HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-06/02/2026 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
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SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD
4 REGULAR MEETING
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7 Southold, New York
8 June 2 , 2026
6 : 00 P . M .
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14 B E F 0 R E :
15
16 ALBERT KRUPSKI JR, SUPERVISOR
17 KATE STEVENS , JUSTICE
18 JILL DOHERTY, COUNCILWOMAN
19 BRIAN MEALY, COUNCILMAN
20 ANNE SMITH, COUNCILWOMAN
21 ALEXA SUESS , COUNCILWOMAN
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JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 2
1 INDEX TO TESTIMONY
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3 Public Comments 3-33
4 43-89
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6
Public Hearing : Wireless Master Plan 33-43
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JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 3
1 PUBLIC COMMENTS
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : If there
3 is any thoughts on the agenda that anyone
4 would like to comment on before we vote ,
5 please feel free? Please .
6 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Hello . I ' d
7 like to introduce myself . I ' m Erin Latham
8 Stanton . I ' m here representing my
9 husband, Dr . Ashton Stanton, and my
10 parents . Patty Latham . We ' re the current
11 owners of the Northern Ten Acres that make
12 up Latham Farms . The property consists of
13 our residents , multiple barns ,
14 greenhouses , our equipment, as well as ,
15 perennial vegetation, blueberries ,
16 raspberries , all that . The remainder of
17 the Latham Farm consists of 117 acres to
18 the south of the working farm, including
19 80 plus acres of farmland, which is owned
20 by my father . 400 of the property is
21 surrounded by a six foot seawall that was
22 erected around the same time the current
23 culverts that you all discussed earlier
24 were installed, which was approximately
25 1938 . So tonight, there ' s just two points
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 4
1 I would like to make prior to , you know,
2 your resolution on the letter . I would
3 like to start by making it known that
4 there ' s nothing more that I would like
5 than to have Broad Meadows return to the
6 saltwater marsh that it was . My dad
7 speaks to living in the house that I live
8 in, my kids live in, we ' re the seventh
9 generation living in the house , that he
10 could see straight across the marsh all
11 the way to his uncle ' s house . And it was
12 a beautiful piece of property . That
13 doesn ' t exist anymore . But I don ' t
14 believe , and this is through very thorough
15 research, that achieving, like , we will
16 not be able to achieve that goal with the
17 current project . There have been -- and
18 numerous successful restoration projects .
19 If you just Google it , anyone , you know,
20 there ' s Nature Conservancy, lots of
21 research out there . All which begin with
22 increasing table flow back into the
23 restricted environment . For example , we
24 lived in Northampton for, in New Hampshire
25 for 12 years , and there was a very
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 5
1 successful restoration project that other
2 projects are mimicked around . It began in
3 the 1990 ' s , had the Audubon Society, the
4 University of New Hampshire , they worked
5 closely with the town, and they gathered
6 ecological evidence about the health of
7 the saltwater marsh, beginning with the
8 Phragmites that were starting to invade
9 around the edges . The data was collected,
10 hydrology, native species , plants ,
11 animals , the salinity of the soil , and
12 they decided in 2000 to replace the
13 culverts with two large culverts similar
14 to what they ' re looking for in Broad
15 Meadows . But in addition, they did
16 runnelling where they had to burn off the
17 marsh . They had to remove the debris that
18 was there multiple times . Runnelling is
19 when you add basically like channels
20 throughout the marsh so that the water can
21 make it to the parts of the marsh that are
22 no longer receiving adequate salt water .
23 Then they replanted native saltwater marsh
24 grasses because you can ' t just assume that
25 when you raise water levels and the
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 6
1 Phragmites start to die off, that the
2 previous species are going to grow there .
3 So this was done over 15 years . Water
4 levels monitor closely . Soil samples
5 taken, recording of increase of native
6 species versus the decrease of invasive
7 ones . And it was successful . But it was
8 only because of the proper planning and
9 being properly budgeted for and the
10 monitoring that took place after the
11 project was completed . The cost did not
12 end after installing new culverts . That
13 was simply the beginning . Now, when I
14 compare the Little River Marsh in New
15 Hampshire to Broad Meadows , there ' s a huge
16 difference . For starters , the New
17 Hampshire Marsh had approximately 8%
18 Phragmites . Broad Meadows is 100%
19 Phragmites at this point . They ' re
20 invasive, although not true halophytes ,
21 meaning that they thrive in saltwater .
22 They can survive in saltwater . The soil
23 salinity that they can survive in is
24 around one part per million . A native
25 saltwater marsh needs to have around six
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING
1 to eight parts per million . So we ' re
2 looking at, by increasing the tidal flow
3 in there, there needs to be a significant
4 increase in salt to that area to even see
5 the tide . Impact on the current
6 Phragmites . And I can provide you with
7 lots of research and data that supports
8 all that . So with all the research that I
9 have done , I have not discovered a marsh
10 that has 100% Phragmites that has been
11 successful . The second point that I would
12 like to talk about is the lack of
13 transparency associated with the current
14 project . Mr . Sepenoski spoke this morning
15 about the history of this project . He
16 spoke about a plan that began in 2014 when
17 the Nature Conservancy gifted Whitcomb
18 Marsh to Southold Town . He spoke about
19 how the restoration project was focused
20 around restoring Whitcomb Marsh and how
21 Broad Meadows was then added to increase
22 acreage . He accurately described our
23 situation in 2018 and 2019 when the
24 Peconic Estuary Program created their
25 conceptual habitat restoration design . It
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 8
1 was a 58-page document . I was part of a
2 private meeting that took place in my
3 current home , with members of Peconic
4 Estuary, the DEC, and Ducks Unlimited . It
5 was comprehensive and I was fully on
6 board . I supported, I encouraged other
7 neighboring landowners to support this
8 project . But this is not the project
9 that ' s being presented now . I cannot
10 locate a single person that works for a
11 Peconic Estuary Program that ' s familiar
12 with this project . Not one person that
13 was on the current project that is still
14 there . No one from the original project
15 works there anymore . No one that was with
16 the DEC at that time is currently working
17 on the project . No one from the DEC has
18 been able to contact me back with
19 information regarding the project . There
20 are also discrepancies between the project
21 in 2019 and the current one . 2019
22 proposed replacing the culvert , allowing
23 for water to flow through to the north .
24 That would allow the egress of the water
25 into other areas in case of a extreme high
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 9
1 tide and that water needs to go somewhere,
2 it would be able to overflow into other
3 areas and not just into people ' s property .
4 The 2019 proposed replacing the inadequate
5 culverts under Narrow River Road . Under
6 Narrow River Road, there ' s 10 foot
7 culverts that do not allow adequate water
8 throw . And those current saltwater
9 marshes are starting to see changes .
10 You ' re starting to see Phragmites around
11 those healthy marshes . Those are the ones
12 that were a big part of the original
13 project that they wanted to save .
14 Replacing those culverts to increase the
15 water flow to the healthy marshes that are
16 there . The final proposition that ' s part
17 of this new proposal that was not part of
18 the Estuary ' s original proposal and this
19 is quote unquote from the new proposal ,
20 "they would like to provide foot access to
21 the DEC woodlands to the east . " So, this
22 new project is putting in an additional
23 dam over a ditch on our property to allow
24 people access to walking on the DEC
25 property, which borders our property . I
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 10
1 feel that these are necessary parts of the
2 project that are simply being cut because
3 the goals of the project have changed .
4 Mr . Sepenoski stated this morning that
5 eventually they could look to restore
6 Mucoo Marsh, but that would have to be in
7 the future . So a project that started in
8 2014 , this is not the same goals . In
9 addition this morning, Mr . Sepenoski
10 stated that they would be happy to share
11 information with the neighboring
12 landowners , but at this time there ' s
13 nothing to share . I disagree . On October
14 22 , 2024 , the Town Board accepted a bid
15 from LK McLean Associates for Engineering
16 services , in connection with the Broad
17 Meadows title restoration project for
18 $238 , 200 . I was contacted in late
19 January, 2025 by Mr . Sepenoski asking for
20 permission to allow surveyors access to
21 our lands . I requested a meeting on site,
22 which was not granted . Over the following
23 nine months , I allowed surveyors on and
24 off my property . We ' re compliant in
25 allowing drone surveying . They built a
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 11
1 landing pad on my front yard, for three
2 months it was there , where they were
3 allowed to use it . I was -- me and my
4 husband were , yep, so that they can do
5 elevation surveys of the marsh . We even
6 allowed employees in McLean access to our
7 home for elevation information, in which
8 the employee told me they were concerned
9 with potentially flooding our basement and
10 basements of the homes surrounding the
11 property if this project was to move
12 forward . I personally took surveyors to
13 areas in the farm that they were unable to
14 find without my help . Since the
15 completion of the survey, I ' ve contacted
16 Mr . Collins and Mr . Sepenoski to see the
17 results of this survey . Multiple e-mails
18 have been exchanged since March, one in
19 which I was informed, once the revised
20 draft is completed, we will provide you
21 with a copy and set a meeting to review
22 with you so that you have the opportunity
23 to provide your comments and input . That
24 has not happened as of this time . I feel
25 that as neighboring landowners , one that
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 12
1 could be significantly impacted by changes
2 to Broad Meadows , we should have access to
3 the survey . The survey that was done in
4 2018 , almost 10 years ago, showed
5 elevations of the Latham Farms that
6 borders along the marsh that were less
7 than one foot . That means that the mean
8 high tide is higher than the border of my
9 property . If you take a look at the data
10 sheets , and I ' ll provide you with that .
11 It was included in the original
12 presentation from 2018 . You can see that
13 the elevations are lower than where
14 they ' re going to be raising the water
15 levels to in the marsh . To wrap this up,
16 the letter that Mr . Sepenoski is asking
17 the Town Board to send in support of
18 gaining funding is not the only letter .
