Following an unusually contentious meeting of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee last month, during which a member of the committee interrupted speakers repeatedly with angry outbursts, the group’s top three officials got together and drew up a code of conduct, which they presented to the committee on July 11. In justifying it, Rona Klopman, chairwoman, said one member had threatened to resign at the end of that evening and others had complained of feeling intimidated.
“Consideration and respect,” a five-minute “time frame for speaking,” and “listening with an open mind” were among the “moral and ethical expectations” put forward. “Anyone requested to stop unacceptable behavior and failing to do so will be asked to leave the meeting” and failure to do so would result in “potential removal from the committee by recommendation to the town board.”
One member, Michael Jordan, suggested that the proposal might not go far enough. “I think we need a sergeant-at-arms,” he said, “who will call on people and cut them off, to move on.” Jaine Mehring disagreed: “I feel that’s a little too strict. The chair and vice chair have the ultimate discretion to limit comment.”
“I worry about the five-minute rule,” said Tom Field. “Sometimes people need more time.”
“I don’t think we should sit there with a stopwatch. If they’ve made their point and are rambling on, it should be at your discretion,” said David Hillman, nodding at Ms. Klopman, Vicki Littman, vice chairwoman, and Dawn Brophy, secretary.
“I’m a big person for policy and structure,” said Seth Turner, the superintendent of the Amagansett School. “We are a subcommittee of the town board, according to Robert’s Rules of Order.”
East Hampton Town Superintendent Peter Van Scoyoc nodded. “The purpose of C.A.C.s is to inform the town board what’s going on in your hamlet,” he began. “Each hamlet operates differently, from Wainscott — very formal and rigid — to ‘who wants to be a member?’ You can’t bar people from attending, these are public meetings. But if they are disruptive, you can. . . . “ He shrugged and left off. “We want to hear from everyone, whether they’re C.A.C. members or not.”
The question of outdoor dining came up next. Mr. Van Scoyoc acknowledged that “the community supports the expansion of outdoor dining,” but pointed out that where Amagansett Main Street (Route 27) is concerned, there’s a catch. Within East Hampton Town, he explained, outdoor dining is allowed — but only within town-owned rights of way. “Amagansett,” he said, “is almost all state right of way, which goes almost to the buildings.” That means that Main Street restaurants cannot legally have tables out front (several have expanded into their adjacent alleyways instead). “We are trying to find out if the state has revised their process,” said the supervisor.
Responding to a question about the Napeague area known as Truck Beach, the subject of a long-running court case in which a judge recently fined the town $239,000 plus plaintiffs’ legal fees for failing to keep vehicles off a “privately owned beach,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said, “I don’t think the judge understands how our driving permits work . . . I hope another court will see this differently.” The town is appealing the decision.
Asked what the town is doing about “illegal Airbnbs’ impacting hotels and long-term summer rentals,” the supervisor said it’s a “very difficult” problem. “Landlords are telling their renters, ‘If anyone comes to the door, say you’re family or friends.’ These short-term rentals have no interest in preserving the quality or continuity of neighborhoods.”
The town has seven full-time Ordinance Department employees scouring the internet for short-term ads, he said, “but then you have to prove they’ve actually rented.” That means forcing Airbnb to turn over its records — which, he said with obvious satisfaction, the company did, after being subpoenaed, in the recent matter of the Montauk landlord who was charged with 57 violations of the code.
Brief remarks from Mr. Turner and Mr. Field brought the meeting to a close. In June 2020, the Amagansett School ended the year with 67 students, said the superintendent. Three months later, with the pandemic raging, “we had 145.” The school will open in September with 130 to 135 students, he said, just about double pre-pandemic levels.
Finally, Mr. Field, a longtime member and emergency medical technician with the Amagansett Fire Department, reported several “very serious” car-pedestrian accidents in recent weeks. “People are not looking,” he said. “Bikes are shooting out. I’ve seen so many near-misses. It’s just insanity. Cars, pedestrians, deer, bikes — they’re all out there, going every which way.”
Mr. Van Scoyoc summed it up: “In spite of the fact that Covid gave people plenty of opportunity to learn to drive, they didn’t.”
