Southold’s two hearings on the preliminary budget brought out only one resident Tuesday, who begged the board to consider restoring brush pickup in the fall.
Ray Huntington, who lives in Cutchogue, said he was speaking for the Fleet’s Neck Property Owners Association.
He began by saying that the preliminary budget “looks really good, a tight job, reflective of our economy, and I thank you for it.”
However, he said FNPOA members were asking the town to restore brush pick up in the fall, including tree limbs.
While residents realize they can hire someone to remove the brush, Huntington said he believed the town could do a better job, and for less financial impact to taxpayers.
When he had to hire someone to bring brush to the town’s transfer station, Huntington said once it cost $30 and another time, $40. “We want to hold the line on taxes but we also want efficiency in government,” he said. “We’d like to have that second brush pickup restored in the budget.”
Currently, the town only collects bagged leaves in the fall. The town’s highway department will commence pickup of leaves on November 17. During fall cleanup, leaves should be placed on the unpaved portion of the town’s right-of-way, in biodegradable bags, for collection by crews. Neither brush nor branches will be removed.
The town’s compost facility, located at 6155 Cox Lane in Cutchogue, will accept residential brush and branches, as well as leaves, through Sunday, November 30, for residents who wish to personally dispose of their yard debris free of charge.
Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said other factors needed to be taken into consideration. “We’ve scaled a work force based on certain things that we’re not doing anymore,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of work hours involved in those pickups. The town has talked about restoring the fall brush pickup but the question is whether we have the manpower, when they are out doing snow fencing and everything else to get ready for the winter season. It’s manpower issue.”
Russell said he can’t add the services back without taking another look at the workforce and “possibly expanding it, which, as you know, is a substantial cost.”
Huntington said the brush pickup was “very important for residential areas” and said he’d still like to make the request.
