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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-08/05/1992-FISOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD FISHERS ISLAND AUGUST 5, 1992 1:00 P.M. A Regular Meeting of the Southold Town Board was held on Wednesday, August 5, 1992, at Fishers Island, New York. Supervisor· Harris opened the meeting at 1:00 P. M. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Present: Absent: Supervisor Scott L. Harris Justice Raymond W. Edwards Councilman Thomas H. Wickham Councilman Joseph J. Lizewski Councilwoman Alice J. Hussie · ~ ~ ~ Town Clerk Judith T. Terry Town Attorney Harvey A. Arnoff Assistant Town Attorney Matthew G. Kiernan Councilman George L. Penny IV SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Before we start the first order of business, I'd like to introduce the various departments, and agencies throughout the State of New York, and Suffolk County, including of course, the Town of Southold government, who are here today, hopefully to answer some questions, that maybe some of you may have in reference to problems, or iust inquisitive about certain areas or directions, that the State or County has taken. What I'll do is introduce the various agencies, with those individuals, who are representing those departments. Will you please stand up, and introduce yourselves to the audience. We'll start off. with Senator Kenneth LaValle, and Assembelyman Joseph Sawicki has a number of representa- tives here for them. Edith Gray, Administrative Assistant to Senator LaValle John Maggio, Intern to Senator LaValle Sean Russell, Intern to Senator LaValle Colonel Luciano C. Salamone, SEMO Marge Acevedo, East End Representative for Congressmen Hockbruekner John Gallagher, Assistant County Executive Judy Collins, Administrative Aid to Legislator Michael Caracciolo James Catterson, Suffolk County District Attorney Bill McBride, Deputy Commission Suffolk County Police Department Lt. Robert Mahon, Zone 1 Commander of New York State Police, Troop L Sgt. Brody Schulz of New York State Police Jeanette Riccardone, Zone 1 Secretary, New York State Police Trooper Lynch Trooper Geffernan Walter Dweydiak, Suffolk County Department of Health Services Paul Ponturo, Suffolk County Department of Health Services Tom Martin, Suffolk County Deparment of Health Services Robert Gerdts, Suffolk County Department of Health Services Mary Fallon, Director Suffolk County Executive's Office of Citizen Affairs Regina Hilbert, Director of Complaints, Office of Citizen Affairs Warren Horst, Representative Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue & Emergency Services Patricia Lunetta, Acting Administrative Head SC Office of the Aging AUGUST 5, 1992 69 Maureen Phillips, Senior Citizen Program Administrator, SC Office of the Aging Chistine Fisher, Channel 25 Cablevision Tom Williams, Suffolk County Office of Probation James Bagg, Principal Planner, Suffolk County Department of Planning Donald Pagel, NYS Department of Transportation, Traffic & Safety Dennis Wilson, NYS Department of Transportation, Traffic & Safety Charles Hamilton, New York State DEC, Bureau of Marine Habitat Protection Bob Mitrey, Regional Solid Waste Engineer, New York State DEC Tony Capra, New York State DEC Chief George Ferrer, Shelter Island Police Department Lieutenant Joseph Grattan, Riverhead Police Department Chief Stanley Droskoski, Southold Town Police SUPERVISOR HARRIS: From the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, Steve Hayduk was scheduled to come, but he was unavoidably delayed, and hopes to make it some time in the future. His office is accessible if anyone has any question on the island. Those are our introductions. Our Town Board members I think you know, but I'll introduce them. I'll start with our Assistant Town Attorney Matt Kiernan, Town Attorney Harvey Arnoff, Councilwoman Alice Hussie, Councilman Joe Lizewski, over to my right Town Clerk Judy Terry, Judge Edwards, also a Councilman. The only one in the State of New York who has two hats that .he wears. Tom Wickham, Councilman of the Town. My., name is Scott Harris, Supervisor, and .voting member of the Board. At this time I need a resolution to approve the minutes of the July 28, 1992 Town Board meeting. Moved by Justice Edwards, seconded by Councilman Wickham, it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Board meetinc~ of June 28, 1992, be and hereby approved. Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor 'Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Before we move on to the business of the afternoon, Colonel Salamone from the New York State Emergency Management Office is going to give us a presentation. This will be very interesting to the people on the Island, considering the hurricane you went through, two hurricanes actually, even though the second storm is not considered a hurricane. He has communi- cated to me that this will be very brief. Colonel Luciano C. Salamone of the New York State Emergency Managemen't Office (SEMO) gave a fifteen minute presentation on Hurricane Emergency Preparedness. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: We have a number of res01utions,~ that we're going to be · enacting in the next few minutes. Then, of course, we will turn the attention over to the audience for various questions, that you may have of various levels of government, that are here. I need a motion for the resolution number one. 1.-Moved by Justice Ed~,ards, seconded by Councilman Wickham, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby increases the hourly rates for Tax Receiver's Clerks, effective January 1, 1992, as follows: Margaret F. Coulter $11.22 Marilyn B. Quintana $ 7.95 Victoria G. Heaney $ 6.89 Dorothy E. Pfalzer $ 6.48 Denise Conte $ 5.41 1.-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: COuncilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. ' 2.-Moved by Justice Edwards, secooded by Supervisor Harris, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby increases the hourly rate for Carolyn Smith, Nutrition Van Driver, from $4.77 to $5.00, effective January I, 1992. 2.-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. 0 AUGUST 5, 1992 3.-Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Justice Edwards, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby adds the followin~ title and rate to the Town Board Resolution of August 25, 1987 regarding Salary Guidelines for year-round part-time employees: Data Entry Operator $7.50 per hour 3.-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. 4.-Moved by Justice Edwards, seconded by Supervisor Harr~, WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Southold is £:~mitted to the restoration of the two (2) tennis courts on Fishers Island; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED that the Town Board hereby authorizes and directs the Town Clerk to advertise for bids for reconstruction and repair of the two (2) tennis courts the Town is leasing from the Fishers Island School District, all in accordance with the preparation of proper plans and specifications for same. PETER BR[~_QI(ERHOFF: This resolution authorizing the Town Clerk to accept bids, and do?the work, and after do you have the money available? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: This authorizes the Town Clerk to get prices, and do the work thereafter, .once the bid is accepted. PETER Bi~JNC~LERHOFF: Haven't these already been drafted? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: No. The problems legally are that spending taxpayers' money on private school grounds. We have executed agreements with the school. PETER BR[i~KERHOFF: Those proposals have never gone out to bid? Judge Edwards told us they had. JrJ'S~ECE EDWARDS _:: No bid. We've had proposals, but never gone out to bid. PETER BRINcI~Z. RHOFF: This-resolution will advertise for bids, accept the bid, authorize the work, and get the work done. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Yes, that's what the resolution will do. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: To the finish line, or will you need more resolutions? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Everything is legally following. As soon as the bid is advertised, and then there's an acceptance period, then there's an acceptance by the Town Board, when they make a decision, when the bids have been received, and then they'll make a decision on a vender that we'll award that bid to, and another resolution will have to be passed, so they can start the work commencing immediately following the contract decision. CAROL RIDGEWAY: My name is Carol Ridgeway. Civic Association, and I have minutes of this particular Town Board meeting back to '88, or '89, where we go through the same thing, and you authorized studies, and go out to bid with this procedure, and even the money being put into the budget. Then it was stricken out. Everything was stricken. In fact, at one of the Town Board meetings, that Mrs. Hussie thought that one figure that came up for the tennis court repair was rather expensive. COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE; That was for a repair, and there was another number for a new court all together. