An East Hampton Village parking enforcement vehicle outfitted with cameras, lasers, and other license plate-reading technology, which Mayor Jerry Larsen described to the village board as a "monster car" and "something from a sci-fi movie," will be replaced by one with more aesthetically pleasing equipment, the board decided in a special meeting on Tuesday.
Last August, a previous board had approved the Tannery Creek Systems AutoChalk Parking Enforcement System, and agreed to pay the company $62,000 for vehicle-mounted equipment, plus $650 per month for a handheld unit. Because the village has been receiving complaints about the vehicle's appearance, Mr. Larsen said at the board's regular meeting on Friday, Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, began a search for more suitable replacements.
Mr. Baladron recommended a system from Motorola Solutions that offers more low-profile cameras. "They don't look scary," Amber Cunha, a representative of the company, assured board members. The system would cost $61,285 upfront, plus an annual users fee of $9,200 for five years, but the village would be able to outfit two vehicles for that price rather than one. Installation would cost $2,500 per vehicle.
One upside to the AutoChalk system is that it takes photos that show parked vehicles in their surroundings, whereas the Motorola system only reads license plates, Mr. Larsen said. Having an extra vehicle, however, is important because it would allow parking enforcement to proceed uninterrupted if one car is disabled, he said.
The village plans to implement new paid-parking regulations on May 15, and Ms. Cunha said it would take 8 to 10 weeks to get the Motorola systems up and running, so Mr. Larsen and Mr. Baladron were eager for the board to approve the replacement on Friday. But because the village has already paid $20,000 to Tannery Creek, and since it was unclear at the time of the meeting whether the rest of the money could be recouped, or whether the capabilities of the Motorola system would be acceptable to the police department, Arthur Graham, a trustee, and Beth Baldwin, the village attorney, recommended delaying a vote to provide time for more research.
The board agreed to Tuesday's special meeting, and in the meantime, Mr. Larsen asked Police Capt. Anthony Long to visit the Southampton Village Police Department, which uses the Motorola system, to see the equipment in action. "The cameras on the patrol units are considerably smaller," Mr. Long said on Tuesday, and "overall I think it will work just fine."
Ms. Baldwin said the owner of Tannery Creek has refused to refund any money to the village. The equipment had been purchased without a contract and with no return policy, Mr. Larsen noted. Still, he thought Ms. Baldwin would eventually be able to negotiate a refund. The board voted to approve the Motorola system in a unanimous vote.
Robert Hefner, the village's director of historic services, who has been overseeing the development of the Dominy museum on North Main Street, urged the board to approve the low bids from contractors seeking to work on the final phase of construction, which will include restoring the interiors of the clock and woodworking shops, and the installation of a nitrogen-reducing septic system.
A $521,898 bid to work on the interiors was received from John Hummel and Associates Construction, which had previously worked on the structure's exteriors. For the septic system, a $61,416 bid was received from the Ken Rousell company. The total cost to complete phase two would be $605,000, and would include the installation of a handicapped-accessible entranceway and Suffolk County Water Authority fees, Mr. Hefner said.
For the completion of phase two, the village has received a grant of $85,000 from the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization program, and a $10,000 donation from the Village Preservation Society, he told the board, but the rest of the money for the project will have to come either from the village or from donations.
"I would love to finish this . . . but we have a lot of projects going on," said Mr. Larsen. "We have to look at the finances and come back to it in March." Mr. Larsen suggested that the East Hampton Village Foundation, a not-for-profit that was established by the board last month to raise money for public works projects, could spearhead a fund-raising drive.
In other business, Police Chief Michael Tracey said that his department's report on a state-mandated review of police procedures will be presented to the board in March, ahead of the state's April 1 deadline. A survey seeking input from the public is on the village's website.
Billy Hajek, the village planner, provided an update on the dredging of Town Pond. About three-and-a-half feet of "muck" has been removed from the pond and was deposited on a farm for use as a soil amendment, he said, and thus far, the dredging has not harmed any wildlife.
The trustees approved a law that allows them to set the fees for applicants seeking a review of stormwater pollution prevention plans. A $2,000 fee was approved, effective retroactively as of Nov. 20, 2020.
Parking regulations at 88 Newtown Lane, the new headquarters of the Village Building Department, were amended to accommodate the department's employees.
Bradford Billet was appointed as president and executive director of the East Hampton Village Foundation, and Carrie Doyle and John McGuirk were appointed as co-chairs.
Livia G. Eyde was hired as a full-time paramedic effective March 1.
The board accepted a $14,240.68 bid from Belson Outdoors for six recycling receptacles.
A public hearing on a proposal to implement paid parking regulations and to provide the necessary equipment to enforce them was scheduled for March 19.
