The mess hall at the former Boys Harbor summer camp, which is jointly owned by East Hampton Town and Suffolk County, would be a perfect place for a “multidisciplinary center” devoted to art, education, and recreation, according to the East Hampton Arts Council, which presented a proposal to the East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday.

The building could provide a venue for art exhibits, poetry readings, theater, music, dance performances, and other cultural activities, the proposal stated, becoming “an important community arts and nature center.”

The mess hall is the only building remaining on the 28-acre site on Springy Banks Road in East Hampton, the others having been in severe disrepair and demolished. But the mess hall, though in need of work, “is pretty well sound,” said Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc Tuesday. He has just formed an advisory committee charged with generating plans for town-owned properties for which various uses have been proposed, including Boys Harbor.

The council provided sketches and cost estimates for mess hall repairs, which it developed in consultation with several builders and architects. Between $750,000 and $1 million would be needed to restore the building and grounds, the group estimated. In addition, they said a $750,000 endowment for future maintenance is a goal.

Any proposal for the use of town-owned property should be tailored “to the broadest possible public use,” said Mr. Van Scoyoc, noting that the one presented by the council “falls within the parameter.”

However, questions of funding remain. The arts council has begun a capital campaign to raise money from private and corporate donors, organizations, and the community. “We look forward to having further discussions with your group and others,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said.

East Hampton Town

Downtown Montauk Beach Work

East Hampton Town and Suffolk County will share the cost of maintaining the reinforced sand dune to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers on the beach in downtown Montauk, according to a vote on Tuesday of the County Legislature.

The project, designed as an interim measure to provide flood protection until the Army Corps completes a more comprehensive beach rebuilding effort that is planned, will be paid for with federal money, under a post-Hurricane Sandy appropriation by Congress. However, a “local sponsor” must take responsibility for it once it is completed.

The town has agreed to be the sponsor, which includes undertaking annual inspections and assuming liability, but will split the costs of annual maintenance, such as replacing sand lost from the dune, equally with the county, according to an intermunicipal agreement agreed to this week.

County Legislator Jay Schneiderman and Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell provided information to county officials during a lengthy session before a 17-to-1 vote approving the arrangement.

Montauk Wastewater Meeting

Problems caused by wastewater in Montauk, such as ground and surface water pollution, and potential solutions will be discussed at the Montauk Firehouse on Tuesday during a session with the East Hampton Town Board and Pio Lombardo, a consultant who authored a draft comprehensive wastewater management plan for the town.

Mr. Lombardo will review elements of the plan pertinent to the hamlet, including the impact of septic systems on Lake Montauk and his proposals for neighborhood wastewater treatment systems to replace them. The public has been invited to attend and will have an opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Lombardo.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m.

The Sept. 17 East Hampton Town Planning Board public hearing on the proposed subdivision of almost 40 acres containing prime farmland in Wainscott began with neighbors pitted against neighbors but, after two hours, they seemed to coalesce, agreeing that the town should save as much of the farmland as possible.

The parcel is part of a corridor of farmland and open fields that once ran from just south of Montauk Highway to the ocean. The proposed subdivision is to result in seven buildable lots, as well as almost 28 acres of land set aside for agricultural use, as required by the town code.

Development of the site has been contentious for years, in part because the board hoped to preserve the view across its farmland. With an address of 55 Wainscott Hollow Road, which is also the name of the limited liability corporation subdividing the property, it is being developed by Jeffrey Colle of Estates by Colle. According to Robert Weigel, who lives nearby on Town Line Road in Wainscott, Michael S. Dell, the founder and chairman of Dell Inc., the giant computer firm, is the owner of the L.L.C.

Toward the end of the hearing, the applicant’s attorney, Mary Jane Asato of Bourke, Flanagan, and Asato, a South?ampton firm, said the applicant was eager to sell some or all of the property to the town. She said she had pursued that route, and felt a total lack of interest in using the community preservation fund to pursue a purchase. “Unless the town steps forth and uses the C.P.F. fund to purchase some or all of these lots, which we hardily support,” she said, the final plan is “a good settlement. We can’t please everybody.”

 Job Potter, a member of the planning board, confirmed Ms. Asato’s statement, saying the board had “written to the town board to take some kind of action. They need to hear from you,” he told the audience. Asked about a C.P.F. purchase on Monday, however, Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said it was unlikely given the price, which he anticipated would be upwards of $6 million for each of the seven lots planned.

The subdivision had been the subject of a lawsuit in 2009, with a ruling in 2011 by a State Supreme Court Justice that the planning board had been “arbitrary and capricious” in turning down an earlier layout. He sent it back to the board for reconsideration. The plans then went through several iterations, with board members, the town Planning Department, and Ms. Asato alternately negotiating and sparring.

