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Town board discusses medical offices, Goat Hill and email accounts

Medical_closed

There has been a lot of talk about improving medical services for Islanders and visitors, Councilman Jim Colligan said at Tuesday’s Town Board work session, but the time has come for a meeting with the doctors who have offices at the Medical Center Building so  needs aren’t duplicated and services are extended.

 Supervisor Gary Gerth has met with both Dr. Peter Kelt and Dr. Nathanael Desire, but now Mr. Colligan said the two doctors should sit down together with town officials.

Mr. Colligan believes there is not only a duplication of services, but a use of space that is not efficient in terms of how those services can most effectively be rendered.

Dr. Kelt has scheduled his office either for himself or physician assistants during the summer season. Dr. Desire has outlined a comprehensive plan for bringing in more specialists on a rotating basis so that Island residents would have less need to go off Island.

While coverage during the summer months is already more expansive than it is the rest of the year, the Town Board wants to work out plans to ensure  patients have on-Island services.

Board members also want to coordinate a visit to Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH) to tour the facility and get a clear picture of its services. Now that ELIH and Southampton Hospital are both affiliated with Stony Brook, ELIH has access to the Stony Brook Southampton Hospital Meeting House Lane Surgical Group, adding to the surgical services it can offer.

SHELTER ISLAND COUNTRY CLUB

Shelter Island Country Club Board President Marc Scola presented the Town Board with an outline of anticipated expenses and an initial breakdown of what would be town responsibilities and what would be handled with money from country club coffers.

By present agreement, the town owns the clubhouse and rents it to the country club, making the town responsible for basic repairs to the building while the club is responsible for the grounds and course.

Among pending changes are concerns related to an accident that broke part of the building wall last month. Insurance is expected to cover repairs, but Town Board members want to ensure that any future accident caused by vehicles parked at the side of the building wouldn’t cause even more damage and/or result in injuries.

They initially suggested metal poles that would stop vehicles from hitting the building, but Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. had some alternative ideas that will be explored.

A second safety measure involves protecting a propane tank from damage in the event of an accident. Mr. Card suggested the tank be buried.

There’s also a need to improve safety on a stairway that leads to the basement of the building where supplies are kept. While there are railings, workers are up and down the stairs with their arms filled with boxes on a regular basis. The stairs become slippery and could lead to a fall, according to Mr. Colligan, who is the Town Board liaison to the country club. He wants to see some sort of non-slip material installed.

Mr. Colligan, Supervisor Gary Gerth, Town Attorney Bob DeStefano Jr. and Mr. Scola will be meeting to work out a list of what projects are the town’s responsibility and what must be paid for by the club. Then Councilwoman Amber Brach-Williams can  work on a budget to determine what are considered capital projects and what should be listed as maintenance and repair costs. Some grant money might be sought for capital projects, but Ms. Brach-Williams said it’s hard to get grants for maintenance and repairs.

TOWN EMAILS

Remember the 2016 battle over Hillary Clinton’s emails? Shelter Island Town officials do and that’s why they’re moving to provide town email accounts to all committee members. Staff members already have town email accounts, but members of committees have been using their private email accounts to communicate with one another.

That could leave them open to having their private email accounts made public if anyone sued a committee. By using town email accounts, they are protected from having to open their personal email accounts for examination.

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