Follow Progress For Westhampton Beach

By:  Progress for Westhampton Beach

 A balmy evening for the November meeting of the Board of Trustees.  The meeting was a called to order at 7:01.  Trustee Tymann was not expected to be present as he is recuperating from Rotator cuff surgery.  Nevertheless he arrived only modestly late and soldiered through.

Highlights from the Meeting

Ashley Chzeltka, our traffic control officer who can usually be found directing traffic near the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings with a determined but pleasant countenance, was conditionally appointed as a Part Time Police Officer.  The condition is that she successfully complete the Suffolk County Police Academy.  No doubts there, we look forward to having her join the police department, she comes highly recommended by Chief Gonce.

If you have been to Main Street this week you could not miss the clean up at the corner of Library Avenue and Main Street.  The DPW has been working very hard.   The stockade fence is down the overgrown brush and brambles have been removed along with slabs of concrete.  Years ago the property was occupied by a gas station, there had been a spill that has since been re-mediated and the clean up marked complete by the DEC,  and a Phase II environmental study was on file.  Still, one more tank was discovered.  It contained a small amount of oil, not gasoline, so the cleanup to be paid for by the owner can be promptly addressed at a modest cost.  It was a cost Mr. Bernstein had hoped to defer to some future date, but he has been glad to work with the mayor on this project which is a win – win for everyone.

The deal struck with Mr. Bernstein was that he would license the corner lot for two years to the village for ten dollars, the village would clean up the lot as it sees fit and can seed it with grass, put a picnic table or two for the public to use for the next two years.  If, Mr. Bernstein chooses to terminate the license within the first year he will pay for the cost of the work done by the village up to the amount of three thousand dollars, an amount the village does not expect to exceed.

Paul Houlihan put together the history of this lot so that John Kerns could assess what the job entailed, and village attorney Tony Pasca was instrumental in  negotiating the license agreement that worked for everyone.   So while Mr. Bernstein is figuring out how to improve the lot to best advantage, the community will no longer have a blighted eyesore, but will instead have a place to sit near the library, read, people watch, or stop to digest a Cranberry-Gorgonzola Turkeyburger from the Post Stop Cafe.

The Village has also been awarded a $75,000 grant from Suffolk County for improvements at the intersection of Library Avenue, Main Street, and Mill Road.  Kudos to Jennifer Mesiano Higham the grant writer hired by the village back in March of this year.

For those suffering from over excitement occasioned by the World Series, the grass is growing in Glover’s Park.  Once we get past the rain that is due, the oil and stone pathways will be completed.   The Board of Trustees tapped the park fund¹⁾the park fund is authorized by state law and is funded with impact fees paid by developers who do not set aside sufficient park space on property they develop.  The money must be used for parks — nothing else. for decorative street lights that match those on Main Street and will provide sufficient light in the park to satisfy the security requirements of Police Chief Gonce.  Contact village hall if you would like to dedicate a bench or decorative lamp similar to those that grace our Main Street.

The Board of Trustees has finished the staff agreement for employees in village hall.  But there will be one person sorely missed from that crew.

Rosey Towers is retiring after serving as the confidential secretary to the mayor for 24 years.  Rosey has been an institution unto herself. Enjoy your retirement, thank you !

The village passed a resolution to accept the bid from Rosemar Contracting, Inc. for paving on Reynolds Drive, Stillwaters Lane, and Meadow Lane.  Michael Nobiletti a resident of Stillwaters Lane sought assurances from the village that the paving would be done in accordance with State paving specifications — this contract meets Suffolk County specifications and was the product of competitive bidding by the County.  Mr. Nobiletti was invited to village hall on Friday to examine the specifications and compare them with those required by the State.

Finally, the village has learned that the access road that has been used for Lashley Beach encroaches on the Dune Deck property to the east.  Graduates of the School of Skullduggery and Deceit will be disappointed to learn that the village can’t claim the property by adverse possession as the incursion is temporally inadequate.  But a more honorable course has been taken.  The Discovery Land Company has agreed to relocate the access road to eliminate the encroachment and will do the work at no cost to the village.  This is in keeping of the spirit of mutual cooperation that has become the watchword of this village hall administration.

Public Comment

Jack O’Dwyer addressed the village board with a pastiche of ideas until the clerk advised that his time for this evening had concluded.

Dean Speir provided useful local history concerning the original substandard roadwork done by the developer on Stillwaters Lane, the fact that the village had imprudently released the bond for the work to the detriment of the residents of that development, which resulted in a special assessment to bring the road up to snuff.  The institutional memory is helpful.  In a failed attempt to avoid being an unadulterated helpmate to the village board Mr. Speir, with a grin, ceded the balance of his time to Mr. O’Dwyer who declined the invitation.

The Board of Trustees moved to enter executive session to address a personnel matter and public business was done for the evening.