Government Briefs 03.17.16

East Hampton Town

Pump-Out Boats Had a Busy Year

Four hundred and sixty-three thousand gallons of sewage have not entered waterways over the last six years, thanks in large part to the East Hampton Town Trustees’ pump-out boat program. That was the figure issued at the trustees’ meeting on Monday.

The trustees operate two pump-out boats each summer, starting on or around Memorial Day. The service is provided to boaters free of charge. One boat is docked in Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton, the other in Lake Montauk. Like all open waters of the Peconic Estuary, both are no-discharge zones.

Last year was collectively the busiest to date. In Lake Montauk, the pump-out boat extracted 70,670 gallons; in Three Mile Harbor, 19,580 gallons. In 2013, the latest year for which figures were available, 2,532 boats were serviced in the two waterways.

The program costs $65,000 annually, though a state reimbursement grant provides up to $5,000 per boat.

Trustee Diane McNally recommended to her colleagues on Monday that the trustees provide the boat operators with shirts, hats, and windbreakers to identify them as trustee employees. The board has also considered acquiring a third boat.       C.W.

Cellphone Antennae

A planning board hearing will be held at Town Hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on a proposal to mount nine wireless antennae on an existing wind turbine tower at Iacono Farm on Long Lane. Board members have for the most part been supportive as the proposal made its way through the site plan process, but one board member, Job Potter, said earlier this year that he was opposed to the plan, fearing it would set a precedent.

John Huber, who represents AT&T, told the board during a presentation that the antennae were needed to fill a shortage across the town and poor cellphone service in places.       T.E.M.