By Amy Patton

An upcoming celebration of locally cultivated food, sustainable farming and micro-agriculture will mingle next month with the memory of a North Haven man who held a passion for all these things.

The American Hotel, in partnership with the Joshua Levine Memorial Foundation, will host a dinner and pre-dinner cocktail party Sunday, March 24 to raise funds in part for the Edible School Garden Group and the three “master” gardeners chosen to help local school districts cultivate and expand their school gardens.

The foundation is guided by Myron and Susan Levine, of Sag Harbor, who lost their son Josh in 2010 when he was fatally injured in an accident while working at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett.

Josh, who was 35 years old when he died, left behind two small children and his wife, Ann.

Myron Levine said the overwhelming support for his family from the community after the tragic accident spurred him to find a way to raise funds to better the community. Since Josh was so passionate about organic farming and its benefits, said Myron, the family chose to promote what would most significantly preserve his son’s memory.

Although Josh began his career as a real estate developer in Manhattan, his father said after spending many summers on the East End, his son found a calling in farming and in 2008 he became a volunteer at the Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill Farm where he served as a summer apprentice on the Amagansett acreage.

“He was such a gentle man,” said Myron. “He was so drawn by what he saw out here, the simplicity, the purity. He saw the value of keeping local agriculture alive.”

Also to benefit from March’s event is Slow Food East End (SFEE), an organization that, as one of its charitable projects, works with local schools to teach children about the value of homegrown produce. Last year, the group helped several school districts like Greenport and the Hayground School install greenhouses and small gardens so that kids could learn hands-on the benefits of small-scale organic farming.

“Slow food is obviously the opposite of fast food,” said Mary Morgan, the former director of SFEE, who recently stepped down from the organization to head another related charity. “Our goal is for local children to understand that not all they eat must come out of packages at the supermarket.”

The schools that currently benefit from the Edible School Garden program, said Morgan, which this year number 20 throughout the North and South Forks, “are in various stages of working with the students on building and maintaining food gardens.” Morgan noted some of the kids’ homegrown efforts have even led to some of the produce being sold at area farmer’s markets or used in cafeterias. The master gardeners, who are hired with funds garnered from the now-yearly Joshua Levine Memorial Foundation event, work in conjunction with teachers, administrators and students towards the SFEE’s goal.

“For children to understand where their food comes from is so important,” said Peconic Land Trust president John v H. Halsey, whose organization works, in part, to promote the use of local land for farming and allocates funding to make that land more affordable for farmers. “The Slow Food East End movement and the Edible Garden School program both help to instill a conservation ethic in these kids. We’re very supportive of fundraisers like this that help to promote the use of food production farmland and assure that such a valuable legacy stays with us out here.”

The American Hotel’s Joshua Levine Memorial Foundation dinner/fundraiser is currently sold out; However, there are still tickets available for the pre-dinner cocktail party which will be held at Bay Street Theater from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 24, featuring wine, hors d’oeuvres and music. A donation of $75 will secure a place at the event and reservations can be made at www.joshualevinefoundation.org.

By Kathryn G. Menu

Before the Sag Harbor Village Board takes a knife to the proposed 2013-2014 budget, with department wish lists in, the budget estimates a 6.19-percent increase from the 2012-2013 budget of $8,056,311.01.

As of the first budget work session on Wednesday, February 20, the proposed spending plan was $8,555,361.55.

According to a worksheet provided by village treasurer Eileen Touhy, the village’s sewer budget is also proposed to grow from $506,224 to $523,653, a 3.44 percent increase.

“Everyone has just started looking at this material,” said Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride on Monday. “Already, I am seeing some things we will have to discuss.”

The current proposed budget, he added, is based on additions and cuts made by department heads throughout the village.

As of now, youth programming – a total of $10,500 – that supports the Sag Harbor Youth Advocacy Resource Development (YARD), the Sag Harbor Youth Center and Southampton Youth Services remains in the budget, as does $5,000 for the Ladies Village Improvement Society. Funding for those organizations, which was requested in writing by all three groups, has been maintained by the village board for several years.

