Crafting a plan for clean and sustainable energy for Shelter Island

Tim Purtell, chairman of the Green Options Advisory Committee, went before the Town Board at its Tuesday work session to discuss plans to apply for a federal grant that targets remote American communities and islands.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the program is called the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP), and aids those communities to re-direct the way they produce and use energy, and make those processes more nimble and sustainable.

According to the ETIPP, “Island and remote communities have unique physical features that fundamentally shape what energy options they have available. For many of these communities, access to resilient, affordable, sustainable, and clean energy resources is a priority. ETIPP helps communities to assess and advance the solutions that best meet their needs.”

There is no application fee, and Green Options Committee members will do the research and paperwork without relying on the town’s grant writer, Mr. Purtell said.

If successful, the ETIPP will provide an overview of the Island’s power challenges and current resources, followed by energy analysis and planning. The ETIPP can recommend projects, it says, “that respond to the community’s own energy priorities, goals, challenges, and opportunities, and advance the community’s ability to implement strategic, whole-systems solutions.”

Mr. Purtell mentioned that Shelter Island, like other American islands, has “tidal power” as a potential source of energy, and noted that a small island off the coast of Maine has started projects involving solar power and battery storage systems, partnering with stakeholders in the community, such as the school and municipal infrastructure.

The same could be done here, Mr. Purtell said.

One advantage of putting together an application is to provide a framework of action, focusing on the Island’s specific situation, and “taking ideas to put into a plan to move forward,” Mr. Purtell said.

The Board was in favor of the idea, and Mr. Purtell said the application should be ready to go within the next few weeks.

Summer Businesses

Several businesses were granted applications Tuesday to set up shop on town-owned properties for the summer. Each had to pay a $250 application fee, have proof of adequate insurance, and abide by rules on specific locations and the removal of trash. They were given hours of operation and a start- and end-date for the season.

In addition, Councilman Jim Colligan reported that town officials, including Police Chief Jim Read, had met with the management of Sunset Beach. Mr. Colligan noted that problems with loud noise from music at the club, which has plagued neighbors for years, has been minimized over the last two seasons, and mitigation methods to keep the noise down that have worked will be in place again this summer.

Mr. Colligan said this will be the 26th summer Sunset Beach has been on Crescent Beach, and that the relationship between the town and the business continues to improve because of better communication than in past years.

The businesses receiving permission to operate on town-owned properties are:

• Venture Out, which rents paddle boards and kayaks and conducts yoga classes on Crescent Beach, will be allowed to operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 1 to Oct. 10.

• Crow’s Nest Bar & Grill, a food truck, can operate at Crescent Beach from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 26 to Sept. 5.

• Bon Spa, a massage business, will be allowed on Crescent Beach from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 26 to Sept. 11.

• Stars Café will have a food truck at Wades Beach from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., June 24 to Sept. 4.

• Ride Shore, a launch service for Sunset Beach patrons, can operate between May 19 and Sept. 18. No hours of operation were given in the application.

• Kayak Shelter Island, which rents paddle boards and kayaks and provides tours on Coecles Harbor from the end of Burns Road, can operate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., between May 1 and Nov. 30.

• A Mr. Softee ice cream truck was granted permission to set up in the Wades Beach parking lot from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 1 to Oct. 10.

• Karen Springer was granted permission to sell pre-packed organic drinks, bottled water and ice pops from a van at town beaches, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., from May 29 to Oct. 9.