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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-01/03/2012ELIZABETH A. NEVILLE TOWN CLERK REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS MARRIAGE OFFICER RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER Town Hall, 53095 Main Road PO Box 1179 Southold, NY 11971 Fax (631) 765-6145 Telephone: (631 ) 765 - 1800 southoldt own.northfork.net OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 3, 2012 4:30 PM A Regular Meeting of the Southold Town Board was held Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at the Meeting Hall, 53095 Main Road, Southold, NY. Supervisor Russell opened the meeting at 4:30 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Call to Order 4:30 PM Meeting called to order on January 3, 2012 at Meeting Hall, 53095 Route 25, Southold, NY. Pledge to the Fla~ Moment of Silence on passin~ of former Councilman John M. Romanelli Supervisor Scott A. Russell SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Please rise and join in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Thank you. I am going to ask everyone to please remain standing, with just an absolute shock and grief, we mourn the passing of John Romanelli, former Town Board member and owner of Burt's Reliable. Southold has just lost a very decent man who is one of the most affable, likeable, hardest working people I have ever have had the pleasure of knowing and working along side o£ I am going to ask for a moment of silence. Thank you. I would ask anybody that would like to comment on any of the agenda items to please feel free to comment now if they would like? On any of the items on the agenda, you can comment now. We are going to have a hearing in a few minutes, that is a local law, so we will be having a public hearing dedicated to just that. Why don't you wait a few minutes and we will get right into the public hearing. Would anybody else like to comment on any of the agenda items? (No response) I. Reports Department of Public Works Monthly Report Department of Public Works Monthly Report Program for the Disabled II. Public Notices III. Communications IV. Discussion 9:00 A.M. - Lori Hulse January 3, 2012 Page 2 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes 2. LL/Chapter 219, Shellfish & Other Marine Resources (PH Today) 3. Damaged and Vacated Telephone Poles 4. Trustee Vacancy 5. Renewable & Alternative Energy Committee Appointments 6. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Litigation 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Property 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Labor V. Resolutions 2012-58 CA TEGORY: Audit DEPARTMENT: Town Clerk Approve Audit RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby approves the audit dated January 3, 2012. Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 58 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Voter [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-59 CATEGORY: DEPARTMENT: Set Meeting Town Clerk Set Next gdeeting 1/17/12 7:30 Pm RESOLVED that the next Regular Town Board Meeting of the Southold Town Board be held~ Tuesday~ January 17~ 2012 at the Southold Town Hall~ Southold~ New York at 7:30 P. M.. Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 59 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Voter [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action January 3, 2012 Page 3 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes 2012-60 CATEGORY: DEPARTMENT: Budget Modification Accounting Budget Modification Health Plan Buyout Fiscal Impact: One additional and unexpected employee elected to take the buyout for fam#y coverage for 2012, another elected to change from family to individual for 2012 RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby modifies the 2012 budget as follows: General Fund Whole Town From (Decrease Appropriations): A. 9901.9.000.000 Transfers to Health Plan Total To (Increase Appropriations): A. 9089.8.000.100 Medical PlanBuyout Total General Fund Part Town From (Decrease Appropriations): B.9901.9.000.000 Transfers to Health Plan Total To (Increase Appropriations): B.9089.8.000.100 Medical PlanBuyout Total Employee Health Plan Decrease Revenues: MS.5031.00 Interfund Transfers Total Decrease Appropriations: MS.9060.8.000.000 Medical Benefits Total $9,106 $9,106 $9,106 $9,106 $5,225 $5,225 $5,225 $5,225 $14,331 $14,331 $14,331 $14,331 January 3, 2012 Page 4 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 60 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Voter [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-61 CATEGORY: DEPARTMENT: Attend Seminar Building Department Training ~emmar RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby grants permission to Electrical Inspector Roger Richert to attend a seminar on one and two family dwellings in Copiague, N.Y., on November 12, 2011. All expenses for registration, travel to be a legal charge to the 201 lbuilding department budget (meetings and seminars). Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 61 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Voter [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action Conunents regarding resolution 61 COUNCILMAN TALBOT: I will vote no on this. I think that these things should be coming in front of us before they go to the meetings, if something happens to the individual on the way there and they hadn't gotten approval and then the town is liable for something like this, I think the department head in this case has to get these to us prior to the individual going to the training. I vote no. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Do you think it would pay to have it either from the Supervisor's office or the Town Attorney's office, a reminder to all department heads that this is a problem? COUNCILMAN TALBOT: It should be, especially if we are expending money. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: No, I agree with you. I agree with you completely but is there any way that we just try to communicate that to the department heads? So, you make a good point. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: I would certainly support. January 3, 2012 Page 5 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes JUSTICE EVANS: Inaudible. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I will send out a memo to all departments. 