Letters

The Southampton Town Board is still treating Hampton Bays residents like ignorant children. At its special meeting on Thursday, July 20, members voted to consider a six-month moratorium on accepting any new applications for battery energy storage systems, and included a pause on the application for a huge BESS facility on North Road, steps away from homes in a residentially zoned area. A sincere thanks goes to Cyndi McNamara and Rick Martel for consistently listening to the people and supporting the moratorium.

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman then proposed the creation of an independent commission of experts (appointed by him) to study the issue. Southampton Town Board employee Janice Scherer discussed a decentralization plan that would feature setting smaller-sized BESS facilities throughout the town, and a battery demonstration (whatever that may be) for residents to allay our unfounded, childish fears. Because there is no clear benefit to residents, in exchange for hosting a dangerous, noisy, toxic monstrosity in our neighborhoods, Ms. Scherer proposed a token discount on our energy bill.

The town just does not get it. We will not be bought into submission by a “cheesy” discount or lulled into complacency by a patronizing demonstration. Nor will we be persuaded by the findings of a commission appointed by the supervisor into which we have little or no input. We have done our research, and we know enough about BESS to know it does not belong in a residential neighborhood.

The Town Board must now move to revise the zoning so these dangerous toxic facilities will be restricted to industrial or remote locations. Hampton Bays will stand for nothing less.

Patricia McKee

Hampton Bays