A request by the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce to fund over $10,000 to cover  staffing the John Ward Memorial Windmill on Windmill Beach, does not appear in the preliminary budget, although on Tuesday Gilbride said he hopes the village board will be able to offer the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce some funding for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Prior to 2012-2013, the chamber was allotted $4,000 in annual funding through the village budget.

One section of the budget the board will be keeping an eye on is salaries for the village’s police department.

The Sag Harbor Police Benevolent Association (PBA) has been in heated contract negotiations for over a year with the village.

In police chief Tom Fabiano’s proposed budget for 2013-2014, the increase in spending for full time salaries is $871.54, from $1,416,866 in 2012-2013 to $1,417,758 in 2013-2014. That increase in spending does not account for the replacement of a full time officer who left the department last year during contract negotiations. Although the contract remains unsettled, the proposed budget for the police department estimates a two-percent salary increase for full time officers, said Gilbride. Chief Fabiano also proposes an $8,700 increase in night differentials and longevity pay within the department.

The 2012-2013 budget did not calculate any increase in full time salaries for that fiscal year, although the police department operated without a new contract during that time.

Chief Fabiano also removes $30,000 from his budget for new vehicles, among other smaller cuts within his budget, to decrease overall spending within the department by 1 percent, or $24,897 for an overall proposed budget of $1,938,142.55.

The next Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees work session on the budget will take place on Wednesday, March 6 at 4 p.m.

By Annette Hinkle

Truth be told, 2012 was a year of challenges for the Bay Street Theatre.

First came a summer mainstage season in which the three productions — two of which were premieres — often played to less than packed houses.

Then, in October, came Superstorm Sandy — right in the midst of Bay Street’s Literature Live production of “The Crucible.” Because of the storm, schools across Long Island were forced to cancel trips to Sag Harbor to see the play at Bay Street.

“We were very fortunate not to have physical damage here from Sandy, but we were hit hard when all the schools canceled Literature Live because of what they were going through,” explains Tracy Mitchell, Bay Street’s executive director. “We lost $20,000 for that production alone — and these kinds of numbers are hard to make up for us.”

Then, right before Christmas, Bay Street’s long-time artistic director, Murphy Davis, left his position with the theater.

So given all that’s transpired in recent months, last week, when Bay Street announced its summer mainstage line up, it should have come as no surprise what the focus will be for 2013.

This summer, it’s all about maintaining a sense of humor.

“I just want to laugh this summer,” says Mitchell. “I said, ‘Can we please have a summer of fun?’ That was kind of what we came to. Get people in here with titles they know.”

With that in mind, Bay Street’s mainstage season kicks off May 28 with Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor,” which is set at a gala fundraiser in 1934 where chaos, mistaken identity and double entendres ensue. Don Stephenson will direct the comedy, which runs through June 23.

Next up will be Charles Ludlum’s “The Mystery of Irma Vepp” from July 2 to 28. Directed by Kenneth Elliot, the three-act play is a satire of several theatrical and film genres (including Victorian melodrama, farce and Alfred Hitchcock). The play stars two actors who, between them, take on eight characters of both sexes with 35 quick costume changes.

The summer season will wind down with the 1963 Stephen Sondheim musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Marcia Milgrom Dodge (who directed both “Hair” and “The Who’s Tommy” for Bay Street) returns to helm this musical comedy, which tells the story of a slave who attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door.

“The shows for this summer, I think, are literally laugh out loud,” says Mitchell.

This summer’s line-up of tried and true comedies represents a bit of a departure for Bay Street, which has long sought to balance its summer season by offering well-known plays along with new work, including dramas. While the focus on premieres has not gone away, Mitchell notes the timing of some of those productions just might change.

“I think one of the things we’re looking at is our mission, which is both new contemporary and classic theater,” explains Mitchell. “That has been the mission of the theater all along — so last year we did not one, but two premieres.”

While these premieres often garnered critical acclaim, Mitchell concedes they are a tough sell for summer audiences who are looking for light-hearted plays with name recognition.

