Dear friends and members of the League of Women Voters of Shelter Island,

All members of the Town Board except Councilman Ed Brown were in attendance at today’s Work Session, as were about ten residents of Shelter Island.

Fireworks Update – Sean McLean from the Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce reported on the status of the Chamber’s 4^th of July Fireworks program and asked the Town Board if the fireworks must be launched from a barge, which has been recommended by principals involved because of safety issues created by increasing crowds.  A barge has been located, he said, citing an estimated cost of $35K for 2008 vs $21K last year.  Councilman, Peter Reich, asked how much of that was the barge, and Mr. McLean replied that the rental fee for the barge was $8K + another 75 percent of that to provide for a rain date and the costs of towing, fuel, loading space rental and insurance.  He also noted that last year’s estimate for barge rental was $15K, the reductions arrived at through the efforts of Southold Town Supervisor’s help as well as the July 12^th (vs July 5^th) date.

            The barge, he said, was not available on July 5^th –nor will it be available on July 4^th next year – as they are reserved two-plus years out, and generally unavailable to a small venue like Shelter Island without an exorbitant fee. A photograph showing the specific location of the barge was distributed to the Town Council. He also noted that doing the event on July 5^th (rather than the 12^th) would be more expensive even if we were detonating from the beach, and added that there were significant financial incentives from the vendor – larger show, bigger and more shells – with the later date, citing a 30 percent discount from the fireworks vendor.  Plover problems, too would be fewer on the later date – “Overall,” he said, “the show would be significantly better if launched from the barge on July 12th.”

            Supervisor, Jim Dougherty, asked for a time line on the application, to which Mr. McLean replied that it takes about 45 days to get an answer from the Coast Guard.  Councilman, Glenn Waddington, asked Police Chief, Jim Read, who was in attendance, if the event would be easier from his perspective by launching from a barge rather than from the beach, to which Chief Read replied that he had no experience working with a barge but anticipated fewer crowd control problems with the barge launch.

            “A better show”  was Mr. McLean’s answer to Peter Reich’s question about why the venue had been moved father West and Glenn Waddington asked if Suffolk County marine officials would be involved.  Chief Read said that the Town had received assistance from many neighboring towns but not the County. 

            Safety and crowd control issues were discussed, with 600 feet distancing spectators from the (beach) launch site as a working parameter, based on 70 feet per one inch of shell.  The critical issue, however, seemed to be crowd control on exit because of the 30-minute “cooling off” period required to search for unexploded shells etc., before disbursement.

            Councilwoman and Deputy Supervisor, Chris Lewis, commented that the Board has “talked about this for a long time” and we need to just do it.”

            Mr. McLean also noted that the Chamber of Commerce has been “progressing the show each year” to increase safety – and that they were committed to raising the funds.  He pointed out that last year’s event cost $2lK, which “was paid for with 117 checks” – vs. the 3,500 or so spectators – and noted that 5 of the 117 checks paid for more than half of the event with most coming in after the show.  There was considerable discussion of raising funds from off-Islanders, particularly boaters, the latter of whom were considered impractical targets.

            Glenn Waddington asked if the Chamber had gotten flack for moving the event to July 12^th – “Yes,” said Mr. McLean, adding that “unless someone comes up with an additional $15K, we’re not doing it on the 4^th next year either.”

            The discussion ended with Supervisor Dougherty’s comment that Mr. McLean should “get going on the permit and the Town will help in any way we can.”

Shell Beach Parking – A Shelter Island resident who was not identified, except as Jean and who seemed to be from Silver Beach, spoke to the Town Council about changing the parking regulations related to the road and beach repair work on Shell Beach.  “I feel those neighbors don’t like to see my car parked in front of their house,” she said, and added that the regulations significantly increased walking distance to the beach.  She also said that many people are upset and feel that the regulations are “designed to discourage us.”  Chief Read pointed out that it is difficult to make much of a change – “We don’t promote parking on bends,” he said, and recommended that parking regulations be unchanged until the Town finishes its repair work.  He also said that the “neighbors had no say” in determining the temporary parking rules.  No specific action was taken or recommended.  Jean also asked to “put in her 2-cents worth on the fireworks, requesting some advertisement or some way to let people know as her two kids had already bought plane tickets for the previous weekend.  It was requested that the Reporter run another story – “above the fold.”

Community Housing Commission Proposal – Mary-Faith Healey reported on the status of the committee’s work and proposed Town of Shelter Island Community Housing legislation  “not just to the Town Board, but to the Community.”

            The legislation is designed to sustain the economy and social economic diversity of the Island, to keep young families on the Island and to attract workers to the Island.  It has been more than a year in the making, she said, citing the Community Housing Overlay District and issues raised at the February 9, 2007 hearing, which were summarized as 1) concerns regarding the permanent impact of zoning change(s);  2) specific workforce housing permits 3);  the need to clarify terminology; 4) enforcement and maintenance issues; 5) eligibility; and 6) definitions of duties and authority.

