A trend that has been sweeping the nation has been harnessed by Sag Harbor native David Schiavoni, who hopes school districts and municipalities across the East End and beyond begin using a sweeter method of clearing their streets of snow and ice: beets.

Now all he needs is a little snow.

“Everything is in place,” said Schiavoni at his business site in Riverhead on Tuesday afternoon. “Now I just need the weather to cooperate.”

Using de-sugared beet juice, combined with salt-water brine, is by no means a new method of de-icing roadways. States throughout the Midwest have been using the technology for years, capitalizing on finding a cheaper and more effective way to de-ice their roadways with a product that was largely consider waste, and dumped down the drain.

Schiavoni, and other producers use beet juice that is left over after the sugar has been removed from sugar beets, a kind of beet not grown to be eaten in salads, but produced solely for its sugar. When the beet juice is combined with a brine, highway departments can pre-treat roadways before a storm and prevent the accumulation of snow and ice. The beet juice makes the brine an effective deicer at far lower temperatures than traditional rock salt.

Depending on the concentration of beet juice in any one formula, said Schiavoni, the treatment can be effective in temperatures ranging from 10-degrees below zero to 40-degrees below zero.

“The more beet juice, the lower the temperature the formula will work in,” said Schiavoni.

Traditional rock salt treatments only melt to 17-degrees below zero before they become ineffective.

In addition to the spray, Schiavoni has developed beet juice soaked salts and sand mixtures that are also effective in deicing roadways and sidewalks, he said.

Schiavoni has owned East End Gunite Pool Supply for over a decade now and has been working on the technology for the last couple of years. In his new Riverhead home, he quickly gained approvals to operate his original company and the new East End Organics, which distributes the beet-based ice and snow melting sprays, sands and salts wholesale to municipalities, school districts and large landscape and snow removal companies. He also sells the product to small businesses and homeowners through retailers like Agway, True Value Hardware and local nurseries.

While the entrepreneur and self proclaimed inventor did partner with the environmental contractor SNI Solutions, he has developed his own recipe for the beet sprays, salt and sand mixtures as well as an affordable sprayer system easily rigged to the back of any truck. All have patents pending, and Schiavoni firmly believes this business represents the future of de-icing roadways, sidewalks and school steps across Long Island.

He offers the spay solution in several sizes, from 275 to 1,000 gallon containers that can be mounted on the backs of trucks to buckets that can be used by school districts to hand spray outdoor stairways and walkways.

For municipalities, Schiavoni said using the spray is the more effective, and affordable, way to keep roads clear of ice. Pre-treatment literally prevents the first inch of roadway surface from freezing at all, he said.

Schiavoni said with pre-treatment, crews will be able to reduce the amount of passes they make to clear a roadway, and will be able to cut the amount of salt they use by 150-percent, making it more affordable in terms of labor and the cost of deicing materials.

“It’s just a quicker, more cost effective way to deal with ice,” he said.

It is also less corrosive than traditional ice melts, meaning it is less taxing on roadways and sidewalks. Schiavoni said it is actually less corrosive than distilled water, making it a safer and more environmentally friendly product, and a better product to enter stormwater systems throughout the East End. Right now, the salts used by most municipalities contain magnesium chlorides.

It is so safe, said Schiavoni, that you can actually drink it in its liquid form, although after demonstrating that fact while longtime employee and right hand man Rick Vinski looked on, Schiavoni noted it was a little salty and not necessarily a beverage most would find palatable.

Schiavoni has already sold his patent pending spray system to the Village of Sag Harbor, East Hampton Town, Riverhead and Patchogue, and has donated product to municipalities and school districts across the East End to try out this winter.

However, the weather has not cooperated, with only one snowstorm recorded this year so far, and temperatures soaring upwards of 50-degrees during parts of January and February. It’s the reason Sag Harbor Village Superintendent of Public Works Dee Yardley said he is still on the fence, although hopeful the products work.

“Everyone is trying it out,” said Yardley. “It’s natural and bio-degradable.”

Yardley said that using more environmentally friendly products was a priority for his department, particularly as Suffolk County has begun to crack down on municipalities that keep traditional salt sheds, concerned about the impact the salts can have on the environment.

“I am just waiting for the next storm,” said Yardley.

Popularity: 1% [?]

What would you cut from a school that aims to increase its budget based only on non-discretionary spending like that tied to the cost of health care or retirement?

That is exactly what the Bridgehampton School hopes to learn on Wednesday, February 8 when it hosts a forum on its 2012-2013 budget.