19 This is not the first time I ' m seeing
20 this . I sit on the Orient Association
21 Board . We were presented with a similar
22 letter . We are asked to simply remove our
23 name . They provided us with a copy and
24 said you could just take this name out and
25 put Orient Association in and sign it and
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 13
1 support us . Same letter went to the
2 Orient Rod and Gun Club and both
3 organizations thankfully are requesting
4 additional information before writing a
5 letter of support . I believe that
6 requesting a grant from Suffolk County is
7 like you ' re putting the cart before the
8 horse . It ' s as though the project has
9 already been approved and now we ' re just
10 moving forward . We haven ' t analyzed any
11 of the new data that we gather that the
12 town spent $238 , 000 on and we haven ' t
13 looked at that . No one ' s seen it . I
14 don ' t know if anybody on the Board has
15 seen the new designs for the engineering
16 project . I don ' t know if there ' s a
17 proposal who will maintain the new self --
18 like for who maintains the new
19 self-regulating gates . I watched my
20 father during Hurricane Sandy, we don ' t
21 own the gates anymore . That passed to the
22 DEC . With neighbors out there trying to
23 close the gates because the current people
24 that are supposed to control the gates
25 were not there at that time , and it would
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 14
1 have flooded even more properties in
2 Orient . I wonder if the health of Hallux
3 Bay has been considered . If we ' re just
4 going to add more water here and flush
5 that additional water and run off into
6 Hallux Bay, how is that going to affect
7 the aquaculture of Hallux Bay? And when
8 you see a company, a non-for-profit,
9 sorry, standing behind a project like
10 this , we know that there is going to be an
11 increase in hunters in the area, and how
12 is that necessarily going to be
13 controlled? And other neighbors have just
14 asked today, who ' s liable if my well ends
15 up with salt in it? Who ' s liable if my
16 basement is flooded? So these are
17 questions that are floating around our
18 town . I hope it ' s important, like
19 apparent how this state is , you know,
20 current state of this project is extremely
21 impactful on my business , my home ,
22 something that ' s very important to me and
23 I would like to request a public meeting
24 before any of this moves further along .
25 And I discourage the Board from supporting
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 15
1 the project in its current state . So
2 thank you . I know that took up a lot of
3 time . Appreciate everybody listening .
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No , it ' s
5 a big deal .
6 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : It ' s a huge
7 deal . It ' s really significant to me , my
8 business , everybody around us . So -- and
9 I just would like a little bit more
10 transparency about what ' s gonna happen .
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So your
12 family is going ( inaudible) .
13 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Jeremy
14 Armstrong is the new owner of what used to
15 be Narrow River Properties . Steve
16 Tenadios used to own it . So he ' s the
17 current owner, but we still farm it
18 ourselves .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yeah, so
20 you should be concerned . And that ' s why I
21 think one of the big changes was the --
22 the consideration of elevating the road
23 there .
24 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right .
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Which I
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 16
1 don ' t think was part of the original plan .
2 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : So the
3 original plan, the Peconic Estuary, they
4 gave two options . They said either the
5 road needs to be elevated or the road
6 needs to be changed to a walking path that
7 would be the other option . Which, at the
8 current time , people were like , that ' s not
9 gonna happen . That would be something
10 that would be supported . But just due to
11 access to the marina, and access to other
12 land properties and stuff like that .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And then
14 of course , you did talk about right sides
15 of the culverts underneath the road .
16 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : You
18 talked about that briefly this morning,
19 because you need to do that by the correct
20 flow .
21 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right . I
22 mean, they ' re not maintained as they are .
23 That ' s the problem. Again, I have watched
24 my dad, as disgusting as this is , pull a
25 dead animal from there because they ' re
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 17
1 completely blocked .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And then
3 he ' s just sitting here tonight .
4 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right . He ' s
5 listening . He ' s letting me talk . No,
6 really the neighbors are who maintains it
7 right now . We have , you know, guys that
8 get in there and try to do what they can,
9 but other than that, not much is being
10 done . So it makes me wonder when you see
11 these new designs , there ' s not just a
12 steel trap that my dad can take back into
13 the shop and weld, and fix and put it back
14 on before a big storm. This is going to
15 be a plastic floating device that raises
16 and lowers with the tides that I can only
17 imagine is going to have a cost associated
18 with maintaining it . And again, I ' m not
19 sure who would be doing that .
20 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Or at
21 least it should, because that doesn ' t mean
22 someone ' s been paying it .
23 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right .
24 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' s the
25 same thing with Marion Lane --
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 18
1 DAN LATHAM : Everybody ' s
2 administration, from that day on, you ' re
3 going to be spending money in a meadow
4 that ' s always been there because now
5 there ' s Phragmites , it ' s still a meadow .
6 There ' s ditches and drains .
7 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Well , that ' s
8 kind of the current research . The
9 changing of the tidal gates and attempting
10 to restore was really like 1990s , 2000 .
11 Current research in areas are , you know,
12 are more supportive of embracing the new
13 habitat, saying that this isn ' t a bad
14 habitat . It might look different and
15 different species live there . You might
16 no longer have the saltwater wren that is
17 endangered that used to live in those
18 areas , but you do have muskrats . You have
19 snapping turtles , you have the red-winged
20 blackbird . You even have river otters now
21 that are new to the area that are living
22 there . And the other two points of the
23 new marsh in supporting the habitat would
24 be that with the Phragmites , every time
25 they die off, they are adding debris and
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 19
1 elevating . So they are a better
2 protector they ' re finding against sea
3 level rise in the future . So there are a
4 lot of communities that are embracing the
5 fact that the Phragmites are there . And
6 the last bit of research on it , is that
7 they ' re excellent carbon sinks . They take
8 out way more carbon dioxide from the air
9 than a standard saltwater marsh . So there
10 are definite benefits to leaving it as it
11 is versus attempting to potentially change
12 or restore it to what it was .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So it ' s
14 hard to do with the freshwater influence
15 there .
16 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : It ' s a
18 big deal .
19 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : And then these
20 are just the elevations from the previous
21 thing that shows -- this is the elevation
22 of my property, and that ' s high tide . So
23 I am below the current high tide .
24 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
25 you .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 20
1 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Thank you .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
3 you . Yes , ma ' am .
4 MAUREEN DACIMO : Hello . My name is
5 Maureen Dacimo on Narrow River Road . I
6 was somewhat involved in the information
7 in 2019 regarding the project . I knew
8 nothing about that until today when
9 another community member contacted me ,
10 asking if I was going to the meeting
11 tonight about this project . I knew
12 nothing about it . It will impact Narrow
13 River Road . Possibly, if they ' re talking
14 about closing the road . If they ' re
15 talking about elevating the road . How is
16 it going to impact Hallux Bay as everyone
17 was talking about? How is it going to
18 impact the adjoining properties ? I have
19 concerns about her property, the Dimmers
20 across the street, any of the owners
21 there, their basements flooding . I
22 remember we bought the marina in 1988 and
23 the fire department used to borrow some of
24 our canoes to do a burn of the Phragmites .
25 Just to kind of control it, you know,
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 21
1 limited control , which was awesome . I
2 don ' t know how much of the Phragmites
3 they ' re talking about trying to take out,
4 you know, to create this new marsh area .
5 And as far as the road, how would people
6 on Village Lane feel about every community
7 member that uses the town ramp going down
8 Village Lane with their boats and
9 trailers ? That ' s going to have a huge
10 impact on -- not only Narrow River Road,
11 but the whole Orient . And I just would
12 like more information . I agree with Erin .
13 I don ' t feel there should be a vote on it
14 tonight . There should be additional
15 public meetings to give more community
16 members an opportunity to speak . Thank
17 you .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
19 you . I know that some of the problems
20 associated with today is that when the
21 cost of this project has since 2018 , like
22 the cost of everything . So it wasn ' t
23 there ' s no -- there was no -- the money
24 that was set aside to do this is kind of
25 an artifact . It ' s not adequate for this
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 22
1 project . And so that ' s why it hasn ' t been
2 done . So I think a public meeting would
3 be the best way to have staff that ' s
4 involved . The suggestion was to get -- we
5 got a historic partnership back at the
6 table . And I don ' t know -- well , I can
7 contact someone in DEC to see if they can
8 send people also to the meeting . That way
9 you get, you got to put everyone in the
10 same room .
11 MAUREEN DACIMO : And another meeting
12 with the Orient Association .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Oh,
14 anybody can put that, yeah, you can have
15 in Orient .
16 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I have a
17 question . I don ' t know if anybody knows
18 the answer here . This is a letter
19 supporting Ducks Unlimited to apply for a
20 grant . Sometimes when you apply for a
21 grant, you have to have detailed specifics
22 of exactly what you ' re going to do with
23 the project . Sometimes it ' s just an
24 overall , you know, restoring the marsh and
25 a couple of things . Is this a grant that
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 23
1 we could apply for, but yet change the,
2 you know, change the dynamics of the
3 project?
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I don ' t
5 know, and I don ' t know how timely it is
6 for the to make , you know, for us to
7 support it for the letter, their request
8 for the -- I don ' t know . Ben, if you can
9 blend any --
10 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : John
11 mentioned that June 12th was a short
12 timeline . Yeah, he said June 12th . So ,
13 you know, we ' re not going to have the
14 information because we have not received
15 the information from -- and the surveys
16 and everything . I don ' t know if it ' s --
17 the Board has not . John did not have
18 that . So I didn ' t realize it was all
19 these changes .
20 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So this
21 is a letter of support to the Suffolk
22 County Department recommended planning and
23 support of the grant proposal . Would they
24 -- would they be funding? Would this be
25 through the WQPIP money? Or would this be
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 24
1 from the County? Or would this be just
2 supporting them to apply for a grant?
3 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : This is
4 us supporting Ducks Unlimited to apply for
5 a grant for the project from any quality
6 protection from restoration of the County
7 border, natural title -- submitted to the
8 Suffolk County Border Quality Protection
9 and Restoration Program .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , I
11 think they want to have support for
12 something like this also .
