Storm Over Yacht Club
The Breakwater Yacht Club, somewhat of an institution in the Village of Sag Harbor, may have to fight more than wind to keep its sails up.
Village Mayor Brian Gilbride intimated that he thinks the club, a not-for-profit community sailing center founded in 1988, is in violation of its lease with the village, and that the club’s attempt to renew its lease may not be a simple process. Olaf Neubert, the club commodore, sent a letter to the board dated Dec. 23 informing the village that the club is electing “to exercise its option to renew its lease” for an additional 10 years as of June 1. The lease is for underwater and upland property, once owned by the Mobil corporation, and next to village property that was leased by the Sag Harbor Yacht Yard until recently. The yacht yard vacated that property when negotiations with the village broke down over a threatened lease increase.
The Breakwater Yacht Club leases its underwater and upland properties for a combined $3,000 a year, Mr. Gilbride said yesterday.
“I think that there are things in that lease that have to be looked at, and I don’t know that the village should enter into a 10-year agreement,” Mayor Gilbride said when Bruce Tait, a member of the club’s board of directors, approached the board on Tuesday night to ask why the lease was even up for discussion.
“I don’t think you have the right for that,” said Mr. Tait. A former chairman of the village’s harbor committee, he has butted heads with the mayor and was not reappointed to the position last year. He has since resigned from the committee.
“I think you’re wrong. Let me tell you something, I know you’re wrong,” Mr. Gilbride said. He warned Mr. Tait, “Before you get Breakwater in too much hot water I would stop right there, my friend.”
Mr. Tait said he was speaking as a resident of the village and not on behalf of the board of directors, though he urged the board to uphold the lease because the club, he said, has proven itself to be an integral part of the community, teaching thousands of kids how to sail over 20 years.
But, Mr. Gilbride seemed more interested in the use of the facility for non-water activities. “Who do they lease that place to?” Mr. Gilbride asked. Mr. Tait said the indoor space is rented out for memorials and weddings.
“If you deem Breakwater Yacht Club has broken its lease at any time, you could go after them any time,” Mr. Tait told him.
There was no discussion on the village board about the lease, and Mr. Gilbride said it would be discussed later, after Fred W. Thiele Jr., the village attorney, reviewed the lease.
Yesterday morning, Mr. Gilbride said he wants to see the club continue to operate there and thinks it serves a good purpose. “My job is to protect the village,” he said, adding that a 10-year rider on a 20-year lease doesn’t protect the village. He would prefer to see two-year extensions, and if Breakwater has taken “certain liberties” and made money off the space, he wants to see that shared with the village.