The school board is hosting the meeting in an effort to understand what the community hopes for the district as its wrestles with a state imposed two percent tax cap. On top of that, rising healthcare costs, new unfunded state mandates for teacher training and non-discretionary expenses are all increasing just as the district is being told it must cut back.

During a Bridgehampton School Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, January 25, the district’s superintendent Dr. Lois Favre and its business administrator Bob Hauser presented the board with a financial forecast for 2012-2013.

“There is no denying we are over-dependent on property taxes,” acknowledged Dr. Favre, adding communities throughout New York are struggling to deal with the reality while still funding necessary services.

Dr. Favre noted that the two percent property tax levy cap is misleading in that many voters will assume the cap limits districts to a total two percent in spending increases. In fact it is a cap on the property tax levy, or the amount of money the district is allowed to raise through taxes.

Existing capital projects and retirement systems, both which raise the Bridgehampton School budget annually, do not count, noted Dr. Favre. She added that while the state is trying to get school districts to force concessions with their teacher unions, those negotiations will likely not be determined as the school district presents its 2012-2013 budget. While the state is also recommending districts cut their fund balances — the amount of money left in reserve after expenses are accounted for each budget year — she believes that having a fund balance is critical, especially during tight fiscal years.

“We have seen little from the state in the way of mandate relief,” said Dr. Favre, noting that required teacher training and assessment requirements have increased while the state is also asking school to keep budgets tight.

The state is requiring schools to expend administrative time in a range of areas, such as new teacher evaluation methods, new teacher training in core standards and lesson development, new training on student learning objectives and the development and refinement of data teams, meant to evaluate the whole of the school’s effectiveness.

“Staff development costs are not being considered,” said Dr. Favre of the tax cap.

For Bridgehampton School, a two percent property tax levy cap translates to a 2012-2013 budget that cannot exceed 4.12 percent in increases. Dr. Favre stressed she feels many residents do not understand a two percent tax levy cap does not mean a two percent cap on increased expenses. She added that it will be critical for the school board to educate the community explaining that if they do seek a 4.12 percent increase, they are still within the two-percent tax cap.

Retirement costs and capital projects are not included in the tax cap, said Dr. Favre, but many residents may not understand that fact.

“If we don’t get the word out to the public they will get very frustrated and come running here to vote us down when that is our two-percent tax cap,” she said.

“The district must be mindful,” said Dr. Favre, “that they no longer have the ability to revert to a contingency budget if their budget is voted down. Contingency budgets often gave school districts funding to cover its basic expenses without having to drastically cut down programming or staff.”

If the budget fails to gain the approval of voters twice, said Dr. Favre, the district must revert to a zero-percent increase, meaning the amount of programming lost would increase significantly.

Dr. Favre said she wants the school district community to engage in a discussion about different budget scenarios before a draft budget is formalized, hence next Wednesday night’s meeting.

The reality, said Dr. Favre, is with zero increases school districts on Long Island are looking at an increase in budget cuts from 4.9 percent to over 12 percent over the next five years. At the same time, health care costs are increasing at what Dr. Favre called an “alarming rate.”

“This is not something that is sustainable,” said Dr. Favre, who added that depleting the district’s fund balance to offset the budget or not adding to it will only increase the district’s financial woes over time.

If the district simply rolls over its budget from 2011-2012, with no increases outside of contractual expenses and state mandates, the Bridgehampton School budget for 2012-2013 would be $11,333,042, a $756,328 increase or 7.15 percent over last year, well beyond the tax cap.

The budget advisory committee has looked at $195,237 in savings found in staffing changes and contractual changes with staff that have yet to be realized. They have also explored changes in staff and transportation that could increase that savings, although no figures had yet to be tabulated, said Dr. Favre.

Required in the 2012-2013 budget  is a $135,000 debt payment on the 10-year voter approved window project, technology updates needed to keep the district within its five year plan with BOCES, expenses related to a five year safety and building plan at the school. Also in the budget is mandated staff development by the state, necessary upgrades to the music department and the tuition for up to three students to attend the Child Development Center of the Hamptons, which is required by law.

“I think for the past few years this board has done an excellent job of presenting a budget to the community they could support,” said Dr. Favre, adding the budget has been pared down each year.

Staying at the same level as last year, with the budget advisory committee’s suggestions, the district would need an increase of $561,000, but under the tax cap can only ask for $379,000 without any additions to the fund balance, said Dr. Favre, leaving the district in a worrisome position for next year and still facing a deficit.

The alternative is to ask voters for more, but the school must earn a 60 percent vote or more in favor of its budget if it hopes to pierce the tax cap.

