New Justice Court Could Be Coming Soon For Southold: Supe

GREENPORT, NY — Southold Town could soon see a new location for its justice court facilities.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell announced the news at a "State of the Town/Village" forum held at Peconic Landing Tuesday night along with Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard.

Russell said, after years of discussion about the dire need for a dedicated justice court facility, there has been a "solution identified" regarding a new setting for justice court that could be revealed within the next few months.

"I'm not at liberty to talk more; it involves property acquisition," Russell said. But, he said he believes "We'll have it solved in 2018."

After the meeting, when asked if he could elaborate, Russell said he could not. However, he said, "The board is committed to establishing a new court and I am confident we will have a solution this year."

The event was filled with seniors who turned out to hear the supervisor and mayor outline the key issues facing both the town and village.

Hubbard kicked off the discussion. "We've had quite a busy year in the village. We've done a lot of projects," he said.

The mayor discussed paving work that's been undertaken including the widening of Main Street, as well as new curbs and sidewalks. He thanked New York State Senator Ken LaValle for a $125,000 grant for paving. Hubbard also said the village bonded for the first time in six years to cover paving costs but said that bond had a negative impact on the village tax rate. To that end, Hubbard added that this year marks the third in a row with no tax rate increase.

Hubbard also addressed the PSEG cable project from Greenport to Shelter Island; so far, he said two of the three conduits are finished with the third being worked on now. The project, he said, will mean $1.3 million cash in village coffers as well as infrastructure improvements that add up to just over $3 million in benefits. Although talks of the project sparked contention, Hubbard said it's been moving "smoothly."

The hope, the mayor said, is to leverage that $1.3 million for bonding for up to $3 to $4 million.

The mayor said the funding would hopefully be used for a large-scale project to stop road runoff, a positive thing for the ecosystem.

Also in the village, Hubbard said 11 new one-hour parking spots have been added at IGA.

And Hubbard also discussed the progress to bring back the miniature railroad to Greenport; he thanked the Rotary and George Giannaris of Hellenic for fundraising efforts and said the goal is to break ground by spring and have the railroad up and running by fall, providing "fun for generations to come."

The mayor discussed affordable housing and a proposed project along with Habitat for Humanity on Johnson Court.

Town's fiscal health

Russell began his portion of the event by discussing the town's fiscal health.

"We are actually in very good shape," Russell said, adding that the town had maintained its Aa1 bond rating by Moody's, the highest the town has ever had.

Closing up the books for 2017, while Russell said he estimated at the beginning of the year that the town would end up with a $7 million fund balance, the town actually exceeded that number and ended up with a fund balance of $8.1 million.

He discussed the adopted 2018 budget, including$1.3 million in that budget for road resurfacing. "Winters have brutal on the roads," he said, adding that severe damage from weather meant the town has had to make capital investments.

Affordable housing

Russell discussed a change to the town code that will allow for apartments as a principal use in commercial districts.

In the past, business owners could have up to three accessory apartments in addition to the business, but the principal use needed to be commerce. Now, the code allows up to six apartments per property as a principal use.

To that end, Russell said the goal is not only to have developers invest in downtown but to "meet an overriding community need." The town, he said, has already "seen interest" from developers.

Russell also discussed plans pitched for a 50 unit affordable project in Greenport, with rents ranging from $900 for a studio up to $1500 for a larger space.

The project, he said, would meet a "multigenerational" need for young people and seniors alike. "A lot of seniors can no longer maintain their homes and want a place to go," he said. Right now, Russell added, with affordable options to the west, when seniors leave town, Southold is losing their "volunteerism" as well as their disposable income, which benefits the local economy.

The supervisor also discussed the town's affordable housing fund, which allows developers to build a project in Southold Town, which has inclusionary zoning, and develop a parcel to its full potential, but contribute to an affordable housing fund.

In 2017, Russell said, the town took in $450,000 in revenue from that fund.

Preservation

Southold Town's community preservation fund took in $7.7 million in revenue in 2017, Russell said, an uptick from the $4.5 million garnered at the time the program was created.

Deer management

Discussing deer in Southold Town, Russell said the town's opening its public spaces for deer culling is "one way to make a dent in what is a public crisis."

Over the past year, the town culled 240 deer, plus the two to three fawns each those deer may have birthed.

The town, he said, also hired a wildlife manager who's working to coordinate with hunters and property owners alike.

Another critical concern is the "overpopulation of Canadian geese," Russell said, which are the cause of pathogens in local water bodies. "It's an absolute environmental crisis," he said. The wildlife number is working to reduce those numbers, he said.

Pump out boat

Russell thanked Hubbard and the Greenport village board for always working together with the town; most recently, when the two municipalities partnered for an intermunicipal agreement to jointly purchase a pump out boat. Teaming up helped enhanced the opportunities to obtain grant funding to offset costs for the project, Russell said.

