The town is “ahead of the curve as far as the cost of carting” goes, he said, by about $60,000 less than budgeted. While revenues are down, so is dumping of material that has to be carted off the Island at a cost to the town. The recycling market rates are “slowly picking up” and the concrete and steel in the old building can be recycled, he said. He recommended that the project, which will take about two weeks to complete, begin as soon as possible.

But Town Board members were not ready to rev up the bulldozer. Councilman Ed Brown asked for a review of the mid-year budget numbers, which should be available in three weeks. “I want to make sure your numbers are on the mark.” Fellow board member Glenn Waddington said, “I think we all agree that it needs to come down,” but he questioned Mr. Ketcham's current budget analysis after coming to the board this spring saying that “we were facing Armageddon” and “hemorrhaging” money at the landfill.

Mr. Ketcham responded that “certain areas” are “costing us a lot of money” such as the goodie pile, brush, leaves and manure. “We have a lot of fronts to battle.”

At the suggestion of Councilwoman Chris Lewis, Supervisor Jim Dougherty scheduled a meeting with Councilman Peter Reich and Mr. Ketcham for Wednesday morning.

Goodie pile

“I'm not trying to close down” the goodie pile, Mr. Ketcham emphasized as discussions of the costs of managing the recycled home goods area came up for discussion. “A lot of people have benefitted” from it, including himself, he added.

But when you see the fees coming in — only $13,000 in 2008 — and the weight going out — over $73,000 — it's a money losing proposition, he explained.

“It's a matter of the garbage coming into the goodie pile ... I don't think there's anybody in this room that can say they've been to the goodie pile and see only 100 percent reusable items.

“It has to be monitored ... We do have to regulate it and limit it. This is the one way to control this loss.” If not, goodie pile carting costs will have to be “charged across the board” to every taxpayer, he said.

“I just want to get something clear, Mark,” Mr. Waddington began. “I find it hard to believe that all those three-legged chairs are costing us $70,000. How can you document that?”

Mr. Ketcham explained that goodie pile debris goes into a 40-yard container that is weighed before being hauled off Island by Winter Brothers. In 2008, 222.7 tons of debris were carted away in that container at a cost of $154 per ton (about $34,300). Adding in $110 per day in labor ($39,700 for 2008) yields a total of over $73,000.

Mr. Waddington also commented on revised rules proposed for the pile, which remove a requirement that goodie pile users be limited to 15 minutes parking and only two visits per day but limits hours to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Monday. Mr. Ketcham described the new proposal as “polished up, more realistic” but one that can still be adjusted. Mr. Waddington commented that is was “marginally better than the first” proposal. No action has been taken to change goodie pile rules but Mr. Brown emphasized that it is ultimately Mr. Ketcham's decision to impose new rules.

From the audience, Joy Bausman commented that she has never seen the goodie pile without white garbage bags of trash left there. “It's absolutely disgusting,” she said.

She also took exception to comments made by Colin Hoye at the May 29 Town Board meeting that the Shelter Island Chapter of the American Red Cross (she is the organization's chief executive officer) gets free services at the dump. “We do not,” she said, adding that she was not addressed and not questioned about the issue. “I want it corrected. We pay,” she concluded.

Mr. Hoye clarified his comments. “I didn't say the Red Cross was a freeloader,” only that they didn't have to weigh before dumping. The Red Cross has an account for large items, Ms. Bausman had noted.

Former Town Supervisor and Highway Superintendent Al Kilb suggested hauling some goodie pile refuse with construction and demolition debris using the town's walking-floor trailer to save money. He acknowledged that the goodie pile is a difficult area to manage but also commented, “That pile is an asset to the community” and the value Islanders gain from the goods found there “blows away the cost to manage it.”

Mr. Dougherty said that the issue will be discussed again next week.

Other recycling issues

Mr. Ketcham proposed that the town purchase a paper recycling baler to bring in more revenues. Currently, newspapers and mixed paper are carted off for free but the paper products are marketable, the superintendent explained. “We're losing between $25,000 and $50,000 in revenue” from selling the 400 tons of paper collected each year, he said. A baler would cost $80,000 but Mr. Ketcham has his eye on a grant that would pay half the cost. The remaining costs would come from the highway equipment reserve account and would be recouped in a year and half, he estimated.

