HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-10/17/1995 4 .1 5
SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD
OCTOBER 17, 1995
WORK SESSION
Present: Supervisor Wickham, Councilman Lizewski, Councilwoman Hussie,
Councilman Townsend, Justice Evans. Also present: Town Clerk Terry, Town
Attorney Dowd. Absent: Councilwoman Oliva (attending a conference) .
9 :15 A.M. - The Board briefly discussed the Town Grants Program. Councilwoman
Hussie suggested placing a $2,500 ceiling on the amount of a grant to any one
organization, however, other Board members did not agree. Supervisor Wickham
said he felt the grant would depend upon the benefit to the Town. This subject
will be discussed further during the budget process.
9 :30 A.M. - The Board met with the following individuals to hold a Step 3 grievance
hearing in accordance with the CSEA contract with regard to the grievance of
Edward Scroxton, Highway Department employee on Fishers Island: Mr. Scroxton,
Jim Henck, Labor Relations Specialist, Suffolk Coutny, Lois Atkinson, CSEA
President, Southold Town, Linda Cooper and Andrew Ruroede, members of the Labor
Management Committee, Southold Town. Mr. Scroxton alleges he is working out
of title as a Heavy Equipment Operator, and there is understaffing and unsafe
practices in the Highway Department on Fishers Island.----The Town Board reserved
decision.
10 :30 A.M. - The Board held a 1996 Budget Work Session until they recessed for
lunch.
2 : 15 P.M. - Town Board reconvened their work session and placed a resolution (16)
on the agenda appointing individuals to the Architectural Review Committee.----
Appointed Eileen Kiski as a Records Management Clerk for the Town Clerk's office
(resolution 17) .----Appointed Home Health Aides for the Human Resource Center
(resolution 18) .----Set 1 :30 P.M. , Tuesday, October 31st, Disposal Area, for
interviews of Gate Attendants.----Rory Simpson, Chairperson of the Substance
Abuse Committee, notified the Board that he would like to add a new member to the
committee. He submitted the name of Clement Charnews Jr. , a student' at Suffolk
County Community College in the Alcohol Counseling Program. Board will interview
Mr. Charnews during the October 30th work session.----Board placed a resolution
(19) on the agenda to enact Local Law No. 21 - 1995, "A Local Law in Relation to
Flea Markets" .----Board reviewed a memorandum to the Town Trustees from "The
Commoners" stating that they would like to convey their 34 acres to the Trustees
with the provisions that (1) the acres remain in perpetuity as a wildlife preserve,
and (2) that the Trustees erect a commemorative marker or plaque in front of Town
Hall with their names and a short history. The Board asked Town Attorney Dowd
to check out the wildlife preserve proviso.
3 :50 P.M. - Town Board reviewed the resolutions to be voted on at the 7 :30 P.M.
Regular Meeting.
4:00 P.M. - Supervisor Wickham briefed the Board on recently enacted Suffolk
County law implementing the emergency telephone system (E911) telephone program,
which will implement a funding mechanism to assist in the payment of the costs
associated with establishing and maintaining an Enhanced 911 system and thereby
considerably increase the potential for providing all citizens of Suffolk County with
41 .6 OCTOBER 17, 1995
the valuable services inherent in an Enhanced 911 system. Upon passage of the
legislation the telephone company will begin to impose a thirty-five cent surcharge
per access line per month on each telephone subscriber in Suffolk County to pay
for the costs associated with implementing, installing and maintaining the systems.
It presently costs Southold Town about $45,000 per year for the Nynex charges for
this service. We will now forward our bills to the County, which will pay them from
the E911 fund, rather than the Town paying them from general tax revenues.----
Supervisor Wickham briefed the Board on the Brown Tide Summit to be held on
October 20 E 21 at the Holiday Inn in Ronkonkoma. The goals of the summit are
to review the current . state of knowledge regarding brown tide and to develop a
research plan that, when implemented, ...will provide sufficient information about
brown tide to predict an/or control its future occurrence and minimize its impacts.
There will be nationally-recognized experts from New York and elsewhere to review
what is known about brown tide and discuss what the next steps should be to
address this issue.----Lastly, Supervisor Wickham advised the Board that the police
contract negotiations are now in: binding arbitration.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On motion of Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
Resolved that the Town Board enter into Executive Session to discuss litigation.
Vote of the Board : Ayes: Supervisor Wickham, Councilman Lizewski, Councilwoman
Hussie, Councilman Townsend, Justice Evans. Also present: Town Clerk Terry,
Town Attorney Dowd. Absent: Councilwoman Oliva.
►1 :50 P.M. - Work Session adjourned.
REGULAR MEETING
A Regular Meeting of the Southold Town Board was held on October
17, 1995, at the Southold Town Hall, Southold, New York. Supervisor
Wickham opened the meeting at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance to
the Flag.
Present: Supervisor Thomas H. Wickham
Councilman Joseph J . Lizewski
Councilwoman Alice J . Hussie
Councilman Joseph L. Townsend, Jr.
Justice Louisa P. Evans
Town Clerk Judith T. Terry
-Town Attorney Laury L. Dowd
Absent: Councilwoman Ruth D. Oliva
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I think you all 'should have copies of the agenda,
that was outside the door there. On the back page of it is an Order to
Business, that we used in conducting the business of the morning, and, in
the afternoon during our Work Session. A good part of our Work Session
was actually spent reviewing the 1996 Budget, which the Town will be
moving to adopt in the coming weeks. We have public hearing scheduled for
tonight at eight o'clock, and we have various other things on our agenda
today. I'm open for a motion to approve the bills.
OCTOBE t 17, 1995 `t .1 7
Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED that the following bills. be and hereby ordered paid:
General Fund Whole Town bills in the amount of $100,519.52; General Fund
Part Town bills in the amount of $1,503.24; Community Development Fund
bills in the amount of $477.42; Highway Fund Whole Town bills in the amount
of $7,922.18; Highway Fund Part Town bills in the amount of $5,662.41;
CHIPS (Highway Part Town) bills in the amount of $121,866.25;
Lighting/Heating Capital A/C bills in the amount of $264.00; Fishers Island
Metal Dump Capital bills in the amount of $58,369.75; Employee . Health
Benefit Plan bills in the amount of $71,161 .67; Fishers Island Ferry
District bills in the amount of $13,478.48; Refuse & Garbage District bills
in the amount of $121,740.70; Southold Wastewater District bills in the
amount of $1,672.50; Fishers Island Sewer District bills in the amount of
$170.28; Southold Agency & Trust bills in the amount of $2,202.15; Fishers
Island Ferry District Agency & Trust bills in the amount of $1,091 .59.
Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the October 3, 1995, Town Board meeting
be and hereby are approved.
Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Justice Evans, it was
RESOLVED that the next regular meeting of the Southold Town Board will
be held at 4:30 P.M., Monday, October 30, 1995, at the Southold Town
Hall, Southold, New York.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: This is a Monday meeting rather than a Tuesday,
because Tuesday is Halloween, and we thought it better not be on a holiday
of that kind.
Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
I . REPORTS.
1 . Southold Town Trustees' Monthly Report for September, 1995.
2. Southold Town Clerk's .Monthly Report for September, 1995.
3. Southold Town Justice Evans' Monthly Court Report for September,
1995.
4. Southold Town Justice Tedeschi's Monthly Court Report for
September, 1995.
5. Southold Town Justice Price's Monthly Court Report for September,
1995.
6. Southold Town Investigator's Monthly Report for September, 1995.
7. Southold Town Recreation Department Monthly Report for
September, 1995.
8. Southold Town Planning .Board Monthly Report for September, 1995.
9. Southold Town Healthcare Town Benefits Monthly Report for
September, 1995.
10. Southold Town Healthcare PBA Benefits Monthly Report for
September, 1995.
11 . Southold Town Scavenger Waste Treatment Facility Monthly Report
for September, 1995.
II . PUBLIC NOTICES. None.
III . COMMUNICATIONS. None.
IV PUBLIC HEARINGS.
1 . 8:00 P.M. , on a proposed "Local Law in Relation to Landfill Permit
Fees by Resolutions".
418 OCTOBER 17, 1995
V. RESOLUTIONS.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Rather than going into any discussion about our
Work Session, and a lot of the measures, that we discussed in the Work
Session are on the resolutions, ,, that we're about to consider. I'll just
invite comments from the audience for anybody who would like to comment on
any of the resolutions before us today.
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: Do you want to go into any of the
Supervisor's briefings relative to the brown tide, and the E991 thing?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Joe did mention a couple of things that we did
discuss today, maybe it would be useful before we get into this, two items,
that I think may interest people. One of them has to do with the E911
telephone service. You may know that Southold Town, thanks to decisions
of a previous Board some years ago, as the first town on Eastern Long
Island to adopt the Enhanced 911 telephone service. Most people here feel
it's a real benefit to our residents, and it's worked well. It's been rather
costly. It costs the Town roughly $45,000 a year to pay the connection
charges to NYNEX to allow the Town to work out the E911 service. Through
the Association of Supervisors of the Five East End Towns, we tried to find
with NYNEX a new way to finance that, a way that is legislative in State
Law that enable NYNEX to put a charge on each telephone subscribers' bill.
