Letters

Last week, I witnessed my first Southampton Town Board meeting. The agenda was simple: approve Community Preservation Funds for a grass field on the Marsden lots that residents had already voted to enrich the facilities of Sag Harbor schools.

However, the meeting became a rowdy round of Boardwalk-or-bust Monopoly, combined with duel-to-the-death “Game of Thrones.”

The big show featured close neighbors of the property sharing concerns of trees, drainage, environment assessments, random ideas for the site they like better, and more. Their strategy was clear: cause a delay.

Delay is death to the project. Any further delay ends the agreement between the school and the seller. What happens next? A developer who is against any community project buys a lot to protect their interests like a well-played game of Monopoly. Once they control one lot, projects like this can never happen in the future.

We heard concerned neighbors advocating to protect the community, but as a sound voice said in the meeting, communities should be built around schools, since they are the bedrock of any community. Schools should not be forced to work around the interests of neighboring residents.

I am advocating for this project to move forward, because I believe it is important for the community. What could be a great field today could grow into something new like an arts center in 75 years from now — but that never happens if we don’t stop the delays. Possibilities end. History changes.

Many parents are spending 10-plus hours a week driving their kids to all the facilities in other towns. Let’s invest in walkable facilities for our kids and the future families of this town. Let’s cut down on the thousands of gallons of gas a year spent driving. Choosing these 6 acres as the foundation for environmental action is the last place we would start in terms of maximizing the impact of ecological protection in our area.

It’s time to change the conversation to focus on the positive benefits for generations: kids having a local space to play connected to the school, the community events that will take place, and the local businesses that would benefit from events in Sag Harbor outside the business tourist season.

Tommy John Schiavoni, Cyndi McNamara, John Bouvier and Rick Martel, we are counting on you to live up to what you committed. Vote to move forward. Let the people cast their final verdict in the bond vote in the coming months. Voting yes lets the voters decide on the future of the space.

If you don’t act now, trees will still come down and houses will go up forever.

Michael Scissons

Sag Harbor