A new police officer was introduced at a brief meeting of the East Hampton Village board on Friday, and the Long Island Power Authority’s application for an excavation permit to upgrade its transmission grid was discussed.

    “We are going to welcome into the ranks of the East Hampton Village Police Department our newest member,” Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., standing at the lectern with Richard Lawler, a trustee, told the assembled.

    Mr. Lawler then spoke: “It’s my pleasure today to be able to able to present Jennifer Dunn with her police shield.” Ms. Dunn, who Mr. Lawler said was a relative, graduated from the police academy. “I can tell, from personal experience, that that’s very rigorous and demanding training, and she should be very proud of her accomplishments,” he said.

    Mr. Lawler invited Ms. Dunn and Chief Gerard Larsen to the lectern, where the chief lauded the new officer for her outstanding performance as a dispatcher over the last eight years for the village’s emergency communications department. “She’s one of the best dispatchers that we have,” he said. “We’re looking forward and are excited about her joining this department.”

    “On behalf of the mayor and entire village board, I want to present you with your East Hampton Village Shield number 75,” Mr. Lawler said. “Congratulations!”

    Among the items on the board’s agenda, all of which were approved without debate, were Ms. Dunn’s employment, effective next Tuesday at a starting salary of $66,790, and that of Richard C. Sperber as a part-time police officer, at $22 per hour. The board also approved paving projects on North Main Street, Hook Mill Road, Methodist Lane, and Accabonac Road, totaling $101,026, and a milling project on North Main Street for which $23,100 is allocated. “Ladies and gentlemen, that is a budgeted item, so it is in the operating budget,” the mayor said.

    The board also voted unanimously to approve LIPA’s application for an excavation permit. As reported in these pages last week, the authority plans to expand and upgrade its power distribution system in response to increased demand.

    The project includes the installation of 68 utility poles, 51 of which will replace existing poles, along a 6.2-mile span between LIPA’s East Hampton substation, on Cove Hollow Road, and its Amagansett substation on Old Stone Highway. The new poles, most of which will be installed in the village, are needed to accommodate new transmission lines that will increase reliability to meet increasing loads. They are built to withstand winds up to 130 miles per hour.

    Affected streets in the village include Buell Lane Extension, East Hampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Toilsome Lane, Gingerbread Lane, King Street, McGuirk Street, and Cooper Lane. Outside of the village, poles will be replaced along Cedar Street, Collins Avenue, Accabonac Road, Town Lane, and Old Stone Highway.

    The new utility poles will range in height from 40 to 70 feet, though most will be 50 or 55 feet tall; the existing poles are 35 and 40 feet tall. The new poles will be 16 inches wider, at ground level, than the existing ones.

    The East Hampton Village Board will host a roundtable discussion on deer management at the Emergency Services Building on Monday at 1 p.m. Representatives from the Village Preservation Society, the Ladies Village Improvement Society, the Town of East Hampton, the East Hampton Group for Wildlife, the Garden Club of East Hampton, and the Maidstone Club are expected to participate, and input from residents will be welcomed.

    At its meeting last Friday, the board heard from Kathleen Cunningham, representing the Village Preservation Society. “Controlling overabundant deer populations in East Hampton is one of the most important quality-of-life issues facing elected officials,” Ms. Cunningham said. She argued that the village should implement a sterilization program, citing the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses and the town’s deer management plan, which she characterized as “moving at a glacial pace.” A sterilization program in conjunction with a “culling program” — in which deer are killed by firearm or bow and arrow — will effectively control the population, she said.

    “Not only is there no relief in sight, deer numbers continue to increase, as hunting alone cannot keep pace with the birth rate,” Ms. Cunningham said. In the absence of a management policy, deer fences inhibit vistas, she said. “These fences create a fortress atmosphere instead of the friendly, residential lawns and gardens that once beckoned the eye and enhanced the visual appeal of village neighborhoods, dramatically affecting the character of our community.”

    Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. agreed with Ms. Cunningham that the deer population represents “a public health nuisance.” Her group’s suggestion, he said, is one way to address the situation, but he and the board would like to discuss “any and all viable options. . . . We know we have to take action.”

