Attendance Wanes for Some Town Trustees

Two East Hampton Town trustees, one of whom is seeking re-election in November, have attended fewer than half of the board’s meetings in 2015 and a third, whose attendance has waned, has decided this will be her last term for the time being.

Complaints have begun to come from a small but growing number of residents who attend the twice-monthly meetings. The nine-member trustees manage many of the town’s beaches, waterways, and bottomlands on behalf of the public and are elected to two-year terms.

At the trustees’ meeting last week, a resident of Lazy Point in Amagansett, a community whose negotiations over the land they lease from the trustees have sometimes turned contentious and even hostile, referred to the four absent trustees as “disrespectful to us” and “an insult.” Two letters in today’s Star refer to the trustees’ attendance records.

Nathaniel Miller, a two-term trustee seeking re-election, has attended 8 of the body’s 18 meetings this year, most recently on July 14. Stephen Lester, who has served seven terms and said yesterday that he is not seeking re-election, also attended 8 of 18 meetings this year, and has missed 4 of the last 5.

Stephanie Forsberg, the trustees’ assistant clerk, will not seek re-election either. She has attended 10 of 18 meetings in 2015, most recently on Aug. 25. All of the other six trustees have attended at least 15 meetings, and Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, or presiding officer, has not missed a meeting this year. 

An inquiry into trustees’ attendance at their meetings, however, has uncovered another matter, one with which the board has prior experience. Since the early summer, the boat and fishing equipment belonging to Mr. Miller, a 13th-generation bayman, has been vandalized repeatedly, Mr. Miller said this week.

“Things haven’t been good,” said Mr. Miller, whose boat is moored off Lazy Point. “It’s costing me a lot of time, money, anguish, nervousness. . . . I’m laying low because my personal property and what I do for a living is in jeopardy. Let people throw stones.”

He believes he is being targeted as a direct consequence of trustee actions, and implied that moves to tighten limits on shellfish harvesting is the reason. He has been vocal in warning his colleagues about poaching. Before last fall’s scallop season opened, he said poaching was “spiraling out of control” because of inadequate enforcement.

Two years ago, Mr. Miller’s boat, mooring line, nets, and truck were vandalized multiple times. He thinks someone else was responsible for those incidents.

The Donald Lamb Building in Amagansett, where the trustees meet, was also vandalized in 2013. That November, the scallop sanctuary on the east side of trustee-managed Napeague Harbor, which was set up by the town’s shellfish hatchery with the trustees’ assistance, was breached and the bottomland uprooted.

Mr. Miller said the birth of a child lastmonth and the serious illness of two close relatives had affected his attendance. But until the person or persons targeting his property are apprehended, he said, “I’m very afraid of making decisions. My boat has been let loose, a lot of bad stuff has happened. . . . If it becomes a choice between me being a trustee and my boat floating, I’m going to choose my boat.”

Mr. Lester said attending meetings was important, and that he did not feel he has missed too many. He underwent surgery early this year and consequently missed the year’s first three meetings, and he said yesterday that he has been ill for the past few weeks. He declined to comment on his decision not to seek re-election.

Ms. Forsberg said her decision to leave the board was due in part to her full-time employment with the Hampton Bays School District. “I definitely have missed a few meetings,” she said on Tuesday, “but I can say that I’ve given, in my opinion, eight great years of service.”

Attendance at meetings is only part of a trustee’s responsibilities. “What the public doesn’t know is I do a lot of work out of the office,” Mr. Miller said. “I still pull out moorings, call code enforcement, check on this, do that.”

Ms. Forsberg agreed. “I don’t think I’m doing a disservice” by missing several meetings, she said. “A lot happens between meetings. When I’m there, I give 150 percent.” She said she may run again for trustee if and when her schedule allows.

As presiding officer, Ms. McNally admitted to some frustration over her missing-in-action colleagues, but defended their commitment to the job, citing their work in the field and on subcommittees. “Certainly I think a major part of our strength comes from our discussion at the public table, where you have a majority vote,” she said. “That I have colleagues missing out on their ability to put forth their feelings is personally disappointing.”

That said, “I do understand that life happens,” she said. “It has been a very difficult time for several of them.” Referring to the protracted negotiations over Lazy Point leases, however, she added that “it’s equally disturbing that it came at a time when we had such a difficult issue to discuss.”

