Government Briefs 04.21.16

Southampton Town

Highway Department Worker Suspended

Roosevelt Sykes, a heavy equipment operator with the Southampton Town Highway Department, who was arrested on March 10 for allegedly using a payloader at the Bridgehampton yard to load material into his personal truck, has been suspended without pay. Deputy Highway Superintendent Robert Welch suspended Mr. Sykes effective April 11 for a period not to exceed 30 days, and the town board upheld the suspension the following day.

Brian J. Lester, an East Hampton attorney, was appointed the hearing officer in the disciplinary proceeding, and will make recommendations to the highway superintendent. He will be paid $950 per day.

Marathon Day Traffic

With the Bridgehampton Half Marathon fast approaching on May 7, starting and finishing at the Beebe Windmill on Ocean Road, the Southampton Town Board approved some parking restrictions for the day. Ocean Road, from Montauk Highway to the intersection of Sagaponack Road, will be closed to vehicular traffic between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., and there will be no parking allowed on either side of the road, to accommodate shuttle buses dropping off participants and spectators.

New Laws for Uber

The Southampton Town Board has approved changes to its taxi law that will require ride-share drivers to obtain the same licenses required of traditional taxi companies and drivers. At its April 12 meeting, the board unanimously approved the amendments.

The new law, introduced by Councilman Stan Glinka, mandates the annual registration of cab companies, cab drivers, and cabs. Given Uber’s business model, in which cars are owned and operated by independent drivers affiliated with but not employed by the company, each individual driver would pay $1,000 for all three of the permitting fees to operate legally in the town.

Mr. Glinka said he had already met with police and code enforcement to discuss enforcement. Next, he will reach out to the various villages within the town to see if they will adopt the same legislation, to promote consistency.

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he would like the board to re-examine the fees.

C.P.F. for Farm Fields

The Southampton Town Board has agreed to purchase more enhanced development rights on farm fields, namely 5.85 acres on Sagg Main Street in the Village of Sagaponack from James Pike, at a cost of $860,000 from the community preservation fund. The move guarantees that the property continues to be used for food farming, preserves prime agricultural soils, and keeps it affordable to future farms.

Under the current agricultural easement applied to the property in the 1980s when a subdivision was created, any agricultural use can take place there. The easement even allows for landscaped wooded areas, according to Lisa Kombrink, an attorney representing the Pikes.

Southampton was the first town in the state to purchase enhanced restrictions on farmland with the 2014 acquisition of the former Danilevsky farm in Water Mill for over $11 million. In January, the town also bought enhanced restrictions on a 25-acre property in Bridgehampton, known as Hayground Farms, for $2.46 million.