HomeMy WebLinkAboutTR-10/18/1965-PH PUBLIC HEARING
EAST CUTCHOGUE SCHOOL
Main Road~ Cutchogue~ N.
7:30 PoMo
October 18, 1965
Pr es entwer e:
Tt%USTEES ALVAH GOLDSMITH,
JOHN MC 5U3LTY
FRANK DAWSON
GEORGE S I/~PS ON
Chairman
Proposed Dredging of Broadwaters Cove~
Mud~ Creek~_Etc~ .
MR. GOLDSMITH: I will preface this meeting by saying that it is
called on the request of approximately 100 property owners who are
opposed to the proposed dredging plan. Now~ there are a lot of people
here tonight and I*m sure there are a number of people who would like to
be heard - come forward and give your name and address to the secretary,
and make it as brief as ~ossible~ ~his hearing is not going to be a
debate -- it*s not going to result in arguments° We are here to get facts°
It isnZt necessary for the Trustees to have a hearing, but we donZt want
to do things in an underhanded fashion ~ you have the right to express
your opinion and that is the purpose of the hearing tonight and I hope
it will be conducted on the high plane khat we have a right to expect
from this audience° I would like to hear from someone in opposition to
this plan,
MR~ OSBOI{N MC KEGNEY: I am attorney for the property owners who
filed the petition - who requested this hearing~ I trust this is just
what it is, a public hearing where you seek to get the wishes and desires
of your community so that you can act in a parliamentary manner - all you
do is get the wishes of your community. I would like to very briefly
state that there are two issues that have to be determined tonight. The
first issue is the power of the ~/Trustees of this Town to prevent the
dredging operations. There is a-difference of opinion among many people,
not only in your community but in all similar communities, as to ex-
actly what power the Trustees have to stop a dredging operation° It
seems to be an impression that if the Army engineers approve a project
that your hands are tied - that is not correct. Despite the Army
engineers~ if the Town Trustees believe that the best interests of the
citizens will be adversely affected~ they have the right to stop the
dredging operations if that be thair opinion~ The second issue which
you must determinekis that after assuming that you have the power --
should you excercise that power either to stop the dredging operations
or to approve the operation~ These are the two issues you will have
to determine tonight. I assume you are here to hear the wishes of all
the people in this community who would like to be heard°
Now~ I would like to leave with you a legal memorandum which es-
tablishes the right of the Town TLrustees to prohibit these dredging
ope=ationso As you know~ that power stems from the old Andros patent°
This memorandum establishes that from the Andros patent, the New York
State Constitution~ five separate acts of the New York Legislature~
and similarly, six Court of Appeals decisions which ascertained the
rights of the Town TLrustees as to jurisdiction over the bottoms of
your creeks and coves~ and it follows from that that you have an
solute right~ if you so decide~ to exercise that power to stop these
operations° How you should exercise that power is the reason you have
called this meeting°
I would like to offer some additional files that I think will be
of some assistance° I would like to offer you a file that describes
the dredging project from the request of the County to the Army engineer
for permission to dredge the creeks through your concurrence. Also~ a
letter written by you~ Mr. Chairman, on February 27 in which you ex-
plained you would like to have more information. I have a very inter-
esting file~ Mr° Chairman° These dredging opeations have been done in
this and other parts of the communities° I have a file of letters
from property owners where they have had dredging operations which
Dredging ~Broadw~ters Cove~ etc. --2- October 18~ 1965
haven't been stopped~ ~hese people - what happened to them after the
dredging operations? Immediately you are going to have a beautiful body
of water and everyboldy can get their boats out to the channel - it
just doesn't happen that way~ We get a great big channel in the middle
and a mud flat on the sides° the use of the w~ter instead of being
enhanced is diminished and these letters will establish that this is so.
I have here a petition signed by several hundred people with their
X names and addresses. This is in addition to the petition signed by
several hundred affected by this dredging operation° I have a file of
various letters written by the U. So Department of Interior Fish and
Wildlife Service. Two letters apply to State projects in which they
state their opposition to dredging . it destroys the ecology, it de-
stroys the existing fish and wildlife~ The third letter is on this
very project and the Fish and Wildlife Service explain ~his - we don~t
want to stop this entirety~ but we will tell you what you can do to
prevent the destruction of the ecology of the creeks. Let it go~ but
limit it so that it will not have the destroying effect it would have
otherwise.