-Instead of the Town paying that cost, it would actually be added to
telephone bills. The Law allows NYNEX up to 35 cents per line for the E911
service. So, we got ourselves together, the Five East End Towns, and said,
let's form a coercion to do this. When we did that, the County of Suffolk
seeing that the five towns out on the end were about to do it, finally got
themselves in gear, and said, hey, this is something we wanted to do
county-wide for a long time, let's get out, and do it. In fact, they did.
They recently adopted a resolution, that puts in place the E911 service for
all of Suffolk County. The Town of .Southold, believe it or not, is a leader
in this area, and as a result of the County legislation the County will be
able to collect from NYNEX that thirty-some cents. I'm not sure if it will
thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two cents, . but approximately 30 some cents per
line per month. So, instead of the Town having to appropriate the $45,000 a
year, it will come from that surcharge added to people's bills. It seems to
me, that this is a fairer system, because it's a user's charge that
everybody pays, not just those people who pay ' taxes. On a second item,
that will be of interest that I did comment on this morning, and that has to
do with the Brown Tide Summit Meeting to be held in the Airport Holiday
Inn in Ronkonkoma next to the MacArthur Airport this Friday and
Saturday. This is a meeting that I think is very important, because it would
focus on the research needs,, to identify what the problems are that have
caused Brown Tide, what causes the perpetuation. of it once it's out there,
what can we do to get rid of,. it, 'and what's the impact on the shellfish? As
you may know research is one of those things that everybody delves into
when there's a problem, and as soon as the problem goes away everybody
kind of forgets any interest in this area. We felt that there's been a lack
of progress in .identifying the causes of the Brown Tide. It's had a very
severe impact on our shellfishing industry this year, and while there is
still a problem the Peconic Estuary Program, and I'm on the Management
Committee of that, and I proposed that we launch a major initiative to study
the causes, and effect, and the ways to deal with the Brown Tide. A
number of the other organizations, and other towns out here, have
supported that. We met in this Town Hall about two months to take the next
step, and the first concrete step is a conference called by Bob Gaffney,
the County Executive, starting this Friday and Saturday. So, anybody in
the town, who has an interest in research on Brown Tide, I would call this
a must. We have the forms here for those people, who would like to attend,
and I'd be very happy to distribute it out to people in the audience who
would like to participate in that. Having said that, are there people in
the audience, who would like to address the Board on any matter that we're
about to take up on the resolutions in front of us. I believe there's some
twenty resolutions. This is the time to alert the Board to your views about
any one or more of these twenty resolutions. If you have other matters of
concern, that don't pertain to these resolutions, we'd be happy to hear
about them after we take them up. (No response.) Hearing none would
someone like to begin the first one?
OCTOO E? 1 7, 1995 41
1 , -Moved by Councilman Townsend, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it
was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes and directs the Town Clerk to readvertise for a Home Health
Aide for the EISEP (Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly) Program,
up to 171
1/2 hours per week, at a salary of $6.00 per hour.
1 --Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
2•- Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby amends
resolution no. 2, adopted on October 3, 1995, appointing Lucia Farrell as
a temporary part-time Clerk Typist for the Justice Court, to reflect a
salary of $7.09 per hour.
Z •- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
3 .- Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold granting
permission to Senior Planner Valerie Scopaz to attend Peconic Estuary
Program Technical Advisory Committee meetings as a representative of the
Town of Southold, and to use a Town vehicle to travel to the meetings as
long as she attends as a representative of the Town.
3•- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
4•- Moved by Councilwoman Hussie, seconded by Supervisor Wickham, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby grants
permission to Planning Board members Richard C. Ward, C. Ritchie
Latham, and William Cremers, Planner Melissa Spiro, and Site Plan
Reviewer Robert Kassner to attend a workshop for Planning Board
members, sponsored by the Suffolk County Planning Federation, Monday,
October 30, 1995, 7:30 P.M., at Riverhead Town Hall, and the $50.00
registration fee for the Town, and the use of a Town vehicle for travel,
shall be a legal charge to the Planning Board's 1995 Budget.
4•- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
5 .-Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes the following budget modification to the Ceneral Fund Whole Town
1995 Budget to cover the costs of the Winter Recreation Department brochure:
To:
A7020.4.400.300 Printing $ 1,325.00
From:
A7020.4.500.420 Youth Program Instructors $ 1,325.00
5.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
6.- Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes an advance fee check in the amount of $634.50 (47 tickets @
$13.50 ea.) for the March 13, 1996 Ringling Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey Circus show at the Nassau Coliseum; said charge to be made to
A7020.4..500.420, Youth Program Instructors; check made payable to Nassau
Coliseum.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'd just like to comment that this is one of the
functions that our Recreation Program puts on, and it's entirely financed by
people who participate in that trip, who will pay the fund back to the Town.
6 .- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
420 OCTOBER 17, 1995
7.- Moved by Councilman Townsend, seconded by Justice Evans, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes and directs Supervisor Thomas Wickham to execute agreements
with Glen Stegner (Teen Nights) at $15.00 per hour, and Eugenia
Cherouski (Folk Dancing) at $16.00 per hour, for the Fall 1995 Recreation
Program, all in accordance with the approval of the Town Attorney.
7.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
8.- Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes Lawrence Healthcare Administrative Services, Inc. to pay a
.claim on behalf of employee Zigmund Helinski, which claim was submitted
to Lawrence by the provider more than 90 days after the date of service.
8 .- Vote of the Town. Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
9.- Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby engages
the services of George Rehn of Rehn & Fore, CPA's, as a consultant to
the Board of Assessors on an Article 7 proceeding brought by San Simeon
by the Sound, Inc. of Greenport, at a fee not to exceed $2,500.00
9.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
1.0,.- Moved by Councilwoman Hussie, seconded by Supervisor Wickham, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby grants
permission to the Mattituck Lions Club to use the following Town Roads for
its annual Halloween Parade on Tuesday, October 31, 1995, commencing at
6:00 P.M. , provided they file with the Town Clerk a One Million Dollar
Certificate of Liability Insurance naming the Town of Southold as an
additional insured: Pike Street, Westphalia Avenue, Sound Avenue, Love
Lane, Mattituck, New York.
10 .- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
H . -Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Supervisor Wickham, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes and directs Supervisor Thomas Wickham to execute agreements
with the following individuals for the Fall 1995 Recreation Program at
Fishers Island, all in accordance with the approval of the Town Attorney:
Frank Gillai (Soccer), $15.00 per hour, George Cairns (Soccer), $15.00
per hour.
] I .-Vote of the . Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
1 2 . -Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Councilwoman Hussie, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby modifies
the General Fund Whole Town 1995 Budget to appropriate funds for
insufficient budget lines in the Town Attorney's budget:
From:
A.1420. 1 . 100. 100 Town Attorney, Personal Services $ 6,083. 16
To:
A. 1420. 1 .300. 100 Temporary/Seasonal Employment 500.00
A. 1420.4.500. 100 Legal Counsel 5,583. 16
13 .-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
OCTOB R 17, 1995 421
13.-Moved by Justice Evans, seconded by Supervisor- Wickham,
WHEREAS, the MV MUNNATAWKET must be drydocked periodically to
allow inspection of her underwater body and outboard fittings; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby grants
permission to the Board of Commissioners of the Fishers Island Ferry
District to advertise for bids for drydocking MV MUNNATAWKET and
accomplishing of work thereon in accordance with the. specifications.
13.-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ,ADOPTED.
lit. -Moved by Councilman Townsend, seconded by Supervisor Wickham, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby modifies
the 1995 Solid Waste Management District budget as follows:
From:
SR.8160.2.200.300 Filing/Storage Equipment $ 10.00
To:
SR.8160.2.200.400 Computer- Equipment $ 10.00
(To cover .overdrawn line item. )
From:
SR.8160.4.400.805 MSW Removal $ 2,000. 00
To:
SR.8160.11. 100. 110 Preprinted Forms $ 1 ,000.00
SR.8160.11. 1 U0. 150 Scalehouse Paper/Supplies $ 1 ,000.00
(To cover unbudgete costs of printing 1996 resident permits and applica-
tion forms; cost of computer paper for scale, which continues to be higher
than expected. )
From:
SR.8160.4.1100.805 MSW Removal $ 2, 000.00
To:
SR.8160.11.400.820 Plastic Recycling $ 2,060.00
(To cover overdrawn line item. This covers all remaining contracted plastic
removal expenses. Town is now trucking its own recyclable plastics. )
From:
SR.8160.4.4U0.625 Tire Repair $ -1 , 500.00
To:
SR.8160.4. 100.525 Tires (Pay loader/Truck) $ 1 ,500.00
(To cover cost of one new payloader tire -- line over budget. )
From:
SR.8160.2.500.900 Miscellaneous Equipment $ 235.00
Maintenance/Supplies
To
SR.8160.r1. 1,00.600 Scale Maintenance $ 235.00
(To cover overdrawn line item. )
From :
SR.8160.4.400.805 MSW Removal $ 500.00
To:
SR.8160.4. 100.550 Maintenance Payloader 91 $ 500.00
(To cover overdraw of $5.90 plus provide for remaining maintenance needs
in 1995. )
422 OCT OBER 17, 1995
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: This is the time of year when we tend to get a
lot of these budget transfer. I could elaborate a little further. You will
see more and more of these things, because of the new budget format that
requires more precise accounting, and predicting. So, until we get the
procedure down, and we know what these expenses are going to be, you're
liable to see a lot more of these budget line transfers at the end of the
year.
14 .-Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: I guess Pm in charge of holiday parades.
