A vote is expected this evening on East Hampton Town’s budget for 2013, after a few last-minute changes were approved by a majority of the town board on Tuesday.

    As originally proposed, the budget totaled slightly more than $69 million  and would result in tax rates of $27.86 per $100 of assessed value to most town properties, a 4.6-percent increase, or a rate of $10.93 per $100 of assessed value for properties in the incorporated villages of East Hampton and Sag Harbor, a decrease of 1.7 percent.

    After a brief discussion at a work session, three members of the board voted to add $27,000 to the budget so that an additional ordinance enforcement officer could be added in the summer season. Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc and Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said that numerous constituents have been asking for increased code enforcement, based on “quality of life” issues that arise in the summer.

    “I’m totally against it,” Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said. Citing his previous position in the human resources department of Disney, he said that people believe, erroneously, “that more begets more, and it doesn’t. There’s no correlation between more code enforcement and increased funds.”  Under his administration, he said, the budget has decreased, and more has been done with less.

    Councilwoman Theresa Quigley also disagreed and discussed a plan to overhaul the town code, using a committee that would include a local lawyer. “I’ve already reached out to Stephen Grossman to put together a committee to look at the code,” she said. “I prefer going down that road.”

    Councilman Dominick Stanzione voted with Ms. Overby and Mr. Van Scoyoc, and the addition to the budget was approved.

    Also approved by a three-to-two vote along the same lines was an increase to the grant awarded to Project MOST, an after-school program for children at the Springs School and the John M. Marshall Elementary School, at Councilman Stanzione’s request. 

    The entire board agreed to the addition of $40,000 for a deer population survey, the first step in implementing a deer management plan, and to creating a budget line for the state-mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems program, known as M.S.4, earmarking $15,000 for planning work to continue.

    Len Bernard, the town budget officer, could not be reached by press time for the final budget figures.

    The Veterans Day holiday and the lingering impact of Hurricane Sandy were blamed for an attendance of precisely two at Monday night’s Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee meeting.

    One of the two was East Hampton Town Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the town board liaison to the committee. The other was the committee’s vice chairwoman, Sheila Okin, who was to have run the meeting that night for the chairman, Kieran Brew.

    Ms. Okin asked Ms. Overby whether, in light of the extensive damage and delays in restoring electrical and telephone service, the town board had pressed the state or the Long Island Power Authority to bury transmission lines underground. Ms. Overby said it was an infrastructure issue that affects everyone, noting that most of Long Island’s power lines are above ground, as they were a century ago. The expense of burying them on such a large scale would be a primary issue and likely impediment, she said.

    “I do feel that East Hampton was spared,” the councilwoman added. “The wholesale destruction was to the west of us.”

    But, said Ms. Okin, “It could be us next time. We need to have a better handle on what these superstorms are doing to the coastline.”

    Ms. Overby reported that the fund-raising concert held at LTV Studios on Saturday night was a wonderful experience with a lot of positive energy, and raised a considerable sum for hurricane relief. “It was such a good effort. Your faith is restored sometimes,” she said.

East Hampton Town

Totaling Up Sandy’s Damage

    Reconstruction of roads damaged during Hurricane Sandy, including the Star Island causeway in Montauk and Gerard Drive in Springs, where Gardiner’s Bay breached a causeway and spilled into Accabonac Harbor, washing out the road, will cost $1 million, Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said Tuesday. Other storm-related repairs, including replacing a stairway to the beach at Culloden in Montauk, could cost an additional $750,000, he said.The town board is expected to vote tonight to issue a bond for the money. The town will then seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for up to 70 or 80 percent of the costs.

More Free Brush Dumping

    In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said Tuesday that the Long Island Power Authority “did an incredible job.” He took time at a town board meeting that day also to thank town employees for their work preparing for and responding to the storm.  The board agreed to offer residents free brush dumping at the town’s two recycling and trash transfer stations over two upcoming weekends. Councilwoman Sylvia Overby suggested the reprieve, in addition to the one the weekend after Sandy, as many residents were still without power at that point and may have been conserving gasoline in light of shortages. The northeaster last week may also have led to a need for more yard cleanup, she said.

    At its meeting tonight, the board is expected to approve the suspension of brush dumping fees on Friday, Nov. 23, and on Nov. 24, Nov. 25, Nov. 30, Dec. 1, and Dec. 2.