13 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Right ,
14 so what I ' m saying is this letter block us
15 into the description that John said to me
16 today .
17 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : I got that
18 impression that it did . That they needed
19 the letter of support because they were
20 going to submit the application . So the
21 application to do the tool is as you ' ve
22 already said . That ' s how I understood it,
23 but I can ' t answer that .
24 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : So my
25 experience is , you apply for a grant , you
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 25
1 list it out , but you still have a lot of
2 engineering to do and things do change . I
3 didn ' t answer the questions of raising the
4 road today because we haven ' t gotten there
5 yet . Where ' s the runoff going for the
6 marina and everything else? Like what are
7 those plans ? Which usually, you don ' t
8 have those details when you ' re applying
9 for a grant .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No , I
11 thought they changed that they were going
12 to raise the road with this project where
13 they weren ' t before .
14 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Right ,
15 that ' s what they ' re applying for, but we
16 don ' t have the details of the engineering
17 of how exactly that ' s going to get done .
18 So do we have time to work that out?
19 Apply for the grant, and then meet with
20 the community and work everything out? I
21 mean, if we apply for a grant , it doesn ' t
22 mean we have to accept it either . We
23 could always say, well --
24 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , I
25 think what we should do tonight then, and
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 26
1 this is my suggestion, we should authorize
2 the Town to send the letter of support
3 from the Supervisor ' s Office . We can do
4 that tonight and have that in our back
5 pocket , and then we can schedule a
6 meeting . So if people aren ' t satisfied
7 and the Board ' s not satisfied, we don ' t
8 have to send the letter, even if it ' s been
9 authorized . Because otherwise , I think
10 this is an option . Because if we don ' t do
11 it, then we ' re not going to send the
12 letter .
13 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : So then
14 the resolution should say to draft , write
15 a letter, not send a letter .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : But we
17 don ' t have to send it .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
19 Authorizes , yeah, not direct, yes .
20 MAUREEN DACIMO : Just one more
21 question . Who would bear the cost of
22 elevating the road, would that be the
23 Town?
24 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : That ' s
25 why I ' m saying we should move forward with
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 27
1 simply trying to apply for this grant .
2 Sometimes we ' ve had grants that we ' ve
3 applied for, and by the time we get it and
4 things have changed, we didn ' t accept the
5 grant . So there ' s room for that . So if
6 we apply for the grant, then the money ' s
7 coming from that, and it ' s a grant we ' re
8 not paying back . So it ' s not a matching
9 grant or a tax grant funding .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I think
11 we should change it to what the Town
12 Attorney suggested . It says it authorizes
13 the Supervisor to send a letter . That
14 way, if everyone is satisfied, the
15 community and the Board is satisfied, this
16 is the right letter to send, you can do
17 it . It doesn ' t direct you to do it . And
18 that way it gives us the option, if the
19 details work .
20 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : There ' s
21 two resolves in here . One is that we
22 would also -- that ' s the second letter
23 that we were just talking about . Do we
24 want to add any language this often, we
25 say subject to the approval of town
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 28
1 attorney? It says subject -- Subject,
2 where does it say that?
3 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Well , it
4 says in the top resolution .
5 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Oh, okay .
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : But I
7 think we need to know the details also .
8 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : I do believe
9 that that was the point . I ' ve been told
10 that as of December, they had 60% of the
11 restoration projects designed . That ' s
12 what the surveyors in the engineering
13 company did with the $238 , 000 . There are
14 plans there . I ' m just not sure why you
15 haven ' t been provided with the plans
16 before you were asked to send a letter in
17 support of it . This is supposedly a large
18 concrete structure that ' s going to be
19 there in our community . I don ' t even know
20 -- I guess , I just don ' t understand how
21 like -- why no one has seen the design,
22 and what is going to be -- what we ' re
23 asking money for .
24 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I ' ve
25 seen the design, but it was like a couple
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 29
1 of -- a year and a half ago . And I walked
2 out there , and that ' s why I was familiar
3 with the site and who I was , and I thought
4 it should look .
5 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Right . But
6 that ' s not what it ' s going to look like
7 anymore . Apparently, it ' s going to be a
8 large concrete -- it ' s going to be a big
9 concrete dam basically that ' s going to go
10 across there .
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And your
12 concerns about the elevations are very
13 serious .
14 MAUREEN DACIMO : Thank you .
15 DAN LATHAM : It ' s just a question .
16 This is just a question . Dan Latham .
17 Good evening, everybody . If you send a
18 letter to Suffolk County for a grant ,
19 you ' re on first base . If you don ' t, you
20 don ' t get the grant . It ' s a dead issue .
21 In my opinion, where I have 500 or 600 of
22 the property that is going to be affected,
23 what do I do when I go to sleep or not?
24 You ' re going to flood my property one
25 year? Because you ' re going to go get a
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 30
1 grant? Just don ' t send the letter, don ' t
2 get the grant, and it ' s a dead issue .
3 Dead issue . Nobody wants it . If somebody
4 in the town wants it, sorry, you don ' t get
5 it . Nobody wants it . That ' s all it is .
6 Sorry for raising my voice . I ' ve got a
7 hearing aid . I ' m sorry .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We need
9 to hear that .
10 DAN LATHAM : If you don ' t send -- if
11 you don ' t even send the letter for the
12 grant, I think it ' s a dead issue . Which
13 we thought was a dead issue three years
14 ago .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I
16 thought it was -- I thought it was just
17 the opposite . I thought it was -- it had
18 community support from yours -- but I
19 wanted to move it forward .
20 ERIN LATHAM STANTON : Well , in 2019
21 --
22 DAN LATHAM : No , thank you .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
24 you, sir .
25 ASHTON STANTON : So, Ashton Stanton .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 31
1 So my wife had introduced me before . So,
2 doesn ' t it feel like we ' re all a bit
3 under-informed in this room tonight?
4 Just, you know, in my profession, being
5 under-informed doesn ' t really lead to good
6 outcomes . And I feel like there ' s been --
7 I just feel like we don ' t have any of, you
8 know, sort of the right information at our
9 fingertips to sign a document that, you
10 know, if put in motion, you know, could be
11 seen as reckless . You know, and I feel
12 like exercising that bit of caution, I
13 don ' t think we ' ll ever look back on that
14 and say, we did the wrong thing . But I
15 think you could easily look at it the
16 opposite way and say, we did the wrong
17 thing by just moving forward because it
18 was , you know, the simple thing to do that
19 evening and just sort of rubber stick . At
20 this thing and then just kind of kick the
21 can down the road . I think this is an
22 point where , you know, we should all take
23 a moment and be back, you know, ask for
24 more information, be more informed . Not
25 to say one way or the other that this is
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 32
1 right or wrong, but really do the
2 intelligent research of, you know, these
3 folks at LK -- the engineering firm that
4 had a very thorough analysis . I believe
5 that they have some very valuable things
6 to say . I spoke with Tamara Stillman
7 there, who is the lead engineer personally
8 to go back . And she was reticent to give
9 me details on it . She said, you know,
10 this should be a public document that you
11 should be able to review . Because I was
12 hired privately, I really don ' t have a
13 duty to disclose it to you, sir . And I
14 said, that ' s fine . I understand that .
15 I ' m a professional , I ' m not going to
16 disclose somebody ' s medical record because
17 somebody asked for it . There are rules in
18 place for that sort of thing . So I just
19 feel like at this point, it ' s pretty
20 obvious what the right thing to do is , and
21 I think it -- regardless of whether it may
22 place this grant in jeopardy of being
23 obtained, it is not the right thing to
24 just pass this through and send a letter,
25 that ' s a boilerplate letter that says ,
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 33
1 insert your organization here and sign
2 here . That , to me , is just , just feels
3 recklessness .
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yeah,
5 no, I appreciate that . Thank you . All
6 right . Would anyone else like to speak --
7 before we start the resolutions , would
8 anyone else like to speak on any other
9 agenda item before we vote on anything?
10 (No Response . )
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Seeing
12 none , and none on Zoom . We ' ll start the
13 resolutions .
14 (Whereupon, the meeting continued on
15 to the Resolutions at this time . )
16 *** *** *** ** * * ** * * * * *** *** *** *** * ** * * ***
17 PUBLIC HEARING - WIRELESS MASTER PLAN
18 TOWN CLERK DENIS NONCARROW : The
19 purpose of tonight ' s public hearing is to
20 consider adoption of the Wireless Master
21 Plan as an update to the Town ' s
22 Comprehensive Plan . Legal notices for
23 public hearings are published no less than
24 10 days prior to the public hearing in an
25 eligible legal town newspaper . The Town
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 34
1 Clerk ' s Office has received the Affidavit
2 of Service from that newspaper indicating
3 that the notice was published . The
4 applicant required notice to the Suffolk
5 County Planning Commission . The Town
6 Clerk filed that application and the
7 response from that Planning Commission
8 stated that the action is a matter of
9 local determination . The proposed action
10 was also referred to the Suffolk County
11 Planning Commission for coordination under
12 SEQRA and the Town Board . As lead agency
13 adopted the determination of
14 non-significance and declared this a
15 negative declaration . This action was
16 also referred to the Town of Southold
17 Local Waterfront Revitalization Program,
18 who found that the action is consistent
19 under the Town LWRP . The Town Clerk ' s
20 file also includes an Affidavit of Posting
21 of that public notice on the Town Clerk ' s
22 Bulletin Board at Town Hall .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
24 you . Mr . Johnson, are all the legal
25 documents in order?
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 35
1 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
2 Yes , Mr . Supervisor, the documents are in
3 order .
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
5 thank you . And we ' ll open the public
6 hearing . Would anyone like to speak on
7 the proposed changes to the wireless code?
8 ADRIENNE LANDO : Can you explain
9 what are the changes ?
