Greenport Mayor George Hubbard has suggested a “slap on the wrist” and a $2,500 fine after a bulkhead project was allowed to proceed without a village permit, raising significant environmental concerns for some.
At last night’s village board work session, Hubbard began a discussion on a wetlands application submitted by Costello Marine Contracting for a property located at 210 Carpenter Street.
Trustee Jack Martilotta said with the work essentially complete on the bulkhead at Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding, he did not understand why the board would be voting on a permit. “I find it a bit confusing,” he said.
Hubbard said only one section of the project was complete, and there was a need to continue the work. The recent public hearing on the issue, the mayor said, was on the project as a whole.
Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said the site has been in operation since the 1800s and is critical to the village’s maritime history, also supporting 17 to 18 incubator, “small mom and pop” businesses. As for the many who have turned out to express environmental concerns and advocate for soil testing, she added that any contamination would have been detected by regular New York State Department of Environmental testing of the waters.
“I’m excited to see the improvements,” she said, adding that Steve Clark, owner of the shipyard, was “trying very hard to look forward and keep the working waterfront” vital in Greenport. “I think we just need to help him move toward getting it done.”
As for the permit, Phillips said both Clarke and John Costello, of Costello Marine, “should have known. But sometimes, communications do break down.”
To that end, the mayor suggested the $2,500 fine.
Trustee Julia Robins said she took a tour of the facility. “I have to admit it was some of the finest bulkhead work I’ve ever seen,” she said. Robins, too, believes the operation is a vital resource to the village.
Trustee Doug Roberts asked if the soil had been tested, a recommendation of the villages Conservation Advisory Committee. The mayor said the soil had not been tested on the portion of the work already done, and Roberts said he did not feel comfortable voting without that soil testing.
Hubbard said any new soil that gets put in at the site would be tested. Although he said he knows the soil that will be utilized comes from New Suffolk dredging — it’s extra sand the town did not use and has been tested — he said it would still be tested in three different spots so the village would know “it’s clean fill from an upland source.”
The mayor said if the board was comfortable with his suggestion the vote could commence at next week’s village board meeting.
Robins said she was comfortable.
“We gave him a slap on the wrist,” Hubbard said, adding that others will know they can’t move forward without a permit or they’d face a similar fine.
Roberts said he felt it should be pointed out that the proposed fine was low compared to the $1,500 per day that could be imposed under New York State’s environmental code. “We’re being kind, to be honest,” he said. “My problem has never been with the project. My problem has been with the process.”
To issue a stop work order and say work could begin again once the applicant applied for a permit, Roberts said, “sends a horrible message. I want to register my disagreement. We get accused of selective enforcement, and this is why.”
The board is expected to vote on the matter next week.
