By Kathryn G. Menu

Last Wednesday, March 20, the Sag Harbor Village Board presented its tentative budget of $8,263,381 — a spending plan that falls under the state mandated two percent tax cap, but reduces the police force by eliminating one officer through attrition and another through layoffs.

The budget also proposes not replacing a laborer position in the department of public works.

The tentative 2013-2014 budget represents a 2.57 percent increase over this year’s $8.06 million budget. Treasurer Eileen Tuohy said state mandated tax levy cap for Sag Harbor is 4.1 percent.

According to Mayor Brian Gilbride, the village will use $65,000 of $1 million in reserves to offset the tax increase.

According to a budget worksheet, a house assessed at $795,000 would pay $2,220.44 in village property taxes, compared with $2,165.58 last year.

Gilbride and trustee Ed Gregory both noted a majority of the spending increases are directly linked to rises in health care costs and retirement benefits.

On Wednesday, Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Tom Fabiano sharply criticized cuts to his department via a letter read by trustee Kevin Duchemin, the board’s liaison to the department.

Chief Fabiano said he was only informed of the decision to layoff one of his officers at the last budget work session.

“I would like you all to know this officer will be David Driscoll,” said Fabiano, noting the two-year member of the department was named its officer of the year due to his work with the East End DWI Task Force and commitment to child safety programming.

Driscoll would be the second member of the force the chief would lose in the last year. Officer Michael Gigante left the force last year to work with another department amid what has become a contentious contract negotiation between the village and the police benevolent association (PBA).

If Driscoll’s position on the force is removed, that will leave the Sag Harbor Village Police Department with 10 officers and a chief.

“I am asking the board to keep this position in the budget as it is vital to the department’s staffing and scheduling needs,” writes the chief, noting two state studies have shown the department is already understaffed.

PBA President Patrick Milazzo said he would like to see if a committee could come up with alternatives to a flat layoff.

Gregory said before they can talk about saving the position they have to know what it will ultimately cost and that figure won’t be available until arbitration was settled.

Gilbride asked if the PBA would agree to a zero percent salary increase for three years in order to save the position.

“We are not going to talk about the contract publicly,” said Milazzo.

“Am I interested in saving Dave’s job? I would love to save Dave’s job,” said board member Robby Stein, but he added with the department taking 40 percent of the budget, retirement is increasing each year and there are other projects residents want funded outside of police services.

A public hearing on the budget will be held on April 3 at 4 p.m.

By Amanda Wyatt

Bridgehampton residents took to the polls last Wednesday, March 20, voting 49 to 21 to approve the creation of a $1.5 million capital reserve fund to finance repairs and maintenance to school facilities over the next five years.

The fund, which comes from unexpected savings and revenues received by Bridgehampton School, will be put towards the repairs outlined in the district’s five-year plan. Some items in the plan include repairing fire escapes and making other safety updates, as well as modernizing outdated heating systems and making the school more energy efficient.

While $1.5 million was approved by voters on March 20, school administrators currently estimate that only $1.35 million is needed to make these repairs.

This year, Bridgehampton has a fund balance of $604,000. Much of this fund comes from transportation savings realized after last year’s budget vote; savings from repairing instead of replacing its gym floor; collecting past-due payments from other districts; overestimating health insurance based on state numbers and planning for out-of-district student placements that did not come to pass.

In related news, Bridgehampton was recently awarded a Virtual Advanced Placement (AP) grant from the New York State Department of Education.

At a board of education meeting following last Wednesday’s vote, Dr. Favre said the school was “fortunate” to be a part of the grant, which is meant to provide students from low-income families greater access to online AP courses.

The school is one of 13 districts on Long Island that will benefit from the roughly two million dollar grant spearheaded by Nassau BOCES, in conjunction with Eastern and Western Suffolk BOCES. Southampton was the only other local district that received the grant.

Bridgehampton is expected to receive 20 licenses for their students to access online courses, 20 mobile learning devices and 16 laptops. The school will also receive a wireless access point and printer, online training for teachers and registration fees for ninth grade students to take the PSATs.