    East Hampton is comprised of 19 election districts, and each one tells a story. Depending on where they live, voters formed two lines at East Hampton High School Tuesday night. Voters from District 14 reported waiting up to an hour that evening to cast their ballots, while for District 1 there was no line at all. The latter district encompasses neighborhoods south of the highway in East Hampton Village. The former district includes areas around Accabonac Road and Town Lane.

    The shorter lines for some districts may have been due to the fact that many people in them had voted by absentee ballot, according to Dinaz Kaprielian, a poll coordinator at the high school location. Longer lines probably pointed to a denser year-round population.

    Andreas Mejia waited in line for 30 minutes at the high school before being told he could not vote there and instead needed to cast his ballot at the Amagansett Firehouse. “They’re just not coordinated in there,” he said. “Why are there so many obstacles here, when in places like South America, you just go to a booth, press an electronic button and it’s done?”

    Some voters, like Mr. Mejia, mistook Governor Cuomo’s order to mean that they could vote by affidavit anywhere, instead of showing up at the place where they are registered, Ms. Kaprielian said, noting that an essential criterion to take advantage of the governor’s order was that a person be “displaced.” She added that she didn’t allow “someone who had trouble walking” to vote by affidavit at her site even though he had traveled on foot for about a mile. “A good Samaritan gave him a ride to and from his correct polling place at the Neighborhood House,” she said.

    Tyler Borsack, an East Hampton resident who voted at the high school, said the “old voting system” was more efficient. He described the optical scan system now in place as “taking a step backwards.” He much preferred the curtained booths in which voters could flip down a switch and then pull the lever to cast their ballot. “The process was a lot faster,” he said. Mr. Borsack said he voted for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, because his “vote wouldn’t count in this state, anyway.”

    Kim Borsack, his wife, said she voted for President Obama. “Romney lost me when he said he would get rid of Big Bird,” she said, referring to Mitt Romney’s comments about cutting funding to public television and public radio. “We have a 2-year-old. You’ve got to like Big Bird.”

    Paul Jones, also a voter at the high school, believed the time he spent in line to vote for President Obama and Representative Tim Bishop was well worth it. “Waiting in line to vote for 30 minutes is nothing,” Mr. Jones said. “It’s like this every election here.”

    Three scheduled poll workers did not show up at the high school, said Chaz Riggi, an inspector there, and at times, he found it difficult to effectively address the multitude of voter concerns.

    Ed Nash, a poll watcher at the Neighborhood House for the past six elections, echoed Mr. Riggi’s concerns. He believes there was a record turnout this election, when on Tuesday night, almost 1,500 voters from three districts had filled in ballots at that location. Like most poll workers, Mr. Nash was on the job from 5 a.m. to at least 9 p.m. He said workers were “overwhelmed” at the height of voting during the mid-afternoon.

    Nancy Quinn of Long Beach, who voted at the Neighborhood House by affidavit, said poll workers were “very helpful and accommodating.” Her house in Long Beach was completely destroyed, and she is staying with her son and daughter-in-law, Ian Quinn and Lara Goorland, at their summer residence in an East Hampton mobile home park. “We don’t know when we will be able to return home,” she said. “It looks like bombed out Berlin.” She added, “My mother lived through the 1938 hurricane, and said Sandy was much worse.”

    Things were comparatively quiet four hours before polls closed at the Amagansett Firehouse, where voters were in and out in less than five minutes, a contrast to earlier that afternoon, when all 24 chairs set aside for waiting voters were filled. Lynda Edwards, a poll coordinator at the site, said she noticed “a heavy Democratic turnout.” She looked forward to transporting the microchip from the voting machines to the Police Department in Wainscott, she said.

    Three issues important to the East Hampton Town Trustees were brought to the fore by Hurricane Sandy — shellfish, sand, and public beaches.

    During a quickly scheduled meeting on Saturday, five days after the storm roared through, the trustee board voted to postpone the opening of scallop season in town waters until Nov. 19. The postponement follows the opening delay in state waters until Nov. 13 for fear of contamination of scallop habitat due to storm runoff and overwhelmed septic systems.

    The second issue was thornier. Trustees agreed that permitting people to rebuild eroded dunes to protect their houses was “a tricky situation.”

    “We don’t want to see anyone lose a house, but sand should not have foreign material. We don’t want the panic to pollute,” was how one trustee, Nat Miller, put it.

