Dering Harbor Village Board meeting wrap-up

In a brief 45-minute meeting on Saturday, September 21, Mayor Tim Hogue reviewed several pending items of business for the Village of Dering Harbor trustees and the 10 residents who attended the meeting.

• Water matters: The new well will be in place by the end of the month, according to an update from Hap Bowditch, water department commissioner.

Funding is being sought for buying a generator for the village, “strongly recommended” by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services for the second straight year, the mayor said.

The village’s water tank, needing repair or to be replaced, is an expensive item, Mr. Hogue said, which might be covered through a long-term financing plan, offered at very low interest rates by  New York State.

• Dry wells: Within the next month, work on the installation of dry wells will begin at two locations — at Yoko and Shore roads and at Dering Wood Road — in an effort to reduce flooding.

• Setback review: The board continues to receive comments on whether or not to permit setbacks of less than 75 feet for recreational uses such as pools and tennis courts. There is “still a lot of back and forth on this,” the mayor said, and the board was not ready to make the decision to either drop the issue or come up with a resolution for a public hearing and board vote — particularly given Saturday’s absence of board member Richard Smith.

“We’re still open for comments,” Mr. Hogue said, “to give this a fair trial.”

In response to two comments from the audience, the mayor indicated that he planned to put together a packet for distribution to all residents of (1) comments received so far and (2) the rationale in 2000 that led to the current zoning code provision.

One audience member noted that in the absence of a noise ordinance in the village code, it was difficult to determine how much noise was too much, regardless of the setback distance to a pool or tennis court.

Douglas Tausik commented that children tended to make noise whether they played in a pool or not. Patrick Parcells agreed and reiterated a point he had previously  made in writing — that a vegetative border could mitigate the noise more effectively than a setback.

• Peconic Estuary Program (PEP): Mr. Hogue said he had spoken to all the East End villages bordering on the estuary regarding an initiative, related to the MS4 mandate, that would establish an inter-municipal committee to work on preserving the health of the estuary.

Their response was similar to Dering Harbor’s, the mayor said. Greenport has signed on but while there was support for the concept, others felt that the annual fee of $3,000, proposed for each village, was not manageable for smaller municipalities.

Mr. Hogue said he had been assured, however, that board approval of forming a committee to look at options for PEP would not, at this point, involve any financial commitment. With that understanding, the board unanimously approved the concept of an inter-municipal agreement.

• Correspondence: Mr. Hogue reported that he had received two letters from resident Kirk Ressler — one expressing concern for the potential damage to his property of several trees on village land that were in poor condition or requiring trimming.

The second letter described parking violations along Dering Lane on village property, creating a safety hazard and causing “several near incidents.”

Both letters were received just before the meeting and the trustees had not yet had a chance to comment, the mayor said.

• Change in meeting date: Due to a conflict, the board will meet on the fourth Saturday in October — October 26 — instead of its usual third Saturday, at 10 a.m.