East Hampton Town Supervisor Delivers State Of The Town Address

EAST HAMPTON, NY — East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc delivered his 2023 "State of the Town" address recently, focusing on critical issues facing residents including the affordable housing crisis, the impact of the pandemic, and more.

The pandemic, Van Scoyoc said, has continued to impact residents through "supply chain issues, anxiety, fatigue, frustration, economic and human losses. We were able to resume many of the activities that we previously had to avoid, but now once again we see a resurgence of COVID and precautions are warranted."

The town continued to offer free COVID home test kits as well as testing and Van Scoyoc said it's imperative to get boosters "to prevent serious illness or death from this insidious disease."

In addition, Van Scoyoc said the town will continue to work hand-in-hand with local businesses to reduce the economic impacts of the pandemic; for example, by encouraging outdoor dining.

" We lobbied for passage of legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Thiele that supports our offsite catering businesses by modernizing State Liquor Authority regulations and are pleased that Governor Kathy Hochul has signed this legislation into law. We will continue to monitor and work to mitigate the effects of the pandemic for as long as is necessary," Van Scoyoc said.

Affordable housing

One of the most acute impacts of the pandemic has been skyrocketing housing costs and a dearth of affordale housing, Van Scoyoc said. As a result, the ability to hire and retain staff for businesses, schools and the hospital is threatened.

"Housing continues to be one of the most serious and immediate threats to the well-being and sustainability of our community," Van Scoyoc said.

In January, 2022, Van Scoyoc launched the "All Hands On Housing" initiative to address the crisis. The town has partnered with the East Hampton Housing Authority on the 50 affordable apartment units under construction on Three Mile Harbor Road and advanced plans to build 16 affordable single-family homes on 12 acres of town-owned property at 395 Pantigo Road, he said. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity resulted in another affordable house, this time for a local single parent and veteran, he added.

Working with both the East Hampton Housing Authority and the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust the town oard is working on plans for an additional 50 affordable rental units with one, two, and three bedrooms for those with moderate incomes at the former Triune Baptist Church property on Rt. 114 in Wainscott.

"We have discussed and reviewed several potential code changes to further encourage participation in the town’s affordable accessory apartment pilot program and have increased the allowable density of affordable single- family homes from two units per acre to four per acre, as allowed under Suffolk County health regulations," Van Scoyoc said.

The supervisor said he was proud that the community supported the Community Housing Fund referendum by a wide margin of 69 percent; soon, a committee will be formed to advise the town on developing policies and procedures and will vet and recommend expenditures of the Community Housing Fund to the town board, he said.

Airport

Van Scoyoc reminded that with the expiration of FAA grant assurances in September, 2021 and after an extensive series of town goard work sessions, public workshops, and studies, and with the guidance of FAA officials, the town's goal was to transition East Hampton’s town-owned airport to a prior permission required model of operation. In May, aviation interests commenced lawsuits, and in October ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The town has appealed the decision, Van Scoyoc said.

Wireless improvements

Van Scoyoc said the town remains committed to solving the issue of cell communication and coverage townwide, especially in Springs.

To boost the emergency communications system in the Springs area until a new tower is erected and equipment can be installed, the town has had a “cell on wheels,” or “COW,” located at the town dock at Gann Road since June. The East Hampton town planning board and town architectural review board recently approved a long-awaited emergency communications tower in Springs, Van Scoyoc added.

The Camp Blue Bay tower will complete the townwide emergency communications upgrade as well as provide cellular communications in areas of Springs, which currently are communication “dead zones.” However, it has become clear that no single tower site will completely eliminate coverage and capacity gaps within Springs or the town at large, Van Scoyoc added.

Pending updates to the town code seek to address the issue, he said.

Building projects

Van Scoyoc also addressed building projects, including a new town senior center, and two new baseball fields that will be created at the town's Stephen Hand’s Path recreational property to replace ballfields displaced by the new Stony Brook/ Southampton Hospital satellite emergency room. The hospital will be contributing $1.75 million dollars for the construction of the new ballfields in exchange for the long-term lease of the Pantigo site. Construction on the hospital emergency facility will also begin later this year, providing much needed medical access in East Hampton, he said.

Also discussed was a new bike and pedestrian path, the reconstruction of the Lars Simonsen Skatepark in Montauk, and the acquisition of properties to preserve local history.

