Representatives of PSEG Long Island updated the East Hampton Village Board about upcoming maintenance work in the Town of East Hampton at the board’s meeting on Friday.

A similar presentation was made to the town board earlier this spring.

Using money allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the utility will upgrade the distribution infrastructure for greater storm resiliency, said Vincent Frigeria, the external affairs district manager for Eastern Suffolk. Poorly performing distribution circuits, which transport electricity from substations to residences and businesses, have been identified for storm hardening with new poles and wires. Seven of these, he said, are within the town.

New, stronger poles to replace those deemed vulnerable will be three to five feet taller, two or three inches wider, and driven deeper into the ground. Their profile is narrower, with more robust bracing and stronger cross arms, to withstand greater impact from downed trees or branches, Mr. Frigeria said. The number of poles to be replaced is yet to be determined.

Automatic segmentation units will also be installed. These allow a circuit, in the event of an outage, to continue providing electricity to unaffected customers along a transmission route.

The poles will be treated with a wood preservative, Mr. Frigeria said, explaining that untreated poles have an average lifespan of four and a half years, while preservative-treated poles can last 40 years. The preservative would either be chromated copper arsenate (C.C.A.) or pentachlorophenol, also known as penta, Jeffrey Weir, PSEG Long Island’s director of communications, said on Tuesday, adding that they are already treated with a preservative when the utility procures them.

After the presentation, Kathleen Cunningham, a resident of the village, reminded the board that Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle had introduced a bill that would require the trustees of the Long Island Power Authority, for which PSEG Long Island manages the electricity grid, to be elected. The bill calls for eight members elected from eight districts of equal population to replace the current appointed board.

It is frustrating, Ms. Cunningham said, to see a continued reliance on transmission poles running through narrow residential streets, “when we know burying the lines is the way to go.” Residents and public officials were angered by the recent installation of high-voltage electrical transmission lines and taller, preservative-treated poles between the village and Amagansett, citing health and safety concerns over their proximity to houses, as well as aesthetic concerns. Groups called Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy and Save East Hampton were established to oppose overhead transmission lines and advocate for burying the lines.

“On balance,” the mayor told Ms. Cunningham, “we share your concerns and support that legislation.”

Ahead of its Aug. 1 fiscal new year, the village board presented a tentative 2016-17 budget on Friday. The board will hold a public hearing on the budget on June 17 at the Emergency Services Building.

Under the $21.1 million proposed budget, the tax rate would rise by .2 percent, to $28.90 per $100 of assessed value. The budget includes a $432,993 spending increase, or 2.1 percent. That increase, said Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., is largely a consequence of rising health insurance premiums, replacement of aging vehicles, and capital projects including work at Village Hall and the Gardiner house on James Lane. Health insurance premiums are beginning to be offset by higher employee contributions, he said.

Spending decreases are attributed to lower contributions to the state retirement system, lower fuel and utility costs, and equipment purchases made during the current fiscal year.

The tentative budget includes a 1.6-percent increase in property tax revenue, or $197,726, and a 3-percent increase in non-property tax revenue, amounting to an additional $235,267. Increases in the Building Department’s revenue, in the mortgage recording tax, and in justice court fees account for much of the latter figure, the mayor said. “That’s an indication of the real estate activity as it relates to sales and new construction and alterations,” he said.

The budget includes reserves for future purchases for the Fire Department, ambulance corps, and Department of Public Works, and continues funding for roadwork and to improve the ecological health of the Hook Pond watershed.

The village “has been fortunate to maintain a healthy financial outlook and a very modest debt burden,” the mayor said, “while continuing to provide the level of service expected by you, our residents.”

The East Hampton Historical Society’s annual party for members, their guests, and interested others will take place this year at Ivy Cottage, where visitors can enjoy what the society says is the “ambience of a Devonshire manor house,” on Saturday, June 4, from 6 to 8 p m.

Admission is $150, which includes the party and a year’s membership. Because space is limited those hoping to attend who have not reserved tickets have been asked to call the society or send an email to [email protected] as soon as possible. Directions for finding the house will be forthcoming.  

