Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: May 4, 2023
A privilege to serve
To the Editor:
I have served as a trustee on the Shelter Island Board of Education since 2017 and am seeking re-election for my third term.
As a parent of a Shelter Island School student and a long-time resident and taxpayer, creating a fiscally-responsible budget that meets the needs of the district is paramount.
I am proud to share that recent results are strong: last year we saw a 0% tax increase and have remained below the 2% tax cap for the previous five years. This has been achieved without sacrifice to our students, faculty, programs or facilities.
Striking this financial balance, along with working to advocate for every student remains my priority.
During my tenure, Board Trustee accomplishments have been vast. We have worked together to meet our goals, all while navigating the unforeseen circumstances of a global pandemic.
Shelter Island School was one of very few schools in the state to hold in-person classes, during which time we improved our state test scores and participation and were ranked among “Best High Schools in the Nation” by US News & World Report for three years in a row. We also added a Pre-K3 program, changed our mascot before it was legally required, and launched a new Native American curriculum that helps educate our students about their local history.
With the introduction of multiple new clubs, intramurals and a brand new soccer team, students have even more opportunities to find their niche in our small school setting.
I am fortunate to be part of a team that cares about every aspect of our school — from the youngest student who is learning the ropes to the long-time teacher who is about to retire to the parents who support their children at home, on the field, and in the audience.
I consider it a privilege to serve our school and community.
Please consider voting for Tracy McCarthy on May 16 — the most experienced candidate.
TRACY MCCARTHY, Shelter Island
A thriving community
To the Editor:
As a long-time resident of Shelter Island, I am honored to introduce myself as a candidate for the Shelter Island Board of Education. My passion for improving our schools while preserving the unique character of our island has inspired me to seek this position.
My experience working with children for over a decade in our community, coupled with my dedication to ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education, makes me an ideal candidate for the Board of Education.
I strongly believe that strong schools are the foundation of a thriving community and am committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to create a positive and engaging learning experience for our students.
As someone who does not have a child in the school system, I am confident that my lack of affiliation with any particular school will enable me to provide impartial and unbiased opinions that prioritize the best interests of our students and community.
I urge my fellow community members to support my candidacy and to join me in my mission to ensure that every child on Shelter Island has the opportunity to succeed.
EMILY PARSONS, Shelter Island
Unsubstantiated
To the Editor:
On May 3, you published an online story concerning our property. The Reporter did not reach out to us for comment, yet spoke to and quoted several individuals involved. You listed Philip Gubert as my “co-owner,” an unusual editorial choice of words. He is my husband and we bought the house as a married couple.
Your article included some facts while omitting others. When we purchased our home, we inherited a parking arrangement in place since 1974 as documented in affidavits, photographs, and a quitclaim deed.
In question is a 64’ by 50’ patch of land that hasn’t been paved, used, or maintained by the Village since before 1974. It is the only place we have to park. Our only neighbor on the street has voiced her full support for our proposal since it resolves a hardship we both face.
Second, you wrote that the Hunt family has used the road to access their property – as if this is a fact. This is a claim. It is unsubstantiated and the subject of an ongoing dispute. The Hunt family’s property does not abut the land in question, and they admitted on record to trespassing onto private property out of convenience, even though they have access to their land via an alternate route.
Third, the story conflates unrelated issues, including a building inspector’s resignation and other administrative actions. These are being falsely construed to stir a conspiratorial narrative.
Lastly, the Trustee you mention by name has violated ethics rules by engaging in private dialogue with Mr. Hunt and others, yet conveniently not us. Motivations are unknown, but perhaps they simply do not like my “co-owner” and me.
We remain confident the Village Trustees will do what is fair and just, and we thank those who have diligently worked on this issue for many months.
GEORGE BIRMAN, Shelter Island
A mad dash
To the Editor:
With the clock ticking on the supervisor’s current term and two Town Board members not standing for reelection, the Town Board has gone into overdrive to push an agenda that disrespects public opinion, threatens the environment, and takes a cavalier attitude towards spending taxpayer money.
In delegating authority to grant wetlands permit applications to the unelected Planning Board, the Board defied virtually all public comments, including opposition from all 11 neighborhood associations and a Reporter editorial entitled “Don’t Pass the Buck.”
Rather than protect our fragile coastline, the Board chose to reduce its workload and “streamline” the process to benefit applicants coveting environmentally insensitive (unaffordable) housing.
Meanwhile, in a mad dash to finish the Comprehensive Plan before a new Board takes office, the Comprehensive Plan Task Force drafted the environmental chapter without the benefit of an environmental assessment and, departing from prior practice, shared the draft with its consultants before getting comments from the members of the public on the Advisory Committee (CPAC).
Facing significant opposition from the public, a well-respected Stony Brook professor, and an engineer, the draft chapter seeks CPAC’s endorsement of the proposed wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) that the School Board is not joining and would waste over $1 million that could be spent on I/A systems for houses in the Center and other sensitive areas.
Having failed to promote any meaningful discussion of a February 2020 proposed water management plan, the Task Force incorporated it into its draft, including recommending a master plan for public water for the entire Island, without any consideration of the costs involved.
Expected claims that we are just opposing affordable housing are bogus. Relaxing wetlands regulations, the WWTF, and Island-wide public water are not necessary for needed affordable housing, but will open the door wider to unwanted development.
PATRICK CLIFFORD, STEPHEN JACOBS, KATHLEEN LYNCH, Shelter Islanders for Clean Water
and Responsible Zoning
Back to the Bays
To the Editor:
I would first like to thank the CPF WQI Advisory Board and the members of the Town Board who voted in support of funding the Cornell Cooperative Extension Shellfish and Habitat Restoration for Water Quality Improvement project proposal. I take great pride in my work, and to have the opportunity to do it for the Island I love, is beyond words.
Being that community education and outreach is at the core of CCE Marine’s Back to the Bays initiative, we will be holding stewardship sessions for you to learn about and really be involved in the project.
Our first volunteer event is Friday, May 5, at 4 p.m. at Sylvester Manor, our official Shell Recycling Program partner. Join me to help make bags of shell that will be used later this month to set millions of oysters on in support of our oyster reef restoration effort.
We will be set up near the Pole Barn, off Manhanset Road, and I encourage anyone to come — whether you are ready to get your hands dirty, or if you simply want to see and learn about the process.
More opportunities will be available throughout the year, so be sure to check our calendar of events at backtothebays.org. In the meantime, please feel welcome to reach out to me with any comments or questions at [email protected].
KATE ROSSI-SNOOK, CCE Marine Aquaculture Coordinator
Mind boggling
To the Editor:
It certainly has been a busy week here on Shelter Island. It’s hard keeping up with my weekly newspaper and my daily newspaper. Lots of differences of opinion out there!
Whether it happens to be local, county, state or federal anything and everything, this is mind-boggling. So today, while reading my daily newspaper’s Sunday edition, I came across the letters to the editor! A full page spread. Subject: School mascots. That certainly hit home. Go, Indians!
And then the prize winning poem, “Rollercoaster.” I sure hope the powers that be get it to the New Yorker for publication.
Congratulations to Devon Treharne.
Be kind to one another.
GEORGIANA KETCHAM, Shelter Island
