Village Beaches Get High Marks
Describing a summer on the beaches characterized by few serious mishaps, a lack of unruly crowds, and no extreme weather, Ed McDonald, the East Hampton Village beach manager, said, “Dull is good,” as he summarized the season’s activities and revenue at a village board meeting Friday. He noted that no one had drowned and said the Main Beach lifeguards, led by Eric Bramoff, deftly and professionally handled two incidents in which bathers suffered neck injuries.
“The beaches were, for the second year in a row, beautiful and wide,” Mr. McDonald said. He had visited beaches around the world, including in Hawaii, Costa Rica, California, Florida, and South Carolina, Mr. McDonald said. “I’ve never seen beaches as clean as ours.”
The women’s bathroom, however, was not in good condition, he said, recommending that an additional one be constructed.
“We don’t get a lot of complaints, but the complaints generally come from the conditions of the bathroom. It’s almost impossible for us to keep it clean because there are people in there. Also, there’s lines outside on busy weekend days all the way down to the end of the deck.”
Compliance with beach regulations regarding dogs and fires was around 90 percent, Mr. McDonald said, “but there’s always people that don’t take care of their dogs and don’t put their fires in the metal containers.” Police and traffic control officers, he said, “do a really good job of trying to enforce that.”
The Police Department, Mr. McDonald said, is to provide a video camera for surveillance of the Main Beach parking lot and pavilion. “In the past we’ve had graffiti, some vandalism, and other naughty deeds,” he said.
Reviewing the season’s revenue, Mr. McDonald said nonresident parking totaled $1.125 million this year, while daily parking permits sold during the week for Main and Two Mile Hollow Beaches totaled $176,350. In addition, daily permits sold on weekends brought in $56,500.
Until last year, daily permits were not sold on weekends and they proved popular. “They line up to buy them on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Made a lot of people happy there,” Mr. McDonald said.
Daily parking at Main Beach was up “quite a bit” from 2013, he said after the meeting, but down slightly at Two Mile Hollow.
Mr. McDonald also noted that a new lifeguard shack was a welcome addition for the crew, allowing more space for extensive equipment, including Jet Skis.
“I would like to compliment you and everyone that’s connected with the beach operation,” Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. told Mr. McDonald. “And all the ancillary branches of village government — that’s what makes it work, teamwork.”
Also at the meeting, public hearings on two proposed amendments to the village code drew no comment and they were quickly adopted. The first adds a separate permit process for mass assemblages on public property, such as parades, bicycle rides, or use of village beaches. In addition to the existing requirement to obtain a permit for assemblies of more than 50 people, applicants will now be required to submit a security deposit to cover any damage to village property as well as a liability certificate naming the village as an additional insured party. Under the amended law, it will also be an applicant’s responsibility to shoulder costs of public works or police time, should the village administrator determine they are required. There is no fee for applications.
The second amendment reduces the speed limit on Mill Hill Lane and Meadow Way from 30 to 25 miles per hour. A Mill Hill Lane resident had requested the reduction there, the mayor said at the board’s Sept. 4 meeting, and he had added the latter street, which feeds into Mill Hill Lane.