Christian Scheider, known for his infectious enthusiasm and scholarly gravitas, will return this summer to two South Fork libraries with two series of thought-provoking discussions and screenings on a couple of unusual topics.

Beginning Wednesday, he will present “Precocious Cinema: Children’s Movies for Ultra-Serious Adults and Kids Alike” at the Amagansett Library from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The weekly series will continue through August.

At the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton, he will examine the career of Alan Lomax, the musicologist who tirelessly traveled the country to mine its folk traditions, on Monday mornings from 10:15 to 11:30 from July 11 to Aug. 15.

The first film to be screened in the cinema series will be “The Brave Little Toaster,” an animated feature from 1987. It was directed by Jerry Rees with contributions from original members of Pixar Animation Studios. The plot centers on five old appliances and their quest to find their way from the dump back to their owner.

According to Mr. Scheider, each session will begin with an introduction, a screening, and then a “spirited, open philosophical colloquium” afterward. Other movies in the series include “Antz,” “Wall-E,” and “Spirited Away.” He will gear his discussion toward adults and the young simultaneously. Youthful experts, including Gigi Lama and Hawk Marder, will also take part.

The series “came out of my deeply held belief that in film history, some of the most subtle and sophisticated treatments of political and philosophic themes occur in children movies,” Mr. Scheider said, adding that children are often hipper to the subtexts in them.

The Lomax series, called “American Folk, Sight Unseen,” was derived from research Mr. Scheider accumulated for a screenplay he is writing about Lomax’s work and his “prescient ethical defense of cultural equity.” In trips to Appalachia and to the Mississippi Delta, he documented clog dancing and the music of legendary bluesmen such as Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, and Reverend Gary Davis.

The sessions will include audio and video recordings of music and lectures as well as pieces from Mr. Scheider’s literary archive. He will discuss folk traditions and Lomax’s contributions to the tradition of academic inquiry and to artistic appreciation of the documentarian. The sessions will be about 75 minutes long and include group discussion. The Rogers Memorial Library encourages reservations for all of its programs.

For Kim Field and Randy Weinstein, the biggest challenge of Saturday’s performance and presentation at the East Hampton Library will be to pack as much information, and wailing, bluesy sounds, into a single hour.

Mr. Field and Mr. Weinstein, both celebrated musicians and authors, will present “Harps, Harmonicas, and Heavy Breathers,” a history of “the people’s instrument,” in the next installment of the Tom Twomey Series of lectures. It begins at 5 p.m.

The harmonica is unique in that professional-quality models are extremely affordable, and anyone who can breathe can play one. On the other hand, to really make the instrument “speak” — or howl, cry, and moan — or to play sophisticated music like jazz, the same dedication as required for other instruments applies.

“The way the instrument was designed, you can play a lot of melodies by opening your mouth and blowing and drawing,” said Mr. Weinstein, who is the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing the Harmonica.” “That was the target audience, how they were going to sell massive amounts. But people figured out how to do other stuff, and the blues and rock techniques, even at a rudimentary level, are relatively advanced. It takes a while to bend or to single out notes.”

Mr. Weinstein was influenced to take up the instrument by his elder brother, a “harmonica-playing hippie,” he said. He attended college in Chicago, home of the gritty electric blues and players like Little Walter, Paul Butterfield, and Charlie Musselwhite, and there “I started encountering really great blues players.”

Mr. Field, who is from Seattle, is the author of “Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers: The Evolution of the People’s Instrument,” which Billboard called “a loving celebration both of the players and of their instrument.” Originally a trumpeter, he looked to pop and rock ’n’ roll sounds while in high school. “I saw James Cotton when I was 17,” he said, “and went out and bought a C Marine Band,” a Hohner diatonic harmonica and a staple among blues and rock ’n’ roll musicians.

Mr. Field would later perform with Mr. Cotton, who served as Muddy Waters’s bandleader for a decade, and other blues giants including Mr. Waters himself, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and “Big” Walter Horton. “My trumpet teacher had already imprinted on me the need to focus on a big sound, a big tone.” That, he said, is a primary challenge the instrument presents: “It has a tendency to sound thin and a bit weak. But there are ways, and Cotton figured it out more than anybody.”

