Government Briefs 11.24.16
East Hampton Town
Budget Adopted
With a vote last Thursday, the East Hampton Town Board adopted a $76 million operating budget for 2017, following a hearing on Nov. 3.
The budget relies on raising $53.7 million in taxes, which is $22,349 below the maximum allowed under a state-mandated tax levy cap.
Moratorium Okayed
A one-year moratorium on development along the Montauk Highway corridor in Wainscott was enacted through a town board vote, also last Thursday.
The moratorium will forestall new development and redevelopment in the business section of the hamlet while a planning study is completed and policies and regulations shaping future development are presented.
Wood Lot Lane
A road in Northwest Woods called Main Street will now be called Wood Lot Lane, in order to avoid confusion with Main Street in East Hampton Village.
Concerned particularly about emergency responders heading to the wrong location if called to a particular address, the board voted to make the change las Thursday.
App for Airport Parking
A payment system for long-term parking at East Hampton Airport has been instituted, as previously announced. Beginning this week, drivers may use Passport, a mobile payment app, to purchase, monitor, and manage parking.
Use of the app is being offered “to make the transition to paid parking as seamless as possible,” James Brundige, the East Hampton Airport manager, said in a press release. The app can be downloaded without charge from either the iPhone app store or Google Play. Users will also be able to manage their parking online at ppprk.com.
New York State
Speed Limits Lowered
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation allowing the villages of East Hampton and Sag Harbor to reduce the speed limit on certain streets where other traffic-calming measures cannot be implemented.
State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. authored the legislation, which will allow East Hampton Village to lower the limit on King Street, McGuirk Street, Middle Lane, Mill Hill Lane, and Meadow Way to 20 miles per hour. Sag Harbor Village will reduce the speed limit on Main Street, Bay Street, Madison Street, and Jermain Avenue, also to 20 m.p.h. Both villages had approached the legislators with the request.
Narrow and congested roadways can be dangerous, especially in the summer season, and traffic-calming measures are not always feasible or desirable. Lowering the speed limit, according to a statement from the legislators, is the best way to achieve the safest streets possible for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.