“What are we willing to give up,” asked Dr. Favre, noting that the need to cut hundreds of thousands from a budget of Bridgehampton’s size does not amount to cutting down on supplies.

“There are not enough paper clips in the budget to reach these figures and trust me when I say we have already cut our supplies for this budget,” she said.

Instead, what is at risk, is programming like the summer school options at Bridgehampton, which have been very popular, as well as stipends to allow student clubs to run at the school. The pre-kindergarten program could also be at risk, as well as student leadership prizes, clerical support, teacher aides, custodial staff time, field trips, technology, staff and even teachers.

“We are in good company across the state,” said Dr. Favre. “This is not just a Bridgehampton problem, it is all over the state, and some are in a worse position than we are. This is a year we probably need to hear from our stakeholders.”

The community budget meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 8 at 7 p.m. at the Bridgehampton School.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Wainscott resident Diana Weir, a longtime public servant on the East End of Long Island, has been tapped to lead Randy Altschuler’s 2012 Congressional contest campaign, according to a press release issued by Altschuler’s office on Monday morning.

Altschuler, a Republican, narrowly lost his first bid for a Congressional seat against incumbent Democratic Congressman Tim Bishop in 2010.

Altschuler cited Weir’s “deep roots in the community and vast private, public and political experience,” as the reason he has selected her to serve as his campaign manager in his second bid for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Weir is the former Executive Vice President of the Long Island Housing Partnership and is currently a member of the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trustees.

She was the first Hispanic councilwoman elected to the East Hampton Town Board and formerly served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Michael Forbes, directing his offices in Washington and Long Island before resigning when Forbes became a Democrat in 1999. Most recently, she has served as the chairwoman of the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to the East Hampton Town Board and is also a new member of the town’s planning board.

“Diana is widely-respected across Long Island in the private, public and political arenas,” said Altschuler. “I am thrilled to formally announce her hiring today as the person leading my team on the ground. Today’s news continues the positive momentum my campaign has demonstrated since I announced my plans to seek a rematch against Congressman Bishop last spring.”

Prior to serving in government, Weir served as Senior Vice-President at the Bank of The Hamptons, and prior to that, as Senior Vice-President and Corporate Secretary for Smithtown Bancorp. Weir was appointed by Governor Pataki to the SUNY Stony Brook Council, served as a Suffolk County Human Rights Commissioner and co-chaired the Economic Development panel at the Long Island Hispanic Leadership Summit. Weir’s honors include New York City El Diario / La Prensa’s “Distinguished Latinas,” Suffolk County Hispanic Heritage Month’s “Hispanic Role Model” and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Small Business Minority Advocate of the Year.”

“Given the depressed state of our local economy, Long Island is in desperate need of a representative with Randy’s business experience and proven track record of creating jobs,” said Weir. “Raised by a single mother, Randy overcame his humble beginnings to turn himself into a successful entrepreneur. Randy embodies the American Dream and I couldn’t be more excited to take on this challenge and lead the charge to defeat Tim Bishop in November.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Homeowners Janet Lehr and Ruth Vered are expected to come before the Sag Harbor Zoning Board of Appeals this February or March. When they do, whether or not the famed Larry Rivers “Legs” striding across their residence on Madison Street should even be subject to zoning will be a question raised by Lehr and Vered’s new attorney, Richard A. Hammer.

Hammer, known locally as Andy, is a Montauk attorney with the firm Biondo and Hammer, and a former East Hampton Town Assistant Attorney, whose law practice focuses on land use and zoning. He was hired by Lehr and Vered to handle their years long case with the Village of Sag Harbor in attempt to keep the Rivers “Legs” sculpture, which has reached almost iconic status in the village, on the side of their home.

According to Sag Harbor Village Attorney Denise Schoen, Hammer has filed an application with the village’s building department that will be referred to the zoning board of appeals.

The applicants, art dealers and collectors who run the Vered Gallery in East Hampton Village, first erected the sculpture in 2008. Then building inspector Al Daniels notified the women the sculpture would need a building permit to remain. Sag Harbor Village Attorney Fred W. Thiele, Jr. also issued an opinion that the sculpture should in fact be deemed a structure under the village code, and therefore would have to meet all the requirements of the village code without relief from the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals.

For over a year, the issue remained unaddressed. Lehr and Vered never filed for a building permit and the “Legs” remained. However, in 2010 when they sought to replace windows and rotting wood, and repaint the historic former church, which they have restored, the Sag Harbor Village Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board (ARB) revived the debate.