Saturday’s event will be a first for both musicians. Mr. Field has given presentations and workshops, but “in a lot of those instances, I used recordings,” he said. “We only have an hour but will put in a lot of playing. We will have a guitarist with us, and will demonstrate older styles that people maybe aren’t familiar with. I think we’ve got the right blend of talking and playing.”

Only two people handed in nominating petitions by Tuesday’s deadline in order to be on the Sag Harbor Village ballot for the June 21 election, according to Beth Kamper, the village clerk. James L. Larocca and Robby Stein, both current board members, will run for the two available seats.

Mr. Stein is seeking re-election for a third full term on the board, while Mr. Larocca will make his first run. He was appointed last year to fill a vacancy when Sandra Schroeder took office as mayor.

Those wishing to vote must register with the Suffolk County Board of Elections no later than June 10. Applications for absentee ballots have to be sent to the village clerk’s office by June 14.

The election will be held at the Sag Harbor Firehouse on Brick Kiln Road from noon to 9 p.m.

With the passing of Tuesday’s deadline to file nominating petitions for East Hampton Village trustee and mayor in advance of the June election, no one has opted to challenge the incumbents. The only petitions submitted were from Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. and the incumbents on the board, Barbara Borsack and Richard Lawler.

A few residents had considered a bid for mayor or trustee, or encouraged others to do so in the wake of some controversial moves in the last year. These included new restrictions to the maximum allowable gross floor area and lot coverage of residential properties, which drew furious opposition from property owners and builders and is the subject of a legal challenge, and, for the second year, a program to sterilize deer, which animal-rights activists called both cruel and poorly implemented. Barring write-in candidates, however, the incumbents will run unopposed. 

Last week, the board held a special meeting at Village Hall at which Mayor Rickenbach and his colleagues adopted a resolution appointing Pam Bennett, the village’s deputy clerk, and June Lester, secretary to the board, as election inspectors. The vote will be held from noon to 9 p.m. on June 21 at the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street. Individuals can register through June 10 with the county board of elections to be eligible to vote in the village election.

With the East Hampton Village Board election coming up on June 21, the news this week is that Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., Deputy Mayor Barbara Borsack, and Richard Lawler, a  trustee, are running for re-election. No nominating petitions from others, who might be considering opposing them, had come in by press time, although they can be filed through Tuesday.

At a special meeting of the village board on Tuesday, Pam Bennett, the deputy clerk, and June Lester, secretary to the board, were appointed election inspectors for the  election. The board also authorized Becky Molinaro, the village administrator, to appoint substitute inspectors for any vacancies. Substitutes would be paid $20 an hour, or their current rate of pay if they are village employees.

Residents who are not yet registered to vote can do so at the Yaphank office of the Suffolk County Board of Elections until June 10. Applications to register can be found  at the village office or online. They are due back at the elections board, also on June 10.

The eastern Long Island chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting oceans and beaches, has scored victories near and far in recent months. It took pride in the fact that soon after members of the chapter participated in a Feb. 12 lobbying effort in Washington, the Obama administration abandoned a plan to open a large stretch of East Coast waters to oil and gas drilling.

Last month, the East Hampton Village Board gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to an offer from Tony Piazza, a Surfrider member and proprietor of Piazza Horticultural, a Southampton landscaping and design firm, to establish what is called a rain garden  at the green near Town Pond. Plants will be put in that remove nitrogen and phosphorus from waters that run across the green before they seep into the groundwater.

Most recently, discussions with the management of Amagansett Square, the complex of commercial buildings and a large open green, yielded another success when Freddie Friedler, a manager of the Square, decided the popular gathering place would start using organic products.

The Surfrider Foundation’s eastern Long Island chapter initially contacted Mr. Freidler in March, when it was researching potential sites for its Ocean Friendly Gardens program, an effort to filter pollutants and conserve water and wildlife habitats, which also educates the public. The Square sees heavy foot traffic, the reasoning went, and hosts outdoor movies and concerts in the summer. At the Mandala Yoga Center for Healing Arts and Pilgrim Surf and Supply, the Square hosts businesses with an obvious interest in wellness and the oceans.

