Trustees' New Mooring Policy

Sailboats more than 20 feet in length will be phased out of small-boat mooring sites in Three Mile, Accabonac, and Napeague Harbors, the East Hampton Town Trustees decided last week. Another proposal offered by Harold Bennett, a Trustee, to increase fees paid by dock owners by 50 cents per foot, was defeated, although the Trustees agreed to revisit the proposal in a few months.

The mooring decision came on Jan. 7 after the Trustees re-elected Diane Mamay as their Clerk, or presiding officer.

"You'll lead us over the top," John Carley, a Trustee, said after the vote by the nine-member board, a reference to the recent Trustee initiative to assume broader powers. The panel also approved a small raise for most of its members.

New Mooring Policy

James McCaffrey was re-elected as Assistant Clerk, and John Courtney was rehired as the Trustees' attorney. Laurie Bennett will again serve as secretary, although it was announced that Lianne Miller, the panel's part-time secretary, had tendered her resignation. The board will seek a replacement.

After a lengthy discussion about mooring policy, it was agreed that in Three Mile Harbor, new applicants for Trustee moorings will be told to either dinghy out to the Trustees' large-boat mooring grid in the center of the harbor or go elsewhere if their sailboats are over 20 feet.

Owners of sailboats over 20 feet who now hold Trustee mooring permits in any harbor will not be asked to move unless they fail to renew their permits by March 31. If owners fail to renew, or decide not to, their moorings will be given to smaller boats.

Can Stay In Creek

The eight larger sailboats (up to 25 feet) permitted to moor in Northwest Creek last season will be allowed to stay because water there is deep enough and the basin is well away from boat traffic, the Trustees reasoned at the Jan. 7 meeting. The decision countermanded one made in December that included Northwest in the sailboat shuffle.

Ms. Mamay said the board's decision does not pertain to power boats because sailboats generally have deeper drafts and therefore must moor closer to the deeper navigation channels. Power boats up to 25 feet long are permitted in small-boat mooring areas when there is room.

The issue came to a head last summer when the only safe mooring for one particular sailboat in Accabonac Harbor was very close to the boat channel. The senior harbormaster, Bill Taylor, said the boat posed a danger. More boats - and more large boats - were the problem, Mr. Taylor said, speaking of increasingly congested harbors.

Over The Limit

There were 25 moorings in the East Harbor section of Accabonac, the most crowded harbor, last season, plus 11 at Louse Point, four off Shipyard Lane, nine off Landing Lane, and 12 off Gerard Point. Trustees have decided that both East Harbor and Louse Point are maxed out, while there is room at the other Accabonac sites.

The only losers in the short run are two owners of smaller boats who were mistakenly given Accabonac Harbor mooring permits last summer. "We have limits, and we had gone over our limits in Accabonac. We will send letters to them to say they are now first on the waiting list," Ms. Mamay said.

The mooring discussion took place during the Trustees' first meeting of the calendar year. It was the first meeting ever for the board's newest member, Mr. Bennett, who kicked things off with a proposal to increase, by 50 cents, the fee paid by dock owners.

Delayed Increase

Except in Montauk, the Trustees own the bottom and shore of the town's bays, harbors, and ponds. That gives them the authority to charge boaters, fishermen, and homeowners not only for moorings and docks but also for waterfront walkways, pilings, fish traps, and duck blinds.

Mr. Bennett said the $1-per-linear-foot fee for private docks and walkways should be increased to $1.50. The current $1.50-per-foot fee for commercial docks should be increased to $2, he said.

But Ms. Mamay argued that the increase, while reasonable, was not fair until the Trustees finished their inventory of all docks and made sure their billing records were complete.

Fee Schedule

The board voted to postpone the increases, and they approved the existing fee schedule:

The annual mooring fee is $3-per-boat foot for residents, increased from $2 just two months ago, $6 for nonresidents, and $10 for commercial fishermen. Those with boats in the large-boat mooring grid in Three Mile Harbor pay an extra $50 for the privilege.

Fish traps, pilings, and duck blinds each cost $10 per year.

There is a 50-cents-per-yard charge to purchase dredge spoil, with a $100 minimum.

A $10 permit fee is charged for snow fencing placed on Trustee property.

The property leases at Lazy Point cost homeowners $350 per lot.

Raise Approved

While they were at it, the Trustees voted to give seven of their members a $200 raise. The Clerk and Assistant Clerk agreed to keep their salaries at $8,700 and $6,500, respectively. The rest of the members' salaries went from $3,600 to $3,800 for the coming year, $3,100 coming from the East Hampton Town budget, the balance coming from Trustee funds. The Town contributes $6,000 toward the Clerk's salary, $4,500 toward the assistant's. Mr. Courtney's annual salary for his legal advice will be $11,400, the board agreed.

Members also agreed their meeting schedule should remain the same. The regular monthly meeting is held on the first Tuesday of the month beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, with a work session scheduled for the third Tuesday, at the same time, at the Trustee offices on Bluff Road in Amagansett.