Thiele reaffirmed his position in 2010 that the sculpture should in fact be deemed a structure and called it unreasonable to expect the Village of Sag Harbor to define art, which is what it would have to do to exempt the “Legs” from the zoning code.

In May of 2011, the zoning board of appeals denied Lehr and Vered’s application without prejudice, leaving the door open for them to re-file and argue the case again. After several months, in a letter dated December 23, Lehr and Vered received notice from Sag Harbor Village Building Inspector Tim Platt stating they needed to remove the sculpture from the side of their residence within 30 days or face potential citations from the Village of Sag Harbor.

On Monday, on the 30-day deadline, the “Legs” remained and Schoen said in light of the new application she was unsure whether or not Platt would cite Lehr and Vered or if he would wait to hear the outcome of the zoning board of appeals case.

On Wednesday morning, Platt declined to comment.

In order to comply with village codes for accessory structures, Lehr and Vered would need to gain four variances — one to permit the sculpture to sit a foot from the property line where 35-feet are required, another for the height of the sculpture, which at 16.1-feet is just 1.1-feet higher than allowed by village code, a third to comply with the village’s pyramid law and a fourth that allows an accessory structure in the front yard, illegal under village code.

If approved by the zoning board of appeals, the sculpture would also have to receive a certificate of appropriateness from the Sag Harbor ARB as it has been erected in the historic district.

On Wednesday morning, Hammer said he was just recently retained and was still reviewing the case.

“I would say, at first blush, I feel this is not a zoning related issue and a curious file in terms of how they got in front of the zoning board of appeals,” said Hammer.

“My feeling is the structure is clearly an artistic expression of some form and I am not sure whether or not it should be regulated as a structure from a zoning perspective,” he continued. “I am not sure what distinction makes this different from any other artistic expression, whether that be a fountain or a flag or a plaque.”

Hammer said he would like to hear a well thought out response from the village about what does distinguish the “Legs” from other forms of artistic expression.

“My initial feeling here is by saying it is allowable — but has to meet a setback — is regulating the context of free speech,” said Hammer. “By saying, we think your artistic expression is okay, but we will tell you where it is allowable, now you talking about regulating the context of the structure.”

That being said, Hammer said he hopes that an intelligent dialogue can emerge about the case, and that it should not be a case viewed on whether or not anyone likes the “Legs,” but rather whether Lehr and Vered have the right to express themselves freely.

“I don’t think, looking at the structure, that this is a situation where public health, safety or welfare issues are at hand,” said Hammer, noting it does not impede traffic flow or other issues that would dictate this a question of zoning.

Hammer said the case was interesting because it does involve artistic expression and revolves around a sculpture created by an artist who once lived in Southampton and displayed the first cast of sculpture at his studio, much to the chagrin of River’s neighbors.

“If Jackson Pollock sculptures were displayed in Springs would this be an issue,” wondered Hammer.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Just over a month after the Southampton Town Board tabled a resolution to institute a ban on plastic bags, a majority of members of the Bridgehampton Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) voted this week to send a letter to the board showing their support the legislation and urging lawmakers to revive plans to move forward with the law.

On Monday night, Bridgehampton CAC member Jeff Mansfield raised the issue, questioning why the town would ever table a measure that on its face appeared to make so much sense.

“I like to consider myself an environmentalist, and just reading about this, it just makes sense,” said Mansfield, noting the East End’s greatest economic driver is its pristine waterways and beachfront, and untouched vistas of open space and farmland.

“I think we should be talking about this because it does not seem like they are talking about this in town hall right now,” said Mansfield.

Mansfield added that he feels the input and support of Bridgehampton residents was critical, as the hamlet is home to King Kullen, one of the larger grocery stores in the unincorporated neighborhoods in Southampton. Only those areas, not the villages in Southampton, would be subject to the legislation.

The town’s sustainability committee, led by Tip Brolin, first floated the proposal in the town last June.

The ban proposed to prohibit single-use plastic bags no less than two mils thick and less than 28-inches by 36-inches in size at store check-out counters. Smaller bags, like the ones found in the produce aisle of most grocery stores, or at the deli and fish counters, would not be subject to the ban.

The original proposal also included a provision that would allow stores to carry paper bags, in addition to re-useable bags, for customers provided they were made out of 40-percent recyclable materials. However, the provision was scaled back by December to allow paper bags that are made of 30-percent recyclable materials, as is commonly found at most grocery stores.

Brolin presented research to the town board that showed similar legislation in Westport, Conn. was successful, with 53-percent of shoppers polled using re-usable bags once the ban was in effect, compared to the neighboring community of Norwalk and Walton, which showed just 10-percent of shoppers used re-usable bags at the grocery store.