Infrastructure update

Infrastructure projects include the Stephen Hand's Path drainage project, nearing completion, as well as two other drainage projects at Industrial Road and Second House Road, and at Flamingo Road and Tuthill Road. Other projects include the Stephen Hand's Path / Long Lane roundabout and the Montauk Gateway project, to bury utility lines along the Old Montauk Highway and at the intersection with Route 27.

Renewable energy

Not only is the terrestrial work for the South Fork Wind project nearing completion, the town looks forward to " New York’s first offshore wind farm going online and producing enough clean,
renewable energy for 70,000 homes and furthering our commitment to reaching our 100 percent renewable energy goals," Van Scoyoc said.

In 2022, the town completed a solar array on the roof of the town’s parks department, which is combined with a battery energy storage system. In addition to the estimated $10,000 in annual energy costs savings, the system will provide clean backup power at Town Hall in the event of power outages; the town received a $300,000 grant from the New York Power Authority for the project, the supervisor said. Additional EV charging infrastructure on the Town Hall campus is planned, which will support the transition from a fossil fuel-powered fleet of vehicles to electric and electric/hybrid vehicles, consistent with the town's climate emergency declaration and new vehicle acquisition policies, Van Scoyoc said.

Town-wide LED street lighting upgrades will soon be underway and should be
completed in 2023.

Water quality and land preservation

In 2022, the town acquired 26 parcels equaling 72.8 acres using Community Preservation Funds, Van Scoyoc said. Among the notable purchases were 33 acres of farmland in Amagansett and 10 acres of farmland in East Hampton.

"Revenues for the CPF continue to be robust," he said. The current unencumbered fund balance for the Community Preservation Fund is $65 million dollars."

The recent acquisition of 18.8 acres in Montauk with general municipal funds is potentially another purchase that could directly benefit water quality in Lake Montauk and Fort Pond; both water bodies are currently listed as impaired, he said.

The town has continued to search for a viable site for a sewage treatment plant to service the already densely developed Montauk downtown, docks, train station, and Ditch Plain areas of Montauk. Those areas directly discharge an estimated 500,000 gallons of raw, untreated sewage into the ground daily. Due to high groundwater and space constraints, onsite treatment is not possible, he said.

To date, the only viable location identified to site such a plant is next to the capped landfill and communications tower farm in Hither Hills. The recently acquired town-owned 18.8 acres adjacent to Third House County Park is being offered to Suffolk County as consideration for the 14 acres they own next to the landfill, Van Scoyoc said.

"We don’t believe there is a better option for siting a waste treatment plant in Montauk, but we remain open-minded and encourage constructive community participation to address this untenable situation," he said.

The town has approved 900 eligibility applications for innovative alternative septic systems to date with 187 being approved in 2022. 149 IA systems were installed in 2022, he said.

"In 2023 we will work with our state representatives to seek modifications to the allowable uses of CPF funds to include the operation and maintenance costs of historic properties purchased with CPF funds and to increase the 20 percenr cap for water quality projects and allow designated water quality funds to accrue year over year," Van Scoyoc said.

Town finances

"The town’s finances are currently in excellent shape. Moody’s again gave East Hampton its highest bond rating, Triple A, in 2022," the supervisor said. "Through careful and conservative budgeting, we have met our budgetary targets and stayed below the 2 percent tax cap for this past year."

He added: "It is important to note that our community has experienced significant growth in year-round residency the last few years, and with this growth, increasing demands for services. The shortage of housing coupled with crippling inflation has further impaired the ability of local businesses, schools, our hospital, and municipalities such as East Hampton Town to hire and retain staff."

To that end, the town board decided that it was "necessary and appropriate" to issue a onetime supplemental payment to full-time town employees during the calendar year 2022 and raise annual salaries between 6 and 10 percent in 2023 in order to remain competitive within the "unique" job market.

"These actions were taken outside of the CSEA Union Collective Bargaining Agreement. We appreciate the quality and dedication of our employees and understand that they are the foundation of our ability to provide the necessary services and support for our community. We look forward to negotiating the next CSEA contract, which expires at the end of 2023," the supervisor said.

The town will also be seeking to fill several positions that will become vacant in 2023 due to retirements, he said.

"In looking ahead to our list of priorities for 2023, the board plans to focus on the initiatives 'All Hands on Housing'and improving water quality by expanding residential and commercial wastewater treatment initiatives. We will continue addressing sea-level rise and coastal erosion through our Coastal Assessment and Resiliency Plan and implementing the town’s hamlet plans. We will continue to advance our energy and sustainability goals and work to improve efficiency in the delivery of town services and the dissemination of information," Van Scoyoc concluded.