“It’s a really important thing to get new work seen, but premieres are really hard to do because they’re not known titles people are familiar with. They don’t automatically drive audiences to come to the theater,” explains Mitchell. “The one thing that drives that is a title name — either a play you recognize as good summer fare or a star name.”

And summer, as any business owner out here knows, is all about packing houses while the sun shines.

“We, like many other non-profits, struggle financially, and it’s the chicken and the egg,” adds Mitchell. “Sometimes you want to support new work, but running this business in the Hamptons when you only have eight weeks to make your mark means you have to sell lots of tickets while people are here.”

“Then maybe we start to do some of the new work not during those eight weeks,” says Mitchell. “My feeling is, it’s a new day at the Bay, and it’s all about laughing and having a good time. Not that we won’t do another drama. I think we might get back to that in the shoulder season.”

But the theater isn’t looking to do any of this in a vacuum. Late last week, Bay Street announced it is embarking on a six month “listening tour” to garner input from audience members as well as potential artistic and community partners about how the theater might form new alliances on a year round basis.

“This is the most exciting opportunity since the founding of Bay Street,” notes Mitchell. “It really represents a sea change in the sense that we have decided to really reach out — to refresh, renew and explore artistically beyond where we have been.”

“We do believe that there is a place for more dramatic theater, new work, as well as the more avant-garde and experimental,” she adds. “We do know that younger audiences enjoy more participatory offers and theater without walls … it is certainly our goal to explore it all.”

One good example of such a partnership is this summer’s production of “Lend Me a Tenor,” which is currently running at the Paper Mill Play House in New Jersey. Director Don Stephenson, it turns out, has a home in Southampton and has always wanted to work with Bay Street on a project.

“So it’s another way to partner,” says Mitchell. “It’s not an actual co-production, but we can take elements like props, costumes and the cast — if we like the cast and if they’re available. It’s a way of cutting costs.”

“You’ll hear us doing a lot of that — forming artistic partnerships with people and organizations,” she explains. “It takes people who might not otherwise connect to the theater, and brings all our needs together.”

And for Mitchell, this means ushering in the next intriguing chapter of Bay Street’s tenure in Sag Harbor — one the community will help to write.

“Frankly this is the most exciting time in the history of Bay Street, this is the next moment that’s going to make a difference,” says Mitchell. “This really is the first time we will be bringing in these artistic ideas. At the end of the day, the new partnerships we form are all about new ideas. What is it people want to see?”

Bay Street’s board of trustees is committed to this vision as well and to support the 2013 mainstage season and Bay Street’s future, the board’s executive committee has announced a $100,000 challenge grant. Now through March 15, every dollar the theater raises from patrons, subscribers, donors, volunteers and the community at large, will be matched dollar for dollar by the committee, up to $100,000. All donations are tax deductible. To donate, visit the Bay Street box office (Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), call Jessica Lemire in the development office at 725-0818 ext. 129, donate online at www.baystreet.org, or send a check to Bay Street Theatre, PO Box 810, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.

To purchase a subscription to Bay Street’s three mainstage season plays this summer, visit the website or call the box office at 725-9500.

By Kathryn G. Menu

Oceanfront property owners in Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and Water Mill approved a referendum on Saturday night that will allow homeowners and the Town of Southampton to spend $24 million to replenish eroded beachfront. A beachfront only made worse by Hurricane Sandy’s impact this October.

According to Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato and Deputy Town Attorney Kathleen Murray between two erosion control districts in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack 75 ballots were cast in favor of the project and 49 against.

Only residents within the two erosion control districts were allowed to vote in the referendum.

According to Jennifer Garvey, with Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst’s office, 202 homeowners were eligible to cast votes in the referendum which will allow voters to pay for the beach renourishment through special taxing districts. One hundred and twenty four residents turned out to cast ballots in the referendum vote Saturday.

The project will encompass six miles of contiguous shoreline, including 141 properties, five of which are beaches owned by Southampton Town. The town will foot $1.5 million of the project to cover the cost of renourishment on its beaches.

“Today’s referendum marks the culmination of two and a half years of collaboration with our ocean front property owners — a group of constituents who first approached the town with an interest in forming a special taxing district in order to jointly pursue more efficient and cost-effective measures for protecting their properties,” said Throne-Holst.