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: l'm sorry, we're in the middle of a motion here. You ask one simple question, and now another one, and now the conversation has gone to why didn't we do this, and why didn't we do that. We're going to continue with this resolution. We will pass this resolution, if the Board feels so. MRS. CASHEL: Has Rol~ert's rules been followed? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Robert's Rules would be to put this out to discussion on resolutions, that we wer~ going to enact. The Board is trying to save time, because of this resolution getting passed, and then elaborating on this resolution, and what it would means. If you would like to have this resolution tabled, until a further time, I'd be glad to have the Board make that motion, and we'll go out to discussion. 'C PETER BR[i~...KJ~RHOFF: May I say, you've just spent fifteen minutes on a totally irrevelant study, that doesn't even have Fishers Island oo the map. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It's not irrevelant. PETER BR~C:KERHOFF: It seems to me we are discussing this. That's what we're here for. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I'll ask the Board. If the Board wants to table this resolution, I'll be glad to table it, and we'll go into discussion. If you want to enact it later on, so be it. Does the Board want to table it? Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Councilman Wickham, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board hereby tables Resolution Number 4 regarding the Fishers Island tennis courts. Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. 5.-Moved by Justice Edwards, seconded by Supervisor Harris, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby grants permission to Detective Beth D. Wilson to attend the DARE Middle/Junior High School Instructor Seminar at Saratoga Springs, New York, from August 16 - 19, 1992, and the $150.00 tuition, and necessary expenses for meals, lodging and travel shall be a legal expense against the Police Department's 1'992 Budget. 5.-Vote of the. Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Supervisor Harris. Abstain: Justice Edwards. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: That ends the resolutions, that we have the agenda, and we have the resolution, which has been set aside, resolution number 4 in reference to tennis courts. We are open to discussion from the audience in reference to this legislation, that is pending. Yes, sir? State your name, please. KEN LANIER: Ken Lanier. We've been working with Mr. Arnoff, and other members · on the Committee on this tennis court. This is my fourth presentation on this, and it was very clearly brought to the Board's attention what the approximate cost would be, approximately $40,000.00. We signed the agreements, the School Board, the Town, lease agreements. I was asked to get to get a quote in '91, the fall of '91. I did. I was asked to asked to get a quote in the spring. I did, all within the scope of $40,000.00, I may add, and the only phone call I've ever received regarding anything recreational Was from your department head, Mr. Reeves, letting us know that our $600.00 allotment was cancelled. We're still waiting for that tennis court. If you've gone by it, the threat of it .falling down, it has. Luckily it fell down to the outside, not to the inside, but now it's down. I would like to have an answer to the question~ How long will this process take? It's been four and a half years. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I hope that by the time the bid process is over, Mr. Lanier, that this would be started some time in October. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: Who are the people, that have the responsibility of carrying this project out, from the bid through the construction. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Let our Town Clerk tell you procedures, and the time frames. TOWN CLERK TERRY: Once I have proper plans, and specifications, which I don't have. I have a listing of the items to be corrected. We have to have a diagram of the courts. We need to have specifications, what type of pavement, what type of fencing, so forth, and so on. We just did bathroom facilities. JOE HENDERSON: That doesn't have anything to do with this. 2 AUGUST 5, 1992 TOWN CLERK TERRY: Excuse me. Yes, it does. There are numerous items, that are required. You have to have liability insurance. The contractor has to have bonds, so forth, and so on. These's are to be placed in the investigation. Those items are prepared, and approved by the Town Board. Then I can advertise for bids. When it goes into the newspaper, there are two weeks notice for bids generally. After that the bids are opened at a certain time in public, and then they're presented to the Town Board for review. At the next possible meeting, if the Board is all in agreement, the resolution has been adopted to award the bid. They then have to provide the neccessary documents in order to qualify for the bid, and this can take two months, once I have t~he plans and specifica- tions. PETER BRINKERHOFF: Does the Town Clerk do this? TOWN CLERK TERRY: PETER B RINCtr,~HO FF: SUPERVISOR HARRIS: No. I do not prepare plans and specifications. Who has the responsibility for this project? The Town Board does. PETER BRINCKBRHOFF: What one person? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The Town Board, as a whole, votes on this project. Only the Town Board, six members of the Town Board. Four members make a majority in passing a resolution. PETER E3RINCKERHOFF: You don't have anybody, that has responsibility? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Mr. Reeves is here. Mr. Reeves does work on this, last year. Mr. Edwards has been following through since last year on this when the original numbers came in, wherever they were derived from. I think Mr. Reeves is here. Ken is in back, he has worked with the Town Engineer on this. Those numbers, where the Judge asked this year whether those numbers were valid. There was some discrepancies, major discrepancies of what those monies would be used for, what work would be accomplished, so we had to start all over again to clarify exactly what work was needed, how much money was going to be spent, and that is where we are right now. We think we have that worked out. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: May I suggest you give Justic~-'Edwards the responsibility for the oversight of this project I~:eing finished. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I can't speak for the Judge. -JUSTICE EDWARDS: I'm always involved in any Southold project on Fishers Island. CAROL RIDGEWAY: At our annual Civic Association meeting in July, Mr. Edwards said that he was washing his hands of the whole project, because he'd been ~erked around for the last few years on this project. Now we're led~ to believe that the money is not there. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It was never offered. That was the problem. JUSTICE EDWARDS: It was never offered. CAROL RIDGEWAY: I thought they were going to take it out of the budget. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: No. JUSTICE EDWARDS: According to the Town Clerk, the money was not in the budget at this time, and for you to file for Recreation money. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The money was never set aside. It came out of Park and Playground funds, which we are using for recreation facilities over here. That's were it was always going to come out of. COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: For clarification, I have some history on what has been going on. The May 5th, Work Session of the Town Board, we reviewed the repairs that are needed a~ the tennis courts on Fishers Island that the Town is leasing from the school district. Superintendent of Highways Jacobs will obtain estimates for repair of the courts and replacement of the fence. It came up again on June 4th, when Ray Edwards was checking with of Fishers Island, and advised him that the proposal was submitted Ken Lanier, Fishers Island School.. He AUGUST 5, 1992 73 doesn't know if any more is being done. Ken Reeves is checking. Part of the problem is, we have to do something with court company, and it's report for the reconstruction of the tennis courts. There's further information there. We met with Recreation Supervisor Ken Reeves with a set of proposed construction. Justice Edwards has received a proposal well under the bid requirements, so he and Recreation Supervisor Ken Reeves will discuss the proposal further, whether they will be accepted. So, we have been doing a few things, and we have the specifications drawn up by Mr. Reeves for the Fishers Island tennis courts, however they do not meet requirements for a bid going out. That's where we are, so we have been working at it. Perhaps not as quickly as we'd like to. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Are there any other questions ~-'this? TOM PATTERSON: My name is Tom Patterson. Who needs to prepare the bid plans, and specifications, that. are given to the Board for review, so they can go out to bid? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The Town Engineer will be the one. As a matter of fact, he's in the process of doing that right now. He's been working on this for some time, and Mr. Reeves has also been working on this for some time. If we pass this resolution today, we'll set that motion in the order it is needed, and hopefully, it will get accomplished ~n a short time. One of the reason that Mr. Reeves is here today is to go over, and look at the work himself with the Town Engineer, to see the courts, and see exactly what is needed, so when the draw up the bid specs, they'll have a good idea of exactly what they'll need as far as work goes, and will be needed to authorize. Then we'll go out to bid to the various vendors who will bid on it. There's been some confusion about the amount of work, that's needed, the amount of equipment, that is needed, what is it built over, will it be a total reconstruction, will it resurfacing? All these questions have come up. CHARLES STEPANEK: My name is Charles Stepanek. These plans and specifications, apparantly this has been an ongoing problem for maybe three, or four, years, and yet the plans and specifications are what is absolutely necessary. Can I ask what has been the delay, or why has there been a delay in having the Town Engineer just now develop plans, and specifications? Why is this? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: There has been a delay in reference to the Town Engineer. The delay came a year ago, when the Town Attorney looked into this matter, and found out this was school property, not town property. The Town can not expend taxpayer's money on school property. That's why Mr. Lanier has met with Mr. Arnoff, and I'll let the Town Attorney explain exactly. TOWN ATTORNEY ARNOFF: One of the problems i~ that is that the amount incurred by the courts, we'll have t~cjo out for formal bid. That's where we're at. When the bids come back, the Board will act on it properly', and the work will be done. I can tell you that the commitment of the Board is to have the work done as soon as possible. JOE HENDERSON: When will the work be done? TOWN ATTORNEY ^RNOFF: There is no way we can give you a timetable. I mean, suppose we go out to bid, and nobody bids on the job? The likelihood of that is nonexistent, probably, but that's always a possibility. We'd have to readvertise. There are unknown factors. JOE HENDERSON: complicated. You folks sit back. do something, well, do it. That's Everyone of us here just want to get it done. It's not that Let's get it done. You say you're going to all that's involved. PETER BRINC:KERHOFF: Is anyone person? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The Town going to assume the responsibility, any one Engineer now has the responsibility, if this resolution is passed. He will draw up the plans, the Board will go out to bid. That is the procedure the Board is following. I'll repeat, it takes four votes for every step of the way. One individual, whether it be Mr. Reeves, or whether is be Mr. Jacobs from the Highway Department, or whether it's the Town Engineer, is not important. The Town Board is committed to this, and is following through now on the project, when the real hurdles can be put out of the way. AUGUST 5, 1992 JUSTICE EDWARDS: I will be glad to assist the Town Engineer for anything that he needs on Fishers Island, rather than him fly back and forth, but I think it's the Town Engineer, that should take the brunt of this project, because I'm not an engineer, but I'll be glad to help the engineer in any way. God only knows how many pictures I've taken back to the Town Board on various projects on the Island. JOE HENDERSON: to this project? Could you put in the resolution, ~that the Board is committed SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Absolutely. It can worded in the resolution, whereas. - Are there any more questions on this, if not we will enact this resolution? ?V0teof the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The Town Attorney's Office has offered to follow through with this project. Any questions that people from the island have on the ongoing process of these courts, the Town Attorney's Office will accept calls. His office will provide any .information he has available. Now, moving away from the tennis courts, are there any other members of the audience, that would like to address this Board? SUSAN FERGUSON: My name is Susan Ferguson. On Resolution #5, being familar with the DARE program, I know it's anti-drugs program for the school children. Could this program possibly be available for the Fishers Island children? JUSTICE EDWARDS: This is why I abstained voting on this proposal, because I have requested in the past, verbally, and through letters, to have that program in the school, and it has not come to past, and I'm disappointed in that project. I've fought for it through the year, and it has not come to the Island. That is why I abstained. POLICE CHIEF DROSKOSKI: I'm Chief Droskoski. Southold Town is our town. There are plans to send Beth Wilson over to Fishers Island. ! think it's for a condensed course of their program. The DARE Progra~'is a very effective program. Beth Wilson hasn't been here yet, because we're not into the school year, but I think in the fall she already has made plans to come over here. She'll contact the school officials. I think it will be a condensed version of our DARE Plan. She may come over here a couple of days, or put her prggram into one session, than she does in our school, but she has made plans to come over to Fisher Island to give the DARE Program to the children. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Are there any other questions? JAMES CATTERSON: James Catterson, Suffolk County District Attorney. I'd just like to follow up on that. Many of you are not familiar with the program. Many of you are. I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, but in Suffolk County, as you all know, we have the drug problem, as we do all over America. The Suffolk County Police, State Police, and local police should all be aware of the fact. Last year in my office, I sponsored a poster contest for a number of school children in Suffolk County. It was our way of enforcing don't use drugs concept. There were very professional results in the high schools. Just as an example, on the high school level, the first time in Suffolk County we're including the high schools. (unintelligiblelSuffolk County, who will work in the student government class. They'll develop a circulum based on constitutiona-I law problems. It's a hands on (unintelligible) I could just talk to the Chief about , the rest of the County. There are 160 Assistant District Attorneys in Suffolk County. So in addition to proscecuting crimes, the case is referred In my office, which does investigative work (unintelligible) STEVE LATHAM: My name is Steve Latham. I'm attorney for the Fishers Island Garbage and Refuse District. As you know going back as far as last September, the District and the Town issued an order to arrive at an equatable allocation concerning solid waste responsibilities, and solid waste expenses between the town and the island. During that time, think we made a little progress. We agreed AUGUST 5, 1992 that it was equitable in all cases, the responsibilities, and also, the costs, and we had gone through probably half dozen, if not more, drafts of the municipal agreement. Last Friday, the conversation with the Town Attorney, that now apparently the Town Board is having second thoughts, they'd like to back away, or abandon the idea, instead set up it's own garbage district covering the balance of the Town, and what was relayed to me is what I'd like to clarify today, is the impression that the deal is the admissions that we've been discussing. Now, as far as the town's desire to proceed with a garbage district, I don't have any position on that. I can think of a lot of reasons why it would be a good idea, and that