I have another file of the after-effects of some of these opera-
tions, including a very excellent letter showing exactly what happened
under similar operations in other States where complete oyster beds
were destroyed and they have never been able to replace them~ You
gentlemen can read it and see what actually happened~ emro McKegney
then called attention to a prominent lawsuit in North Carolina where
Army engineers completely wiped out oyster beds and had never placed
them° He stated that ~ this happened here~ the people would have the
right to sue just as they have in North Carolina and it is the duty of
the Trustees to prevent such a lawsuit by stopping it in the very be,
ginning°) ~hat is the documentary evidence~
I would like to make one further statement - there are gentlemen
here that I hope in the course of the evening you will be able to listen
to - I ~m not going to attempt toX discuss the nature of these dreding
ope~ations~ I am a lawyer - I know nothing about it, and I have enough
intelligence not to try to discuss a subject in which I am completely
ignorant° I just know the legal rights of these people and I do know that
there are gentlemen here who a~e thoroughly qualified to discuss this
project and the position my clients take is not that they want to stop
progress - it's a problem of stopping destruction° There is a differ-
ence between progress and destruction° They want the progress and to
the extent that we have dreding operations done proper~y and not stop
progress -- they are not opposed~ If it goes through on the present
scale~ it*s destruction~ To establish that, we would wish to call here
Mro Robert Cushman Murphy, author of "History of Man and Nature on
Long Island" and one of the foremost ecologists in the country° He is
here to give you technical information° In addition to that, we have
representatives of the Fish and Wildlife SerVice - representatives of
the Department of Conservation who are familiar with the problem and
who have the technical information to help - Mr~ Dowel and XMr.
Tarramino. It is your right and duty to stop the destruction of property
that belongs.to the people of this community.
Dredging Broadwaters Cove, Etco --3-- October 18, 1965
MR. GOLDSMITH: We are supposed to have here these experts - I would
ask that you limit your remarks to five minutes. Dr. Murphy?
DR~ ROBERT MUI%PHY= I didn*t come here to speak before this gr&up,
but I.am a Long Islander by birth and an inhabitant of Brookhaven Town
and I would-like to speak for a few minutes about the salt~arshes as
an important aspect of the history of the land with important bearing
upon the happiness of the people of Long Island and on all parts of the
Atlantic]f seaboard° (Dr~ Murphy discussed at some length the different
types of wildlife abounding on Long Island~ and the dangers of losing
the very valuable salt marshes on the Island by burying it with the
sp&ils sucked up from the bottoms around ito He felt it was very wrong
to dig out channels where clams, escallops and oysters are teeming as
they have not been in years. He felt that dreding would result in the
buildup ~f mud banks which would cover the valuable salt marshes.)
know that there is no intention of spoiling the marsh at the meeting of
the three creeks~ but the marsh for a long distance above is doomed to
be covered with spoil. That is the worst possible land use. It de-
stroys beauty, it/(destroys productivity° M~ssachusetts has reached the
point at last where the law sayB there can be no further destruction of
salt~arsh, not even by individuals who own ito That is what you should
reach on Long Island°
MR. GOLDSMITH: Thank you~ Dr. Murphy~ Mro Dowel?
M/{. SUMNER DOWEL~ I am the representative in charge of Fish and
Wildlidfe, Bellport~ Long Island~ I am here to present the Federal
Government*sX official position. Our Department made a report March 2
to the Corps of Engineers suggesting certain things that would preserve
fish and wild lando I should point out at this point that the Conser-
vation Department only considers these matters and do not have to approve
dredging - on the other r hand, the Corps of Engineers does not always con-
sider our recommendations° Our lawyers in Washington - they have had
hundreds of dredging projects on Long Island and several on these matters
considered by the Army Engineers° In this case, we recommended five
things from our Boston office~
"1. That dredging in East Creek be dBlayed until after April 1
to allow removal and transplanting of shellfish stocks.X
"2~ That the applicant remove the shellfish from JEast Creek and
transplant these shellfish to a suitable location.
"3~ That both the removal and transplanting of shellfish stocks be
coordinated and directed by the New York State Division of Fish and Game.