By Kathryn G. Menu

Save Sag Harbor attorney Jeffrey Bragman not only made a case against the re-development and expansion of the Harbor Heights Service Station on Hampton Street during a public hearing on Tuesday night, he also made a case against the project’s legality.

The East Hampton attorney, who attended the Sag Harbor Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting representing Save Sag Harbor, also charged he believes Leonard should be seeking use variances, in addition to the area variances he already needs.

In Leonard’s case, the standards required for the ZBA to grant a use variance for his project, would likely be “fatal,” noted board member Michael Bromberg, who appeared to agree with Bragman on this point.

Tuesday night’s meeting was the third formal public hearing in front of the ZBA on the Harbor Height’s expansion.

Leonard is proposing a 1,842 square-foot building to replace the existing Harbor Heights Service Station building, with a 972 square foot convenience store within it. Several areas, where goods are not visible, including the bathroom, have not been counted towards the total square footage of the store. Expanded pumps and fuel positions are proposed under a canopy, as are two new curb cuts into the property, 32 parking spaces and new landscaping.

The building will be pushed back into the property although will still sit perpendicular to the road. Unlike its current layout —with four fueling positions almost sitting in the right-of-way on Hampton Street — the canopy and fueling island will also be placed inward on the property, and will also be perpendicular to the roadway.

Leonard needs a number of variances from the ZBA to make this plan a reality, including one for the 23.75 foot height of the canopy; a variance for a freestanding sign two feet from Hampton Street where 20 feet is required; and a variance for the size of the convenience store, which is capped under the code at 600 square feet, among several others.

On Tuesday, Bragman said the sheer number of variances as well as the amount of relief Leonard is seeking from the code is something that should concern the board.

“One of the requirements you have to follow when you decide a case is you have to grant the minimum number of variances necessary,” he added, saying that if Leonard is going to seek this much relief, he should provide a detailed explanation on the need for these “extreme” variances.

Bragman said the addition of two new pumps is an expansion of a pre-existing, non-conforming use, noting that a pump area that takes up about 72 square feet now will expand into an area that he said will be 2,700 square feet.

“If we agree four to eight is an expansion of a non-conforming use they would need a use variance,” said Bromberg, adding it would be unlikely they could get a use variance if Leonard purchased the property while this code provision was in place.

Bragman agreed it would be very difficult for Leonard to prove he should be granted a use variance.

“One of the legal issues here is whether there is an expansion of a non-conforming use that would require a use variance,” said village attorney Denise Schoen, noting Leonard’s attorney, Dennis Downes does not believe this is an expansion of a non-conforming use. “You as a board have to make that determination.”

Bragman also noted a section of village code prohibits the expansion of a pre-existing, non-conforming use beyond 50-percent of the size of the use when it originally no longer met village code.

Looking at the chronology of the Harbor Heights, Bragman argued his research shows expansions made to the gas station use since 1956, including one undocumented expansion and another allowed by the ZBA in 1988 where he believes the board purposefully went beyond the 50 percent expansion limit, show a use that was likely 800 square feet in the 1950s. If that number holds true, Bragman said the building built at the Harbor Heights Service Station would not under code be allowed to be more than 1,204 square feet.

“We believe he should not be able to expand anything at all,” he said, adding Leonard should provide an explanation of the growth of the use at Harbor Heights and whether it meets code.

Bragman added his interpretation of the code is that if you have a pre-existing, non-conforming use in a pre-existing non-conforming building, once you demolish and move that building — as Leonard proposes — you lose your vested rights.

“It’s a different building, a different footprint and we think it has actually expanded,” said Bragman.

“You have another gas station in town,” he added, “And if you don’t think they are looking over this applicant’s shoulder you would be well advised to keep that in mind.”

In addition to setting a precedent for the other gas station in Sag Harbor — the closed Getty station at the intersection of Main Street and Jermain Avenue — Bragman argued if the board allowed these variances to be approved, it would also set a precedent for all pre-existing, non-conforming uses in the village.

