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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown Board Charges/DutiesAUGUST 5, 1992 83 DAVID BURNHAM: My name is David Burnham. For me to come to one of your meetings would take two days. I can't come to the meeting, and come back the same day. (tape change) COUNCILMAN WICKHAM. I think that's an excellent idea, and I think we need to explore other ways to improve the communications. It may be costly. There may be ways it can be done in a treasonable way, and I'd much rather use our energies to repair that communication, rather than energies to divorce, and go. towards an incorporated village. MARY FALLON: My name is Mary Fallon, For four y~e~s I worked Senator LaValle. You're talking about communications. It's more available than it was four or five years ago. The schools are (unintelligible) offering a system called fiberopticS, and Greenport school, Southo]d school, Riverhead (unintelligible) I would be happy to work with you any way I can. STEVE MALINOWSKI: I've read some newspaper articles, -that you people are purchasing development rights on property with the Open Space Preservation Program. Could you explain to us what the program is all about, and how you decide on which property you were going to purchase? SUPERVISOR HARRIS:, If you want, 1'11 start off.. Thi~ property came to our attention obvi0us'ly through Judge Edwards. The Open Space policy here is, a bond was passed in 1987 voted by a referendum in November, which was approved overWhelmingly by the: residents of Southold Town. The funding mechanism is through a :borrowing mechanlsm, borrow 1.75 million dollars, and then you have to pay It back. That borrowing takes place over twenty years., by corporating monies through the taxpayers to purchase lands, that are considered to be.,.for the purpose~ of obtaining, or maintaining the rural character of the townshiP. We feel we can enhance the life styles, and the history of the town, maintain to keep it on:a stable course. This was done, like I said,in 1987. We've done ,the. same with farmland development rights by purchasing; developement rights of farm property, where the development pressure is removed, the owner of. record, Which is the farmer, still owns the property, he then Is allowed to continue farming without the development pressure, or development taxation. Fifty percent is removed once it goes in the development rights program. So, by doing this the Board has moved in two ways. It moved in ~87, and also, moved last year in '91, when the referendum was revoted overwhelmingly again by town, to spend money, to borrow money to purchase lands, or purchase proper.ty to keep'agricultural production viable in Southold Town. :The property came to our attention through Judge Edwards. It was brought to a COmmittee called Land Preservation Committee, which looks at, and oversees the bond · expeodltUres of all:properties, that they receive to purchase. Theydid various .studies on it, They did appraisal on the property. It came back arid forth between.. JUSTICE EDWARDS: No appraisal. suPERvISOR HARRIS: The appraisal wasn't done. It came back, and forth, between the Town a number of times. It was dicussed, and the Land Preservation Committee recommended that this was not for total public use. There Was not public access available for property that was asked to be looked at on Fishers Island, and that's where it went. They recommended that it not be purchased based: on the fact,-that it was not public access for all Of Southold Town to utilize, to be able to use. We're talking about open space purchases, because then it belongs to ·everyone in Southold, not just one or two.