"4~ That spoil deposited on the east shore of Broadwater Cove be
diked or confined so as to prevent any runback into the water~rayo
"5° That all channel dimensions be limited to bottom widths of 60
feet and depths of 5 feet at m.l~wo"
(Mr. Dowel then cited figures on the loss ~of salt marsh along the
Atlantic Coast, and that Long Island has 25 to 30% of the remaining
marshes and these are very productive°)
Dredging Broad,raters Cove~ etc. --4-- October 18, 1965
One other point I wish to work in here is that your salt marshes
are not only productive - they have a sponge-shock action which dissi-
pates the force of hurricanes.X
MR. GOLDSMITH: Thank you very much, Mr. Dowel.
MR° ANTHONY S. TARRAMINO: I am Regional Supervisor of Fish and
Game for the New York State Conservation Department. Our Department
has concurred with the U. So Wildlife Service in the report of Mr.
Dowel which he has read part of. I might remind you folks/here that
we in the State Conservation Department are working for all the people
in the State and ~ try to manage your resources in such a ~ray
that we think ~s in the best interests of all the people in the State°
I know on Long Island3f it seems hard to think that you are part of the
State of New York, but people who live as far away as Buffalo or Albany
are concerned about the Island resources just as we hope you think of
the timber resources in the State. You do~ as State citizens, own about
3,000,000 acres of public lands in New York State° Now~ we in the State
Conservation ~Department are often accused of thinking more of fish and
wildlife than we do about people° Our position is this - we believe
that there are many, many people who are vitally concerned about fish
and wildlife.
(Mro Tarramino spoke at some length on the beauties of nature and
how the early settlers appreciated the landXand adapted themselves to
He called attention to the fact that some of our best culture is right
in the land around USo The tendency seems to be to chan~ everything
rather than to live with itu He felt the people present should try to
obtain a better understanding of their en=ironment . that they would not
~e so obligated to change it unless they were aware of what these changes
might do to all the other living things that are part of the community.)
MRQ GOLDSMITH: Thank you~ Mro ~arramino.~ Welhave listened to these
gentlemen in opposition to this proposal° They have had a half hour.
I think we will devote the next half hour to those who are in favor.
Do we have anyone who wishes to speak in favor of this project?
MR° GEORGE Fo SCHNEIDER (Mason Drive, Broadwaters Cove~ Cutchogue,
New York): The permit to dredge any one of these creeks is not an easy
thing to obtain. Departments on the Federal, State~ and County level,
and we must consider all of these agencies are expert in their jobs.
There has been much talk about fill - on this particular project, almost
half of the fill is going to go to a public works project along the
causeway to widen it and eliminate a dangerous curve, and provide parking
space. At the present time there are signs along the west side of that
road which state, "No Parking°" There is not enough parking. It is pro-
posed to build a new road with the existing road a part of the Town
Beach~ This is almost 50% of the fill. The other part will be put on
private property° It will not inundate any public lands or any beautiful
areas° I live right on ~ Broadwaters Cove. I bought the property
because I like the area° I would not advocate the dredging project if
I thought it would~uin the area°
Dredging Broadwaters ~ove~ Etc. -5--
October 18, 1965
We come in across the bar at low tide and anywhere up to 3/4 tide
it is pretty much impassable, people cart their boats across~ People
who own inboard boats are paying taxes on Waterfront property and paying
for dockage facilities in New Suffolk°
We talk about compromise. I think the people in favor have com-
promised~ These ~ channels should be dug 100 feet° We have com-
promised to about 75 feet - the limit of their working ability. The
engineers changed the plan and now the proposed channel will run through
the existing channel . there is very little marsh land being taken out.
It is really digging out a channel that has always been there° One
thing has not been mentioned here tonight - people are concerned with
taxes going Upo If taxes go up~ it is not because of dredging. Taxes
go up because of an increase in value~ We all buy property in the hope
it will go up in value~ This year Nassau Point Was raised and there
had been no dredgin~o I~d like Mr~ T~omsen to come up with a map he has°
M/%. EDWARD THOMSEN, Mason Drive, Cutchogue: (Mr. Thomsen presented
a map of the area in question and asked that it be returned to him when
the Trustees no longer had need of it~) ~his Committee for the Improve.
ment of Waterways which was formed has received/( signatures in excess of
100 in favor of this dredging° These people all have property on the
Water or deeded rights~ On this map it shows in red owners in favor of
this project° All in red are the people in favor of this dredging° The
major~ have certainly given this a lot of thought in the past 10 years
and they can say we nsed ito The Board of TLrustees will realize this.