    Registered East Hampton, Springs, and Wainscott School District voters approved the East Hampton Library’s 2014 budget on Saturday. The vote was 162 to 43 in favor of a $2.1 million budget, representing an increase of $141,000 over this year. Next year’s budget will result in an average tax increase of $7.76 for homeowners.

    Dennis Fabiszak, the library’s director, told The Star that the library’s expansion, presently under way, necessitated some of the increases. A larger building will mean additional heating and cooling capacity, he said, and a part-time librarian will be hired for the new children’s room. In addition, a part-time custodian will be added to the staff to meet the demands of a larger building. Purchases of books and recorded music account for the balance of the budget increase, he said.

    The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will hold its annual budget vote and trustee election on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

    Residents of the Bridgehampton and Sagaponack School Districts will weigh in on a $1.55 million spending plan for 2014, which includes a debt service of $560,000. Total spending is up $29,100 over this year’s budget, and taxpayers will be asked to contribute an additional $30,100 next year. The library expects to raise $10,500 through fines and fees and $13,600 in investment income.

    The budget is up 1.97 percent, but because the New York State Comptroller’s Office “lowered the tax cap to 1.66 percent,” according to the president of the library’s board, Elizabeth Kotz, the 2014 budget will, if passed, pierce the state-mandated 2-percent cap on property tax increases. It was “a surprise squeeze for institutions like ours that follow a January through December fiscal year,” Ms. Kotz wrote in the library’s fall newsletter. While the board reviewed the budget again following the comptroller’s announcement, it ultimately decided “that further cuts would jeopardize the quality and extent of the services that our Bridgehampton and Sagaponack patrons have come to rely on,” Ms. Kotz wrote.

    Three people are running for three seats on the library’s nine-member board; two will represent Bridgehampton district residents and one will represent Sagaponack. Two Bridgehampton trustees, Gail Davenport and Elise Quimby, are completing their final three-year terms. Both have served since before the board instituted a four-term limit. Ready to step into their spots are Sandra Ferguson, who is also vice president of the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, and Mary Lee, a member of the Friends of the Hampton Library.

    For Sagaponack, Bruce Kaplan is set to serve his final three-year term. “He’s been a great asset to the library board, including getting us through our building expansion, which was completed in 2009,” said the library’s director, Kelly Harris.

    Voting will be at the library. Absentee ballots are available from the school district clerks or the library director

    Doreen M. Petrillo and Eric Drew of East Hampton were engaged on May 3, the future bride’s birthday, although they first met 26 years ago while working at Gurney’s Inn. At that time, Ms. Petrillo was a spa receptionist and Mr. Drew was a lifeguard there.

    Since then, they had traveled in similar circles, frequenting the same beaches, campgrounds, and music festivals. They were “so close, but so far,” Ms. Petrillo said. They both married and divorced, then met again through Plenty of Fish, a dating Web site. Mr. Drew’s tagline on his profile said, “Stop looking, you found him,” Ms. Petrillo recalled.

    Mr. Drew invited Ms. Petrillo to join him on a vacation he had already planned to Puerto Rico. She had to work, but they talked every day. He drove straight to her house from the airport when he got back, she said.

    When he walked into her living room, “It was love at first sight,” she said. Knowing Ms. Petrillo was fond of frogs and the color green, Mr. Drew had a craftsman in Puerto Rico make a set of earrings and bracelet from green beach glass. They moved in together eight months later and on her birthday this spring, she found an engagement ring on her pillow inside the mouth of a Monet frog.

    Originally from Rocky Point, Ms. Petrillo has her own business as a professional organizer and house watcher in East Hampton and also works at Harbor Bistro in Springs. She is the daughter of Eileen Petrillo of Ridge and the late Patrick Petrillo.

    Mr. Drew is an East Hampton native, a son of Hella Drew of East Hampton and the late Martin W. Drew. An Air Force veteran, he has worked for the Springs School for 15 years.

    The couple is planning a beach wedding next summer. She has asked her sister Lorraine Kleiner of Boston to be her matron of honor. He has chosen his brother, Martin Drew, as his best man.