The Southampton Town Board will serve as commissioners of both erosion control districts and will have to issue a $24 million bond to finance the project, which will be repaid by homeowners and the town over a 10-year period.

According to the town, properties within the two districts have an assessed value of $1.8 billion.

The project will entail dredging 2.5 million tons of sand from two areas one-mile offshore and replenishing the beach with that sand. It is expected to start in late spring or early summer, and will take about two months to complete.

“As individual property owners, many of us have been investing tens of thousands of dollars on an annual basis to rebuild our dunes and protect our homes from the impacts of erosion,” said Alan Stillman, a long-time Sagaponack property owner and member of the Sagaponack Beach Erosion Control District Advisory Board. “A systematic solution offers much greater protection and value. That is what we proposed — and have now approved.”

“From the start, we approached this undertaking like a business,” said Jeff Lignelli, a Bridgehampton property owner. “We researched numerous erosion protection measures and costs, and ultimately chose an award-winning coastal expert to design a renourishment project — the option we felt was the best fit for the area because it matches the look and feel of the existing beach, which was critically important to us. When the project is finished, the beaches will basically look like they did 30 years ago — much wider.”

The South Carolina-based firm of Coastal Science and Engineering led by Dr. Tim Kana designed the project.

First Coastal Corporation of Westhampton is the local permitting partner.

“Votes like this are always nerve wracking, but we are just thrilled the residents felt it was important enough to spend their own money on this,” said Aram Terchunian, with First Coastal Corporation, on Tuesday. “This is historic, particularly in the wake of what happened during Hurricane Sandy.”

Terchunian and Garvey said that now the project will move into the permitting phase, which was already pursued while awaiting the results of Saturday’s referendum.

Terchunian said both the New York State Office of Coastal Management and the New York State Office of General Services have already signed off on the project. It still needs approved from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corp of Engineers.

While Terchunian praised homeowners for being willing to take on such a project, he added he believes the state and federal government will need to take a bigger role in beach renourishment in the future.

“These are levels of government getting huge benefits in the form of sales and incomes taxes in the regional and national economy tied to our beaches,” he said. “Beaches produce so much income on so many different levels we need to see they are protected.”

Whether or not this project will benefit from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for those impacted by Hurricane Sandy remains unclear. Beaches in both Bridgehampton and Sagaponack, having already contended with significant beach erosion, were hammered by the fall storm, whole stretches of beach literally washed away.

“We are pursuing that and the town is pursuing that very aggressively,” said Terchunian.

In fact, after Hurricane Sandy, the town board fast tracked this proposal after seeing the coastline and structural damage caused in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The board voted unanimously to approve the proposal and a referendum on the project on November 27.

“I think this plan would have won the support it needed even before Superstorm Sandy, but what was initially a more proactive project became urgently needed following the storm,” said Throne-Holst. “Fortunately, these property owners were already well into the process of securing the needed support and permissions for their proposal, so it’s likely they’ll have a wide, protective beach within the year.”

“The beaches are a crucial part of our local economy and way of life, and the properties within these BECDs [Beach Erosion Control District] also comprise a major portion of our tax base. I think this is a remarkable public/private partnership that will greatly benefit both the property owners and all of our town residents, and I’m proud to have been a part of making it happen,” she said.

New York State Senator Kenneth LaValle will host a two-hour-long environmental roundtable to discuss issues impacting the First Senate District this Thursday, February 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Suffolk Community College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center in Riverhead.

This year’s participants will help Senator LaValle chart a legislative agenda regarding the environment that LaValle said is aimed at preserving the character and quality of life on the East End.

More than 65 participants are expected at Thursday’s forum, including representatives from town and village governments, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, environmental groups and concerned citizens.

New York State Assemblymen Fred W. Thiele, Jr. and Dan Losquadro will join LaValle at this event.

On Tuesday, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a bill to create what sponsors say will be the strongest sex offender monitoring program in the country. The bill also shuts down two trailers that have housed homeless sex offenders. Both trailers were located in Southampton Town.

