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Resident: Don’t change Community Preservation Fund

COURTESY PHOTO | Resident Craig Wood made an impassioned plea to the Town Board  Friday to keep the Community Preservation fund at status quo.
COURTESY PHOTO | Resident Craig Wood made an impassioned plea to the Town Board Friday to keep the Community Preservation fund at status quo.

A resident went before the Town Board Friday to ask it to reject an idea of diverting money to a fund dedicated to buying open space —even a small part of it  — for clean water projects.

“I’m passionate about it,” Craig Wood said, reading a statement to the board taking issue with the initiative suggested by Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor).

In Mr. Thiele’s plan, the Community Preservation Fund, an account supported by a tax on real estate deals and used by the five East End Towns to purchase open space to preserve, would take up to 10 percent of the fund for new and upgraded septic systems and other clean water projects.

Also known as the “2-percent fund,” the CPF is financed by a 2-percent tax buyers pay on closing, with the first $250,000 of the sale price exempted from the tax. The taxes are collected by Suffolk County and then go into the individual town’s CPF fund to buy available open space parcels for preservation and maintenance.

On Shelter Island, Town Engineer John Cronin described the situation of polluted water as a crisis and is “going to get worse without some radical changes.”

The purpose of Mr. Thiele’s plan, he said, is to remedy the situation.

But Mr. Wood, who also took issue with last week’s Reporter editorial  (“Thank you, Mr. Thiele,” November 13) which praised the assemblyman’s political initiative, said tying the CPF to water projects is the first salvo in a policy that would wreck land preservation efforts here.

“Any use of the CPF fund for public works projects will negatively impact every future land acquisition,” Mr. Wood said.

He pointed to an East Hampton Star editorial that, although noting that drinking water in the town is at a “critical” stage and it’s estimated there are more than 3,500 “failed or insufficient septic systems,” stated that taking CPF money to solve the problem is a “bad idea and dangerous precedent.”

East Hampton has a history of unscrupulous politicians taking CPF money for other projects. The Star’s editorial also states Suffolk County, which collects the tax, has used it to prop up budget shortfalls.

Mr. Wood said that last week’s page one Reporter story (“Thiele: Use CPF tax for clean water,” November 13) “does a disservice to the town” and questioned “whether or not we have a water crisis on Shelter Island.”

Mr. Thiele said Monday that any new law taking up to 10 percent of CPF money “would have a very specific definition for what you could use it for.”

He added that the fund is audited every year. In East Hampton’s  situation, “We found out [money had been pilfered] and they had to put the money back. We have mechanisms in place.”

Richard Amper, executive director of the Pine Barrens Society, said Monday “the water quality problem is the greatest crisis to ever face Long Island, not just Shelter Island. If it’s not reversed, it will destroy the Island economically and environmentally.”

Mr. Amper added that all environmental groups on the East End, including the Nature Conservancy, the Group for the East End and Citizens Campaign for the Environment agree that toxic material flowing into ponds, creeks and bays is a crisis.

As for public officials raiding a dedicated fund for other uses, Mr. Amper agreed  with Mr. Thiele. “Is it true politicians look for a cash cow?” he said. “Yes. But in the long haul do they get away with it when it comes to land and water protection? No.”

At Friday’s board meeting Mr. Wood insisted that there be a “separation of interests.”
There was discussion on what process will be used to implement a law to amend the current CPF stature.

A state law would have to be passed empowering a referendum for the five East End towns. Residents would then vote yes or no on using a portion of CPF funds for water projects. Whether each individual town would vote yes or no for it’s own water reclamation projects is not clear, Mr. Thiele said.

“With water quality I’m leaning toward it should be all or nothing,” Mr. Thiele said, meaning all votes will decide if all towns participate in the initiative or not. “But I’m not totally sold on that.”

After Mr. Wood’s presentation, Councilman Paul Shepherd said, “The water issue is breathing down our necks and will affect everyone here.”

“Don’t let them take the fund,” Mr. Wood said.

Councilman Ed Brown said that “if they were worthy projects I’d be interested in listening.”