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So this
11 is part of -- we have to change the Master
12 Plan and then we can have the code change .
13 Basically the code is going to be amended
14 to allow for -- this is about a two-year
15 journey of trying to amend the Wireless
16 Code for Southold Town . The current code
17 didn ' t allow for an adequate height for
18 the towers , because what you need are
19 towers placed in the appropriate
20 locations . It ' s physics . So they have to
21 be high enough and have to reach to the
22 right areas . So this will accomplish
23 that . We hired a firm almost two years
24 ago . We went through the whole process as
25 did other East End municipalities with the
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 36
1 same company . They ' re not associated with
2 any vendor . So they did it just based on
3 physical locations and necessary height .
4 So we have a map showing that -- that ' ll
5 be the next public hearing, map showing
6 the of the towers so that we provide
7 adequate coverage for the whole town .
8 ADRIENNE LANDO : Great . How long do
9 you think it would take to do this ?
10 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Could
11 you just --
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yeah,
13 you can ask . Come up to the microphone .
14 Come up and --
15 ADRIENNE LANDO : Hi . We ' re in
16 Mattituck and, like , literally, we have
17 every phone call is dropped . You know, we
18 have really bad service . So we ' re just
19 wondering when this would happen? When it
20 could happen?
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , we
22 should be able to, and then maybe you can
23 explain --
24 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Can we
25 just have your name for the record?
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 37
1 ADRIENNE LANDO : Adrienne Lando .
2 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
3 This is a series of steps that we have to
4 take that are somewhat procedural , and
5 we ' re going to move through this as fast
6 as we can . This is one hurdle . I think
7 we have one more , and this should be
8 relatively quick .
9 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : And just
10 to be clear, it doesn ' t mean a town is
11 going to -- that means people can apply .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So this
13 is -- it gives the opportunity for a
14 carrier to come in and build the correct
15 height , right coverage , which right now
16 the code wouldn ' t allow for that .
17 ADRIENNE LANDO : Thank you .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : The
19 whole Master Plan is on for that is
20 online .
21 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' s
22 basically, we didn ' t have much of a code
23 before , so this is just really putting a
24 comprehensive code in place , and then
25 somebody can apply to the Planning Board,
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 38
1 and there ' s a procedure and process . And
2 it ' s caught up at the time --
3 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : So it ' ll
4 be much smoother .
5 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' ll be
6 much smoother, and it will actually work .
7 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Nicholas Deegan
8 from Mattituck . These towers , could be a
9 conjecture tape , because I ' ve never had a
10 problem with the calls in Mattituck . We
11 have Verizon . Sometimes , perhaps , it ' s
12 the Carrier that people have . So you want
13 to try to do something for everybody?
14 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We did
15 have a survey . A lot of people
16 participated in the survey, so that people
17 knew where the sweet spots were and where
18 the soft spots were in the system, where
19 coverage was poor . And the company that
20 we hired analyzed that based on location
21 and based on coverage . So they gave us
22 the information of where the towers should
23 go . We ' re still prioritizing that these
24 towers , the preference is given to them of
25 this political land, because you want some
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 39
1 public benefit from the revenue , also
2 deliver it to the Park District, Fire
3 District, or town property . You want to
4 make sure that there ' s some public
5 benefit, if possible, when they ' re
6 located, when they ' re on site .
7 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : The
8 company that did have engineers that
9 specifically do this , and they did all
10 the , you know, if you look at the maps
11 online , you ' ll see where there ' s locations
12 moving towards the sound and Mattituck,
13 that it doesn ' t cover, no matter who it
14 is .
15 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Yeah . The one
16 proposed some years ago, and the Park
17 District, I looked into it, that was part
18 and it was rejected by the residents ,
19 because we ' re going to take out the most
20 base footprint at the Veterans Park .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , I
22 don ' t know . This is quite a help with
23 that because coverage is a matter not only
24 of convenience, but it ' s a matter of
25 public safety also . So I think people
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 40
1 would want you to get it from that
2 standpoint . If you had to call an
3 emergency responder, you need to call .
4 You can ' t say, well , I ' ll drive around the
5 corner now . So I think people will look
6 for that .
7 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Yeah, I ' m just
8 trying to find out that -- I don ' t think
9 there ' s a real problem in the area that I
10 live in Mattituck . We ' re trying to call
11 this . And so that ' s Verizon that I ' m
12 familiar with . So it could be somebody
13 else who ' s dropped a call . Okay . Thank
14 you .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
16 you .
17 TINA LEVY : Hi . Tina Levy, I ' m also
18 in Mattituck . I ' m on the sound, and I do
19 have Verizon . And believe me when I tell
20 you, it ' s despicable service . I mean, I ' m
21 on the call with a doctor, and it goes
22 out . I ' m on the call with my children,
23 and it falls out . I ' m just concerned,
24 because I haven ' t seen this map of where
25 these towers are going to go . Do you have
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 41
1 it? I mean, I would have to go to this
2 master plan?
3 TOWN CLERK DENIS NONCARROW : Yes ,
4 that ' s what we have as a plan . It has all
5 different maps and different --
6 TINA LEVY : Okay . And you ' ve
7 decided, based on the criteria and
8 everything, 700 of us answered this survey
9 to say -- yeah . So based on this company?
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yes ,
11 because it ' s based on physics . So where
12 the towers have to go in the proper height
13 so that you can get the coverage . The
14 last code had a height limit .
15 TINA LEVY : Right .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
17 that wasn ' t effective .
18 TINA LEVY : Of course . And we did
19 prioritize the styles . I remember doing
20 that .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : There
22 was a lot of work on that in the end . I
23 believe the Board is going towards the
24 style that is functional .
25 TINA LEVY : Great . I ' m so excited .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 42
1 You have to have a signal .
2 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : So when
3 you see the locations on the map, it ' s not
4 an exact location, because we ' re not going
5 to -- we can ' t put an exact location in
6 sort of a backyard, you know? So it ' s
7 just the area .
8 TINA LEVY : I wouldn ' t mind .
9 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' s the
10 area, and they show you the coverage . So
11 it all depends on who ' s applying for it .
12 TINA LEVY : Yeah, it ' s vital in this
13 day and age .
14 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Yeah, a
15 lot of people don ' t have house phones
16 anymore , so --
17 TINA LEVY : Listen, I have a house
18 phone that I ' m paying a fortune for
19 through Verizon, and that didn ' t work . So
20 there you go . But it ' s very exciting .
21 Good job, guys .
22 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
23 you .
24 Anyone else like to -- I don ' t see
25 anyone on Zoom . Okay . So if I don ' t see
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 43
1 anyone else who would comment on this ,
2 I ' ll take a motion to close the hearing?
3 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I ' ll
4 make a motion to close the hearing .
5 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Second .
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All in
7 favor?
8 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
9 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
10 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
11 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : Aye .
12 JUSTICE KATE STEVENS : Aye .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
14 *** *** *** ** * * ** * ** * ** *** *** ** * *** * ** * ** ***
15 PUBLIC COMMENTS
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
17 right . Now, that concludes the regular
18 agenda, would anyone like to address the
19 Board on any matter?
20 EFFIE GALANIS : Good evening, Board .
21 Effie Galanis , President of the North Fork
22 Beach Condominium . Thank you for having
23 me . I stand before you begging for some
24 kind of action . The coastal erosion that
25 we ' ve been experiencing that ' s continuing
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 44
1 to undermine the road . We last spoke , I
2 think I stood before you a few months ago,
3 maybe February . And you met with another
4 owner of ours the next day to sort of walk
5 the shoreline and observe , maybe talk
6 about possible solutions or just look at
7 the condition . But we have not heard
8 anything from you since then . So I will
9 just stop here and start with the question
10 of where are we? What is actually
11 happening? What do we plan?
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We had a
13 meeting on sites . We ' ve quite a few
14 members of the DEC . We have
15 representatives from Congress . We ' ve just
16 had a team come out from Senator
17 Gillibrand ' s office to look at the site .
18 When we were out there with the DEC, the
19 Town Trustees were there , as well as ,
20 Suffolk County DPW, because of course ,
21 it ' s a separate kind of vote . And we ' re
22 trying to look at -- we also work on the
23 Long Island Futures Fund, and we have a
24 grant application that ' s been approved to
25 try to design some sort of protection for
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 45
1 the beach . But between the revetment that
2 you ' re talking about and the Town Beach of
3 those three homes , and they are in the
4 process with the Town Trustees now trying
5 to figure out , working with the DEC, what
6 they can do there . So you ' ve got this
7 complicated bit of shoreline . And what
8 you ' re talking about is part of that
9 shoreline , but it ' s separated by property
10 owners that some have , as you know, just
11 to the east of you, they have no armory at
12 all , there ' s no total armory . It ' s wide
13 open, then the three homes , and then the
14 Town Beach . So we ' re trying to come up
15 with a plan that ' s going to incorporate
16 that whole area . There ' s some sort of tow
17 protection . At the same time, knowing
18 that in the Suffolk County ' s Coastal
19 Resilience Plan, the road needs to be
20 raised there , the County road . And so
21 we ' re trying to incorporate that into the
22 same plan . So it ' s very complicated
23 because of that . There ' s no one single
24 property owner . It ' s not just the Town
25 beach, but it ' s not just in front of your
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 46
1 property, by the town road . It ' s all
2 those other properties as part of the
3 whole beach .
4 EFFIE GALANIS : Sure, no , and we
5 received a letter from the adjacent
6 property . We had no comment about it . Of
7 course , we want every owner to be able to
8 protect their own home and their
9 interests . But of course , we are relying
10 on the Town, as we met, I believe , almost
11 two years ago to discuss the possibility
12 of a design plan . We were told that you
13 had a budget for a design, that would then
14 move forward . We don ' t know what happened
15 to all of that, how that ' s changed, how
16 that ' s going to -- how that might affect
17 what ' s going on . What ' s going to happen
18 in the future .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We set
20 up -- we had a good meeting with your
21 association, and adjacent property owners .
