The Suffolk County Legislature has agreed to form an independent committee to examine the future of Long Wharf in Sag Harbor to aid in the county’s decision about whether to hand the pier over to Sag Harbor Village.
On a related front, Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman said he plans to introduce a resolution this month to have the county donate a 300-foot stretch of sandy beach adjacent the wharf, which the county also owns, to the village, regardless of what becomes of the wharf.
Last week the legislature approved a proposal by Mr. Schneiderman to create an advisory committee, including members of the Sag Harbor Village Board and Harbor Committee, and the village’s historical society and Chamber of Commerce, to study the wharf’s future use and management.
“I wanted to make sure that whatever ideas are generated about what should happen to the wharf are compatible with what the village wants to happen,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “I’m concerned that other people might be eyeing revenues for things that wouldn’t go to the benefit of the village.”
At the behest of County Executive Steve Levy the county proposed last fall that the village take ownership of the 200-foot wharf and assume responsibility for its maintenance. If the village didn’t agree to take the wharf, which is technically a county roadway now, the county threatened to put it on the market for sale to a private entity—raising the specter that it could be developed with residences.
In February the Village Board grudgingly agreed to purchase the wharf from the county, for $1. Engineers told the village that the wharf needed approximately $600,000 in improvements, including $300,000 in urgent repairs in the next five years. Village officials said that meant the village would have to set aside $100,000 each year in a special fund for long-term repairs.
But when it came time for the county to finalize the transfer in May, county legislators balked and tabled the resolution. Several said they wanted to explore the revenue possibilities the wharf presents to the cash-strapped county.
The wharf generates some income from the leases of boat slips. Sag Harbor Village currently retains the revenues from the slips, an arrangement some county legislators took issue with. Sag Harbor Village Mayor Brian Gilbride said that the income from the slips was about $90,000 last year. He also said the county could have the revenue if it wanted, but that it could also then expect to have to take over the day-to-day stewardship of the crowded wharf.
“If they think it’s going to be a moneymaker they can take it,” Mr. Gilbride said. “But they better get their [Department of Public Works] down there every day to take care of it. We pick up garbage twice a day. We have someone down there managing the boat slips.”
Mr. Gilbride estimated that the village spends at least $50,000 a year caring for the wharf now. He noted that the village does pass on some possible revenues, such as leasing the wharf space for large private events, like Bay Street Theatre’s annual gala fundraiser, which is held on the wharf each July. The village does not charge the theater to use the wharf.
Mr. Gilbride said the county has inquired about whether more slips could be added to the wharf to increase revenue, a move that would raise other issues.
Mr. Schneiderman said that he hopes the committee will be able to present his fellow legislators and the village with a clear picture of the costs of maintaining the wharf and how much of those costs the wharf can generate itself so that both sides can make an informed decision about how to proceed.
Mr. Schneiderman said that one thing that needs to happen independent of government action is for a non-profit citizens group to be formed to oversee the wharf and raise money for cosmetic improvements, much as other iconic locations and structures like the Montauk Lighthouse, Big Duck and Long Pond Greenbelt have to support them.
As for the beach, a sandy crescent that plays host to whaleboat races at the village’s annual HarborFest in the fall, Mr. Schneiderman said the transfer should be a no-brainer since the beach generates no revenues the county might be interested in retaining. He said he expects to see no opposition to his proposal and estimated that the transfer could be approved at the county level as early as October.
on Aug 9, 2011