    “When was the last time you’ve seen a variance denied?” asked Diane McNally, presiding officer of the nine-member board, in observing how wrecked houses were the result of allowing houses to be built too close to the sea. “A long time ago, people knew it wasn’t a good idea.”

    Ms. McNally addressed the town board last Thursday and said that Sandy might make some people think twice about building or rebuilding in vulnerable areas, and she urged the board to stick to the protocols set forth in the town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program plan, which sets policy regarding shoreside development.

    The board agreed not to discourage homeowners from replenishing beach with sand and makeshift dune, especially with this week’s northeaster approaching, as long as the sand was “beach compatible” and free of foreign material, rock, or any kind of hard structure. Permits were required, however.

    “Sand alone, okay, and if they plant beach grass they will have to give us a covenant saying they will not claim the new dune as their property,” Ms. McNally said. Trustees have become touchy about the dune grass issue.

    Last March, State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Whelan ruled against the trustees in a suit brought by the board disputing the Macklowe family’s claim of ownership over a grassy dune between their upland property and the sea in East Hampton Village.

    In that part of town, trustees claim ownership of the beach on behalf of the people, starting at the toe of a dune, that is, where dune grass stops and sand starts. In other areas, trustees claim the beach below the mean high tide line.

    Justice Whelan held that the Macklowes’ chain of title flowed from a deed that defined the property’s seaward border as the “average southerly line of beach grass.” At first glance, the Macklowes and trustees would seem to be in agreement.

    However, the southerly line of beach grass had accreted, or grown seaward, over time, thus adding to private property and subtracting from public beach. A loss for the trustees, or is it?

    By the same argument, if grassy dune is taken by storm surge, the beach left behind would become public property. It would seem the same would be true in areas where trustee beach begins at the mean high tide line. If the sea is indeed rising, mean high water will rise along with it, thus adding public area.

    The trustees have appealed Justice Whelan’s decision in the Macklowe case. The outcome could make important precedent either way, according to John Courtney, the trustees’ attorney.

    A small piece of property in Springs spawned a stormy public hearing at the Oct. 23 meeting of the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals, raising the question of a landowner’s right to develop versus the greater good of the community.

    The house proposed is very small, only 801 square feet, just 201 square feet above the minimum allowable in the town code. The 12,629-square- foot parcel sits on the south side of Sand Lot Road, in a triangle formed by School Street, Sand Lot, and Springs-Fireplace Road. On the north side of Sand Lot Road is a large swath of wetlands, capped by Pussy’s Pond, which itself is a headwater for Accabonac Harbor.

    Seven of the eight lots in the triangle have been developed.

    “I have been on that street thousands of times,” said Sharon McCobb, a board member and Springs resident, in her introductory comments. Before every public hearing, one board member visits the property in question. “I didn’t know this was a lot. It looks like a pocket garden. It is completely cleared, as you can see, with some nice pine trees on it,” she said as she showed photographs of the site.

    Laurie Wiltshire of Land Planning Services made the presentation on behalf of the applicant, listed as John Minutillo. “The applicants are proposing a modest house and the smallest septic system that can be built,” she told the board.

    She explained the owner’s problem in a nutshell: “Wetland variances are needed because there is no conforming envelope on the property.” In other words, wherever the house is built, it would be in violation of town setback requirements.

    “There is a wetlands to the east across Sand Lot Road,” she said. “Both the [town] Planning Department and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation consider this wetland to be significant and worthy of protection.” For that reason, she explained, the proposed house would stand as far from Pussy’s Pond as possible.

    The applicants, who have owned the lot since 1986, also own one of the surrounding houses, which they use for summer vacations, but their family has grown and they need more space, Ms. Wiltshire told the board. She said that neighboring houses were larger than what was being proposed.

    When she finished her presentation it was the public’s turn, and a stream of opponents marched up to the podium.

    Kristin Hein identified herself as a resident of an adjacent lot. “This triangle of land contains a network of springs, hence the name ‘Springs,’ that ultimately feed Pussy’s Pond and Accabonac Harbor,” she said. “Based on the location, we believe the lot is a perfect candidate for acquisition.”

    “That is not in the purview of this board. That is in the purview of the town board,” Alex Walter, the Z.B.A. chairman, responded.

    Philip Cozzi, Ms. Hein’s husband, told the board that when the area floods, which, he said, is often, the water runs over the property in question. In the flooding of 2010, he said, there were six inches of water there for four months.      “He has the right to ask for the variances. Whether it is granted is the question here,” he said.

