values showed the variations of income year by year for the past three years of several species. A chart of shellfish values showed income variations from 1901 to 1965. Bay scallops were the largest income item. The hard clam income is going up in the past two years. These two are 92% of shellfish income of the Town at this time. Mr. Wilkins spoke of the natural causes of the "ups and downs" in harvest and of "overfishing the waters". A chart of harvest as related to the number of men engaged was shown. This points out the dangers of the "overfishing" - culling down on reproduction,etc., the cost of harvesting and relation to income. There was some discussion on the number of men involved in the past and the present fishing operations. Dr. Smith stated that the State of New York has tried but can not get oyster set in this area. They have had very limited success farther west on Long Island. Plock has had poor results on his test experiment in Bay View. They are now working at Milford, Connecticut and Oxford, Maryland on federal and state ]evel, but few men are working on this. The Bay scallops fits into the employment pattern of the Town as it is a "winter occupation" for those who normally have summer season jobs. There is a~so a seasonal fluctuation of as much as two and one half times the value in succeeding years. 1939 was the low point of the scallop harvest. The Supervisor questioned if the Town's transplanting program shows any effect in these charts. The answer is too detailed to show at ih is time. There was a general discussion period at this time. Mr. W. Smith stated that we have seventeen technians and scientist working in Goose Creek now to check all marine life. and will be able to give more answers When the study is done. Rev. Bryant questioned the use of public docks to increase the economic possibility of commercial fishing and Mr. Wilkins stated that processing must be done in cooperation with catching fish to get the best returns. He will make some recommendations when the study is complete, if the group request it. . . . tt Joint meeting on the Master Plan -4- August 10, 1966 Dr. Whittier spoke on his observations of our commercial fishing, pending legislation, sea grant colleges and general education on marine life. Rev. Bryant spoke on the need of public support for our commercial port, as many of our larger boats are mooring away from here. John Wickham questioned the fu~ure of the Fishers Island oyster experiment and the future of our creek oysters. Allagreed these are "overfished"/ It was suggested to have several closed seasons on creek oysters and to try more transplanting to bring them back. There was a discassion of the trend of scallops from the bays to creeks due to lack of eel grass, etc. Dr. Smith discussed several research programs and the lack of trained personell. A motion made, seconded, and carried, we extend a vote of appreciation to Bruce Wilkins, Dr. Smith and other visiting guest for their contribution to the meeting. The next regular meeting to be held on the Master Plan will be held at 7:30 P.M., Wednesday, September 14,. 1966, at the Office of the Supervisor, 16 South Street, Greenport, New York. John Wickham will be acting chairman of this meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 P.~ Respectfully submitted, ~~~ Howard Terry, Secretary Pro Tern ::/ I ;/,~ / ... q .~'7 , J.~ , /1 / ;5/c;;; c:: 'j'.~? . -} /@?:~// .S+' 4;C::;Hd',./, / e-.J./- . /,,;;,.~t:' 6--e~"'-//'- .';{;..- " . . . .