East Hampton Town Board Work Session - Montauk - 07/08/25

001East Hampton Town Board, we are live. Thank you, Jason, and welcome everyone to the East Hampton Town Board work session of July 9th, 2025. We're in Montalk today. I welcome everyone here. As you can see, uh, Supervisor Gonzalez is not with us this morning. She is with the East Hampton Housing Authority, um, interviewing potential firms for the design and build of the Ruth, uh, 114 moderate income housing development. So, we'll soldier on without her today. Um, uh, Carol, would you do the roll call, please? Council member Fleet, present. Council member Lee, present. Council member Rogers, present. Council member call the pedmont present. Supervisor Burke. Let's stand for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with

002liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We have uh three topics today on the agenda. Uh the first is natural resources inventory grant application by Tina Luren and Sam Klene. The second is the salt marsh barrows in acabonic harbor presentation by Brian Frank Frank. And the third is concerned citizens of Malktok save mtok's water campaign with ta k Tyler and Rebecca Holloway. But as usual in work sessions, we begin with a public portion. Carol, do we have anyone signed up? We do not. Is there anyone in the room that would like to speak in public portion today? Okay, Jason, do we have anyone on the line? Uh, we have no callers on the line. Thank you. One more chance for the room. Okay, thank you all. Uh, so we'll move on to our topics. The

003first one being, as I said, natural resources inventory grant application. Tina and Sam, if you'd like to come to the podium and present, and Amarie is going to run the uh presentation. You can begin, Sam. Um, yep. So, Tina and I are here to discuss a proposed grant application to the Department of Environmental Conservation's Climate Smart Communities Grant Program to develop a natural resources inventory. Um, so we're going to start with some information on the grant opportunity itself, talk about what a natural resources inventory is, and describe the project team working on this. Then you'll be hearing from Tina, the town's planning director, on the project's need and purpose. So, speaking to why we are pursuing this, as well as the project's goals and anticipated tasks to reach those goals. Um, at the end you'll

004hear from me again to just go over a brief rundown of some paperwork and timelines to ensure the town submits a competitive application by the deadline. Next slide. Great. Thank you. Um the planning department has been interested in completing a natural resources inventory or NRI um for for a little while and this year the DC has a specific program to support NRIs with competitive grant funding. The grant opportunity is available under the consolidated funding application which is a centralized funding opportunity that releases 16 programs from eight different agencies with almost all of them having the same application window of a deadline of July 31st. So one of the programs applicable to NRIs is the DEC's uh climate smart communities grant program. They fund certification projects. The town has completed and received recognized approval for over

00530 certification projects. So, we received a bronze designation status in that program. The DC considers applications for about a dozen action items within that program, one of which is completing an NRI, which the has the town hasn't done as a standalone project yet. This is going to be a highly competitive grant program and so we're proposing a very robust project to meet the goals of both the town and the state. The awards range from $10,000 to $200,000 with a match requirement of 50% of the total project cost. The planning department is working on estimating the total project cost. We've also reached out to consultants to help us with that cost. We believe it's going to be in the range of $150,000 to $175,000. We are going to be leveraging staff time to meet meet the

006match requirement of incind services. Um the reason for that is to minimize any um monetary contributions from the town. So that way we're just using our town staff hours instead of an actual cash amount. Um the staff will help with data collection and review, fieldwork, management of hired consultants, management and administration of the grant itself, and supervision of a project advisory committee. Um next slide. So an NRI maps and describes the natural resources in a community providing a foundation for m municipal land use and conservation planning. Um, so as I stated before, this can be a standalone project or a part of another plan. So the town currently has elements of a natural resources inventory within our LWRP, but that only covers coastal areas. Um, whereas this would be townwide. So we would be filling

007any information gaps. Um, as we all know, we are a coastal community. So, the LWRP does cover a lot of information, but this would be supplementing that as well as updating it because the LWRP is over 20 years old. Um, let me see. So, we are going to be updating and expanding the existing information and collating it into a data repository with maps that can be shared across town departments as well as made available to the public. Um, we'll also consider how climate change may impact habitats such as um influence influxes of invasive species like the southern pine beetle um nutrient load in in water bodies. Tina's going to discuss more um in a moment about the town's proposed scope um specific to what we're trying to do, but ultimately the NRI will be a

008planning resource to guide climate smart land use. Um so any in any proposed project it's important to have an administrative capacity plan outlined um and written into the grant application as well. So this is our project team that we're anticipating if we're awarded. So it's going to include the planning department, hired consultants, um the grants division as well as a project advisory committee. So the planning department is going to be the project's lead from the town handling day-to-day operations of the project, management of the hired consultants, coordination of the advisory committee, as well as participating in the actual task items of the scope. Um the grant funds are going to be used to hire professional consultants. That's going to be through a competitive process um with the purpose to accomplish our scope and deliver the

009NRI. A project advisory committee is going to be formed and it's going to include relevant town departments and environmental or community organizations outside of the town that can lend expertise to this project but also kind of expand um the uh how how our project can influence other municipalities, other organizations by giving us more exposure on the project. Um, and then my role in the grants division will be to serve as a point of contact with the grant agency, assist in reporting project milestones and challenges, and as needed, um, assist with reimbursement requests or contract amendments. All right, so now I'm going to pass off to Tina, and she's going to talk a little bit more about the details of why we're doing this project. Thank you, Sam. Um, hello board members. Thanks for the opportunity

010to talk about this today. There are several Would you just introduce yourself? Tina Logaran, planning director. Um, there are several drivers contributing to our need for a natural resources inventory. Sam gave a broad view that I'll expand on a little more. Um when we're considering uh natural resources implications for planning and development projects, we rely on heavily on fieldwork as well as existing GIS data sets and then older reports and online resources. Reports such as the LWRP that Sam mentioned have good data, but they're older, focus only on coastal habitat communities and do not reflect the realities of climate change that we're starting to see as prominently as they could. There's also the natural heritage program, another great data source, but it's focused on state own lands and there's large gaps. Um, a more specific

011and targeted example of the data we work with and why we want to update it on this slide. You could see a picture of the wetland mapping that we have internally. Um this shows a larger wetland system that's only partially mapped as shown in the areas in green and blue. Um one of the purposes of this project would be to help us estimate actual wetland boundaries um to serve as a better planning tool. Now sight specific wetland delineations are always going to be necessary like nothing townwide at that scale is going to be 100% accurate but having a more complete data set is going to be a good resources um for first level planning and for public awareness of where natural resources are um located close to their properties or on their properties. So collecting

012these data sets, updating them, and creating data to address where gaps need to be plugged is going to give us a powerful planning tool that's going to facilitate our ability to view our policies and programs in a comprehensive natural resources context and facilitate our ability to act appropriately within that context. Um so on the next slide, just continuing to talk about need. Um, one of the primary things we're going to be doing is helping to habitat characterize habitats at a town level that are not currently characterized, at least at a broad level. And one of the purposes of doing this is really to focus on the climate resiliency of the habitats. What are the risks to the habitat and the species that rely on them? And what are the mitigation strategies that we should be

013ready to deploy to address those risks? Um, you know, for example, Sam mentioned the pine beetle and the devastation that brought with it. Is there another disaster like that looming? And if so, how do we plan for it and be ready for it? And how do we continue to manage the pine beetle? On the next slide, um, this shows some pretty ambitious goals that we've set for the project. We want to create a comprehensive GIS data repository, a con comprehensive report on natural resources and we hope this will serve as a comprehensive centralized clearing house for natural resources um data to support all different types of planning efforts in the town. We are going to seek to engage the public and conduct outreach to guide the scope of the study and of course to share

014the findings. Um, we are also going to use this as an opportunity to provide public education about the town's natural resources. Another key goal we are setting is to ensure the information gathered gives us actionable strategies and lives through recommendations to our policy documents and changes in town code. So, we intend for the NRI to recommend um updates to the comprehensive plan uh for natural resources policy and for conservation strategies. Conservation programs and habitat management plans or needs for those plans should also be an outgrowth of the effort. On the next slide are the kind of highle um tasks that we've outlined to meet all the goals I've discussed. Early in the process, we're going to form a project advisory committee or pack. We are hoping to invite local experts, other town departments to participate

015in the committee and then we'll engage them regularly throughout the process of developing the NRI. Um, they will help inform project objectives that I talked about today, help us focus the scope, um, review our methodologies, and help make sure the report is focused on information that's most useful to, you know, us as the town as well as the community as a whole. The pack is also going to help inform a public engagement plan, which will include outreach to residents, nonprofits, and land use professionals in the private sector to seek input from all different um, perspectives. the tasks following from there, and I've touched on most of them already. So, just briefly, we'll collect information, identify gaps, work to plug the gaps using a combination of field work, aerial imagery, and other studies. Um, we're also

016going to try to look at habitat change over time. Um, probably uh looking at about a 20 year span and and see how the town has fared from a natural resources perspective. I think it's important we understand the trends that we're seeing in order to inform what trends we want to see in the future. And the report will be created of course it will be publicly available um and contain the findings of all the studies and will include sections to reflect natural resources compensation conservation policies and um updates to code that are recommended through the plan. We do already have stringent code for natural resources protection. um we will be looking at how they may need to be strengthened or adjusted um to effectively regulate and provide for resource conservation in the context of the

017information that the NRI provides. We do finally also plan to include some public education materials and we have included in the tasks the creation of two flyers to serve as um education tools for residents. Right now, for example, if people want to understand the natural permit process, um the natural resources special permit process, excuse me, they have to read our code, and it's a quite dense and technical document, and it doesn't explain the process from start to finish. Um we would provide education materials that explain why is a permit needed, when's a permit needed, and then what are the steps to get from here to there. um to help people understand it at a very high level and and facilitate you know why why we have these programs in place a wider understanding of that.

018So with that I will finish up and hand it back to Sam. Thank you Tina. Okay. So, um we are going to spend the rest of this month um gathering required documents for the application as well as answering the application questions. Um while doing this, we're going to be closely matching our project goals and scope with the grant agency's priorities and their scoring criterion so that way we develop a very competitive application. Um, these do receive a high volume of applicants and not receiving an award shouldn't negatively reflect on the project's need or purpose. Um, there's a lot of merit in developing an application in general. And we may be able to receive some constructive feedback on elements of our proposal. Um, you know, regardless of being funded or not, um, it's no small feat

019to submit an application. This one has seven required documents. Um some of those are smaller signatures, others are uh more comprehensive things about our budget plan um and our scope of work. And then there are 60 questions on this application too. They generally cover topics of how critical the project is, the effectiveness of the project leading to implementation actions, um the context of the project being supported by other plans or recommended by local committees, reasonleness of the costs and implementation readiness of if we get the funds, do we have a plan, the people in place to make sure that it actually goes through successfully. Um, if the town board is supportive of our application being submitted, we'll be putting on a resolution for next week to authorize this using language provided to us by the

020DC. Um, we are in the process of gathering letters of support. Um, those are always great in demonstrating that our project isn't just important for the municipality itself, but also to other interested stakeholders or organizations. Um we also have some internal deadlines we're working on as well of paperwork processes that we follow for um transparency and kind of a checklist of doing things. Um overall the application is due on July 31st. Um however we are aiming to submit it on the 29th. Uh the CFA portal is used by all of New York State and this has 16 programs all due on the same day. So just in the interest of anything crashing, we are trying to submit two days ahead of time. Um but we're confident in reaching this deadline. Um we would know if

021we're awarded or not in late November. Um contracts for the grant awards are expected to roll out a few months following that. Um upon receiving a contract, the town would have to develop an RFP and go out for um a competitive selection of a consultant. Um, so we're not looking at starting the project if awarded until probably this time next year. Um, you know, maybe even going into late 2026. Um, so I think that's everything we have. Thank you, Sam. Board members, Tom, do you want to start up? Yeah, thank you. Um, um, Sam, Tina, thank you very much. I mean, I I think just stepping back and taking the 20,000 foot view like I think this is a great concept. um our environment is obviously a driver of our economy and you know understanding

022what we have here is is critical to you know what we kind of prioritize to preserve and and what our future strategy is for doing so. Um you know I I think one thing that I I'll start off you know from from the very base I guess I mean is this going to include uh any analysis of soil and water bodies other than those which we currently currently have because obviously as habitats those do you know and and in terms of what can grow our soil kind of types are critical as well related to that you know the the evolution of the invasives um when you're doing the inventory you might find you know the absence of some plants um you know for example when I was up at the explosure up in northwest woods,

