Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst told those applauding the town’s planned purchase of the Neptune Beach Club in Hampton Bays on Tuesday that the town is still considering its options for the future use of the oceanfront property, and how it will fund the deal.
While the top priority for the pending $3.2 million acquisition is clearly the end of decades of nuisance and allegations of drug sale and use at and near the oceanfront bar and outdoor dance club, Ms. Throne-Holst said the town is still working with local business groups to find a way to allow some form of public, commercial use at the Dune Road property. She noted that the town ultimately might utilize some form of funding other than the planned tapping of its Community Preservation Fund reserves, which could limit the way the property is used.
“We’ve had conversations amongst ourselves and with the public [and] restaurant owners about pursuing some sort of establishment for the structure that is there,” Ms. Throne-Holst told the audience at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.
In a conversation after the meeting, Ms. Throne-Holst compared the possibilities for the purchase of the Neptune property to the town’s acquisition of the Poxabogue driving range and golf course on the East Hampton Town border, as a blend of preservation and business interests. She said if the town could preserve the recreational beachfront of the 2.8-acre property and still allow a business to operate in the building, helping both the local economy and providing the town with a revenue source, the dual nature could fit into the town’s plans.
“The thinking around this comes from the yin and the yang that we want to preserve and protect that property, but also where we worry about economic development,” Ms. Throne-Holst said. “A lot of the attraction that brought people to Hampton Bays has gone, because so many of these establishments have been closed.”
In 2004 the town purchased Summer’s Beach Club, the neighboring bar that competed with Neptune for the loudest music and rowdiest crowds. CPF proceeds were spent to finance that purchase, and the property is now a town-operated public bathing beach.
Ms. Throne-Holst emphasized that the town would place strict covenants and restrictions on the Neptune property, in relation to occupancy limits, noise and hours of operation, if it were to attempt to keep the commercial building in operation.
Residents of the area surrounding the notoriously troublesome club applauded the town for its efforts to do away with Neptune, but were apprehensive of Ms. Throne-Holst’s talks with business leaders about a commercial use at the property continuing.
“When I heard you say it could possibly be another facility with the public invited, it concerns me that it could turn into something that would not be welcome there,” said Sally Pope, a former town councilwoman who lives in Resmsenburg. “Please be careful what you’re doing when you’re inviting members of the public to a facility that had the history this place had.”
Others were mostly concerned with eliminating a nightmarish neighbor; many urged the town to demolish the Neptune building in favor of returning more of the property to its natural state.
“We are beyond elated,” said neighbor Sadie Mitnick. “We have seen the massive amounts of inebriated patrons wandering the streets. I know about 10 other homeowners on the street—we all feel the same way. It would be beneficial to turn this into something beautiful we can cherish and not have drunk people falling in our pools.”
Depending on the nature of the deal that the town ultimately pursues, the supervisor acknowledged that it might require a more complicated funding source than just the use of CPF money, which is restricted to the preservation of land for open space, or for recreational or historic preservation. She said a combination of CPF money and general fund surplus proceeds, or even borrowing, could finance the purchase, with revenue from the operation of the building directed toward repayment of any taxpayer supported funding sources.
“We’re looking at it with the town attorney’s office and [CPF Director] Mary Wilson’s office to see if it’s something we can do,” Ms. Throne-Holst said. “I think everyone feels a responsibility to hear everyone on this and if there are some interesting possibilities, we should explore them.”
on Nov 13, 2013