Brolin also pointed out that the use of plastic bags results in environmental damage, littering waterways and open spaces, impacting animal life, while also piling up in landfills.

Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst planned to roll out a six-month campaign prior to the ban taking effect to educate the public on when the ban would take place and what options were available outside of plastic bags.

If adopted, Southampton Town would have become the third municipality on the South Fork to ban plastic bags. Bans have been enacted in both East Hampton and Southampton Villages. While the issue has been raised by members of the public at the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees, no legislation has been introduced that would ban plastic bags in Sag Harbor.

However, Supervisor Throne-Holst was never able to push the legislation through after a Republican majority on the town board voted to not even host a public hearing on the law in December.

Councilmen Chris Nuzzi and Jim Malone were supported by now former councilwoman Nancy Grabowski — a Bridgehampton resident — in their desire to halt the public hearing. Instead, they were in favor of working with the business community to mount a public education campaign to promote the benefits of using re-usable bags.

Supervisor Throne-Holst and councilwoman Bridget Fleming, who pointed to statistics that showed these kinds of campaigns were ineffective, rebuked the majority, but they remained overruled.

On Wednesday morning, Jennifer Garvey, a spokeswoman for Supervisor Throne-Holst, said the supervisor was still committed to the idea of a plastic bag ban.

“When we met with the industry folks, everyone was in agreement that we should be using less plastic,” said Garvey. “The question is how we get there. Anna does not believe the education campaign will work, although we are willing to do it.”

Garvey added that the Supervisor came to this position based on Brolin and the Green committee’s extensive research into other municipalities that have and have not instituted similar bans.

Whether or not the issue ever comes to a head, she added, largely rests in the hands of new town councilwoman Christine Scalera, a Republican who has vowed to be a liaison to the committee that will lead the development of the educational campaign.

Scalera was not immediately available for comment.

However, for members of the Bridgehampton CAC that the issue appeared to be split along party lines was unacceptable. Mansfield questioned the real financial impact it would have on retailers. He argued most customers on the East End would be more than happy to pay a few extra cents to cover the cost of using a paper bag at a grocery store, or even buy re-usable bags, if it meant keeping the environment pristine.

“I think that would be money most of us in the community would spend to have this amount of pollution reduced,” said Mansfield.

“If I were in government, I would just do it,” agreed CAC secretary Richard Bruce. “It seems to me there are more people than grocery store owners so I think we should be able to win the day.”

CAC member Weezie Quimby said that member Ian MacPherson, unable to attend the meeting, was opposed to ban, citing the convenience, particularly for the elderly, in having plastic bags to carry groceries in.

CAC member Michael Kabot added the true cost for retailers to switch from plastic to paper and re-usable bags has not been fully explored. He did not believe it was the business of government to tell him what kind of bag he can use at the grocery store.

CAC member Peter Wilson said that while he was in favor of the idea, it may be industry leaders are controlling the discussion and that retailers are worried about the effect the ban would have on summer colony patrons, not the year-round community.

“There must be some political influences at play,” said CAC co-chair Stephen Steinberg. “I can assure you if Bridgehampton was a village we would have passed it right away.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

It has been over year and a half since former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy first requested that the Village of Sag Harbor take ownership of Long Wharf. But since that time, little has actually happened toward that goal aside from lengthy debates over the roles the village and county should play in maintaining the wharf.

For Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride, the November election of Steve Bellone as the new Suffolk County Executive opens a new round of discussions about the fate of Long Wharf. These are discussions he would like to see resolved sooner rather than later so the village can fiscally prepare if it is to take on an estimated $100,000 in additional annual maintenance costs to sustain the wharf.

“The best fix for the village would be for the county to offer another 10-year lease to the village,” said Mayor Gilbride on Monday. “But they have to at least give me some direction after all this time.”

The village’s lease of Long Wharf with Suffolk County expired last year. While the village continues to insure Long Wharf and take care of its daily maintenance, as it has through the course of its lease, technically it has no rights to Long Wharf.

Over a year ago, county officials offered to sell Long Wharf and the adjacent Windmill Beach to the Village of Sag Harbor for one dollar. The county would not continue to pay for long-term maintenance under the deal, including $340,000 in repairs the county’s department of public works has estimated would be needed in the next five years.

However, the county legislature last summer failed to pass a bill giving ownership of Long Wharf and Windmill Beach to the village and later, in the fall, passed a resolution taking the decision completely out of their hands.

