Summer on Their Minds

    Once the small group at the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee’s meeting on Monday evening had dispensed with minutes and reports from the committee’s zoning and planning board liaisons, summer 2012 seemed uppermost in everyone’s minds.

    The chairman, Kent Miller, recalled walking on Indian Wells Beach last summer with his wife, Elaine, and being taken aback by the throngs of 20-somethings, some 200-plus people, milling about, drinking beer, playing loud music, and taking up a lot of space. So as to be able to drink and not have to worry about beach stickers, many of those in the crowd had taken taxis to get there.

    That picture resonated with several others at the meeting, who described watching garbage being left on the sand, the dunes being used inappropriately, and generally noisy behavior that disrupted the quiet relaxation of the beach experience for families and other regulars.

    There are more and more improperly extinguished  beach fires every summer as well, a phenomenon that has been in the news for two or three years at least. Wondering how the town might help to reduce the numbers of tipsy beachgoers and dangerous fires, Mr. Miller asked members whether inviting the town police liaison as well as the fire marshal to next month’s meeting might be a good idea. Everyone agreed.

    Mr. Miller also reported hand-delivering two letters to Supervisor Bill Wilkinson and other town board members. One, written with Jeanne Frankl, responded to an e-mail sent by Mr. Wilkinson last Thursday to all the citizens advisory committees. The other was about the possible lease of the Abraham’s Path public tennis and basketball courts to a private entity.

    As of Monday, neither letter had been answered.