Mr~ Milovitch, Army Engineer has stated that they do not give permits
out unless they are ok'd by the Fish and Wildlife Service~ They pre-
sented letters in favor of dredging~ The originals were given to the
Army Engineers in New York and sent to Washington° These are photo-
static copies°
MR. GOLDSMITH: Thank you~ Mr~ Thomseno Anyone else?
MR. BOB P~EHM, Park Commissioner of New SLuffolk and Cutchogue:
I would mention that the Park Commission is definitely for this dredging°
We are mainly for it because of the Park District° The property on the
Cause~ray is going to be a road° The existing road is to be a parking
loto It:s crowded during the summer - it*s dangerous to children -
definitely a hazard to the kids~ As far as the area is concerned, it
isn't marsh. I agree with Dr. Murphy here -- it should be bulkheaded -
we are in favor of it~
DR. MUP~PHY: I would like to see it bulkheaded.
MR. REHM: People are coming from the outside - how can you stop
it? How are you going to stop it on a beach two feet off the road?
When the new road comes through there can be a fence with one entra.nce
in there. One guard will take care of the people who Want to use that
beach.
MR. GOLDSMITH: Thank you~ Mr~ Rehm. Anyone else for?
Dredging Broadwaters Cove, Etc. --6-- October 18, 1965
COMMANDER CANIFF, New Suffolk: I don*t propose to know anything
about ~sland resources, but I am almember of the Oceanagraphic Founda-
tion and I have been reading.in their publication over the last two
years about what's happening to our creeks and saltlmarshes and most of
it has been that they are being stagnated by the natural erosion of this
coast° The Atlantic Coast is being eroded about~HXH one foot a year.
In any case in Broadwaters Cove thirty years ago there was six feet of
water across this same bar that now has 16 inches~ If the salt marshes
are stagnated, it is lny understanding that all wildlife dies~ They can't
exist in stagnatfed water° Therefore~ I am for this dredging on the
plain basis of our wildlife. It seems strange to me that the Conservation
Department would approve such dredging if there was going to be any
drastic effect on wildlife° That is all I have to say°
MR. GOLDSMITH: Tharkk you, Mr. Caniffo We still have time for those
in favor.
MRo WINSTON DAVIDS, Bay Avenue: In listening to this discussion
about to dredge or not to dredge, I want to state that personally I
will not discard my 40 years of experience around the local creeks°
Mr. Caniff just said six feet deep in that channel ~ in 1931 I sailed
a 12-ton sloop up that a channel at half tide. (Mr° Davids then mentioned
several other creeks~ some of them man-made, in surrounding areas that
had been dredged and how the fishing and clamming bad been improved rather
than depleted°) So I say again, I only ask that everybody apply common
sense to this ~uestion~ I thank you~X
MRo GOLDSMITH= Anyone else to speak in favor?
M/{. VINCENT ANNABEL, Fleets Neck~ Cutchogue: I am in favor of the
dredging. .I've seen fish in Eugene's Creek and have seen them in
Broadwaters. I have seen escallops~ clams and oysters that are Bpoken
of here° They.are not in Eugene's Creek today° There is supposed to
be a small set of clams near the mouth~ but if this isn't dredged out
in the near future these will die. I will show you nothing but a bunch
of dead escallop shells~ clams and oyster shells. In the past we used to
be able to get a boat in and out° I'm interested in boating. There's
no reason in the world we cannot have a chan~elo This will not effect
the marsh land on either side° The fill will be used for two worthwhile
purposes - just a channel down the middle and as Mro Caniff brought up
this channel is less than 10 inches at a low tide° I can't get in or
out at a half tide and my boat draws only two feet of water. The Town
has approved it, the ~ngineers have approved it. We are entitled to it
at this time. Thank you°
MRo AL LEAVETT~ Bay Avenue: I have two boats down there and it's
impossible to get in or out at half tide° Other than that, youcan~t
get through~ I would suggest that they put the spoil on the road in
front of my house~ At a good tide there is a foot of water in front
ofXmy house and nothing done about it. Thank you.
GOLDSMITH: Anyone else for the project would like to speak?
