CPF celebration to mark $1 billion since inception
The Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund has brought in more than $1 billion to East End towns since its inception in 1999, according to Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr.Shelter Island has realized $21.71 million in CPF money.
He announced a celebration of what’s being called the “Billion Dollar Bash” at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead on Thursday, March 5, at 5 p.m. to mark the achievement.
“The true measure of its success is not the level of revenue, but the more than 10,000 acres of land that have been protected” from development on the East End, securing “the rural character and historic sense of place in our communities,” Mr. Thiele said about the Community Preservation Fund.
The money has also helped to continue the East End’s traditional economic base of farming, fishing, tourism and second homes, he said.
“The things that make our East End home special, like historic villages, farms, bays and beaches still exist and thrive,” the legislator said. “Our economy is our environment.”
Revenues for January this year throughout the East End totalled $8.37 million, up from $7.1 million for the same month last year, he said, noting that represents a 19.4 percent increase.
As for comparisons between the month of January in 2014 and this year, Shelter Island’s take has been down by 15.6 percent from $0.32 million to $0.27 million. But last year, the Island’s take from the fund was down for three quarters while rallying in the fourth, as local real estate professionals predicted it would.
Mr. Thiele has been an advocate of beginning to funnel some of the money originally earmarked for land preservation into protection of area waterways.
It’s an issue that has certainly gains popularity with many Islanders concerned with the quality of water and pollutants from aged and outdated septic systems here. Councilman Ed Brown recently endorsed Mr. Thiele’s vision, but it has yet to gain wide traction.