023you have sassifest growing in there, but you don't get that elsewhere in our woodlands because the deer destroy it as soon as it kind of pops up. So, you know, how would that be accounted for? The species that have been unable to kind of come up in our inventory here and what what might be the most beneficial uh to our environment here. Um, you know, my other thoughts here as well would just be, you know, obviously Andy Gates did the excellent um town version of the states of the forests out here. You know, the incorporation of that as much as possible going back to SAS forest, I think would be very helpful. Um, it's something I I'm very supportive of. I think it's a great concept. I think if we're going to make good decisions,

024having good data that underlies that is critical. Um, I just kind of want to make sure we're really getting as deep as we can on this, which is why I go back to the point about the soil and the water bodies because understanding what our soil types are and what the health of the soils is, I think would be critical in terms of, you know, what the floren for come up. Tina. Um, so the work plan we put together does have a draft outline of the NRI and it would include, you know, what watershed um, mapping we have, what soils, geology information we have, slopes, right? One of the things this is really trying to do, we do have a lot of data and we want to really bring it together in a way that

025becomes a more powerful decision-making tool than than having things in different places or incomplete information. So definitely that would be part of the scope and I agree you know it is an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the broader picture in terms of the detailed of the habitat characterizations like that's an interesting thing that we've focused a lot about you know while we're trying to plan this grant and it's something we definitely want the PAC to inform the thinking on. We will not be able to do fieldwork that does detailed characterizations of the town like in in its total because it would just be too expensive. But we do want to pick key areas to do those characterizations, areas that will allow us to make broader characterizations of the habitat and and see what's

026going on, you know. So, I'm sure we will pick areas in Northwest Woods to kind of examine, okay, what what is happening with the woodlands over time. Um, so, you know, I think we will address that and how detailed we get is really something we'll work with the experts um once we convene the PAC to to dive into. Great. Thank you. So that on to what Tom was saying, I think he was talking about the deer exlosure and Tom recently visited there maybe with the wildlife management committee. I think that's been up for about three years and we've been looking to put in different deer exlosures into different locations in different uh different environmental settings. That one was more of a woodland setting up there. God bless you. Uh but it was it one going

027to be in the maritime forest, one's one going to be the dueland forest to see what deer brows has done to some of our our vegetation and too and it's pretty significant as you as you saw there. uh at Mashamic Preserve I think they did two hectares we did a quarter acre uh this to try to show that so it' be very interesting to potentially if there is an add-on to this in a later time to bring it back to it but going forward to this the mechanisms of the grant a CFA grant does not mean that you're by applying one that you're going to receive it and I know that your department and specifically looking at Brian here been requesting some of this for a long long time I think it's very wise of

028the department to move forward in a consolidation of all the information there to put it forward because it does help the residents know when they're planning uh prospectively planning some of their projects what some of the faunas and triggers might be for different uh different regulations that the town might have. Um, last year I know we applied for a CFA grant that wasn't successful, but Sam, thank you for your time and effort. Um, and that was for cemetery restoration the south end cemetery. Kate, you were very successful with your coastal uh communities uh grant uh that is moving forward also. And I believe we also received a CFA grant for that was 600,000. We received one for 400,000 for the aquaculture uh department consolidation project a bunch of years back. They're still moving on then

029too. So just trying to manage expectations on there. We apply for it. We might not know but those letters of support. There are people here listening are very helpful on that because it's a very highly competitive grant. Um moving that ahead. There's a match to this and the match you said by staff hour. Did they say what the match was going to be financially or is it just through staff hours? So it's um 50% of the total project cost. Um, so we're thinking the cost might be in the range of 150 to 175,000. So it would have to be that equivalent of staff hours. Um, and we use an hourly rate with our fringe. So different employees have different rates, which is a lot of time for the department also, but I think very valuable

030also. And that's something I would support then too. So I think what you're asking right now is you put a lot of effort into it. I think it's a strong application based on what the town already has in a lot of his comp plans and such. It will put our regulatory boards in a better footing to defend uh uh litigation against that and also to write applications that are super strong very super strong shouldn't say super but that that are justified on there. Uh and if you're looking for the okay to move forward it's a definite for me too. Thank you. Thanks David Ian. Yeah I'm certainly supportive as well. I would reiterate the comments of the previous council members. Um, and and Tina, I appreciate the a big part of this and Sam is

031to take the existing information and bring it in one place so that we can be more efficient in our decision-m and consistent. Um, I think there's a lot of information, a lot that's already been done, but to have that all in one place so that when we're analyzing our natural resources, we we know where to look. Um, and obviously that'll lead to filling in gaps as well. So, I'm I'm supportive. I think our natural resources are amongst the most important things of our town um that keep it beautiful, keep it thriving. And so I I look forward to see where this goes. Thank you. Uh I'm totally supportive as you know. Um I think you this has been on the radar for quite a long time. It it'll modernize our system as well. Um and

032uh you know our natural resources are impacted and we need to have a um a indepth look of how they've been impacted and correlate that data so that we know that moving forward. Um, as far as grants, as you know, we've been uh the state has said, "Please apply for an update to your 20-year-old LWRP." And if we all the folks who put their time into that LWRP, we're one of the few towns that have it, we wouldn't have accessed any of these other grants. So, we all know how important all of these pieces are to the overall health of looking at after our natural resources. Um I am uh really pleased to see in the draft actionable strategies. So um whenever we do these studies now I think we've done so many studies in

033the past that we completed them we were excited about them but what what were the actionable deliverables that we could make definitive changes and now uh including that in your strategy is excellent. And uh lastly I'll just say that um it's really nice to get the grants. If you don't ask, you don't get, as Kathy frequently says. Um, but also it it makes me happy to bring some of our hardened tax dollars back into the town in one way or another because we fund all of this, right, ultimately. So, I thank you for your work on this and I'm a definite yes as well. And just knowing that we've applied for grants in the past, the 29th might be a little late. You might want to try to get in there earlier if you can.

034And if you're prepared with a strong application, then to knowing that that portal has crashed in the past, too. But you're you're very aware of that too. Thank you so much. Thank you. Um if I think there are I don't know there might be a seat or two if you're standing. Um we have a quite a packed house today which is great to see with these important environmental presentations on the board. Um so next we'll move into the uh salt marsh sparrows and acabonic harbor presentation. Another one dear to my heart. Um and Brian Frank is presenting. Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Ann Marie. Good morning, board members. Brian Frank, assistant planning director. I'm going to be up here uh very uh briefly. I going to really introduce the the real expert, but to kind

035of set the stage a little bit as um I'm sure the board knows, uh salt marshes are among the most productive and important habitats on the planet. Uh they are up there with coral reefs and rainforest in terms of biodiversity, carbon sequestration, um nursery areas for um uh important uh species of shellfish and finfish that we harvest indirectly. They support um a myriad of other um life species. They help buffer our shoreline from wave action and protect against erosion. And um they're really a jewel. Um, Akabonic Harbor has been described uh as the jewel of springs and um it's a great example of one of our local salt marshes and the marshes are under pressure right now up and down the east coast between um rising sea levels and air and often um historic manipulations

036that have kind of changed um the hydraology of a natural marsh. Um there is marsh subsidance. So the the water levels are rising and in some cases um the marshes are simultaneously sinking and that uh spells trouble in the long term. Uh the planning department has had the privilege of being um in invited to um participate with a group of experts um since uh 2022. Um the Nature Conservancy has been a big hub for that. Uh the workshops have been hosted at the conservy's office. They've involved fieldwork out on Aabonic Harbor. Um again dating back to 2022. Uh the most recent was uh just this spring in May. Um it has grown to include uh elected members of East Hampton's board of trustees at this most recent workshop. There were representatives there from the Pakconic

037estuary program, New York State Crant and our own county legislator um and Welker uh attended for um uh at least one of the days um in in this program. Um part of the reason that we're here today is to discuss the role of the salt marsh sparrow and how the sparrow's life cycle is an indicator of marsh health. And um with that, I'd like to introduce uh the the real expert um to to to share with you what's been going on in Akabonic and a request involving banding, and that's uh Dr. Nicole Maher from the uh Nature Conservancy. Thank you, Brian. Thank you. Welcome, Dr. Mayor. Thank you very much, Brian. Thank you, town board members and all of you for your interest in being here today. Um, I want to I'll build on what

038Brian so um perfectly described as a sort of a restoration assessment and and project that's been building in Aabonic Harbor uh since the a group that I'll introduce called the Smart Teams started looking at the the marsh in Akabanic Harbor in 2022. But I've actually been measuring how um the marsh in Aabonic Harbor is keeping up with sea level rise since 2008. And the news there is it's not keeping up. But we have the opportunity to switch that elevation trajectory from negative to positive because we've learned that it's so the way the plants are growing. And so fixing the hydrarology, fixing the way water comes into and out of the harbor and the growing conditions for the plants can really set this jewel of Aabonic Harbor on the right trajectory for the future. So do

039I advance slides from here or Amry will help you. Yes, thank you. So, um, I've been working with a a a group of experts called the SMART teams, and that's an acronym that stands for salt marsh adaptation resiliency teams. And these are a um a partnership of practitioners, scientists, agency personnel working together to develop so holistic restoration approaches that restore hydraology by working with nature to improve the resilience of tidal marshes impacted by relicked agricultural features. And this is an appreciation that we have only recently developed that the first time that we people manipulated the way water moved into and out of our salt marshes was not when the linear mosquito ditches were done. But back starting in the 1600s, Aabonic Harbor was a big sort of agricultural center for especially for cattle. And there

040the more we look, the more we can see sort of the remnants of those manipulations that were made then. And that made the val the marshes really valuable to people of springs then because they could increase the productivity of the salt hay and grow English hay for their um their livestock. um but also grow ve probably we're still looking for some of the history on growing vegetables for human consumption and definitely raising cattle. There are still remnants of the embankments and some of the log roads that are out in Akabonic from that time. And so with this appreciation we can do restoration of the natural processes in the harbor with by sort of restoring the natur the way water moves into and out of these systems. Here's the next slide. So the the goals for

041the restoration in Aabonic Harbor are multiple. They're to efficiently restore ecosystem function, change that elevation trajectory from negative to positive so the marsh can keep up with sea level rise to facilitate marsh migration so that the marsh can persist into the future and something that's probably very important to many of you in the room to reduce the mosquito production and pesticide application in the harbor. um that um to support at risk wildlife species like the salt mar sparrow that we'll talk about today and promote climate adaptation forward. So, um the screen is a little small for everyone in this room to see, but we are working to develop uh light touch restoration approaches for all of the publicly accessible portions of Aabonic Harbor that are colorcoded in this map here with the properties in red

042are owned by the town of East Hampton, in blue by the Nature Conservancy, in yellow by Suffach County, and that tiny little mitten-shaped parcel in the bottom in the lower uh southeastern corner New York State DEEC. Um and so we've got there are lots of wonderful reasons to restore natural function of this harbor so that it can continue to provide all of those services that Brian detailed including fueling our coastal food web and supporting wildlife species, attenuating wave energy, uh cycling our nutrients, keeping um filtering our water, and providing long-term support for wildlife. And so that's what I want to focus on today. Um, Akabana Carver, the list that I have here that's a little hard to read is that, you know, Aabana Carver has a lot going for it in terms of the support

043of the people, the agencies around it, and um, the Monday morning mosquito samplers that are led by well, I think I have them on the next slide have really informed a lot of the way the mon the the natural processes are functioning in the harbor. Here's a picture of a Monday morning mosquito sampler. Those all of those red dots on the map are places where these brave U volunteers went out and dipped for mosquito larve to so that they could in real time map where mosquitoes were breeding and communicate that to Suffach County Vector Control in real time so that their spray decisions each week could be informed by data on the ground. And by doing this, they were able to reduce the amount of pesticides sprayed and the frequency of spraying and the acreages

044that they sprayed by up to 90% because just having that real-time data with the the input of these brave volunteers who went out really early on Monday mornings really dramatically reduced the um the pesticide spraying. It saved the county tens of thousands of dollars. It increase the transparency between residents and the county vector control of how they were making their decisions. And um so already that program has been a huge success. But something else that it did is it revealed that there are still some persistent mosquito-breeding hotspots in the upper reaches of the the marsh that have now are are being formed because of relicked agricultural embankments. And so those persistent hotspots that still produce mosquitoes are informing our designs for the restoration plans that we will put before the board in the coming months.

