Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: Dec. 23, 2022
Supporting the Island’s youth
To the Editor:
As we reflect on the outgoing year, we begin to realize how much we have to be grateful for.
After two years of limited opportunities, the Shelter Island Educational Foundation has continued to award grants to students to follow their dreams and participate in various educational activities of their choice.
Our 8th graders had the opportunity to spin-off of the annual schooner trip; seniors were able to travel to Spain again and participate in a cultural and linguistic program; and high school music students visited the Metropolitan Opera and attended Verdi’s beloved “La Traviata.” Individual grants were awarded to students for an international soccer tournament in Sweden; others spent a portion of the summer at our local Camp Quinipet. Some took part in sailing programs, dance lessons and other camps.
In July, the Foundation hosted its annual Garden Fundraising Party at The Ram’s Head Inn with generous donations from local businesses and individuals, without whom none of this would be possible. We sold more than 100 tickets and auctioned off more than 25 donated raffle prizes!
More than 200 students benefited from the donations that passed through our hands. The Board would like to express sincere gratitude for all the monetary contributions, sponsors, and many businesses that directly support our Island youth. Because the best investment in our future is the investment in our children.
In the spirit of the holidays, if you feel inclined, please visit shelterislandedfoundation.org to follow our work or donate to this fantastic organization. Please consider mailing a check to SIEF, P.O. Box 1050, Shelter Island, NY 11964.
I would also like to thank each member of the SIEF board who show up tirelessly to our meetings and donate their valuable time and skills to keep the Foundation going strong.
LYDIA MARTINEZ MAJDISOVA, President, Shelter Island Educational Foundation
How fortunate
To the Editor:
I would like to share with you how fortunate I feel we all are to have such an awesome florist as Becky at Shelter Island Florist.
I ordered flowers for an event we had at our home and, as usual, I was blown away by the beautiful arrangement she personally delivered. Becky has a wonderful eye for arranging and I have always found her flowers fresh and tastefully chosen, as well as reasonably priced.
In this holiday season, I appreciate Becky and all the other small businesses that make it so great living on this incredible island.
CAMILLE ANGLIN, Shelter Island
Reducing the roar
To the Editor:
I found myself nodding in agreement with Charles Huschle’s letter (“I Wonder Why,” Dec. 15). Like Mr. Huschle I respond badly to the roar of leaf blowers.
Surely there are better ways to deal with leaves than firing up a gasoline-powered blower, herding them into piles, and trucking them off to the Recycling Center. They might, as Mr. Huschle suggests, be left alone or dealt with in the old-fashioned way with a rake. Either of these would be better for the quality of our air, topsoil, and groundwater and easier on the ears of neighbors.
There are ways to approach the issue of excessive noise caused by leaf blowers. One approach is increased public awareness. There is a movement afoot in the United States to recognize that the pristine lawn is no longer the symbol of respectability it once was, and that the use of gasoline powered engines to maintain them is ecologically unsound.
If enough homeowners hired only landscapers who use environmentally friendly methods, the roar of the leaf blowers would be reduced.
Another approach is government action. The Shelter Island Noise Code begins with the observation that, “The gentle pace of life on Shelter Island has traditionally provided a respite from the noise and turmoil which has become an integral part of life in the city and suburbs.” The Code goes on to prohibit “any noise … which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of a reasonable person of normal sensibilities.”
Does that not include the noise of leaf blowers? Perhaps we should join California and the District of Columbia in banning the use of gas powered leaf blowers. At the very least, Town officials should enforce the existing ordinance.
MICHAEL L. McCLAIN, Shelter Island
With great hope
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the community for the events that transpired over the past few weeks. I had the joy of seeing a wreath lighting at the Chequit Inn that the community donated nearly $2,000 to our senior class. The generosity of the businesses and our community never ceases to amaze me.
There were two holiday concerts at the school, showcasing the talents of our children. We also hosted many sporting events during the month. Only on Shelter Island would a junior high basketball game be standing-room only. Everyone in the crowd is there to support the community’s children.
My office is located next to the main entrance. I have the privilege of watching many people donate items to our PTSA Holiday Boutique. The majority of donors are our remarkable senior citizens. For those of you who don’t know, our community donates holiday items, and then our elementary students buy them for $1 each to give a gift to every member of their families. How incredible is it that our youngest students are able to be connected to our senior citizens and other community members by learning the importance of giving?
I have witnessed many behind the scenes events where school staff has reached out to Shelter Island officials and organizations to provide money, gifts, food, and other goods for those who need a little extra help. I encourage everyone, as I remind myself, to call to mind that this is the true meaning of the holiday season — everyone from our youngest child to our oldest adult must be taken care of and feel loved and valued.
For all of the words above and more than could fit in this letter, I look to 2023 with great hope and optimism. Thank you for being such an amazing community.
BRIAN DOELGER, ED.D., Shelter Island School Superintendent
Water prices
To the Editor:
We are fortunate enough to own a second home on Shelter Island. Unfortunately, that gives us two Suffolk County Water Authority accounts/bills. After reviewing our recent bill for our Shelter Island property (the first full billing cycle) a glaring disparity became apparent. After a call to SCWA, I learned that something referred to as the “Shelter Island Water Commission” reached an agreement with SCWA with regard to the rate and a minimum usage fee of $81.25 quarterly.
Since our bill also charged us for the nominal 4,000 gallons actually used, it seems very much that this is double billing. Either you should pay a minimum or your actual usage if you go over the minimum. More importantly, there is no minimum usage fee on our account for our property in Central Suffolk.
The practical impact of this is that our water on Shelter Island costs more than 100 times more than our water in Central Suffolk. On Shelter Island we paid $0.0364/gal. In Central Suffolk we paid $0.00292. Something seems unfair to me. Our water conservation on Shelter Island, seems to come with a minimum usage penalty.
CAROL RUSSELL, Shelter Island
Note: Lisa Shaw, President of the West Neck Water District Board of
Directors responded.
In this context, The West Neck Water District, a Shelter Island municipal water district, signed the agreement with the SCWA. There is no “Shelter Island Water Commission” on any legal documents pertaining to the contract. The minimum usage fee which SCWA charges includes what previously was called the “access fee” which WNWD customers have always been charged biannually as well as their regular quarterly usage fee. Because the WNWD has to pay SCWA for infrastructure upgrades costing $1.7 million, rates had to be increased to fund this. Only approximately 70 customers bear the financial burden of the upgrade. Hearings on the contract were held in 2022 explaining the reason for the rates and how much they would increase. Customers were notified about these changes. It’s unfortunate but the cost of West Neck water is very expensive, primarily because it’s an antiquated system. We were hoping to receive a grant for this expenditure but did not qualify this year. The cost of work/repair on a water system in Central Suffolk is shouldered by a larger number of customers. Wish I could be the bearer of better news, but this is where we are.
