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Greenport green lights cable project to the Heights

COURTESY PHOTO
COURTESY PHOTO

With little fanfare, the Greenport Village Board of Trustees on Thursday unanimously agreed to authorize Mayor George Hubbard Jr. to sign two agreements allowing Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and PSEG to begin construction of an underwater electric cable stretching from Fifth Street to Shelter Island Heights.

The project had been a source of controversy for more than a year, especially among Fifth Street residents, but there was no public comment during the portion of Thursday meeting allotted for comment on the project.

The board has allotted time for comment on the cable issue at each of its recent monthly meetings and has posted information about the project on its website.

The agreement with LIPA, which owns the transmission systems and contracts with PSEG to operate it, requires LIPA to pay a $30,000 easement fee to the village and an access fee of $1.3 million to the village for a period running from September 12, 2017, when  the work is expected to begin, to May 15, 2018.

“We have a contract. I’m comfortable with it, the board is comfortable with it,” Mr. Hubbard said last week, adding, “I think it’s a good deal.”

The cable wouldn’t actually provide any power to Greenport Village, which has its own power plant, and would serve the Island, which has banned  power substations.

In addition to Greenport Village, the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation also must sign the agreement.

The HPOC has yet to do so, and is still negotiating with LIPA, according to HPOC general manager Stella Lagudis.