045The next slide. And one character who really depends on us getting this right is the salt marsh sparrow. So these tiny little uh brown song birds are endemic to the east coast of the US. They exist nowhere else in the world. They um they breed up here in northern marshes in the summer and then they overwinter in marshes on the south coast of the US in the winter. And they are such extreme tidal salt marsh specialists. They even build their nests in the intertidal zone. And so they've got evolutionary adaptations that allow them to do this. One of which is that the pores on the eggshell are really fine. So unlike your the chicken eggs that you buy at the store from your backyard chickens, these eggs can actually be immersed in salt water for

046a couple hours and still survive. So as long as the tide doesn't come up so high that it pushes the eggs up over the cup of the nest, the um the the eggs can survive that tidal inundation. So they build their nest. They queue in on the species of grasses in the marsh that should tell them how frequently that area floods. and they tend to build their marshes and their nests in what we call the high marsh. So the part of the marsh that gets typically gets flooded just at new moons and full moons. So those what we call spring high tides. Um but things are getting harder for the birds and their populations are declining across their entire range. In fact, there's only one population of salt marsh sparrows that are keeping their population

047steady and that's um off the coast of Chattam, Massachusetts on Monoy Island. Everywhere else in their whole range, their numbers are decreasing. But here in Akabonic Harbor, we're fortunate. We have bre successful breeding populations of sparrows. So we have an opportunity to help them be more successful here in Akabonic. Let's see what I have on the next slide. Oh, so yes. So we have a breeding population of sparrows here in Aabonic Harbor. Over the last few years, we've been netting and banding and releasing these birds on TNC owned properties. And this little chick um was from the Merrill Lake Sanctuary where I was actually netting this morning. This um chick we captured and banded two years ago and this is really sort of great sort of proof that Akabonic Harbor is a successful marsh for

048these birds. And because they are such specialists, success for these birds is a really good indicator of success of all of the other things we want our marshes to do for us. whether it's sequestering carbon, cycling nutrients, attenuating wave energy, etc. Um, so we like to say that these sparrows are the canary in the coal mine. And so you can see that this is a a hatchling bird um from 2023 because of those yellow lines on its beak. So that when it opens its mouth in its nest, there's like a yellow target that tells the mommy bird, "Put food here." So next, next slide. So this morning um while waiting for slides to advance, we caught four five birds this morning. One of them was a recapture was a male and the other three were

049males that we had not captured before. Um you want to scroll through this one? You can talk to it. That helps you. Oh, sure. Okay. I sliding. All right. So talk more about the title. Thank you very much. Title marsh field um work that we're doing in Akabonic Harbor. You can slide to the next. Great. So this slide actually captures something I had said before. This is their entire range on the entire globe from um Maine down around uh the coast of Florida and in green where we are here on Long Island. They are breeding here in the summer and then they overwinter on marshes um in the south. And they're so sightsp specific that if a female bird is successful with her nest in Akabana Harbor, the next year she'll return and she will

050build her nest within a couple meters of that same spot. And if she wasn't successful, she'll still come back to Akabana Harbor and look around and try a new spot. You can go to the next slide. That's one reason why when we're putting on these bands, it's like giving them bracelets with unique ID numbers. when they're caught again, we can figure out who they are, how old they are, where they've been. Great. So, this cartoon shows sort of some of those um specific so how specific the salt mar sparrow breeding and nesting cycle is to the tides. So, the bars that go up and down is sort of a month-long uh tidal cycle. So, you can see the highest high tides happen at the new moon and at the full moon. And these birds have

051evolved so that they need just 23 days between those highest high tides. That's enough time as long as we don't get a storm event um in in there for them to lay a clutch of eggs and then hatch and and uh fledge those chicks. Go to the next slide. So this is a movie. I don't know if you click on that, will it play the movie? Not sure. Don't think so. I think it's a PDF. So yeah, I will describe it to you and I can send a video the movie to the board members. So this is a nest at hash at in an assault marsh in Connecticut that my research partner Dr. Sam Apgar found and filmed. You can see there are four little eggs in that nest and you can start to see

052there's already water in that nest. The movie is over a few hours but it's sped up so that you can see it in less than a minute. The water comes up, the eggs float and bob around, but the water doesn't come up so much that it pushes the eggs out of the nest. And within five minutes of the tide receding, mommy bird comes back, sits on the eggs, and all of them survive. So, we can go to the here. Um, you can slide through this. This is just sort of walking through doesn't work as well if it doesn't if it isn't animated. So, how how the life cycle and go to the next one. So here that the point of that graphic was just that our climate models, habitat models, and population models for these

053birds all say that they could be extinct by as early as the 2030s or by the 2050s. And so what we're trying to do is figure out where they're being successful. Can our light touch restoration approaches to fixing the natural psych natural processes in the marsh help these birds be more successful into the future? So the specific restoration questions we're asking are are salt marsh sparrows present and breeding at the site and at Akabonic Harbor we already know that yes on the TNC owned properties at Kaplan Meadows in the north and Melo Lake sanctuary in central part of the harbor they are breeding and in two years ago we caught chicks at each of those sites. And where are they breeding? So recently um when one of the workshops that Brian described where we had

054um folks who are thinking about restoration and Aavonic out, they were at the East Hampton Town properties just south of Gerard Drive in the northern part of the harbor and Brian and a few others spotted some salt marsh sparrows there flitting around. So, we would like to go out there and net to sort of catch those birds, take some measurements on them, put some bracelets on them with with ID numbers so that we can follow them and see if they're successfully breeding on the East Hampton Town Marsh properties, too. Slide up. So, regionwide questions about these birds is, do they return to previously unoccupied marsh sites? So once if a site has been has deteriorated to the point where it can't support birds, we want to know are the birds still exploring to say did

055it get better yet? Can I go back there? Um and having these ID bands on them and misnetting in various places, we'll be able to track where the birds are. And then does salt marsh sparrow productivity increase after restoration? This is something we're really hoping for that if we can increase the restore the natural process in the in the habit in the habitat in the salt marsh in Akabonic Harbor can we increase the productivity of the birds and the population that's already there and based on which restoration techniques and how long does it take next um so you can slide the next slide this would have animated the the netting that we do takes only three hours and we do it two times times in a season. And this is we know that even just

056doing that little amount of sampling can give us a lot more information because there were graduate students in Connecticut who went out and followed nests and would go out and monitor nests every couple days for a for a whole year for a number of years. And this is a statistically significant relationship between the number of birds, the females and chicks that we collect with just within just 3 hours of misnetting them relates to the daily nest survival pro and probability of survival of the population. So that we don't have to do that really intensive sampling to get the information that we're after just the the threehour long netting sessions. So next, this shows a map of uh the priority and honorable mention sites across Long Island. And you see some of the shore of Connecticut

057that the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture and Fish and Wildlife Service have identified as priority habitats for the salt marsh sparrow and Aabonic Harbor on there as well as Napig State Park Marsh are on the the top priority list. Slide to next. Um these are some of the the groups that have put together the monitoring protocols for monitoring the birds. Ducks Unlimited Sharp is the Salt Marsh Salt Marsh habitat aven research program based out of Connecticut. I actually don't recognize that. Oh, that Oh, that must be the Atlantic Coast joint venture logo and US Fish and Wildlife. Next one. So, these are the different levels of intensity of sampling. You can just go out and sort of look with binoculars and you can see if there are birds there or not. But because the males and

058females look the same, you can't tell if you're seeing both males and females on the site or if you're seeing just males. So the next level of intensity is watching for longer and seeing if the birds carry insects or fecal sacks. It's like taking out the dirty diaper from the nest. Then you know that the the birds are breeding and that there are chicks in the nest. What's interesting about sparrows is that some other birds will sort of collect insects or nest material and show show it off to potential mates as sort of part of a courting behavior. But in salt marsh sparrows, only the females build the nest and only the females f feed the chicks. So if you see a salt marsh sparrow carrying a spider in the marsh and flying it to

059a nest, you know she's got chicks, which is great. Um and then so misnetting to count the number of females and juveniles you catch in three hours is the next level of of of effort to get um sampling data. And then the most intensive is finding nests and then following them every couple days. And so that we're not proposing to do that unless we happen to see a nest on the site, but we are looking to do more three-hour misnetting banding. See what's next. Um we can go past this. It's just about that point. Then this is an is an empty slide by mistake. Um so the misnetting the way the misnetting works is it's three hours of a fixed effort putting out nets that are almost invisible to the birds. Um and we um

060go out and we will like a persane net. We're a human person. It will have a ch a line of people that will walk through the marsh and flush the birds out of the grasses and hopefully into the net where they sort of hang like they're in a little hammock and we can remove them, take some measurements, put that band like a bracelet on them and release them unharmed. Um we've been doing this in Akabana Harbor in um the Merrill Lake Sanctuary and Kaplan Meadows for a number of years now. On so this is our proposal. We because we have seen birds up near Gerard Drive in that section of marsh that's owned by the town of East Hampton. We would like permission permission to net and measure and band and release birds there. You

061go to the next slide. Um, this is where sort of we've been looking for birds. So far, the most abundant birds have been at Merrill Lake and the Kaplan Meadows Sanctuary, but that is also admittedly where we've been spending our time. So, it would be great to know uh get an estimate of how many birds are up at the East Hampton owned marshes in the north and whether they're actively and successfully breeding there. Next slide. Um I don't know if on your PDF if you can you try to click on that link. It's a five minute video put together by the um Kovet lab at UNH. No maybe if you want to watch a five-minute video. You can see it here. Um this shows the process of misnetting where these nets are bigger than we

062would use. We use only a six panel net. Um, and this video I think describes also taking blood samples, but we're not doing that. Um, here. Can you, if you click on the square on the bottom right, would that make the Yeah. full screen. Yeah. On the where the movie's playing in the uh in the There you go. There you go. Click that. Yeah. And it's pro the there is a narrator talking, but I can just talk you through this. So the the team here is setting up poles because the the marsh pete is so squishy. We had bamboo poles out this morning that we were able to push into the marsh and spread these almost invisible nets out. You can see them as they move um as they're moving them there. Um, and it

063should get to them flushing birds out of the marsh grasses and into the net. Maybe. Um, I think this is so the last this video and then just a question slide is what I had left. But I'm happy to answer any questions that you have either about these birds or the process of misnetting that we'd like that we're proposing to do on the East Hampton Town property. Um, and any questions that I can't answer about the birds, I'm happy to go to my partners who know more about their um, biology than I do and get answers back for you. So, thank you for your for your time. Thank you, doctor. So, Amory, if we could just take this down, I suggest anybody, it's on our town website uh, under town board materials. If you want

064to see more of this video, please uh, you can click on a link that's that will be there. Um, and Amory, can you get us back up? Got last slide feature of a a hatchling from Kaplan Meadows from two years ago. So we had featured hatchlings both from the Merryill Lake Sanctuary in Kaplan Meadows. Thank you so much. And I'm just going to shift and start with Ian as he's the liazison to Springs. Yeah, thank you Nicole and thank you Brian. Um, this is a a very interesting project to me and uh I appreciate this information and Brian and Morgan from natural resources I know participated in the workshop a little while back and were kind enough to to sort of fill me in and go over this and and I learned a lot. Um,

065I often visit the Merryill Lake Sanctuary just because it's a beautiful place and I obviously drive by and walk by salt marshes on dry and and nap peak and I've always appreciated it for the natural beauty. But I'm embarrassed to say that I learned a lot from you, Brian, about the agricultural history there. Um, as well as the mosquito dishes. I didn't know, you know, all of all of that. Um, I knew that they were important natural habitat and and natural resources, but I didn't quite understand the extent of it. And to hear you compare it to rainforests and, you know, other places with biodiversity, um, I just didn't realize that it was it was there was so much there. Um, I'm excit I see some Burer friends of mine in the audience, by the

066way, too. So, I know the salt salt mar sparrow is an exciting species. Um, what excites me most about this project though is I think it's something that through study we can really achieve through small changes achieve real impact. Um, I I understand there's very small embankments or gradients that affect the hydraology and the water flow. um which not only will restore um the habitat and you know provide uh in the natural resources but also as you mentioned help with mosquito problems which is is something we all face. Nobody likes to see sprain but nobody likes to have mosquitoes and so through sort of smart intelligent changes um that I think will be affordable and achievable. We might be able to make a real difference. So I'm I'm fully behind this this project and want

