Government

As expected, the East Hampton Town Republican Committee formally endorsed its 2017 slate of town board candidates at its meeting on April 5. Manny Vilar, a sergeant with the State Parks police, is the party’s candidate for supervisor.

Jerry Larsen, former East Hampton Village police chief, and Paul Giardina, who recently retired after a long career with the Environmental Protection Agency, join Mr. Vilar as candidates for town board.

A program proposed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone would provide grants and low-interest financing to help homeowners replace antiquated septic systems with new ones that remove nitrogen, which has been identified as a major cause of surface and groundwater pollution.

The Southampton Town Board has agreed to purchase enhanced development rights on a property that is under an acre, but next to two larger farm fields, for $958,000 from the community preservation fund.

A draft three-year capital budget discussed by the East Hampton Town Board this week calls for $5.2 million in spending on capital projects this year, an estimated $8.3 million next year, and $7.9 million in 2019.

Democrats to Hold Elections Forum

The East Hampton Democratic Committee will host an event that will focus on participating in elective government tomorrow from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett. “Candidates for Our Future: How to Elect and Be Elected” will feature presentations from Democratic Party leaders including Supervisor Larry Cantwell, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, Betty Mazur, the East Hampton Democrats’ vice chairwoman, and Andrew Harris. The event is free and open to the public.

A recent audit by the New York State comptroller’s office of the East Hampton Housing Authority, covering 2015 and part of 2016, is critical of a number of the authority’s financial practices and calls for better oversight and tighter controls.

While the local Republicans cannot hold an official nominating convention until the Suffolk County Republican Committee holds its own, the party’s slate of candidates for town board is set.

Rebates that could cover the full cost of new, nonpolluting septic systems for property owners in areas considered environmentally sensitive are outlined in draft legislation now before the East Hampton Town Board.

After designing a pilot program approved by the East Hampton Town Board through which restaurants in downtown Montauk can apply for approval to offer sidewalk dining within a set of guidelines, the town’s business advisory committee has turned its sights to the practice by some takeout food shops of offering a handful of seats for customers.

East Hampton Town

Support for Immigrants

In response to recent expressions nationwide of anti-immigrant sentiment and new federal immigration enforcement policy East Hampton Town’s Anti-Bias Task Force has issued a statement expressing its support “of our immigrant community members and their rights to be treated with respect.”

“Fear of deportation has shaken families . . . to the core,” the committee said in a March 13 press release. The task force “believes it is a moral obligation to treat others as we want to be treated.”

East Hampton Town is continuing its focus on achieving its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy, and an expected $100,000 state grant will give a boost to those efforts.

A settlement has been reached between East Hampton Town and Jay Jacobs, an owner of the Hampton Country Day Camp in East Hampton, who was cited by East Hampton Town for using a house he owns at 17 Ocean Boulevard in East Hampton as a dormitory for camp staff.

Local Government Briefs

Walker Bragman, 28, is spearheading a rally against drug addiction and a call for more teen space at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter.

The Southampton Town Board is closing in on a much-anticipated pedestrian and traffic safety analysis of Bridgehampton’s Main Street.

Southampton Town

Shelving the C of O Update

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman withdrew a proposal that would make it a town requirement for any house being sold to have an updated certificate of occupancy. While it is often recommended, and required by some lenders, to obtain proof of an updated C of O during a home purchase, it is not currently a town requirement. The Town of East Hampton does not have such a requirement either.

The East Hampton Town Democratic Committee elected Ilissa Meyer to serve as co-chairwoman with Jeanne Frankl, its longtime leader, last week. Ms. Frankl will retire following the Nov. 7 election.

The committee also elected Afton DiSunno as treasurer at its Feb. 22 meeting.

Local Government Briefs

The Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust is moving forward with a plan to rebuild eight cottages on Route 114 just outside Sag Harbor Village for use as affordable housing, representatives told the East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday.

A proposal to expand what has been dubbed a community oyster garden, which was launched in Three Mile Harbor last year, to Hog Creek is a step closer to reality, the director of the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery told the East Hampton Town Trustees at their meeting Monday.

Frans H. and Dalal Preidel, who own a small cottage on a dune at the beach terminus of South Edison Street in Montauk, got a Valentine’s Day gift Tuesday night from the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals, which informally agreed to allow them to remove an outdoor shower and deck and replace it with a shed.

Moody’s Investors Service, which evaluates municipalities, schools, businesses, and other entities on their ability to repay short-term debt, has affirmed the town’s AAA rating, the highest level possible.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Tuesday a proposal to accelerate the use of renewable heating and cooling technologies to stimulate the clean energy economy.

Several baymen insisted before the East Hampton Town Trustees on Monday, often loudly, that Accabonac Harbor must be dredged, and quickly, to allow them to maintain their livelihood.

Two small lots with summer houses on them were before the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday.

A South Fork railroad service that could accommodate those commuting into East Hampton Town for work, a service that has long been discussed and was instituted for a short-term trial in 2006, is feasible, Long Island Rail Road officials agreed at a meeting last week with the East End’s state, county, and local government officials. Agreement on new services and train schedules, and a plan for their implementation, could be finalized as soon as next month, with a target start date of 2018.

The 2016 pilot program in which individuals and families participated in a community oyster garden in Three Mile Harbor should be expanded to Hog Creek, the director of East Hampton Town’s shellfish hatchery told the town trustees on Monday.

The Peconic Land Trust will likely get approval from the East Hampton Town Planning Board for a 2,800-square-foot equipment barn at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett. However, it may not get the access to the barn it had hoped for.

The fight over whether PSEG-Long Island, the utility that provides electric service here, should be subject to East Hampton Town’s zoning laws will continue in a Brooklyn courtroom on Monday.

Several applicants cancelled their public hearings before the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, resulting in an abbreviated meeting that proved time well spent for one applicant.