The Community Protection Act calls for homeless sex offenders to be placed in one of Suffolk County’s existing shelters and mandates that no more than one offender should be housed in one facility. It also calls for offenders to be kept separate from families in the shelter.

The bill was first introduced at a meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature’s Public Safety committee in Hauppauge last Thursday night. At the meeting, the Suffolk County Police Department and Parents for Megan’s Law outlined a plan to end the clustering of homeless sex offenders in any one community.

The announcement came one day after Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman held an East End Community meeting to see public comments on the county’s homeless sex offender trailer program.

A Power Point presentation was made by Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke at Thursday’s meeting.

The new plan for homeless sex offender housing will permanently close trailers in Westhampton and Riverside, which have served as the sole locations for homeless sex offenders to reside since 2006 much to the protest of both Southampton Town officials and residents.

Under the Community Protection Act, Suffolk County will contact with Parents for Megan’s Law at a cost of no more than $900,000 annually. Parents for Megan’s Law will create a system to monitor where sex offenders are residing and develop a system for community members to report if a sex offender is in violation. Community outreach, education and victim services will also be provided by the organization.

Suffolk County Police will also be responsible for address verification and ensuring officers have accurate and detailed information about offenders in their patrol area.

Currently, there are 1,016 sex offenders in Suffolk County, according to a report issued by Legislator Schneiderman this week.

Late last month, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a draft pollution prevention strategy for pesticide use on Long Island.

The proposed Pesticide Pollution Prevention (P2) Strategy proposed five actions to reduce threats to water resources from existing pesticide-related sources and prevent potential contamination from new sources.

According to the DEC, the purpose of the P2 Strategy is to enhance the protection of Long Island’s groundwater and surface water resources from pesticide-related contamination and thus prevent potential adverse effects on human health while continuing to meet pest management needs of farms, residents and businesses.

The DEC developed the P2 Strategy in response to concerns over the detection of pesticides in the groundwater over time at various locations on Long Island.

The P2 Strategy would start with a DEC pesticide assessment including an evaluation of the chemicals’ location, frequency and concentration on Long Island, as well as their reported use, and prioritization for potential preventive measures and available alternatives.

The P2 Strategy also calls for convening a Technical Review and Advisory Committee (TRAC) by bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders involved in pest management and water quality protection on Long Island — state and local health departments and other governmental agencies, agricultural, commercial and other sectors that use pesticides, pesticide businesses, environmental groups, and academia — to partner with the DEC in implementing pest management pollution prevention measures.

Under the proposed P2 Strategy, the DEC would work to integrate pollution prevention measures including best management practices, water quality protection and enhanced monitoring of groundwater into pest management efforts.

In a press release issued last week, New York State Assemblyman Thiele encouraged anyone concerned with the health of Long Island’s groundwater resources to attend an April 3 public meeting on the proposal. That will be held at the Suffolk County Community College eastern campus in Riverhead from 7 to 9 p.m. with officials from the DEC available for queries from 6 to 7 p.m.

Through April 30 comments can also be emailed toLongIslandStrategy@gw.dec.state.ny.us or by fax to 518-402-9024. Comments can also be mailed to Scott Menrath, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Materials Management, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233.

“The East End of Long Island’s economy is dependent upon a healthy and productive environment,” said Thiele. “With Suffolk County being New York’s largest revenue-producing agricultural region, we need to ensure that our farms and vineyards can still produce economically sustainable crops yield. At the same time, we also need to preserve ground and surface water quality to help support our commercial and recreational fishing and shellfishing industries. We need workable solutions for managing pesticide use that won’t harm our economy or environment.”

For more information, please visit DEC’s website at

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/87125.html.

By Kathryn G. Menu

Many Sag Harbor residents think of Jhenny Bueno Arias much as Saqib Hameed does — bright, affable, hard working and great with children. Those are the qualities that made her shine for many who frequent the 7-Eleven where Arias and Hameed work at in Sag Harbor.

Since Arias, 36, was struck by a Jeep while walking home from work on January 15, community members have rallied around the single mother of four, donating roughly $1,600 through a bake sale at 7-Eleven and another $2,000 in donation jars.