    “Are you saying that the applicant should not be allowed to build anything?” asked Don Cirillo, a board member.

    “Yes, that is correct,” Mr. Cozzi replied.

    “As shown on the map it is right on our property line,” said another neighbor, Ron Focarino. “It sounds to me like an awfully long way to go to do something that is obviously wrong.”

    Debra Foster identified herself as a Springs resident and a former town and Planning Board member. “I’d like to know the depth of groundwater,” she said. “This is a nursery. It is very vulnerable. This is where you get that mix of freshwater and salt water. The Tidal Wetlands Act may come in, which includes the federal government and New York State, because it is within 300 feet of a designated estuary tidal wetland.”

    She proposed a compromise, suggesting that the size of the house be reduced to the minimum allowable 600 square feet.

    Margaret Hardy of the Accabonac Protection Committee spoke next. “While it is unpleasant to argue against an owner’s right to develop, this is a severely nonconforming lot. We recommend denial of this appeal,” she told the board.

    Two more neighbors spoke, each parents of young children, each expressing concern that their children might come in contact with contaminants while playing in their backyards if the proposed house was built.

    Joel Halsey of the Planning Department told the board that a question had arisen, as he examined the proposal, about the size of the septic rings, and whether they would be far enough above ground water. The problem may have simply been a technical one, he said — the rings were described in the plan as three feet high when in fact they may have been two feet — but further research would be needed.

    Mr. Halsey said that the Planning Department did not oppose the application.

    A question of ownership then came up. The original owner of the two properties has died, leaving them to his wife. Did she still own them, or was the second held solely by the dead man’s daughter? Ms. Wiltshire was not sure of the answer.

    The hearing was adjourned, with the record kept open for two weeks to answer both the septic tank and ownership questions. The matter may well be brought up at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, in what promises to be a lively work session.

    A hearing will be held at East Hampton Town Hall next Thursday at 7  p.m. on the purchase, for open space, of approximately four acres of land on Ardsley Road in Wainscott. The $2 million price would be taken from the community preservation fund.

    That Tuesday is a big Election Day came almost as a surprise here this week after Hurricane Sandy swept away power lines and trees, as well as thoughts of the political races. Although voters undoubtedly are focused on the presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, whose names appear at the top of the ballot along with their vice-presidential running mates, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, the ballot has a long row of slots for many other candidates, many of whom have had little attention.

    Surveying the ballot from one side to the other, the incumbent Democratic senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who also appears on the Working Families and Independence lines, is next in line. Wendy Long, a Republican running with Conservative endorsement, opposes her. The next six slots are for justices of the State Supreme Court, followed by two candidates for County Court judge, one for Family Court, and, then, contests for the House of Representatives and for the State Senate and Assembly.

    The hottest campaigning on the East End has been in the race between the incumbent Democratic representative, Tim Bishop, and Randy Altschuler, who almost defeated him two years ago.

    Mr. Altschuler is on three lines, with Conservative and Independence endorsements, while Mr. Bishop has a second slot for the Working Families Party.

    The only other local race that has won voters’ attention is between the incumbent Republican state senator, Kenneth P. LaValle, who has been in office 36 years, and Bridget Fleming, a first-time challenger, who is a Democrat and Southampton Town councilwoman. They have the same additional party endorsements as the candidates for representative.

    At the tail end of the long ballot, voters may be surprised to find Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. He has Democratic, Working Families, and Independence endorsement without opposition.

    Back at the top of the ballot, voters will find candidates for president and vice president on Green, Socialism, Libertarian, and Common Sense/Constitution Party lines, while President Obama and Vice President Biden appear on the Working Families as well as the Democratic line; Governor Romney and Paul Ryan on the Conservative as well as Republican line. The Independence Party here did not make an endorsement.

    There are no local, county, or state propositions on the ballot this year.

    The threat of Hurricane Sandy kept several politicians from joining the Concerned Citizens of Montauk’s annual Meet the Candidates forum‚ held at the Montauk Firehouse on Sunday. The afternoon event had half the audience it usually gets.

    Representative Tim Bishop, a Democrat from Southampton, was busy working in Yaphank with representatives from Suffolk County, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local officials to coordinate storm planning across Long Island. He sent a representative to explain his absence.