would be up to the Town Board to consider, bu~ I have given some thought of the reasons of whether or not the creation of~his by the Town of Southold would sum up our concerns here, and my appl~i~ant through the County does not, so what I would like to hear from the Board today is how we could finalize the process of getting the issues through a muncipal agreement resolved so that we can deal with those issues, get them memorialized, and get on with the business of dealing with our own respective responsibities. Can the Town Board bring me up to date on that, in particular does Town Board confirm that the arrangement that we have been negotiating over the past several months is still the arrangement that the Town Board will implement? TOWN ATTORNEY ARNOFF: Mr. Latham, you spent two hours on a boat ride coming over here, and you didn't ask me any of these questions on the ride over, and waited for this forum. You're fully aware that contract negotiations are matters for executive session, and not for public forum. So you grandstand without giving us the opportunity to respond. This is a matter for executive session, and you know full well that it is. Having said that, I will confirm my conservation with you, I will confir~n the fact that the Board is considering a district agreement. The Board is committed, has said it is committed, in giving the Fishers Island residents that which they deserve in relation to the Having said that, I feel there is no further discussion on the contract negotiations. STEVE LATHAM: I have to respectively agree with you. This is for executive session. This has been kicking around for eleven months now. I'm sorry you took offense, but I had othe~ things to discuss on the way over, but the question of policy.. TOWN ATTORNEY ARNOFF: I understand, but I was available, and I was certainly free to discuss it with you at anytime. STEVE LATHAM: What I'm discussing now is, when is the Town goi~ng to get and finally resolve this question of a muncipal agreement, and let me communicate w. ith this Board at this point, that we're waiting for a garbage district to be created at some point in the future, but could take an extended period of time, and I think there are a number of other issues, but it doesn't solve our problem. We have to have the agreement resolved. What is the process of getting this finalized? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: This question is under negotiations. We have a resolve in sight, which we have discussed at various meetings. We have not been provided on the last meeting, because this issue just came up, and we think this will solve the island's problems, and the mainland's problems, when it constitutes a taxation portion of solid waste, especially through the Comptroller's Office of the State of New York. We're very careful of what direction we take, when it comes to their scrutiny, expecially their audits, that they put in place, and how they assess certain individuals through the districts. We're working on that right now. We think we have a resolve 'n sight. It will not take long to form a district, if the Board moves in that direction, and that's where we are. STEVE LATHAM: Itico,u~d take as long as a year.. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Mr. Latham, that is speculation on your part. The Town Board will discuss this at the next regular meeting in executive session, when we continue with the contract negotiations. STEVE LATHAM: You're asking them to wait until the Town Board decides. I just want to understand. 6 AUGUST 5, 1992 SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I'll refer you back to the Town Attorney. TOWN ATTORNEY ARNOFF: Mr. Latham, negotiations have not concluded in relation to the agreement, as I've told you, because there are to the agreement, which will survive the formation of a district, which will require a municipal agreement. I told you that. That is my opinion. However, the mere formation of a district should we go that way, would obviate the neccessity of the bulk of this agreement. You know it, and I know it. Short of that, I don't think there's any further discussion, as I've said. HARRIS PARSON: I'm troubled with the garbage situati~". Harris Parsons. Who is in charge of the garbage in this area, on Fisher'~ Island? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: You have a Fishers Island Garbage District over here. HARRIS PARSON: Yes, but we have that metal dump. The metal dump is a disgrace. You all should take a look at it, when you go back to the boat. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I've seen it, many times. HARRIS PARSONS: You don't do anything about it, though. Something should really be done about it. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It has been done. The official status is closed as of August 1st. HARRIS PARSON: Closed? What the hell's that got to do with it. The place looks like a disaster. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: You have a district, which will resolve.. HARRIS PARSON: Boo to the district. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Excuse me. I'd appreciate your courtesy. If you would like me to expand upon that answer, I'd be §lad to. The metal dump is on Town property. The Town will deal with this portion of solid waste. It's closed. The landfill as of August 1st is the closed. Now the Town Board will deal with property, that it owns, which is that one piece of proloer~ty, moving ahead, working with the DEC to resolve the proper procedure to officially cap and finish that landfill, once and for all. HARRIS PARSON: If.anyone in the private sector owned that dump, they'd .be in jail. Well, it's true isn"t it? it is true. You guys-should get off your rear ends, and get it done. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It's not true. You're entitled to your opinion. I'm glad to hear you express it. Councilwoman Hussie? COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: Jim Bunchuck has some information for you. JIM BUNCHUCK.' I'm Jim Bunchuck, from the landfill in Southold. I work under Public Works Commissioner Ray Jacobs, and he has asked me, in fact the other day, to get-in touch with our man that deals with the metal in Southold in Cutchogue. I've spoken to him, and next week the three of us, Ray, myself, and the vender, will try to make a trip over here, I've already seen the metal dump, for discussing what options might be available to clean it up. Removing some of the materials is a possibility, capping it, or otherwise making it look proper. Those plans can be put together. We'll have to check with the DEC to make sure everything is in order. In any case, we'll be here next week to look at it.. JOHN THATCHER: My name is John Thatcher. I'm President of Fishers l§land Conservancy. I agree with most of the previous speakers here. The metal dump is a disgrace. It needs to be cleaned up. The Association, and ourselves, have sent a joint letter to the Town Board asking, not only for closure of the dump, but for further processing in capping it, and finishing it once and for all, so everybody will be happy. I did want to add one thing, if I could, a comment on what Mr. Latham said, and what Town Attorney Arnoff said. The Conservancy met in executive session. We had an executive board meeting approximately one week ago. We did find a problem with this proposed agreement between the Town and the Garbage District. Not in the sense of having one. We'd like to have one, but we found that some of the wording here certainly we felt was not in the best interest of Fishers Island, and certainly not in an environmental dimension, and we would be happy, at any time, to discuss this, but not only garbage district, but also with any Town officials that might have jurisdiction. We feel that there is a genuine basis here for some kind of agreement. We're delighted that apparently the Town has agreed, hopefully agreed to take care of the metal dump. By that I mean, not just closing it, but to cap it, and get the refuse that's in there, out, and we will be available for any type of discussion, that the Town, or the residents of the island might require. JUSTICE EDWARDS: John, you say you disagree with so'me of the writing in the agreement. What agreement are you talking about?, JOHN THATCHER: This is the revised draft agreement between the Town of Southold, and Fishers Island Garbage and Refuse. I'm referring the agreement dated July 6, 1992. JUSTICE EDWARDS: were working on. JOHN THATCHER: JUSTICE EDWARDS: JOHN THATCHER: JUSTICE EDWARDS: JOHN THATCHER: is fine. If you want me to continue on that. That's the agreement, that Mr. Latham and Mr. Arnoff Yes o You are in disagreement? Only on some portions. Okay. Fine. Only in some portions, but not with the concept. The concept