According to Hameed — the manager at 7-Eleven and a friend of Arias — the injuries she suffered as a result of the accident will likely leave her thousands more in debt. This is why Hameed, working with several other residents, has vowed to continue fundraising to aid Arias, who as a single mother was the breadwinner for her four children.

On January 15, around 7:30 p.m. Arias was struck while crossing Brick Kiln Road at the intersection of Main Street. She was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center where she was treated for a number of injuries including a punctured lung, broken ribs and a fractured hip and pelvis, among others, said Hameed.

The 60-year-old East Hampton driver involved in the accident was not injured and police did not charge him with a crime.

Hameed said Arias, who is a Sag Harbor resident, was sent home from the hospital this week, largely because of her lack of health insurance. Her injuries have still left her unable to walk, said Hameed.

Hameed said he was working to get her into a serious rehabilitation program for her injuries. Arias did start physical therapy earlier this week and does have help from her older son, he added, but medical bills and household expenses are piling up and fundraising is necessary, said Hameed.

Hameed has recently begun asking people to donate to Arias cause by making a check payable to Jhenny Bueno Arias and dropping it off at 7-Eleven or mailing it to P.O. Box 3134, Sag Harbor, New York 11963.

Hameed has been aided in the fundraising effort, he said, by Julie Adamski and Delia Chicka, who helped organize a bake sale that raised over $1,600 for Arias.

“Everyone has already been so supportive, it makes me very happy to live here,” said Hameed. “We have such a loving and helping community in Sag Harbor. I am very grateful for Jhenny.”

By Amanda Wyatt

As Bridgehampton School plans its budget for next year, the subject of piercing New York State’s two percent tax levy cap remains a topic of debate.

At last Wednesday’s board of education meeting, the district presented its preliminary or “wish list” budget for the 2013-2014 school year, which amounts to $11,557,569. This would be an increase of $861,205 or eight-percent over the 2012-2013 adopted budget.

“Right now, if we wanted to remain within the [New York State-mandated two percent tax levy], we’d need to cut an estimated $722,520 from our ‘wish list’ budget, and that’s basically what this is,” said Dr. Lois Favre, superintendent of the district.

While the board of education plans to trim the preliminary budget, some members said they still wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of piercing the two-percent cap in order to fund what they consider crucial items in their budget.

“If it comes down to having to raise the cap to make mandatory repairs on our building, yeah, I want to go out and ask the taxpayers,” said Nicki Hemby, school board president.

However, she added, “I want to whittle it down. I don’t want to waste taxpayers’ money.”

“I agree,” said board member Lillian Tyree-Johnson. “It’s not easy…We have to make some tough choices.”

At the same time, some board members expressed a desire to stay within the cap, rather than ask for additional tax monies.

“I think there’s always things you can find [to cut from the budget] and I think we should try to find them,” said Doug DeGroot. “…I want non-inflated prices on things. I want everything to be efficient.”

DeGroot criticized some of the costs associated with Eastern Suffolk BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services), such as a $95,000 administrative fee, and questioned whether the district should remain a member.

“Not every school district joins the cooperative of BOCES,” DeGroot pointed out, suggesting that the school should talk to other small districts on Long Island who choose not to join the cooperative.

However, some of the increases in this year’s budget are related to the cost of complying with new state mandates, said Dr. Favre. For example, the school needs additional funds for staff development related to the Common Core standards, a state mandate that took effect this year.

Dr. Favre pointed out the district also needs to budget for a main office and an additional clerk. This year, the principal’s secretary has been handling main office and guidance office duties, so the additional of another clerk for the guidance office would help reduce the “overwhelming” amount of work she has. The guidance budget—which includes the salary for the new clerk—is proposed at a total of $127,553.

The district is also holding a special vote on March 20 for the creation for the school’s five-year, capital reserve fund of approximately $1.3 million. The monies, which have already been collected, would be used to fund repairs on school buildings over the next five years.

However, if the public votes down this proposition, Dr. Favre pointed out, the district would have to add $200,000 to the budget for repairs during the 2013-2014 school year.