Dredging ~roadwat~rs Cove~ Etc~ -7- October 18~ 1965
MRS° R. Wo MU~J~R, Bay Avenue~ Cutchogue: My question is -- all the
dredging has been done around us from XGreenport and all the way beyond
us to Mattituck~ Why are our particular marsh~s in these three creeks
in question so important to wildlife? This I cannot get° Is this
going to make the difference in wildl, ife on this end of Long Islandl
I go along with Mr. Leavetto We cannot Get our 12--foot boat with a .
ten horsepower motor across at a half tide° It's almost impossible to
get out to the Bay at the inlet° Thank you very much.
MR. SAL GULLO, East Creek: We have heard about this meeting going
on tonight° We bought a piece of property with the intention of doing
some boating and now we have ourselves with two boats tied up in there
and cannot use it. I have a 29-f9ot boat which is still tied up there
for the last six monthsj. $ cannot see where this will hurt any clams
and escallops. The only oysters I have found in those creeks - I
can*t see any reason why this dreding should not be done for that par-
ticular reason~ Thank you.
M~. GOLDSMITH: Now~ ladies and gentlemen~ we have had a half hour
on each side for the expression of opinions for and against this
program. We don't want any facts left unsaid.
MR. F. E. MARTIN~ Main Road~ Cutchogue: I raise two other questions
relative to this ~ssue and one which I think is morally incorrect - using
of taxpayers~ money for a minority. The other thingK is a question
of fresh water supply~ I'm no expert, but I have studied the geography
of Long Island and I think it's in danger if you cut into clay lands
that are helping to hold in your freshwater supply° It depends on
equal pressure from the sea and the fresh water. (Mro.Martin mentioned
the fact that Happauge, Long Island~ was named for its sweet water and
that now you could find very little in Happauge~ and that Lake Ronkonkoma
is four inches lower today then it was a y&ar ago.)
GOLDSMITH: Anyone else against the project?
SMR. FRED BAv,~WIN~ East Road~ Cutchogue: After receiving the notice
from the Army Engineers in November~ 1964, I called Mr° Albertson and
said, "What is the purpose of this~ Mr~ Albertson?" He said, "This is
to improve the economy of our Town~ We would like to open this up to
make it kind of an invitation to people who would like to come in there
and own waterfront property°" Incidentally, I find myself somewhat in
opposition because I didn:t come down here for economy. I came down
to get away from economy~ (Mr° Baldwin then read a letter dated March
10~ 1965~ which he wrote to Mr. Alvah Goldsmith stating his reasons for
opposition to this plan, namely that both sides ought to reexamine the
whole matter using less emotion, and to make sure that ~cientific study
has justified the proposed dredging.) Thank you very much.
MR. PAUL STOUTENBERG, Bay Avenue, Cutchogue: First, we speak of some
very Kffine dredging operations that have been undertaken° Look a little
closer at some dredging operations - Corey Creek. The result - I have
some photographs and I think there are people in the audience who back
me up - because of the proplem that arose~ and the problem is - mud
Dredging Broadwmters Cove~ Etc~ ~8- October 18~ 1965
flats that have evolved~ I hope you all think well of this because
should you go into this thing in a large scale and the water drains ~off
as Dro Murphy has said, you will have mud flats and here is the proof
right here. The proof is in Corey Creek~ I have two letters from
people in that area who have spent $2,700 of their own money ~o eliminate
some of these mud flats° With your-permission I would like to use the
chalk board. (Mr. Stoutenberg then drew a diagram of the creek area to
be dredged and what it would look like after the alleged mud flats had
appeared.) Now, how do you get out to the channel? A man says he*il
dredge~ He asks for a permit to dredge° We have &way to eliminate this
problem. We now have ourselves a harbor~ It now appears that we have
changed what many people have come here to live for. I ask you to
consider these things° You have a map that shows in red the property
owners along the creek that approve . what about the Town people? It's
just as much theirs along the creek° This project will run from ,four
to six months~ This dredge runs X$10,000 a week; one month, $~0,000;
six months - figure it out - $160,000 - for who? The red people?
Think this over, people, because once you go ahead and dredge you can't
fill back in° Now, the park - this might be worthy of some thought°
But, on your map if this was the real intent you could get all the fill you
wanted out in the Bay to remove this bar° The real thing is - do you
want this - you can get it out in the Bay here. ~z~ Why not? Because
there is an ulterior motive of people who live at the end oflMud Creek.