COUNCILMAN WICNHAM:One year ago this week, we were over here. At that time, questions were raised about the garbage and the refuse. I remember one of the questions was, why isn't the Town doing something about this? The discussion ran about the same as the discussion we just had about the tennis courts. One of us made the comment that it was difficult to focus on a lot of this thought, and initiative from Long Island, and why don't some of you here on Fishers Island put some initiative into this, prepare some findings and concepts? Well, you've done that. The draft contract, that John is talking about is basically the results of some intiative, that your district took here, and came to us. It's been discussed back and forth, and has gone through three or four different drafts, and that has been the subject of considerable discussion, and I'd like to say that two. or three parts of that contract, that I have personally been quite closely involved in it with the legal people, both on the Town Board side, and I've also listened to the people, who represent your district. There are two or three aspects of that contract, that I think both we, and you, , and I'm not getting into contractual details, but one of them is in principle, it is a willingness on the part of the Town to close up the metal dump, and as a first step to doing that we thought that it should be closed to additional refuse, and ultimately we anticipate the responsibility of closing it in some appropriate manner. Secondly, I've accepted, and I believe there was, and still exists a strong concensus on the part of the Town Board to take some steps that will be redress the financial burden of handling garbage between Fishers Island and the rest of the Town of Southotd. I think that concept is still valid, and I think there's a concensus on the part of the Board, and I think you see it. We have anticipated that an intermuncipal agreement, the contract which John has just spoken about, would be a vehicle to do this. There are lawyers, legal people, to get through to sort this out, and just last week a proposal came to the Town Board, instead of doing this, why don't we go to a garbage district? I feel I owe you some discussions on this, because a year ago we said why don't you help us' draft whatever it takes to do this? You've done that. Now, at the enth hour, beginning last week, we taken a turn, and basically said, instead of the draft agreement, why don't we go into a garbage district? We go into a district. You go into the district, and then things automatically may fall the right way. Maybe that could work. I'm not saying, it couldn't. What I'm saying is, this is a rather new idea. We're going to have to sort our way through that, before we can answer it. In my opinion, just speaking as an individual Town Councilman, I think the contract still has a great deal of merit, and I will encourage the Town Board to continue consideration of that, if nothing else as an interim step, but until such time as the' district is formed. I wanted to say, first, I'm grateful for the work on your side to present us this information, and at least for myself, I'm going to continue to work for it. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Is there anyone else? 8 AUGUST 5, 1992 PETER BRINCKERHOFF: I think the comment made by Town Attorney, he made a very thorough investigation of this existing contract, and how it might be modified by the creation of the garbage district. Why don't you modify the current contract to provide for the event of the creation of a district, and how that would effect in the relationship of the two entities, and go ahead and execute the contract, because I think the basic understanding is in place, and work out a solution to this possible change in force, that you are considering, and therefore allow the execution of the contract. If you would direct your attorney to meet with our attorney, and get closure, and provide for the flexibility of the contract. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: That's the resolve that we're working towards. It has been for some time. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: Right now what we have are two attorneys that are mad. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: We have attorneys that are representing clients. The clients are directing their attorneys what direct to take. That's where we are right now. TOWN ATTORNEY ARNOFF: First of all, Mr. Thatcher, I'd like to direct my comments to you.. Please, at any time if you have some imput, all you have to do is give us a call. If I'm not there, or Mr. Kiernan is not there, one of us will get back to you. That goes for anybody here, who has a comment regarding the proposed agreement. Secondly, I have a client to represent. Mr. Latham has a client to represent. I would do what i'm discharged to do to the best of my ability. If I feel after discussion with this Board, that it is in the Town's best interest, and by the way, the Comptroller has a major role in my taking another harder look at the muncipal agreement, as well. as discussions with council of the Association of Towns, so we went far beyond just in-house type of thing, to make a determination on this agreement. So in answer to your question, it's possible to have an interim agreement. I have no problem with that. COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: This contract has been across my desk a number of times. My copy is well written into. There is a lot not right with it. It is not right in the sense that it is strictly for Fishers Island Garbage District, and also the operation of Cutchogue Landfill. I personall,/ don't feel that a contract should bind the Cutchogue Landfill to doing certain things, or the Fishers Island Garbage District to doing certain things. The other thing is, as far as the metal dump is concerned, we have already agreed that it's going to be closed, and it' going to be taken care of, whatever way .the DEC will let us do it. Right now then we're talking only about money, and the only way that the Attorneys, the Town Comptroller, and all these people can stop, and figure out how to separate the money issue is createa separate district. There is a formula in here, which I'm not going to read to you, but if you want to see it later, I'll show it to you, and I defy anyone to figure it out. PETER BRINCKERHOFF:That doesn't answer my question. My question was why not go through.. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The reason why to answer your question, is that it's intregal part of the contract negotiations. I'm not at liberty devulge that right now. You're omitting the accounting procedure to take care of this. That's what you're omitting. PETER BRINCKERHOFF:What's so confidential. The money is there. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: No. There is no money in the till. There is not money budgeted for the closure of this landfill. PETER BRINCI<ERHOFF:Then you'll have to budget it. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: That's next year. Budgets are done a year in advance. We are working in 1992. Please don't argue with me, sir. I'm trying to answer you question. I'm trying to explain to you what has taken place, without going into the confidentiality of contract negotiations. What I'm trying to explain to you, if you would listen, is that there is a complicated procedure when it comes to the accounting, and the assessment, according to the taxation of the Fishers Island residents, and the mainland, which is all part 'of the Town of Southold. It all comes under the General Fund Part Town funding of the budget. That has to be worked out. It's very, very complicated. It's not black and white. AUGUST 5, 1992' 79 You can't just take this, and say now it's gone, and now we're going to pay for it, because you're not going to pay for it, because you're not going to pay for in. You don't want to pay for it. The contract says you don't want to pay for it, and that's what we're trying work out legally, so that you don't pay for it. JOE HENDERSON: You mean to tell me, that this Board in their wisdom, you're going to close the dump, which you've done. Now you're telling me it's so terribly complicated. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Now, you've missed the point. ~'he point is it's not complicated to do it, it's complicated to expend the money to accomplish it. JOE HENDERSON: The procedure is the same. God, it is so complicated to do what we say we're going to do, it going to take us a .couple of years to figure out how we're going to do it. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It's not going to take that long. JOE HENDERSON: How long is it 9oing to take then? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: It's taken a couple of months ohly to get to the point right now in the contract, where we are. JOE HENDERSON: Let's get it done. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Again, the major point is, the funding of the clean up of that metal dump, and who will pay for it? JOE HENDERSON: You already said.. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The town includes Fishers Island. Fishers Island is part of the Town of Southold. Sir, what the district is trying accomplish for it's taxpayers on Fisher Island, is they're trying to work a way out that aimable to them, that they don't pay for that portion of the cleanup. That's what the district is trying to work out. JOE HENDERSON: Why.is it so complicated? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: on it on a daily basis. Yes, in the back. It's complicated, if you're not in the inside Working I appreciate your opinion. Are there any other members? STEVE LATHAM: There are so many issues, ,undoubtedly which can not be resolved today. We can't change that. We can't conceivably separate those out. I do want to agree that which is all the financial issues, and different ones develop which are not referred to, which quite frankly are not going to go away. I don't care what kind of agreement we end up with, so long as we end up with an agreement, that memorilizes the equitiable allocation that we have been discussing for more than a year, and 1 simply want to bring out today, ! do not want to spend another eleven months pursuing some other options. We have a solution at hand. It could be a combination of some of the suggestions that have been taken here today. Believe me, I will have another draft in front of the Town within a week, then we'll address, not only :your creation of the district, but all of these other things. I just want to make sure, that we'll see this done. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: We wouldn't have gotten this far; Mr. Latham, if we didn't want this resolved. I guarantee you that. JOHN THATCHER: John Thatcher, again, of the Conservancy. I think most of w. hat's bothering a lot of the people here, is the fact that Fishers Island pays more into the Town of Southold, than it gets back. I'm sure every Town Board member here has a copy of this study, where the Conservancy said, the town benefits by the property it owns on Fishers Island,. and the conclusion of this study is there is $320,000.00 gap between what Fishers Island pays into Southold, and what Southold gives back in a variety of services. I just wanted to know what the -TOwn would like to do about closing that gap, because there is a feeling on Fishers Island, that somehow Southold is so busy, so far away, that they., really don't pay much attention to us, except on this one afternoon of the year, and hopefully we can get some committment from the Southold Town Board today to at least begin to address the $300,000.00 gap. Some of a large majority is police. Southold doesn't pay Fishers Island for Police, at least not very much, and proportionately not half as the rest of the town. I have copies of the report available~ if any other member of this audience would like to have one at the end of this meeting. I would like to get some kind of comments from the Town Board on what they intend to about this gap. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: The Board hasn't even discussed this yet. It hasn't had an opportunity to discuss it. It's too new, and the Board still has to go over many aspects of the study. So, we haven't even moved on the report as far as the merits of the report, and what it said. The only thing I can say on this is I wish the government was so that you could get back what you pay for. I doesn't work. The government has never done. jl don't get what I pay for in the Federal government. I don't get what I,~¥ for in State, or the Town, or all the way down. I wish I could say .the Town was that efficient. They're not. That has been a procedure that always in place. People don't have children in school, they say, I shouldn't have to pay school tax, but they do, even though the school was there, you say, why should I pay for it, I'm not getting any use out of it? There are many, many ser~vices that are provided, that you don't always get direct benefits back. ~ However, we will address this. As you know we did all we could to cooperate with, with a private organization, such as your own, to make this available, so it could get completed for everybody's edification. JUSTICE EDWARDS: In lieu of this shortfall, I think you mentioned mostly, John~ is from th~ Southold Police, the exorbitant budget that they put in, due to the demands of the PBA. I have talked to the Chief, and there's something I'd like to run before the people of Fishers Island to think about, and maybe at a fall meeting we can get some kind of decision which way to go, and the Chief thought it was a good idea, and some of the others. Mr. Grebe will very possibly be retiring next year. We thought to have a full-time Southold Policeman living here on the island, as part of the community~ and I think it would be a good thing for the island, and it would cut into part of that shortfall, and I thinkr all and all, the people who I've spoken to about this have all agreed. You can talk about it amongst yourselves, and then in the fall meeting before budget time, we can come up with some kind of solution~ JOHN THATCHER: Good start. PETER BRIJ~C~(E;RHOFF: Who supplies, or prepares the comment on the study, that was forwarded to you at least two week ago? You_saw drafts. You received a letter from the Civic Association, and we didn't get a response. Do you have an explanation why you're not prepared? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: to address the study. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: We don't need an explanation. We haven't had time The Board is very busy with many, many issues. So are you going to brush this off? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Sorry, again I wish you would stop putting words in my mouth as Chairman of this meeting. This Board, and this community of Fishers Island, as well as Orient, East Marion, Greenport, Cutchogue, Mattituck, Peconic, any other town within the township. Fishers Island has been here since the founding of Southold 1640. This issue has never surfaced in the light that it has in the last year or so. My question is, why isn't it a village? Why doesn't the Fishers Island government, the individual associations over here, if they're so dissatified fifty ago, one hundred years ago, twenty years ago, with govern- ment, and what they were getting in return, incorporate, become a village, have your own elected officials, your own police department, and bear the expense totally from those residents within the island itself. It's obvious that some members here are unhappy, with treatment, or what services they get provided by the mainland, which is part of Southold Town. I consider Fishers Island part of all Southold, not an island versus mainland. However, why didn't this come up twenty years ago, or ten years ago? Why wasn't this brought to the attention if Fishers Island residents wanted to proceed with their own government, and have their own expenses, so they can see in-house, what they expended, and they got back directly by those people who's serving them. That would have been a direction to take. I can't answer that. I understand that it did start to move in that direction, but that the people said no. I don't know if that's true or not. All I can tell you at this point is, that if that is the feeling of Fishers Island, I'm sure this Board here will encourage you to incorporate such as the Village of Greenport that we have, another village, move in that direction, because that way then you would feel that the government that you elect is more responsive to your needs on a day in, day out basis. AUGUST 5, 1992 81¸ PETER BRINCKERHOFF: I understand. It's not an issue for everybody, but it's a simple question, it's an issue you were notified about, and I would really like a response. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: My response is, we represent 20,000 people in the Town of Southold. Fishers Island, this study just came out. The Board has many, many other issues, that it's been working on for many months, that took priority over this study that came out. The Board has to elaborate on the numbers, get the accounting procedure down, get the individuals to review the study to understand where they got the numbers from, found out if the Town is comfortable with those procedures that were put in place~.to justify the numbers. PETER 13RIbI.CKERHOFF: I understand from the author of the report, that you all were basically in agreement. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: This Board has not been involved at all, personally with that study. The accounting procedure that took place was done through the Comptroller of the town. His department was directed to work very closely with the firm that came in to provide the numbers. That is as far as it has gone. COUNCILMAN WICKHAM: I would like to respond. We just had a discussion about the garbage and refuse district, and the sharing of funds. To me that's a prototype for a lot of this, that we're going to have 'to come to terms with. What the Civic Association report tells us, in addition to garbage and refuse, we have a problem with police. Just speaking personally, I'm not prepared to deal with the generic problem in it's entirety. I'd like to work on one thing. Until we can get the garbage thing, a reasonable handle on it, and some resolution - on that, I'm not willing to open up a whole lot of additional cans of worms at this time. I'd like to make a solution, and solve one problem, before starting on another. So I reviewed the report with interest. There's some very important issues there. They should be dealt with. I want to see some solutions first, before we just throw them all together, so that's why I haven't got an affirmative response today. JOHN THATCHER:I had one more comment. The issue of Fishers Island of becomihg an incorporated village has been thought about, studied by John Clavin, and basically the reason is simple. We don't have enough year-round residents. JUSTICE EDWARDS: John, ! think that could be rectified with some strong lobbying in Albany, if the people on the island so desired to move in that direction. JOHN THATCHER: The Conservacy is going to do another study, Ray. We're -going to try and address that point. JOHN CLAVIN : I'd like to defend our Civic Association. John is absolutely right. The requirement as of this year, or the year we made the study, there were 500 residents. Now, 500 residents would be 250 people, who are registered to vote here. There are year-round residents. Well, the trick of the matter is, if Fishers Island had a strong enough desire to become incorporated, they could get 500 residents by the definition of residents. I'm afraid that, when you say it's not correct, if we wanted to change the law to reduce the number of 500 to say, 250 or something like that, it would require a referendum, a State referendum, where the entire population of the State of New York, twice on it. Joe Sawicki came to our meeting, that was the evaluation. I'd like to tell you a little bit briefly. I don't think the people on Fishers Island are com- plaining about taxes. ! think what they're complaining about is what they get, the attention that Fishers Island gets. Frank Murphy sat in your chair, and said, we're going to give you all the attention you require. You don't really have to be incorporated. We trusted him. We trusted that his predecessor, and predecessor, and predecessor on garbage. In 1981, you brought up this garbage situation, and it just is unfair to be taxed by the Town of Southold for garbage, which is the Town's responsibility to dispose of it. We've got a district, and we're taxed by that, too. We pay $880,000.00 a year in Town taxes, and that's our proportionate share of the general budget. We, also, pay $330,000.00 in our garbage district. So, you can see the frustration of these people. They say, hey, wait a minute, it's the Town's responsibility, and you've got enough budget now, and it's going to get worse. No matter what you do it's going to get worse, and worse, and worse, and we're going to pick up the whole proportionate share, and ..i_n fair-O-ess,.- every single Councilman I've talked to since 1981, I~'¥,e. s'~i~l.,'.bey~;l(~ok~_~ve've got to~do something. That's a little unfair. Tom Wickham has said that since the day he arrived. Now, 'I'm just saying, I'm not asking a question, but I would like to ask one thing. AUGUST 5, 1992 Several years ago, repr-esentativesofthe town by somebody, and I don't know who it was, wanted you to come back more than once a year. Harvey, you mentioned last year, you come here, you get all the information, you talk to the people, your constiguents. You're all recognized. We don't have a representa- tive. You're all representatives, and you come here to get foresight, and then you go back, and you have so many doggone many problems, that you forget all about Fishers Island. I would like to ask why several years ago, the representa- tives came twice a year to Fishers Island, why can't you do that? Why don't you come back again, before August of 1993, and let's discuss garbage, and all of the other problems, that we have? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Now, I'd like to have a question~nswered. Twice, this year, the Judge brought up a proposal to have eve~ybody from Fishers Island come this year come to the mainland, and become imvolved with the Town' Board meetings. The people that are involved in the Civic Association come to these meetings, to come over to Southold mainland. We would have transporta- tion. We have a Town Board meeting dealing with issues there. We'd take you around, and show you what the Town has to offer. We represent, as I said, all of Southold Town. We offered that this year in hopes that you would come over. My understanding was from the J~dge, that absolutely not, we're not going over there. Now, we represent the people 365 days a year, not just one day a year in which we travel to Fishers Island. Now, we're here for you 365 days a year. We always have been. Again, it's not so~ hard for people, also, to come over the~e, to get involved in what we're doing, and to bring attention to matters throughout the year, not just for the few months in the summer. This is a twelve month a year government, as is the problems on Fishers Island, the same as it is on the mainland, twelve month a year problems that exist. Again, that offer is going to be made. Come over to our meetings. Please come, and get involved in what we're doing. If not, ¥~hen we come over here, you come over, and see us once or twice a year, and bring over the problems, that have arisen throughout the year. We'd be glad, again, to move in the same direction, that you had just mentioned. I'd like to see that entertained. PETER ROGAN: When you come over here, don't you get your lunch? Peter Rogan. I'¥e been on the island over fifty years. Southold Town doesn't do anything. All they can do, as I see, is get more and more taxes, and we don't get anything done. The frustratien doesn't stop with you. It also goes to · the residents of Fishers Island. COUNCILMAN LIZEWSKI: I'm a new Councilman. I've only be on this Board for six months, and I want to tell the people on Fishers Island, that you have a able, and a very capable representative in Judge Edwards, and I've learned to respect his vote. He is a vote on a six man Board, and many times that he will tell me that if we don't see things his way for Fishers Island, that he certainly will not see his way for anything that we want. He's very forceful in using his vote, and he's not afraid to use it as a weapon, to make sure we hear the complaints on Fishers Island, and what the people, on Fishers Island want. I have to tell that working in government is very frustrating, and certainly doesn't move in the direction in the direction that anyone wants. It is a frustrating process. It's amazing how combersome it can be, the decisions have to be have to be made by six people on this Board. I don't think we can emphasize what this Board wants to do without hurting anybody in our town. We all love Southold Town. We love the people in it. It is difficult working, and I don't how it can be changed. I was hoping that I could contribute something to some type of change to make it move a little faster, but I think that these meetings do prove that sometimes kicking along to get it move, and sometimes the harder you kick it maybe sometimes the further it would go, and I don't think it's bad you coming here and voice your opinions, and stand up and scream in frustration. It makes us mindful of the fact that government does moue slowly, and it's a forward thing to do, to get something done through government. I want to thank you for enlightening me as a first year freshman, and the other Councilman on this Board to your problems. I felt like saying, I want to take this by the horns, but I realize how much you have to do, and the time there is a lot.. to be in a position like this is absolutely incredible. I spent last Friday with the Suffolk County Water Authority on my own time. I spend a tremendous amount of time. Basically it's just like being President of the Lions Club ten year in a row, or anything else. It's incredible what the Board takes on, and you don't .realize the responsibility you have, and the amount of work. I don't think there anythi, ng wrong with venting your frustrations. I think it's important that we hear them, and we ~<now what they are. You know~, I sit here and listen to you, and I'm saying to myself, you know, they have a damn good point, but you have to get things done, and the way to do it is doing exactly wha~~ you're doing talk to the mainland, kick us around a little bit ~nore, come over. 