After more than 15 years of discussion, Sag Harbor’s popular Havens Beach is going to have the remediation required to make it safe for swimmers.

    A plan for the work developed by Inter-Science Associates after extensive testing was approved by the Sag Harbor Village Board unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday. The village’s harbor committee had recommended the village do so after holding a hearing on the plan on Monday. The committee agreed the work was long overdue and would significantly improve the water quality around Havens Beach, as well as protect and restore the ecosystem.

    Rich Warren of Inter-Science said the work is estimated to cost around $200,000, but, since bids have not yet been received, the actual cost is uncertain.

    Questions about pollution in a creek — more correctly a stormwater drainage ditch — that crosses Havens Beach emerged in the 1990s, with reports of skin rashes and eye and ear infections. Fecal coliform and other bacteria were said to be the most likely contaminants. In 2007, Kevin McAllister, the Peconic baykeeper, called the situation a grave problem, and said the public was at risk.

    Inter-Science reported it had found heightened levels of human and animal waste bacteria in the drainage ditch, and in some cases the bathing water itself, especially after intense rainfall. Mr. Warren said stormwater from more than 20 acres runs through the ditch.

    Although many people walk dogs in a field adjacent to the ditch, Mr. Warren said it is properly supplied with cleanup materials, although he assumed that not all owners were diligent at removing their dogs’ waste.

    The program recommended by Inter-Science includes a filtration sponge that processes and cleans water in an enclosed area as well as bio-filtration, which involves planting native species to filter wastes naturally. The  procedures are known to work well together, Mr. Warren said.

    “I think it is a positive step,” Mr. McAllister said yesterday. He said he hoped the village would get the needed funding, and he suggested oversight to ensure the project’s completion. The Peconic Baykeeper organization will help monitor the project.

The first and most lengthy step will be to dredge the ditch, which Mr. Warren said will certainly be “stinky” because the muck in it has sat stagnant for many years. He hoped dredging could begin before winter weather made it difficult, and said that Inter-Science had applied for the necessary permits from the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers.

    Meanwhile, the board and the harbor committee also approved heaping snow plowed from the streets at the beach. Bruce Tait, chairman of the harbor committee, said the relocation of the snow piles to the beach’s gravel parking area, which is pitched away from the water, and fencing and hay bales that have been installed, go “above and beyond” and are a significant improvement over the past. But, he said the committee would revisit the process in the future.

    The benefits of removing snow from Main Street outweigh any risk of placing it on the beach, Mr. Tait said, since Main Street’s storm runoff goes “straight out to the bay” anyway. However, Jeffrey Peters, a committee member who ultimately voted to approve the snow’s placement at the beach, said, “I don’t want to see this pushed under the rug.”

    At Thursday’s East Hampton Village board work session, Drew Bennett, the consulting engineer for the village, offered an update on two capital projects, both involving extensive road renovation — one in response to Tropical Storm Irene, which chewed up the end of Lily Pond Lane by Georgica Beach, and a repaving project that will encompass almost two miles of Georgica Road between Woods Lane (Route 27) and Georgica Close.

    All the permits have come through for the work at the beach, Mr. Bennett said. It will include “reclaiming about 20 feet of road,” along with the addition of beach sand and beach grass to a down slope there, and the replacement of a split-rail fence, with a cost of around $50,000.

    “We expect to see about 87 percent of the costs reimbursed,” said Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, adding that those reimbursements were being discussed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    The damage to the road end has caused the beach entrance to be deemed unsafe and it has been closed since the late August storm.

    The asphalt would be restriped as well as part of the project. “We could start the work in March,” Mr. Bennett said, with a finish date sometime before the start of beach season. He envisioned that during working hours, limited access to the beach would be provided, in case of emergency.

    “I would like to get this on the board’s agenda this month,” said Mr. Cantwell. “We want to do everything we can to get the work done by May 1.” The board agreed.

    As to Georgica Road, “3,300 feet of the base is greatly decayed,” said Mr. Bennett. The project being proposed would lead to repaving of 10,500 linear feet of road with an eight-inch sub-base. “There’s a long history of flooding” on that section of road, Mr. Bennett explained. Drainage has recently been added, “addressing some of the lingering issues,” especially around Pudding Hill Lane.