22 EFFIE GALANIS : Yep .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And then
24 I know we did outreach because we needed
25 agreements to go on people ' s property in
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 47
1 order to do a survey, in order to do a
2 design plan . And I don ' t believe we got
3 cooperation with the whole property owner .
4 And that becomes a problem because , of
5 course , you can ' t decide about 90% of the
6 project .
7 EFFIE GALANIS : Yes . And we ' ve done
8 our part where we ' ve tried to reach out to
9 all owners . We ' ve reached all neighboring
10 owners . We were successful in getting
11 almost all except for the one . And then
12 the one holdout . I ' m not obviously here
13 to represent that owner at all . Actually,
14 we ' re here to try and find a way around
15 that if possible . Because at this point,
16 this is becoming a public safety concern .
17 If you ' ve come to our property, or
18 actually -- part of the shoreline you will
19 notice how much more further since
20 February it has come closer to the road .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yes .
22 EFFIE GALANIS : So the idea of like
23 inaction by Town for something that is a
24 public safety concern is actually
25 disconcerting . And I I ' m imploring you to
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 48
1 find a way around a one person veto for
2 something that is a larger issue , and that
3 will affect the Town at some point . It ' ll
4 turn back to you and everyone will turn to
5 Town be like what happened? How could you
6 have let this happen?
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Ben, can
8 you address that?
9 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
10 Sure . We can try to reach out to that
11 person and try and work with something .
12 EFFIE GALANIS : We are here if
13 there ' s anything we can do to assist or
14 something that can help you move forward
15 plans , we ' re here to come to have a seat
16 at the table with you .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So thank
18 you . And we know that you ' ve been active
19 trying to decide on to say yes , you can
20 you can go on our property use , our
21 property to do the construction, because
22 that ' s all we need really agreement .
23 EFFIE GALANIS : It ' s one person ' s
24 veto, right , doesn ' t seem like it could be
25 the thing that holds up something that is
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 49
1 actually a public safety concern . So I
2 again, I ' m asking to -- before it becomes
3 an issue that potentially could be a
4 liability for the Town, to now find a
5 solution that is change a strategy, find
6 something that ' s different than what we
7 originally thought of and we ' re here --
8 we ' re on board, so thank you .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
10 you .
11 EFFIE GALANIS : It ' s devastating . I
12 just want the property to be in and out ,
13 and look to the left and the right , and I
14 did not recognize it anymore . So , thank
15 you .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
17 you for coming . Thank you .
18 JOAN BISCHOFF : Members of the
19 Board, Supervisor Krupski , Mr . Town Clerk,
20 Counselor, good evening . We ' re here to
21 celebrate something wonderful . As you
22 know, maybe one of the most rewarding
23 parts of my practice of law on the North
24 Fork has been helping young people fight
25 the affordability crisis of homes on the
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 50
1 North Fork, and I ' m happy to say that in
2 many cases , we are able, with the help of
3 so many people, to fight to find people
4 homes that they can actually purchase .
5 Usually, these projects are multi-year
6 projects . They involve so many people
7 that help and waive their fees . And
8 unfortunately, the Town in this particular
9 case that I ' m going to discuss with you
10 has not been very helpful . And as a
11 matter of fact, I would like , because this
12 is not about me , I ' d like this to be about
13 my client , Mike Figurny . I know the Town
14 Attorney himself shared with me earlier
15 tonight that he had been in a similar
16 situation and had to pay the tax . I ' m
17 talking about the first-time home buyer
18 exemption of the Peconic tax . I ' d like to
19 introduce Mike Figurny . He is my client .
20 And he was denied to be able to use the
21 first-time home buyer exemption . And I ' d
22 like the Board to hear his story . Mike ,
23 go ahead .
24 MIKE FIGURNY : Thank you . Hi . So
25 I ' m here tonight to address the Board, to
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 51
1 hopefully hear my appeal , because I was
2 born and raised in Southold . I ' ve lived
3 in this house , 1525 Bergen Avenue ,
4 Mattituck, my entire life . And my mother
5 lived here for also her entire life . And
6 so she lived here until she passed away,
7 which we both lived in the house until she
8 passed away . And then after her death, my
9 sister and I inherited the house . And
10 then I worked to buy my sister ' s share of
11 the property, and to continue living here .
12 And so this is not for investment
13 purposes . It ' s not for vacation purposes .
14 It ' s not a second home . It ' s my home . So
15 before we closed, my attorney and I spent
16 a long time trying to get proper guidance .
17 On how we could try to get this exception
18 and it just ended up not working out , so
19 you know, we can disagree about the law
20 exactly, but I don ' t understand exactly
21 why my circumstances can ' t be reconsidered
22 or thought about deeper . The only reason
23 my name ever appeared on the title was
24 because my mother passed away and the
25 property came through the estate . When I
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 52
1 purchased my sister ' s share , I was buying
2 a new house . I was trying to keep the
3 only home I have ever known . In order to
4 complete the transaction I had to pay off
5 the tax under protest because I could not
6 risk losing the opportunity to keep the
7 property . I ' m not asking for special
8 treatment . I am asking -- I ' m not asking
9 for anyone to bend the rules , I am simply
10 asking that my appeal be received and that
11 I be given the fair opportunity to be
12 heard . The Town often speaks about
13 helping local residents remain in the
14 community . I am one of those residents .
15 I want to continue living here , working
16 here , and being a part of Southold Town .
17 I respectfully ask the Board to review my
18 appeal and consider the unique
19 circumstances of this case . Thank you for
20 your time .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
22 you for coming in . This is a rare thing
23 that this is appeal that this is asked
24 for . It is a State authorized tax, so we
25 just do have to abide by the law, but I ' ll
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 53
1 ask our legal counsel to weigh in on that .
2 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
3 Sure . Yeah, this is State tax law . I
4 certainly understand your situation, and I
5 empathize with it because , as your counsel
6 has said, I was in a similar situation
7 where my mother and I bought our ancestral
8 home for less than both the qualifying
9 numbers , and we also had to pay that tax .
10 So I understand your frustration, but we
11 have to treat everyone equally, and as I
12 see it , and it has been conveyed to you
13 since last year, you do not qualify as I
14 see it for this tax exemption .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And
16 that ' s a New York State Tax Law . So this
17 is something that would be happy, if you
18 appealed it to this State Senator or the
19 State Assemblyman . We don ' t feel like
20 there ' s an appeal process here . We heard
21 an appeal for coastal erosion earlier .
22 There ' s an appeal process in that law . We
23 don ' t know if we have any discretion here .
24 JOAN BISCHOFF : May I address that?
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Of
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 54
1 course .
2 JOAN BISCHOFF : The Town Attorney is
3 employee of the town, and is designated by
4 the tax law to make the decision, take the
5 application study, and either approve or
6 disapprove the application for a
7 first-time home buyer . So it ' s an act by
8 an employee of the town . And if the Town
9 cannot really act through an employee ,
10 only the Town Board can act from the town .
11 So what we are asking for is a review of a
12 Town employee decision that resulted in
13 the declaration of the first-time home
14 buyer exemption by the Town Board, who I
15 know is sympathetic towards this cause,
16 and see if we can take the legal arguments
17 that I brought seriously . I ' ve given the
18 Board a legal memorandum and an
19 application . And the reason why we ' re
20 standing here tonight is because we didn ' t
21 hear back from you . We didn ' t hear back
22 about anything other than a one-liner from
23 the Town Attorney that said that he didn ' t
24 qualify . We went back and forth about a
25 couple of legal arguments . But I feel
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 55
1 there was no thorough review of our legal
2 arguments . We ' re here throwing ourselves
3 at the Board, hopefully sympathetic Board,
4 to be able to look at this case and do
5 what Town Boards do and lawyers do, look
6 at the circumstances , and to see if the
7 law, which was a remedial law really that
8 was passed, with a very specific goal in
9 mind to help first-time home buyers who
10 cannot really afford to pay these taxes ,
11 stay in a community . And if the outcome
12 of the decision by a Town employee is not
13 the outcome that you would expect , because
14 that was the purpose of that law, then
15 there is a discussion possible about the
16 specific circumstances , and I hope that
17 that will lead for the Board to look at
18 that seriously and decide , as I
19 understand, they have the authority to do,
20 to remedy that situation .
21 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Can we
22 get an interpretation from the State and
23 on this in particular?
24 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
25 Sure .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 56
1 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : And then
2 have it in writing and then we can show
3 them if he qualifies or not?
4 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
5 Just to also , since we ' re creating a
6 record, we did run this by our outside
7 counsel that specializes in this , and they
8 concurred with what our office has been
9 telling Mr . Bischoff and his client for
10 over six months .
11 JOAN BISCHOFF : Mr . Supervisor, with
12 all due respect to my colleague ,
13 Counselor, this is an appeal or a request
14 for a review of his decision, so I ' m not
15 sure that that ' s a fair forum to discuss
16 this matter for you and the Board, but
17 that ' s up to you to decide .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I think
19 you should keep an open mind of the
20 circumstances . We get asked to review a
21 lot of things , so I think that ' s a fair
22 request .
23 JOAN BISCHOFF : We ' re not asking you
24 to decide that right now and here . We ' re
25 asking you to provide us with a process
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 57
1 and to give us some kind of idea of how we
2 can help resolve this issue with you . And
3 he hopes that he can appear while you ' re
4 discussing the matter to explain his
5 particular circumstances , if I didn ' t do a
6 good job explaining it . Thank you very
7 much .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
9 you .
10 JOAN BISCHOFF : Anything else you
11 would like to add?
12 MIKE FIGURNY : No, I don ' t have
13 anything to add, besides thank you for
14 your time and thank you for hearing us .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
16 you .
17 JOAN BISCHOFF : Good evening . Thank
18 you very much .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Take
20 care . We have someone on Zoom, and would
21 you like to let them in .