    His Republican challenger, Randy Altschuler, said at the start of the forum that the congressman was doing critical work and he, Mr. Altschuler, would discuss only his own position. He refrained from making comments about Mr. Bishop, even when audience members prompted him to.

    Mr. Altschuler, the founder of Cloud Blue, an electronic recycling company, said he was seriously concerned about the country. He said that as a businessman he has created 1,000 jobs in America and all over the world.

    As a freshman in Congress he feels he could bring a new perspective to government. He said there was a lot of money in recycling and that would be one issue he would promote to private businesses to help improve the economy.

    He was asked about his party affiliation. One member of the audience wondered if he shared their positions. “That’s a loaded question. I am proud to have the endorsement of a large group of people. I certainly don’t agree with all my party’s positions,” he said.

    He promised to continue to support the Brookhaven Laboratory and Stony Brook University and to fight against financial budget cuts to both institutions. He expressed frustration that state regulations have ended the black sea bass season two months earlier than usual and said he would find out why, since he knows the sea bass stocks have rebounded.

    Most of the forum focused on environmental issues. Mr. Altschuler said he supports domestic drilling as long as it’s conducted in a way that won’t endanger fisheries or the ocean. He said he did not know enough about the proposed Broadwater liquified natural gas platform in Long Island Sound to comment on it. “That said, we do need to find other options,” he said.

    On the environment, he said that “we do understand the change of climate. I don’t think we can stop it and we have to deal with this.”

    The recycling industry, he said, must stick to the highest standard and create “green” American jobs. “I am very supportive of the environment. I am not unabashedly in support of the environment,” he said.

    Moving on, State Senator Kenneth LaValle said he was running on his record. He said he had helped form the alliance between Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook, which he said will improve health care on the East End. During the question-and-answer period, Senator LaValle was asked what has happened to the Fire Island to Montauk Point coastal study that has been in the works for many years. Bill Akin, the former president of C.C.O.M., asked if the senator could do anything on a state level to move it forward. “It’s all about money; it’s not there,” the senator answered.

    Mr. LaValle promised to improve technology in schools and help get students interested in science, math, and technology. He also noted that he supports the sharing of services and consolidation of local schools.

    “Parents have to challenge their children and let them know that if they meet the challenge they will end up with a good job,” he said.

    Mary Ella Moeller, the health care coordinator of the Retired Teachers Association, stood to announce that the New York State United Teachers Union had once again endorsed Mr. LaValle. “And they never endorse Republicans!” she said to laughter.

    Before the senator left, saying he had a “honey-do‚” list from his wife at home, he was asked about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas from the ground. “I think it’s not unreasonable for Long Island to worry,” he said.

    Bridget Fleming, Mr. LaValle’s  Democratic challenger, came running in just as the meeting was about to end. She apologized and spoke about her campaign promises, which include supporting a woman’s right to make her own health choices and a woman’s right to fair pay.

    During her short statement she asserted that Senator LaValle was known as “one of the biggest spenders” in the State Senate and said he had recently spent a half-million dollars on office equipment and campaign fliers, adding that it was perfectly legal.

    The Concerned Citizens of Montauk's meet the candidates forum will be held at the Montauk Fire Department today at 1 p.m., despite the threatening storm, but because of the storm, Representative Tim Bishop will not attend the event, which would have marked one of his final meetings with his Republican challenger, Randy Altschuler, prior to Election Day. 

   Mr. Bishop is to meet today with Suffolk County and Federal Emergency Management officials. A campaign staffer will attend the Montauk forum in his place to explain the congressman’s responsibilities relative to disaster preparedness and to apologize for his change of plans, according to C.C.O.M.

   The group's meet the candidates event traditionally draws a standing-room-only crowd. Confirmed attendees as of this morning included State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, a longtime incumbent, and his Democratic challenger, Southampton Town Councilwoman Bridget Fleming, as well as Mr. Altschuler. Also on hand will be Wendy Long, who is challenging Kirsten Gillibrand on the Republican and Conservative lines for her Senate seat.

     Although most of the candidates have already met in debate-type settings, in Montauk they usually focus on problems specific to the hamlet and the surrounding area. The candidates will introduce themselves and state their positions. They are able to ask one question of their opponents, but in this case, only Ms. Fleming and Mr. LaValle will have that opportunity.  The candidates will also take questions from the audience. Admission is free and refreshments will be offered.