    The cost for the project is approximately $780,000, assuming $90 per ton for asphalt, “which is on the high end. We wanted to be conservative,” Mr. Bennett said.

    With a realistic schedule, the work could be done by May 15. “From a financial perspective, we’re in a position to do this work,” Mr. Cantwell said, adding that the money could be put into a bond at a favorable interest rate, since the municipality carries almost no debt.

    Some other smaller paving jobs that are recommended by Mr. Bennett might “piggyback” for a better overall cost.

    “Whether we borrow $780,000 or $1,000,000 is not going to have a significant impact, one over the other,” Mr. Cantwell said.

    Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach agreed that the idea of a “one-time package” would be favored by the board, especially when Mr. Bennett spoke of possible bulk savings.

    “If we can save 20 percent, we should do it,” said Barbara Borsack, the deputy mayor.

    There was also a discussion about upgrading the Police Department’s mapping system. The system now in use is almost 20 years old, and somewhat antiquated by newer technologies.

    “We got our money’s worth out of it,” said East Hampton Village Police Lt. Anthony Long. “But it’s limited and no longer supported. If it breaks, we can’t fix it.”

    The new system being considered is one that “most, if not all, municipalities on the Island use,” said Lieutenant Long. Additional information updates can be borrowed from maps of other towns and cities.

    It is, according to Police Chief Jerry Larsen, a matter of public safety. “Currently we can’t trust the information that’s coming through this.” It’s supposed to support the police but, he said, “it’s a hindrance.”

    The system would cost approximately $55,000 and take about three years to implement 100 percent, from updating the software, to training, and finally integration with the current system.

    “We have an obligation to provide the best product for public safety,” said the mayor.

    More than 100 people turned out for an informational forum at the Bay Street Theatre organized by its management team and members of its board to discuss the theater’s future home last Thursday.

    “We wanted to be candid with the community who supports us,” Murphy Davis, Bay Street’s artistic director, said.

    Residents, business owners, and board members made it clear that they want the theater to remain in Sag Harbor. Many spoke out demanding it, for reasons ranging from cultural to educational to economic, and offered ideas about how it could stay.

    “It’s not just about the rent,” Tracy Mitchell, the theater’s executive director, said in addressing a rumor about the reason behind a move. She added that Patrick E. Malloy III, a businessman and Sag Harbor landowner, has been a good landlord. She mentioned other expenses that make it a struggle to keep the not-for-profit theater afloat: Besides the $185,000 annual rent, which increases every three years, it costs $200,000 to house actors and crews, and other money is spent on rent in Riverhead for the construction of sets.

    Mr. Davis sought to dispel another rumor — that shows were not well attended. He said the theater, which holds 299 people, did “very well.” Robby Stein, a Sag Harbor Village Board member who also serves on the theater’s board, pointed out that theaters don’t live on that revenue; they depend on grants and donations, too.

    “If we increase our earnings, it’s not a game-changer,” Frank Filipo, the chairman of the theater’s board, said. “The theater’s fixed costs are raised, and having to raise more and more money each year is very difficult.” He added, “We are proud of the work done here. Everything is done at the highest level of professional entertainment.”

    “We want to stay in Sag Harbor if we can,” Mr. Davis said to loud applause.

    The theater needs to invest in a long-term home, Ms. Mitchell said, ideally in a place where expenses would be lower and the theater could own the property.

    During a lengthy discussion of the possibility of a joint effort with Pierson High School, which could use an auditorium, it was suggested that a theater could be built adjacent to school property. One of those who pushed for such a collaboration was Peter Solow, a Pierson art teacher. He worried about the psychological effect of losing the theater and said it was as essential as the school.

    Ms. Mitchell welcomed the idea of a partnership to benefit students and said it would help that the school, for the most part, wouldn’t use the space at night or in summertime.

    Among other Sag Harbor possibilities, Ms. Mitchell said the cinema on Main Street had an asking price of $12 million. The site of the recently closed Stella Maris School is not for sale, and if it were rented the Catholic Church would still be involved, which could affect programming.

    Many in attendance thought that the 14,000-square-foot former Schiavoni plumbing facility on Jermain Avenue deserved more looking into, though there are questions having to do with the village code and residents’ acceptance of increased traffic.