“We can try to be creative and think outside the box,” noted Hemby. “…But I can’t see us staying at the two-percent if we have to add the $200,000.”

Dr. Favre added that most years, the proposed budget is always higher than the actual budget. For instance, while the district proposed a budget of $11,412,246 last year, the actual budget was only $10,696,364.

“Each year for the past four years we’ve been cutting things that we believed we needed. Naturally, we survived without them,” she added.

At the same time, the district—like many others on the East End—must grapple with a reduction in aid from New York State. According to Business Administrator Robert Hauser, the state is proposing to cut Bridgehampton’s aid by about nine percent, or roughly $50,000.

While state aid only accounts for about five percent of the district’s budget, he said, “certainly any reduction hurts.”

Dr. Favre also noted during the budget presentation that enrollment for next year was projected at 153, compared to 155 in 2012-2013 and 160 in 2011-2012.

“We do go up and down. We’re at a little bit of a low,” she said.

The North Haven Village Board unanimously appointed seven residents to its newly formed ad hoc deer committee, which will be chaired by trustee Jeff Sander.

The village board created the committee in an effort to study deer management strategies for the village in the wake of continued calls for tick abatement by some members of the North Haven community.

During its monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 5, the village board appointed Larry Baum, Steve Hatfield, Susan Kinsella, Alexander Kriegsman, Joseph Kunzeman, Christopher Miller and David Saskas to the deer committee. In addition to Sander, Mayor Laura Nolan will also serve as an ex-officio member of the committee.

The committee will be charged with studying deer management strategies, including ways to reduce tick populations and Lyme disease and the reduction of the deer herd. According to the resolution, they must provide a report to the North Haven Village Board no later than April 9.

Resident Bill Brauninger asked the village board on Tuesday night to consider expanding its law regarding signs in North Haven and at the very least asked that the village ensure the existing sign laws were enforced.

Last year, in an effort to preserve the residential character of North Haven, the village board considered revamping its sign law. Village attorney Anthony Tohill went as far as to draft recommendations for the board to consider that would regulate signage, including banning illuminated signs or representational signs, regulating construction and real estate signs to 18-inches-by-24-inches, and only allowing one per site located no closer to the roadway than four feet from the front of a main building. He suggested that “sold” or “in contract” signs could also be prohibited.

Name signs would be regulated to two-square-feet and street numbers to one-square foot, although pre-existing signs would be able to remain until a property changed hands, under Tohill’s concept. Political signs would be allowed for 90 days, but not on the shoulder of the street, which is a public thoroughfare, he added.

However, some residents vocally opposed the concept of signage regulation and since last spring, the village board has not entertained a formal proposal to change existing sign laws.

On Tuesday, Brauninger said even the existing sign laws are being violated on a number of properties in the village and at the very least the village should ensure its code is being upheld.

Under the existing North Haven sign regulations, one non-illuminated nameplate or professional sign in an area not over two square feet is permitted as are real estate signs. However, under the code, each property is only entitled to one, non-illuminated sign either on the front of a residence or, if free standing like many real estate signs, is 25-feet away from any street line and 15-feet away from any property line.

Real estate signs must be immediately removed once a transaction has been completed, under the code.

Subdivision signs are also regulated under the code, and subdivisions are only entitled to one, non-illuminated sign not to exceed 10 square feet in area. They also must be 25-feet from a street line and 15-feet from a property line.

Brauninger said if residents or subdivisions have a problem complying with these regulations, the village should require them to apply for a variance from the North Haven Village Zoning Board of Appeals.

Noting that East Hampton Village has enacted stricter signage regulations, Nolan said she believed this was an issue that was still on the table for North Haven Village.

“I am right there with you,” agreed trustee E. Diane Skilbred.

In other news, the village board announced it will host its tax sale, if necessary, on March 19 at 10 a.m. The next North Haven Village Board meeting will be held on March 5 at 5 p.m. The village board will have a public hearing on a local law that will allow the village to pierce a two-percent property tax levy cap mandated by the State of New York, if necessary, in the 2013-2014 budget.