F.A.A. Cancels Grant

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to cancel a $2.5 million grant for work on the main runway at the East Hampton Town Airport and allow the town to reapply for funding after the project has undergone more stringent environmental and public review.

Town Supervisor Cathy Lester announced the F.A.A. decision following a meeting with Federal officials last Thursday. She said the F.A.A. would reimburse the town for the $197,000 already spent on design and engineering, but would not fund the rest of the project until the review is completed.

Calls to the New York regional manager of the F.A.A. were not returned by press time.

Called For A Hearing

The town will add the repaving and "widening" of runway 10-28 to an environmental assessment already under way for other projects in the 1994 airport layout plan.

"I think it went very well," the Supervisor the day after last Thursday's meeting.

Throughout her campaign for re-election Supervisor Lester had been calling for a public hearing on the entire airport layout plan, of which the runway improvement is a part. Such a hearing had never been held and the layout plan was never formally adopted.

"I do know [the State Environmental Quality Review Act] and I do know when a plan has been officially adopted," she said. When the new Town Board convenes in January, it will move forward on both, she said.

Contractor To Sue

"The process could take two or three years and the runway certainly isn't going to improve with age," Pat Ryan, the manager of the East Hampton Airport, said Tuesday.

He said there now are five cracks on runway 10-28 that need to be saw-cut and milled, and 19 others that can be fixed without cutting the pavement out, but after a winter or two they could get worse. While the town can reapply for F.A.A. funding in the future, there's no guarantee the town will get it.

"Frustrated" is a mild word to describe how many of the pilots feel about the change of plans, Mr. Ryan said.

The firm chosen to do the work on the runway is also less than pleased with the turn of events since the Supervisor's re-election earlier this month. It is going to court to force Ms. Lester or another member of the Town Board to sign a construction contract.

Without a signed contract, the company, Hendrickson Brothers of Farmingdale, apparently cannot ask the town for compensation or reimbursement for any work already done in preparation for the runway project.

Reimbursement Issue

The attorney for Hendrickson Brothers is John P. Bracken of the Islandia firm of Bracken & Margolis.

The town solicited bids this summer for the runway work and in September the Town Board's Republican majority passed a resolution authorizing the Supervisor to enter into a contract with Hendrickson. Supervisor Lester and Councilman Peter Hammerle, Democrats, voted against the resolution because, they said, the project needed more comprehensive review.

Wouldn't Rescind

Charges that the project was tantamount to the airport's expansion fueled the fall election campaaign. The Supervisor did not sign the contract nor did she send the firm an award letter announcing the decision of the Town Board.

Hendrickson's suit claims "Supervisor Lester is simply refusing to perform her ministerial duty . . . and has abused her discretion."

The Town Board has retained an attorney, Gary Weintraub of Huntington, in the matter.

Given the results of her meeting with the F.A.A. last week, the Supervisor asked the Town Board last Thursday night to rescind the September resolution authorizing her to sign the contract with Hendrickson Brothers. The Republican majority refused to do so.

Crowd Expected

The public meeting the board called for Friday, Dec. 5, at 10:30 a.m. with representatives of the F.A.A. and the town's airport consulting engineer to discuss the runway will move forward as planned, even if the runway itself doesn't.

The hearing is expected to draw a crowd on both sides of the issue. The Pilots Association reportedly has been rallying airport users to speak at the hearing.

Though Ms. Lester said representatives of the F.A.A. are now reluctant to attend next Friday's forum, Mr. Ryan believes the meeting will alleviate a lot of fears people have about the proposed improvements.

Other Hearings

There are a number of other hearings scheduled for Dec. 5 during the regular board meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. The town will hear comments on a new tax extension for seniors, giving them an additional five days to pay their property taxes without penalties or interest, and proposed changes to the Zoning Code to allow storage garages in commercial-industrial districts and by special permit in central business districts.

The Town Board also has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday at 9 a.m. at which it expects to go into executive session to hear an update on the Robert Cooper litigation from the town's special counsel, Vincent Fontana. Mr. Cooper is a former Councilman who accused the Town Police Department of biased practices.