    The property, Ms. Mitchell said, has enough room to house actors and workers, build sets, store props, and accommodate administration. And it is close enough to work with the school — “all the things we want to do.”

    “I love the building,” Mr. Murphy said.

    In Southampton, what will soon be the former Parrish Art Museum on Job’s Lane might be the most financially viable option, according to Ms. Mitchell, and a workable agreement is being pursued. Museum officials have proposed a 50-year lease, and drawings of an outdoor pavilion adjacent to the museum are being developed.

    The “cold, hard truth,” Mr. Davis said, is that a decision needs to be made in 30 to 60 days. Mr. Filipo clarified that the theater does not have to move at that time — it will be on Long Wharf till 2013, with “great stuff this year,” he said. But as the decision nears, interim locations may have to be considered.

    Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., the village attorney, who grew up in Sag Harbor, talked about the improvements he saw when Bay Street came to the wharf and called the theater critical to the economic health of the village. “We need to do everything to keep you here,” he told the board.

    Those interested in helping the search have been asked to call the theater or e-mail their ideas to [email protected].

    The State Department of Environmental Conservation has asked Molly Zweig, a Georgica beachfront resident, or her legal representative to meet with agents next Thursday in an attempt to convince her to remove the fencing erected seaward of her property earlier this year.

    The fine for erecting a structure adjacent to tidal wetlands can be as high as $10,000 per day from the time of the infraction. Ms. Zweig was cited by the D.E.C. on Sept. 9, but failed to respond in 30 days as required. On Dec. 12, Steven Angel of Esseks, Hefter, and Angel of Water Mill informed the state that he was representing Ms. Zweig.

    The East Hampton Village Board has scheduled an executive session to decide if and when to take Ms. Zweig’s failure to remove the fence to State Supreme Court. Both state and village have cited Ms. Zweig for erecting the fence without permits, and Georgica Beach-goers have complained that the fencing blocks access to the beach after storms.

    No one disputes that the rectangular piece of land abutting the beach just west of the Georgica Beach road end is privately owned, but whenever the adjacent, public beach becomes eroded — a regular occurrence of late — Ms. Zweig’s fence blocks access, according to Larry Cantwell, the village administrator. “The tide comes up to the posts and there’s no access. The bottom line is we want the fences out.”

    The larger question begged with each incremental sea level rise is, what happens when high tide encroaches on private property? Does it then become public? “That will probably have to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Mr. Cantwell said.   

    Under a subsidiary called the S.A.M. Trust, the producer and director Steven Spielberg has donated conservation easements over three properties on Georgica Cove in East Hampton Village to the Peconic Land Trust. The easements permanently protect 7.46 acres from development, and even prohibit any landscaping on the property, according to a Peconic Land Trust newsletter.

    Mr. Spielberg and his family live on Apaquogue Road at Quelle Farm, directly across the water from the three lots, which are located at the intersection of Chauncey Close and Ruxton Road in the Cove Hollow Farm neighborhood.

    The lots — two of which are contiguous, with one across a small road — are 2.45 acres, 2.65 acres, and 2.36 acres. They include “acres of natural habitat in brackish tidal marsh and successional maritime forest, old field, and shrubland ecological communities,” according to the land trust.

    At a meeting on Friday, the East Hampton Village Board offered its seal of approval for the transaction, providing “an acknowledgement on the part of the village board that the easement and gift — a property of tremendous value — is consistent with the village policies of preserving natural resources,” Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, explained Tuesday.

    Mr. Spielberg could not be reached for comment by press time.  

    Jonathan Russo of Shelter Island said he had a premonition. In fact, when he bought a book of raffle tickets during the summer as part of a benefit for the East End Classic Boat Society, “I absolutely said, ‘It will be mine.’ ”

    And it was, a lapstrake Sunshine tender built by members of the society last summer. The sleek tender comes with a trailer and the boat’s propulsion system — a pair of oars. Mr. Russo bought his tickets at Sag Harbor’s HarborFest in September. The raffle benefited the not-for-profit Amagansett organization.

    Ray Hartjen, the group’s president, said the 10.6-foot tender was started a year ago and finished in December. It was constructed of steam-bent oak with Atlantic white cedar planking.