067to support it however I can. Um and just thank you for coming to give this presentation today. Thank you. Toms. Yeah, Dr. Mayor, thank you. It was an excellent presentation. I I enjoyed it and I'll echo Ian's sentiments there that, you know, the agricultural history here is is fascinating. um you know that wetlands and marshes aren't better understood publicly globally as a key indicator of our environmental health and the importance their biodiversity is something that I think we're going to have to continue to educate people on because they they are critical. Um I'm totally supportive of your um additional location suggestion for Gerard Drive. I think that would be an excellent location. My only ask would be is there any way to get Nepadows in there as well? Um, you know, to me that's Nepique

068Harbor is an area I would like more focus on generally and that the Medlands there. I don't know if they are existing sparrow habitats. I would assume so. But, you know, to include those in the study I think would be beneficial as well. Um, but uh just overall I'm very glad that you're pursuing this. I think it's it's an excellent course. Thank you so much. And Nap Peak Meadows, it's a stateowned property. They have given us a permit starting last year, the year before and we've caught lots of sparrows there and the end of the summer last year catching juveniles there. So it is like Aabonic Harbor successfully breeding sparrows and like Aabonic Harbor has some of these old manipulations that with some light tweaking we could sort of improve the habitat even further. And

069so I'm I'm glad that you mentioned your interest in Napake too because it is it is also one of the the priority sites. Great. And that's one of the most beautiful places in the town. I love to drive down that road. And I don't want to and I correct me if I'm wrong here, but my understanding was also that sites were selected that were were, you know, readily achievable. So on a scale to sort of prove a concept and I think the Gerard Drive area um you have a plan in place that you think can work and a proof of concept that will hopefully be expanded I think to all salt marshes in the area if we get permission from property owners. My my only other question for you is I mean aside from the

070habitat degradation and loss, what are the other threats um that are impacting sparrow life cycles? So there was a study a number of years ago looking at their mercury bird in the salt mar sparrows and this was another group where the nature conservancy sampled birds at Merrill Lake and um other marshes across Long Island from the east end in quag at the pine neck sanctuary and hempstead marshes looking at where their where they were picking up mercury and so like you know the the saying mad hatter disease if their mercury burden is enough then they making their brains are impacted. So, they're not making smart decisions and they need to make smart decisions so they can figure out where to nest for the greatest chance of success. Um, so that is one sort of potential

071threat to them, but really the threat to them is nest flooding. Their chicks, their eggs are getting flooded up and over the cups of their their nests because the marsh isn't keeping up with sea level rise. And so it's really the the biggest threat to them even though they have so sometimes mercury burdens their biggest threat is threat from nest failure. And so the re the solution for that is making sure that our marshes the plants in our marshes are growing um really well so they can put out lots of roots and ryomes below ground and and trap sediments and keep up with sea level rise. And if our marshes are healthy, the birds will be successful because we'll still have that high marsh habitat that they need for their narrow west nesting window. And

072that serves us all in terms of attenuating wave energy, cycling nutrients, filtering water. So it's really that that marsh health and flooding frequency are their biggest threats. Have you ever looked at the location of 66 Wcott Main Street? You know, the CPF property was just acquired. There's a significant marsh in there. Um, any thoughts? I'm not sure where. Can you in Wayne Scott on Main Street 66 Main that's pretty much fresh water. Okay. Address may not be there's not salt marsh there. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Salt marsh sparrows really they they're so specialized their name. They they live their entire lives there. Thank you. So there's no other predators to the sparrow. So the re one of the reasons they build their nests in these really what would seem inhabitable places is that they are avoiding

073predators. And I have never found a salt marsh sparrow nest that's in use because they hide them so incredibly well. These are tiny little birds and they require the old thatch or the the grasses from last year that are still dry and in the marsh and they weave them together and they make a little tiny nest cup that they suspend in the marsh grasses so it's just off the surface of the marsh platform and then if there's extra tall grasses around they will weave them like a hood over the top of the of their tiny little nest. And so it prevents and because they're all the way out in the marsh, they're not they do not like to nest under trees or generally not even under tall iva or so um ground bush bushes because

074they don't want predators to be able to see them. So they are their adaptations are to prevent them from being prey to predators. So I couple questions if you don't mind. So the um Susan McGraw Kever is probably individual you've also worked with a lot of the town trustees. We have a town trustee here also. I think there's also some trustee land in in in that peak. You can probably contact them as far as the creek in the Bonnet Creek is what a lot of us call it in Springs. Very familiar with that in the cuoid path you're discussing. So, um you're asking for just access to the town properties for some of the uh some of this tagging and is eventually are you going to be looking at trying to remove some of the

075vector control ditches? What are what what's the next step from this? The next step is removing some of those excessive what you think of as mosquito ditches that were probably even before they were mosquito ditches, they were agricultural ditches. and we've got um plans in the works that our contractor is supposed to be putting together as a as a permitting package to put in front of you and I'm happy to come back and talk about some of the techniques that we would use. So in terms of removing some of the um vector control or mosquito ditches, we use a technique that we call ditch remediation. And it's basically healing the pete from the bottom up by mowing and raking some of the grasses at the end of the growing season and blowing them down into

076the ditch to form sort of a a fabric or a network and then holding those there with twine and stakes. And then as the tide comes in and goes out, those that network of grasses from last year are trapping sediments and helping those ditches repair themselves from the bottom up by regrowing pete, marsh pete, marsh soils from the bottom up. And that will not only improve the aesthetics of the marsh because you won't have all of those linear mosquito ditches out there, but it forces the tide through just the identified main channels. And by forcing all of the energy of the tide through fewer channels and few fewer channels and dendritic pathways, it keeps the sediments in the suspended sediments in suspension in the water as the tide comes in and helps deposit those sediments

077on the surface of the marsh so that the marsh platform can keep up. And um that's sort of one of the light touch approaches that we are proposing for restoring the health of the marsh at Akavana Harbor. It's probably the best I've ever heard it explained to be honest. It's the one of the best I've ever heard explained how to actually get rid of the vector control ditches in the past. They put sandbags in there and they just try to stop it. But by trying to uh trying to desetle the the very fine sediments that will come in with the tides and try to build it up naturally on there then too. That's probably the best I've heard it explained to me in 25 years. Oh, thank you. Well, I'm happy to come back with

078pictures to show you how it's worked in other places as well. But that that's the idea. Yeah. So, Aquaponic Protection Committee, Glenn Vincent and them you probably been in contact with also down there also. They do a great job there. I know the town has been, you know, being able to purchase other properties uh working with Marian and others in the locations of the Maloney property uh down by the Nancy Kelly preserve also there then too. So over overall I agree with Ian and everyone else that they're saying about using town property for this because again it allows you to have more justification for the next steps for the health of that harbor. Uh you could see how the channel was changed you know back in 38 nearly 100 years ago and how uh you

079know they had to dredge that those locations and sometimes uh you know on the sand spits out there in the mud flats they'll they'll grow but they'll eb and go with different file touches tidal flushes but what you'll see deep in there right now is there's a lot of standing water and I think one of the benefits of this if you get rid of that standing water back in the tidal marshes you'll get rid of that mosquito larvi And some of the scariest things you see down there is if you're with your kids is when the helicopter comes over top of spray. It's loud. It's close. It's it's frightening. So, if there's one of the and I understand what they're doing and they alert you, but if there's if this is a step that we

080can get to decreasing that or removing that from what we're used to, uh I I'm completely supportive of that. That's very much what we're hoping that certainly having that real-time data decrease the frequency of that helicopter coming and spraying and disturbing. Um, and it's been able to do that without any increase in public health uh threats. So, that's been wonderful. And then if we can get do the restore the hydraology and the water movement to get rid of these last remaining persistent hot spots, the upper reaches of the marsh, that would be that would be fantastic. Thank you very presentation. So, um I'm just going to agree with my colleagues, um and just let folks know there was a I had a draft resolution on for an agreement to allow this project to happen. Um

081that'll be on for today. Um but I also um uh one of the first groups I joined uh 20 years ago was uh a protection committee and at that time the founder was Seal DS who was a wealth of information on on all things acic and it's my understanding that besides the agricultural uh uses that were those ditches were for it was a WPA project um simply to give folks work uh back in the Roosevelt times. Um, and so these ditches kind of were to put people to work rather than based on some kind of science that that and of course they they're doing more harm than good. We know that now. Um, so any efforts to remediate that the the quest to do that has been going on for at least 20 years that

082I know of. So this is a wonderful uh to see this moving forward. And I did have the same question as Tom regarding the decline along the east coast. And uh so what I understand and what I was looking for is it seems like sea level rise is is playing a significant role here. And this is why it's important to have these studies not just to for the specific species but it's through these studies that you know don't have the topic uh sea level rise in it. Just like how we learned about the climate crisis globally. when you have these independent studies going on that are showing impacts to species that the question of sea level rise wasn't in it to begin with or looking for it is how we came to these conclusions about

083these impacts. So it's important on so many levels and I really thank you and your team and for your wonderful presentation today and for educating us. Thank you. Well, we're all still learning. And so when I put out my monitoring stations to monitor how Akabotic Harbor was keeping pace with sea level rise or not back in 2008, I didn't have an appreciation of the farming history out here. And so all of our marsh migration models, many of you may have heard of SLAM models before, all of those models are based on data from stations like mine that are monitoring how the marsh is growing, but it's growing under these modified conditions. And so I am optimistic that if we can fix the growing conditions in these areas that you know of our marshes that we

084will be able to do better keeping up with sea level rise because we were monitoring marshes under sort of hampered conditions not appreciating these uh historical manipulations that are impacting the growing conditions of the vegetation on those plots. So, I'm I'm optimistic that with these light touches, we'll be able to help the marshes keep up with sea level rise, support the birds, and do everything else we want them to do for us. Thank you so much for the optimism. There's nothing better than that. And if you don't if you don't mind, deputy supervisor. So, um, just like the Montalk Library is a wealth of historical knowledge to all things MTalk, the Eastampton Historical Society does a winter lecture series. And about 15 years ago, Bob Hefner gave a lecture on the original 13 families of

085East Hampton and how the families were divided onto Main Street uh from the Gardeners to the Bule, Samuel Bule. And then they got they got properties that are beyond the eastern plains, the western plains and akabana creek on there for the original Bonikers that are up there because salt hay is a commodity back in the day and that's why you had corduroid paths there. So you can get them on LTV and such. It's just a great history how East Santo was formed in the colonial days and how it was split off for each other's benefits then too and that's why there's there was the townage farm lane there's a farm dairy farm in all those areas there's a lot lot of history to aabonic uh and it's nice to try to bring that back in

086through uh discussions like this too I would love to learn more about that Diana Tinkenin sent me some resources from the Springs Historical Society or library but I know that there's a treasure trove more out there so I'd love to learn more thank you so Thank you. Okay, next. Nicole, you had mentioned that. Jim, if you want to speak, why don't you come up to the podium? This way folks at home can hear you as well. Kind of. It's like a ghost. Well, we we want folks at home to hear you. Jim Nicole, thank you. And I don't know whether you're aware. I So, Jim, could you just tell everybody who you are? I know everyone here knows who Jim Grimes. Jim is a Jim, you're being facitious. Jim is a town trustee and I

087just want to make sure everybody here and at home knows that. Are you familiar with the work that DU's involved in up in Maine elevating the salt marshes up there specifically targeting providing better habitat for the salt marsh sparrow. There are definitely projects um happening in Maine and Massachusetts where they're building sort of um elevated habitat island. So if digging a drainage channel like a runel putting that material onto the salt mar to create a local high area and the willlets have already found them and willlets are building their nests there. We haven't had any salt mar sparrows build on those microtopography sort of habitat islands yet. We need to figure out what's the optimum size. And so there there there are smart people studying that um to try to figure out um to optimize

088the the height and dimensions of those habitat microtopography habitat islands. The floating islands don't work, but the so they're doing it they're doing it as part of a restoration project specifically targeting as the name implies ducks. But the collateral uh benefits that they're hoping for is the salt mar sparrow. You know, DU is one of those organizations that it's a bunch of hunters, but they do more for wetland restoration and conservation than a whole lot of organizations do combined. you know, up in New Brunswick, they've, you know, my family was very involved in agricultural work in marshes going back to the 1600s as to reimp rebuilding or re-establishing these marshes that were impoundments at one point, you know, because what they did is we didn't have them here, the little abatto, the one-way valves that