Who has spent more time in the Creek than I have - one week ago I went
eeling and found the greatest supply of small weak fish I have ever
seeR. This is all I have to say.
MR. FELIX DOROSKI: I just want to say a couple of words. Two and
a halfHyears ago you can't get in there - it's mud, no eels, crabs or
nothing° Thank you°
MR. CLAUDE HOLB~%EQUE, Bay Avenue: (Went to the chalk board and
pointed to the drawing done by the previous speaker°) ~his is a very
nice drawing, but I guess we could do it all over and eliminate the mud
flats~ If you take 1 the channel like this, the water will tend to bring
the ~ud in and draw it back - I think°
MR. ANDREW HALL, Broadwaters Road: I haven*t been here as long as
many people~aveo I'm very much against~the dredging because I came
out here to a beautiful place. However, I do want to say that.some
statements have been made that I don't think are true~ The Fish and
Wildlife - I don't think they have approved this, have they? Mr°
Dowel, have.the Fish and Wildlife approved this?
MR° DOWEL: The Fish and XWildlife Service is not against dredging
but we should use common sense and we recommended that this dredging
only be done if these conditions were made which I read before° I would
like to make one point clear, with regard to dredging projects~ that
the Army Engineers do not listen to us]many times~ They do not honor
our request that a dredging permit not be put through°
Dredging Broadvraters Cove, Etco -9- October 18, 1965
MR. HAT,T,: Another thing - people have suggested putrificationo
I don't see there is any putrificationo I would like to ask some of the
experts here to substantiate this if I]may.
MR° GOLDSMITH: I don~t think these gentlemen are here to discuss
this. They are in favor within limits° I don:t think itXs fair to
call on them and I~m not going to permit it~
MR. HATJ.: Mr~ Caniff suggested that the water is receding here
and this will lead to a kind of putrification and I think this should
be challenged because I]E)E~O~ think it is vital to the dredging and
most of us who oppose it are not opposed to removing the sand bar and
opening up the mouth - we do want it modifiedz but I don't see any
evidence of any kind of putrification along the way.
MR~o MUT.T.RR: Please come along the creeks at low tide°
MR. STOUTENBERG: According to the New York State DLepartment of
Health which possesses a map using their specifications in Mud Creek
it states marsh land, natural drainage, etCo - SoAo SoAo is the very
best - according to the DLepartment of Health°
MR. JACK PHILLIPS~ Beebe Drive: This part on the bent in Mud
~wxx( Creek° I don:~ know if Paul Stoutenberg has tried it~ but the
cabbage in there is very high in the summer and very smelly. There
are no clams at that end of the creek° Those clams die in the winter-
time. (Showed on the]map where clams are located°) As far as the
Board of Health is concerned - my well had to be forty feet down along
that Creek° The Board of Health toldlme I had to put lmy well down
forty feet. I did. We ended pulling our-wells up again to thirteen
feet because the water ~ which the Board of Health said was down
there isn't fit to drink. I think there's something wrong with this
outfit somewhere.
MRS. BARSTAOW: I am President of the ~ Conservation Assolcia-
tion of Long Island°. One argument seems not to be brought up at allo
We conservationists are in this work for love of the land and for love
of our people; for love of the food, and for love of beauty° Most of
those who want the dredging are in loveX with the money in their
pockets~ Now, which of those arguments is the greater?
MR° MC KEGNEY~k I would like first to compliment the Trustees in
the excellent orderly.way in which they have conducted this hearing°
I have had forty years in this work and I have never seen such a digni-
fied meeting~ Since you have the power~ then you can adopt the party*s
suggestion who said let's investigate, get the facts first and then make
your decision - that would be the proper, sensible approach. The
dredging can wait° The destruction canno~ wait. Today is the k~ay of
compromise. Perhaps you can Hgive your permission to a smaller dredge.