    “I hated to see it go,” he said, going on to pine over the tender’s apple wood knees as well as the previous boat, its 25-year-old mahogany transom in particular. The society held a meeting Tuesday evening to decide what the next benefit boat would be. Mr. Hartjen said he hoped it would be finished faster so a second one might be built that the society could keep on display.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Russo took possession of his new tender at about noon on Saturday and had it in the water that afternoon. “I’m so excited and happy,” he said on Monday. The boat will be called Yar, Katharine Hepburn’s Down East description of Dexter’s yacht True Love in the 1940 film “The Philadelphia Story,” Mr. Russo said. It means easy to handle, quick to the helm.

    Mr. Hartjen said the winner had called to report it was indeed yar, perfectly balanced. As a sailor he wondered if the mast step in the tender actually meant it could be converted to sail.

    “We have patterns for a dagger board and rudder,” Mr. Hartjen said.

    It’s not a done deal, but the State Department of Environmental Conservation has signaled the possibility that New York’s recreational fluke fishermen will see big improvements in minimum size in the coming year. However, during a Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council “visioning” session held at the Montauk Playhouse on Monday night, commercial fluke fishermen said they were once again getting the shaft. 

    Working from sportfishing and stock assessment surveys, managers see the possibility that the onerous 2010 regulations — a 20.5-inch minimum size — could be reduced by an inch, perhaps by an inch and a half. The current possession limit of three fish per day would stay the same. New York sport fishermen landed 602,000 pounds of fluke in 2011.

    Capt. Joe McBride, speaking for the Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association, said the changes would put New York charter and party boat operators on an equal footing with New Jersey and southern New England boats for hire that have been enjoying a big advantage in the size and numbers of fluke their customers can catch and keep. The regulatory changes must first go through an intricate approval process. A final ruling will not be made until March or April.

    In August, the coastal summer flounder (fluke) resource was declared 100 percent rebuilt. A stock assessment update in October conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service presented a less-rosy picture, but numbers still seemed to justify a more liberal sport fishery, according to Jim Gilmore, the state’s chief of marine resources, primarily because of the fact that New York anglers caught only half of their 2011 quota.

    The news was not good for New York’s commercial fluke fishermen. In fact, Mr. Gilmore, who attended the Monday night meeting in Montauk, said it was likely the market fishery, which already gets only 7 percent of the coastwide quota, will take an additional hit.

    Arnold Leo, secretary of the East Hampton Town Baymen’s Association and the East Hampton Town’s former fisheries consultant, attended Monday night’s meeting. He said that while commercial fishermen were buoyed by the August announcement — as much as a 30-percent increase in landings was projected — the subsequent October “adjustment” had infuriated Montauk’s dragger fishermen.

    Bill Wise is associate director of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University and heads up the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s marine resources advisory committee. “It’s enough trouble even when the initial numbers are correct, but when they substitute other numbers later, it’s not good. It’s my sense that N.M.F.S. was not entirely forthcoming, either purposely or in error in August to have put out tenuous numbers.” A decrease from New York’s 1.3 million-pound commercial quota is being justified as an answer to overfishing.

    The D.E.C.’s Mr. Gilmore said it did not look like the commercial quota would be reduced by much and the final figures would have to wait for new stock assessment data in February.

    “This kind of screwing around is unforgivable. Here we have a rebuilt stock and recreational fishermen are catching way under because the size limit was too large. Had they reduced it by a half inch for 2011, they would have caught their quota. And, I doubt that commercial landings were over the quota because the state just increased the daily fluke limit for the rest of this month. None of it pieces together,” Mr. Leo said.

    At the Montauk Playhouse on Monday night, Chuck Weimar, owner of the Montauk dragger Rianda S, told representatives of the Mid-Atlantic Council and the D.E.C. that it was “the management, not the resource. The resource is there. The complexity of the management is the problem.” Captain Weimar said changing from state-by-state management of species to coastwide management, and from species-by-species management with daily trip limits to a broader, multi-species system with weekly or monthly quotas, would halt the current waste of fish and fuel, but he said, don’t hold your breath.