15 .-Moved by Councilwoman Hussie, seconded by Justice Evans, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby
authorizes the closure of the following roads, beginning at 1 :30 P.M. ,
Tuesday, October 31, ' 1995, for the annual ` Oysterponds School District
Halloween Parade, provided they file with the Town Clerk a One Million
Dollar Certificate of Insurance naming the Town of Southold as an additional
insured: Village Lane, Orchard Street, Tabor Road, to the Orient Fire
House and back to the monument at Route 25 and Village Lane.
15 . -Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
16.-Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the. Town of Southold hereby appoints
the following individuals to the Southold Town Architectural Review'
Committee, effective immediately, for the following terms:
Robert I . Brown Architect - to October 17, 1996
Garret A. Strang, Architect - October 17, 1997
Josephine Boyd, Landmark Preservation Comm. member - Oct. 17, 1998
Hamlet Members
Fishers Island
Reynolds du Pont, Jr. - to October 17, 1996
Bernadette Walsh - to October 17, 1997
Orient/East Marion/Greenport
Yan Rieger - to October 17, 1996
Diana Van Buren - to October 17, 1997
Southold/Peconic
Herbert Ernst - to October 17, 1996
Robert Pettit - to October 17, 1997
New Suffolk/Cutchogue
Howard Meinke - to October 17, 1996
John C. Cronin, Jr. - to October 17, 1997
Mattituck/Laurel
Gayle Sturniolo - to October 17, 1996
Robert Keith - to October 17, 1997
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'd just like to remind people that the Board
adopted, some weeks ago, a Architectural Review Committee to assist the
Planning Board in carrying out the architectural review responsibilities the
Planning Board has. This committee doesn't have independent powers,
rather it's a recommending committee to the Planning Board. It is
constituted by . a core group of members, and added to that are members
representing the different hamlets of the town. The core members are two
architects, and one person representing the Landmark Preservation
Commission. The additional members will represent Fishers Island, if the
application comes from Fishers Island, or will represent Orient, East
Marion, or Greenport, if an application comes in for that part of the town,
or there will be member from the Southold, Peconic area, if an application
comes in from that area, New Suffolk, Cutchogue, Mattituck, Laurel. The
whole architectural review procedure is only designed to deal with site
plan, or business, or commercial property, not residential property.
16.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
OC:TO 3F ? 17, `995 423
17.- Moved by Councilwoman Hussie, seconded by Councilman Lizewski, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby appoints
Eileen Kiski as a Records Management Clerk for the Town Clerk's Office,
effective October 18, 1995, 17-1/2 hours per week, at a salary of $6.30 per
hour.
17.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
IS . - Moved by Councilman Lizewski, seconded by Councilman Townsend, it was
RESOLVED 'that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby appoints
the following individuals as Home Health Aides, their salaries to be paid
through the Programs for the Aging budget: Peter Criffen and Marvin
Knight, effective October 12, 1995, and Arthur E. Nichols, effective
October 13, 1995, all at a salary of $6.00 per hour, 17-1/2 hours per week.
18.- Vote of the Town. Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
19 .- Moved by Councilman Townsend, seconded by Justice Evans,
WHEREAS, there was presented to the Town Board of the Town of
Southold, on the 5th day of September, 1995, a Local Law entitled, "A
Local Law in Relation to Flea Markets"; and
WHEREAS, this Local Law was referred to the Southold Town Planning
Board and the Suffolk County Department of Planning for recommendations
and reports; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board held a public hearing on this Local Law on the
3rd day of October, 1995, at which time all interested persons were given
an opportunity to be heard thereon; _ now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Town Board hereby enacts Local Law No. 21 -1995, "A
Local Law in Relation to Flea Markets", which reads as follows:
LOCAL LAW NO. 21 1995
A Local Law in Relation to Flea Markets
BE IT ENACTED, by the Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows:
I . Chapter 100 (Zoning) of the Code of the Town of Southold is hereby
amended -as follows:
1 . Section 100-13B is hereby amended by adding the following
definition:
FLEA MARKET - An out-of-doors market operated only during
delight hours where new or used items- are sold from individual
locations, with each location being operated independently from
the other locations. Items sold include but are not limited to
household items, antiques, rare items, decorations, used books
and used magazines. This shall not include sales by a nonprofit
organization on an occasional basis.
2. Section 91B(10) is hereby amended by adding the following:
(10) Flea Markets
3. Section 100-101B (17) is hereby amended by adding the following:
17 Flea Markets.
* Underline represents additions.
19. -Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That completes the resolutions that are before us
at this time. There is one more resolution, that we could take up after the
public hearing tonight that begins at eight o'clock. So, we've completed the
list of resolutions before us. We still have six or eight minutes before the
eight o'clock public hearing, and because there may be people who will come
specifically at eight for the hearing, I'd like to open the floor to
comments or questions, that the audience might have of the Board. This is
your opportunity for up to five minutes a piece, please, to address the
Board with any matter or concern, that you have. Would you please begin
by giving us your name for the record?
424 OCTOBER 17, 1.995
WINIFRED PERINI : I'm Winifred Perini. I live in Laurel, and we the
undersigned residents and taxpayers do hereby petition the Southold Town
Board to hold a public referendum to decide if town-owned parkland at
Laurel Lake should be donated, gifted, conveyed or otherwise provided for
to the YMCA for the purpose of establishing a Southold/Riverhead facility.
We're not questioning the YMCA. We're just questioning that we would like
to be given the opportunity to vote on whether you're giving land away. We
just don't feel that you should give this land away without asking the whole
Town of Southold.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Do you have the petition to give to us? Thank you.
WINIFRED PERINI : The people are for the Y, but they just feel you
should give them a chance to vote on the land.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: The comment is people are in favor of the YMCA,
but they should be given an opportunity to vote on whether or not to
contribute the land. Let me just address this briefly, because I have been,
I guess, one of those trying to bring a YMCA to the town. As I guess it's
well known by now the step that the Town needed to take in order to
attract a Y to town at no cost for the construction, and no cost for the
operating budget, was to make a piece of property available for them, two to
three acres. The site in Laurel, or west Mattituck, was needed in order to
derive a membership base large enough to finance the annual operating
costs, and the only land that the Town had in that area was a piece of
property near Laurel Lake. We took the step, the Board did, in a resolution
several months ago, now, to make that piece of property available to the Y
for that purpose. At this time a consulting firm is having a look at the
site, seeing which parts of it would be most suitable for a facility, and
how it would be done with minimal damage, with no damage, I might add, to
the lake, or to any other piece of property. I'd like to characterize this
property as an exchange, not a gift. I'd like to characterize it as an
exchange for value. The Town would provide a piece of property, and in
exchange the Town would get a benefit, a benefit in terms of services
provided town-wide by the YMCA organization. So, to me it's an exchange
that I had difficulty judging is in the. Town's interests, and the majority
of the Board voted for that some months ago now. There will opportunities
in the future when the Town starts getting into the legal aspects of it, the
exact plot size, and where it would go, and the details of it. There will be
an opportunity at . that time for - people, who are really interested, to
present their concerns, and I would guess there would be opportunity to
force, or to- have a referendum on it .when that time comes. I'm not sure
that a referendum is needed. I think, the Board does have the authority to
take these decisions itself, but there is always that opportunity if people
want to, and surely we can have a good discussion, and debate, on ,that
subject. Are there other comments?
DOMINICK PERINI : Dominick Perini. I come from Brooklyn, and I live
on a 3.2 acre plot of land. It's pristine. It's beautiful. The place beside
it, as thought of for the YMCA would be a distraction to our beautiful
countryside out here. I know this is a given thing, but there is a lumber
yard that's out - .of business right next to our library in Mattituck. It's
been there empty for a long time. It's a real apropos place to have it in
town. I belonged to the Y myself when I lived in Brooklyn. It seems like
this piece of land is sitting there looking blah, and we could utilize it,
and the Mattituck library- can utilize it's rooms for some readings, which -we
need more room, but we won't have to get more room for the library, which
would cost the taxpayers more money. So, I think that should be thought of
in some way, some how, to do this, because I listen to these kids playing
ball up there, and it's a beautiful sound. I taught the kids in my area,
when I lived in Brooklyn, to, -play football. They didn't know how to play.
In doing this, you make kids happy, etc. etc. I don't see the YMCA making
kids happy, but look at the place. It's their place, and I told someone
here, that my garage doors. . I came out here every weekend to work on my
house, and there was never graffiti. So, the point of doing something for
the kids are nice. I'm not against the YMCA, but the location is what I'm
concerned with. Thank you.
OCTOPER 17, 1995 425
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Would anyone else like to address the Board before
the eight o'clock public hearing?
PAUL SPARA: Paul Spara from Mattituck,' concerned. Brown Tide
summit meeting, I'm curious as to what we're going to do as far as Southold
Town, and my concern is, is for over a year there's been a lot of study, a
lot of research, and they've come up with nothing, actually any real
concrete evidence of what causes the Brown Tide. I know we have some
money for some remedial things, stormwater runoff, and stuff like that.
would rather see our money going to those remedial things, rather back into
a research, when it's already been established that they have no idea what's
going on, and I've taped more of these meetings than I really care to, and
I'll probably be there for this one. How are the Five Towns getting
together, and going about this?