2012-62 CATEGORY: DEPARTMENT: Budget Modification Building Department Budget Modification Fiscal Impact: To allocate additional funds for overtime earnings. RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby modifies the 2011 General Fund Part Town budget as follows: From: B.3620.4.600.200 To: B.3620.1.100.200 Meetings and Seminars $400.00 Overtime Earnings $400.00 Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 62 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Seconder [] [] [] [] [] With&awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supeiwisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Voter [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-63 CATEGORY: Bid Acceptance DEPARTMENT: Human Resource Center Accept Bid for HRC 7ehicles RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby accepts the following bids for the surplus vehicles: 1994 Dodge - VIN# 1B4GH54R41LX292086 awarded to Bernard Heinisch in the amount of $677.77 2003 Ford - VIN# 2FAFP71W93X109523 awarded to Donald Grim in the amount of $371.00 January 3, 2012 Page 6 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes all in accordance with the Town Attorney. Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 63 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Voter [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-64 CATEGORY: DEPARTMENT: Budget Modification Highway Department 2011 Budget Mod - Highway Fiscal Impact: The reason for &ese budget modifications ia' due to the fact &at &e above line item(a9 need to be increased as there ia' currently insufficient funding m these line item(a9. RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby modifies the 2011 Highway Fund Part Town budget as follows: To: DB.5110.4.100.200 DB.5110.4.100.350 DB.5110.4.100.550 DB.5110.4.400.600 DB.5130.4.100.500 General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Fuel/Lubricants General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Traffic Paint General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Equipment Parts & Supplies General Repairs Contractual Expense Contracted Services Other Contracted Services Machinery Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Parts & Supplies Brash & Weeds/Miscellaneous $10,000.00 $1,635.00 $1,000.00 $ 4,790.00 $19,667.00 DB.5140.4.100.125 January 3, 2012 Page 7 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes DB.5140.4.100.600 DB.5140.4.100.700 DB.5142.4.100.525 Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Miscellaneous Supplies Brush & Weeds/Miscellaneous Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Uniforms Brush & Weeds/Miscellaneous Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Safety Gear Snow Removal Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Snow Fence From: DB.5110.4.100.100 DB.5110.4.100.905 DB.5110.4.100.960 DB.5110.4.100.975 DB.5142.4.100.935 DB.5142.4.100.975 General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Miscellaneous Supplies General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Asphalt Patch General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Drain Pipe/Rings/Covers General Repairs Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Steel Snow Removal Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Rock Salt Snow Removal Contractual Expense Supplies & Materials Plow Blades, Shoes, Wheels TOTAL: TOTAL: $1,835.00 $1,000.00 $10,000.00 $ 2,500.00 $52,427.00 $1,000.00 $11,835.00 $19,667.00 $ 7,000.00 $10,425.00 $ 2,500.00 $52,427.00 January 3, 2012 Page 8 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes v' Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 64 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Voter [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-65 CA TEGORY: Consulting DEPARTMENT: Town Attorney Approves Change Order #2 to the Fishers Island Road and Stormwater Improvement Project Contract with Corazzini Asphalt, Inc. m the Net Amount of $16,953.40 RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby approves Chan~e Order #2 to the Fishers Island Road and Stormwater Improvement Project Contract with Corazzini Asphalt~ Inc. in the net amount of $16~953.40, subject to the approval of the Town Engineer and Town Attorney. Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 65 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Voter [] [] [] [] [] Withch-awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Initiator [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Voter [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action 2012-66 CATEGORY: Seqra DEPARTMENT: Town Attorney LL/Amendments to Chapter 219 SEQRA RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby finds that the proposed "A Local Law in relation to Chapter 219~ Shellfish and Other Marine Resources" is classified as an Unlisted Action pursuant to SEQRA Rules and Regulations, 6 NYCRR Section 617, and that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby establishes itself as lead agency for the uncoordinated review of this action and issues a Negative Declaration for the action in accordance with the Short Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Mark Terry, and authorizes Supervisor Scott A. Russell to sign the short form EAF in accordance therewith, and January 3, 2012 Page 9 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes determines that this action is exempt from review under Chapter 268 of the Town Code of the Town of Southold, Waterfront Consistency Review. Vote Record Resolution RES 2012 66 [] Adopted [] Adopted as Amended [] Defeated Yes/Aye No/Nay Abstain Absent [] Tabled William Ruland Initiator [] [] [] [] [] WithO'awn Ctn'istopher Talbot Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supe~wisor's Appt Jill Doherty Voter [] [] [] [] [] Tax Receiver's Appt Albert Krupski Jr. Seconder [] [] [] [] [] Rescinded Louisa P. Evans Voter [] [] [] [] [] Town Clerk's Appt Scott Russell Voter [] [] [] [] [] Supt Hgwys Appt [] No Action VI. Public Hearings Motion To: Motion to recess to Public Hearing RESOLVED that this meeting of the Southold Town Board be and hereby is declared Recessed at 4:49 P.M. in order to hold a public hearing. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Louisa P. Evans, Justice SECONDER: Albert Krupski Jr., Councilman AYES: Ruland, Talbot, Doherty, Krupski Jr., Evans, Russell LL/Amendments to Chapter 219 RESULT: CLOSED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Louisa P. Evans, Justice SECONDER: Albert Krupski Jr., Councilman AYES: Ruland, Talbot, Doherty, Krupski Jr., Evans, Russell Councilman Christopher M. Talbot COUNCILMAN TALBOT: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN there has been presented to the Town Board of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, on the 6th day of December, 2011, a Local Law entitled "A Local Law in relation to Amendments to Chapter 219, Shellfish and Other Marine Resources" and NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Town Board of the Town of Southold will hold a public hearing on the aforesaid Local Law at Southold Town Hall, 53095 Main Road, Southold, New York, onthe 3rd day of Jannary, 2012 at 4:32 p.m. at which time all interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard. The proposed Local Law entitled, "A Local Law in relation to Amendments to Chapter 219, Shellfish and Other Marine Resources" reads as follows: LOCAL LAW NO. 2012 January 3, 2012 Page 10 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes A Local Law entitled, "A Local Law in relation to Amendments to Chapter 219~ Shellfish and Other Marine Resources". BE IT ENACTED by the Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows: I. Purpose. It is the purpose and intent of these amendments to provide for the proper use and regulation of shellfish and underwater lands and to protect the natural resources of the Town, thereby promoting the general health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Southold and the public at large. II. Chapter 219 of the Code of the Town of Southold is hereby amended as follows: §219-4 Definitions. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall, for the purpose of this Chapter, have the meanings as herein defined. Any word or term not noted below shall be used with a meaning as defined in Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, unabridged (or latest edition). MARINE RESOURCES - Blue claw crabs, horseshoe crabs, eels and mussels and other marine biota. SHELLFISH - Clams, scallops, oysters, ~.uc ~.a':,' ~ra~:, and mussels. ~:,~*:H1T! ....... 1`c, §219-9 Clams. C. Churning by power may not be employed in the taking of clams tide linc in Town waters. §219-12 Mussels. B. Not more than 10 bushels of mussels may be taken from Town waters for commercial purposes in one da any one person. Tv:e. ........ §219-16 Restricted areas. Shellfish shall not be taken from any Town waters which have been restricted by the Tzwn Board of Trustees, provided that such restricted areas shall have been properly designated by a resolution duly passed by said Board of Trustees and notices posted by said Board of Trustees. January 3, 2012 Page 11 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes §219-23 Coordination and enforcement. The D/reefer Office of Code Enforcement andes-the Bay Constable are responsible for coordination and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, and have the authority to issue violations of the provisions of this chapter. III. SEVERABILITY If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this Local Law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the judgment shall not affect the validity of this law as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so decided to be unconstitutional or invalid. IV. EFFECTIVE DATE This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State as provided by law. I have the notice that it was posted on the Town Clerk's bulletin board on December 13, 2011 and that it was published in the Suffolk Times on December 29, 2011. A letter from Mark Terry, principal planner and LWRP coordinator stating "The proposed local law has been reviewed to chapter 268, waterfront consistency review, the town code of the Town of Southold and the LWRP policy standards, based upon the information provided to this department as well as records available to me, it is my recommendation that the proposed action is consistent with the LWRP policy standards and therefore is consistent with the LWRP. Pursuant to chapter 268, the Town Board shall consider this recommendation in preparing its written determination regarding the consistency of the proposed action." A letter from Andrew Freleng, chief planner Suffolk County. "Pursuant to the requirements of section A 14-14 through A 14-25 of the Suffolk County administrative code, the above referenced application which has been submitted to the Suffolk County Planning Commission is considered to be a matter of local determination as there is no apparent significant countywide or inter-community impacts. A decision of local determination shall not be construed as either an approval or a disapproval." And we have just a notice of the short environmental assessment form and that is it. Supervisor Scott A. Russell SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: We are not in a position to act on this law, this proposed local law this evening. We are still waiting for a formal response from the Southold Town Planning Board. With that in mind, ma'am, would you like to go first? Jay A. MeKasty, Orient JAY MCKASTY: I am Jay McKasty, I live in Orient, quite near Hallock's bay, not on Hallock's bay. I am 5'4" tall in flat shoes. I have read the notice, I have discussed the notice with my husband. First of all, I would like to know, disregarding the legalese of what was just read, why this is being done? January 3, 2012 Page 12 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: The Board of Trustees, about five years ago, acted on a request from Cornell to have this area closed for eel grass restoration project. At the time, the Assistant Town Attorney felt it should be codified, so it was. That area is basically not working for Cornell anymore with the eelgrass and we have gotten requests to open up the area again and so we felt we should open it up and see what other living organisms can be there and can be worked on. The Trustees can very well close it by resolution again, another area. This area is a large area, a lot of the baymen would like to scallop in there and we have spoken to Cornell, the Trustees have spoken to Cornell and their project is not working and gave us their blessing to open it up again. MS. MCKASTY: So then you are telling me that you are considering opening up Hallock's bay to dredging and that is why you are doing this revising of this? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Hallocks Bay is open .... MS. MCKASTY: Is that yes or no? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: That section, yes. MS. MCKASTY: Yes? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Yes. MS. MCKASTY: Yes. Okay. Why are you, why do you have in this draft Little Bay included? With being open again? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: There was an closed, rather large closed area of Hallock's Bay and Little Bay for this study and that was designated in the code and that was how it was described in the code, so we are opening that section up. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: IfI can just interject, I think a minute ago you had asked if we were opening up Hallock's Bay to dredging, that is not the case. We are opening up Hallock's Bay to shellfish harvesting. MS. MCKASTY: How? SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Cornell Cooperative had tried to establish eelgrass beds in the area, they worked tirelessly trying to restore the eelgrass beds out there. It is a project they felt was no longer tenable;they couldn't accomplish what they set out to. So withtheir recommendation, we are endeavoring to open that area to shellfish harvesters. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: And if there is any other, in the future, if anyone wants to do any other research whether it is on eelgrass or scallops or clams or anything, they are certainly more than welcome to propose something to the town and the Trustees still have the ability to close off January 3, 2012 Page 13 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes a section for research purposes at any time. MS. MCKASTY: Okay but Mrs. Dufl'y just said that with this, if it is approved as it stands, dredging can happen in Hallock's Bay now. With this being approved as it is written. Yes or no? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Well, it is not open to, what do you mean by dredging? Come dredge the area or .... MS. MCKASTY: Scallop dredging. COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Scallop dredging, okay, that is what I thought you were referring to. In this season it is not open right now because the resolution the Board of Trustees has done is open to that area except for which is closed. If the Town Board chooses to adopt this, it takes a while for everything to go through the process and I would assume that the actual code change won't take place, I am not sure, Betty would know better how long it actually takes place but once that is open, it is open to scalloping. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: Ms. McKasty, do you have concerns about it being open? MS. MCKASTY: I do. I do. I have got concerns about a couple of things. I am sure Mr. King knows that there are millions of bugs in Hallock's Bay right now, the size of a quarter. Alright? Now those bugs have a chance, if the winter isn't too hard, to grow and be harvestable perhaps in size come March. That is a legal time that you can scallop in Hallock's Bay, is March. Someone has suggested that since I am 5'4" in flats, that perhaps consideration into this bill should be put that you cannot dredge in water that is any lower than 4 foot high at both high tide and low tide in Hallock's Bay or anywhere in Southold township because, we are back to the same theory, that dredging ruins eelgrass. Reports coming out of Shinnecock Bay, which I am sure Mr. King knows and maybe Mrs. Duff'y, is that there are tons of scallops in Shinnecock Bay. There is a good amount of scallops in Riverhead, too. And if this law is passed without a consideration of no dredging in Hallock's Bay come March, you might have jobs for people, okay? Come March, the economy might come up a bit come March but if you let dredging continue in there, you are going to have nothing. The amount of scallops in Hallock's Bay was less this year by look box and hand harvesting than last year. And last year dredging, I believe, happened out there all winter long. So that is one concern I have with this as it is drafted now. The other concern is that you seem to be very concerned about mussel harvesting, why? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: What do you mean by .... MS. MCKASTY: With the redraft of this as it stands, you can't take more than 10 bushels of mussels in Southold township. COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: We are just making the law consistent with the other shellfish, that is what the Trustees are proposing. January 3, 2012 Page 14 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes MS. MCKASTY: I see. Okay. And you have stricken blue claw crabs out of one of these paragraphs and put it in another. COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Yes, because it was under shellfish and blue claw crabs are not shellfish. So we took it out of that category. MS. MCKASTY: Okay. Now what is, I didn't look it up in the dictionary sorry, what is marine biota? COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Anything else that lives inthe marine environment. MS. MCKASTY: So that is starfish? COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Yes. MS. MCKASTY: Flounder? No. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Yes, I guess you consider flounder, any kind of fin fish or shellfish. MS. MCKASTY: Mmhmm. The one good thing I think is here that you say should not be done is powering any kind of clam because at least 10 years ago there were people out in Hallock's Bay powering soft clams constantly and there are not many soft clams left out there anymore. So those are my concerns. Perhaps a paragraph should be put into this law saying that no dredging or at levels of high or low water, 4 foot or less. That might help and maybe you should concern yourself with trying to get perhaps a harvest of scallops out of Hallock's Bay come March, because that is a definite possibility. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I would, just to clarify one thing, what we are merely doing in this is we are striking from a code a prohibition in Hallock's Bay. The Trustees still have all of the authority they have to establish limits. Suggestions such as the 4 foot depths and all of that, that's all under the bailiwick of the Trustees. MS. MCKASTY: I know. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: They can actually do that. I would strongly recommend that you bring your suggestions to the Trustees for their consideration. MS. MCKASTY: Well, there is a Trustee here today, I think and hopefully he has heard what I have to say. Right? Okay. I was not going to call my neighbor because I don't think I should bother my neighbor at his house. So that is what I have to say and thank you for thinking about that. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Thank you. January 3, 2012 Page 15 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Thank you. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Would anybody else like to comment on this particular? Jim? Jim King, Town Trustee JIM KING, PRESIDENT SOUTHOLD TOWN TRUSTEES: Jim King from Mattituck, commercial lobster fisherman and also on the Board of Trustees. There are state regulations, we have size limits on scallops, you said they were quarter size, there is no way they would be harvested t his year. They don't grow that fast. This was an area that was closed down, in hindsight it should have been done through resolution by the Trustees because we don't have to go through this huge process to change it. This was an eelgrass restoration program that was a failure. It did not work. By reopening this area, people can go in and harvest, not just the commercial fishermen, it is not just the scallopers, a lot of people like to go down to the beach, take some steamers, take some hard clams and enjoy themselves for the day. this whole area was closed down to all of that. it wasn't just scalloping. So I think we should reopen this area. If we need to set aside an area to restrict it for any other programs, the Trustees can very easily do it through a resolution. I am a finn believer in the KISS principal. We just keep things simple. That is all I have to say. You have got to understand that some of your suggestions can only be done in town waters because there are state regulations also, go inside Shinnecock Bay, out in the Bay, that is all state waters. MS. MCKASTY: I know. I know. MR. KING: Okay. MS. MCKASTY: Inaudible. Supervisor Russell SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: (No response) Would anybody else like to comment on this particular local law? COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY: Subject to comment from the Planning Board. MS. MCKASTY: What is the next step now? SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: We actually are closing the hearing this evening subject to any written suggestions and recommendations. We will probably take the issue up for vote in two weeks, at the Town Board meeting two weeks from tonight. Closin~ Comments Supervisor Russell SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: That concludes the business of the Town Board this evening. would invite anybody that would like to comment on any issue to please feel free. John Cleary, Mattituck January 3, 2012 Page 16 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes JOHN CLEARY: Hi. John Cleary, Mattituck. Same question again, how can you walk on the beach without getting sued? The court decision on the Rivera and all the beach owners. At the final part of the (inaudible) can I pass this out to you? These are along the lines of what Mr. King said, keep it simple. The court decision on the northerly boundary was as shown on the attached survey and dated May 10, 2007 now I went to the court record and here, this is a copy of the survey that is in the court record again, I got more handouts (inaudible) what I am going to be talking about is this, Nathan Kerwin, the surveyor, he did a survey of the tide for that day, you can see the wavy lines of the tide and he also referenced the mean high tide mark that is on the (inaudible). It is a little bit, they change this a little bit here and there but this is the court document and this is the high tide mark in October, the court said the mean high tide mark as it exists on May 7 in 2007. I think the whole idea is where the mean high tide mark is. (Inaudible) I tried, so we are all on the same page, I am trying to get to the bottom of this, of where you can go. Now Mr. Russell is aware that he is number 8 for the people being sued within 5 years ago. The town is number 7. So this is a, the Rivera's have commenced at least 8 civil suits, so in these documents on the first page is the Army Corps of Engineers definition of the mean high tide mark. The grass. On the second page is the definition of the mean high tide mark saying you need a 19 year survey. On the page, on this page here with the map, that is an expansion of the same court document that is up there. To make it easier for people to read, that says the apparent high mark on October 12, 2006, I spoke to Nathan Kerwin who prepared this survey and he said he did it for Ms. Rivera as the high tide of the day and he told Ms. Rivera that this is the, high tide of the day has nothing to do with the mean high tide mark and that he never, never did any survey that would reflect the data that is necessary to commit, to redo a mean high tide mark. So the judge said, keeping it simple, the mean high tide mark on the survey, there is only one. The old 1949 mark that is in there. Now going back into this, I also added another thing that goes back with this trial, it might have something to do with Mr. Russell being involved in the litigation, that Ms. Rivera hired a lobbying firm to pressure Andrew Cuomo, targeted, paid $10,000 to influence the attorney for New York State. Now I hope no money is paid to influence your attorney, Mr. Russell. So that is there. I did ask the, Mr. Finnegan, (inaudible) he said he finds it unusual. If you pay money to influence someone in a trial, is that bribery Mr. Finnegan? TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: I really have no comment. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I am going to cut to the chase right now. I appreciate everything you are saying, I will not comment on any outstanding litigation that is before this Board. MR. CLEARY: Okay. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I will tell you any actions taken, were it taken by the entire Board not just myself, however, that being said I need, if I can just get from you an understanding tonight specifically what you think this Town Board can do for you? MR. CLEARY: Well, specifically what I would like is if I can sit down in a work session and get to the bottom of this, the bottom of this is the same thing I went to Ms. Doherty with about a year and a half ago, is where can we walk on the beach without getting sued? I spent three days at a trial listening to all this legalese going on, on where you can walk and it is nothing but January 3, 2012 Page 17 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes confusion. Now in the article for the Suffolk Times, the police chief was asked where can you walk on the beach and he said we are going to do it on a case by case method. Now the Main Road in Mattituck is a state highway, this is state property on the beach, the state highway in Mattituck has five different speed limits on it within a quarter mile. This is a quarter mile of beach. I certainly wouldn't want to be the person that is stopped for speeding on the Main Road in Mattituck with no speed limit sign on a case by case basis. I would like to know where you can walk. The judge has said the mean high tide mark on that date on that survey and that they take 19 years to do it, there is only one that complies with the court decision. The other part of it, this Jack Sherwood, who evidently signed the document, whether he had authority or not, he was a part time consultant, I foiled a request with the town and Ms. Hulse replied, they have no record of any of this documentation being processed through the town. I don't know how Jack Sherwood got it. Now going back a little bit, Ms. Rivera tried in 2001, she tried to advance her property into the Sound, the neighbor was told to get off the property so he checked on it, that is John Epidy, John Epidy went to the county, saw that the map was changed, went back to you Mr. Russell, he said how did this get changed and your answer according to Mr. Epidy is that someone in your office without the authority, authorized this change and it was reversed. Now, it seems unusual to me that John Epidy was the first one to get sued, right? And you are the next one to get sued because you reversed this decision. I am not saying what is going on with this current case. I have a record of that, too, if you want. So that is about what I have to say. I don't know where the mean high, there is only one, oh, that is another survey. Two months ago, under a FOIL request with the town, I asked where the mean high tide mark we can go across. Now Ms. Hulse replied to that one also and the only mean high tide mark on record is the 1949 map. There has never been any survey done to change the mean high tide mark. By anyone. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: So what is your suggestion then? MR. CLEARY: Well, the first thing is, I think the town ought to get out from under this Jack Sherwood signing this documentation that transferred all this property because he never was authorized, according to Ms. Hulse he never, nothing ever went through the town. I checked with the county, there is no record in the county records of any time stamp or date stamp from the town on it. Now we were over there for a couple of hours while a guy researched the records. Everything that I give gets a stamp on it. There is no stamp from the Town of Southold on any of the stuff that Jack Sherwood signed, in fact, the certificate that he signed, there was nothing attached to it. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: Suffolk county is in charge of doing the tax maps and so they drew it up on their own accord? MR. CLEARY: I specifically asked for because this is the presentation I made to them, the Town of Southold said we never got it, yet I understand Jack Sherwood's signature is on it. Can you verify that the Town of Southold ever forwarded through their office this amendment to their changing the deeds and everything else and they said no, we can't verify it. There is no stamp on it from the Town of Southold. No stamp on it from the Assessor's office. That is what I was told. So right now the way it stands according to the record and according to what the judge says, it is the mean high tide mark of the 1949 map and everything else ought to be reversed. January 3, 2012 Page 18 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes Taking into the fact that Ms. Rivera had paid $10,000 to influence the State Attorney General, whether he was influenced or not, spoiled the whole trial. That ought to be brought up to somebody for review. COUNCILMAN KRUPSKI: Well, I guess, I mean what you are saying about the deed signed and all that changing with the county, I guess that is something that the town attorney, what you have submitted to us today, the town attorney should look into and review what you submitted. MR. CLEARY: Now, in regard to that, the last time I spoke October 11, I asked for a letter and you were good enough to send that letter and in response to that letter the Suffolk County attorney responded saying we reviewed the 2003 map, and we didn't find anything wrong with it. Did you get a copy of that letter? TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: Yes, we got a copy of it. MR. CLEARY: We reviewed the 2003 map, this is all 2006 and 2007. So somebody ought to, you know, Mr. Calabro spent an awful lot of money defending himself. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: I can understand that but the mean high tide mark, it is state lands and I would strongly recommend that you bring this issue to your state representatives, it is a public trust doctrine, it is a doctrine of the State of New York and your state representatives can view how they are going to determine where the mean high tide mark is. I don't know what else the town can do, again, I can't discuss too much because of overlapping issues but you are asking us to undo a county tax map which isn't a binding instrument anyway, it is merely a .... MR. CLEARY: No, I am asking either recall Jack Sherwood's form, either he had authority or he didn't have authority to sign it. If he had authority, what documentation did he have because I can't find it. And if he signed something without documentation, that, that's what I want you to check into. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The 102 form gets submitted to the county and any changes the county makes, they take that 102 form and any of the supporting documents that go with that 102 form. I am very familiar with the process, I was an assessor for 15 years. The county director of real property services, they do the mapping. We merely submit the 102 forms for mapping, the county has its own agents, its own mappers. Any supporting documents, in other words, I find it highly unlikely the county would remap any property just on the basis of al02 form without the supporting attendant documentation. There is all, you know, there are title companies, there is all sorts of documentation you can present with that 102 form. But it needs to be done. At the end of the day, it is the county that does the mapping, not the towns. MR. CLEARY: I understand what you are saying. It doesn't change the fact that there is no documentation for another other mean high mark. There is none. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: (Inaudible) you are talking about a gain in property and you are talking about the mean high tide mark. January 3, 2012 Page 19 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes MR. CLEARY: The mean high tide mark is a unique thing. It is a 19 year survey of all high tides. Another unique thing about this beach is and I brought it up at the December 2010 meeting when Ms. Rivera had that illegal fence in, that the fence itself varied in height from 2 1/2 feet to almost 6 feet in the course of a week. This defines that land that is under that fence as avulsion, not accreted, avulsive. It changes rapidly. Mr. King brought up at the meeting that we had that he knows where the tides are. I know where the tides are too, but the beach changes 2 1/2 to 3 feet in a week. Sometimes. And the beach itself changes and the shorefront configuration weekly, daily. I mean, you are talking about tens of thousands of truckloads of sand in a day maybe. It is not an easy thing to come up with. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: The issue of accretion versus avulsion, those are facts for judges to determine, not Town Board members. The fact is, even if you undo a 102 form that was filed in 2003, you still have a court order that was done in 2007 I believe. That's, that is an immoveable object. That is the decree of a judge. MR. CLEARY: I agree. I agree and I want the town to abide by what the judge said. The judge said, that is why I got that form, that a mean high tide mark on that form, as it exists May 10, 2007, that is what I want the town to honor, that is what I want the police department to honor and that is what I want everyone else to honor. That is what the judge said. That is keeping it simple. TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: You are reading only one line in the order. It says subject to any future increase or decrease resulting from any future accretion. It is not one line in the sand, you are asking the Town Board here to go on to private property and draw a line based on the 19 year measure, that, the state, as the Supervisor pointed out to you, it is for the State to come out and address this issue. What authority does this Town Board have to go onto that property and survey where the high water mark is? MR. CLEARY: Now in regards to your answer, I did speak to the State Department of State and the Department of State told me flat out it is all the Town of Southold's responsibility, they are the ones that did it. TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: Did what? MR. CLEARY: They are the ones that authorized the changes in the property line. TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: The court directed the change in the property line. MR. CLEARY: The court directed you to change the property lines to the mean high tide mark. Where is it? TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: It is whatever is referenced in the order. Whatever that survey is, that is 1949, subject to any changes. As you know, it is not a line (inaudible)... January 3, 2012 Page 20 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes MR. CLEARY: Okay, where is the document that changes? Taking a snapshot of the shoreline on one day is not representative of what the law requires. In fact, taking a snapshot of that shoreline violates the constitutional right of the individual under the 14th amendment to freely walk on public property. If the town wants to fence off private property and they can't, if the wants, I will back off that, if the town authorized somebody to fence off public property, that is a violation of the 14th amendment. And right now, any time that fence goes under water, we have a right to walk on the beach to the high tide mark of the day. Any time that fence touches the water, that is a violation of the 14th amendment of the constitution. And the permit from the DEC says that fence can never go in the water, that fence can never go within 10 feet of the water. Yet I sent to the town a picture of that fence, seven sections under the water on September 28, no storms, flat water. The fence. Behind that fence, the water projected up into the Rivera property another 60 feet because the fence was on a high spot of the beach on that day. Now the question still comes back to me, where can you walk on this beach? Sometimes you can't walk because it is fenced, sometimes you can't walk because it is flooded right up to the grass. TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: Have you ever made, submitted any survey of your own? Where do you think the line is, sir? Where do you think the line should be? MR. CLEARY: Well I think the line should be exactly where the Army Corps of Engineers said it should be. And the Long Island Sound is a federal water way. The description of the Army Corps of Engineers, I have it right on the front page there. Bar anything it is up to the graph. That is not a 19 year survey but up to where the thing started growing. That is what the Army Corps of Engineers say. Now I have over 1,000 pictures of that beach with what they call rack line going every other week, every other day, periodically. Going up to about a year and half because I was questioned on what I saw whether it was the truth or not. So I have over 1,000 photographs of the beach, not only where the rack lines are but where the height of the beach is and the way the beach is carved and the way it floods every day. it is a variable thing. You can't establish a mean high tide mark. It is not a, it is a violent beach, there are big changes in there. I think the town made a mistake, I would like to know if this Jack Sherwood, how he got a hold of this document to sign it. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Again, even if you undo a 102 form filed in 2003, all of the records of those properties along that Sound Beach Drive, all of those records, all of those maps, the map amendments that were done, were done with a court order and an attendant and attached survey. Those were submitted to the county director of real property services, that office accepted that as documentation. It is that office and I would strongly recommend your friend from the New York State Department of State read real property tax law section 1500 that gives the authority to the county director of real property services to do the mapping for those real property tax maps. The town doesn't, the town submits 102 forms, the county real property services are the ones that do the mapping and they are the ones that produce those books. And those books aren't legally binding anyway, they are just descriptive narratives .... MR. CLEARY: Okay, now can we get somebody in a working session to get somebody from this service to give us an understanding? I don't, I am not into the litigation part of it, I just want January 3, 2012 Page 21 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes to know where I can walk. And if I walk on the beach, it would be nice if there was 10 feet where an ambulance can come get me in case I stumble on some clam shell or something. I think very kindly of Ms. Rivera, she seems like a nice person, there are not too many people that I know of in Mattituck that want to pay taxes on property they don't own but there is a, let's see where we can walk on it. Can we get together on this? Mr. Finnegan, can we do something about this? TOWN ATTORNEY FINNEGAN: It is not .... SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Again, state public trust doctrine, sounds like a good issue for state senators and state assemblymen to take up. We have discussed this in the past, we, you know, the state department of state, the state attorney general had a different opinion when that court case went forward. That is regrettable but it is out of the, it is out of the jurisdiction of the town to do anything about. It is a state public doctrine and your state representatives might want to take this issue up. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: Such as Dan Losquadro and Ken LaValle. SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: And the gentleman from the New York State Department of State can probably give them all the guidance that they could use to determine where the mean high water mark is. MR. CLEARY: They keep saying there is only one on record. The town says there is only one on record. The county says there is only one on record. Nobody sees any change in it. And the judge says there is only one on record. COUNCILMAN TALBOT: This is going back and forth forever and ever and I hate to be you going back and forth in the middle of it but even if we discussed it at work session and come up with something, we are still not going to be able to overturn the decision that was made in the court, so I would have to agree and say that maybe there is one of these guys from the state that can be the lead on it and take it back and say to the state how come you didn't answer this in court and how come you let it fall by the wayside? MR. CLEARY: Excuse me, the state did answer it in court. Hold on a minute, this is a statement from the attorney general's office, regarding case 0623850, it was served by Lisa Holner in regarding this matter. It is from Donald (inaudible) from the state attorney general's office who brought up to the court there is no documentation that they would like to see, the court answered that. It says he is principal attorney duly appointed by Andrew Cuomo, the State of New York (inaudible) with him in this matter. I make the following affirmation: it says here, #3 neither the (inaudible) nor the summons and complaints contain copies of deeds and (inaudible) petitioners abstracts of their titles. That means what do they own. Or a copy of the original subdivision map of Captain Kidd Estates filed on January 19, 1949. Map # 1672 they have not established their ownership of upland and failing that have not demonstrated that they are entitled to lands formed by accretion. Accordingly the motion for summary judgment must be denied. This is in the court records and I think the judge respected that, analyzed it, she is January 3, 2012 Page 22 Southold Town Board Meeting Minutes well familiar with the process of the, what is going on in the Sound, she is familiar with the fact that the Mattituck beach is directly affected by the Mattituck jetty which is part of a Supreme Court decision (inaudible) vs. New Jersey that, before this case that says people, beach front property owners cannot profit from accretion because of an Army Corps of Engineers project. That is why the judge said, gave Rivera exactly what she wanted. You have to the mean high tide mark on your property as it exits on May 10, 2007. So all these things are in the court record. Anybody can go to the court and see it. It says here, until the plaintiff petitioners submit a satisfactory evidence which proves a title to the upland question and has joined all affected parties the State is unable to determine whether it has a superior claim in tidal lands formed by accretion and subject to the first cause of action. Now when the judge makes a decision, she is not going to take anyone's part, she is going to make a decision on the facts, these are the facts that were there, she made a decision on the facts that were there and the facts say to the mean high tide mark in the 1949 survey. Nobody has got anything else. Thank you. Supervisor Russell SUPERVISOR RUSSELL: Would anybody else like to address the Town Board on any issue? (No response) Motion To: Adjourn Town Board Meeting RESOLVED this meeting of the Southold Town Board be and hereby is declared adjourned at 5:20 P.M. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Christopher Talbot, Councilman SECONDER: Albert Krupski Jr., Councilman AYES: Elizabeth A. Neville Southold Town Clerk Ruland, Talbot, Doherty, Krupski Jr., Evans, Russell