Final plans, the subject of the hearing, now call for seven buildable lots at each corner of the property, along with a third lot on Wainscott Hollow Road and two more running along the northern border, perpendicular to the two roads.

The placement of one of the houses, at the southern corner of the parcel at Sayre’s Path, drew the ire of three neighbors, who made a joint presentation at the hearing, with Michael Frank speaking first.

Their fear was the ultimate size of the house to be built there, which, they said, would dwarf their houses. Mr. Frank also criticized a proposed 20-foot-wide scenic easement at Sayre’s Path as woefully inadequate, a sentiment echoed by a second speaker, Alex Ching, who called the easement ridiculous. “Our air and light will be curtailed,” she said.

The Sayre’s Path neighbors proposed moving the lot adjacent to those being created along the northern border of the property. This had been discussed in the past by the board and the Planning Department, which rejected it as cutting off the north-south vista.

For their part, Wainscott Hollow Road residents objected to all but one of the lots having access from their road, with three located either on the road or  close to it.

“You have taken away two-thirds of the open vista with this plan,” Mr. Weigel said. “They have done a good job pitting neighbor against neighbor.”

The question of guaranteeing that the farm be used as farmland was pursued at the hearing by Melanie Cirillo of the Peconic Land Trust. She urged the town board to follow Southampton Town in purchasing the development rights to the open space and in then leasing the land at a discount to farmers who would work the land.

Peter Dankowski, a Wainscott farmer, also spoke, as did his daughter. “I farmed this farm,” he said. He told the board there were approximately 33 acres of good farm soil there. “Keep it open,” he said.

“I urge you to preserve this,” Betty Dankowski said. “I have seen Wainscott change in my 27 years. It is important for my generation, who want to stay in Wainscott.” The audience broke into applause.

Congressman Tim Bishop and State Senator Lee Zeldin, who is challenging Mr. Bishop to represent New York’s First Congressional District, are in a dead heat, according to a poll released this week by a conservative group that is backing Republican candidates.

The poll surveyed 400 likely voters from Sept. 23 to the 25th, 34 percent of whom identified themselves as Republicans and 31 percent Democrats, according to Public Opinion Strategies. The firm conducted the poll for American Action Network, which is spending $1.2 million on Mr. Zeldin’s campaign.

Of 15 U.S. Senators and 76 members of Congress listed as clients on the Public Opinion Strategies website, all are Republicans.

Both campaigns are blanketing media with advertising, much of it negative. American Action Network has spotlighted Mr. Bishop’s support for the Affordable Care Act and highlighted an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations that the Congressman broke the law in 2012 by soliciting a campaign donation from a constituent after helping him get a fireworks permit for his son’s bar mitzvah. Last month, the Justice Department closed its investigation without filing charges, but the ethics committee is still reviewing the allegations.

Mr. Bishop’s campaign has sought to portray Mr. Zeldin as an extremist out of step with the mainstream. The campaign has recently accused Mr. Zeldin of seeking to make abortion illegal and highlighted his opposition to same-sex marriage. In 2011, Mr. Zeldin voted against the Marriage Equality Act in the State Senate. The Senate voted 33-29 in favor of it.

Mr. Bishop’s campaign has also emphasized his efforts to keep jobs in the district. In Mastic Beach yesterday, the Congressman and labor groups presented $10,000 to the Suffolk County American Legion to fund a post-traumatic stress disorder training program.

East Hampton Town

Lucius Ware on East End Prejudice

Lucius Ware, the president of the Eastern Long Island Branch of the N.A.A.C.P., will discuss bias and prejudice on the East End at a meeting of the East Hampton Town Anti-Bias Task Force on Wednesday. The public has been invited to attend the meeting, which will be held in the Town Hall meeting room at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Police Contract

An item last week regarding a recently negotiated contract between East Hampton Town and its Police Benevolent Association contained an error regarding a wage increase for 2015.

Salaries will rise by 2 percent next year, rather than 2.25 percent as was reported. A 2.25-percent increase is slated for 2016.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals held a two-hour public hearing on Sept. 16 on whether to allow a boardwalk through the double dunes in Amagansett to accommodate access to the ocean beach by upland property owners who use wheelchairs. The hearing was essentially part two of the application. 

The applicants, who were named only by the corporate title MYSTL, own  roughly eight acres at 2 Tyson Lane. Their proposal is to use five-foot-long sections of six-foot-wide wooden planks over more than 800 feet of the dunes, which are owned by the Nature Conservancy. Patrick B. Fife, an attorney with Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, and Quartararo, represents MYSTL.

At the first hearing, on June 17, the board learned that the East Hampton Town Planning Department was opposed to the plan. According to Brian Frank, the department’s chief environmentalist, this would be the first six-foot-wide boardwalk in the double dunes, and he warned that some 5,000 square feet of vegetation would be cleared. While the Nature Conservancy is named as one of the applicants, its position on the application remains unclear.