South Fork Legislator Jay Schneiderman supported the sale to Sag Harbor in the original vote. But in October, the legislature passed a resolution giving Commissioner of the Public Works Gil Anderson the right to sell or give Long Wharf, along with a number of other county roads currently maintained by smaller municipalities, to the towns or villages where the roads are located.

Anderson is now able to pass the ownership on without approval from the Suffolk County Legislature, but is not required to do so. Since then, the village has been waiting for a conclusion.

According to Deputy County Executive Jon Schneider, in order to make a decision that is in the best interest of the county and the village, Bellone has asked Schneiderman to reconvene an advisory committee created by the county to discuss the future of Long Wharf.

“It is a very important asset and we need to make sure we are working together with the community on the future of Long Wharf while also understanding the very real fiscal challenges Suffolk County is facing,” said Schneider on Monday.

“In a broad sense, we are facing a deficit in the county that we inherited that could be as large as nine figures,” he continued. “If there is an ability to take some things off the books and allow for stronger local control, that is something we have to look at. That being said, this is an important asset, it means a lot to the community and has a lot of potential. So we don’t want to do anything rash.”

According to Schneider, Bellone hopes to have the committee reconvened some time in the next month.

“I think we have a county executive in Bellone who is really committed to downtown revitalization and working with towns and villages as a former town supervisor,” said Schneiderman on Monday. “So we have hit a pretty big reset button.”

Schneiderman said he looks forward to the county and village working together on what the future holds for Long Wharf. But Schneiderman added he would like to see the village open to concepts like a pilot program for a 20-person water taxi — an initiative he said could increase revenues on the wharf and also draw more visitors to downtown Sag Harbor.

If the county does agree to another 10 year lease, Schneiderman said he would like to see some revenue funneled to the county, which pays an average of $100,000 in debt service on large capital projects to maintain Long Wharf. Schneiderman added he would like to see the Village of Sag Harbor use the revenue from Long Wharf to pay the maintenance costs in full, but that any additional revenue could be shared between the county and the village.

However, Mayor Gilbride said the village brings in very little revenue over what is needed to provide daily maintenance of Long Wharf.

“We are insuring it, we are maintaining it, we plowed it this past weekend and sanded it,” said Mayor Gilbride. “I want to have a good working relationship with the County Executive and I think it would be a good thing for them to have a presence in Sag Harbor. We send a lot of sales tax revenue to the county that we don’t get back, so I know the village is contributing quite a bit to the county during the summer when things are rocking and rolling.”

Mayor Gilbride said if they county really wants to benefit from revenues from Long Wharf, they can have it, but then they have to police it, maintain it and handle dockage. Otherwise, said Mayor Gilbride, he is open to another lease with the county and even taking ownership of Long Wharf, despite the added fiscal burden the village would have to shoulder.

“It is an important part of Sag Harbor,” said Mayor Gilbride. “That is why I am the first mayor who has said we will take it.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

This week, New York State Assembly Fred W. Thiele, Jr. announced that the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund (CPF) totals for 2011 were on par with revenues collected by the five towns in 2010.

According to Thiele, the CPF produced $58.85 million in 2011, a 0.1 percent increase over the 2010 total of $58.78 million. While total CPF revenues were slightly higher in 2011, the five East End towns with the exception of Southampton have actually seen a decline in the amount of revenues they have collected through the fund.

Southampton Town earned about 15-percent more in 2011, pulling in $38.88 million in CPF revenues over $33.79 million in 2010.

Shelter Island saw the largest decrease in CPF revenues, down 39.7 percent for 2011, collecting $820,000. East Hampton Town also saw a sharp decrease, taking in $13.86 million in 2011 compared to $17.72 million in 2010, a 21.8-percent decrease. Riverhead collected $1.93 million in 2011, a decrease of 15.7-percent over the $2.29 million the town earned in 2010. Southold also saw a decrease of 7.5-percent, taking $3.35 million in 2011 compared to $3.62 million in 2010.

Since its inception in 1999, the Peconic Bay Regional Community Preservation Fund has generated more than $722 million, which the five East End towns use for preservation of open space, farmland, recreational facilities and historic preservation.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Trace Duryea has led the East Hampton Town Republican Committee through two elections that secured a Republican majority on the town board as well as in the town trustees. But this week Duryea announced she would step down from the helm of the committee and hand the reins over to Kurt Kappel.

A Springs resident, who is married to East Hampton Town Justice and Sag Harbor Village Acting Village Justice Lisa Rana, Kappel has served on the Republican Committee for eight years.

While the announcement was made this week, the vote was taken on January 11 and was unanimous. In addition to Kappel taking the chairman’s seat, Tom Knobel was also elected to the vice-chair position after Emil Everett stepped down to reportedly focus on his family and career.