    On Tuesday he explained that to manage fluke coastwide, quota would have to be taken from New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia to give to New York and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council would not have the votes to make the change. “It would level the playing field. We spent 20 years rebuilding fluke stocks and get nothing,” Captain Weimar said. He added that because most of the fishing takes place in federal waters, outside state boundaries, boats should be able to land wherever it makes economic sense.

    “We’ve had New Jersey fluke licenses for 15 years because we couldn’t deal with New York’s low quota. The fish would go from New Jersey to the New York Market. The fish would get back to New York before we did, but now with fuel close to $4 per gallon it’s not cost efficient. There’s such an abundant resource in federal waters. Southern boats could land here,” good for the economy, Captain Weimar said. “The state would have to do that.”

    He added that the current species-by-species management was causing fishermen to throw back thousands of pounds of perfectly good fish. “If you’re fishing for scup, you throw back the sea bass you catch. It makes us look like the bad guys. There is talk of ecosystem management.”

    “The other thing is the weekly or cumulative trip limits. That right there eliminates discards. Now if you’re fishing for scup and catch 10,000 pounds in a tow and the limit is 8,000 you have to discard 2,000 pounds. You go out the next day and catch 3,000 pounds, and you don’t catch your limit. It’s bizarre this day and age. If you make the limit a cumulative three-day trip, for instance, and you catch it in one or two days, you use less fuel. It’s more efficient. It’s what we need as an industry.”

    It has been surmised in New York magazine that if Gerald and Sara Wiborg Murphy’s property — 77 acres of oceanfront in East Hampton Village — were available for sale today, it could bring as much as $1 billion on the market.

    But some of the last vestiges of land and buildings belonging to those archetypes of the Jazz Age — F. Scott Fitzgerald used the couple as models for Dick and Nicole Driver in “Tender Is the Night” — were razed when the Pink House, which was really called Swan Cove, was demolished by Peter Solomon, the new owner, last year.

    The Solomons, who purchased the property on Highway Behind the Pond for $19 million only days after it came on the market in 2009, demolished the aging mansion but have professed their love for the style, and are building something more in keeping with current codes and regulations.

    However, there is a little piece of the Murphy estate that now resides behind Mulford Barn on James Lane — an octagonal outbuilding that Gerald Murphy installed on the property. Unlike the other famous, small octagonal house of the Hamptons — John Steinbeck’s writing studio on his property in Sag Harbor — this gazebo had no glass in its windows, leaving it open to the elements.

    “It sat right on the pond,” said Richard Barons, the executive director of the East Hampton Historical Society, the organization to which the Solomons gifted the gazebo.

    The little house is being stored on the Mulford Farm property until it can receive a bit of a face-lift. “It’s fairly decrepit,” said Mr. Barons. “But it has this wonderful Baroque style that Gerald Murphy matched in the home.”

    “We would like to put it in the garden behind the Osborn-Jackson House, after working with the zoning board and design review board, of course,” Mr. Barons said.

    Every town, every village, and every hamlet has its unnamed heroes. In Montauk, there’s Vinnie Grimes, who was recognized and given the Good Deed Award from the Boy Scouts, Suffolk County Trailblazer District, at a dinner at Gurney’s Inn on Oct. 21.

    Mr. Grimes also received a slew of proclamations from the Town of East Hampton, the State of New York, and Suffolk County. The state’s says, “A great state is only as great as those persons who give. Long Island has profoundly benefited by the commitment of Vincent E. Grimes.”

    A Montauk native, Mr. Grimes, 83, attended both the Montauk School and East Hampton High School. As a boy scout he progressed to the rank of Life Scout, but came up a few merit badges shy of Eagle Scout. During four years’ service in the Navy, he watched a Blessing of the Fleet ceremony in California and thought it would be a good idea for Montauk’s fleet. He approached the local priest to bless his boat, the Cigarette, and the idea caught on. The Blessing of the Fleet has only grown over the years.

    An owner of two gas stations, Mr. Grimes was known for hiring local kids. He reportedly treated them as his own and expected from them the same things he expected from his own two sons, Keith and James.

    He is a member of American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett and served on its board for six years. He is active in his church and the Knights of Columbus. A member of the Lions Club for 20 years, Mr. Grimes is also an active member of the Montauk Historical Society and can be seen selling hot dogs from a truck at its annual arts and crafts fairs.

