In recent weeks, residents may have noticed a film crew working in the vicinity of Long Beach. With an eye toward perhaps more filmmakers coming to the East End, on Tuesday, in addition to discussing the fire contract and security issues, the North Haven Village Board discussed the introduction of a new local law on filming in the village.
Village clerk Georgia Welch told the board that Suffolk County is trying to encourage filmmaking on Long Island, but that municipalities like North Haven need to develop a current local law that will provide the industry with guidelines prior to their arrival on how to work in the area.
A draft of the local law, created by village attorney Anthony Tohill, was presented Tuesday evening, but was not a scheduled public hearing, because members of the board want additional information to be included in the document.
Deputy mayor Jeff Sander said that the definition of filming in the proposed law should be amended to also include additional methods of viewing, namely, the Internet. Also, he recommended the law only refer to filming being done for commercial purposes.
“I think it’s a good point,” mayor Laura Nolan said.
The proposed legislation will require filmmakers to obtain a permit from village hall and applicants will have to show proof of liability insurance with policy limits of $1 to $2 million. The fees for filming will be determined by the scope of the project.
Sander recommended that Tohill look at a similar law in East Hampton and make changes if needed.
At next month’s meeting, the proposed legislation will be revisited with the new language included.
Security
At their last meeting, the board discussed the option of getting a new security system for village hall. Trustee James Morrissey was absent at Tuesday’s meeting, but has met with Scan Security to discuss the options available for the building. After a brief discussion of the system, it was decided that the board is not opting for the larger, more expensive system, but will add a new system that will cost the village, $2,325. Trustee Jim Smyth said that the board can choose this option, which will bring the whole system up to date. The board can add the other, more advanced options at a later date.
The board adopted the resolution.