SUPERVISOR WICKH.AM:. I'd like to address first the theme that you
presented, and then I'll try to answer the second question. Everyone in the
Peconic Estuary Program views a program as basically a management
program, a do it program, not just a study program. The problem is, we
really don't know what to do to control Brown Tide. There's talk, for
example, about the drainage outfall from Riverhead as a contributor to the
contamination in the bay, which in turn contributes to Brown Tide. But,
nobody knows if that's really true. There's talk about other nitrogen
contamination into the bay. Nobody really knows whether that contributes to
Brown Tide. In fact, nobody really knows what has contributed to the
population dynamics. waxing and waning of Brown Tide. It was gone for five
years, and now suddenly it's with us again. Nobody knows why, and it's
not only Peconic Bay. It's not only in Great South Bay. It's coming up in
other parts of New England, and elsewhere. The problem with trying to
solve a problem by essentially throwing money at it is, it doesn't work
unless we understand the scientific technology, what's going on with the
organism, the biology of it. Unfortunately the research that's been carried
out to date on this has been very ad hoc, very broken up, short term,
incoherent. It has not yielded a result. You're absolutely right. We haven't
learned much from that research. What is needed is a consistent
comprehensive package, that will aim towards result, like the analogy that
.give is the Manhattan project for the atom bomb. I mean, you had a whole
group of people really focused on a problem for several years to get some
answers. Not just somebody in a graduate research student somewhere doing
something, and somewhere else doing something unrelated. That's the kind
of focus that we're proposing to give to this effort, and I think it's
important. Now, your question was, what can the towns out here do? The
five towns on the end of Long Island have met several times, and have said,
all of us, that we're keenly interested, even in putting some resources into
this if we knew that they would do some good. But, Riverhead is not
prepared to try to stop the effluent from it's outfall drain unless somebody
can tell Riverhead, that, hey, that's the stuff that really contributes to
Brown Tide, and nobody can say that with assurance. So, this research
would lay the foundation or the groundwork for a concerted effort by the
five towns, and I might add by Suffolk County, and by the State, and by
EPA, to assist the towns to take remedial action. But, nobody is prepared to
just throw money at a problem unless we're pretty certain that it will have
an impact.
PAUL SPARA: It brings up a question now of throwing money. Where is
the money coming from? Are we getting any grants?
426 OCTOBE? 17, 1995
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: For the conference, the EPA is putting up the
bulk, and Sea Grant are putting up the bulk of that: The research
program that I outlined, and that the conference is addressing, would cost
between one, and one and a quarter million dollars. We're trying to find
support for that at the . State level, and at the Federal level. If we can
have a viable conference that clearly points to some effective research
organizations, and laboratories in the United States that really come
together behind us with some cogent research agenda, I think the funds can
be found. Fred Theile, who is an interested Assemblyman in Albany, he'll
work at it. Congressman Forbes, he'll be interested in it at the Federal
level. What we need to do is develop an agenda, that we can sell to the
funding agencies.
PAUL SPARA: And that's the purpose of the summit meeting?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That's right.
PAUL SPARA: Who's going to be our representative from Southold,
yourself?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM:. I'm going to be there for much of it. I have asked
a couple of other people to be there, and I'm not sure whether they can,
one of our Trustees, and other people. Other people, who I see here in the
audience, who would make wonderful participants, who demonstrated a
research interest over the years, and who could clearly make a contribution
to that.
PAUL SPARA: Okay, and .I suppose at this time, that you're going to have
some kind of time frame for this research, how long it's going to go on?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: The whole thing is contingent upon finding
support. To find support, you have to come up with a program of action, a
research program. This conference would hopefully define that. Then we
have to sell it. Assuming we can come up with the money then it would be
up to two to three year research program.
PAUL SPARA: Back to the question of, we do have $50,000 or something
like that for some remedial things to be done within the town, has that
money been spent?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: . We have been spending .the money on road runoff,
and we have a million dollars commitment from the State of New York for
eleven road runoff remediation projects along Route 25. That's wending it's
way, you know, slowly through the bureaucracy of the New York State
Department of Transportation, but I'm sure that by next year that money
will be available to us, too.
I
PAUL SPARA: Thank you. .
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Thank you, Paul. Yes, sir?
i
HANK KUHN: Hank .Kuhn from Laurel back to the; Y question. Since
this will be a regional facility are any of the surrounding towns ready to
participate in the cost of involvement in it?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Since it's a regional facility,; Riverhead is the
logical town to help Southold Town with this. I have talked to some of the
elected officials of Riverhead, and they're comment to me has been, you
know, we'd be very interested in talking about that, and I anticipate after
the elections, sitting down with Riverhead, and finding out ways in which
Riverhead would like to participate in this. I think they would. I think
there is interest in Riverhead, but people in Riverhead are not prepared to
commit at this time, how that interest would be manifested.
OCTODER
17, 19970 427
HANK KUHN: The reason I was thinking that is, there is a lot of empty
land in Riverhead on the North Road, that might be available for this
facility.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That's a good thought. I see it's after eight
o'clock, and I'd like to move :to recess this Town Board meeting in order
to go into a public hearing. After the hearing is finished we'll come back
into the town meeting, and resume the questions and comments from the
audience.
Moved by Supervisor Wickham, seconded by Justice Evans, it was
RESOLVED that a recess be called at this time, 8:00 P.M., for the
purpose of holding a public hearing.
Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
Meeting reconvened at 8:05 P.M.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'd like to go back to the Town Board meeting,
and I see that we have one last resolution to take up before we resume the
questions with the public.
ZD•- Moved by Supervisor- Wickham, seconded by Councilman Townsend,
WHEREAS, there was presented to the Town Board of the Town of
Southold, on the 2nd day of October, 1995, a Local Law entitled, "A Local
Law in Relation to Landfill Permit Fees by Resolution"; and
WHEREAS, a ' public hearing was held on this Local Law by the Southold
Town Board on the 17th day of October, 1995, at which time all interested
persons were given an opportunity to be heard; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Town Board hereby enacts Local Law No. 21 - 1995,
which reads as follows:
LOCAL LAW NO. 21 - 1995
BE IT ENACTED,by the Town Board of the Town of Southold as follows:
1. Chapter 48 (Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse) of the Code of the Town of
Southold is hereby amended as follows:
1. Section 48-4A is hereby amended as follows:
A. The fees for the issuance of permits and/or licenses for vehicles
transporting refuse into any refuse disposal area maintained by
the Town of Southold shall be in the amounts prescribed by the
Town Board, by resolution and as amended from time to time.
Permits shall be issued as follows:
2. Section 48-4A(1) is hereby amended as follows:
(1)(d) fie-fee-feF--the-iaeuaRGe-ef-a yesideRt-4afld€il4eFM -&hall-be
64.+sly4ee-as--shall-be-gFeseFibed-by--a-Fese11+4er- ef-th GUthGld
T-9Wr�_RAaF4-
3. Section 48-4A(2) is hereby amended as follows:
(2)(c) fie-fee4Gr-t ie-issuaRee-ef-a-guest lessee-land€ill-peFmit--shall
be-61+sb fee-as-shall--be-pFessFibed-by a seluticm-ef4he
Seutbeld-T-ewF-geaFd-
4281 OCTOBER 17, 1995
4. Section 48-4A(3) is hereby amended as follows:
(3)(c) The4ee-#er-he-iSGUanse e€-a-guest4andfitl-permit-shall-be-s6is# .
fee-as-sh�att-lac-�r-eseFabed-by-a-reselutien��the-Se�tk�eld Tew�
Beard.
5. Section 48-4A(4) through (13) is hereby deleted!in its entirety:
(44) Rer-lead-fee-af4we-dollar-s-�. 49r-each-Reneernmersiat
vehicle-of-les&4hap-ene-ten-sapaei"hiGh-pessess-fle-permit:-
(5) Rer--lead-#ee-ef-thirty-dellar-E�- $39�-#er-eaGh-siflgie-axle-truck
whisk-lees-net-pessess-a-per-mi t.
(6� Annua{-#ee-e�si�ty-deltars--�$69-}-#er-eaet�'se�rner-s+ai-vefaisle
trar�speFt+ng--liquid-septic-waste;teget#�er�itt3-are-additieaai--#ee
ef-three-Gents-($9-93-)-fer-each-gai len-ef-liquid-waste
disGharged-
(-� AaRuai-#ee-e#-sixty-deltafs-($69:-}-fer-eas#�-se�r�eFsiat
G9 n t Fc7 Gt e r-L6-v e h i G l e-e f-le ss-than-ene-t e 1i-rs aXi m u re-g Fes s
vehicle-weight- '
(� Anntial-#ee-e#-si�t�detlaFs-(�68-}--#eF-cask}-faFrx�-vef�iGte-a�erae-
ten-er-mor-e-sapasit-y-4FanspeFting-agr4Gt4itu�al- waste.
(-g3 P-�F--lcad-#ee-e#-�si�ty-detJaFs-($69-}-#sr-each-double-axle-tr��
whiGh-does-net-possess a-peFmit-
(4-9) AnnuaPee�f-two-hur4Fed-twenty-deLlaFs (�-8 I each
sing Ie-ayle-vehicle-tFanspertiRg-solid-waste-(gaFbage--
(a-1) AF}nual-#ee-ef-4we-h6lRdFed-twenty-4eltars-($22C9-#eF-eaGh
Gemmer-sial-sentMGtOF' vehi6le-ef-mere-than-ene-teF-GapaGity.