22 JILL FRANKE : Hi , Jill Franke . I
23 have a question . If you have an issue
24 with the Board, and you need to go to the
25 Board of Ethics , but the people on the
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 58
1 Board of Ethics are also involved with the
2 same people , and the organization and the
3 other boards , who do you go to?
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I don ' t
5 know what you mean by involved, but I
6 don ' t know if you want to --
7 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
8 Sure . Ms . Franke, I ' m sure you can come
9 to my office as you have been invited a
10 number of times .
11 JILL FRANKE : Your office has been
12 no help, and you ' ve led us around for a
13 long time until it was too late to go to
14 court . And then you were asked to put
15 stuff in writing, and we still do not have
16 anything . There ' s issues with the Boards ,
17 and if you can ' t go to the Board of
18 Ethics , who do you go to?
19 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
20 Ma ' am, I have made -- I have numerous
21 e-mails where I have asked you, another
22 Assistant Town Attorney has asked you to
23 come in and meet with us , and you haven ' t .
24 So that ' s really the only answer I can
25 answer .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 59
1 JILL FRANKE : We asked you if we
2 could come in and meet with you, and you
3 jerked us around for a long time . And it
4 was too late to file, too late to do
5 anything . And you said you would meet
6 with us , and I told you the only day we
7 could not meet was the Wednesday, and
8 that ' s the one day you guys picked for us
9 to come . And then I was told nobody was
10 there on Thursday, because they were going
11 to be in a meeting . Friday they were
12 taking off, and Monday they were not going
13 to be there . So you can answer all of my
14 questions from my e-mails in writing at
15 this point, now that we ' ve missed filing
16 an Article 78 . There ' s also issues with
17 all of the Boards . You cannot go to the
18 Board of Ethics , because people on the
19 Board of Ethics are also involved with the
20 people that all of this is going on . So
21 who do you go to, if you can ' t go to the
22 Board of Ethics ?
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We did
24 meet with you, we had an over an hour long
25 meeting with myself, and the counsel , and
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 60
1 the Deputy Supervisor, and the government
2 --
3 JILL FRANKE : That was before this
4 started -- stuff started . And you just
5 actually cast it off to the Town Attorneys
6 and then they given us the runaround . And
7 actually one of your Town Attorneys sat up
8 with the head of the Zoning Board and fact
9 shamed me while they were -- we were
10 leaving the meeting . So how professional
11 is that? And that ' s not what I want to go
12 to the Board of Ethics about . You also
13 have people on the Board of Ethics that
14 are involved with the same people . So who
15 do I go to?
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , I
17 see you have a standing invitation to come
18 and meet with the Town Attorney and I --
19 JILL FRANKE : Would you come meet
20 with the Town Attorney after all what
21 they ' ve been doing for months ? This has
22 been going on for months . They can put it
23 in writing . I ' ve asked them plenty of
24 questions in writing by e-mail . They can
25 answer me in writing .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 61
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , if
2 that ' s -- I suppose if that ' s the way
3 you ' d like to see your questions answered,
4 then we ' ll try to provide that for you .
5 JILL FRANKE : They ' ve been going to
6 provide it for a couple of months and they
7 haven ' t . So I don ' t know what they ' re
8 waiting for .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Is that
10 acceptable , Ben, to try to answer the
11 questions ?
12 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
13 Sure . If you can forward me your
14 questions , I will try to answer them . Is
15 that acceptable?
16 JILL FRANKE : Who do you go to -- I
17 want to speak to somebody about ethics ,
18 but I can ' t go to the Board of Ethics
19 because the people that are on the Board
20 of Ethics are also involved with the
21 people that I need to see the Board of
22 Ethics about . So who do you go to?
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , I
24 think you should sort of put the Town
25 Attorney who ' s inviting you in and ask you
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 62
1 send him an e-mail with questions --
2 JILL FRANKE : No, he can answer my
3 questions by writing . I ' m done playing
4 around with him . And your Assistant Town
5 Attorney is pretty nasty as well . And
6 that ' s another question . You have two
7 Assistant Town Attorneys and you have a
8 Town Attorney, and we ' re hiring outside
9 counsel for a lot of stuff . That ' s a lot
10 of money you ' re spending .
11 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON :
12 That ' s an insurance requirement, Ma ' am .
13 JILL FRANKE : You push everything
14 off on everybody . And what was so
15 important that was going on that we didn ' t
16 get a grant in on time? And we missed
17 that for the park .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I don ' t
19 know .
20 JILL FRANKE : Ben, you don ' t know
21 why the secretary missed getting an
22 application in for a grant for the park?
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So do
24 you have any other questions ?
25 JILL FRANKE : I didn ' t hear your
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 63
1 response to that , sorry .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well , we
3 did get it in on time , and the State
4 disagreed with that . And we had a very
5 short notice that that money was
6 available , and that was the day that the
7 pipe burst in Town Hall , and we had to
8 evacuate . The Fire Department came that
9 day .
10 JILL FRANKE : Interesting .
11 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Ben, on
12 the Board of Ethics question, can she go
13 to a neighboring town, Board of Ethics ?
14 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON : She
15 can go to Suffolk County Anti-Corruption .
16 I remain open to discussing anything she
17 would like to discuss , either in an e-mail
18 sent to me , or I ' m happy to make a time to
19 discuss it in person . It sounds like
20 that ' s not what you would like , ma ' am, but
21 please happily e-mail me . We ' ve --
22 JILL FRANKE : I ' ve e-mailed you a
23 lot . You can look through the e-mails ,
24 and you can please answer our questions .
25 That would be appreciated .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 64
1 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON : I
2 have some e-mails . If you could put your
3 questions together, I will -- I will
4 happily answer --
5 JILL FRANKE : They are together .
6 They ' re in an e-mail . You have numerous
7 e-mails .
8 TOWN ATTORNEY BENJAMIN JOHNSON : I
9 do .
10 JILL FRANKE : Okay . Start
11 answering . My taxes pay your salary .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Any
13 other questions for the Board?
14 JILL FRANKE : Mr . Mealy, it ' s nice
15 to see your face . Thank you for taking
16 your hat off . I appreciate it .
17 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Okay .
18 Thank you . That was kind . Thank you very
19 much .
20 JILL FRANKE : Have a good evening .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
22 you . Anyone else like to address the
23 Board? Anyone who hasn ' t spoken yet , just
24 to give everyone a chance --
25 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Nicholas Deegan
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 65
1 from Mattituck . I just wonder if the
2 Board is any closer to adopting something
3 like what East Hampton did on the OLA
4 question and resolution?
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : On what?
6 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : On the OLA .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No , I
8 don ' t know what they -- I ' m not sure what
9 they adopted . And we ' ve invited -- we ' ve
10 heard that something that the State has
11 passed something along those lines .
12 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : East Hampton
13 jumped ahead to the stage because the
14 State kind put in the budget .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
16 I ' m not sure what what East Hampton did,
17 and how it ' s going to affect their public
18 safety, but I know that we ' ve heard that
19 the State has put something in to the
20 budget that ' s --
21 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Yes .
22 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : That
23 addresses something along those lines . So
24 in response to that instead of us trying
25 to guess what the State did, we ' ve invited
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 66
1 our State representatives to come to our
2 next work session, then they can explain
3 what they did and all they -- and they can
4 explain it from the public ' s safety
5 perspective and see how it ' s going to
6 affect our Town . So they ' re going to come
7 -- they ' re going to come to our next work
8 session .
9 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Okay . Good . I
10 think it ' s fairly straightforward in the
11 sense that they asked if the ICE is in the
12 area, and there ' s no mask allowed for
13 anybody . Any police force, whether it ' s
14 your local , ICE or anyone -- any security
15 firm, no mask allowed . And East Hampton
16 did, this a couple of weeks ago . So I
17 thought maybe the Southold would follow
18 suit .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
20 sometimes things happen in a different way
21 in East Hampton from Southold . Sometimes
22 to the --
23 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Okay, I
24 understand .
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yeah, I
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 67
1 don ' t know how that ' s going to happen . We
2 formed a Public Safety Task Force to
3 address these things . But this is seeing
4 when the State does something, then we ' re
5 not sure how that ' s going to affect our
6 police force .
7 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : I ' ll tell you, the
8 only one I think now is pushing back
9 against the State, is Blakeman in Nassau
10 County . I think that ' s the only voice
11 I ' ve heard in opposition to what the State
12 is proposing . Push out .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Yeah,
14 we ' re not in opposition with the State .
15 We want to see how it ' s going to affect
16 us . We want to hear from them, though .
17 Because sometimes we get a State law and
18 we try to interpret it . And then everyone
19 has different opinions .
20 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Did you look at
21 what East Hampton passed?
22 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Have
23 they passed identical laws ?
24 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : I think they ' re
25 fairly close .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 68
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Fairly
2 close is not identical though . So that ' s
3 the -- When it comes to the law, that is ,
4 it becomes someone ' s interpretations . So
5 we want to make sure, you know, we can
6 learn from other people what their efforts
7 have been .
8 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Sure .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : But I
10 don ' t know how --
11 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : And now we keep
12 pushing this thing off . And if I do
13 anything because when you put up a task
14 force, a task force is usually to push it
15 out there . But it never happens .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We ' ll
17 see .
18 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Okay .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Public
20 safety is the big concern for our
21 community .
22 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Okay . Yes , of
23 course . It would help if you had a little
24 bit of enforcement , too . It would not be
25 -- How about police helping ICE?
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 69
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
2 they don ' t . They ' re not allowed to . They
3 don ' t help .
4 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : But they do
5 provide traffic control for them, no?
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
7 that ' s a public safety issue . But they ' re
8 not part of the operations . And as far as
9 the masks go , if that ' s going to be a
10 State law, then the State ' s going to be
11 enforcing that law, I assume . But I don ' t
12 want to interpret the State law until our
13 State representatives to come in and
14 explain that to us publicly . So the
15 public can hear it .