In a letter, the conservancy’s attorney, Jeffrey S. Larson, writes, “The Conservancy recognizes that the Atlantic Double Dunes is one of the remaining areas of undeveloped barrier beach and dune ecosystem on Long Island, and we advocate for it to remain in its natural state to the greatest extent possible.” The letter then goes on to indicate that the boardwalk should be laid out over an existing foot path, while the proposed route bypasses part of that route to avoid a hill. On the other hand, Mr. Fife said two members of the conservancy had walked the proposed path with Robert Grover, an environmental consultant for the applicants, and had agreed to the route. “It seems contradictory; that has to be clarified,” Donald Cirillo, a board member, said.

John Whelan, the board’s chairman, pointed out that the proposed deviation of the boardwalk from the natural footpath would take it through some of the densest beach vegetation. Mr. Grover, who was at the hearing, insisted that the project would result in more vegetation on the dunes over a two-year period. The board went on to discuss these differing points of view.

One of the board members, David Lys, asked Mr. Fife if there were a plan to put in a sunset clause to require the walk to be removed if the applicants sold the property. Although he had previously insisted that a width of six feet was necessary for the wheelchairs, Mr. Fife answered that a four-foot boardwalk might be better than a sunset clause.

The hearing was closed, but the record will be kept open to allow Mr. Fife to make his intention that the conservancy is supporting the application clear.

With Election Day less than six weeks away, Representative Tim Bishop, the six-term Democratic incumbent in New York’s First Congressional District, and his Republican opponent, State Senator Lee Zeldin, have been deep into campaign season. The candidates met in a debate on Monday night at Hampton Bays High School, and will attend fund-raising events in the coming days on the South Fork.

On Saturday, Mr. Bishop will appear at a fund-raiser at the Sag Harbor house of Edward R. Dudley Jr. Mr. Dudley is an attorney based in New York City. The event, co-hosted by William Pickens III and Andrea Cottman, among others, is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m.

Next Thursday, Mr. Zeldin will make a cocktail-hour stop at Cittanuova restaurant in East Hampton. The East Hampton Town Republican Committee is sponsoring the event, scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A Newsday/News 12 Long Island/ Siena College poll conducted between Sept. 7 and 11 had Mr. Bishop leading Mr. Zeldin by 51 to 41 percent, with 8 percent undecided. Mr. Bishop’s lead was similar in the five East End towns, according to the poll, which was conducted by telephone and surveyed 592 likely voters.

Mr. Zeldin has a 6-point advantage among men, the poll found, while Mr. Bishop holds a 23-percent lead among women.

East Hampton Town

Chain Store Law Takes Effect

A new law requiring chain stores hoping to open here to obtain a special permit and undergo particular planning board review was passed by a majority vote of the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday. Councilman Fred Overton voted against it.

A chain store, or “formula business,” was defined as a retail store, restaurant, tavern, bar, or fast-food or drive-in restaurant that is among 15 or more similar businesses meeting at least two of several criteria, such as having a standardized menu, design, or merchandise. Such enterprises will need to submit a traffic study for town review, and its plans will be aired at a public hearing before a decision is made on a permit.

Chain stores will be allowed in neighborhood business, central business, and waterfront zones if found compatible with the existing, surrounding uses, and with the provisions of the town’s comprehensive plan pertaining to East Hampton’s unique character and environment. They will be required to have “a unique visual appearance that is consistent with the character of the town,” different from its counterparts elsewhere. Only one formula business will be permitted per building or lot, except at multiple business complexes.

At hearings in April on the draft law and on a revised version in July, the town board heard comments both for and against the proposal.

Two New Advisory Committees

The town board established two new advisory committees last Thursday by unanimous vote.

A property management committee will study several town holdings where various types of public use have been proposed, and make recommendations to the board. The properties include the Duck Creek Farm and the Brooks Park site in Springs, the former Boys Harbor Camp on Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton, and the Fort Pond House in Montauk. Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc will work with the group, which has seven appointed members. The town, according to its resolution establishing the committee, “wishes to determine the best public uses for such properties, create management plans, and develop guidelines and procedures for the uses and maintenance of these properties.”

Thirteen members were appointed to an agricultural advisory committee, with Councilwoman Sylvia Overby as its liaison. The group will be asked to advise the board on “all agricultural related issues and make recommendations relative to the town’s comprehensive plan to protect our farmland and sustain a healthy industry.” East Hampton, the resolution notes, has approximately 1,440 acres of prime farmland and has “a history of a well-established agrarian society.” The farmland across the region is reportedly ranked first in New York State and is among the top 10 areas in the United States.

