Shelter Island Town Board report: New towing rates in effect, annual Easter Egg Hunt on tap

By a 4-0 vote, the Town Board Monday night approved increases in towing rates, as had been suggested by Police Chief Jim Read. The rates apply to vehicles that must be towed because they are deemed to be illegally parked, abandoned or are obstructing traffic.

Owners of vehicles that have to be towed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. have been charged $175, but the new rate is $250. The rate that owners have been charged for towing between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. had been $225, but the new rate is $325 for that overnight period.

A variable rate has been implemented at $175 per hour for special circumstances. That would include “extraordinary circumstances” such as the accident at Crescent Beach where a vehicle was in the water, Chief Read explained. It could also include towing a vehicle stuck in sand on a beach or an end of the street towing.

Easter Egg Hunt

The Town Board approved the annual Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary Easter Egg Hunt at St. Gabriel’s Meadow for Saturday, March 30 or a rain date of Sunday, March 31. Setup is at 11 a.m. with the hunt scheduled for 1 p.m.

Encumbered funds

The Town Board approved encumbering funds from the 2023 budget to pay for the following expenses: $28,864 for Public Works Department’s new beach rake; $26,894 to pay for the new scale house at the town Recycling Center; $20,000 for the Water Advisory Committee Salt Water Intrusion Study conducted by the United States Geological Survey; $7,652 to the Taylor’s Island Cabin Repair account to pay contractor Jason L. Shields; $27,903 from the Ambulance Communication account for Integrated Wireless Technologies; $11,757 from the Police Department equipment account for Stryker Medical and Suffolk Security Systems; and $7,395 from the Police Department maintenance account for Suffolk Security Systems and Chuck’s Fiberglass Inc.

Appointments

The Town Board has appointed Jonathan Reeves to fill an empty seat on the Green Options Committee; reappointed Peter McCracken as a member of the Board of Assessment Review; and hired Jessica Montgomery as a provisional office assistant to the committees. Mark Cappellino was appointed as an on-call driver for the Senior Center for up to 20 hours per week at a rate of $24.19 per hour.