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The unveiling of Westhampton Beach Village’s latest project depends solely on the weather.
Village officials said they hope locals will be able to use a new ice skating rink at the Village Marina on Library Avenue as early as next week—but the rink is not skate-ready just yet.
“It’s all filled up. Now, we’re waiting for it to get cold enough,” said Village Trustee Toni-Jo Birk. “If it’s in the 20s consistently for four days, then it should freeze. It depends on what Mother Nature wants to do.”
The temporary rink—measuring 50 feet wide by 100 feet long—was installed on January 4 by the Westhampton Beach Highway Department and cost the village just over $4,700, Ms. Birk said. When the weather warms up, it will be taken apart and stored until next year, she said.
“It’s a trial effort to bring some skating to the village for younger people—and maybe some older,” said Mayor Conrad Teller.
A sign will be posted at the rink notifying skaters when it is safe to lace up, Ms. Birk said. It is free to skate and the rink is open to everyone, she said. But there are some ground rules: hockey is prohibited, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
The rink will be lit at night and monitored with a security camera by Village Police, she said.
“We’re still deciding on set hours,” Ms. Birk said. “We’re going to work out the kinks as we go.”
The idea was first brought up by Village Trustee Leola “Sue” Farrell, head of the Westhampton Beach Beautification Association, at a Village Board work session in November, and it was turned into reality later that month. “The rink was more-or-less okayed there,” Mr. Teller said. “It didn’t require a bid, and so it didn’t need a resolution.”
After the rink opens, Ms. Birk said the village is looking to organize a skate swap, where children can turn in their old skates and trade up for a larger size of used skates as they grow.
“The rink’s also for adults, but this is really something for the area’s kids,” Ms. Birk said of the rink. “There’s limited activities for kids today. Hopefully, people have fun and respect it.”
The Village Board voted 3-2 last Thursday, January 6, to deny grievances seeking additional special income filed by two suspended Westhampton Beach Village Police officers who were accused of lying to investigators in 2009 while being questioned over a missing handgun.
“They’re suspended, and there’s a provision in their contract that says when suspended, certain payments are not paid, like holiday and longevity pay, which is what they’re asking for,” said Mr. Teller, who declined to provide copies of the grievances to The Press, citing personnel reasons.
The grievances were originally filed on December 16 by police officers Michael Bruetsch and Joseph Pesapane, whose suspensions have been a point of contention among Village Board members for the last year and a half.
Officers Bruetsch and Pesapane were accused of lying to their superior officers and Suffolk County investigators during an investigation led by the Suffolk County Police Internal Affairs Bureau that was prompted after a fellow officer’s handgun went missing from police headquarters in November 2009.
The original grievances were reviewed by Police Chief Ray Dean, who denied them the same day they were submitted, Mr. Teller said. Unhappy with that answer, the officers filed a grievance with the Village Board on December 22. Mr. Teller said he gave the grievances to Richard Zuckerman, the village’s labor attorney, to review.
The same day as the board meeting, Mr. Zuckerman sent back resolutions needed by the board to deny the grievances. Mr. Teller, Ms. Birk and Ms. Farrell followed Mr. Zuckerman’s recommendation. Trustees Joan Levan and Hank Tucker voted opposite to the majority, as they historically have with matters regarding the suspensions.
Mr. Teller explained that Ms. Levan and Mr. Tucker voted against the resolutions because they hadn’t had an opportunity to review them prior to the meeting.
“It’s very simple. I had no information on them,” Ms. Levan said this week. “The agenda we received on Tuesday morning did not have them on it, so I only got them 10 minutes before the meeting. Without having a chance to discuss them with the mayor and trustees, I did not want to vote for them.”
Westhampton Beach Village voters will be able to cast their ballots from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 17, to elect a judge and two trustees.
The Village Board set the election date at its last meeting, on January 6. The village justice is currently Robert Kelly Jr. The position is a four-year term. The two trustee seats up for election are currently filled by Ms. Levan and Mr. Tucker. Those seats are two-year terms.
“I haven’t even thought about if I’m going to run for reelection,” Ms. Levan said. “That is so far off.”
Mr. Tucker did not return calls seeking comment this week.
All candidates must file petitions by May 13, according to Deputy Clerk Kathleen McGinnis. Each petition requires 50 signatures, she said, and they typically begin circulating in April.
Come the summer months and warmer weather, Funcho’s Fajita Grill will be hosting outdoor music.
On January 6, the Village Board unanimously voted to grant a permit to the Main Street business to host live music on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, between 4 and 11 p.m. The permit stipulates that speaker systems and amplifiers are prohibited, and the bands can include no more than four musicians.
Michelle Trauring on Jan 11, 2011