    Virginia and Tom Hessler of McGuirk Street in East Hampton were alarmed when they saw a Long Island Power Authority stake on their front lawn. Rumor had it, so said their neighbors, that a pole was to be installed there.

    So, when they heard that LIPA was planning to build a new and improved electrical system in town and was holding a meeting to discuss it, the couple showed up last Thursday at the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street. The power authority had about a dozen personnel and several tripods at the meeting, with maps indicating the proposed location of poles, fuses, and the like.

    Officials explained that the authority plans not only to expand much of its distribution system but also to upgrade it. Power usage on the South Fork, according to its charts, is the highest on Long Island, having increased more than three times as much in every year since 2004 as the rest of the island.

    The $16 million project would construct a new transmission grid, to go east for 6.2 miles from the East Hampton substation behind Cove Hollow Road, up Buell Lane Extension to Toilsome Lane, to King Street, along McGuirk Street, Cooper Lane, Cedar Street, Collins Avenue, and Accabonac Highway onto Town Lane, where roughly two-thirds of the line will be hung, ending at the Amagansett substation on Old Stone Highway, near the intersection of Route 27 and the railroad tracks.

    Some 250 utility poles will be replaced in the process, affecting about 4,000 customers of the utility. The new ones will withstand winds of up to 130 miles an hour, said LIPA officials.

    The “targeted path” was mapped out to “be the least obtrusive and avoid the commercial area as much as we could,” said Nicholas Lizanich, a LIPA vice president. Thinking ahead to possible “catastrophic storms in the future,” he said, the utility “wants to be in the position to handle it.” Mr. Lizanich called the existing poles “flimsy,” saying that “I can’t guarantee they aren’t going to fall during hurricanes.” The new ones will be both taller and thicker — 40, 50, or 55 feet high depending on location.

    There was some discussion of burying the lines, but officials said the cost — more than twice the cost of replacing the poles — would be prohibitive.

    Ms. Hessler and other residents present appeared more than satisfied at the end of the forum, which was over in about an hour thanks to a light turnout. “I think it’s a great thing for the majority of people,” she said.

    East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. was on hand with Richard Lawler and Albert Edwards of the village board to get feedback. “We’ve had a lot of back-and-forth with the citizens,” said the mayor. “This was a vehicle of transparency to let the residents affected know” LIPA’s plans.

    The power authority, which is still in the process of getting approvals, hopes to begin construction by early January or possibly December, and to finish by June in time for the summer influx. 

    On Saturday, registered voters in the East Hampton, Springs, and Wainscott school districts can vote on the East Hampton Library’s proposed 2014 budget. Those eligible can vote between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the library.

    Estimated expenses total $2.1 million, up $141,000 over this year. Staff salaries and benefits, and facilities expenses, including custodial supplies and services, building repair, furnishings, computer software and hardware, and landscape maintenance, at $106,000 and $20,500 respectively, account for most of the increase.

    “Some of the increases in the budget are related to facilities — heating and cooling, since the building will be larger than we had to pay for this year,” said Dennis Fabiszak, director of the library. A part-time librarian is being hired for the new children’s room, along with an additional part-time custodian, “again, because we have a bigger building and more to clean,” Mr. Fabiszak said. Additional increases, he said, will pay for materials such as books and prerecorded music.

    If approved, the budget will mean an average tax hike of $7.76 for homeowners.

    Seaside sights, sounds, and tastes will bring the masses to the 24th annual Greenport Maritime Festival this weekend to benefit the East End Seaport and Marine Foundation and to celebrate the village’s 175th year. Over 40,000 people have attended the event in the past, whether for a glimpse of visiting tall ships, maritime demonstrations, or offerings from local artisans.

    A sprinkling of fireworks over the harbor on Saturday night is just a spark of the entertainment scheduled for all ages, with activities for the younger folk including a snapper-fishing contest on Sunday and waterfront pirate shows throughout the weekend. Contests for adults will include the consumption of watermelon and ribs at BBQ Bill’s on Front Street.

    Tomorrow night’s land and sea reception at the East End Seaport Museum will kick off the festival with A Taste of Greenport from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets, which include food and spirits from local chefs, restaurants, and merchants, cost $45 in advance, or $55 at the door.