0-2-) Annual-#ee-a€-siY,-hURdred-deNars-f$689 4br-each-deubie-axle
aRGVer-eempa GteF-type-vehiGle-tfa F}sper4iRg-send-waste
(garbage).-
(444 4 ARnual fee-e#-six-h6ladFe44eilars4699+fer-each--semmeFGial
GentFasteF's-deuble-axle-andler4r-asteF-trailer-sembiRatiGR-ef
mere than-ene-ten G2paGity-
6. Section 48-4F is hereby deleted in its entirety:
Fr AmendmeRt-e#-fees-NGtw+thstand+ng-any-ef*e-pr-evisiens-hereef;
the-T-ow4:�-BeaFd-may,-by4esolutiGn;change;-Medi€"r4epeal-aRy
e€-the-fees-set 94144F,§-48-4 her-ee#-
11 . This Local Law shall take effect upon filing with the ;Secretary of
State.
* Underline represents additions.
** Strikethrough represents deletion.
20.- Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
OCTOBER 17, 1995 429
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That completes the resolutions before us, and the
Board is pleased to hear comments from the audience. Yes, sir, the
gentleman in black by the door?
FRANK CARLIN: - Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Frank Carlin
from Laurel. Before I start I have a question for you, Tom. When are you
going hold the public hearing on the budget?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: The Town Board will adopt a budget to go out to
hearing on or before the 27th of October.
TOWN CLERK TERRY: The hearing will be on November 9th.
FRANK CARLIN : Why do you hold it after election?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: It's possible we could hold it before that.
FRANK CARLIN: I suggest you hold it before that.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I would like to, too, Frank.
FRANK CARLIN: Why can't you?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: It's up to the Board to get it all together, and get
a budget to enact before that time to hold it. But, what will happen is the
Board will take a vote by the 27th, October 27th, to put that budget
out to hearing, and to be advertised in the newspaper. That will go out on
the 27th, not later than the 27th of October.
FRANK CARLIN: I'd appreciate it if my time starts now.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: All right. Your time starts now, Frank. Co ahead,
five minutes.
FRANK CARLIN: Again, Mr. Supervisor, I"m not against the YMCA, but
if you would have taken the time two weeks ago on a Sunday, and drove
down to Laurel Park, "what you would have seen was children playing on the
seesaws, the monkey bars, the swings, the slides, people using the two
baseballs fields, people using the picnic benches, people going in and out
of the information center. The problem is that we don't get around town
enough. We depend on too many committees to tell us what's going on in
town. We've got to travel around town more to see these things. You know,
it cost the Town to put that park there, over $100,000. Now, it's in
jeopardy, because you want to be a Santa Claus to the YMCA. You made a
statement, it wouldn't cost the taxpayers no money. The last week or two
you spent a thousand dollars on an environmental study. To me, that's
putting the cart before the horse. That should have been done before you
.passed the resolution to locate it in Laurel. Do you know they can't drink
that water in the information center?- They use bottled water. They flush the
toilet, and it's brown. There could be a water problem there. How are they
going to get a building permit? See, that should have been studied before
you passed the resolution. What will they do if they find out, and I think
I've got the answer, if there is a water problem there? Oh, we'll hook up to
the Suffolk County Water Authority. It's right down the road. Who's going
to pay for that, the taxpayers? It's too bad that, that beautiful park is
going to be in jeopardy, because you decided without even giving the people
a chance to vote on it in our area here. (Tape change.) They use that park
all the time. What's your answer to me, if that water happens to be
unacceptable? How they going to build then? There's a man over here by the
landfill on the North corner got a lawsuit against the Town. He wants to
build, but he can't build because the water is effected. The Planning Board
won't give him a permit to build. What happens if that water is not
acceptable? What's going to happen? See? You jump to conclusions. You
should have made the study, come up with things like this, and then had it
on a resolution. But, no, you pushed a resolution through, and now you're
430 OCTO►BER 17, 1995
going to make the study. This is only the beginning, a thousand dollars.
don't have time for my next subject, but I'm going to come back, because
I'm going to tell you why I'm going to come back, because if Mayor Kapell
can stand up here for forty-five minutes, and pound on this podium, I have
the right to at least come back once, or twice more, and, say what I want to
complete. It won't be on this subject. It will be on something else. I'll
give it to somebody else for now, but I'm like General MacArthur. .I shall
return.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Thank you, Frank. Would anyone else like to
address the Board this evening?
DAVID CORWIN: My name is David Corwin, and I'd like to address
your Town Budget that was worked on for awhile this morning. I realize the
public hearing will be held, but it's my observation that once it's in black
and white, and adopted . by the Town Board, the public hearing has little
meaning. A couple of items I'd like to question is you mentioned the 3%.
Apparently, 3% salary raise for people throughout the town. That's the drift
of what I was getting this morning, and I'm seeing different raises for
different people, and I'm wondering if people got more than others, or why
is that. The Assessors got 4.7%. The Town Clerk got 30. The Town
Attorney got 9.70, so I'm just wondering if it's uniform throughout, or some
people got more than others? I'd like to address the Town Attorney item.
The Village of .Creenport has brought a lawsuit against the town. Now, as a
resident of Greenport, I have to pay taxes twice for the lawsuit. It's
double taxation, which I realize the Town likes to do that in the Village of
Creenport, tax us more than once. I don't think it's right. I've raised that
question before. It's double taxation, and the people that are going to
benefit, if you win the lawsuit, Southold Town wins the lawsuit, other
people in Southold Part Town, not the people in Southold Whole Town.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'd just like to interrupt you to say, I don't think
anybody on this Board likes that legal action. There's nobody here who
wants that to happen. We're not happy with this, as you put it, double
taxation. I don't like the inference, that we're happy with this.
DAVID CORWIN: I'm not making that inference, because I'm not happy
with it either, and I told you that,. but I'm not happy with paying for it
twice.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Neither are we.
DAVID CORWIN: I mentioned increases in salary. The Bay Constable
apparently got 8.9% increase in salary. Control of dogs, this is my favorite
one, $118,000 Contractual Expenses to keep dogs alive, rather than
euthanasia them. I called up_ that Dog Shelter, and your Police Department
time and time again, to complain about a dog in my neighborhood. I still
can't walk down my side of the street, because that dog comes after me.
Nothing gets done. This money going to the North Fork Animal Welfare
League is just an insult to the taxpayers from my prospective, when nothing
is done. You go to the Police, oh, North Fork Animal League. You go to
North Fork Animal League, oh, the Police. This is wrong to pay $118,000 for
nothing, but keeping dogs alive until they die of old age. Superintendent of
Highways salary, it shouldn't be in the Whole Town Budget. The Village of
Creenport has a Highway Department. We're paying for supervision. Why do
we have to pay for it twice? We're being taxed double. Street lighting,
$66,000, it shouldn't be in the Whole Town Budget. The Village of Creenport
has their own street lights, but we have to pay double. You guys are
already to run to the Village, and say, help us set up a utility, so we can
have lower electric rates, but you're also all ready to go down to the
Village of Creenport, and take as much money in the Village of Creenport
out of the Village of Creenport as you can at every opportunity you have.
don't think that's right. Off Street. Parking, it shouldn't be in the Whole
Town Budget. It should be in Part Town. The Village of Creenport has it's
funds for off street parking. Child Day Care, now, there may be
information. I don't understand here. I'm not familiar with it, but it went
from $10,000 to zero dollars this year. I'm wondering why that is. Basically
it's saying to young working mothers, who need day care, as I read this,
correct me if I'm wrong, we're not going to help you out, and yet Programs
for the Aging at a 5.4% increase. Library Contractual Expenses, $45,000 last
year, this year is zero dollars. Now, I think libraries are a very important
OCTOBER 1', 1995 `t 31
resource. What I can't understand is how you can spend $28,000 for tourist,
for advertising to bring tourists in the town, and you can't help the
libraries out to the tune of $1 .00. Publicity, $28,000, which is basically
to bring tourists into the Town of Southold, as I understand it. Well, from
my prospective, I got to tell you, we've got about the right amount of
tourists in the Town of Southold now. I don't think we need a whole lot
more. Trustees, $130,000, $131,000 for the Town Trustees. I think their
salaries should be cut in half, and I will tell you why. Councilwoman Oliva
was here. She worked very hard on this Local Waterfront Revitalization
Program. She asked for volunteers. She got a lot of people to volunteer, to
give the town information to send to the consultant. I was one of them.
spent many hours, and a lot of other people spent many hours. I came to
every meeting, which none of you people did, that I remember, except for
Councilwoman Oliva. One or two of the Trustees came to those meetings for
Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. When it was time to have input for
the final draft of Local Waterfront Revitalization, the Trustees didn't even
show up. They had no input. These are the people, the experts. I realize
you don't have a lot of control over the Trustees. They're elected, but you
apparently do set their salary, and their salary is too high if they're not
going to take their job more seriously. Whole Town Tree Committee, $5,000,
double taxation, again. I'm paying in the Village of Greenport for trees.
I'm paying in the Town of Southold for trees. Community Development Whole
Town, $80,000, double taxation, again. I'm paying the Village of Greenport.