    A longtime member of the Montauk Fire Department, he has served on its house committee and board of commissioners. When he retired as a commissioner, he rejoined as a firefighter. In 1986, he had the honor of leading the Montauk Friends of Erin St. Patrick’s Day parade as grand marshal.

    Mr. Grimes helped establish the horse shows that used to be held in the hamlet to benefit local organizations. As a scoutmaster, he helped rejuvenate Boy Scout Troop 136 in the late 1990s. He and a friend set up a tent in the Grimes living room and talked his son James into being the new scoutmaster. The troop is still thriving and has now produced six Eagle Scouts.

    Mr. Grimes was speechless when he arrived at the awards dinner and realized it was for him. “They dug up stuff I had long forgotten,” he said.

    As for all those proclamations and awards, the honoree said, “I’m going to have to build another wall.”

    If all goes well Saturday at an Amagansett fund-raiser, a Marine unit deployed in Afghanistan will be getting a shipment of much-needed items very soon.

    The event is called Music for Morale, and it has a dual purpose: supplying a team of nine marines with large, water-carrying backpacks and wrist-mounted global positioning devices and raising money to buy musical instruments for recovering veterans in United States hospitals. It will run from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Stephen Talkhouse on Main Street. Admission is $20.

    The marines, part of the Second Division, Fourth Marines, and in a combat zone, will have Megan Collins of East Hampton to thank when the packages arrive. Ms. Collins felt she had to do something when she learned that the son of a close friend would be overseas during the holidays. She thought about sending a gift of cookies, but then thought again, resolving to get him something he really needed.

    Through her friend, a question was relayed, and the answer surprised her. The regular-issue water-carrying backpacks the unit had been issued were too small to carry much else in the way of supplies or personal items. They had seen backpacks that another unit had and thought that they would be significantly better. They had GPS devices handed out by the corps, but they were cumbersome, and having ones on their wrists would be an advantage.

    Ms. Collins was not new to the process of helping military personnel. She had been involved with the Wounded Warrior Project from its earliest days. And, she helped with an initial effort to send musical instruments to veterans in New England.

    To outfit the nine-member Marine unit will cost about $2,700, plus shipping. Ms. Collins said a volunteer had tried to get in touch with Garmin, a leading GPS manufacturer, seeking a discount, and that a friend of a friend worked for Federal Express and, she hoped, might be able to get a good price on shipping the packages overseas.

    Robert Bruey, a singer-songwriter from Southold who is among the performers in Saturday’s show, said that it was important to him that Americans not forget the soldiers themselves. “It is important to realize that these are actual people, not just numbers,” he said.

    Mr. Bruey said he planned to perform a song he wrote about Army First Lt. Joseph J. Theinert, a Shelter Island resident who was killed in 2010 in Afghanistan.

    Also in the lineup for Saturday are Dick Johansson and the Highlanders, Joe Delia and Thieves, the Blue Collar Band, Michael Weiskopf, Mariann Megna, and Job Potter.

    There will be raffle prizes with items and services from local businesses and food will be provided by Springs Pizza, One-Stop Market, and D’Canela and Indian Wells restaurants.

    The project to gather and distribute musical instruments and supplies has its roots in a similar effort organized by Walter Noller, an East Hampton musician and Army Reserve veteran. Back in 2008, Mr. Noller tapped fellow musicians and cash donors and was able to amass roughly $3,000 worth of instruments that were handed over to a New England veterans group for distribution.

    “I wanted to do something good for the wounded soldiers, to give them respite from their pain and suffering — and it worked,” he said.

    He said that one of the 2008 recipients, a soldier who had lost an arm, had his prosthesis retrofitted so he could play again.

    This time, Mr. Noller hopes to deliver the instruments personally. He also hopes to develop a Web site that would allow donors to keep track of those who receive the instruments. “I wanted this time to show people where their money was going,” he said.

    Gifts of instruments will be welcomed at Crossroads Music in Amagansett. Michael Clark, the shop’s owner, will offer a discount to those who would like to buy something to support the project.

    “There has been an incredible positive response from local musicians,” Mr. Noller said. Many, he said, were expected to part with some of their own gear. “You see them going through a mental note of their inventory.”

    Donations already include a drum set and a guitar. “Our job is to find them homes,” Mr. Noller said.