Bragman then presented a plan with a 600 square-foot store, a 673 square foot gas station office that meet all village codes, including buffers — a real protection for the residential neighborhood surrounding the station, he added.

“He is cutting out every bit of buffer he can possibly squeeze out on all sides so he can fit his oversized building,” said Bragman.

Bragman added that despite Leonard’s engineer’s belief the code, as he reads it, would allow more than a total of 600 square feet in space for the store — only counting areas where retail sales space physically exists — he believes the code is quite clear in this limitation.

While the interior of the store is over 1,600 square feet, including bathroom and freezer space, Leonard is only asking for a variance for 972 square feet, arguing areas like the bathroom, freezer and cooler space inaccessible by patrons and the space the attendant stands should not be counted in overall square footage.

Gross floor area, noted Bragman, is defined in the village code as interior wall to interior wall space, and under special exception use standards for a convenience store it is noted that anything over 600 square feet should be considered a impermissible intensification of use. Lastly, the definition of a convenience store in the code also limits its size to 600 square feet.

“This is not where the village board wanted to go and it is not where you should go,” said Bragman.

Bragman added traffic data was skewed to present smaller numbers than what actually exists. Traffic engineers talking about 24 cars increasing on the site, in-season and on weekdays, Bragman said they meant by the hour — a substantial increase.

“They can argue till the cows come home that it will not affect the level of service on Route 114, but it will certainly affect the quality of life for people living next door and the church,” he said.

Resident John Shaka also presented the board with three petitions — two with 265 signatures — half from residents directly around the Harbor Heights Service Station and the rest from the Village of Sag Harbor — asking the ZBA demand the project be in compliance with the village code.

A third petition was also submitted by Shaka representing 249 signatures collected on line was also given to the board.

By Kathryn G. Menu

In a 3-2 vote, the Sag Harbor Zoning Board of Appeals approved a front yard setback variance for William Egan to construct front steps to a proposed renovation at his 59 Garden Street property on Tuesday night. However, according to neighbors, the overall project planned for the Egan property — dating back to 2005 — will create an even larger drainage problem for neighboring residents in a portion of the village already plagued with flooding.

After close to an hour of testimony from Egan’s attorney, Dennis Downes, and neighboring residents — as well as Noyac resident and former East Hampton Town Natural Resources Director Larry Penny — ZBA members Michael Bromberg, Brendan Skislock and Benedetta Duebel approved a variance that will allow Egan to construct steps to the house seven feet from the front property line where 35 feet is required under the village code.

The variance is needed to accomplish a larger project, a four-bedroom addition that involves raising the house to comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood regulations and was the subject of a ZBA application several years ago for a pyramid variance. Because the house will be moved 10 feet from its original location, it will not need that variance but still does need the variance for the steps.

At that time, a pool was also proposed for the property, which is off the table right now, said Downes, but could be proposed in the future.

Tuesday night’s decision came after the board was repeatedly reminded, by Downes and village attorney Denise Schoen, that the only aspect of Egan’s plan it could base its decision on was the steps — not the fact he intends to raise the residence, re-grade the property and install a retaining wall, aspects of the plan neighbors believe will destroy the historic character of the neighborhood and increase flooding.

Duebel hesitated with her vote, faced with a 2-2 decision with board chairman Anton Hagen and board member Tim McGuire against granting the variance, but when reminded by Schoen she could not consider the whole of the project, just the steps, ultimately sided in favor of the variance.

The project will still need approval from the Sag Harbor Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board (ARB), as well as from the village’s Harbor Committee.

“The affect of putting in the stairs will greatly increase flooding in their neighborhood,” said McGuire during the hearing. “The ultimate impact, including why the stairs are being put in, is this water has to go somewhere.”

Downes charged McGuire had no data on which he could make that determination.

“I was hoping we would be able to approach the village in an effort to ameliorate the drainage problems down there,” said McGuire referring to the village board of trustees, the only board with the legislative power to tackle drainage issues.

“The village has done nothing to address drainage in this area since John Ward, God bless his soul, raised West Water Street and created a lake in this neighborhood,” said Downes.

