At its final meeting of 2019 last Thursday, the East Hampton Town Board made several moves aimed at improving environmental conditions.
The board voted to accept a proposal from Tesla Inc. and Electrify America to install 12 Level-3 electric-vehicle charging stations in the municipal parking lot on South Euclid Avenue in Montauk. Tesla and Electrify America’s offer to install eight Tesla “superchargers” and four universal charging stations came in response to the board’s November request for proposals for “green transportation support services” to help it achieve its sustainability goals.
The vote followed, by two days, a recommendation from the town’s energy sustainability and resiliency committee to accept the proposal. The installation will come at no cost to the town.
The board also voted to award East Hampton Village $132,225 from the community preservation fund to replace the sanitary system at the comfort station at Herrick Park, following a recommendation from the town’s water quality technical advisory committee. Mellissa Winslow, an environmental analyst with the Natural Resources Department, had presented the board a list of high-priority sanitary system upgrades on Dec. 3, a list that also includes comfort stations at West Lake Drive in Montauk and Havens Beach in Sag Harbor, among others.
The Herrick Park comfort station’s sanitary system, which is in the Hook Pond watershed, was installed in 1995. The project will cover removal of a 2,000-gallon septic tank and installation of an innovative alternative system, and the replacement of two of five existing leaching pools to rejuvenate capacity.
A goal, Ms. Winslow said at the Dec. 3 meeting, is to install low-nitrogen septic systems at highest-priority municipal facilities ahead of Memorial Day weekend 2020.
The board also authorized Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc to enter into a contract with Solar Liberty and Inclusive Prosperity Capital to install photovoltaic panels and a battery energy storage system at the Parks Department building at 159 Pantigo Road in East Hampton. The New York Power Authority recommended the installations following an examination of municipal sites. The installations will allow the town to sell electricity during periods of peak demand.
The cost of the installations is not to exceed the value of expected grant funds, revenues, and savings generated. The state will negotiate a contract price for the installation and power purchase agreement on the town’s behalf.
Also at the meeting, the board voted to engage consultants to conduct a detailed study of the Springs-Fireplace Road corridor. Dodson and Flinker, Fine Arts and Sciences, and McLean Associates will be paid $120,000 to identify roadway circulation, parking, and traffic improvements; develop an open space/greenway master plan to screen industrial uses, provide roadside landscaping, protect farmland, and restore and enhance the Three Mile Harbor drainage corridor; identify planning and zoning techniques to reduce environmental impacts from potential build-out, and identify potential capital improvements and town acquisitions to improve conditions.
Ongoing deliberations over modifications to music entertainment permits, a matter of concern to musicians and owners of businesses that host live music, will continue at a public hearing next month. The board scheduled a Jan. 16, 2020, hearing on changes aimed at balancing “the interests of the vibrant musical community with the interests of the community for safety and quiet enjoyment of property,” according to the resolution passed last Thursday.
