Yacht Yard Gives Some Boats Heave Ho

Mariners who store their boats at the Sag Harbor Yacht Yard pleaded with the Sag Harbor Village Board on Tuesday night to find a way for the storage yard to remain as is.

The village and Louis Grignon, who has owned the yacht yard on Bay Street for 20 years, haven’t been able to come to an agreement over a lease of 16,180 square feet of village-owned land (plus nearly 7,000 square feet of bottomland) he uses to store approximately 50 boats. The land was given to the village in 1994 by the Mobil Oil Corporation, which unloaded fuel from barges into tanks located there in the 1960s.

Mr. Grignon’s 15-year lease, $15,592 annually, was up May 31. The village, after having an appraisal done that suggested an estimated annual rental value of $20,000 per month, according to Mayor Brian Gilbride, offered Mr. Grignon a short-term lease.

Fred W. Thiele Jr., the village attorney, said Mr. Grignon wanted a 10-year lease with a 10-year option. The board thinks there may be a better use for that property, whether it is parking or a pathway to the water or a home for picnic tables, the mayor said. The village countered with a five-year lease, which was also turned down, Mr. Thiele said.

After a lot of back and forth over the summer, Mr. Grignon hired an attorney, Dennis Downes, and Mr. Thiele took over negotiations. The most recent offer from the village was a one-year “stop-gap” lease for $24,000, which included $1,500 that would be used for an environmental assessment of the property. Mr. Grignon’s last offer was $22,500. The negotiations stalled with the difference of just $1,500. Mr. Thiele said his last correspondence with Mr. Downes was that the boats were being removed from the property.

At the meeting Tuesday night, though, the discussion centered on those most affected by the lack of a resolution.

“I’m not here to discuss negotiations or numbers, but instead to broach the subject of responsibility,” Mr. Grignon told the board. “As an owner of a marina boatyard it is not my responsibility by law to store everyone’s boat,” he said.

“It is my opinion that the village has the responsibility, if in their power, to consider the well-being of the boaters in the community. The village makes a handsome profit from their slips and moorings with minimal expense. Have you considered the economic impact to the village of losing 50 to 60 boats that I store to other harbors?”

A handful of his clients who received notices that he won’t be able to offer their storage space this year asked the board to remember them. Several said they would have to take their boats elsewhere because their sailboats don’t fit under the Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter Memorial Bridge to get to the next closest yard or because that side of the harbor isn’t deep enough for their boat’s draw.

Sean Leary believes he was given a notice that he wouldn’t be able to keep his boat there because he doesn’t spend as much money at the yard in maintenance as some others.

George Martin, who started using the yard in the 1970s, said he would have to take his boat out of the village, as well. It is a shame, he said, because the village has become “a real sailing community.”

Lynn Leary said she found it interesting that this discussion was taking place just a few days before Harborfest, the annual celebration of the village’s maritime history. “It’s almost disrespectful,” she said.

At the end of the meeting, Pierce Hance, a former mayor, urged the board to find a resolution, and said that all too often negotiations with the board turn into legal fights. “I hope you guys can figure it out,” he said.

Mayor Gilbride said yesterday it may work out for the best. “We’re not really in the rental business. We’re in the business of providing our residents access to water,” he said, adding that the board would discuss the future use of that property before any decisions are made.

“It’s a long, narrow piece of property. Is it good for Lou? Yeah. Do I think $24,000 is cheap? Absolutely,” Mayor Gilbride said yesterday.