            The idea of changing the zoning code was scrapped and a proposed Community Housing Law was presented –

            1) Licensing mechanism rather than permitting, to separate it from other housing or building legislation ; 2) Keep floating zone concept in tact; 3) clarified language and a law that has met other objectives and concerns cited above; and 4) legislation built on establishing a Shelter Island Community Housing Board.  The purpose of the new law, she said, would include creating and sustaining opportunity for income-eligible households; maintaining community economic goals and opportunities.  The Board would be appointed,  consist of five residents who were not paid officials and who would serve 4-year terms with rotating expirations and who would administer a Shelter Island Housing Registry, defined as a listing of eligible licensees as well as renters.  Eligibility for renting would be limited t U.S. citizens or legal resident aliens who meet the criteria and who have lived and/or worked in the Town for one year.

            Specifications for housing include 1) rentals only; 2) existing structures; 3) no special modifications; 4) compliance with Town codes; 5) renewable,  5-year licence and 6) priority to family member applications.

            Maximum 1-year, renewable rental rates were proposed  to be determined by 1) fair market rent as specified by Suffolk County; 2) a simple application process; 3) a no-fee process; 4) maximum occupancy related to size of facility; and 5) a process for enforcement, including penalty and violations.  Some samples were given – on eligibility, household size from 1 to 4, were matched with income levels of $78,850 to $112,550, and fair market monthly rentals from $901 for a studio to $1,384 for 2-BR  (using 2005 $s, and meaning that today’s rentals would be adjusted higher).

            Ms. Healey summarized with several situational examples and concluded by reiterating that the proposed legislation had responded to the Town Board and to the Community and requested a public information meeting on Tuesday,  April 14^th, a Public Hearing on Friday, May 9^th and a Town Board vote at their earliest convenience.

            There were a number of questions from Town Council members and from Shelter Islanders in attendance – Supervisor Dougherty wondered how the 1-year rental was determined and suggested it sounded arbitrary...Glenn Waddington suggested the need to encourage volunteers to stay on the Island and Peter Reich asked if volunteers might be given a priority.  Ms. Healey said that much had been discussed about both issues and it was felt that one year was appropriate and that “value” of various forms of volunteer work was complicated and too complex to quantify.  Barbara Clark raised a number of questions, including eligibility of seasonal workers and enforcement authority in both the new, proposed legislation and the those who currently in violation.  She commended the committee but expressed “a little trepidation because there’s too much in the underworld now that will be too hard to adjust to the new standards.”

            Chris Lewis pointed out that seasonal workers would not be covered unless those who hire them provide housing, Glenn Waddington opined that the Town has been “pushed in the right direction,” and Jim Dougherty asked for an elaboration on the floating zone rationalization.  Peter Reich raised the issue of properties in the near shore overlay, which are not included and which excludes 40 percent of Island housing. Mary-Faith Healey said that the Committee’s goal was “to be sure that the door was left open for opportunities” and the floating zone had been retained to demonstrate response to objections.  Barbara Clark, suggesting that “the ZBA is far too liberal,” asked for a delineation of its role, to which Ms. Healey responded that “they have nothing to do with this.”

            Supervisor Dougherty summarized with a comment that the committee’s work was excellent and the presentation was “marvelous...very stimulating.”  Copies of the presentation were distributed to the  Town Board members [and will be available from the Committee], and Ms. Healey and the Committee were given the go-ahead to schedule the requested information meeting and hearing – April 14^th and May 9^th, respectively.

Green Initiative – Herb Stelljes appealed to the Town Board to look form a committee to explore alternative energy options – for both the Town per se and to explore and publicize what individuals can do to be more energy-efficient, generally .  He suggested the Town form a 3 - 5-member committee to meet regularly and to line-up technical experts to advise and to provide information at meetings, at Town Hall, with brochures, etc. 

            Patricia Shillinburg, who was in attendance, told of her own exploration energy savings via solar panels on her roof, noting that LIPA was coming tomorrow to start looking into it, and encouraged others to investigate – including what we as a Town can do with LIPA’s per-building program.

            Supervisor Dougherty, asking how can we not do something, said, “I think we should jump into this.”  It was decided that the Town Council endorsed his proposal – cautioning that “where we go after this is the second story” –  and the Council would discuss specifics and get back to Mr. Stelljes.

Chartouni Proposal  – Another and quite lengthy discussion was held about the proposal to remove some “unsound and weak” trees, in apparent violation of a covenant on the property pre-existent to its sale to the current owner.  The bottom line seems to be that the Town has no legal exposure, but there was some disagreement about the definition  of “unsafe” – with general consensus on meaning that implied “imminent” or “looming danger”  Barbara Clark asked why everything is being second-guessed all the time, and Supervisor Dougherty joked that “maybe we should play bridge on Tuesday afternoons”

[because we do these covenants and then change them when the first person comes along].  Replanting on the property to mitigate tree removal was discussed, but the ultimate decision was that “the trees stay,” although the Board agreed that vines might be removed and that they would look again in a couple of weeks.