16 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : It has been in the
17 papers already, but it ' s a State proposal .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : But they
19 just passed a budget last week, just
20 started last week . So we weren ' t going to
21 react until the budget was passed . We
22 don ' t know what changes . The budget was
23 how long -- how many months late ?
24 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Oh yeah, I know .
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So we
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 70
1 were going to react to some rumor in
2 Albany, and then it was going to change .
3 And then it ' s just like when you mentioned
4 that OLA Law, if we had overreacted to
5 that first draft , it was completely
6 rewritten . The second iteration came out .
7 So you don ' t want to overreact to
8 something that ' s going to change, and then
9 we ' re back penalty . We don ' t want to boil
10 the cabbage twice .
11 NICHOLAS DEEGAN : Okay . Got it .
12 Thank you for that analogy .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
14 you . Thank you .
15 ERIC MCCLURE : Good evening . Eric
16 McClure , resident of Mattituck . I am here
17 again about the sound from Strong ' s Water
18 called the Windermere . I checked my
19 e-mails , and the first time I reached out
20 to Supervisor Russell in September of
21 2014 , the first meeting we had with the
22 supervisor and several of my neighbors was
23 in the next year in 2015 . It ' s now 2026 ,
24 and the situation has not improved at all .
25 There have been three live music events so
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 71
1 far this year, starting the Friday of
2 Memorial Day weekend . They ' ve all been
3 loud . In every instance , the sound
4 penetrates the windows and the walls of my
5 house and my closest neighbor ' s house .
6 There ' s just no way to keep it out . We
7 have double pane windows and relatively
8 thick walls , and then do you hear the bass
9 and drums no matter what . On Sunday
10 night, I was hosting a Zoom meeting at
11 7 : 00 p . m . that went to about 9 : 20 . About
12 15 minutes before that meeting started, I
13 called the Southold Police to ask if they
14 could send over an officer to ask them to
15 turn down the music . I was told by the
16 dispatcher that they would send an officer
17 with a decibel meter, who would have to
18 take a reading from my property . I
19 started my meeting at 7 o ' clock . I never
20 saw -- I don ' t have any record on my
21 Google Home camera of any officer ever
22 responding to our property to take a
23 decibel reading .
24 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I ' m
25 sorry, what day was it?
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 72
1 ERIC MCCLURE : That was Sunday the
2 31st . I called about 6 : 45 p . m . to the
3 dispatcher . I noted in the -- you guys
4 approved a number of special event permits
5 tonight, which apparently, Strong ' s and
6 Windamere don ' t require . I ' m not quite
7 sure that I understand why that ' s the
8 case . Maybe the next meeting, I ' ll ask
9 for an explanation of why they are exempt
10 from special permits , even though they put
11 on the past few summers . It ' s been 80 or
12 so live music events that enter into
13 Brower ' s Woods neighborhood and completely
14 overwhelming . But I did note with the
15 Cory Creek Tap Room events that there was
16 a clause in what you approved that said
17 this permit is further conditions required
18 that music not be audible beyond the
19 property line . I didn ' t see that in other
20 permits that you approved, but I ' m curious
21 why that was stipulated for Cory Creek and
22 not any of the others , and how do we get
23 that in my neighborhood?
24 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Because
25 there ' s a group -- a comprehensive group
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 73
1 of town staff that approved the special
2 permits . The Town Clerk, the government
3 leaders , the Police Department , Planning,
4 Building Department, tools and stuff like
5 that .
6 TOWN CLERK DENIS NONCARROW : Yeah,
7 Zoning, Planning .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So they
9 put that condition on there . I ' m not sure
10 why . Okay . So send me an e-mail -- Well
11 send me an e-mail about the , if you could,
12 I mean it ' s on the public record, but
13 about the calls to the police department .
14 ERIC MCCLURE : Yeah, and you know,
15 even if the police had come , I made,
16 briefly made a couple recordings . There
17 were a couple times when they went over
18 the 65 decibel limit . Again, I ' ve said
19 this , I don ' t know how many times , the
20 code is insufficient in protecting people
21 who live nearby . At 65 decibels , it ' s
22 rattling, you know, it ' s shaking the
23 windows . It ' s clearly perceptible inside
24 the house , even with all the windows
25 closed . With a fan turned on or TV, your
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 74
1 radio turned on to try to drown it out . I
2 don ' t feel like I should have to close the
3 windows when it ' s 65 degrees out and
4 there ' s a nice breeze and the weather ' s
5 good . But you have to do that in order to
6 kind of keep your sanity in our
7 neighborhood . You know, I ' ve come here , I
8 think, in good faith for now 12 years .
9 None of you were on Board when I first
10 raised this issue . Oh, Jill , you were,
11 yes , exactly . And, you know, I ' ve tried
12 to maintain a positive attitude about it .
13 I ' ve never yelled, I ' ve never cursed, I ' ve
14 never screamed . I ' ve never cast
15 dispersions on the members of the Town
16 Council . But it ' s deeply frustrating that
17 I ' m back here again for another year of
18 this and nothing has changed . It hasn ' t
19 gotten any better . Nothing ' s been done to
20 address it . And I ' m really -- I think --
21 got up here . I was begging you earlier to
22 take some action on her issue . And so I
23 guess I ' m begging you as well to take some
24 action on ours . I know Watson, my next
25 door neighbor, had texted you, Supervisor
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 75
1 Krupski . She told me she did a couple of
2 times in the past week about the sound . I
3 hope that she ' ll come with me and there
4 are probably a couple other neighbors who
5 might come with me to the next Town Board
6 meeting . So I ' m the only one up here , and
7 you have to take my word for it, but I do,
8 the invitation remains open to please come
9 visit us at our house anytime there ' s a
10 live music event there , and experience it
11 firsthand . I know there are things in the
12 code about reasonable people and
13 reasonable expectations , and I think
14 anybody who heard it the way we hear it ,
15 would share our perspective that it ' s not
16 reasonable , and it ' s not really fair to us
17 to have to put up with this . So I ' ll
18 leave it there . Thank you .
19 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Thank
20 you . I want to thank you personally for
21 being a gentleman all these years . And
22 you know I attempted to have some ideas ,
23 and I think they attempted maybe one
24 weekend, and nothing happened, and I just
25 don ' t know where to answer us .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 76
1 ERIC MCCLURE : Again, I know that
2 there was a long discussion in the work
3 session last Summer about noise issues and
4 Greg Doroski . Greg said, you know, we ' ve
5 had this long discussion in the way we are
6 committed to taking action, but
7 unfortunately that action hasn ' t happened .
8 I do think either the code needs to change
9 or they need to be prevented from doing
10 this in some way . I don ' t know legally if
11 that means I have to sue them . We
12 certainly, if you read the Town Code ,
13 we ' re being deprived of the enjoyment of
14 our property, which the Town Code clearly
15 states is , you know, a right that we
16 should have as residents of the town . So
17 it ' s -- I know it ' s a difficult issue for
18 the town to have to deal with, but I
19 really, really --
20 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : It ' s a
21 hard thing to enforce . That ' s where --
22 you know, what ' s the answer that we can
23 also enforce?
24 ERIC MCCLURE : Right . And the
25 challenge Enforcement is that the property
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 77
1 owner there clearly only cares about the
2 code and enforceability . So if they feel
3 that they are under the Town Code decibel
4 reading, then they ' re totally in the
5 clear . But that does nothing for us based
6 on what the actual reality of the
7 situation is within the allowable code .
8 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Do we need
9 to review the code? Is there a discussion
10 open to looking at the actual code? Well ,
11 just whatever part of the code , I think we
12 had talked about amplified music in the
13 past . And I know we have a lot of things
14 we ' re working on with code . But we have
15 to start somewhere , yeah .
16 ERIC MCCLURE : Greenport has an
17 entertainment permit measure in their
18 Village Code . That I think is much more
19 stringent than the town wide code . It ' s
20 not always -- I ' m not an attorney, so when
21 I ' m reading the code, I don ' t always quite
22 understand that I ' m getting it properly,
23 but the entertainment permit is something
24 that somebody who would be doing these
25 entertainment events and they are
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 78
1 concerts . They ' re clearly rock concerts .
2 And there are 80 of them every season, so
3 maybe that ' s an approach . But I don ' t
4 know if there ' s something that can be done
5 because trying to appeal to the better
6 angels of the people who run that
7 operation has not gotten us anywhere . So
8 thank you .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
10 you .
11 ERIC MCCLURE : Thanks for hearing me
12 out and we ' ll be back .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
14 you . Welcome , Tom .
15 TOM STEVENSON : Tom Stevenson,
16 Orient . Been listening to you for a
17 while, long meeting, so I ' ll keep this
18 short . But I ' m just commenting on the
19 Broad Meadows situation, whatever you want
20 to call it . The -- I was at that 2019
21 meeting at the Rec Center, and as far as I
22 know, that ' s the last time anything in
23 public -- there wasn ' t any sort of public
24 meeting about it . I know there ' s been
25 private meetings , but that doesn ' t help
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 79
1 people that aren ' t in the private meetings
2 understand what ' s going on . So I think
3 there ' s a major transparency issue that ,
4 you know, isn ' t really just limited to the
5 Broad Meadows . There ' s a lot of secret
6 meetings . A lot of things that go on that
7 we don ' t know about . And that ' s sort of
8 where the buffer hits the road . I had
9 reached out to -- you know, I pay
10 attention to these meetings , and I know
11 when you went out to bid to do the study,
12 and that was a big number, and I ' m not a
13 huge fan of, you know, spending huge
14 amounts on consultants , when I ' d rather
15 spend on doing something . Like fixing pot
16 holes . But I saw that you had the study,
17 and then, you know, whatever the engineers
18 came with, you know, I would have had to
19 FOIL that document . I think maybe some
20 people did . I don ' t know, but they may
21 have . They should have made that
22 transparent . I don ' t see what could have
23 been secret about that . And then I did
24 see that in a following meeting, there was
25 an estimate for bids , and it had sort of
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 80
1 doubled . So now you ' re talking like
2 multi-million dollar project, and it ' s
3 sort of eye-opening . But anyway, I ' m also
4 Secretary of the Oyster Farms Rod and Gun
5 Club, and historically that ' s been a big
6 waterfowl hunting area . And even though
7 the club is , you know, 120 something years
8 old, it ' s sort of just holding on . And we
9 feel like as a club, we should be
10 considered a stakeholder, but we aren ' t .
