PSEG Pays Village a Visit
Representatives of PSEG Long Island updated the East Hampton Village Board about upcoming maintenance work in the Town of East Hampton at the board’s meeting on Friday.
A similar presentation was made to the town board earlier this spring.
Using money allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the utility will upgrade the distribution infrastructure for greater storm resiliency, said Vincent Frigeria, the external affairs district manager for Eastern Suffolk. Poorly performing distribution circuits, which transport electricity from substations to residences and businesses, have been identified for storm hardening with new poles and wires. Seven of these, he said, are within the town.
New, stronger poles to replace those deemed vulnerable will be three to five feet taller, two or three inches wider, and driven deeper into the ground. Their profile is narrower, with more robust bracing and stronger cross arms, to withstand greater impact from downed trees or branches, Mr. Frigeria said. The number of poles to be replaced is yet to be determined.
Automatic segmentation units will also be installed. These allow a circuit, in the event of an outage, to continue providing electricity to unaffected customers along a transmission route.
The poles will be treated with a wood preservative, Mr. Frigeria said, explaining that untreated poles have an average lifespan of four and a half years, while preservative-treated poles can last 40 years. The preservative would either be chromated copper arsenate (C.C.A.) or pentachlorophenol, also known as penta, Jeffrey Weir, PSEG Long Island’s director of communications, said on Tuesday, adding that they are already treated with a preservative when the utility procures them.
After the presentation, Kathleen Cunningham, a resident of the village, reminded the board that Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle had introduced a bill that would require the trustees of the Long Island Power Authority, for which PSEG Long Island manages the electricity grid, to be elected. The bill calls for eight members elected from eight districts of equal population to replace the current appointed board.
It is frustrating, Ms. Cunningham said, to see a continued reliance on transmission poles running through narrow residential streets, “when we know burying the lines is the way to go.” Residents and public officials were angered by the recent installation of high-voltage electrical transmission lines and taller, preservative-treated poles between the village and Amagansett, citing health and safety concerns over their proximity to houses, as well as aesthetic concerns. Groups called Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy and Save East Hampton were established to oppose overhead transmission lines and advocate for burying the lines.
“On balance,” the mayor told Ms. Cunningham, “we share your concerns and support that legislation.”
Ahead of its Aug. 1 fiscal new year, the village board presented a tentative 2016-17 budget on Friday. The board will hold a public hearing on the budget on June 17 at the Emergency Services Building.
Under the $21.1 million proposed budget, the tax rate would rise by .2 percent, to $28.90 per $100 of assessed value. The budget includes a $432,993 spending increase, or 2.1 percent. That increase, said Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., is largely a consequence of rising health insurance premiums, replacement of aging vehicles, and capital projects including work at Village Hall and the Gardiner house on James Lane. Health insurance premiums are beginning to be offset by higher employee contributions, he said.
Spending decreases are attributed to lower contributions to the state retirement system, lower fuel and utility costs, and equipment purchases made during the current fiscal year.
The tentative budget includes a 1.6-percent increase in property tax revenue, or $197,726, and a 3-percent increase in non-property tax revenue, amounting to an additional $235,267. Increases in the Building Department’s revenue, in the mortgage recording tax, and in justice court fees account for much of the latter figure, the mayor said. “That’s an indication of the real estate activity as it relates to sales and new construction and alterations,” he said.
The budget includes reserves for future purchases for the Fire Department, ambulance corps, and Department of Public Works, and continues funding for roadwork and to improve the ecological health of the Hook Pond watershed.
The village “has been fortunate to maintain a healthy financial outlook and a very modest debt burden,” the mayor said, “while continuing to provide the level of service expected by you, our residents.”