Westhampton Beach Homeowners Will Pay for a Second Beach Parking Permit for the First Time

It may cost Westhampton Beach homeowners a little bit more to spend a day at the beach this summer.

The Village Board, at a meeting on March 7, decided that, for the first time ever, homeowners would have to pay a $40 fee for a second beach parking permit for the two village beaches — the first sticker will still be free.

The cost to nonresidents seeking parking stickers increased by $100, to $650, and they are only allowed one permit. Seasonal renters pay $950.

Mayor Ralph Urban explained this week that the charges were meant to help offset a projected shortfall in the village budget, as the village has been forced to raise the pay of seasonal workers.

New York State recently raised the minimum wage in New York and on Long Island to $16 per hour — with another scheduled $1 increase next year. And while municipalities aren’t required to pay the minimum wage, he said, it has been difficult to attract and retain beach attendants, lifeguards, traffic control officers and other seasonal employees who can find work at higher pay elsewhere.

“It puts us in a tough spot,” Urban said. “Historically speaking, we were starting our young beach attendants — 14-year-olds — at $12.50 an hour. To be competitive, it becomes a huge issue.”

To help in that regard, the village also last week raised the hourly rate of all seasonal employees by $2.50 per hour. “Bringing it up $2.50, it’s still not minimum wage,” Urban said, “but it’s closer.”

The salary increase will result in an overall budget increase for seasonal employees of about $40,000, the mayor noted. The increases in beach parking fees will help make up for that, he said.

And while the mayor does expect some dissatisfaction with the new charge for a second sticker, he noted that Westhampton Beach is the only village on the East End that offers the first permit at no charge.

“I’m sure we’ll get backlash,” he said. “It’s kind of the cost of doing business. But I don’t know of another municipality that gives out free beach passes. So they’re still getting one for free and having to pay for the second one. And the second beach pass is a convenience, not a necessity.”

He noted that the village typically issues 2,000 beach stickers, but there are only 200 parking spaces at the two village beaches, Rogers and Lashley. Even so, the mayor noted that there are seldom times when spaces are unavailable.

Urban also noted that he and village officials are still formulating a budget for the next fiscal year, and there is a possibility that the state tax levy cap would need to be pierced in order to meet rising costs, including, but not limited to, seasonal worker salaries.

The budget will be unveiled at a board meeting on March 27, with a public hearing on the proposed budget on April 4.

“We’re still working on the numbers, we’re still trying to hone in on the final numbers” he said. “It is a possibility” that the tax cap will be pierced.

“Personally,” he added, “— and maybe someone will string me up for this — I’ve always found the 2 percent cap to be unsustainable. We have inflationary pressures just like everybody else. Some of them are extreme, like a health insurance 10 percent increase. Salaries, too. We’re having trouble filling positions — we have to remain competitive. Right now, we aren’t.”

Dix Windmill Contract Awarded

Also at last week’s meeting, the board awarded a contract to Ashlar Contracting of Islip Terrace for the renovation of the Governor John Adams Dix Windmill, for a little over $1.5 million.

Because the bid exceeded $1.5 million, the village will now have to put the expert electrical work for the renovation out to bid, Urban explained.

The windmill, which is currently sitting disassembled under shrink wrap in the back of the Great Lawn, was donated to the village by Adam and Didi Hutt in June 2021. They purchased the estate once owned by 19th century New York Governor John Adams Dix on Sunswyck Lane. A series of events unfolded to preserve the historic windmill, which was moved to its current roost.

The village — in cooperation with Southampton Town — intends to restore the windmill, making it operational, and creating a museum of sorts on the Great Lawn.

Urban said he expects the restoration work to begin in May. The project will likely take a year to complete, he said, and be finished by May 2025.

“It’ll be nice to get it going and see it progressing,” he said. “And next year, we should have Fourth of July fireworks with the shadow of the windmill in the foreground.”