089drained the marsh and allowed the fresh water to go out and blocked the salt water to come in. I don't think they did that here, but you know, that was a long history up in New Brunswick and they're basically fixing what was done. They're rebuilding fish ladders that no longer function properly, things like that. So, anyway, thank you, Jim. Thanks so much. Thanks, Jim. There's a lot of history out here, verbal histories that that make it even more exciting uh to talk to people like Jim just gave us. So, thank you so much. I appreciate your presentation. Next up, next up we have CCOM Save Montalk's water uh campaign with Kate Tyler and Rebecca Holloway. Welcome ladies. Hi guys. You and would you just I know everyone in the room knows you but just introduce

090yourselves for folks watching. Thanks. And there are a lot of folks watching. People will be surprised. Good afternoon, town board members. Um I'm Kay Tyler, executive director of ex uh concerned citizens of Montalk. I'm here with Rebecca Holloway, who is our um advocacy uh manager and scientist on Zach. We're here to present the save Montalk's water campaign. Thank you to our community for your show of support here today. Um, also thank you to CCM board members who are here as well um in the audience and to the town board for the opportunity to present this to everyone here. Um, this is not a new effort but a necessary one. We'll go through the following topics. Goals of Save Monttox Waters campaign, the need for this. What our outreach to the community looks like. what the

091Fort Pond study will look like and accomplish. Who are our partners? What grant funding is available to our community? Summary and outcome of our campaign. Great. All right. Thank you, Kay. Um, and again, thank you, Deputy Supervisor Rogers and Council members for having us today and the opportunity to present. And I'm Rebecca Callway and thanks for the introduction. So this slide um here jumping in is pretty full but it is a breakdown of the nitty-gritty of our campaign and its core goals and I will go through the necessary overview now. So the save Monttox waters campaign is a targeted water quality initiative. Uh it's rooted in sight specific outreach engagement and science. The campaign is twofolds. That's the twofold excuse me the two columns. So the first in the left column there um CCOM will

092provide educational programming to the community. Um, first CCUM will assist in amplifying existing town outreach related to town of East Hampton's septic incentive program, SIP, as well as well as available town water quality improvement project funds available under chapter 112 of East Hampton Town Code uh section 4 through 6. Uh, 46. Um, I am a voting member of the town water quality technical advisory committee. uh giving me some background as well as colleagues and contacts to speak to these programs. Uh we will also hold four educational events uh ranging from an in-person seminar event similar in nature to last year's coaster resilience event that was held here in Montalk Library um to in-person workshops at the CCOM office here in Montalk uh as well as webinars. Uh next we will promote community awareness and participation

093through a pledge program that we are calling clean water stewards. Uh the definition of stewards in our campaign are homeowners and business owners as well who pledge to take one or more of 10 pollutant reducing steps and advocate for clean water in East Hampton. And the last proposed item listed in the left column there is that we would like to lead educational signage adjacent to Fort Pond. Uh the contents are yet to be designed but can include information focused on what you can do to protect the pond and reduce contaminants going in as well as some interpretive educational components. Um this is all pending town approval and natural resources is listed on the slide but we will have all relevant departments and officials take part as needed in that process. Uh the second half of

094safe Monttox waters is sight specific efforts on problem areas and water bodies identified through uh over 10 years dating back to 2013 of CCOM monitoring in partnership with Surf Rider Foundation Eastern Long Island chapter and now Piconic Baykeeper as well. And these three nonprofit organizations on the east end uh form the uh Eastern Long Island Bluewater Task Force BWTF. Uh and in this slide, this side of the initiative, CCOM has contracted Dr. Chris Stobler of Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Science to take a comprehensive look um never before conducted to this scope as well as an updated uh study to assess Fort Pond. Uh the study has six main objectives uh which are outlined here and I'll speak to these more in later slides. Uh but to start we emphasize that the ultimate

095goal of this study is is solid evidencebacked recommendations for remediation of toxic blue green algae and pathogenic bacteria in the pond. Um that will be cost-effective and longasting. Uh these approaches will be achieved through a robust understanding of the pond system itself and for reporting out results. um that last uh bullet there, an interim oral report will be delivered by Dr. Gobler prior to a final report and the report will provide insight with regard to the most efficient and costeffective approaches for improving conditions. Uh the study will also engage the center for clean water technology to produce approved approaches based on the best available recent data collection. Next slide. So they ask is the town is no stranger to save Monttok's water campaign as CCOM partnered with natural resources a few years ago with save

096the lake save the pond campaign. It's it was to accomplish very similar goals. We asked the town again to partner with CCM on this effort by contributing up to nine hours of natural resource staff time. We also asked the board per for permission to conduct a CCOM commissioned 12 monthsl long study in Fort Pond by Dr. Goldler at Stonybrook University. We'll go through these in detail in some of the later slides. Okay, great. Um, a little background now on Fort Pond. Um, so this is an approximately 100 acre water body uh in the town of Montalk uh in the in Montalk and the town of East Hampton. And it is also, for those who didn't know, it's the second largest freshwater body on Long Island. Um, so as I'm sure you know, and for some

097remember firsthand, um, this pond was historically a very healthy place. Uh, it was full of life. Um it was actually named a significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat. Uh meaning it was specifically designated u by the department of state upon recommendation from the DEC as a habitat rec recognized for its special characteristics including being home to a list of rare species as well as being incredibly biodiverse. So Fort Pond was um for those reasons a destination fishing and recreation hub. Many residents have expressed uh to us in their own words what the pond used to be. And we know that it was also an important water waterfall wintering area uh in the 70s and 80s as well. And for the past decade however we've had a very different story in the pond. uh it's now

098classified as a section 303D impaired water body by the state and this status remains to this day. So Fort Pond of course is central to Montalk and we here have a shared vision in this broom to help remediate this important water body to the unique and valuable uh resource for people and wildlife alike that it once was. Next slide please. So here we highlight why this project is urgently needed. First uh to protect public safety and ecosystem health. Fort Pond's water quality has deteriorated sharply in the last two decades. And what was once a thriving ecosystem now poses risks not only to aquatic life but to our year-round residents and also tens of thousands of visitors who can use it for recreation potentially. and harmful algolooms and toxic alkal blooms have created unsafe conditions for

099swimming and other activities in the pond. Monttok's environment is Monttok's main attraction. Uh this is a quote from the Montalk Chamber of Commerce and we as we all know tourism, recreation and the overall economy depend on clean water. It matters to our community that the swimming portion of the mighty Monttok triathlon had to be cancelled or relocated three times in just five years because of water quality concerns in the pond. And lastly, um we need to understand the threats uh truly to their full extent and as well as apply best solutions. Uh so the thing to emphasize here is that we already have the tools to fix this problem. uh and the proven technology and engineered solutions exist now. Um but we do need sight specific data to guide implementation similar to our last presentation.

100We cannot even on the east coast in that instance apply a one-sizefits-all solution to all of our water bodies. And that's why this work is important. So it means identifying the extent and variation of the contaminant sources in the pond uh which may very well significantly differ across the pond uh wershed. Uh and um we need to determine which which interventions are most appropriate for each individual area. So again a blanket one-sizefits-all approach for remediation is not likely to be effective. And that's what this study is about. laying the groundwork for a smart, targeted, cost-effective, and long-term remediation strategy. So, as a quick recap of the goals I reviewed at the start, this project combines sight specific science with direct community support and in the meanwhile supports implementation of currently known and recommended to date

101solutions. So over the next year, CCOM is collaborating in data collection and project design with the Gobler lab at Stonybrook to conduct a comprehensive study of Fort Pond's water quality. While at the same time, we will continue uh our outreach and education campaign, raising awareness and helping residents uh access existing funding and resources towards the goal of strong community buyin for septic upgrades. Next slide, please. So here is again the description of the outreach side of our campaign which is focused on helping the community take action. Now the first here is that we'll offer one-on-one support to help residents apply for CPF and SIP grants to upgrade their septic systems uh to systems that actually treat waste. Uh and the second year is we'll present four public events that will cover topics like IIA systems

102uh landscaping for clean water and what's next for Fort Pond. And the last point here is that we're doing targeted outreach in the watershed protection district in Fort Pond and in the wider community as well. Uh we're rec recruiting 150 clean water stewards and supporting 50 wastewater system upgrade projects. It's okay for you. So here's what CCOM's outreach plan looks like. It's really small on the screen, but I can walk through it sort of uh rowby row really quickly. Um we intend to have a series of three webinars. Uh the first one we would love the town's help on uh presenting um with Sam Sher presenting a septic application walkthrough. So it's sort of a step-by-step thing for everybody. Um the second one in August will be presented by Dr. Goldbler while he will go

103in depth into what he's doing with his study uh with the 12-month study um of Fort Pond. The third webinar will be sometime in late fall on sustainable land practices so everyone's a little more educated on what we all can do um in our own backyards and our own home and our own everyday lives. Uh we also plan to have a few in-person touch points with the community. So in August we we will designate an openhouse Thursdays for community members to come in as CCM staff personally assist them with their applications. So you not you're not on your own anymore. We're helping everyone get through this process and even help shephering it through um the town, the county, and also the state. Um in September or October, the town and other experts will be invited

104to be a speaker on our panel at the Mont Library filmed by LTV just like our 2024 coastal resiliency in speaker event that we thought was very successful for our community. Um our and then our focus on signing up clean water stewards will start in the fall to sign up um total of 150 stewards. If you want to sign up today, you can. We don't have to wait for the fall, but um Rebecca will walk you through uh what it means to be a steward on the next slide. The campaign will will be included in all of our direct mail letters in social media and on our website and be will be active throughout the year. Okay. And next slide. Um we'll go over our clean water steward pledge. Um so this is the pledge

105um which was adapted from lineup which is the DEC's long long island nitrogen action plan and uh it was also run through draft consultation with our partner change hampton as well. various other um important organizations uh or well-known organizations as well have used um similar adapted plans from that nitrogen action plan as to this one um such as piconic estuary partnership. So they also we've collaborated with them in putting together um this list here. So, um this um in the format in which the pledge will be shared, um these bullets become check boxes where homeowners can select one or more actions to pledge their contribution to clean water in East Hampton. And I'll go through um the steps of the plan. Apologies, it's 10 points long, but um I think it's interesting to or at

106least good to know what's on the plan. Um so for the first um action is to use organic fertilizer or none at all. We have plant native trees flowers and shrubs. Upgrade to an IIA septic system or pump out your existing septic or cesspool. Um next is leave grass clippings on the lawn and bag leaves. Uh always pick up your pet's waste even in your own yard. Uh increase permeable ground around your home. Set mower height at three and a half inches or taller. Redirect downspouts into garden beds. Uh use a commercial car wash instead of washing at home. And lastly, you could add a rain barrel to your yard or garden. And the bonus is to really increase awareness and spread the word to a neighbor to also become a steward in the town.

107So in this slide I'll again highlight a central goal of our contracted study which is to produce clear science-based recommendations that will help guide an effective solution for Fort Pond. Uh Dr. Gobler who directs as well the center for clean water technology uh will bring in his expertise and his team at the research center to identify the best case remediation approach specific to Fort Pond. uh and the results will ultimately support long-term lasting water quality improvement in the pond. And I also want to note that CCOM and the community are involved throughout this process uh of the contracted study. Uh our team uh including local students in our internship program who are actually in the audience today, shout out, will be assisting the Gilbert Lab um by collecting data and delivering samples to Southampton. And

108we'll also host a webinar to keep the community informed uh upfront and create space for dialogue and also continue sharing water quality data in our existing monitoring program to support public health and safe decisions in and on the water. Here I can dive a little bit more into the study and its components. Um so first off, water quality isn't static. uh it can change by the hour and it can be very different even a few meters apart. So both temporally and spatially. Uh our current monitoring with the blue water task force gives us valuable snapshots of water quality but not the full picture. Uh one big example uh temporally is that if it rains on the days after our weekly Monday morning sampling, bacteria levels can spike in that time, making those weekly results that

109we reported out less useful at that point for public safety. This is something we include in our reporting as well. So there are lots more examples for different parameters, water quality parameters that change um within a day durally affecting the conditions of the whole system and potentially conditions that would affect uh uh negative implications such as these blooms. Um one instance is uh dissolved oxygen. So um this study in contrast is comprehensive with continuous monitoring uh provided. Um so we'll have a buoy um that's able to provide live results um so that we can um provide that same resource but to um a more useful degree. Um so that's continuous monitoring um field sampling and experiments uh and high-res mapping. Um we plan to finally get a deep understanding of what's happening in Fort Pont.