Knobel, a former member of the town board and a former trustee, has previously served as the Republican Committee chairman in a seven-and-a-half year stretch. He currently works at the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

On Monday, Duryea said her decision to retire came after enduring two successful, but time consuming elections in 2009 and 2011.

“We got 11 people elected this past year, so I am very happy with the results,” said Duryea.

Duryea, whose late husband Perry Duryea was a New York State Assemblyman, said it was time to bring new energy and ideas to the party leadership.

“There are a lot of challenges and I look forward to meeting new people and looking for new ideas, while energizing our important local base who have made East Hampton the great place that it is,” said Kappel in a statement released by the committee late last week. “I want to remind people how East Hampton Republicans have restored our town’s finances, defended traditional rights like beach driving, and kept property taxes from rising. Each one of these important issues help protect our residents and future generations. However more work needs to be done. For instance, East Hampton still needs to provide an environment to create local year round jobs, and work on maintaining and preserving our beaches and fishing industries.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

The editor of Edible East End and publisher of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn talks about how he became interested in agriculture, how mindsets are changing in how we produce and consume the food we eat and why the East End has long held onto agricultural and aquaculture traditions now made popular as sustainable food movement grows.

How did you first become interested in agriculture and our food system?

I was tracking climate change, population growth, freshwater scarcity, hunger, and other dismal trends for an environmental think tank. Agriculture was at the root of so many of these crises. So if you were concerned about the fate of the planet, not to mention your own health, food seemed the thing to focus on.

After taking a position at the environmental think tank World Watch Institute, researching and writing about factory farming, over fishing of our oceans and what you termed “the twin epidemics of obesity and hunger in the world” you found hope on the East End of Long Island. What did you discover?

The history of modern agriculture reads like a mass extinction event. Small farms gobbled by large ones. Crop varieties narrowed and lost. But to live and eat on the East End today is like watching that process unfold in reverse. Traditional farmers are willing to adapt and innovate, there’s a huge new crop of upstart food and drink makers and support for this local food and wine and more coming from bars, restaurants and IGA shoppers. There’s a new sheep farm in Southold, a handful of new breweries in Suffolk County, and just recently, a friend connected local food pantries with local farms. The pantries got fresh produce and the farms got a new customer.

Is that what you’re going to discuss in the “Happy Valley,” as the keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture’s annual conference?

It’s the conference’s 20^th anniversary, so I’m going to discuss how even though many of the ecological challenges remain today, I’m very hopeful for the coming years because every where you look you see governments, companies, communities and families turning to food as a solution to these problems. Growing food, farmers might help reduce climate change by locking up carbon in their soils faster than energy companies will shift away from oil and coal. And the best fix for our rising healthcare costs might be giving farmers and supermarkets incentives to sell more fruit and vegetables.

Do you see trends in sustainable food production, often found historically on the East End, spreading across the state and country, if not the world?

A lot of these ideas seem to have gone viral. They are growing without major government involvement or other support. I was part of a research effort last year to identify sustainable solutions to hunger in Africa. And all the most effective innovations — from reducing food waste, to investing in urban farming, to feeding kids in schools — were sprouting up in dozens of African countries. And those same innovations are happening in New York, on the East End, and around the country.

How valuable are the edible schoolyards we have seen pop up at virtually every major school on the South Fork?

With a childhood obesity epidemic, teaching our kids how to cook and garden may be some of the most important life skills they need. Even where the schoolyards are too small to raise more than a bit of food, they are still monumental in terms of getting kids to consider what they put in their mouths and where it comes from. They will grow up to be better eaters, better food shoppers and better food citizens.

Speaking of edible schoolyards and nutrition, in the last few weeks the scandal of the food world has of course been the revelation that southern chef Paula Deen, famous for dishes like the bacon, egg, donut burger, has type two Diabetes. What kind of an impact, do you think, chefs like Deen have had on American food culture?

The Food Network has turned some chefs into household names. But I think this story shows that we are beginning to face up to the fact that most of our nation’s health burden comes from what we eat. We have a former President who is openly promoting eating less meat to improve his health, and a current First Lady who is an ambassador for kitchen gardens that are sprouting on a scale we haven’t seen since the Victory Gardens of the 1940s.

You have traveled the world, and studied food production on virtually every continent it seems. How is sustainable food production ultimately tied to healthier economies?

