Government

The East Hampton Town Board unanimously passed a resolution in support of a home rule request concerning companion bills in the New York State Legislature that would stagger the terms of office for the nine-member town trustees and increase the trustees' terms from two to four years.

Protection and remediation of water bodies were on the agenda at last Thursday's meeting of the East Hampton Town Board. Public hearings on proposals to expand the water protection district and award grants to six projects drew only positive comment from the public and the board. 

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy, who is running for a second term in the June 15 election, touted her leadership during the pandemic, and said that if re-elected she would continue her efforts to improve water quality and protect the village's waterfront from overdevelopment, and would initiate a village-wide traffic study. Ms. Mulcahy is running against James Larocca, a trustee making his first bid for mayor.

The East Hampton Village Board approved an agreement that will allow Tesla, the electric vehicle company, to operate charging stations in the municipal parking lot on Osborne Lane.

The East Hampton Independence Party submitted nominating petitions with around 500 signatures to the Suffolk County Board of Elections last week, far more than the 277 valid signatures required in order for its candidates to appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Court records in a legal tangle between East Hampton Town and the owner of several Montauk resort and restaurant properties outline a series of secret conversations kept out of public view until now.

The East Hampton Town Planning Department gave a qualified recommendation for the town board to approve the use of an aquatic weed harvester to remove macroalgae from Georgica Pond this year, but wants more collaboration with the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, which operates the harvester, "to get a better handle on how the project can go forward and reap the benefits it's provided and ensure there aren't any adverse impacts that haven't been identified."

The proposal from the Promised Land Kelp Company is for an initial pilot program at locations in Napeague Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, and the near Northwest Harbor County Park to determine the optimum site for growth, followed by a long-term program at the site that proves to be best. "These areas have historically been nonproductive shellfishing areas, especially for bay scallops," according to a letter from the company.

The East Hampton Town Trustees' virtual meeting on Monday will include a presentation on the acoustic telemetry studies and trawl surveys associated with the South Fork Wind farm's export cable, which is to make landfall at the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott. Researchers from Stony Brook University, Monmouth University, and Cornell Cooperative Extension will discuss their findings.

The annual sand replenishment at the ocean beach in downtown Montauk is complete, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc told his colleagues on the town board on Tuesday.

A new East Hampton Town law prohibiting the use of gas or diesel-powered leaf blowers rom May 20 to Sept. 20 went into effect on Thursday. The law also established a licensing requirement for commercial landscapers engaged in property maintenance, and is intended to encourage "green" landscaping practices, such as electric leaf blowers, which are free of emissions and quieter than their fossil fuel-powered counterparts.

On Wednesday for the first time since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo imposed an executive order 13 months ago requiring face coverings in public, people could go into a store or a walk down Main Street without a mask -- provided they were fully vaccinated. The change comes as the number of vaccinated people continues to grow and the infection rate across the state and here in Suffolk County drops to levels not seen since September and October.