It's not that Brookhaven's elected officials aren't pleased to be receiving nearly $5 million to disperse to community groups as part of an agreement with the energy company, which is currently wrapping up construction on a 350-megawatt power plant in Yaphank. The problem is figuring out how to distribute the funds, a small percentage of which will go to Middle Island and Gordon Heights.

It has already been determined that nine communities within a three-mile radius of Yaphank should be entitled to the funds. Determining a fair and equitable solution to deciding how much each community gets is another story.

Councilwoman Connie Kepert, who represents the 4th District -- including Yaphank and parts of each of the other eight communities -- unveiled to the rest of the Town Board Tuesday a bill that aims to distribute the funds across council districts by factoring the area and density of the parts of each district that fits within a three-mile radius of Yaphank.

Councilman Keith Romaine offered disgust over the bill, which uses a formula developed by a citizen advisory committee organized to determine how the money should be distributed. Factoring in area and density, Mr. Romaine's district would receive about $33,000, nearly $60,000 less than it was originally slated to receive. Ms. Kepert said that's because the area of Mr. Romaine's 6th District that falls within the radius is mostly parkland and features only two homes. On the flipside, Councilman Tim Mazzei's 5th District would receive almost $200,000 more under the new formula, with the remainder of the difference coming out of the $4.24 million Ms. Kepert's district was supposed to receive.

"The 6th District is a very small part of the host benefit area," Ms. Kepert said. "[Mr. Romaine is] not representing a lot of the host district."

Councilwoman Kathy Walsh argued on Mr. Romaine's behalf that just because few people live in that specific area of Mr. Romaine's district that does not mean the parkland isn't valuable to the rest of the community.

But Ms. Kepert maintained that she thought the formula was the most equitable way to move forward.

"This is how the citizens advisory committee voted to distribute these monies," Ms. Kepert said.

Mr. Romaine responded: "Well we haven't voted on it yet."

The Town Board was expected to vote on the resolution at Thursday's Town Board meeting, which was held after presstime.

The Caithness host community benefits package caused a stir at a June Town Board meeting when the board approved a pair of resolutions to streamline some of the funds to Lighthouse Ministries and the North Patchogue Fire Department, two organizations in the 5th District that do not fall into the radius of the benefits package. The board agreed at that time to disperse those funds, but to hold off on a separate resolution determining how much money would go to each of the three impacted council districts until stricter controls were in place to keep from distributing the funds elsewhere in those districts.

The previous bill only factored in area, not density, and has since been replaced by this new resolution, which also outlines how much each specific community should receive.

"We need to make sure the communities that have been promised money get what they expect to receive," Ms. Kepert said.

gparpan@northshoresun.com

How much would each community get?

Bellport $337,632

Brookhaven hamlet $464,703

East Patchogue $588,460

Gordon Heights $235,692

Medford $1,500,625

Middle Island $110,318

North Bellport $337,632

Shirley $221,605

Yaphank $1,203,333

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3 comments found

ignorance is bliss : 7/11/2009
The comments to this article lack any knowledge of the purpose of the Caithness Host Benefit funds. The purpose of the funds was to provide a benefit to those communities which carry the burden of hosting a power plant within their communities. Thus the name: Host Benefit Fund. The sixth district has 2 homes within the 3 mile radius of the plant and, thus rightly so, gets a very small amount of the funds. Romaine is trying to take from the communities which justly deserve the funds. Keep fighting Connie!!

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Town still figuring out how to distribute funds : 7/10/2009
In order to stop the bickering as to which district gets more money and who gets less just take the entire fund balance and divide it by 6. That will settle everything and each district will receive the same amount of funding. It's always sad to see one district suffer at the hands of a greedy councilperson. " my district gets more of the funding because the property is in my council district". That's BS and any smart person who came into found money should share the wealth with other communities including district 6. Selfishness will get you no where.

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Mood souring on Connie Kepert : 7/10/2009
I have to say that I am not alone in feeling that the mood around Connie Kepert is souring. In the past couple of years she has changed into someone she never was in the past as a civic leader. What brought about this change is unknown to me, but it suits her much better to go back and become the person she used to be. The other Town Councilpeople are correct and the money should be more equitably shared, regardless of whether it is parkland or not. The communities that would benefit from having nicer parks make up all of Brookhaven and would serve us all well. I voted for Connie last time, but didn't vote for her the first time she ran for council, but did vote for her when she ran for legislature. I will likely vote for her again, unless her opponent gives me a reason not too. So this post is not to slam Kepert, but to make her realize that we are all in this together and that her demeanor of late seems to be petty and partisian. I thought better of her, and expect that in the coming months she will return to being the decent person she once was in the past. Thanks, GDW

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