During the meeting, resident Angela Scott presented a photograph of Egan’s property after a typical rainfall. Egan’s backyard is a virtual lake.

Scott read a letter from architect and Spring Street resident Mazair Behrooz, who has spent the past year studying the architectural and environmental conditions of this neighborhood while designing a new house.

Behrooz noted after Superstorm Sandy, he literally had to put on waders to walk in and around his house.

“The water had no place to go,” he writes, noting climate change is a reality that will only make this neighborhood’s situation worse.

Behrooz argues as a low lying neighborhood susceptible to flooding, it should be treated differently than other neighborhoods, with retaining walls, swimming pools or anything that makes flooding a larger problem throughout the neighborhood avoided.

“The less contact between buildings and the ground, the better the neighborhood can handle storm surge,” writes Behrooz, adding this application, with its retaining walls, removes the property from handling its fair share of water damage.

“This is a bigger issue than just the steps and it is a ripple effect,” said Scott, noting the extensive addition requires an above ground septic system which requires the topography of the home to be raised “significantly.” Building up that property, she added, will push all of the drainage issues from that property into the neighborhood.

“This is a condition we cannot live with,” she said, asking who has jurisdiction to deal with this in a comprehensive fashion.

Bromberg noted the trustees are the legislative body, with Schoen adding the Harbor Committee and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation could also have jurisdiction.

Downes said the Egan property has been the collection site for runoff from Howard and Garden Street for years and that when Egan completes the residence, he plans to talk to trustees about drainage in the neighborhood.

Chris Hegedus, a Garden Street resident, brought in Penny to discuss the wetland aspect of this application.

Penny said the sea level rise coincides with a rise in the freshwater aquifer. Penny said he considers the area commonly flooded on the Egan property as a wetland area. Ducks, he noted, are regularly seen enjoying a swim on the property.

“No matter what you do here you are going to affect the entire shape of the aquifer if anyone puts fill in there,” said Penny.

“This board is not looking at wetlands,” said Skislock. “That is the Harbor Committee.”

Penny countered the ZBA should have the ability to take into account any major changes that would change the hydraulic nature of a neighborhood.

“The variance they are asking for is in regards to the number of feet from the steps to the street,” said Schoen. “We cannot change the elevation of the house.”

In other ZBA news, the board approved a variance requested by Sag Harbor Naturally, otherwise known as Provisions Natural Foods Market & Organic Café, on Main Street. The variance allows the store to expand into the full 700 square-foot adjacent, former Style Bar space on Bay Street without having to complete a market study or comply with affordable housing provisions in the village code.

The store was originally approved by the village planning board to expand into 500 square-feet of the space, but prohibited from using an additional 200 square-feet without triggering those extra requirements under the village code (which kick in for stores over 3,000 square feet). In 2009, the village implemented this requirement for larger stores in an effort to maintain a diversity of uses on Main and Bay streets in Sag Harbor.

A proposed new residence on Terry Drive was also granted a variance to construct a new residence which will protrude 5,846 cubic feet above the skyplane with the provision that an outdoor deck would be screened on one side to protect neighbor’s privacy.

Hagen and Bromberg voted against the application.

Lastly, the ZBA approved a side yard and front yard setback variances to allow for the construction of a residence on Amity Street.

New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. announced on Monday that the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted his request and that of 10 other elected officials representing areas traversed by Montauk Highway, the key South Fork arterial. The agency has agreed to amend the State Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) to include reconstruction of a 10-mile stretch of Montauk Highway from CR 39 to Stephen Hands Path. The proposed construction would cost approximately $12.53 million. State DOT already had scheduled the reconstruction of a 2.3 mile stretch of the highway from SR 114 to Stephen Hands Path for the spring of this year.

“Congressman Bishop, State Senator Ken LaValle, County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, and every South Fork supervisor and mayor joined with me to request the reconstruction of Montauk Highway,” said Thiele, referencing a February letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state DOT. “Not only did the Governor and Commissioner Joan McDonald respond favorably, they were quick in responding so that this project can get underway in 2013. I thank them for their fast action.”

