School Board ‘Explores’ Bus Depot at High School

While still in its infancy, the East Hampton School District’s idea of building a bus depot on the grounds of the high school has begun to attract critics.

At the start of a special school board meeting on Tuesday, Mike Guido, East Hampton’s school architect, detailed six possible locations for a depot on the campus. While a specific location has not been chosen, some of the possibilities would be to replace the maintenance and storage buildings behind the school building off Cedar Street, to put the depot in front of the school, or on either side of the building, thereby encroaching on faculty parking or one playing field.

In October, school officials pitched the idea of spending about $4.75 million for a bus depot, maintenance barn, refueling site, and parking yard on the  campus. Doing so would enable the district to stop leasing commercial space from a private company, for which it now pays $103,000 a year, and officials say the figure could increase.

Such a move would require public approval of a bond referendum, and it could save the district money and enable it to establish an educational automotive repair program, officials say. The bond would be repaid over 20 years.

John Tarbet, whose house is about 200 feet from one of the possible sites, asked the board to “vigorously explore other options.” He was among about 25 people who attended the meeting.

“I am aware of the needs of the board, and I am sympathetic to them, but Long Lane [on which the high school fronts] is basically an agricultural preserve. I feel its aesthetic appeal should be carefully guarded,” Mr. Tarbet said. “Because schools have the right to disregard zoning regulations, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. . . . If the school buses were privately owned, this would never be permitted.”

Ellen Collins, who lives on Cedar Street, behind the school, said buses had been kept in that area temporarily at one point and that they were loud at very early times of morning.

“I’m getting up early anyway, but not everyone who lives on Cedar Street has a school schedule,” Ms. Collins said. “Honestly, to have what, to me, is an industrial building and buses across from neighbors, is not pleasant. I hope you really consider not putting them where it affects people who have lived here for a really long time.”

Mary Ella Moeller questioned continuing costs. School officials have acknowledged they have not projected what it would cost to maintain the building over its lifetime, or what it would cost to add staff for an automotive repair program.

“This won’t be in the bond issue. Heat, lights, repairs, all sorts of things of those nature,” Ms. Moeller said. “So as taxpayers, and I’m one of them, and these people who are sitting here, and everyone who is going to be voting on the bond issue, we need to know what is projected in the future cost and how it will affect future budgets.”

Ann Fink, an East Hampton school bus driver in her ninth year with the district, spoke in support of a bus depot at the high school. She said the bus depot that is now rented on Route 114 poses a danger to drivers, who she said have to deal with fast-moving and discourteous traffic. She also said conditions there are difficult.

“We park our buses with 12 inches between them,” she said. “We’re lucky we have a talented crew because we have very few incidents. I hope the community will take this into consideration.”

James Amaden, a former school board member who also spoke, was cautiously supportive. “I don’t know if this is the best place,” he said. “I agree that we do need a facility for the buses. When I was on the school board, that was one of the challenges. . . . I don’t think that you should be rushed into putting this on our campus when we don’t have any other place to go if we needed the space.”

Mr. Amaden suggested a shared bus barn among several school districts might be the solution, since several operate their own buses. “This is an excellent opportunity to bring the districts together,” he said.

Richard Burns, the school superintendent, noted “a continuing dialogue we’re having with the community. I wouldn’t even use the word proposal. This is exploration,” he said.