New Police Contract

The town board voted last week to approve a contract with the East Hampton Police Benevolent Association after a collective bargaining effort.

The agreement includes a provision that newly hired officers pay 15 percent of their health insurance costs. Supervisor Larry Cantwell said this week that this was the first time the town had successfully negotiated an employee contribution toward insurance costs with the P.B.A. According to the town’s labor counsel, he said, it was also a first among East End towns.

The police officers’ previous contract expired on Dec. 31, 2012. The new agreement will be retroactive, covering Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2016. It calls for 2.5-percent wage increases annually for 2013 and 2014, a 2.25-percent increase for 2015, and another 2.25-percent increase effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Solar Energy Leases

SunEdison, a solar energy company, will be given an option to lease 24 acres of town land to establish alternative energy facilities, according to a vote of the town board last week. The company is among those that have submitted proposals for solar power sites in the town.

Its plan must undergo site-plan and environmental review. In the meantime, SunEdison will pay the town, for up to three years, to maintain the option to lease 12 acres of a 21-acre site on Accabonac Road for $29,595 a year, 5 acres of a 9-acre property on Bull Path, for $18,905 per annum, and 7 acres of a 50-acre tract on Springs-Fireplace Road, all in East Hampton, for an annual payment of $32,400.J.P.

Anticipated changes to New York State hunting regulations could prompt East Hampton officials to revise the lottery system for hunting permits on town lands during the shotgun-hunting season in January.

According to a report by Andy Gaites of the town’s Department of Land Acquisition and Management, who is a member of a deer management committee, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed expanding the bow-hunting season, which has run from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, through January. It would then overlap with the days on which big-game hunting with guns has been allowed, on weekdays only in January. The D.E.C. has also proposed adding to that hunting season by allowing weekend hunting during January as well.

Should the state’s changes be enacted, town officials would have to decide how to handle hunting on East Hampton lands.

Mr. Gaites said that the deer committee’s recommendation, in general, is to allow as much hunting as possible in order to reduce the deer population. The group will meet to discuss new D.E.C. regulations, said Councilman Fred Overton, its town board liaison, and develop specific recommendations to present to the board.

Mr. Gaites said that over the last year the town added 300 acres to the public lands open for bow hunting, after the state, which sets hunting guidelines, reduced the minimum setback for bow hunting from other properties from 500 to 150 feet. A total of 174 town-owned acres was added to the lands where gun hunting is allowed.

In addition, said Mr. Gaites, the committee is seeking other ways to expand opportunities for hunting. One is having the town issue permits to a specific number of hunters, allowing hunting on specific dates on targeted properties such as, perhaps, the two former town landfills. Discussions are ongoing with Steve Lynch, the town highway superintendent and the head of the Sanitation Department, about that idea, Mr. Gaites said.

The deer management committee has worked with a United States Department of Agriculture forestry expert to examine the health of East Hampton’s woodlands and the degree of damage by deer, said Mr. Gaites, and to learn about effective ways of monitoring that damage. Outreach efforts were made to discuss deer management options with private landowners, such as local homeowners’ associations, and owners of large lots, such as Camp Blue Bay in Springs, said Mr. Gaites, and communication has continued with the state, federal, and Long Island agencies that had planned a regional deer cull, including in East Hampton.

A lawsuit challenging that cull is under way, and there are no plans to reinstitute that plan for the coming winter.

Pentachlorophenol, a chemical preservative on the utility poles PSEG Long Island recently erected in East Hampton Town to support a 6.2-mile high-voltage electric line, has been found in significant levels in the water from a well at the East Hampton Village Firehouse on Cedar Street, Rebecca Singer, a co-chair of Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy, which has sued PSEG over the installation, told the East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday.

Concern about the effects of the chemical, called penta, also prompted the group to hire a hydrogeologist to determine if it had seeped into groundwater. It would like to do additional testing, she said, of water in the ground three feet from poles near the firehouse. If penta is found there, she said, the consultant believes a toxic spill clean-up would be warranted.

Ms. Singer and Helene Forst, a LIBFRE co-chairwoman, asked East Hampton officials to require warning signs on the poles, advising against contact and exposure to the chemical. The limited use of penta is allowed in the United States, although it has been banned in other countries around the world.

The Town of North Hempstead, where PSEG recently did a similar project, prompting similar protests based on health, safety, and aesthetic concerns, has adopted a resolution requiring PSEG to post warning signs on its poles, the LIBFRE representatives told the town board. East Hampton should do the same, they said, although they think they should be required on every pole, rather than every fourth one, as in North Hempstead. They suggested that the signs should be yellow and black to indicate danger, with warnings written in English and in Spanish.

Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said the East Hampton town attorney would advise the board after reviewing the North Hempstead resolution.