    A blessing of the Oyster Fleet will start the show on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Railroad Dock at the end of Third Street. At 11, the waters will be blessed and a parade will commence at the Mitchell Park Marina on Main and Front Streets. A cruise around Bug Light will sail from 4 to 6 p.m. from the Seaport Museum on both Saturday and Sunday.

    Live music at Mitchell Park will include a performance by Tommy Sullivan, a member of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., followed by the Laura Rivela Band, who will perform through 9 p.m. On Sunday, it will be Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks from 1 to 4 p.m. A full schedule of the events can be found at an information booth as well as online at eastendseaport.org.

    Although the festival officially closes as 5 p.m. each day, many local businesses will offer a reason to stick around, including “Flights of Fancy,” an art exhibit and wine tasting, at the Sirens’ Song Gallery on Sunday, and live music at Blue Canoe Restaurant overlooking the harbor throughout the weekend.

    The annual clam chowder contest has been canceled, despite efforts made by Keturah Hurst of the Greenport Farmers Market. She offered the not-for-profit organization’s space, tables, and tents to continue the iconic tradition, but it was too late for a save this year, due to staffing issues. The local farmers, shuckers, bakers, and roasters, will be at their regular location on Saturday at the Methodist Church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., for those wishing to browse the local goodness, and will remain there for four more weeks.

    The Sag Harbor American Music Festival is finalizing the schedule for its annual village-wide music celebration Friday, Sept. 27, and Sept. 28. The festival will include indoor and outdoor music at galleries, restaurants, and retail shops.

    Genres will be as diverse as venues. BeauSoleil Avec Michael Doucet, the Grammy Award-winning Cajun and folk band, is set to headline the kickoff fund-raising concert on Friday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. Tickets to the opening show at the Old Whalers Church start at $25 and are available on the festival’s Web site, sagharbormusic.org.

    Tickets are also offered on the site for tomorrow night’s festival “appetizer” of classic music clips from the archives of Joe Lauro, a Sag Harbor musician and collector. He will show some of his priceless footage at Bay Street Theatre from 8 to 9 p.m. for a fee of $15.

    The schedule for next weekend, and updates to it, can also be found on the Web site.

    Several residents of Second House Road in Montauk are calling for East Hampton Town to lower the speed limit on the two-lane artery and consider making it a no-through zone.

    For more than a year now, since Ruschmeyer’s and Solé East have become popular nightspots for a younger crowd, residents have been complaining about speeding cars and commercial work trucks in the residential area, which also includes a school zone.

    As it stands, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, with a two-block stretch near the Montauk School’s playground and crosswalks reduced to 20 miles per hour. The problem, residents say, is that no one is observing the speed limit at all. “Someone is going to get hurt,” said Kimberly Esperian, who lives on the road.

    Taxicabs are congesting the road, according to residents, speeding during all hours of the night and stopping and honking their horns to pick up fares in the middle of the road.

    A few people who live along the road visited a meeting of the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee on Sept. 9 and read from prepared statements about the problems. They also said patrons from the two clubs are noisy and urinate in their yards and on their flower beds. At the meeting, the committee discussed what could be done to eliminate the problem, with one member saying more stop signs should be posted.

    Some wondered if the larger work vehicles could avoid the two-lane road by driving through the downtown area, turning north on Edgemere Road, and then left onto Industrial Road, right past the Surf Lodge, which also has its own share of traffic problems. After a long discussion, committee members decided to invite officials from the East Hampton Town Police Department to the next meeting, on Oct. 7, to explore a solution.

    In an e-mail message this week, Police Chief Edward V. Ecker Jr. said that he and Lt. Chris Hatch, the Montauk Precinct commander, have received many complaints about speeding cars. The Police Department has tried using radar on the road, posted enforcement patrols during the worst hours, and carefully monitored the traffic, he said.

    Chief Ecker said the 30-mile-per-hour limit on that road is sufficient and would be safe if it were regularly enforced. A no-through zone would be hard to put in place, he said, since Second House Road intersects on its north side with the busy Industrial Road, where several landscape and carting companies and a taxi company park their vehicles and store equipment.