110Um, we're testing how uh nutrients, so nitrogen and phosphorus and also temperature influence toxic algolooms and where exactly those sources are uh from land uh sediments. Uh on Long Island, it's shown that contamination can actually be from resuspension of sediments uh in the water body as well. Um we'll be testing subsurface waters and then we'll be testing groundwater as well. So what water is is beneath the ground feeding into the pump in the complex system. So, we're also tackling bacteria. Um, CCOM now records and reports uh frequent exceedences of state health standards in Fort Pond, but the sources remain largely unknown. And this study will use genomic tools to pinpoint those sources of the bacteria. This is called microbial source tracking. So whether it be human, animal or something else uh so that action can

111be targeted. Uh one point of emphasis here before going on is uh it's better not to assume that we know the source of bacterial contamination. So um and at CCOM we do aim to ensure that all of our actions are evidence-based and science fact uh especially larger projects because we know this leads to the most successful solutions. So, Montalk is fortunate to have so many people and groups passionate about saving our environment. Pictured here are two of our dedicated past and present interns, Camille, who's actually here in person today, and Parker, who we also all consider as partners. Here are our our other indispensable partners. Excuse me. In government, from a government perspective, we're joined by the hip with the town, Suffach County, and New York State DEEC. We're dedicated to helping where we can

112and keeping everyone informed. Our science partners are Dr. Goldbler at Stonybrook and Piconic Eststerary Partnership. We regularly work with blue water task force as well. From a community perspective, our clean water stewards are committed and help us spread the word along with Montalk historical society. Mia is here who understand that we must work together to preserve all aspects of Montalk. We'd also like to include third house nature center and change Hampton whom we consult regularly. We ask that the town's natural resource team help assist the campaign in the following areas: meetings, collaboration, and training. Also, updating the water protection district data sheet, which Melissa already started to help us in February this year with some preliminary data. Approximately 31 properties out of 343 have upgraded their septic or are in the process of doing so.

113That's in the waterershed, not just directly fronting the pond. Correct. Yeah. We would like the town to help us open our first webinar with Sam Shur presenting a septic application walkthrough. And in September, October, the town and other experts will be invited to be a speaker on our panel here at the library films by LTV. Next slide, please. I'd like to refresh everyone's memory on how valuable the funding is for septic reimbursement from the town, county, and state. Very substantial. For each septic upgrade, the town typically gives 15,000 and in some cases $20,000. Suffach County gives $15,000 and New York State up to $10,000. I think there's a bill on the floor to increase the state level as well at this point. Yeah, it's a lot of money, guys. Update your septics now. This is

114the time to do it. Um, we'd like to also take a second to clarify how CCM is funding this campaign. We were awarded $30,000 from New York Community Trust, formerly known as LICF, to fund the outreach and education portion of the campaign. The four pond study is funded by CCOM donors. No additional funding will be needed. Great. Thanks, K. So, um we're getting to the close of our presentation where um we'll recap the anticipated outcomes and our goals for the outcomes. Again, this is a one-year um initiative uh specific to Fort Pond as well. Um, but the larger East Hampton community will benefit as well with our outreach. All right. So, in summary, the goals of this campaign are both science-driven and community focused. So, Dr. Gobler will deliver clear evidence-based recommendations for the most

115effective ways to reduce harmful algolooms, bacteria, and nutrient pollution tailored specifically to Fort Pond. and these will guide a long-term durable remediation plan uh and inform um those potential plans for the future. Uh he will also deliver an interim report before the final report um midway through this study period. Um on the community side, we're aiming to engage 150 clean water stewards. Um this metric was uh derived from our previous work with save the lake, save the pond and the potential um uh similar numbers to those that we have engaged in the past. Um and we'll also support 50 wastewater treatment upgrades uh and ultimately see a decrease in inner caucus levels over time. So, we're planning as well bilingual signage at Fort Pond pending town approval. And this will likely take place in the

116latter end of our year-long grant from the trust to keep residents and visitors informed and safe around pond and the next steps. Um, Kate will I also want to acknowledge that there's a lot of people in this room. Laura, you're one of them. Luke, you too. and also our town town people also natural resources done so much work on Fort Pond already so many observations so much knowledge around it we just want to get this all together and solve this problem um that's what we really need to do and we can do it we just need to get together and just share our knowledge um and and just share you know and and bond together um so just circling back to the original ask here to get this going The town's natural resources partnered with

117us a few years ago to accomplish very similar goals. We asked the town again to partner with CCM on this effort by contributing up to 9 hours of natural resource staff time to the campaign. It includes collaboration and training, updating the Ford Pond water protection district data sheet, and participating in one webinar and one in-person speaker event. We also asked the town permission to conduct a CCM commissioned 12-monthlong study in Fort Pond by Dr. Goldbler at Stonybrook University. Thank you very much for the opportunity to present here. Thank you ladies. And just before you step away, I just want to introduce Kim Shaw, our director of environmental protection. That's the natural resources department. Uh and that uh the ask is for nine hours of staff time from June to October 2025. Kim, do you want

118to come up and say anything? Thanks, guys. Hi, Kim Shaw. Uh, yeah, no, we're definitely supportive of this. We worked with CCOM several years ago. We kicked it off. We had like coffee and donuts and invited people into the office in downtown Montalk. Was really successful and we're prepared to do it again. Um, we've been reaching out to different homeowners associations, environmental groups, and these guys were the first one to step up and say, "Yeah, let's do it again." So, we're there for them. Can we do the coffee and donuts again? I was going to say that. It's always good to start with coffee and donuts. Thank you, Kim. Sure. Thanks. Um, so Jim, just let's Can we just go around here? When you can open up Well, usually we don't, but I'll uh make

119an exception for you as a town trustee. Hold on. No interest. So, so yeah, look, I mean, firstly, CCOM, thank you. It's an incredible organization. Um, I think it's been at the forefront of protecting MTOK's environment over the last few decades. Um, you know, often leading the way where others have failed. Um, I also want to welcome there's a new president of the organization, Jesse James, who I've had the fortune of knowing for many years. Jesse, welcome. I I'm I'm certain under your stewardship that it's going to continue its excellent work. Um look, Fort Pond is something those of us who live in MTOK, we drive past, we see it every day. And when you see those images of green water in there, it's it's devastating. Um it it tells you straight off the bat

120that we have a problem. Um you know, we we've looked at many solutions over the years. You know, septic IIA upgrades are are critical. Um, one thing I've been able to do is kind of just looking at GIS mapping and see how many of the properties around the pond actually have IIA upgrades. It's it's not a lot guys. Um, there there's a few in the wershed, but even you heard from the statistics here in the watershed, it's still only about 10% of properties in that watershed have made that change. Um, there is funding there to do it. I I I actively encourage you to do this. Um, this site is, you know, it's environmental. It it's also recreational. We talked about the freshwater fishing there. Um, you know, we one thing that has been on

121my bug be Baron. You know, I I really would like to work with my colleagues to get moving is restoration of the fishing pier out on on Fort Pond. Um, it's fenced off at the moment. It it's its condition is unacceptable. Um, you know, it it's a way for us to encourage future generations to start caring about this water body. Um, it's something we need to do. And Kirk Park as a whole, too. I think there's so much work we can do as a town, as a community to emphasize the importance of the environmental health of this water body. It's something I'd like to do. I think you also call out that this is partnership. It's public. It's private and it's different government entities. I know there was a lot of concern uh in the

122winter period when the state uh did a project to put storm water directly into the the water body itself and you know what impact that might potentially have. It is still of concern. It's something that I, you know, we need to do better with, but there are challenges. Um, you know, any kind of understanding of this geographical area will kind of lead you to realize that it's a low point. Water has to flow here. So, you know, storm water will invariably end up in there. But the more we can do to protect and understand what those impacts are is is critical. Um, you know, I I there's some pieces that are historical design that will be a continued challenge to do. I mean in some areas um you know I'm quite convinced that septic systems

123are probably in the water body itself um just due to the nature of the historical design and you know perhaps prioritization and increased incentivization of those areas where we find potentially higher um pollutant concentrations is something I'd like to to kind of see um in terms of your asks I'm entirely supportive of the natural resources time and for the Dr. Gobbler study. I I think as we we've said with the clover information, we we've said with the sparrow information, look, the more data we have to make these decisions, the better the decisions we make are going to be. So, um, with that, thank you very much, guys. Thank you, Tom. So, for myself, the only couple questions I have would it be for the site locations for any signage? I know we've partnered with the

124floating wetlands on industrial road. Uh, we have a campaign with the highway department to reclaim our rightways. So just we'll coordinate with that uh locations if it's in one of the parks or any other locations and too uh as far as the buoy monitoring that we've done in the past and too as Tom said I think we should do that in more of our waterways and I know the funding is not necessarily there within the CPF law to do so but there's other opportunities to collaborate with NOS's to do so then too and I know Rebecca sits with the water quality technical advisory committee that I lays on also on that too. Um I know that I believe K you're coming to Mont CAC uh in August then too. So it's another layer of the

125outreach to community members that might not be in this room but to the next room and how do you connect to the next room and collaborate together. Tom is correct at 31 individuals that or individuals or properties or business owners that have upgraded their septic system in a watershed of nearly 300. That's not enough. That's not enough. No. and when there's funding out there and knowing that the town is actually one of those individuals and to but we are actively moving forward on upgrading septic systems at Westlake sorry at Comfort Stations Alliance Field uh we're also doing we're prepared with engineering at the Montalk substation in Kirk Park there's options that making sure that we're we're walking the walk now too as far as the town and options there too so please reach out and

126I think that's one of the thing to educate people that it is a process but as far the information that is out there and how to go through the paperwork there individuals including CCOM and the town they're willing to help you uh do that too there because there is a lot of money out there. Um so I'm fully supportive and I thank you for the collaboration in the past and in the future. Yeah, I'm supportive as well. Obviously a cleaner pond is good for all of us and we all want that. You know Dave and Tom and and Kate through the natural resources know more about this the details than than I do. Uh, but I think collaboration is key. Uh, I thank Kim Shaw for her willingness to work and support you and and

127I'm fully supportive of that, uh, for her to represent the town. So, it's an exciting project. Um, you know, there's a lot more of this that can happen, but I think it's a really good place to start and obviously a a need. Uh, one other thought about the septic. Uh, it's great that there's funds available, but what I think people should realize is those funds might not always be available and so, um, there's an opportunity to do it, you know, for the environment and for the betterment of all. um but also financially there's just no guarantee that those um those funds will always be available. So I encourage people and that the quicker we act the quicker things get cleaned up and so just want to put my plug in for that as well. Um

128and thank you very much. Uh I would love to see where this goes and and support it all. Thanks Ann and everyone. I'll just say I'm fully supportive of this uh this uh study. I think it's important to have the data and the numbers and to look for what solutions will work based on those. So the the scientific process is is certainly commendable. Um I agree with uh Ian and I just want to shout out for the town's septic grant program in conjunction with the county and the state. There's as you saw on the slide presented. Uh there's plenty of u funding right now available. You don't have to be in the watershed. Uh these you can apply uh through wherever you live uh to this program while it exists. And Ian's right as my

129father's stay strike while they aren't as hot and don't delay on this because it not only helps our environment but it gives you a brand new septic system. Um so it's a win-win across the board. I want to thank CCOM um K and Rebecca for their work on this and their continuing efforts to uh help us have clean water and a clean environment. Um, I think all of the presentations today showed the importance of protecting our natural resources in every way that we can and not losing them because there it's almost impossible to get them back. Um, so I just want to thank you again for your time and I look forward to uh learning more as the leazison of natural resources poke my head in. So thank you very much. Hey, if you don't

130mind while we have the viewing public, you have some upcoming events. Do you want to present those or let's let the public on TV know? You're so good. Thank you, David. We have our summer suare coming up. It is our fundraiser, our annual one, one annual one for the year at Gurnie Mont Talk on July 17th. And um you know, we have our tickets online. They're 150 um in advance, 175 at the door. It's still the best deal in town um because you get to for two hours dine on seafood. And if seafood's not your thing, we can get something else for you. and cocktails for the full two hours. And the best part of it is that you meet like-minded folks um who are really enthusiastic about protecting our environment. And that really is

