Letters

I am running for Sag Harbor Village trustee. Why? My nine years on the Village Harbor Committee, four as chair, reintroduced me to the issues surrounding water quality and opened the whole world of environmental impairment. This led to a desire to not only take this question on as an individual but as a member of our community.

In 2019, Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy founded the Environmental Advisory Committee; I became deeply involved. In 2021, I was tasked as coordinator to lead us through three years and 18 projects combating climate change. Certified as a Bronze Level Climate Smart Community this April, our results produced a road map to clean up, and $65,000 in grants.

Did you know that Village Hall is 145 percent over the national median in energy usage of buildings of similar size, function and climate? Age is no excuse. In 2016, a group of residents and the Sag Harbor Yacht Club formed the Sag Harbor Water Quality Initiative, and, in 2018, we raised money to bring in Dr. Christopher Gobler of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Studies to sample and analyze the water in our coves and bays.

Importantly, these studies, now annual, have given us another road map, one to identify the sources of water impairment. Working with Dr. Gobler on program design, I remain as the fundraiser-in-chief, with both the village and the Sag Harbor Partnership putting in 25 percent. Trustee Aidan Corish, who has spearheaded our effort to expand the sewer service area, who has led the charge to obtain $12 million in grants to where we will soon see shovels in the ground, says that these studies are included in every grant application, and that they count. They demonstrate our ongoing commitment to water quality.

So, why am I running? Because I would like a seat at the table, to be part of discussions, to help set priorities. I am eager to take a step closer, to be more directly involved, to ensure that environmental concerns aren’t an afterthought, that they are a part of the agenda.

Because I work hard, am persistent and have a track record to show for it. I listen, I ask questions and I consider the possibility of unintended consequences. Do we need to work on our traffic problems? Our housing problems? Yes, but I would rather keep any solutions to those of scale. We are a small village, and there are no silver bullets. We need to be judicious in our choice of partners to ensure that we have consistent aims and goals.

I ask not only for your support but your questions, your concerns. Please let me know how I might serve you.

Mary Ann Eddy

Sag Harbor