Agriculture may not be the world’s most lucrative industry, but it is arguably the only industry we can’t do without. When the Greek economy collapsed recently, people left their jobs in the city to grow food with their grandparents in the country. Food and drink will always remain. And with more and more people making food and drink experiences a bigger part of their lives, agriculture is attracting more investment. That’s why the state is helping build the new food distribution and innovations hub in Riverhead, why New York City is starting to invest again in public food markets. Communities that raise or make a greater share of their food can keep their landscape green, put money in their neighbors pockets, and insulate themselves from food shocks elsewhere. Not to mention, enjoy fresher tastier food.

Speaking of, how was your oyster crop this year?

This was a good this season. They were extra plump and the flesh had a light-green tinge and a strong, briney flavor. We have to get to the hatchery for more spat. We also got four laying ducks, but they haven’t started laying. And we’re still cutting greens from our cold frames. I built them from about $30 worth of materials. They were the best investment I ever made.

The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Conference will be held February 1 through February 4 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit http://www.pasafarming.org.

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By Claire Walla

Inspector Stuart Cameron held all the attention in the room. Standing straight and tall in a navy blue uniform adorned with a bright badge, which stood out against the rows of young adult novels that are usually the focal point in the Pierson Middle/High School library, Cameron faced the Sag Harbor Board of Education and proceeded to talk about drug-sniffing dogs.

As commander of the Suffolk County Police Department’s special control bureau, Cameron said he recently initiated the effort to bring drug-sniffing dogs into schools across Suffolk County. The Suffolk County K-9 unit has to date visited seven different school districts, two of them this year, he said, although “neither resulted in an arrest.”

Cameron was asked to give a presentation on the Suffolk County K-9 unit at Monday’s school board meeting, January 23, in anticipation of the Sag Harbor School District taking proactive measures to bring drug-sniffing dogs to the middle/high school campus sometime this year.

Cameron explained that the police dogs are trained to detect several illegal substances, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and crack.

“Because of the insurgence of heroin [in Suffolk County], we thought it would be appropriate to use them in schools,” he said of the dogs.

School board members note that heroine is not part of the problem they’ve noticed at Pierson, but marijuana is.

Cameron continued by explaining how the drug-sniffing procedure would work.

“We came up with a program that’s very conservative,” he began.

Working in conjunction with Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Tom Fabiano, who will be the local law enforcement liaison, Suffolk County police would conduct a “non-targeted sniff,” as opposed to a full-blown search. In the instance of such a “sniff,” Cameron said, District Superintendent Dr. John Gratto and Pierson Principal Jeff Nichols would be asked to identify a general area where there are student lockers, which the K-9 unit would explore.

Cameron asked that the administrators also identify the beginning of a class period when the dogs could be brought on campus. In this way, all students would be asked to remain in their classrooms during the course of the “sniff.” The procedure, as it’s currently laid out, would prevent dogs from actively sniffing-out any drugs potentially located in classrooms — either in students’ backpacks or carried on their person.

“At this time, [the program] is solely geared toward lockers and school facilities,” Cameron said. “Our goal is to provide a service, not to interfere with school operations.”

Also, before Suffolk County Police would bring dogs onto the Pierson campus, Cameron said he would require the district to send a letter to all parents that explains the drug-sniffing procedure, as well as the district’s policy on the matter. Included in this letter would be legal explanations of what a “sniff” fully entails, as well as a clear explanation of the district’s regulation over student lockers.

According to Cameron, “the scope of the letter [sent to parents] should include the fact that the school owns all locks and lockers, and that lockers can be subject to search without advanced knowledge.”

It should also be made clear, he said, that students are not permitted to share their lockers with other students, because ultimately “they are solely responsible for whatever’s inside.”

When asked whether he felt teachers would have enough knowledge of police procedures before a potential “sniff” were to take place, Nichols explained that all teachers have already been trained in how to conduct their classrooms during lock-down — and this scenario would not be much different.

According to Dr. Gratto, at the start of the class period during which the dogs will be brought on campus, Nichols would get on the P.A. system and require that everyone stay in classrooms until further notice.

“The announcement that would be made is that we’re going into lock-down,” Nichols added.

In the end, Dr. Gratto noted, this would be a precautionary measure meant to deter students from bringing illegal substances on campus. But, should any student be found to be in possession of any drugs, he said the school would first report the incident to police. (Chief Fabiano would be on-hand to make any potential arrests.)

“But, our interest is in having a save environment,” Dr. Gratto continued. “That student would be strongly encouraged to attend counseling. That would be a major component of what we do.”

Sag Harbor School Board members unanimously approved the first reading of the school’s new policy on drug-sniffing dogs. The second and final reading will be on February 9.

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