131the common thread and it's a real raw raw night. Um it sounds corny, but it really isn't because we all are neighbors to each other. Um and you get to actually meet them in this one night. So please come uh Thursday 7:17. Um I know that there's a board meeting then and I apologize but we'll be there in spirit though. If there's any way you can move it or cancel it please you guys are all invited but thank you thank you very much. A small thing there too as a reminder because we get a little confusion about this but we're an NGO non-governmental. We're also a nonprofit. So this this uh event really is um our biggest event of the year and able to support um CCOM and also enjoy in other members of the

132community. So thanks thanks so much and keep updated on our news items for other events. Thank you. We're going to move on to liaison report. You're invited to stay but if you'd like to leave I'll just take a minute. Oh oh Jim, hang on. Hold up. Hold on. We have another speaker. One we have Jim. Sorry guys, anybody wants to leave, go ahead. I don't have anything good to say. Um, just let the room quieten down. Hi guys, Jim Grimes. I am not here for the East Tam trustees. I'm here representing the pond. Okay. I think the studies that are being proposed, I wholeheartedly as a member of this community support. However, Jim, hold on a second, folks. Guys, can we quieten down please? We have a talker. Thank you. However, we've been studying this

133problem going all the way back to Tony Bullock. Okay, Tony Bullock's administration, we identified at that time 85% of the pollution into Fort Pond was generated by road runoff. Some years later, we updated that study and identified the facts that our septic systems contributed significantly because they sit in groundwater. specifically the business community in downtown Malkque. This problem needs some study but what it really needs is action on the part of this board because you are in a unique situation here in that this is one of the few problems in this town that you are the complete and total owners of most of the ability to solve the problem. Okay. Downtown Malkque desperately needs a wastewater treatment facility. It's been talked about ad nauseium. I know you had plans. So Jim, I'm happy to tell

134you that we have a grant and a working partnership now with Suffach County for that same issue. That is one of the significant contributors, but the major contributor still is the road runoff. Tom, you brought up the fact that that pipe was replaced. That's not a new pipe. That type pipe going into Fort Pond was replaced this year as we have other pipes going into Fort Pond. Second House Road has a pipe going into it. You've got the pipe that leads into it from the very northeasterly corner of the pond which is over the causeway. You have the pipe that cuts across which I forget whether it's Ogdens or Peter's Brook. Okay. All of these pipes are feeding the road runoffs. These spikes in colform counts. They're not coming from the septic systems. They're coming

135from the road runoff. So where's our solutions to this? There's a great opportunity here. Tom, you brought up the fishing pier. It's look that friaking thing has been falling apart since a year after Dave Webb built it. Okay. It was illconceived. It has no design that even relates to to second house or montalk. But you know, Kirk Park, it's predominantly invasive non-native plants at this time. It's a great opportunity use CPF funds to develop a a created um u wetland, okay, to treat that surface water. At which point you could take and pick up that pipe that the state put in this year, run all of that main street water down to second house, create a beautiful wetland, create an elevated handicapped accessible walkway through it to a scaled down fishing pier. I don't like

136the word pier. It sounds too friaking big. call it a dock that you could fish off of and you could truly have some real impacts on the water quality. Redoing septic systems, although it's a good thing, most of the septic systems in the watershed leading to Fort Pond are elevated. They're in straight sand. Even the worst ones function pretty well. It's that downtown area which essentially is teaagging into Fort. So I thank you for your comments, Jim, and that's I think why it's important to do the study. So we actually have science data to back up anything that we're saying. I also uh want to tell you um that uh one of the reasons why it was important to go for the $600,000 grant which uh I'll be talking about in my leazison report that

137is specific for MTalk is to model all of these issues and to plan for a sustainable future and as I told you earlier this is not on specifically East Hampton taxpayers money to fund these this is from state money which you ultimately fund anyway in my opinion. in. But this is why these things are so important for us to be able to gather the science data. I don't think there's a a reason in heck not to um avail of the septic upgrade program. And uh I don't think there's any way that with a more modern system you can help your environment one way or the other. And I really appreciate your comments, Jim. Thank you so much. Yeah, but let's not lose traction to do the right thing. That we never do, Jim. Thank you

138so much. As you know, we all work together. Okay, we're going to move on to lay on reports. I'll just give everybody a minute to skate out if you can do so quietly. It's nice that everybody wants to hear what we what we have to say. [Laughter] Exactly. You can watch it in the tub. If we can just be a little quiet when we're leaving, please. We're still in a meeting. If you want to talk, can you do it outside in the hall? Hey, how are you? Because our our liaison reports are riveting, folks. If we could exit the room quietly, please. Thank you. We got we got Okay, let's move on to liaison reports. Tom. Okay, I'll start the Amigans citizens advisory committee. Reminder, we are meeting uh next Monday, July 14th, and assemblyman

139Tommy John Shioone will be there for that meeting. uh it um we are continuing to work with open gov. Currently we are looking within the planning department at various software and hardware acquisitions for the 2026 budget to facilitate for board usage of the open gov uh plans and also internally the possibility of having um a screen where life-siz plans can actually be reviewed that we could possibly keep more in the meeting rooms. Um it's just something that will So would Steph would the board members have to come in to see if they wish to view them life-size? I mean literally a life-size kind of plan. Yes. But otherwise um the the proposal that's coming from the planning department is the acquisition of iPads and tablets to allow people to do it out in the field

140but not on their own devices which I understand for security issues as well. Um human services a reminder that today there is a meeting uh in 1 hour at 2 p.m. um for painting and drawing classes. is this will be taught by Theresa Law who is one of the members of our East Hampton Arts Council. Um Wednesday's osteoporosis prevention class has been cancelled. Um however, we are having at 11:00 a.m. uh a functional fitness class with uh Tracy. Um it's working on your balance to stop and prevent falls. Uh and lastly for human services on Friday, July 11th, there is an arts and crafts activity uh for watercolor painting. Uh fire marshals. I just want to take the time to thank our fire marshall's office, our chief fire marshal. They had an exceptionally challenging weekend

141um over 4th of July. Um the discovery of the clover nest was something that you know they were an active part of and I was incredibly impressed with the leadership of our chief fire marshall. So I just wanted to take the time to to thank him um publicly for that. Um sanitation um we continue on our budget work for next year. I have received um numerous uh communications. people still have concerns about the conditions of the um the recycling area, specifically on Springs Fireplace Road. Um I I am going to be working um in the past we explored where there was a possibility of having volunteer groups come in and help facilitate a tidy up of that area. Um previously we kind of said that there's challenges to that because there's concerns about liability of

142people falling. I would like to work with the town attorney's office to see if there's a waiver people could sign to actually get some public members to come in and help tidy that up as possible. I think it could be an interesting thing and I will be doing that myself. Um, ideally we're looking to do it on Wednesdays when the facility will be closed. Used to do community service, right? So I think I think there's paths to do it but we we have to be creative. No, the community service. So you got time served type thing. Yeah. No, no, absolutely. Well, high school students. Um, Fort Hill Cemetery. Um we had a meeting yesterday morning to look at our budget for 2025. Um if you have a chance while you're out here, fellow board members,

143I do recommend taking a drive up there to have a look at the facility. Number one, it's one of the most beautiful sites in the town. Uh it is in need of some repair. Um just a variety of projects have happened up there. Some of the Belgian block needs replacing. These are things we're looking at for 2025's budget uh investment. Also some tree trimming of the cherry trees up there just to keep that area as special as it is. Uh East End fire commissioners a reminder we have a meeting next meeting is September 30th. Uh that's at the Bridge Hampton location. Public safety. Um first of all I want to take a moment to share all our condolences with people in Texas. What happened down there was incredibly tragic. I have uh friends whose families

144um were lost there and it's it's it's devastating. Um you know on that note uh we did actually get a storm notice oursel um in East Hampton Town for today. Uh there's expected storms uh starting from 2 p.m. going till late this evening. Um please take the necessary precautions again with all our storms and floods. Know your zone. Uh you can go on to the town website and understand if you are at a flood risk and have that plan to get out there as well. Um I don't know if you're going to do the chief's report on Okay. So I'm going to leave that to you. But I just want to say thank you to all our first responders this weekend. You did an outstanding job. um arts council. Um we had a very successful

145LTV event a few weeks ago. One of the follow-ups on that is to create a list of um you know communications list for all artists who want to be advised of any arts council events that go on. If anybody wishes to reach out and be on that list, they can reach out to my office uh either to myself or to my legislative secretary Amarie uh and provide your email and we will ensure you're on that list and you get updates for any calendar events that are happening. Uh and that is everything for my today's report. Thank you. Thank you so much, Sean. Dave, the July 4th weekend was a very busy weekend on East Hampton Town Beaches. Parking was at the capacity and overflowed at locations in both Ambigans and Montalk District. This is coming

146from the voice of the Lieutenant Jeff Thompson from the Eastampton Town Lifeguards. Lifeguards estimated the town have hosted approximately 16,000 patrons on its protected beaches from July 3rd to July 6. Atlantic Avenue Beach saw the most attendance of the protected beaches so far uh in in July and just this weekend they're anticipating anticipate sorry estimated that they saw nearly 5600 people for they're demonstrating the need for fourth stand operating on the weekends or otherwise known as wing stands despite prevailing uh green flag calm conditions over the holiday uh uh holiday. Lifeguards recorded 29 rescues and rendered aid to six medical emergencies, five of which rem resulted in EMS transport. Eight of these responses were outside of protected areas. Hence, please swim in the lifeguard areas. Rescue and aid responses also the seasons were many. Lifeguards

147have recorded 290 interactions with public informing them of coastal dangers such as rip currents and such. Uh so they're very active on the beaches, just not sitting on the stands. Uh patrons are also advised to use the town's QR uh links are posted at the beach signs linking to the most up-to-date conditions including newly developed interactive condition maps granular to each individual and beach access marker. Compliance with dog ordinances remains one of the greatest areas of difficulty on the beaches with lifeguards interacting with dog owners at a four times the rate that they were advised that they are advising public of dangerous conditions. hence 1,200 times. Frequent staff are met with obvious false claims that their dog is a service dog. So, please uh listen to the lifeguards have not you met be met with

148a marine patrol officer. Currently, there are 430 uh uh sorry, 143 active lifeguards serving in a variety of capacities at our town beaches, which also include conducting the town's nipper and junior lifeguard recreation programs seven days a week. in service training of the beach staff is focused largely on physical condition uh PWC which is personal watercraft uh protocols and spinal injury management. I thank Chief John Ryan Jr. and all his staff at all all our locations. I look forward to uh working with him as the season goes on. Uh I want to let everyone know in recreation at the town's uh town Malttok Playhouse that the town is continuing with a residentonly play through the month of July. We did the pilot program in June. So again on the weekends on Saturdays, Sundays, it will

149be for residently play and so far that has been met with uh good success. Uh we had a couple things uh Tom was discussing this a little bit last week and we went to more discussions on our enforcement meetings about trying to deal with uh ride shares and specific drop off locations. This was discussed a little bit at the Muk CAC meeting last night specifically down by the um uh down by the train station. what can be done when large trains are getting off and how that is actually affecting the flow for safety for either first responders or users of that area. We'll continue that discussion tomorrow in our enforcement meetings. I want to let everyone know that the multiuse field uh which is for soccer, football, men's, women's lacrosse, softball, and field hockey at

150the Honorable Fred Field Memorial uh uh recreational facility at Steam Hands Path is pretty much uh substantially complete. They were hydro seating today. Uh I look forward to doing a ribbon uh cutting there probably in the next coming weeks on there. I'll put that on to your schedules. But we also look forward to uh all the youth and adults using that field. It's come out quite wonderfully and I think uh uh and uh James Pinkot and his staff for overseeing that project. Uh it is a wonderful project adding to the uh this the softball softball and little league fields are there. Adding on that tonight uh the East Anthem Little League, the U10 boys under 10 boys uh they actually won a game on Sunday. They were down one. They were down 11 to1 and

151they rallied for rally for a 12 to1 victory uh at uh East Hampton's at the Steven Stephen Hans path fields. They will play in Riverhead tonight at the at stops ski park probably at 6 p.m. if anyone's up in that area Costco or such wants to stop in andh cheer on the town bonic uh under 10 baseball team. Good luck today uh boys. Um, I want to let everyone know that also the Montalk Playhouse at the Montalk CAC last night, we had a presentation from the new president of the Montalk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, uh, Jennifer Carney Ayakono. She showed multiple pictures of how the pool is looking, the Multic Cultural Center, and they have a a ribbon cutting that is for, uh, that is scheduled for August 15th of this year. So, a lot