The baler “could take a lot of the pressure off” the highway budget, he concluded.

Other topics

During the June 9 work session, the following topics came up for discussion:

• West Neck Water District request for more autonomy. Lisa Shaw, Lori Raymond, Ann Dunbar and Nick Meynell (new to the water district group) asked the town to reverse a resolution adopted in 2002 making them an “advisory council” instead of a board of directors. The group is solely responsible for operating the water district that serves 62 properties. “We feel that we are operating a small business, with all of the money and systems that we have in place,” Ms. Shaw said after a presentation on the district's plans and fiscal status. “We need to be able to operate unencumbered by the effects of political change. We need to function as originally mandated.” State legislation is needed to change the group into an elected board of directors but Mr. Dougherty suggested that the town could change their title without altering the authority vested in the town.

• The Comprehensive Plan Review report. Mr. Dougherty proposed that the board discuss “a handful” of action points (there are 76 in all) at each work session. Town Attorney Laury Dowd said that a “pared down” list of issues could then go to the public for comment. Mr. Brown asked that action on pesticides be at the top of the list.

• Construction traffic and water trucks on Cartwright Road. Valerie Levinson and Jackie Black presented a letter on behalf of 11 of their neighbors asking the town to enforce the speed limit on the road, including a 15-mph “Children at Play” section. They suggested placing a small electronic speed posting sign like that on Noyack Road in Southampton. Mr. Waddington said that he would follow up on Suffolk County monitoring of traffic on the road.

• Bringing Dr. Ward Stone of the Department of Environmental Conservation to the Island to discuss permethrin issues. The town cannot pay to bring the pathologist here, the DEC told the board; an official state-funded visit has been requested but not yet approved by the DEC. “I don't understand the DEC's reluctance to let one of their own experts come and do service for a community they are serving,” Ms. Lewis said.

• Linda Holmes discussed a request from Accessible Long Island, a program of the non-profit Suffolk Community Council, asking for building code changes to ensure access to handicapped or disabled visitors. Applied only to new residential construction, the proposed “universal design” rules include requiring one ground-level entry, wider hallways and a first floor bathroom. Southampton has adopted the rules, other towns are considering it. “We're hoping all 10 towns in Suffolk will adopt these standards,” Ms. Holmes said.

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4 comments found

Goodie pile : 6/12/2009
Last fall when we brought some items to the goodie pile (a desk, some chairs, and a few other things, all in very decent shape), we noticed that they were put into the dumpster before we had even driven out of the recycling center. This was very disappointing because we took them to the goodie pile hoping that someone else could use them - unfortunately no one had time to even look at them because they went into the dumpster only a few minutes after we brought them. Wouldn't it make more sense to leave items available for several days before trashing them and increasing the carting fees? I have found many great items in the goodie pile over the years - from books to some old timey glass Christmas ornaments that I still put on my tree every year. Please try to find away to keep the goodie pile viable as a place for people to exchange things. Thanks.

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Cartwright Rd. : 6/11/2009
Who are these people? The first thing they do after moving here is to begin to change the place. If you don't like it after moving here put your house on the market and go back to where you came from, but STOP TRYING TO CHANGE OUR ISLAND TO SUIT SOME SORT OF LAME VERSION OF WHAT YOU THINK LIFE IN THE COUNTRY IS...What's next? Strret lights so their guniea hens and dogs can find their way home? Com'on get a life!

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Cartwright Rd Traffic : 6/11/2009
Here we go...2 newcomers who now want to change our island. I live on Cartwright Rd too and there is no problem with construction traffic. None! In fact this year there is less then in previous years. If they don't like it here, maybe they should move. No maybe they should both get a life and stop trying to turn this island into their sterilized version of what it should be. We did just fine here before they came and started making issues out of nothing!

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Mark Ketcham : 6/11/2009
Gee what a surprise? A Democrat run newspaper, questioning spending by a Republican Highway Super. in an election year.....I wonder who the Reporter will endorse? Mark Ketcham has done more in the past 4 years for this town and by saving money then anyone except maybe Frank Klen. Wake up people. We are lucky to have Mark, and I'm a Democrat!

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