But “we were a little concerned when we discovered that the property wasn’t operating toxin-free,” Nicole Delma, vice chairwoman of the chapter, said.

An ocean-friendly garden, Mr. Piazza said, has to be organic. “We didn’t want to beat him over the head,” Ms. Delma said, “but we did say, ‘Freddie, why aren’t you green already?’ ” Mr. Friedler was receptive to giving up chemicals.

“We’ve been exploring the idea of going organic for a while,” Mr. Friedler said on Tuesday. The Surfrider representatives’ urging, he said, “made us push it further and look forward harder. It costs quite a bit more to do this, versus going the conventional route, and as commercial real estate it’s tougher to justify the cost. But part of the mission of the Square is to benefit the community — so many people enjoy the Square. We love Amagansett, so anything we can do to help preserve the environment is a plus for us.”

Mr. Piazza’s firm, which does not provide the Square’s landscaping and maintenance, said native plant species and those that require less water would assist in the transition to organic lawn care.

“It’s about time we started being more aware,” Mr. Friedler said. “Anything pushing to be organic and safer for people, I think that’s a just thing to do. More people should make an effort, instead of saying it costs too much.”

“We look forward to working with them,” Ms. Delma said of the Square’s management, “to make the most of this opportunity to educate the community on the benefits of organic lawn care for both our own health and the health of our local waters.”

“We’re really excited,” she said. “I hope we can do this in other spaces.”

Guests at an East Hampton Shellfish Education and Enhancement Directive fund-raiser at Bay Kitchen Bar on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. will have the opportunity to learn about growing oysters and have a bunch of them on the half shell, if they are so inclined.

The restaurant is on Gann Road overlooking Three Mile Harbor; the event is sponsored by the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery, the South Fork Natural History Museum, and Veterinarians International.

EHSEED, as the program is known for short, is a new program run by the town hatchery that begins with lectures on shellfish culture on May 21 and June 25. In late July participants will be given 1,000 seed oysters and gear in which to grow them. In October, half of each 1,000 allotment, now much larger in size, will be returned to the hatchery to be distributed in local waters. The balance will be ready for participants’ eating pleasure at the end of the second growing season or so. Enrollment in the inaugural year of the program has been capped at 15 people.

Money from Saturday’s party will go to pay for equipment to be used at the hatchery. The $65 per person cost includes beer from the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, wine by Channing Daughters Winery, the oysters, and other light fare. There will be a tour of the nearby shellfish nursery. Tickets can be ordered by phone at 537-9735 or at easthamptonoysterparty.eventbrite.com.

Aside from being delicious, oysters provide a range of ecological benefits, notably by each fully grown specimen filtering up to 50 gallons each day.

The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons annual Pet Celebration Day will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the ARF Adoption Center, 91 Daniels Hole Road in Wainscott. Leashed dogs and cats in carriers will be welcomed, along with their owners, for treats, contests, and no-cost microchip identification tags (for the animals). There will be an agility course for able dogs and an Ask the Vet session with Dr. Frank Zeoli; and an animal behaviorist, Barbara Pezzinate, will be available for conversation as well. Also greeting guests will be ARF’s new director, Scott Howe, and Edwina von Gal of the Perfect Earth Project, who can provide advice about toxin-free gardens and landscaping.

Sandy Rapp will perform and there will be free coffee from the Hampton Coffee Company, with fresh donuts served up from a Dreesen’s Donut Truck.

Following that, ARF will hold a brief annual meeting with election of officers. It will also formally elected three new board members, Dale Ellen Leff, Summer Louchheim, and Richard Liberman.

Looking ahead, ARF’s Designer Showhouse and Sale will open on May 28 at the ARF Thrift Shop, 17 Montauk Highway at the Poxabogue Lane intersection in Sagaponack, with a 6 p.m. cocktail party; tickets have gone on sale for $150. A preview hour will begin at 5 that evening, with tickets at $250. The show will be open for $10 general admission on May 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The designers taking part this year are Sam Allen, Tracey Cavaniola, Nancy Corzine, John Stedila and Tim Button, Lynda Sylvester, and Eldon Wong.