“Being a publicly elected official,” Ms. McNally said, “people expect to see you publicly. I think that’s something perhaps I need to step up my own game on — to say ‘let’s get here.’ ”

By Christopher Walsh

Two East Hampton Town trustees, one of whom is seeking re-election in November, have attended fewer than half of the board’s meetings in 2015 and a third, whose attendance has waned, has decided this will be her last term for the time being.

Complaints have begun to come from a small but growing number of residents who attend the twice-monthly meetings. The nine-member trustees manage many of the town’s beaches, waterways, and bottomlands on behalf of the public and are elected to two-year terms.

At the trustees’ meeting last week, a resident of Lazy Point in Amagansett, a community whose negotiations over the land they lease from the trustees have sometimes turned contentious and even hostile, referred to the four absent trustees as “disrespectful to us” and “an insult.” Two letters in today’s Star refer to the trustees’ attendance records.

Nathaniel Miller, a two-term trustee seeking re-election, has attended 8 of the body’s 18 meetings this year, most recently on July 14. Stephen Lester, who has served seven terms and said yesterday that he is not seeking re-election, also attended 8 of 18 meetings this year, and has missed 4 of the last 5.

Stephanie Forsberg, the trustees’ assistant clerk, will not seek re-election either. She has attended 10 of 18 meetings in 2015, most recently on Aug. 25. All of the other six trustees have attended at least 15 meetings, and Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, or presiding officer, has not missed a meeting this year. 

An inquiry into trustees’ attendance at their meetings, however, has uncovered another matter, one with which the board has prior experience. Since the early summer, the boat and fishing equipment belonging to Mr. Miller, a 13th-generation bayman, has been vandalized repeatedly, Mr. Miller said this week.

“Things haven’t been good,” said Mr. Miller, whose boat is moored off Lazy Point. “It’s costing me a lot of time, money, anguish, nervousness. . . . I’m laying low because my personal property and what I do for a living is in jeopardy. Let people throw stones.”

He believes he is being targeted as a direct consequence of trustee actions, and implied that moves to tighten limits on shellfish harvesting is the reason. He has been vocal in warning his colleagues about poaching. Before last fall’s scallop season opened, he said poaching was “spiraling out of control” because of inadequate enforcement.

Two years ago, Mr. Miller’s boat, mooring line, nets, and truck were vandalized multiple times. He thinks someone else was responsible for those incidents.

The Donald Lamb Building in Amagansett, where the trustees meet, was also vandalized in 2013. That November, the scallop sanctuary on the east side of trustee-managed Napeague Harbor, which was set up by the town’s shellfish hatchery with the trustees’ assistance, was breached and the bottomland uprooted.

Mr. Miller said the birth of a child lastmonth and the serious illness of two close relatives had affected his attendance. But until the person or persons targeting his property are apprehended, he said, “I’m very afraid of making decisions. My boat has been let loose, a lot of bad stuff has happened. . . . If it becomes a choice between me being a trustee and my boat floating, I’m going to choose my boat.”

Mr. Lester said attending meetings was important, and that he did not feel he has missed too many. He underwent surgery early this year and consequently missed the year’s first three meetings, and he said yesterday that he has been ill for the past few weeks. He declined to comment on his decision not to seek re-election.

Ms. Forsberg said her decision to leave the board was due in part to her full-time employment with the Hampton Bays School District. “I definitely have missed a few meetings,” she said on Tuesday, “but I can say that I’ve given, in my opinion, eight great years of service.”

Attendance at meetings is only part of a trustee’s responsibilities. “What the public doesn’t know is I do a lot of work out of the office,” Mr. Miller said. “I still pull out moorings, call code enforcement, check on this, do that.”

Ms. Forsberg agreed. “I don’t think I’m doing a disservice” by missing several meetings, she said. “A lot happens between meetings. When I’m there, I give 150 percent.” She said she may run again for trustee if and when her schedule allows.

As presiding officer, Ms. McNally admitted to some frustration over her missing-in-action colleagues, but defended their commitment to the job, citing their work in the field and on subcommittees. “Certainly I think a major part of our strength comes from our discussion at the public table, where you have a majority vote,” she said. “That I have colleagues missing out on their ability to put forth their feelings is personally disappointing.”

That said, “I do understand that life happens,” she said. “It has been a very difficult time for several of them.” Referring to the protracted negotiations over Lazy Point leases, however, she added that “it’s equally disturbing that it came at a time when we had such a difficult issue to discuss.”

“Being a publicly elected official,” Ms. McNally said, “people expect to see you publicly. I think that’s something perhaps I need to step up my own game on — to say ‘let’s get here.’ ”