Sanitary survey

Town engineers recently undertook and completed a sanitary survey, Russell said; with the new interest in helping to reduce nitrogen and pathogens in waterways, there's a need for a baseline of information on a GIS-based map, he said, adding that the town continues to work with Suffolk County to expand alternative treatment systems.

Also, he said, a water conservation committee has been created.

On the issue of recycling, Russell said last year, 52 percent of material taken in at the landfill was recyclable; the town's recycling rates, he said, "are second to none."

Also, the town is issuing a new request for proposals for a solar array on town property.

Sports East

Russell said he understands that there has been a great deal of interest in the Sports East proposal and said the town has signed a contract to acquire a 10-acre parcel that he believes is an "excellent location for Sports East," one that the developer thinks "will be viable."

Russell has not yet disclosed the location of the parcel.

"Hopefully, it will work out, but if it doesn't come to pass, this is still an excellent property for the town to have in its inventory," Russell said.

Transportation summit

Discussing transportation, and the "absolute traffic crisis" residents are facing, Russell said the town will host a Transportation Summit on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. at the town's recreation center on Peconic Lane.

Russell addressed other issues, including the town's e-waste program; the town's landfill now takes all e-waste for free and sells it. "A cost has been turned into an actual money generator," he said.

Southold Town, he said, has also been designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, the first small community to receive the nod, he said.

The supervisor also discussed the town's new youth court, as well as a townwide mental health initiative, with mental health services for youth on the North Forkunderserved, he said.

Russell discussed the town's human resources department, led by director Karen McLaughlin; that department came in $169,000 under budget in 2017 and still delivered 24,414 meals to the homebound and 12,000 to individuals at the senior center, he said; there is also a new ramp offered so individuals can access their homes, he said.

The department, Russell said, "really is the crown jewel of Southold Town."

Public safety dispatch upgrades

Russell discussed the upgrades to the police departments's public safety dispatch center; local IGA owner Charles Reichert donated the $340,000 for enhanced radio communications and dispatch room upgrades.

Wineries

Russell also addressed the public perception that the town has changed the review process for winery applications. "It has not," Russell said. The process is the same but what's different is that new models have arisen that the code, when written, never anticipated.

The public asked questions about issues such as affordable housing, road ends, and President Donald Trump's potential offshore drilling plan, which a crowd blasted at a recent hearing.

Russell said he was vehemently opposed to the plan, which was "all speculative, just so well-heeled interests can go on a treasure hunt in our ocean. I'm 100% against it," he said, adding that there will be a series of upcoming meetings on the issue. "We're going to be there 100% of the way, opposing it. It offers nothing."

Storm damage

One man discussed the storm damage after a recent "bomb cyclone" slammed the North Fork. Russell said County Road 48 is a county road and the county's department of public works has plans to fortify the road. Those plans, he said, do not include plans to fortify homes to the north through beach renourishment.

Russell said he has opposed the town's signing on as a local sponsor for the Hashamomuck Cove project.

"I don't think the town should be in the business of spending taxpayer money to protect private property," he said. "I feel bad for those people and I'll help them morally any way I can, save using taxpayer money."

Greenport resident Chatty Allen asked if the new affordable housing project would give first priority to local residents who live and work in the area. Russell said the project would adhere to the town's affordable housing guidelines but said the apartments can't be exclusive for town residents; that would unconstitutional under federal law, he said.

Safety in Southold

Another resident asked about the opioid crisis in town and if crime was a problem in Southold.

Russell said crime is a problem in every town but said Southold was "a safe" community.

The opioid crisis, he said, is finally getting recognition on the state, county and federal level; Russell said the opioid crisis is an epidemic. "We need to stop criminalizing it," and focus resources on treating addiction, he said, adding that the crimes committed by those addicted should, of course, be prosecuted.

Hubbard thanked Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley, Southold Police and the Southold town board for enhanced police presence in Greenport, which is a popular nightspot for visitors.

School safety

One resident asked what the town and schools were doing to upgrade school safety after last weeks horrific school shooting in Florida. School superintendents outlined their plans to Patch here.

Hubbard told residents, "If you see something, let us know," and reminded that the village has a bilingual anonymous tip line, with calls answered within a day and immediate followup on every report.

Russell said the town has been meeting with Flatley and Southold and Greenport Schools Superintendent David Gamberg; there has been regular communication for years but even more communication is planned for the months ahead.

Gamberg is slated to have a community meeting in the coming weeks, Russell said.

Hubbard said the town has yearly disaster drills; Russell said there are 15 officers trained in rapid response for emergency situations and that there are yearly training sessions to handle crisis situations.

Patch photos by Lisa Finn.