Just because they have a big dredge, do they have to use it° Now,
perhaps what they want to accomplish can be accomplished with a smaller
dredge, or dredging operation. In the meantime, you can continue your
scientific investigation° X If these things then prove true, you can
stop any further dredging° Thank you°
Dredging Broadwaters Cove~ Etc. -10-- October 18, 1965
M~o EAT~R, BayAVenue, Cutchogues I dont* claim to be an expert
of anything, but we have conservationists and people who are experts
telling us we must not give up the salt marsh° On the other hand, we
have reports of experts, of experts on the Federal level giving per-
mission all down the line - it's a case of the right hand not letting
the left hand know what's going Ono Now, if it's wrong~ it's wrong --
if it:s right, it's right. I'm no Philadelphia lawyer or New York
lawyer. I came to listen as our people in this community do -- this
type of meeting.~.a school meeting - we listen to each other and try
to work for each other's good. Beware of the man who comes too well
armed°
MRo WILLIAM BEEBE~ Cutchogue: I~ve listened to this whole procedure
tonight and I am in favof of the dredging° It seems as though almost
everybody gets ~ up for the opposition - part agrees that some
dredging has to be done in these creeks. Most of them have lived here
as long as I have. I think it's necessary that these creeks be opened
up. You can say we have changed the waterways which I think is good
and for us land people on these creeks~ and others in the Town - the
whole Town should have the benefit of these creeks° They have a right
to go down there and go clamming or eeling and whatever they want t~
dOo It's to their benefit to be opened up, too° That's all I have to
say° Thank you°
GOLDSMITH: Anyone else like to be heard?
M~. DAVIDS:X On this great cost of dreding I would like to say that
the two dredges, the Nissequogue and the Shinnecock~ runs every day.
They belong to the County, they are running and have been running ever
since they have been put in use° Whether or not they dredge Broadwaters
Creek, the cost of those dredges will go on° So far~ I don't believe
there has been any two--months' period shnce they have those dredges -
I would say that for an extra cost of $25°00 for fuel, we'll have
Broadwaters Creek dredged instead of having them lay idle somewheres
up west. Thank you.
M~o GOLDSMITH: I would like to say that apparently from some of
the arguments we have heard as Trustees, there are a lot of people that
water does not seek its own level in these creeks~ When we have ex-
tremes, either high or low, the people in the creeks are going to know
it. Anyone else like to ~e heard before we adjourn this meeting?
MR~J. EDWA/{D ROSS, Strohson Road: I am a lover of natural beauty
and we think today this natural beauty is just disappearing all over
the land. What are our children going to see in the years to come -
a creek with beautiful marsh~ grass? It'll be like a harbor with the
siding Upo But that:s a minor thingo We love the birds and I want to
tell you just last week twice we have seven swans at the foot of our
dock, we have countless black ducks and all along our shore we can get
numerous clams. We have been here for 30 years. We came because we
love the natural beauty and God gave us this beauty and all over America
today it's fast disappearing and I want to say that I am glad that I was
born when I was born because I have seen America the Beautiful°
Dreging Broadwaters Coves Etco --11-- October 18~ 1965
MR. GOLDSMITH: Thank you, Mrs. Ross° We will thank you people
for coming° -I'm sure it's been interesting to everyone~.
MR. JOHN E. TIMPSON~ Bay Avenue~ Cutchogue: Some remarks have
been made about if these creeks were dredged how we would have these
mud flats. I don*t doubt perhaps there will be some mud flats°
would like to ask Mr. Evans if we just opened that inlet and don~t do
any dredging, won't we still have the mud flats? (Mr. Barney Evans~
Army Engineer, signified that this was correct~)- I would like to have
that show on the record that Mr~ Evans, the engineer, claims we will
have them if we just Qpen the inlet° We must open the inlet.
MRS. M~Y~ Nassau Point: I would just like to ask if a good
strong hurricane wont undo all that work that the dredge is going to do?
M~. GOLDSMITH: I hope we never see another hurricane because God
knows what it will do~
M~o STO~TENBERG: Someone had said here that we were for this
dredging. Originally~ we were against it completely - we have been
giving and giving and compromising - and the Federal and State people -
the thing I think that is most important is to have facts as stated
before. The County has just put in a Cedar Beach area~ one of the first
projects on it will be Hthe study of the results of dredging. It isn't
that far away to wait and see what that study will be.
(At this point, an unidentified gentleman in the audience moved
that the meeting be adjourned and complimented the ~Board of Trustees
on their conducting of the meeting~ and also asked that the ~Board of
Trustees in turn compliment the orderliness of the audience.. Mr°
Goldsmith concurred and the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PoMo)