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 reasonable 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~"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, Southold 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, I'll start off. Th~ property came to our attention obviously 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 mechanism, 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 purposes 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 [ands, or purchase property 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 expenditures of all properties, that they receive to purchase. Theydid various studies on it. They did appraisal on the property. It came back and 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. STEVE MALINOWSKI: Is there one still available on Fishers Island? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Yes; There is. Absolutely. It has to be offered. TOWN CLERK TERRY: The owner has to offer it. COUNCILMAN WICKHAM:. M'a'~r I claP~'fy that. Although Judge Edwards brought it to our attention, the owner of the property has to make a formal offer. He has to basically say, I have a piece of open space, and I want to see it preserved forever, and I hereby offer it to the Town for a sum. The sum is to be worked out according to the appraisal. The Town then has the option of either accepting, or rejecting. As the Supervisor said the Land Preservation Committee will review it, and then Board has to review it, and then there's a public hearing, and all concerned people have an opportunity to make comments about it, before the Board finally votes on it. So it's basically a land preservation form.'--It's used to keep it perpetually from being developed. 4 AUGUST 5, 1992 JUSTICE EDWARDS: To further this, the Land Preservation Committee on two occasions have rejected this proposal because the property was not open for the public. When I went to Mr. Jouri, or Mr. Calhoun, and said, if a person walks down the main road, and comes to the gate, can they walk through that gate to go to beach, and I was given the affirmative. So, I went back to the Committee, and I think I have enough votes on the Town Board to put this through, because that property is available to the public to walk through. You may not be able to drive but you can walk to it. To put property like that into the hopper, quote, unquote, it has to be a private i~ndividual, it has to be open to the public, and it can not be a corporation,~ke Mr. Thatcher wanted some of this money to purchase that piece of property next to Mr. Ludemann, but they could not put the money into it, but they could not put the money into it, because it has limited access. So, this thing is still on tap. I've got a letter to write to Mr. Ross, who is in charge of that committee, and we on Fishers Island have paid between $300,000.00 and $400,000.00 into this Land Preservation Act, and I think we should get a return for it, and that's why I'm fighting for this one parcel. STEVE MALINOWSKI: I agree with you, that we should get a return on that money for this program. We have to have an organization on the Island that deals specifically with ~oreserving property. I think it would great if the Town Board could work with that organization CHARLES FERGUSON: I'm Charles Ferguson, President of the H.L. Ferguson Museum. We're in the land trust business. We have been an organization, taxfree, since 1960. We have a land trust committee. We have presently nine parcels of land, two at this end of the island, and the others at-the east end of the island. We have approximately sixty acres, that were acquired through easement or outright gift. If the town was interested in acquiring the land, and looking for a donee, ':-I think we should be involved in it on a day to day basis, and also the Conservancy, and be mindful of that organizat, ion, and the Land Trust. JUSTICE EDWARDS: Are you incorporated, Charlie? CHARLES FERGUSON: Yes. JUSTICE EDWARDS: That might be a strike against yQu. It has to be an individual, that's the way it's written up. CHERRY RAFFERTY: I'm Cherry Rafferty. This has worked out very well with Charlie Fersuson (uni;ntelligible). There ought to be some way of keeping these areas, or stipulating as an area for study only, or educational purposes. By the way, (unintelligible). Thank you very much anyway. Oh, by the way, how is it coming with the critical environmental area? I seems to me I did read something about that Fishers Island will be recognized. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Therearet~o people, that can talk to you about that. John Bredemeyer is here? John, do you know where we are with the CEA? already is established. John is the Chairman of the Town Trustees. JOHN BREDEMEYER: It is an established fact. You are a CEA area. It SUPERVISOR HARRIS: There was a study, that was also being done around Barlow's Pond, a study for water, that the Health Department was also conducting in relation to the CEA. CHERRY RAFFERTY: I was just wondering if in relationship., of zoning problems. Part of our remoteness, it seems to me.. I asked you last year to have some kind of like. lead agency for zoning, like Ken Edwards, then they can take the ideas back to your Boards. (unintelligible) SUPERVISOR HARRIS: One last point on the Open Space Program. It strictly is, as was said, a volunteer program, where you put your property in for consideration. It's a volunteer. There aren't people that go to you, and say, we want you to put your land in. It's strictly up to you what you want to do with your.own piece of property, whether that's for Farmland Development Rights Act, or the Open..Space Bond. It's strictly up to the individual who own the property, that they want to preceed ahead for that purchase of property. It's a Board item. There's public hearing will take place for-the purchase. You go through a whole process. PETER BRINCKERHOFF: If we make a request (unintelligible) JUSTICE EDWARDS: If I get the information, I'll be glad to. JOHN THATCHER: The Conservancy does know about this project, but the question of public access made it somethinq that we could not handle. We were looking into some questions about it, at least four alternative, one of which is the Ferguson Museum, that could be used. But there are avenues of approach. CAROL RIDGEWAY : We would like to thank you all for coming here, and providing lunch for those who did partake of it, and in order..today it was put by Judge Edwards in terms of our going over to Long Island. I's been a particular help today, it's either, or. Either we all go pver there, or you would all come over here, and we felt that this was .one of the concerns, particularly with the Board members, or other agencies in the town. Then the problems can be seen up close on Fishers Island. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Carol, would you consider an additional meeting or two, that you would come over there? CAROL RIDGEWAY: / think we could. Yes. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: You'll have to talk to the commissioners of the ferry, that was good enough to bring us over today. JOHN CLAVIN: Has there been any action of the Town boat ramp on Fishers Island? I wonder if you can tell me? SUPERVISOR HARRIS: Mr. Richter, would you know about the boat ramp? JAMIE RICHTER: Jim McMann would the status of where we are. I'm not familar with where we stand. TOM DOHERTY: On the matter of public access to the properties, you're not allowed in there without a sticker. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: That would exclude any person. .CAROL RIDGEWAY: in reference to'some groups going to Long Island for a Town meeting. The Civic Association do have several studies being formulated, and are doing very well, being headed by Peter Brinckerhoff, and he's going to study tax questions, physical responsibilites, both on a town level, and a local level. We will be following things up more closely.. SUPERVISOR HARRIS: I need a motion to adjourn. Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Justice Edwards, it was RESOLVED that the Town Board meeting be and hereby is adjourned at 3:15 P.M. Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Councilman Wickham, Justice Edwards, Supervisor Harris. This resolution was declared duly ADOPTED. dith T. Terry ~ Southold Town Clerk