Letters

What in the world is the Sag Harbor School Board thinking by proposing to place an “athletic facility” in the middle of our entirely residential neighborhood in the Sag Harbor historical district?

It is a fair question, but you will not get any answers from the Board of Education.

The neighbors of Pierson have asked the following questions about what is proposed for the Marsden Street lots:

Will buildings be constructed? How many? How large? How high? On which parts of the property? Will they be visible from the streets?

What other elements does the school plan? Does it include an artificial turf track — something voters rejected not long ago at Pierson?

Would there be parking provided? For how many vehicles? Will buses and trucks be housed here and allowed to back up? What other elements are contemplated?

What kinds of athletic events will be planned for this property?

Is there any thinking about a nature preserve on the property? Where?

What outdoor lighting is contemplated?

Will there be an outdoor loudspeaker system?

Sandi Kruel, head of the School Board, “answered” my questions in a letter in September this way: “Nothing has been determined, so we can’t answer your questions at this point.”

My neighbors and I got the same “responses” at two recent School Board meetings. Basically, the answer from the School Board has been: We cannot tell you anything until after the monies have been allocated and (presumably) until after the public is asked to vote on this matter on November 3.

And yet the people of Sag Harbor are being asked to provide literally millions of dollars in funding for something, but we cannot get answers to what this project entails before we are being asked to vote on it.

The Community Preservation Fund has agreed to provide $6 million to buy four lots on Marsden Street to clear-cut those lots, a use that is not even contemplated by the CPF charter. The school intends to buy another lot with almost $3 million of our tax dollars and has explicitly expressed its wish to install a synthetic turf running track, something voters rejected only six years ago by nearly 10-to-1. And this is contemplated to be in a place that is prone to flooding.

My neighbors and I reject this plan in its entirety. Put the athletics back where they belong, and that is in Mashashimuet Park. We do not want the pollution, light pollution, noise, trash, etc., in our neighborhood.

The kids of Sag Harbor deserve to be able to play outdoor sports, but they do not deserve to destroy our neighborhood to do so when the park is a perfectly appropriate venue for these activities.

Janis Donnaud

Sag Harbor