Dering Harbor reorganization
Village Reorganization
The Village of Dering Harbor had its annual reorganization meeting on Saturday, July 16.
The mayor and trustee voted on key appointments, acted on items of business and, after conducting a public hearing, put in place new regulations limiting the hours of for noisy construction projects in the Village.
Appointments (followed by duration of office):
Mayor: Timothy Hogue (through 6/18)
Deputy Mayor: Heather E.G. Brownlie (6/17)
Trustees: Ms. Brownlie (6/17); Richard Smith (6/17); Brandon Rose (6/18) and John T. Colby (6/18)
Village Clerk, Village Treasurer and Records Access Officer: Laura Hildreth
Village Attorney: Joseph W. Prokop
Highway Supervisor: Richard Surozenski
Water Commissioner: Hap Bowditch
Fire Marshall: Arthur Bloom
Harbor Master: Charles Modica
Auditors: Narwocki Smith LLP
Environmental Engineer: Aram Terchunian
Code Enforcer: Edward Ward.
Architectural Review Board: chairman, Mr. Colby (6/18); Susannah Rose (6/19); Mickey Kostow (6/17); Bridgford Hunt (6/19) and Ms. Brownlie 6/17)
Planning Board: chairman, Ken Walker (6/19); Robert Ruttenberg (6/17); Mr. Kostow (6/21); Mr. Colby (6/20) and Linda Adams (6/18)
Zoning Board of Appeals: chairman, Kirk Ressler (6/19); Marian Brownlie(6/20); Marianne Chort (6/17) and Mr. Hunt (6/18)
Bridgehampton National Bank was name official depository and the Shelter Island Reporter, the official newspaper. Meetings were set for the third Saturday of the month at 9 a.m., unless otherwise posted, with the annual reorganization meeting set for July 15, 2017.
Other Business
The board discussed a bill for $8,316.50 from Lance Pomerantz, a title specialist hired to assist in resolving a lawsuit.
Brad Goldfard, Alfredo Paredes and Martha Baker are suing in state Supreme Court to clarify ownership of strips of land between their properties and village roads.
The village’s defense in the case has cost $13,000, Mayor Hogue said. The village is seeking to have the suit dismissed and hopes to be reimbursed for its expenses, he said.
A rare public discussion of the case occurred later in the meeting (see LAWSUIT below.)
Water
Mr. Hogue reported that the Village’s No. 2 well, which had recently been reopened after receiving the approval of the Sufffolk County Health Department, didn’t pass the smell test for some residents, who complained its water had an odd aroma. It was taken out of service while complaints are investigated, he said.
Repairs had been done in order to prepare for the off-season shutdown of well No. 1, which requires extensive upgrades. The mayor said he expected well No. 2 to be up and running soon, and if complaints continue, the village might make bottled drinking water available to those residents for the duration of the work on well No. 1.
Construction Hours
New rules prohibit noisy work done under a building permit before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays.
The village code enforcer will have an escalating set of fees to back up the new rules: $1,000 for a first offense, with workers to vacate the site, and $2,500 for any additional offense with a stop work order put in place.
The regulations do not apply to quiet work (like interior painting) or handyman projects. They were adopted after a public hearing that drew numerous supportive comments and some concerns.
“This is a very restrictive time zone,” Mr. Walker said. “If you take out Saturday, its going to add a lot to the cost of permitted construction.”
“I think Saturdays are too precious in the summer to worry about somebody having a slight cost increase,” Karen Kelsey said. “Saturdays should be quiet.”
Robert Ferris suggested the village support quicker project completion by allowing contractors the option of paying for permits to work off-season on Saturdays. The board may consider such modifications in the future, the mayor said.
The rules replace those adopted in 2008 that allowed permit construction work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Centennial
The board authorized expenses of $5,700 for a community party planned for August 6 at Village Hall in honor of Dering Harbor’s 100th anniversary. Organizers, Mrs. Rose and Mary Walker, outlined plans for vendors to bring in food trucks and a mobile bar. Mayor Hogue said the board would install a plaque to commemorate the centennial.
Hedge Committee
Mr. Ressler’s long career in the diplomatic services should stand him in good stead while managing the the Village’s new hedge committee, the mayor said.
Currently on the books is a single regulation that limits hedge height to 3 feet within 25 feet of an intersection, the mayor said.
A group of 15 residents submitted a letter requesting the hedge committee be suspended. “There is no legitimate reason for the government to regulate hedge height and the issue has already caused a great deal of division and rancor,” they wrote.
Mr. Hogue disagreed, arguing that the Village has legitimate concerns about threats to health and safety posed by tall hedges along narrow lanes. Hedges, he said, make it difficult for drivers passing on narrow lanes to see people stepping out to cross the road; they limit the roadside area available for plows to pile snow in winter; and may interfere with fire department access to hydrants and the waterfront.
The committee is charged with researching the problems associated with hedges and making a recommendation about what, if any, changes to make to the Village code.
Term Limit/Name Change
The mayor responded to two other letters sent by groups of residents; one requesting that the village not extend terms of elected office from two years, the other asking the board to form a committee to change the name of Shore Road.
The mayor said no formal proposal had been made to change the length of service. He had offered the topic for discussion at past meetings, but the idea had been given no serious consideration.
A name change for Shore Road has also been floated before, the mayor said. The board would not take it up at the July 16 meeting, as the agenda was already long, but it could be discussed at a future meeting.
The Island has two “Shore” roads – one is a one-way lane in Dering Harbor, the other, along Crescent Beach, is home to Sunset Beach Hotel, a summer hot-spot that draws crowds.
The letter writers complained of “the influx of traffic” and “fast cars [that] endanger our children’s safety and negatively impact our quality of life.” People headed for a night of partying at Sunset Beach “end up on properties” including some who “have even been spotted relieving themselves near the mayor’s dock.”
Quitclaim
Research filed in the lawsuit shows that the disputed Goldfarb-Paredes parcel was conveyed in 1933 to the then-owner of 21 Shore Road, apparently in exchange for $3.92 to settle a tax lien. But no record of that specific lot being traded exists after it was sold along with the residence in 1937 to J.W. Hubbell, whose daughter is Virginia Hubbell Hamerin of Indianapolis.
It is from a Mrs. Hamerin, Mr. Cary said, that the village is supposed to have requested a quitclaim
When reached at her home on Monday, July 18, Mrs. Hamerin acknowledged that she was the woman Mr. Cary had spoken of, but when pressed for details she said, “My lawyer told me I’m not supposed to speak with anyone else.”
Mrs. Hamerin did contact the Shelter Island Assessors office in an attempt to understand the value of the property, Assessor Quinn Karpeh told the Reporter on Monday. But he told her that given the intense demand for the land, assuming her claim was valid, it would be up to her and any other heirs to establish its value. The Village of Dering Harbor, early on in the property dispute, said an informal assessment had put its value at $45,000.
A quitclaim from one heir would not transfer title to the land, Mr. Karpeh said, noting it is just one step in the process and that numerous heirs may exist who are yet to be discovered.
Valerie Margolin, attorney for Mr. Goldfarb, Mr. Paredes and Ms. Baker, has argued in filings with the court that language in the deeds associated with the larger residential lots conveyed to the plaintiffs interest in all “appurtenances and abutting streets,” including the narrow parcel that had once belonged to Ms. Hamerin’s father.
The village attorney, Mr. Prokop, who would not comment on whether Mrs. Hamerin had been approached by or on behalf of the Village, has argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed for many reasons, including numerous technicalities. Among them, the failure of the plaintiffs to name as defendants any potential current owners of the contested strips.
The judge in the case has not yet ruled.