I'm paying the Town of Southold. My favorite one every time, Whole Town
Highway Fund, which is $6,000. We don't have a bridge in Greenport, but I
get to pay twice. I get to pay once for bridges. We don't have a bridge in
Creenport. Machinery, $46,000, we have our own Highway machinery. Why
do I have to pay twice? Brush and weeds, $101,000, why do I have to pay
twice? Why do I have pay for the spring pickup for the cleanup of Southold
Town, and pay for the Village of Greenport to come around and clean up?
don't get anything from the Southold Town for brush. Snow removal, we
have our own snow plows, $213,000. I'm paying twice for that. It's not
right. Employee benefits, $97,000, Highway Whole Town, I'm already paying
towards these benefits to the Village. Whole Town Highway, $58,000,
$59,000, I'm already paying the Village of Creenport for that. What the
Town has done over the years, it's squeezed Greenport as hard as they
could, and one result of that last November was you got the Police dumped
in your lap. It was not done properly, but I feel that as long as you go on
squeezing Greenport, you may end up with the whole thing, and be sorry
you got it.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: David, could be please conclude your comments?
DAVID CORWIN: I've only got one or two more things to go. Highway
Whole Fund, Other Uses transferred to Other Funds, being 9901 .9, $99,000,
there's no explanation of what that is, so I can't really make a comment,
but it would be great if there was a little more notation in there.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Okay, I think the Board might like to respond to
some of these comments. Let me just say that on the salaries issues, all the
salaries in the Budget are up, virtually all of them are up exactly 30. The
fact that the numbers occasionally look to be more or less is because the
1995 figures were estimates when they went into the budget. But, all of the
1996 estimates are 3% over what we know now will be the accurate figures
for 1995. We're lucky to have on our Board a former Mayor of Greenport.
Joe, would you like to comment on any of these assertions about Greenport?
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: I've sort of lost track. It's been awhile.
wrote a few notes down in the beginning. You, know, the relationship
between a village and a town—the same relationship between Southold and
Greenport exists throughout the state. The same law applies to all the
Villages in the various towns throughout the state, and everybody adheres
to them. When I was Mayor I had the same concerns. I brought those
concerns, and looked into the legal aspect of it, and found in fact that the
Town had a right to charge these things. I don't know what the justification
for it is. I guess that the Villages use the' Town road to go to the Town
beaches, to scallop in the Town waters, and they cross the Town bridges,
and you know, they are part of the town, and they travel. Why we're not
charged to use Village streets, I don't know. When I was Mayor we did
return time and materials to the Village. AI Herzog had negotiated with
Ray Dean, and we used to get a fair amount for our money. I don't know if
T 3 2 OCTOBER 17, 1995:
that is still the case, and what Ray Jacobs does with your current Highway
Superintendent, but there was some money given for that. I think before we
cry real crocodile tears for the Village, we ought to realize that the
Village would be paying now close to $900,000 for Police protection, and in
fact, even there is some unrest about the Police protection they are now
paying about one-fourth of that, less than a fourth of that, less than 240,
which resulted in refunds on the Village Hall steps. There are many things
that are benefits of living in the Village. You pointed to one of them,
utility. You pay much less rates than the rest of Southold Town. Your
water rates are less than Southold Town. You charge much more for people
living outside for water, which is your legal right to do, but there are
advantages to living in the Village in the fact, and I certainly enjoyed
them for many years. Some of the items you brought up on the Budget, the
North Fork ,Animal Welfare League, I just came from their fund raiser, and
walk by their op shop, or their second hand store everyday. Those are
fund raisers they use to supplement the money, that the Town puts into it.
I have looked at other budgets. When I was on the Board the last time,
maybe ten years ago, I looked at other budgets in other towns on the East
End, and we were very well within line. We have less staff, and pay less
per taxpayer. . l'm not sure about that, but we pay considerable less for our
dog service than other towns do. You're right. We do take humane approach
to dog service here. We don't euthanasia dogs. It was my opinion that was
what the majority people in Southold Town wanted. Every time we have a
hearing on that issue, or anything that they've been related to animal
welfare in our contract our meeting room would be packed with people
supporting the Animal Welfare League, and their treatment of the animals.
Everybody has had individual problems with a dog. Some have had individual
problems with my dog in the. past, but I think by and large we get a pretty
good deal from the North Fork Animal Welfare League. You mentioned a
couple of things, child care services being pulled out of the budget,
libraries being pulled out of the budget, and I'll let Alice address those
issues, if she wants to later. I can't think of some of the other things,
but .most of the items you brought up really will be discussed in the budget
hearing. They are honest questions, and you know, reflect a knowledge of
the budget, and I'd be happy to answer them. I just simply wasn't able to
keep track of them all, but I -answered the ones I was able to. Alice, do you
want to talk about the business with the libraries, and the child care, and
that sort of thing?
COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: I don't know anything about the child care.
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: That's the North Fork Child Care Grant, Early
Learning Center.
COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: Some of us on the Board felt that the money that
we were giving to not-for-profit groups was rather commonly done, and it
was my thrust to form some sort of a decision on how not-for-profit
organizations should be receiving any money from the town. General
philosophy was that they were doing something that the Town would have to
do ordinarily, or the Town -should do, they should get the money. When
the grant program, or the form for the grant program, and the criteria were
established, I was thinking, and I think some other Board members were
thinking of not--for-profit organizations. We were not considering such
organizations as veteran's services, bands and concerts, libraries, museums,
historic societies. Those are things that had for many years been funded by
the town, to a certain extent, with a little stipend. They are volunteer
organizations. They were not part of my thought. When this was being
prepared for the budget discussion somehow libraries, and museums got into
the mix. I'm hoping that during our discussions further with the budget we
will take the libraries, the veteran's organizations, out of this list of
competitive grants. I really feel that it belongs only in those areas where
we might have to do something, you know, some service that they perform,
and we would prefer to have them do it, and we're willing to help them.
Does that answer you to a degree?
DAVID CORWIN: Thank you. I would like to, if you will give me another
minute or two, respond to some of the things Mr. Townsend said. The law
clearly says, that you can charge the Village for those Whole Town Highway
items. Just because the Law says it, does not make it right. It is unfair to
tax me doubly. That law comes from the fact that some villages are
landlocked, and the village residents must use Town roads to get out of
OCTOBER 17, 1995 433
their village. Nobody in the Village of Greenport has to use a. Town road to
get out of the Village. They can use County Road 48, or State Road 25.
More people come inside the Village of Greenport, and use the Village roads
from Southold Town than people go from the Village of Greenport outside
and use Town roads. The North Fork Animal League, what ever the budget
is, it has no bearing on the fact, that they are totally ineffective. They
are just not doing any job in terms of controlling dogs. All they're doing
is keeping them alive. As far as the water is concerned, the reason the rate
is lower in the Village is because, I, as a taxpayer in the Village have to
carry the whole burden of that system should it go bankrupt. People that
use the water outside the Village just say, hey, that's too bad about the
Village of Greenport. I have to pay off the debt, so that's not a fair
comparison for my money. Thank you.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Would anyone else like to address the Board?
RORY SIMPSON: Rory Simpson, I live in Mattituck. I'm Chairman of
the Substance Abuse Committee for the Town of Southold, and I'm here
representing that committee tonight. The Committee met last night, and they
wanted me to come to the Board meeting tonight to make four basic requests
of the Town Board, very simple type things, just clarifications of how we
should deal with a few things. First of all, just to let you know that
there's been an update. We are establishing a Southold Clearinghouse of
alcohol and drug information at the Human Resource Center in Mattituck,
and I would like to publicly thank Tom Driscoll, and Mike Forbes, for his
help in guiding us through the Federal system. I certainly want to thank
Pat Acampora for paying for, print for three hundred brochures, that she
provided us, for County Executive Bob Gaffney's Office, and being
Substance Abuse Prevention for giving us the master list of brochures,
samples of brochures, and the County D.A.'s Office for providing with
whatever help we need in establishing this clearing house, and providing us
with a speaker for a television interview for next .November. The four basic
things that we just need to ask the Town Board about, the reason I come
before you tonight. The first one has been taken . care of by a phone call
that I made today. We were going over some statistics from the Police
Department. I found alcohol and drug related crimes. I called the Police
Department, they said, fine, come in anytime, and -they'll help us out in any
way they can with that. The second request was to see if we can get a small
wall space here in Town Hall to put up a little brochure holder for some of
the brochures we have. We like it to "be a high transit area. I know you
have the brochure holder over by the Town Clerk's Office. I don't think it
will be a big problem. I don't want to take away anyone else's space. We can
get our own brochure holder. We just need to have authorization to place a
one foot by one foot, or two foot by two foot area, that we could just call
our own for some of these brochures. We'll, also, have the brochures, and a
lot more information at the Human Resource Center in Mattituck. The third
thing, that they ask me to come by about, was we have a slight problem
think. We were trying to hold—there's no money in the budget for us at all,
we were trying to hold that line, but we found out that when people request
information they expect to have it mailed to them, and we' just wanted to
know if we could use the postage meter at the Town Hall for doing the mail?
It may be one stamp a year. It might be five or six hundred. I'm not sure.
The very last thing is that we wanted to know about, you discuss this and
let me know about it, if you could authorize the purchase two rubber
stamps, and rubber stamp pads. It could specify that it's from the
Clearinghouse for Southold Town, and that we could put that on the back of
any information that we send out. That would probably be just an initial
cost. I don't know if it would have to be budgeted for. It would just be a
one time fee. The cost is roughly $3.00 a line. The printing place said it
would take between five and seven lines. For two stamps, and two stamp
pads is around $56.00, and that's the full request that we are asking for,
and I'd appreciate a phone call, or a letter, or whatever, some time in the
future just letting us know what you can do. Thank you.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: My quick off the cuff response, a lot of these
things could probably be arranged with the Town Clerk, but I would like to
see copies of the minutes of your meeting to have some of these things
outlined to the Board, not just me, I think the whole Board would want to
see them, and we could act on them more readily, if they'd come to us in a
written form. In fact all committees of the town are supposed to have
written minutes.
