The 134-page Southampton Town Board agenda for the first meeting after the election was quite the cornucopia of 11th-hour decisions by a lame duck administration, with three of the five members leaving at the end of the year. Is it any wonder that community members have bluntly said to the Town Board, “We don’t trust you”?
Let’s start with setting up a public hearing to increase term limits from eight to 12 years for the town supervisor and town councilpersons [“Southampton Town Council Considering Term Limit Tweak,” 27east.com, November 15]. Is it really from eight to 12 years? Or is it actually from 16 to 24 years — potentially having a Town Board member on the board for basically a generation? Maybe the conversation needs to happen, but why now? Why with this lame duck board?
A public hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, November 28. I strongly suggest that residents attend that meeting or submit comments to the Town Board.
Then came the discussion of the latest amendment to our already disjointed Comprehensive Plan, the Climate Action Plan. Why now? Why when we are in the middle of a moratorium on battery energy storage systems? Why when new data about BESS, wind farms and other factors are changing rapidly?
The plan appeared suddenly on the town website just hours before the Town Board meeting. Apparently, the push to get it approved is so Councilperson John Bouvier can say he adopted the plan. Well, that’s good governance — adopt a plan with outdated data, limited community work sessions, and without evaluating what problems may be caused in an attempt to solve a global problem.
I have to commend Councilperson Cyndi McNamara in her attempt to reason with her counterparts on the Town Board, but, literally and figuratively, they voted her down. There is a public hearing on December 12. I urge the public to comment to this issue either in person or via email.
The Town Board, as commissioners of the Hampton Bays Water District, went on to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Environmental Conservation related to the contamination of our water supply. What exactly is going on? When was the last time the public was given an update? All I know is that my bills have substantially increased.
And, lastly, there was the assortment of approval of contracts for services and supplies without any competitive bidding. Are we getting our money’s worth? Why tie the hands of the new administration?
I can only hope that the new Southampton Town administration brings some transparency, accountability and good governance to the Town of Southampton.
Gayle Lombardi
Hampton Bays
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