The project would be funded by federal and state funds. The comment period on the proposed amendment to the TIP will end on March 22. After that, the project will be included in the TIP and detailed design work will begin. The construction of the segment between SR 114 and Stephen Hands Path will begin this spring and the remaining work from Stephen Hands Path to CR 39 will commence after Labor Day this year.

“I urge all local elected officials and the public to weigh in with the State DOT before the Friday deadline,” said Thiele.

Comments should be submitted to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, Attn: David Drits 199 Water Street, 22nd Floor New York, New York 10038 or email davis.drits@dot.ny.gov

“The importance of this highway cannot be underestimated. It is the only major road bringing people to and from the South Fork of Long Island,” said Thiele. “There is no alternative route. It is the most highly trafficked road on eastern Long Island. It is essential for both local residents and the substantial second home industry. It is important for business and commerce in that the delivery of goods and services as well as the transportation of workers and tradesmen depend on this road.”

“Most important, local fire, ambulance, and emergency service workers depend on this road to do their jobs, particularly to transport patients to Southampton Hospital,” added Thiele. “Finally, in the case of an emergency or disaster, this road is the only evacuation route for the region. At a time when the economy has suffered from a deep recession, this project will mean not only construction jobs but will also foster the tourism/second home based economy of the region. Now, the entire stretch from Southampton to East Hampton will be repaved.”

Residents gathered at the Bridgehampton School last Wednesday, March 13, to discuss the proposed 2013-2014 budget and where cuts can be made. Photo by Amanda Wyatt

By Amanda Wyatt

With less than two months until its spring budget and board of education vote, the Bridgehampton School held its second annual “community conversation” last Wednesday for the public to help the district explore ways of trimming the proposed 2013-2014 budget.

“Tonight we’re looking for input, ideas and suggestions on how we might strategize as a board and as an administrative team if we have to make some difficult cuts,” said Dr. Lois Favre, superintendent.

During the opening presentation, Dr. Favre revealed that next year’s draft budget is $11,456,039, which is$759,675 or about seven percent higher than last year’s budget. Much of this increase can be attributed to rising costs in health care and retirement, step increases, increased technology needs and out-of-district tuitions.

The proposed tax levy for next year is $10,181,467, which is $747,221 or 8.13 percent greater than in 2012-2013.

Still, budgeting remains a tricky task, given that Bridgehampton and other school districts are once again facing a state-mandated two percent tax levy cap, which limits the amount of money they can raise through taxes.

But as Dr. Favre noted, it does not mean that taxes can only go up by two percent. For Bridgehampton specifically, the overall tax levy cannot exceed 4.48 percent. Exempt from the cap are the capital projects and increases in the teachers’ retirement system.

To stay within the cap, the school can only raise the budget by $423,036. This means that as it stands now, the school must trim $324,185 from its proposed budget or ask voters to support the district in piercing the tax cap, which would require at least 60 percent of all votes cast for the budget to be in favor of the spending plan.

And while the school has not ruled out the possibility of piercing the cap, administrators and board of education members have expressed a desire to “whittle down” the budget as much as possible.

“If we have to make cuts to make our tax levy limit, what are we willing to give up?” asked Dr. Favre.

“We built a wonderful program here for our kids. I’m the first one to tell you, I don’t want to live without any of it,” she added.

After the presentation, the audience split into six groups to discuss what they felt were priorities in the budget, and what cuts they would and would not make. Responses were, indeed, varied, but there were some items that several groups agreed were “non-negotiable.”

For example, several groups believed that keeping the cafeteria stocked with healthy, organic food was a priority and did not want to make any cuts in that category. Some groups emphasized the school needed to update its technology, and others said sports programs needed to be kept intact. For others, not cutting any programs or teachers was important.

When it came to making cuts, many of the groups agreed the number of school administrators could be reduced. According to literature given out at the meeting, Bridgehampton has four administrative positions, and cutting one administrator could save the district $150,000.

