At its business meeting Tuesday, the Town Board endorsed the Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) nonprofit incorporation. It also held public hearings and approved waterways permits.
The SIFD can proceed with its plan to incorporate as a nonprofit, thanks to a resolution from the Town Board on Tuesday, following a resolution by the Village of Dering Harbor Board of Trustees earlier this month.
The SIFD will continue fire protection practices; it says incorporating as a nonprofit is in the best interests of the department’s operations and enables donors to make tax-deductible donations in support of the volunteer corps. There were no public comments at a public hearing during Tuesday’s meeting.
Waterways permits
The board adjourned until October 11 a public hearing on Big Ram, LLC dock application for a private home at 2 South Ram Island Drive, next door to The Ram’s Head Inn. Aandrea Carter owns the LLCs that control both properties. The proposed dock is one of three at the center of a long dispute.
Neighbors have expressed concerns that an existing beach access stairway that Carter wants to connect via a catwalk to the proposed new residential dock is too close to the Inn’s property line. The theory goes that patrons arriving by boat might use this residential dock to access the Inn.
After repeated sessions, the Waterways Management Advisory Committee declined to vote on the permit request until Costello Marine Contracting Inc. provided missing application information, such as a certified survey and staking of the property boundary.
The WMAC reviews waterways permit applications and advises the Town Board. Absent a decision by the WMAC, the Town Board decided to push Tuesday’s scheduled public hearing until next month. At the WMAC meeting, Councilwoman BJ Ianfolla, a liaison from the Town Board, cautioned against relying on fears of possible future behavior when considering an application.
The Town Board on Tuesday took action on these other waterways permit applications:
2 Shorewoood Court, dock
The Town Board reconvened a public hearing on proposed improvements to an existing dock at 2 Shorewood Court. At its meeting last week, the WMAC arrived at a mixed recommendation on the request by owner Richard Hogan. He proposed replacing his boat lift and swapping a set of dolphins for new pilings to improve safety when docking and storing a boat at this location in outside waters known for rough chop.
However, the proposed arrangement also relies on using a float that was added to the dock without a permit. WMAC chair John Needham voted in favor of the entire application, including legalizing the float, despite its mysterious origin. However, four other WMAC members present at last week’s meeting endorsed the new pilings while voting against allowing the use of the float; one member wanted to reject the proposal entirely.
Finding the float improves safety for dock users, the Town Board followed Needham’s lead and approved all aspects of the permit application. That means Hogan can retain the float, which will be stored on a boat lift when not in use.
Supervisor Gerry Siller said he’d like to consider beefing up penalties for violations of the Town Code dock code. Currently, the basic fine is $250.
15 Little Ram Island Drive, mooring
The Town Board also reconvened a public hearing on a mooring permit for William Marco Birch of 15 Little Ram Island Drive.
The WMAC voted to approve the mooring. There were no comments during the public hearing, and the Town Board approved a resolution endorsing the permit.
80 Peconic Avenue, bulkhead
The board also approved Dan and Mara Hochman’s request, endorsed by the WMAC, for their property at 80 Peconic Avenue to remove and replace in-kind and up to 6 inches higher 114 linear feet of existing timber bulkhead, about 24 feet of vinyl return in place of an existing 12-foot wooden return and 12-foot wooden retaining wall, and existing 3- by 6-foot steps.
(For additional details, see the resolution on the Town Board agenda, page 7.)
Future public hearings
The board set public hearings on the following waterways applications for Wednesday, October 11 (times approximate):
- 6:02 PM, Todd Prager, 78 Peconic Avenue, to construct a 4- by 100-foot fixed dock, construct access stairway from bulkhead to dock and crossover stairs to the beach to the east and west side of the dock, install bench facing northwest, install two 2-pile dolphins and install two ladders. At its last meeting, the WMAC unanimously rejected the application, citing rough conditions at the site. The WMAC had previously rejected an application for a larger dock, saying it did not meet code limits, and was also a bad idea due to hazards relating to docking and storing a boat in such choppy waters.
- 6:04 PM, Brian Carroll, 58 Tuthill Drive SI, LLC, 58 Tuthill Drive, to remove an existing offshore platform, construct a new 4- by 70-foot catwalk leading to a 3- by 12-foot aluminum ramp onto an 8- by 24-foot float secured with two anchor pilings, install new two, 2-pile 10-inch mooring dolphins, construct 3-foot wide access stairs at the landward end at the beach. The WMAC asked Costello Marine Contracting Inc. to move the landward end of the dock toward the center of the lot. At Jack Costello’s invitation, board members agreed to visit the location, which includes a classic Coecles Harbor stone/concrete bulkhead and stairs, to better understand why the owner wants to maintain the existing beach access point, causing a 6-foot setback intrusion.
- 6:06 PM, 5 Burro Hall, LLC, 5 Burro Hall Lane, to perform minor repairs to existing dock by re-decking 36 feet of the inshore end with open grate decking and the remaining 86 feet of the offshore end with 5/4- by 6-inch purple heart decking, remove, dispose of and replace with new the existing 5- by 20-foot and 6- by 10-foot floats, and replace three anchor pilings to secure the floating docks. The WMAC has endorsed the application.
Ethics Code revision
The board set a public hearing for October 11, at 6 PM, for a small but important revision to the new Ethics Code. The Ethics Board suggested the change to ensure that all types of private employment, in whatever form, do not substantially conflict with the carrying out of the official duties of Town employees and officers.
The Ethics Board recommended the insertion of the phrase “including but limited to” to the current list of circumstances that are deemed employment conflicts.
1 Pandion moratorium exemption
The board voted to deny the request of Joshua Greenwald of 1 Pandion a variance from the six-month moratorium on processing large home permits. During public hearing sessions this summer, Greenwald claimed hardship, stating the financial costs associated with remobilizing trades to the site would be higher if he had to wait for permit approval.
Greenwald wants to add 1,200 square feet of living area (SFLA) in an accessory barn structure, having found during the construction of the main house that there was insufficient depth to groundwater for the originally planned finished basement.
The Town Board found Hogan had “not met his burden that the hardship being suffered is unnecessary, as that term is used and construed in New York State Town Law.”
Other business
In other business, the board appointed:
Kyle Burns as an assistant recreational leader at a rate of $20 per hour retroactive to September 8
Scott Campbell as a member of the Deer and Tick Committee through June 24, 2026
Christina Cobourn Herman as a member of the Green Options Committee through September 19, 2026
It approved a request from SIPD Chief James J. Read to auction off a 2016 Ford Expedition via Municibid, starting October 2 at 8 AM and ending October 13 at 4 PM. The board also authorized the Town Clerk to issue a two-day film permit for a home at 52 Peconic Avenue.
It also approved the following financial transactions:
- $68.49, $200, and $145.49 in vendor credits from the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance from the trust and agency account to the general account
- $2,500 to All Traffic Solutions from the SIPD contracts account
- $48,111 for Penflex Actuarial Services, LLC contributions to the Length
- of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) for the volunteer ambulance workers
- $375 budget transfer from A1220.200 Supervisor Equipment and $500 from A1220.491 Supervisor Service
- Contracts to A1220.484 Supervisor Office & Miscellaneous
- $1,805.90 budget transfer from A1990.400 Contingent to A1355.484 Assessors Office & Miscellaneous
- $10,000 budget transfer from the B-Fund fund balance to B8020.497 Planning Board Professional services
- $127,644.64, in 2023 general claims numbered 1576 through 1707
- $32,048.73, in 2023 Highway claims numbered 151 through 167
- $8,829.36, in Community Preservation Fund claim numbers 14 through 16
