Town Board discusses major overhaul of Congdons Dock
Quinn Karpeh, town assessor and Green Options Advisory Committee member, addressing the Town Board Tuesday on completing requirements for Shelter Island to become designated by the state as a “Clean Energy Community.”
The Town Board is looking to replace major portions of Congdons Creek Dock to be ready by Memorial Day.
At the board’s Tuesday work session, Councilman Jim Colligan reported on the condition of the 20 year-old town-owned dock— which runs 195 feet in length and has 37 slips for boats — that he said ranged from “fair to poor.”
Jack Costello of Costello Marine Contracting said the job could be done for $65,000 and be paid over three years, Mr. Colligan reported. The councilman wasn’t sure if interest would be part of the deal, but was going back to Mr. Costello to hammer out details.
The 2017 town budget includes $20,000 for work on the dock. In addition, the board is considering raising fees for use of the slips from $250 to $500 for recreational boaters, and $350 for the six baymen who use the dock, to pay for the work.
Councilman Paul Shepherd said he wanted to be sure that those claiming to be baymen were in fact Islanders who make a living on the water, and not someone who just “checks off the box.”
With the raising of fees, the dock would generate $17,600 per year, Mr. Colligan said.
The board also agreed to draft a resolution to raise fees for non-resident parking permits at town beaches. It’s necessary, the members agreed, to offset costs of services provided by the town clerk’s office; maintain the beaches and the bathrooms; and pay lifeguards.
Currently, a day permit is $25, which the board agreed should remain the same. A weekly pass, now at $40 would be raised to $50; a monthly pass would be raised from $85 to $95; and a seasonal pass, which runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, would go from $225 to $230.
Last year, the town took in $61,850 through the sale of parking permits, according to Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar.
Quinn Karpeh, a town assessor and member of the Green Options Advisory Committee (GOAC), reported on the town’s efforts to be designated a “Clean Energy Community” by New York State. Once a town is so designated, it becomes eligible for state grants.
Municipalities must complete four out of 10 “high impact action items,” to become eligible, Mr. Karpeh said. The town has already completed one of them, adopting a “unified solar permit,” an action designed to “streamline the approval process for installing solar in the community,” Mr. Karpeh said.
The GOAC recommends “benchmarking,” which means an annual report of energy used in government buildings; “code enforcement training,” or free instruction on the Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State; and “clean fleets,” or having a at least one alternative fuel vehicle in the town’s fleet, or an electric charging station on the Island.