434 OCTOBER 17, 1'995
RORY SIMPSON: In two weeks.
TOWN CLERK TERRY: If you give them to me, Rory, I'll distribute them,
and I know we can arrange a good spot for your brochures.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Anyone else like to address the Board? Yes, sir?
REV. CORNELIUS FULFORD: I'm Reverend Cornelius Fulford, Pastor of
the First Baptist Church of Cutchogue, and we are still trying to solve the
problem of the strip of land which is on the opposite side of our church.
I'm going to be brief, because I've got to go to another meeting, but I read
in the paper last week, and I'm quite sure that everyone here. . l can thank
Viola Cross for clearing up some things that were said about us, when it
come to the Republican or Democrat. I'm here to let you know that, and I
read the apology coming from Townsend, but I'm here to -let you know that
we, as a church, I've been in this church six years, and since I've been
there the church had, I think, thirty-five members, now, it be close to two
hundred. On Sunday morning, especially this coming wintertime, I'm quite
sure that if you go past there on Sunday morning, you going to see that
the yard is full of paper, and everything coming from the dump, and not
only that, when -..I first came there, the water was no good. The water was
so bad, even my members didn't want to use the restroom, and so we are
trying to do our best to go across the road from the church, so that we can
have a facility of the church there to serve the community, and, also, that
will aid us with what we do for the Lord. We have approached you many
times about the land on the opposite side of the road. Now, it hurt me
dearly to think that somebody on this committee here would say about the
Republican, how they might have influenced us. I'm quite sure that you
know now, that God is in no respect a person. That means, that serve God
and only God. Somebody made a statement about Paul Caminiti. He's our
lawyer, and so they figure that maybe he had an influence, because he's a
Republican. Well, I want to say something about that tonight. I didn't know
whether Paul was a Republican, or Democrat. I picked Paul because he is a
good lawyer. I figured that he could help us try to solve this problem about
trying to get a church on this other side of the road, that we can serve
this community, -serve the people, the way that God would require us to do
so, and so I'm here tonight to let you know, that serve only, only a living
God. We don't have, no respected person, when it come to Democratic, when
it comes to a Republican. I'm quite sure that all of us here want the best
person there is to run for office for this town. That is a decision, that
the people in this community have to make, not the church. The church is
governed by one-man, and that one man is God Almighty himself. All we ask
you is to help us to do the work of the Lord, and that means the strip of
land, that is on the side of the road, that we trying to solve. Once again,
we're coming to you, asking you if you would, please, help us to do so. I
know sometime you have- your meeting, and so you can talk about this, and
come up with a decision. Your decision was at one time $18,000. 1 think you
had appraised it again, and came out lower than that. We ask that you
donate it, and if you can not donate it, you can also sell it for a
reasonable price. All we're asking is for you to help us, so we can help the
town, and by all means, please, don't put things in the paper that we have
to come here, and explain ourselves, because those things are not true. One
thing I want to let this Town know, and Tom Wickham I'm quite sure that
you, and some of the people already know, we are here to serve the
community, and I'm not going to talk about the YMCA. I'm just going to talk
about the church. You have a problem down in Greenport. You got crime.
You got dope. You got alcohol. You got old people, that can't even walk the
street. You got people hanging out, and drunk, at places they shouldn't be
at night. You got all kind of noise going on. One thing that I told Mr. Tom
Wickham, when I first heard all of this, you can hire as many Policeman as
you want. You can hire them, and they're going to walk the street down
there night after night. You can take, and pay all kinds of money you want
to pay. One thing I'm going to let you know that might eliminate some of the
problems, but you will not get rid of the problem The problem got to be
within. A person got a crime mind will always do crime. We, of the church,
we don't work with the outside, we work with the inside. If I could take a
crime man, and turn that crime man into a loving man, you won't have no
problem down in Greenport. That's what the church is all about, not
working with the outside of a man, but working with the inside of a man,
turning people around that have crime minds, have alcohol and drug addict,
to the point that you motivate them to get their self-esteem to the point
OCTO?ER 17, 195 435
that they love themselves. Nobody that don't love themselves, don't love
nobody else. If you can teach people how to love themselves no matter what
color or creed you are, then you will find out that crime is eliminated, the
alcohol, and the drug addict. This is what we're all about.
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: Reverend Fulford, before you go I just want
to assure you that I never felt that the church was consciously aiding a
political party. I never felt that, and I apologize for the remark that was
made in the paper. It was uncalled for, and it was in response to a
question, that was given to me by the reporter, do you think that there is
a political motivation, and I suppose the reason he gave that question was
because it was juxtaposed with the YMCA issue, and the donation of land,
or giving land to the YMCA. The time was there, and unfortunately
responded inappropriately, and I said, well, maybe there was. The reason
said that was because Mr. Caminiti, who I consider a friend of mine, and I
know is a very religious man, and I'm sure was helping you probably
because 'of that to a degree, he is a devout man, was also a devout
Republican, as I was. I didn't mean any disrespect. I said it. It was flip.
It was stupid, but I just want to say again, that I didn't mean anything in
respect to the church. 1, as the rest of the Town Board, want to help you
in your project. We realize the good you do in this community, and so
want to lend you my support, and I'll try to make up for the gaffe. 1 hope
it didn't hurt anybody's reputation, but I never felt that you were
consciously aiding one party against another. I never felt that, and I
didn't mean to imply that in the paper. I felt that, you know, what may
have happened was that, you know, someone said, they're doing this here,
and maybe they'll donate the land to you. I never thought that the church
consciously, and I didn't mean to imply that in the paper, so that was the
origin of that comment, and if you avoid- sticking your foot in your mouth
more than one a year in this business, you're doing pretty well. I've had
my quota.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Would anyone else like to address the Board, so
we can put more feet. in our mouth? Yes, sir-, the gentleman in blue?
HANK KUHN: Just a follow-up question to your comment before. You
mentioned about the people in Riverhead expressing some interest in
cooperating on the YMCA. How would you envision them cooperating?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: The Town of Southold has prepared to exchange
value in terms of some property for a service. That service will be
provided, not only to the Town of Southold, but also to part of the Town of
Riverhead. I intend to go to the Town of Riverhead, and discuss with them
whether they would like to participate in this exchange in some manner. I'm
going to begin by leaving it up to them how would they like to participate,
whether they would, and if so how? My initial informal contacts have found
quite a bit of interest, but they've also said, let's wait a few more weeks
before we really get into this.
HANK KUHN: So, you don't know.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I don't know at this time. It isn't for us to
basically tell Riverhead what it's going to do. It's to begin this with an
opportunity, and see what their response is. But, I do look forward to
having those discussion. Anyone else before we come to Mr. Carlin,
anyone else like to address the Board this evening on any matter before us?
(No response.) If not, Mr. Carlin you have the last five minutes.
FRANK CARLIN: A couple of questions on the Budget. You know it's
{ strange to see an increase in spending, and a reduction of the tax rate.
Now, that's good. There's nothing wrong providing it doesn't affect the
service to the people. I'm going to give you an example on this here. Mayor
Kapell last year, or this year rather, or last year, I'm going to abolish
the Police Department, I'm going to reduce taxes. So, he did. He gave back
part of the two hundred fifty, three hundred dollars to each taxpayer. Man,
that was great. Now, he's paying the price, complaining he doesn't have
enough police protection. So, you can't have your cake, and eat it at the
same time. You stated that you're going to add five police officers in 1996
budget. Can you show me anywhere in the police budget that will reflect the
cost of those five police officers? Because it seems to me the budget for
the police officers for 1996 is about the same as it was for 1995. That's
436 OCTOBER 17, 1995
think it is, if you can show me. Now, I'll tell you another thing that's
going to happen here. Say you do hire five police officers, we won't see a
police officer added to Southold Town Police until next September, because
the next class in Westhampton starts up in March. It takes six months.
So, we're talking about ten more months before we see a police officer added
to this Southold Police. So, now what's going to happen? You're going to go
through the same thing we have in the past year. All the overtime the
taxpayers are going to be spending out of their pockets, and all that's
going to happen. But, when you add it up, if they get five police officers
by next September, I'd say, put that together, it took this Board almost two
years to add five police officers, since we abolished the Greenport Police
Department. That's nothing to write home about. Another question, you also
said you're going to give no increase in raises to any Town elected
official. How come you're giving Ruth Oliva $4,000, to be exact $4,2627
Can you answer that, Mr. Supervisor?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Yes, when you're finished.
FRANK CARLIN: Well, I asked you the question.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: When you're finished I'll be glad to address all
these matters.
FRANK CARLIN: Highway Department, the man need $100,000 for
equipment, and knowing Ray Jacobs, he don't spend money foolishly. He'll
but second hand trucks rather than go out and spend for a new one. You
cut him down to $65,000 this year. You know that $65,000 it's $5,000 more
than what Ray Dean received ten years ago. What happens if you get a bad
winter, snow plows, snow, salt? You"re probably going to say, well, he
can come to the Town Board, and we'll give it to him. Why should he have
to go to the Town Board? Why can't you trust the man, and give him his
$100,000? I'm sure he's not going to spend if he don't need to spend it. He
don't spend money foolishly. Why did you cut the guy down to sixty-five?