As one parent said, “In comparison to other districts, we are totally top-heavy…We have a district this size; do we really need a superintendent and a principal, both full-time positions?”

Making cuts in the areas of transportation, homework club, summer programs and summer curriculum work were all brought up in several other groups.

But as some participants pointed out, making stringent budget cuts would not be necessary if the school were to ask taxpayers to pierce the cap during the spring budget vote. Piercing the cap would mean not having to cut faculty/staff or programs, and not jeopardizing the quality of education at Bridgehampton, they said.

On the flip side, other groups pointed out the school could receive backlash from the community if they asked voters to pierce the cap. Furthermore, it would need 60 percent of voters to approve the budget and if the school’s request was rejected by voters, the consequences would be dire: Bridgehampton would not be allowed to raise the tax levy at all, and even more severe budget cuts would have to be made.

In related news, Bridgehampton School held a public vote on March 20 in order to establish a five year capital reserve fund. The fund — which comes from unanticipated savings and revenues received by the school — is intended to provide the district with monies for repairs outlined in its Five Year Plan.

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman has decided not to run for East Hampton Town Supervisor this fall. Schneiderman made the announcement Monday, despite having received the support of the East Hampton Town Republican Committee earlier this month.

In a press release issued Monday morning, the Independence Party member said he would instead seek another two-year term with the legislature this fall — his sixth and last allowed under term limits.

“East Hampton is a special place, and the idea of bringing our town together as supervisor is very appealing to me,” said Schneiderman. “However, there is still more work I feel I need to do in the legislature.”

“Suffolk County is at a critical crossroads and I believe I can make a real difference to ensure we make the right choices to move our county forward,” he continued. “I do not want to walk away from Suffolk County at a time when we are facing a deficit of up to $250 million and the future of many critical programs are unsettled.”

“Recently, I emerged victorious in my longstanding fight against the disproportionate and unfair placement of all the county’s homeless sex offenders on eastern Long Island,” said Schneiderman. “Now that this consuming fight is behind us, I can focus on other regional concerns like improving transportation options on the East End, the future of the open space program and protecting our farming communities. I also will work closely with our Sandy recovery team to make sure we make the right choices not only to rebuild damaged communities stronger, but that we make smart decisions all along our shoreline to protect vulnerable areas like downtown Montauk.”

“I am grateful that Legislator Schneiderman has chosen to seek re-election,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “Jay is a strong voice and a relentless advocate for the East End. As we work to put our finances in order, deliver services more efficiently and rebuild after Sandy, I need Jay Schneiderman’s voice in the legislature,” said Bellone.

Meanwhile, this leaves the East Hampton Republican Committee without a supervisor candidate. Schneiderman was endorsed by the party in mid-February, along with councilman candidate Fred Overton and Dominick Stanzione, who will be seeking his second term on the town board.

On Monday afternoon, committee chairman Kurt Kappel said he believes the committee has ample time to re-screen for the supervisors position despite wanting to get a jump on the campaign.

“In one way, I am disappointed, but he did let us know in time so we are not pressed to come up with another person,” said Kappel. “Months ago we did have other people interested in the position, but then it was reported in the news that Jay was screening and was likely the front runner.”

“I spoke with Kurt a couple of days ago, so he knew this was coming,” said Schneiderman on Monday afternoon. “He has been very supportive and I certainly grateful. Maybe one day in the future I will look at coming back for a run at supervisor, but right now I have to think about the state of the county, and also about my family.”

Schneiderman added he has developed a great relationship with Bellone, and looked forward to serving an expanding legislative district, including the whole of Eastport as well as Shelter Island, a place Schneiderman lived when his son was born. He is also expected to be tapped by Bellone to work on an economic panel focused on the county’s budget.

“It’s a challenging time for the county and I think I can be an effective regional leader for my constituents,” he said.

By Kathryn G. Menu

When it comes to Havens Beach, Peconic BayKeeper Kevin MacAllister has not always had the kindest of words for the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees over the last two decades.

But all that changed Tuesday night after the board approved a bid to complete a remediation project for a drainage dreen leading to Sag Harbor’s only bathing beach which MacAllister has been an advocate for years.

