(Credit: Reporter file)
Despite an effort to delay approval of the shoreline access recommendations initially affecting eight of the most troubled sites around the Island, the Town Board voted 4-1 to change parking regulations at beaches and landings.
But before any vote, a public hearing brought resident Bob Kohn to the forefront, initially promising his words wouldn’t be “contentious,” until they were. He and Supervisor Gerry Siller had something of a war of words as Mr. Kohn insisted the new regulations eliminated an entire section that previously banned use of town beaches to nonresidents. He acknowledged the ban had not been enforced, but said now it has been eliminated.
Access to shoreline restrictions under fire Early morning at Bootleggers Alley. (Credit: Martin Burke)
Don’t blame the Shoreline Access Committee; blame the mandate with which it was charged, resulting in recommendations that no one seems to like, all involved agreed.
Problems at Bootleggers Alley last summer focused the Town Board on the effort to look at all shoreline access points with an eye to controlling uses.
Two major issues emerged for the Shoreline Access task force: parking and signage.
Neither, it appears, will satisfy needs at Bootleggers, where crowds of nonresidents fished and camped last summer, using the dunes as toilets. Residents complained they left garbage in the area and often infringed on private properties. Temporary installation of a Port-A-Potty did little to alleviate the problems.
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Deputy Town Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams (Credit:Judy Card)
With the holidays here, along with a new surge of the COVIID-19 coronaovirus, Shelter Island officials are expressing concern about residents traveling and attending events.
While Suffolk County is reporting 23 cases of the virus on Shelter Island, Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams told the Town Board at Tuesday’s work session that number is at 35 to 36 cases.
What is most alarming is that two-thirds of those cases have happened in the past two months compared with the one-third that occurred over a seven-month period from the time the pandemic started at the beginning March.
Ed Shillingburg is stepping down as a member of two town committees.
But Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board Chairman Gordon Gooding said at Monday morning’s meeting that it won’t stop him from calling Mr. Shillingburg whenever he needs advice, particularly on stewardship plans for various properties the town acquires to preserve.
For the past four years, Mr. Shillingburg, who also has been a member of the Water Quality Improvement Advisory Board, has guided the process of developing many of the plans that ensure proper maintenance of sites aquired by the town for preservation.
“You’ll always be part of this team,” Mr. Gooding told Mr. Shillingburg, thanking him for his “unbelievable contributions” to the committee and town.