He's roads to take care of, and roads being added to the Highway
Department. There's over four hundred miles of roads in this town to
maintain, and knowing Ray Jacobs, he works on a bare bone budget. Well,
I guess that's all I have to say tonight, but I'll tell you one more thing.
When I was sitting back there it dawned on me. You know, I might have a
solution about the YMCA. I'm getting back to that now. I might have
solution of where to put that YMCA. 'You know, you just got thirty-four
acres of wetland donated to you for a dollar. Give them three acres of that.
They'd like to be by the water. How's that one, Tom? With that sense of
humor, do you like that one? Now, give me the. answer on how come Ruth
Oliva got $4,000, and no other member on the Town Board is getting it?
I'd like to hear that one.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Let's begin with the first issues you raised, the
question of the police. How can the Town add five new police officers at
1996, and still have a budget that only about 3 or 4 percent more than 1995.
That's your question basically. Let me answer it. The answer is, .because
1995, we're paying a substantial amount of overtime on our existing
officers. In 1996 with the five new police officers we won't need to pay
nearly as much overtime, and that overtime is on relatively costly salaries,
whereas the five new people will be relatively low, because there will be
new people. The second question you asked about the police is how the
question it will take to field them, because of the training requirement. As
you know, the police officers that we hire, the bulk of them will come from
the preferred list of former Greenport officers, who don't need to go
through that Police Academy.
FRANK .CARLIN: You only got one.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: There are several there, who we could take.
FRANK CARLIN: Where?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: There are at least two.
FRANK CARLIN: You need three.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: There are three I believe.
OCTOBER 17, 1995 437
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: There are three I believe.
FRANK CARLIN: Why don't you hire them now?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'm not going to name them, but there is as many
as three, who we could hire off that list.
FRANK CARLIN: Why don't you hire them up until now? What are you
waiting for?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That wasn't the question you asked, Frank. I'll
answer the questions that you asked.
FRANK CARLIN: I'll ask that question later.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Now, the second question was Ruth Oliva. Ruth
Oliva is a Deputy. Supervisor. I proposed, because she is virtually a
full-time person here in the office, virtually every day full-time, that she
contributes more to the- Town of Southold than the rest of the Town Board
members. That doesn't mean the other Town Board members. (tape change)
It's on the order of $2,300.00. Just arbitrarily speaking, I said let that
increase or stipend be at the same level as a Planning Board member, or a
Zoning Board member, or a Trustee, which is on the order of $7,000 or
$8,000 more than the rest of the Town Board members. I put it on the
table. It's out there for the Board to discuss. Hey, I'm open to what the
Board says. It's a proposal. This has not gone to public hearing yet. The
Board hasn't adopted it yet. It's a proposition on my part, that reflects my
view of her value to the Town. The third question you asked was about the
Highway Budget. Yes, Ray Jacobs does run tight ship. Yes, he does get
used equipment. Yes, he does do a careful job in managing the Town, and
I'm grateful for that, the Highway's Department. But, I judged, looking at
the performance from last year, but first it's the Town Board's
responsibility to enact .a tight, careful budget. These are times when we
have to look for cost savings. These are times when no department in Town
government is immune. No department is above the budget. We have to look
across the Police, the Highways, every single budget of Town government.
It seemed to me, that there were opportunities in Highways to economize.
made those proposals in the budget that I presented to the Board. Now, the
Board is going to take a look at it. We're going to have a debate, and a
discussion, and we haven't finalized that yet. In fact, the Highway
Superintendent has yet to appear before us to have a full discussion about
this. We may come to some different view. Even I may come to a different
view, but in the beginning, at this stage, the proposal that I made are,
think, responsible ones. I think .the Town can carry out a strong program
with that budget, and I think it's an effective program.. The last question
you asked about the Highways is, what happens if we don't have enough
money in the Highways budget. Well, I've asked for a $100,000 contingency
item in the General Fund Whole Town, and I've asked the Board to keep it
there, as a contingency in case it is needed, in case we do have a
devastating year with hurricanes, and storms. So, I do think it's
responsible, and I do think that there is an assurance factor built into it,
that could look after those affairs.
FRANK CARLIN: You know there are things the man wants to do, and
remember when I opened my statement I said, reducing taxes is fine
providing it doesn't affect the service. This man has got additional roads
going to be added to his control, like I said. He's only asking for what he
really needs.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: If he can make the case to the Board, these are
the things absolutely essential, that he has to have it to carry out his
mandate, I'm sure the Board will find a way to restore those monies to his
budget. I'll even join with the Board.
FRANK CARLIN: You people on this Board should have enough faith in
that man to listen to what he said, and believe what he said, not make him
come and prove the case. He has to go to court to prove a case. The man is
in the department. He knows what he needs. You should give him the
benefit of the doubt. Like I said, he runs a tight ship. He don't spend
money for nothing.
438 OCTOBER 17, .1995
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I'll just comment, that the Town of Southold has
lots of department heads, elected or appointed, each one of them make those
cases. It is the responsibility of the Town Board to look very careful at
those numbers, and ultimately to adopt a responsible budget that is in the
taxpayers' interest. We do not simply take the numbers, that a department
head, whether he's elected, or appointed, gives us. I don't, and I don't
think the rest of the Board does.
FRANK CARLIN: .In other words, you don't believe what anybody says
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: That's right. When it comes to a budget I don't
believe what anybody gives us. It's the Board, that is going to have to
review those numbers, and the Board is going to have to agree with them.
FRANK CARLIN: Are -you there all day long, eight hours a day, three
hundred sixty-five days, and know what the man has to do, and what he
spends, and what his responsibility are? How do you know?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: No.
FRANK CARLIN: How can you make that judgement?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: No, and neither am I in the Police Chief's Office.
Neither am I in our Recreation Department, or the Planning Board Office,
or in the Town Clerk's Office. We go through those budgets. We look at
them very carefully, and ultimately it's the responsibility of this Board to
change the system of doing things, Frank. We do not just adopt budgets,
that keep going up each year. The time has come to make a change. The
Town of Southold has got to understand that, and we're going to do it
responsibly. We're going to do it carefully. We're going to ask each
department head to make it's case, and if we have tried to cut too .
dramatically, I hope we'll have the wisdom to restore some of that. That's
all I can say.
FRANK CARLIN: You. say about the Police Department. You still, no
matter what you're saying, you're still going to be laying out overtime. We
got to get away from that overtime.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: .That's right. That's exactly right, and that's what
we're trying to do.
FRANK CARLIN: Four, six, eight ten months yet. . .That's what I'm trying
to say.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Ladies and gentlemen, we've had a lengthy evening.
FRANK CARLIN: Wait a minute now. I'm not finished. You let Mayor
Kapell stand for forty five minutes. The problem with you. .You don't want
to listen to anybody else. That's all I have to say.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Mayor Kapell is an elected official in this town.
FRANK CARLIN: He ain't no different than 1 . I'm a taxpayer.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Does any member of the Board wish to address the
rest of the Board, or the audience?
COUNCILWOMAN HUSSIE: I would just like to say one thing to Mr.
Carlin. Apropos, the Deputy Supervisor, the Deputy Supervisor, Town
Law says acts in the absence of the Supervisor to sign checks, and to chair
meetings. I have to agree that the Deputy Supervisor should not be paid
anything more than the position with the $2,300 that goe's with it. It's the
same as the Chairman of one of the other Boards, whether it's the Trustees
or whatever. It's not a full time job.
FRANK CARLIN: She's a Councilperson, and that's it. She's not entitled
to no $4,000 than anybody else. You can't talk to Frank Carlin, cause
don't buy it so easy.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Do I hear a motion for adjourning?
0 C T 03E R 7, 1 Q 95 439
FRANK CARLIN: No, this man wants to say something.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: We offered the opportunity a few minutes ago..
There was no one at that time. Do you wish to address the Board? Can
you keep it within five minutes, please?
JIM HICKEY: Real short. Jim Hickey, Mattituck, with the YMCA. Have
you conferred with the Police Chief on that, the location?
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: I don't know that I have.
JIM HICKEY: You probably didn't. Based on almost thirty years of
personal knowledge, and investigations, let me tell you what's going to
happen in that heavily wooded area adjacent to an area where you're going
to have two or three , hundred little boys. You're going to get the
pedophiles, the exhibitionist, and the deviate. Before you do anything just
think of why they passed Megan's Law in Jersey. Thank you.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Joe?
COUNCILMAN TOWNSEND: Many of our schools are located in just such
areas. To this date, we haven't had a huge problem. I mean, I'm sure that
our Police Department, if they had a concern, would have addressed the
Supervisor on this.
JIM HICKEY: Check with other departments, you'll find rapes on bicycle
paths, bridle paths, and pedestrian paths.
SUPERVISOR WICKHAM: Do I hear a motion to adjourn?
Moved by Councilman Townsend, seconded by Justice Evans, it was
RESOLVED that the Town Board meeting be and hereby is adjourned at
,:,5 P.M.
Vote of the Town Board: Ayes: Justice Evans, Councilman Townsend,
Councilwoman Hussie, Councilman Lizewski, Supervisor Wickham.
This resolution was duly ADOPTED.
Judith T. Terry
Southold Town Clerk