DiGregorio Wetlands – The Board reviewed proposed construction in area adjacent to wetlands on the Westmoreland Drive property and concluded there was a need for more mitigation with non-pervious materials, e.g. blue stone set in sand rather than concrete, use of untreated railroad ties between the gazebo and the pool, etc.   Glenn Waddington asked if the Board wanted DiGregorio to move the house out of the regulated area.  Peter Reich said he “didn’t have a problem” with part of the house being in the regulated area “if we can get enough mitigation,” and that they would discuss it further next week, perhaps providing a suggested mitigation request list.

Ram Island Causeways – Highway Superintendent, Mark Ketcham, gave an updated status report –

            On the lst causeway, he said the wetlands were to be remarked today (on the lst) and plans were underway for road remediation and lifts, that the highway department was set to remove asphalt, regrind it and replace it, and that he had met with engineers and that all applications with the D.E.C. were in place.  Peter Reich wondered if the work might better be scheduled off-season because of one-lane traffic, but Mark Ketcham – noting that “raising the road been on the books for 30 years” – explained the process in detail, reiterating that one-lane traffic  would only be during workday hours and that the road was fully accessible to emergency vehicles.  Chris Lewis suggested that the work should be finished before hurricane season.  He said it would take two to two-and-one-half weeks to lift and repair the road, four or five days to pave it and, with shoulder work and planting, it would be finished in one month.

            On the 2^nd causeway, he reported that after having been turned down by F.E.M.A., application had been made to the Federal Highway Administration (F.H.W.A.), who had sent it along to the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) who has signed off and now the project is back with ‘the F.H.W.A. for funding, who, in a phone conversation, had accepted the $1million Shelter Island Plan in total.

            Mr. Ketcham also reported that he had met with Mr. Schultheis regarding the problem with dirt fill on the Jaspa Road shoulder and trees on the property.  The Highway Department will complete the work and be reimbursed by Mr. Schultheis on a schedule arranged with the Shelter Island Tax Department.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Peter Reich briefly mentioned a geothermal project [?} and said the Island’s G.I.S. system was up and running and ready for a demonstration session with the Town Board tomorrow (Wednesday).

Jim Dougherty reported that he had received the Shelter Island Police Department’s annual report from Chief Read and said it “looked routine.”

Glenn Waddington thanked Mary-Faith Healey for her committee’s work and for the Community Housing Commission proposal.

            He also reported that he had visited Taylor’s Island with that committee last Saturday and that “the state of the bulkhead [there] is dire.”  Jim Dougherty asked about funding for repair, and Glenn Waddington reported that they are still working through the D.E.C. applications and that Pat – with Chuck Hamilton – are working with the D.E.C. and funds are being raised, citing the May 30^th benefit Ferry Cruise, which he said, is selling out fast.

Chris Lewis noted Mrs. Bourne’s [?] letter to Mark Ketcham and Chief Read, but no details were provided.  She also reminded the Board of Susan Harder’s Dark Skies presentation, scheduled for April 15^th and alluded to a letter from Eleanor Oakley which, it was decided, would be discussed after the presentation.

A ZBA presentation to the Town Council is scheduled for next week’s Work Session and it was recommended that dialog on “3^rd Story” be held at a separate meeting because of other issues coming up.

Shelter Island resident, Barbara Clark, asked if tree service providers are licensed by the Town, to which Laury Dowd replied that while various home improvement contractors hold licenses, landscapers do not.  Ms. Clark recommended that the Town initiate the equivalent of a Better Business Bureau on the Town website to provide information about those who perform these services.  Supervisor, Jim Dougherty, said “Yes, and in the interim, I’ll give you Glenn’s private line,” but further discussion took a more serious tone, including the potential for libel, problems of research and impartiality and, mostly, the appropriateness of a municipality – vs. a private entity, like BBB or Consumer Reports – to play this role.

            She also asked if there was any news about the proposed rehabilitation center on Ram Island to which Mr. Dougherty replied that the Town had not been contacted and had nothing to report.

A question was raised about when the Town Council will address lot coverage issues in B-zones, noting that 90 percent of businesses on Route 114 use 100 percent of the lots on which they are located – and that “if we fool around with that, ‘you could create a heck of a mess.’” There was discussion about new vs. existing businesses but no conclusion or decision.

Another Shelter Island resident in attendance, Tom [Young?], asked about the status of a drug testing policy on Shelter Island, to which Supervisor Dougherty replied that “We’re looking at it – fine-tuning the proposal, taking it very seriously,” and that it’s “on the top of our list.”

            There being no other business, the Work Session was adjourned at 3:30 to accommodate Executive Session to discuss Personnel.

Phyllis Gates

for the League of Women Voters of Shelter Island