Southampton Village Board Votes To Move Forward With Rogers Mansion Restoration

The Southampton Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved two resolutions on June 8 that will lead to improvements at two of the village’s most recognized institutions.

The board approved a proposal from the firm Chaleff and Rogers to oversee an exterior restoration project at Rogers Mansion that will be funded by a $500,000 grant from New York State and an additional village match of $699,000. The allocation of those funds for the match was previously approved at an April 4 meeting.

Chaleff and Rogers Architects, which specialize in historic preservation and renovation, were involved in the preliminary design for the restoration and submitted a proposal to prepare bids and oversee construction for the project. The firm will be paid not in excess of $61,000, and that money will come from the trustees’ special projects fund.

The board also unanimously approved using a portion of the excess revenue from Coopers Beach to be reinvested in the purchase of more equipment for the beach this season, including more beach umbrellas and chairs.

Last fall, Coopers Beach manager Matt Weeks shared that the beach had exceeded its revenue projections by a quarter of a million dollars, and he had requested that some of that money be reinvested in the beach. Those funds have been used to purchase a new Cassone storage trailer, new radios, drones and more.

Trustee Robin Brown gave a brief summer safety and beach preparedness presentation at the start of the meeting, sharing that the police department had stepped up enforcement over the Memorial Day weekend, issuing more than 80 traffic and parking tickets to “set the tone” for a safe summer season.

She pointed out that a recently purchased electric police bike and Gator four-wheel vehicle will help in the effort to keep the village safe during the busy summer season, and she commended the department for its efforts in ticketing trucks and drivers of trucks who do not strictly follow traffic rules.

The meeting also featured resolutions officially recognizing that both Trustee Bill Manger and Mayor Jesse Warren would waive their rights to lifetime benefits if they should make it to the five-year vesting period.

The question of whether to continue allowing elected officials to have health benefits for life has been a contentious issue during the campaign season, and both Manger and Warren would become vested next year, so they’ve chosen to waive those rights to eliminate any appearance of impropriety.