Waterways Committee shuffles Inn dock plan back to Town Board

There will be no action — at least for awhile — on an application from Ram’s Head Inn owner Aandrea Carter seeking approval to have a new dock constructed.

The Waterways Management Advisory Council (WMAC) made it clear Monday night that they would like to be done with what Chairman John Needham called “the most complex and most controversial” application to ever come before him.

Mr. Needham said, “This has been overwhelming. This is more than I signed up for.”

Because of the controversy surrounding the application, which has a history of years of disputes over the ownership of the existing dock, and, more recently, plans for a replacement dock, a special meeting was called to separate the application from the many others the WMAC typically considers.

Meanwhile, Jack Costello of Costello Marine Contracting said he can make changes to the proposed dock to lessen the need for exemptions from the code.

“We have an opportunity to right some wrongs,” Mr. Costello said.

Mr. Needham said he’d spoken with Supervisor Gerry Siller and Town Attorney Bob DeStefano Jr. who said the WMAC should recognize the application as a residential, not a commercial dock.

But despite their interpretation, James Eklund, who co-owned the Ram’s Head Inn with his wife Linda until they sold it to Aandrea Carter, said he disagreed that it should be treated as a residential dock.

For almost 100 years, the dock served a commercial purpose for the Ram’s Head Inn. Access to the existing dock may be through town property, Mr. Eklund said, but many docks have rights of way to access docks used by other hotels, he added.

The Town has no specified hotel zoning. The Pridwin and Chequit, like the Ram’s Head, are in residential zones, even though they are commercial entities.

The ZBA has recommended establishing a new zone for hotels, but no discussion has taken place on that recommendation by the Town Board. All four members of the Board were observing the Zoom session of Monday’s meeting, along with several area residents, and Ms. Carter.

Questions about participation by two WMAC members — Mr. Eklund and Marc Wein — were quickly handled with Mr. Eklund saying that although he and his wife Linda owned the Inn until selling it to Ms. Carter, he had consulted the Town’s Ethics Committee about whether he had to recuse himself.

They told him it wasn’t necessary. Mr. Wein said he wasn’t recusing himself because he has no financial interest in the application even though as president of the Ram Island Association, he has fought to have the existing dock removed.

Member Bill Geraghty said the WMAC needs to come up with stipulated facts with which everyone could agree. Without that, any decision would be constructed on a weak foundation. Mr. Wein agreed, saying the way the case has developed, it’s “begging for a lawsuit if disputed issues aren’t resolved.”

There’s no aspect of the proposal that meets code except, perhaps, materials, member George Zinger said, wondering if there might be a way to make changes that would work with the established code. Similarly, Al Laredo asked if there couldn’t be some compromise to redesign the dock to accommodate some of the larger boats, without causing issues for others.

Mike Anglin agreed, saying the existing dock has been operated as though it’s a commercial dock. While some have expressed concerns about difficulties of increased parking along the roadway, Mr. Anglin said no one has been injured in the road.

At the same time, the Town needs to allow hotels and bed & breakfast establishments to operate. “I see both sides,” he said. The Town Board members said the discussion would be the subject of an upcoming Town Board work session.