11 And I have reached out to the Town
12 Engineering Department, I believe it was
13 last year, I ' m just trying to say, hey,
14 you know, we only meet like four times a
15 year, maybe you want to come to our
16 meeting and sort of fill us in on where
17 you ' re at . And the response was sort of
18 like , how do you get my number? So that
19 was a little shocking . And that makes me
20 suspicious when it ' s not open, you know .
21 If it ' s open, at least I can see what ' s
22 going on . But a lot of these private -- I
23 call them secret meetings , or ex-parte
24 communications , while legal , I don ' t think
25 they ' re in the public interest to do , you
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 81
1 know -- you really should have a public
2 meeting . And now you ' ve been hooked up
3 sort of too late to have that public
4 meeting in time . So even though I ' m not
5 like a direct property owner, it ' s still
6 in Orient , and we do care about Orient .
7 And I tried not to take offense when it
8 was said that people in Orient are against
9 everything . I don ' t know what we say
10 about people in Mattituck or in Laurel ,
11 but that was a little bit not necessary to
12 sort of be singled out . Because I think
13 we have it -- just because we ' re active in
14 the town and we speak up, I don ' t know if
15 we ' re against everything . So it ' s not
16 fair . Anyway, as secretary of the club, I
17 would be more than willing to host any
18 sort of informational session, subject to
19 availability . My wife ' s on the board
20 there, and we could -- I think we could
21 get in . So anyway, I ' m not going to drag
22 it out any longer, but transparency should
23 be prioritized a bit more than what ' s
24 going on . You know, like government , if
25 you think about the firms and bikes there,
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 82
1 they probably built those in like one
2 Summer for probably like ten grand . So
3 things have really changed, and
4 unfortunately not really for the better .
5 So please listen to the constituents .
6 Please listen to the stakeholders , and
7 just the average person . And I appreciate
8 you tabling this tonight , and you know,
9 it ' s just one of those issues . I ' m not
10 going to go too long, so thank you .
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Tom, you
12 mentioned secret meetings a lot . What are
13 you basing that on? And who ' s at all
14 these meetings ?
15 TOM STEVENSON : A secret meeting is
16 just what I call like a, you know, like
17 when the School superintendent leans in
18 and is like , hey, I ' d love to meet with
19 you in my office and we ' ll talk about
20 stuff . Hey, it happens all the time and
21 sometimes they ' re necessary, but it ' s a
22 little too comfortable . Like why can ' t
23 the details be divulged in a work session
24 or put on the website if only to of the
25 people pay any attention any way? But
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 83
1 those 1% of these would educate themselves
2 and maybe -- so if it ' s not executive
3 session stuff, then daylight ' s your
4 friend .
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So this
6 project ' s been going on officially since
7 2014 . And have you been or your
8 organization been part of any of the
9 public meetings ?
10 TOM STEVENSON : We ' ve never been
11 invited on any official level , but I know
12 our members were -- well , some of our
13 members are neighbors , too, like Ashton
14 Stanton said, a member . And then across
15 the street -- across 25 , I would have
16 waited on that part of the project . And
17 then -- well , it ' s not part of the
18 project . The State doesn ' t even clean out
19 the storm drains there . So the culverts
20 don ' t work at all when you ' re on 25 . So
21 you ' re flooding -- you ' re backing up and
22 flooding private properties upstream
23 already . And people have sump pumps
24 going . Luckily, I ' m on high enough
25 ground . Which I guess isn ' t enough for
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 84
1 some . But some people are not . And the
2 last thing they want is to see basement
3 flooding become even more regular .
4 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Has
5 anyone reached out to the State
6 representatives to say, hey, you know, did
7 you maintain your --
8 TOM STEVENSON : I hear you Al . Well ,
9 we contacted the State over the paving
10 debacle we have out here today . Instead
11 of repaving our road from the school to
12 halfway up the causeway, they patched over
13 90 cuts in the road . So we did reach out .
14 We reached out officially from the school .
15 And well , we didn ' t win . They did what
16 they were going to do . So I mean, DOT is ,
17 in my book, becoming one of those
18 notoriously faceless -- notorious faceless
19 agencies that really doesn ' t respond . And
20 you want to maybe not even our public
21 officials . So yes , that ' s probably above
22 the pay grade , but --
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No , you
24 reach out to your elected officials .
25 You ' re going to send them in as a senator
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 85
1 that represents our area, including
2 Orient --
3 TOM STEVENSON : You know, the State,
4 the national grant had a permit to do this
5 work, and they ' re going to do the work .
6 And that was that .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I mean,
8 the culprits aren ' t maintained . They ' re
9 causing flooding . I mean, that ' s a
10 serious issue .
11 TOM STEVENSON : I think the
12 complaints have been -- you know, it ' s not
13 in front of my property, but I know that
14 nothing ' s happened . So, you know, and
15 speaking of letters from the town, I know
16 it ' s an issue , but like, I got to think
17 they would listen more to the town than
18 they would to just the average Joe calling
19 them up . That ' s easy to hang up on . So,
20 like , those types of -- you know, when
21 you ' re looking at like -- I know the Town
22 asked the State to look at Route 25 from
23 the point of, you know, the entire town .
24 And that should be one of those issues .
25 You know, we ' re neglected out here . You
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 86
1 know, we ' re the last person to get a
2 dollar spent on us . I don ' t really care
3 what anybody says . So, yeah, it ' s
4 frustrating . It really is . So, Broad
5 Meadows , I mean, they used to burn it . I
6 think maybe a $ 0 . 10 book of matches might
7 be the answer here . A controlled burn,
8 which is now coming back in the public .
9 So, maybe it ' s not the worst idea without
10 millions and millions of dollars and the
11 money in the budget --
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So , you
13 weren ' t part , in 2014 , part of any sort of
14 meetings that happened on this project?
15 TOM STEVENSON : Just the one at the
16 Rec Center . That was , I think, 2019 .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Okay .
18 TOM STEVENSON : Prior to that, we
19 were -- I don ' t know if they ' re dropping
20 their gloves . I always emphasize the rod
21 part, because sometimes they just say the
22 gun quote . Anyway, no, we don ' t really
23 feel like we have a seat at the table .
24 And there ' s some deep knowledge in the
25 membership, and there ' s a deep history
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 87
1 here . And there is a deeper story that
2 there ' s a lot of distrust with the State
3 and Orient, and land grabs . And Narrow
4 River and Broad Meadows is absolutely --
5 some people say that Broad Meadows is not
6 DEC land, it is Trustee land . And the
7 Trustees -- maybe in this public meeting
8 we can get into it a little bit . But I
9 don ' t know . I think it ' s a position of
10 the town that ' s not on us , the State , but
11 we shouldn ' t roll over so easily, you
12 know, with the State . We can sometimes ,
13 you know, partner up sometimes -- we can
14 push back to the suit , you know, if it ' s
15 not a good thing . I mean, if that ' s DEC
16 land, guess what, we have to comply with
17 everything State , since it ' s , you know,
18 it ' s just like Affordable Housing . If you
19 take that State money, everyone in the
20 State can apply for any Affordable Housing
21 that gets built here . So the answer would
22 be not to take that money . All right . So
23 it ' s been a day, so I ' ll let you guys go,
24 but I appreciate you sticking around and
25 listening .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 88
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well ,
2 we ' ll make sure that the Rod & Gun Club is
3 informed when we have a public meeting,
4 whether we have it there . Do you have the
5 Zoom there at Duck Hall ?
6 TOM STEVENSON : I think we ' re in
7 association with Zoom some, but no . I
8 mean, our tech is -- I mean, LED lights ,
9 it ' s pretty hot there . Well , it is air
10 conditioning .
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Well --
12 but if we have -- we have a public
13 meeting, we want to do a public meeting
14 that ' s , you know, publicly accessible
15 there at Polk Duck .
16 TOM STEVENSON : Yeah, yeah . So
17 maybe it ' s better in one of the -- it ' s
18 easier in one of the halls . That ' s fine .
19 And, you know, town wide , you know, people
20 -- even if you ' re not in Orient, you know,
21 you ' re in the rest of town, you know,
22 it ' s -- it ' s just such a beautiful area .
23 So people -- people sort of like get very
24 protected, you know .
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I know,
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 89
1 I live in Cutchogue . All right . Well ,
2 thanks , Tom .
3 TOM STEVENSON : All right . I ' m
4 going to sign off . Thank you, guys .
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Don ' t
6 leave . We ' re not done yet . Don ' t leave .
7 TOM STEVENSON : I won ' t .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Stay on
9 the line .
10 TOM STEVENSON : I thought you had to
11 be done before the sun ' s down .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : It is
13 getting dark . We do have to get home
14 before it gets dark .
15 TOM STEVENSON : All right .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
17 right . Would anyone else like to address
18 the Board?
19 (No Response . )
20 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I ' ll
21 make a motion to adjourn .
22 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Second .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All in
24 favor?
25 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 90
1 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
2 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
3 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : Aye .
4 JUSTICE KATE STEVENS : Aye .
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
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7 (Whereupon, the meeting was
8 adjourned at this time . )
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JUNE 2, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 91
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo , a Notary Public
4 for and within the State of New York, do
5 hereby certify :
6 THAT, the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to any
10 of the parties to this action; and that I
11 am in no way interested in the outcome of
12 this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
14 set my hand this day, June 2 , 2026 .
15
16
17 (J s ica ' Lallo)
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