Letters

I am not an educated politician or a political person or a town employee, but I have some ideas that will save Southampton Town and taxpayers much time and money and make thousands of constituents very happy.

1) In addition to their regular schedule, lifeguards should be at Ponquogue Beach, at least on weekends, until the end of September. Even if there are “no swimming” signs, many of us are still going into the ocean as long as the weather is nice. We should be protected by lifeguards.

2) The Bel-Aire Cove Motel property should become a simple park and be kept “forever wild.” It should have a big, green lawn with a swing set and some park benches and a kayak rack and launching ramp or a floating dock. There should be portable toilets and parking for a few cars. Bright, beautiful landscaping, including native plants and shade trees, should be around the perimeter.

Hampton Bays wants its own identity, to do its own thing, but if you look at the lawn across from Suffolk Theater in Riverhead, it’s absolutely beautiful, simple, cheap and it works. Southampton Town could copy it.

The town should not hire an architectural design firm. Just get rid of the old motel, fill in the holes, bring in topsoil and plant grass, etc. Local volunteers might do the landscaping. I’ll help.

3) The town should have one bank account. It’s ridiculous to say, “This is Community Preservation Fund money — no, wait, it’s town money.” (Do they know how foolish that sounds?) It’s all town money. Period.

4) The only safe place for battery energy storage systems is on a platform on Peconic Bay or on Shinnecock Bay or on the ocean. On land might be better, but so far every location that was suggested has been met with opposition.

5) Alfred Caiola should revitalize downtown Hampton Bays. He already owns some of the property, and his plans don’t look much different from two other artist-concept plans I have seen. He can use his own money, not the town’s.

Do you know how upset and sad Hampton Bays residents feel after the town spent millions of dollars on Agawam Park and Steinbeck Park, but they won’t throw $200,000 toward Hampton Bays and do right by Bel-Aire? It’s like pulling teeth. It’s just not fair.

Jim Dreeben

Hampton Bays