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Councilman Albert Dickson won’t run in November: Standing strong for clean water

Albert Dickson, elected in 2017 to the Town Board, will not seek re-election in November.

Mr. Dickson cited family time as a reason to bypass another run. “I want to say that with time and given conditions, one gets in touch with their own mortality,” he told his colleagues and the public at the March 2 Town Board work session. “I’m choosing to spend more time being Dad, and more time being Grandpa.”

He praised his colleagues for their dedication and hard work. In his time remaining in office he said he wants to “advance the Ground and Surface Water Management Plan, working to implement those strategies necessary for the protection of our drinking water, as well as the protection of our surrounding surface waters.”

He also mentioned getting an affordable housing project off the ground. “It is my hope that through the creation of a successful project, that many more can follow,” the councilman said.

Most importantly, he added, was to continue the work of crafting and adopting a Comprehensive Plan for the town.

A strong advocate for clean water and restricting certain kinds of development, Mr. Dickson went against his colleagues in December 2018 casting a “no” vote — an extremely rare occurrence for Shelter Island Town Boards. The issue was an application that would demolish a 3,068-square-foot Little Ram Island house and replace it with a 9,619-square-foot, two-story structure with nine bedrooms, multiple bathrooms and a 75-foot by 20-foot swimming pool.

At a work session, Mr. Dickson expressed concern to his colleagues about the massive size of the planned residence and asked, “Do we have the will to do something?”

At the regular Town Board meeting 10 days later, when the application was put to a vote, Mr. Dickson cast the “no” vote. After the vote approving the application, Mr. Dickson said the reason he stood firm against the application was about water — specifically, protecting the aquifer from being poisoned by nitrates from a septic system, and the stress put on the aquifer by a large house full of people.

“It comes down to the aquifer,” Mr. Dickson said. “Are we going to take steps to protect it?”

As for the size of the house, the town code has a limit of 6,000 square feet for residences, but variances are applied for and granted. “This house is over 9,000 square feet,” Mr. Dickson said. “Why not enforce the town code?”

Mr. Dickson pointed out that the house was slated to be for a family, but asked if the place was sold, what subsequent use would the large house and pool be used for?

He noted the effort that was undertaken to form a Comprehensive Plan for the town in 1994, when the whole community was involved in public meetings.

“The plan said you’re going to have a nitrate problem and steps should be taken to protect the aquifer,” Mr. Dickson said. “Since then, what have we done?”