152of good work there. The pool is looking uh, great. Obviously, there's a punch list of stuff to do, but uh after 20 years and specifically two years of construction, we are at the uh nearly at the end of it. Also, uh, two things I want to let everyone know that, uh, uh, legislator Anne Welker, also working with myself and others, and also legislator Stark from the Suffach County legislature, um, put on the laid on the table last week, uh, draft language for the working waterfront uh, def definitions. This is very important to the town's uh, fisheries and fisheries of all Suffach County. There was a meeting on August 5th uh that individuals can actually call in with their support. I will probably be going to that. So I might have to leave the meeting a

153little earlier. I believe it's in hot. I might get lucky in Riverhead. Uh but either way, uh we'll be in attendance. 12 hours. Well, yeah. Yeah, there's a Costco there. We'll be in attendance and we'll we'll get there shortly then, too. So, um, lastly, I want to let everyone know there there's an pending, uh, uh, amount of construction that's going to be happening down by Lowenstein Pipe where we're going to receive the pipe down there. Uh, we will find out what the construction timeline and scheduling upcoming and let the general public know, but there will be some disturbance there. We will make sure we'll work within what the um, uh, what the uh, uh, the public access is. Also, I mentioned this to the MTOK CAC last night, and I know the supervisor is not

154here, and if she brings it up again, it's great. What what what dropped in your mailboxes this past week was the town's first ever uh mailer. Uh is another way in which the town board, as you can see here, uh is trying to do outreach to the general residents. We do that either through the town's Instagram or social media pages if you're on that. I'm not, but it's there. Uh there's also alert me now, which Tom knows very well. You can sign up for our information. We do that through the uh through papers. We do that through signs like our moveover signs. But I want to congratulate uh madam supervisor if you're listening. Uh it was met with a very good response last night at the CAC. A lot of this came from the CAC

155about individuals saying I didn't know about this. So town board is trying every way possible to get it out there. He mostly goes on this time the QR code about some of the information we have about our summer and I know uh the supervisor is trying to modernize the way we constantly get our information out there. But I received it also and uh I think she did a very good job and I I know she's heard that from me, but I want to make sure everyone if you have this and you see it in your mailbox, it should hit last week. Please uh uh please go ahead and uh read it. Some good information. And deputy supervisor, that's all I have. Okay. Thanks. And before we go to Ian, I'm just going to jump on

156that and say that um you know, I don't uh I know folks get mailers from electeds and it's about what they've done, but this mailer is very important for residents because it's packed full of information on how to who to contact, where to go for our residents. And that's why I think it's such a great newsletter because it's community focused on how you can get things done or if you're in need of something. So, I just want to jump on that and thank the supervisor as well. Sorry, Ian. No, no, no, no, no problem. Uh, first of all, it was great to see so many people here today and I and I understand that that the conservation efforts and natural resources are more exciting than our lesson on reports, but a few of you stayed.

157Um, but seriously, I think it's appropriate to thank the library. Um, this is a beautiful space. The room was full. Um, I know the library put a lot of effort in. Uh, LTV as well, Kathy Burke Gonzalez and donors. um you know, we've been here for the last year or so and it's just I think it was a um sort of proof of of how nice that is. We the Montalk community came out and uh just sincerely thank you for um for allowing us to be here and and making it happen. I also want to recognize that participation is important. As an audience member commented, you don't have to come here. We all sincerely appreciate feedback in any form that it comes and it's it's crucial to democracy and us running the town as as

158best we can. Um the egg advisory uh committee meeting is canceled this Thursday. Farmers are busy in July. Um so that they'll that'll be cancelled. We'll put a post that on the website as well uh to make sure that uh nobody shows up and it misses out although it won't be as well attended as this meeting was for sure. Um property management committee meets next Wednesday on the 16th at 4:30. The main topic of conversation, the agenda is not released yet, but will be the Osborne man Osborne farm management plan. Uh I I've referred to this before in my lesson and reports but I mentioned it again just to to say that if anybody has any feedback or thoughts about and this is the 66 main uh main street in Wayne Scott. If anybody has

159any thoughts or ideas about what that property should look like and how it should be used, please let us know. Obviously there'll be a formal presentation when a management plan is released, but I like to get as much information as early as possible in the process so that we can incorporate those ideas into the plan early. uh another sort of rerun on things that I've talked about. The Dodge property, there's board support to move forward with with several things there. Uh the multi-purpose path like we have at Duke Drive and Buckskill that are very very well used. I think we're going to move forward with trying to put uh one of those in Springs um at the Dodge property. We also are moving forward with conducting archaeology on the Mitchell house which uh a previous

160report by Bob Hefner suggested might be an sign historically significant house where a Native American family lived and um it's been over the years built up and so we want to sort of peel back some of the layers to to investigate um the the origins there. Uh we'll also move forward with the the main house restoration at the Dodge property. Uh and lastly, I want to talk about the same area in Springs. I mentioned this before that we have a in the heart of Springs. It's a beautiful, beautiful area, but we have some parking issues anytime there's an event. Um, I mentioned that I was going to engage outside professionals. I've engaged an engineer to sort of start to lay out what a potential parking area would look like and how we could tuck it

161away to be as inconspicuous as possible. And just recently, I think yesterday, got feedback from the planning department and natural resources. Um, so again, I'm voicing this. I' I've talked with a lot of community members already, but anybody who's interested in Springs and parking issues there and has ideas, I welcome any comments so that I can incorporate those as we move forward. And that is my report. Thank you so much, Ian. Um, I'd like to talk about uh the calls, the police activity uh from the police department that we had this weekend. It was a very busy holiday weekend. So, these numbers that I'm going to give you are from Friday morning to Monday morning. There were a total of uh 370 calls for service, nine arrests, 43 noise residential complaints. Um there were no

162uh violations found at at those complaints, but one summons was issued for a mass assembly without a permit. Um there was a noise the noise commercial complaints were five and there was one summon issued. 10 ordinances there were 16 um summones issued. uh traffic tickets there were 83 issued. Traffic accidents 14 aided cases 41. Um as you know the Monttok fireworks had to be uh cancelled because of the discovery of the piping clovers. And I just want to thank as Tom did town staff it's across the board the work uh on on Fourth of July and and helping to see if there was a solution that could be found. And the Devon fireworks happened without incident. Um, so those are the statistics for just again Friday morning to Monday morning. And so you can see

163that our police department, our first responders are incredibly busy keeping everyone safe uh in the town, on the roads, on the beaches, everywhere. So I I just want to thank them again from the lifeguards to all of the first responders, fire departments, everyone on behalf of all of us. Um the I just want to update folks on the uh uh the ditch planes dune restoration. The application has been deemed complete. The public comment period has closed. There were a few public comments that came in. They have to be reviewed as a matter of of routine and then we'll await the permit. When we get the permit, we can go out for RFP for the contractor to to install the dune. And I actually heard from Dr. Henry Bukan Nevich today who also up uh asked

164for an update. So even though he's not involved, he's still involved. Um, also the grant uh that I mentioned several times today uh that uh we are in the RFP uh response process and the team which includes Sam Klein who is here and other town staffers and and stakeholders is reviewing those proposals. Um and uh we're in that part of that process. Uh the Wayne Scott Citizens Advisory Committee meets this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. for anyone who's interested at the Wayne Scott Chapel. And that is all I have and u we'll be moving on now to resolutions. Tom, if you want to I have not got any I've only got deadline. Okay, David. Oh, you're up first. Oh, I'm up first. Okay. So, res I have resolution 965 is to extend temporary appointment of principal

165office assistant in the building department. This is for Anne Glennon and this is resolved that Anne Glennon's appointment to temporary principal office assistant be extended through August 31st, 2025 with no change in hourly rate effective July 9th, 2025. Second. All in favor? I. Uh, next I have resolution 966, which is the approval of special event permits for July and August and tour of the Hamptons for September 2025. And the events listed below have been approved by the uh special events committee but yet need resolutions by the town board. First one is the 29th annual Monttok light uh point lighthouse sprint triathlon starts at Jim Beach ends up at Montalk Point Lighthouse. Saturday, July 20th from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Uh the next is J the Arts Center at Duck Creek, their uh music 2025

166music series for the Camella Cortina Quartet that takes place on Thursdays, July 24th, uh on Thursday, rather, July 24th, 600 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Next is the Duck Creek 2025 benefit live music, food, and refreshment. Uh that takes place on Thursday, July 24th, 5:00 pm to 8:30 p.m. There is a rain date of July 27th, 5:00 pm to 8:30. Next is God's Love We Deliver, annual Midsummer Nights Drinks, 2025. Uh this is uh sat takes place Saturday uh uh July 26 from 400 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Hans Creek Road in East Hampton. Next is the uh Alexa Wolf Travis J. Field Scholarship Fund. uh the memorial the Travisfield memorial softball fundraiser Terry King Ballfield on Abraham's path. This takes place on Thursday, July 31st through Sunday, uh August 3rd, 3:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.

167The rain dates are August 7th through August 10th, same times. Next is the Mass People Park Bike Club Tour of the Hampton's bike rides. This is various routes. It starts at Southampton High School, ends at Southampton High School. This will take place on Sunday, September 21st from 7:00 a.m. to 6 pm. Second. All in favor? I uh next uh I have a um resolution for uh remove u moving a URL map access point. This is resolution 967. And this is where uh the um access point at the intersection of Oaklair Street and Corbin Street will be moved. Uh we had a a public hearing on this that took place uh I think last Thursday if I'm not mistaken. And uh this is to move the driveway access to the parcel from Harbor Boulevard to Park

168Street with driveway being no closer than 50 ft from the intersection of Oaklair Street and Corbin Avenue. Except for the above, all of the requirements of the urban renewal map SP1-1 will remain in full effect and uh force. Second. All in favor? I. Resolution 968 is to amend Ural Map Springs uh-2-2 and 99E and 110. This is to amend the 19th Street rightway. And we held a public hearing on this on July 3rd. And this is to uh realign the uh road right ofway uh on this property. Second. All in favor? I. It's my pleasure offer resolution 970. This is the point seasonal lifeguards in the recreational department for June 2020. I have a 969. Did I miss that? There's a few. I'm sorry about that, Kate. I got one more. That's okay, David. Um

169resolution 969 is to amend urban renewal map east hampton 17 4 and six lot line modification. This is another lot line modification. The full details are described in the u in the resolution. We held a public hearing on this on July 3rd 2025 except as amended above the requirements of the Euro map EH17 shall remain in full force and effect. Second. All in favor? I. It's still my pleasure to offer resolution 2025970 appoint seasonal lifeguards in the recreational department for June 2025 names, positions, uh uh pay rates and effective day retroactive days listed below. Second. All in favor? I 971 is the terminate seasonal lifeguard in the recreational department for July 2025. Second. All in favor? I 972 is accept proposal for the national water main clean uh cleaning for low and steam court. The

170amount is not to exceed $78,776. Second. All in favor? I I have resolution uh 973 and this is the smart team agreement for the banding of the salt marsh sparrows and acabonic harbor. This is uh giving support for access uh to uh town properties um and and the banding of the salt marsh barrows at the nature preserve this summer in mid July. Uh upon notice to the division department of land mar management resolved that says authorization is continued upon a receipt of fully executed whole harmless and identification agreement um indemnification agreement. Sorry about that. in a form acceptable to the town attorney and uh that the proposed activity constitutes type two action under SRA. Second. All in favor? I I have two resolutions following the deadline. Uh the first is ID 33077. Uh this is

171to increase hours for full-time employee Harley Miller that should be increased to a 35h hour week schedule of an hourly rate of $33.86 annual salary of $61,617 prated June 30th. Sorry. Second. All in favor? I. Second is resolution ID 33102. This is to accept bid EH25028 for food service, Kish items, miscellaneous food for July 2025, Molivia Foods of New York and Samal and Sun Inc. uh Interbar Packaging Grady's team Pueblo Hotel Supply are the successful biders. Second. All in favor? I. And that uh concludes our resolutions for today. Um do I have a motion to go into executive session? Yes. I'd like to make a motion to go to an executive session for personnel and contracts and we'll start at 3 p.m. Second. All in favor? I. And I want to thank everyone for coming

172and attending today and speaking at the podium. And I hope everyone has a safe week. And uh thank you for coming.