To inspire more Islanders to upgrade their traditional septic systems, the Town has doubled the base I/A system grant to $12K. Town funds are in addition to rebates available to qualified homeowners from the state and county.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Town Board approved the new maximum base grant (up from $6,000) that was proposed by the Water Quality Improvement Projects Advisory Board. The grant money comes from the 20 percent set aside of Community Preservation Fund revenues approved by voters in 2016.
The board also authorized new monetary award levels for the Low Nitrogen Sanitary System Rebate program of up to $5,000 more where pressurized shallow drain fields are employed and up to $4,000 more for homeowners who have to move their wells to accommodate their new I/A systems. Both were formerly at $2,000 max.
To find out if you qualify for these grants, visit the WQIP Advisory Board page on the Town website, www.shelterislandtown.us/water-quality.
Public hearings
The Town Board completed its review and approved the site plan for Liberty Lawn and Landscape, LLC. The company, owned by Walter Richards, will construct a 3,785-square-foot commercial building for storage and office use. Among the many caveats, the building will use an I/A sanitary system and include sufficient parking for the proposed use, a 6-foot privacy fence, and screening for AC units.
Following public hearings on Tuesday, the board approved these waterways permits:
- Bradley and Margaret Tolkin, 6 Charlies Lane, to perform a maintenance dredge of a 1,324 square foot area to four inches below mean low water, removing approximately 120 cubic yards of material, with all dredge spoils to be removed off-site to an approved location
- Jill Brienza and Nicholas Daraviras, 3 Oak Tree Lane, to remove and dispose of a 164-foot section and a 72-foot section of existing bulkhead, construct replacements of the same dimensions, in-kind, and in-place, with standard requirements for insurance and in keeping with requirements of other agencies
- Sanford Rosen, 32 Hilo Drive, to install a mooring in West Neck Bay at latitude 41.06481° N and longitude 72.35905° W
- David Cohen, 62 Westmoreland Drive to install a mooring in West Neck Bay at latitude 41.061805° N and longitude 72.364073° W
The board adjourned three public hearings on permits being vetted by the Waterways Management Advisory Council. A permit request for work proposed on the Big Ram LLC dock, next door to The Ram’s Head Inn, was kept open pending clarification of the mean high water mark used in the application. The dock builder, Costello Marine Contracting, also has to stake one more location pertaining to the proposed improvements.
A permit hearing for the American Direct dock at 2 Shorewood Court, owned by Richard Hogan, was also adjourned pending modifications to align the request with the Town’s dock code. The WMAC tabled the application of Douglas Branson and Elizabeth Hurtt, 29 East Brander Parkway, because their proposed dock exceeds the code limit of 100 feet.
The lag time between the board’s live meeting and the YouTube broadcast made it impossible for board members to communicate with a homeowner for a public hearing. Joshua Greenwald, 1 Pandion, was unable to respond to questions relating to his request for a hardship exemption from the six-month moratorium on homes in excess of 5,999 square feet of conditioned living space. So the board rescheduled a public hearing for a special meeting after their next work session on Tuesday, August 15, at 1 PM.
Other business
In other business, the board approved the Chamber of Commerce’s request to hold the annual Art Show and Craft Fair on Shelter Island School grounds on August 26 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
The board authorized the supervisor to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Town and the Island’s two private ferry companies for a Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant won via the state’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services Department.
It also approved a Green Options Committee grant request of $1,145 for the Sylvester Manor food waste diversion program that will provide composting buckets and instructional information to residents who wish to participate in the nonprofit’s updated composting program.
In another action aimed at cleaning water, the board authorized the release of up to $250,000 in WQIP funds to support the recommendations in the Fresh Pond In-Waterbody Nutrient Control Feasibility Study. The money will cover the Town’s 25 percent matching share of a proposed grant from the New York State WQIP for a total amount not to exceed $1M.
The Shelter Island Police Department also won board approval for a $24,100 grant application for the NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services Livescan program to update police equipment; there is no local match required for this grant.
The board endorsed a $6,000 WQIP conditional rebate for Arthur and Barbara Bloom to install a Low-Nitrogen Sanitary System at 69 North Menantic Road.
Financial transactions
It approved the following financial transactions:
- $9,000 from the A1410.101 account to the A1410.200 Equipment account
- $5,000from the A1410.101 account to the A1410.484 Office & Misc. account
- $1,631.22 from the B3620.491 Contracts account to CARR Business Systems, for the billing from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024
- $947.60 from the B3620.491 Building Inspector Contracts Account and $947.60 from the Zoning Service Contracts Account to Community Development Solutions for the Municity annual support
- $1,616 to East End Computers, LLC, for July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, Security Awareness Training Subscription
- $400 from the A3120.491 SIPD contracts account to Magloclen, Inc, for annual membership through June 30, 2024
- $59,772 from the A3120.491 SIPD Contracts account to the Town of Southold for the 2022 dispatch payment
- $82,214.77.03 in 2023 general claims numbered 1281 through 1427
- $24,272.87 in 2023 highway claims numbered 128 through 140
- $1,171.87 in 2023 community preservation claims numbered 9 through 12
Upcoming public hearings
The board scheduled public hearings to amend three local laws for Tuesday, August 29, times approximate (follow links to see full proposed text):
- Chapter 128, “Waterways,” to update the “Anchor or Anchoring” definition to include nontraditional methods of anchoring, such as dynamic positioning systems, 6:10 PM
- Chapter 88, “Low-Nitrogen Sanitary System Rebate Program,” to prevent the Town from being entangled in a homeowner versus contractor dispute relating to an I/A rebate, 6:12 PM
- Chapter 116, “Smoking,” to extend the smoking prohibition to all town beaches and parks, 6:14
It scheduled a public hearing on August 29 at 6:16 PM on a proposal to use $14,863 in WQIP funds for water testing coordinated by the Water Advisory Committee (see our earlier reporting here.) And it scheduled these waterways hearings:
- Robert Watt, 56 Ram Island Road, for a mooring in Coecles Harbor at latitude 41.08421° north and longitude 72.32258° west, formerly occupied by the William Derrough C2689 mooring, 6:18 PM
- William Birch, 15 Little Ram Island Drive, to remove and replace three existing 2-pile dolphins and install two new single mooring piles, and four new 2-pile dolphins, 6:20 PM