On Tuesday, March 12 after some 27 years of discussion, the village board awarded Keith Grimes, Inc. a $373,967.98 bid to complete a remediation of the Havens Beach drainage ditch.

The project, conceived by Inter-Science Research Associates of Southampton, involves dredging muck and silt out of the ditch, re-grading the dreen and filling it with clean sand and native vegetation. The project, when completed, will create a wetland, which will provide bio-filtration for any stormwater runoff funneled to the ditch from the 138-acre watershed.

The second component of the plan is to install one AbTech Smart Sponge Plus filtration vault at the end of the ditch closest to the discharge point into Sag Harbor Bay. Originally the proposal contained two vaults — with a first vault at the beginning of the ditch near Hempstead Street, but the plan was scaled back as it was formalized.

The Smart Sponge Plus filters actually absorb bacteria, providing an extra layer of protection from stormwater runoff contaminants after the water has washed through the wetlands.

Two catch basins have already been installed at the Hempstead Street entrance to the ditch as a part of the plan.

A total of six bids were received for the project, ranging from Grimes — the lowest bid — to a bid by A.G.L. Constructing for $584,879.11.

According to a memo filed with the board by P.W. Grosser Consulting, the village’s engineers, Grimes supplies trustees with a list of 10 local references of similar and recent projects. Six of the 10 references were able to be contacted and reported they were pleased with the results of their projects, according to Grosser’s memo, with each stating they would be happy to work with the firm in the future.

“I just want to applaud the board,” said MacAllister, prior to the trustee’s official vote on awarding the bid, which passed unanimously.

He credited Mayor Brian Gilbride and the rest of the board with having the wherewithal to bring this project to fruition.

MacAllister has been a staunch advocate for the remediation of the stormwater runoff ditch that leads to Havens Beach. While the beach is closed to shellfishing — and to swimming after heavy rainfall events as a precaution by the Suffolk County Department of Health, the ditch has on a number of occasions shown a spike in the acceptable level of fecal coliforms by health department standards over the course of the last decade.

MacAllister said he was pleased, after working with the village’s grant writer himself, to see the project will receive county and state funding.

According to Gilbride, New York State has offered the village a $149,000 grant to complete the work and Suffolk County has offered a matching grant with Sag Harbor Village not to exceed $147,500. That being said, on Tuesday night, Gilbride vowed to pay for the project with village repair funds immediately while waiting for the receipt of that funding.

“We are going to go ahead and hopefully have it done before the beginning of the bathing season,” he said.

“In all sincerity, I really applaud the board for getting it done,” said MacAllister. “We have a lot of pollution issues and anyone dismissing water pollution is mistaken. We saw the red tide come to the [Sag Harbor] coves this summer.”

MacAllister urged the board, which approved his annual stand up paddle board race for Saturday, March 18 on Tuesday night, to attend that event and use it as a way to celebrate the steps forward at Havens Beach.

“You have such a jewel there, so thank you,” he said.

In other village news, the board introduced a new local law to limit 24-hour parking in municipal lots. Under the new law, no vehicle will be allowed to be parked for more than three consecutive days in one of Sag Harbor’s scant 24-hour parking lots.

According to trustee Robbie Stein, the proposed law is to prevent people from parking for multiple days at a time in the municipal lots. Some of that parking is derived from commuters spending a significant amount of time in Manhattan each week.

“We have enough trouble finding parking in these lots,” said Stein, adding as this is just newly introduced he welcomed input on the proposed time frame for enforcement, which is June 15 to September 15.

By Kathryn G. Menu

Wearing a New York Rangers jersey, last Thursday Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst remembered all too well the journey East End parents of children interested in year round hockey or figure skating have to endure. Generally, their commitment involves driving their kids to the Rinx in Hauppauge, often as early as 4 a.m., via the Long Island Expressway.

“I am sure that hasn’t changed,” she said. “But only increased.”

If Southampton Youth Services (SYS) proves successful, skaters may soon have a rink to call their own.

