Public Hearing Information:

Southold Town Board
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 4:35 p.m.
Southold Town Hall (53095 Main Road, Southold)

Please attend the public hearing on July 27th and support the adoption of the Town of Southold’s proposal for a sustainable local law commonly known as “dark skies” legislation.

Dark skies legislation embodies the principles of sustainability by preserving the local environment, protecting the views of our precious nighttime sky, improving safety by reducing dangerous glare on roadways, helping to reduce light intrusion from neighboring properties and importantly reduces the use of energy consumption.  

To learn more about dark skies click here. 

The proposed local law strictly pertains to new construction and substantial renovations and has demonstrated conservation value as municipalities -- and even states across the U.S. -- have successfully adopted dark skies legislation. The legislation works to address excessive, poorly aimed and poorly placed lighting fixtures. 

To learn more about appropriate fixtures and what’s being proposed click here. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please attend the hearing on July 27, 2010 and voice your support for dark skies legislation.  

If you cannot attend the hearing, please write a letter or e-mail Supervisor Scott Russell and members of the Southold Town Board.  You can copy and paste the language below into a letter or e-mail (supervisor@town.southold.ny.us).

Dear Supervisor Scott Russell and Members of the Town Board,

I am writing to express strong support for the proposed local law in relation to regulation exterior lighting.  Dark skies legislation will provide significant positive benefits for all residents and business owners within the Town of Southold.

Responsible outdoor lighting practices help to preserve our environment and the view of our nighttime sky.  Safety is increased as dangerous glare from roadway fixtures is addressed.  Importantly, energy consumption is reduced and over time this alone provides a great positive impact for our local and global community.

Thank you in advance for your support of dark skies legislation.  I look forward to its passage. 

Sincerely,

You may have been jumping for joy that state parks were reopened just in time for Memorial Day weekend, but this sweet victory came with a sour punch as state decision makers cut the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) by almost 40% in the final budget.

Dedicated Funding Source Slashed With No Repayment Plan:
The EPF, New York's dedicated funding source for environmental programs, will receive $134 million for the 2010-11 state fiscal year. This is a 37% cut from last year’s funding level and one of the lowest levels of funding in a decade. To add insult to injury, nearly $500 million has been swept from the EPF over the past decade, causing a significant backlog of unfunded projects, straining organizations, municipalities and others partnering with the state on environmental programs. Currently, there is no plan in place to repay the Fund.

Budget Offloads Rejected by State Legislature, Fund Integrity Preserved:
The Legislature’s rejection of “offloads” proposed to the EPF by Governor Paterson was a significant victory that protected the integrity of the Fund. Offloading funding for state agency operations and certain state tax payments into the EPF would have set a dangerous precedent and undermine the original intent of the Fund.  In short, stealing environmental funds to fill budget shortfalls would have eventually left nothing for the important programs the Fund was created to support.

TAKE ACTION

Tell Your Assembly and Senate Leaders to Repay the EPF:
As the remainder of the budget is negotiated, please urge your State Assembly and Senate representatives to revisit the EPF and create a repayment plan for the nearly half a billion dollars that has been taken for non-environmental purposes. A repayment plan, which is required by law since 2007, would address the large backlog of conservation and restoration projects throughout the state and ensure New Yorkers have access to clean air, water and natural spaces.

Click here to e-mail Senator Lavalle and Assemblyman Thiele.

You can also cut and paste the following language into an e-mail to Senator LaValle (lavalle@senate.state.ny.us) or Assemblyman Thiele (thielef@assembly.state.ny.us).

Dear ___________,

I am writing to encourage you to revisit the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) during final budget negotiations.

The decision to hold back funding to the EPF in exchange for the reopening of state parks is very short sighted. Over the past decade, about $500 million has already been swept from the Fund for non-environmental purposes, without a plan for repayment. 

Defunding the EPF has caused a backlog of unfunded projects, straining organizations, municipalities and others partnering with the state on environmental programs. Without these projects, the state parks may not be worth visiting in the future!

I hope you will work hard to adopt a reasonable repayment plan and restore the already crippled EPF to its proper funding levels. The integrity of the Fund is more important now than ever.

Sincerely,

Dear Friends,

With the welcome approach of Spring, Group for the East End has begun preparations for our Fifteenth Annual Fauna-thon. We cordially invite you to participate in this exciting event to raise money for children’s environmental education programs in eastern Long Island.

On Saturday, May 22nd, all interested wildlife enthusiasts are encouraged to join me in a search for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and dragonflies throughout eastern Long Island. Our task is to count as many different species of wildlife (a.k.a. fauna) as we can find within 24 hours. The highest Fauna-thon total so far is 266 species, which we tallied in 2004. This year, we’re aiming to break the record -- 270 species is our goal.
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Please Attend the Public Hearing
Tuesday, April 6th at 5:30pm
Southold Town Hall

The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) has received a commitment of Federal stimulus funds to install 17,000   feet of new water main from East Marion into Orient.  SCWA views the extension as a cost-effective strategy to serve a single subdivision in Orient, whose separate community supply well is currently operated and filtered by SCWA.

Residents Are Concerned Water Could Lead to Overdevelopment
Although SCWA has stated that the proposed extension is for the Browns Hills subdivision, the proposal would allow individual connections all along the three-mile path of the pipeline. The water main would provide a level of infrastructure sufficient to serve significant future development in Orient over time. This issue has raised significant community concern among those who want to protect the rural character of the area.

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