Village trustees wrap old business for New Year

Dering Harbor Town Hall..

The Village of Dering Harbor Board of Trustees took less than anhour at its Saturday, December 19 meeting in Village Hall to reviewand resolve several housekeeping items.

Property line issue: The board reviewed andapproved the draft of a letter to residents Kelsey/Ferris,requesting that they relocate hedge plantings currently located onvillage property. The deadline for compliance was set for nextspring to permit them time to replant.

Dry wells and MS-4: Several locations have beenconsidered for installing drywells; Mayor Tim Hogue announced thattwo or three viable spots will be identified before the end of themonth.

The wells are one of the ways the village will address thestate’s requirements for MS-4, a joint water run-off managementprogram of the village and Town of Shelter Island. “We are veryaware of the requirements, Mr. Hogue said. At its November meeting,the board had appointed a three-person board committee to work withthe town on compliance, consisting of the mayor, trustee HeatherBrownlie and Village Attorney Joe Prokop.

Shore Road: Some residents continue to expressconcern that the village’s Shore Road address is confused with theShore Road address in West Neck. As a result, the mayor said, theyplan to put together a petition requesting that the board considera change in name for the road. At earlier meetings, some residentshad indicated they were not in favor of a name change, pointing outthat those homeowners affected, whose properties also bordered onLocust Point Road, could use that address as an alternative.

Mr. Prokop had previously explained that there would be a fairlyextensive process involved in changing the road’s name.

Water supply repairs: Before the end of theyear, Mr. Hogue announced, a new fire hydrant will be installed toreplace a leaky hydrant. The old one will be repaired to have onhand as a spare. Hap Bowditch, who oversees the village’s waterworks, has informed the mayor that the village well, a very oldsystem, may need to be replaced, and he is looking into possiblefunding sources. The village is fortunate, Mr. Hogue said, to havea 100,000-gallon water tank that has helped get water into villagehomes during power outages.

Construction traffic: Contractors usingSylvester Road have not been observing that it is a one-way street.The roadway is not clearly marked, the mayor said, and at theNovember meeting the trustees had agreed to install a one-way roadsign. This will be in place by the end of the month, Mr. Hogue toldthe trustees.

Village repairs: Mr. Hogue said he continues todiscuss major repairs to Village Hall with several contractors.

Policy recommendations: Mr. Prokop distributedcopies of a number of additions to village policy that he had drawnfrom other municipalities – ranging from Internet use to villagevehicles to investment policies. The trustees were asked to reviewthese for discussion and/or approval at the next meeting.

A schedule of meetings for 2010 was distributed. The trusteesagreed to a bye for a January meeting; the next meeting will beheld on Saturday, February 20 at 10 a.m.