Last Thursday, members of SYS presented preliminary plans to the Southampton Town Board for an indoor ice rink at the SYS athletic facility at North Sea Park. SYS Director Scott Johnson made the pitch on behalf of the SYS board of directors, who were also on hand for the presentation.

“We have been talking to people for a couple years and this kind of started to heat up more recently than not,” said Johnson, referring to an earlier proposal by a separate business to build an ice rink with SYS.

While that proposal waned, Johnson said SYS has looked at other options and believes it has settled on a plan at least worth exploring financially.

Originally, said Johnson, SYS looked to the Southampton School District and a nine-acre parcel next to the SYS property that was donated to the school district by Tony Panza, one of the developers of the Courtyards townhouses on Major’s Path. However, said Johnson, the school district was not interested in selling the property, preferring to lease it for no longer than 10 years at a time, making it unviable for the project.

As a “plan b,” Johnson said SYS looked towards the town-owned athletic field, which he said was somewhat underutilized and has parking nearby. SYS could commit, he added, if the project moves forward, to develop a multi-use field on SYS property for town use.

The initial proposal calls for a two-rink facility, although Johnson noted that could change depending on how cost estimates work out. Johnson said eventually SYS would like to see school hockey teams develop using the rink. Camp programs, figure skating and accommodating everyone from toddlers to seniors interested in getting on the ice is a priority, said Johnson, as will be operating the rink on a year round basis.

SYS board members said they want to make sure they can run the facility under the umbrella of the youth organization, rather than contract the rink out to another management company as it does at its main facility, which is run by Future Stars.

Board president Mark Antilety noted the cost, and time associated with a feasibility study on the financial ability for SYS to move forward with a formal plan for an ice rink, has been reduced because of previous efforts to build a rink associated with the organization. The next step is a feasibility study, which Antilety said they hope to complete in the next two to three months.

Board members largely supported the idea, although Councilman Chris Nuzzi said he looked forward to the feasibility study results and Councilman Jim Malone urged the board to ensure any lost town parkland was made up for in another location.

“Prioritizing ice where we have not been able to prioritize ice anywhere else is a really, really good thing for us,” said Throne-Holst.

Photo by Cully/EEFAS

By Kathryn G. Menu

A Tuesday blaze that destroyed a Noyac residence listed for sale for $6 million likely started because of a rotted chimney flue pipe, according to Sag Harbor Volunteer Fire Department Chief Pete Garypie. However, the Southampton Fire Marshal will ultimately determine the cause of the fire, which kept firefighters from several departments on the scene for close to five hours.

According to Garypie, homeowners at the residence, located at 60 Fourteen Hills Court off Middle Line Highway, went outside to get more wood for their fireplace when they heard a crackling sound. Looking up, they realized the roof was on fire and called 911.

The Sag Harbor Volunteer Fire Department was activated around 11 a.m., and according to Garypie by the time they arrived on the scene flames had already vented through the roof. The department, which called in tankers from Springs, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, North Sea and Southampton, and had Amagansett Fire Department standing by at its Brick Kiln Road headquarters, battled the blaze for several hours, only returning all units back into service at 5:40 p.m. Tuesday night.

Garypie said by the time firefighters arrived on the scene entering the house through the front door was no longer an option, as the home already suffered a partial floor and ceiling collapses.

“We had to use a semi interior and exterior tactic to get at the fire,” he said.

The home, said Garypie, suffered extensive damage as a result of the fire, which he believes was started by a rotted flue pipe in the chimney. The chimney was a pre-fabricated fireplace, with a metal flue boxed in wood — not masonry.

“We were able to get it under control within 20 to 25 minutes,” said Garypie.

However, he added departments remained on hand to ensure pockets of fire were extinguished as debris was moved from the residence.

On Tuesday night, the department was called back into action at the residence after debris began to smolder again, although Garypie said the situation was well within hand within 10 minutes time.

According to the Douglas Elliman Real Estate listing on the property, the residence was 10,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and five baths. An extensive collection of modern art was featured throughout the home.