Civility and downright friendliness marked a debate between candidates for Southold Town trustee hosted Saturday by the East Marion Community Association and the Orient Association at the East Marion Firehouse.
Trustee candidates Dave Bergen, GOP incumbent, and Abigail Field, a Democrat, faced off and answered a series of questions submitted by community members. The candidates are vying for a special election to be held in November to fill the remainder of Bob Ghosio’s term; Ghosio won a race for town board in the last election. Back in February, a split town board voted to appoint Bergen to fill the seat until the November special election.
Candidates for New York State Assembly, incumbent Anthony Palumbo and challenger Tom Schiliro, in a race for the two year seat, representing Southold’s Assembly District 2, also engaged in Saturday’s debate (Separate story to follow).
Bergen, a Cutchogue resident, graduated from Southold High School and is an associate dean at Suffolk County Community College. He’s also served as a trustee for nine years and said he’s proud of the relationships he’s forged with federal, state and county officials, also establishing private/public partnerships to help with issues such as the town’s pump-out boats.
Field, an attorney and stay-at-home mom who moved to Cutchogue from Shelter Island, started off by saying her opponent is well-qualified with a strong environmental record. She then said that she, too, has a strong record of accomplishment as well as knowledge of environmental issues.
Her commitment to reducing nitrogen pollution began at 12, Field said, when she moved to a cove in Groton, Connecticut heavily polluted, with noxious and rotting algal blooms; in college, she helped to organize a a Clean Up Long Island Sound campaign and later worked to assess properties for soil and groundwater contamination.
The first question dealt with how the candidates felt about the plans for the abandoned oyster factory at the end of Shipyard Lane in East Marion. On the East Marion Community Association website, the group writes that the EMCA “strongly objects to the granting of a dredging permit to Oki-Do, Ltd. because we believe that the applicant is attempting to circumvent a thorough environmental review of its intent — a proposed spa, motel, restaurant and marina — which should be completed under state environmental quality review or SEQRA, by the lead agency, the planning board of the Town of Southold.” Attempting to split the project into smaller segments is a violation under SEQRA, the EMCA said..
Field said she’d read the file and found that the key point was the proposed use is an improper use for the zone. The designated M2 zone, she said, does not allow for a dining room or spa, something discovered by the Group for the East End, she said.
She suggested residents go to the planning board and zoning board of appeals and “demand” a ruling on whether the proposed is a transient or resort motel. If a resort motel, a use variance would be needed.
“That said, I think the property as it is, is in very bad shape. It’s terrible to have that rotting building,” with electrical elements exposed, she said. Field said she’d like to see the parcel cleaned up and used in another way.
Bergen said the EMCA has already had a victory with Oki-Do, because after the public outcry, the United States Army Corps of Engineers told the applicant they needed to go back to the town for review.
“Nothing is going to happen with the trustees until it gets through planning and zoning, a very long process,” Bergen said.
One audience member asked about changing zoning in regard to the proposed Oki-do application. Field said she has experience as a legislative advocate and while she would not advocate changing the zoning on the parcel, she’d like to see either a park or some sort of aquaculture, such as kelp farming, at the site.
Bergen agreed that the trustees cannot affect zoning. He said as a sitting trustee, he could not offer an opinion because it could open the doors to a lawsuit but encouraged residents to voice their opinions, reminding of how the public’s input helped influence the Army Corps of Engineers.
The candidates also weighed in on buffers.
Bergen said he did not believe there should be a regulated width for buffers, and said each property needed to be considered individually.
Field added that buffers were necessary because they helped to protect waterways from stormwater runoff, loaded with pesticides and chemicals used by residents for fertilizing lawns.
She agreed with Bergen that with properties all shapes and sizes, it’s hard to come up with a “one size fits all” buffer regulations. “I strongly believe we need not just buffers, but the maximum buffer we can make sense of,” she said, adding that while she fully believed property owners should have the right to enjoy their lawns, grasses and native grasses could be planted on the water’s edge to help slow down stormwater runoff and spraying chemicals into the water.
Candidates were then asked how they felt about permitting rebuilding in coastal erosion hazard zones.
Again, Field said, “One size can’t fit all.” She said her general bias is against rebuilding, but homeowners need compensation. Reflecting again on the cove where she grew up, Field said a preserve existed where housing once stood, that had been wiped out in the Hurricane of ’38. She thanked whoever “The town, at the time, had the foresight to say, ‘no’, we’re not going to rebuild in such a hazard… We can’t just go around preventing property owners from enjoying their land, and taking stuff willy-nilly. Everything needs to be done in site, and thoughtfully and property rights and values need to be respected. But you can’t fight Mother Nature endlessly.”
Bergen said he didn’t believe there should be new construction in coastal erosion hazard zones. The trustees, he said, voted on a particular case on Kenny’s Road that was lost at the town board level. “This is very challenging,” he said. “After Sandy, to say to a property owner, ‘You’ve lost your house.’ From an environmental perspective, that might be the best thing for that piece of property but we have to balance the rights of property owners who’ve lived there for generations and rebuild in a manner that’s as environmentally sound as possible.”
One issue that drove a divisive wedge between the candidates was the public’s right to walk the shoreline.
“We do believe the public has the right to walk the shoreline on public, not private property,” Bergen said. He added that the trustees have tried to address the issue by saying if there are docks, there are stairs that allow access to the public. In some cases, he said, erosion has brought the shoreline back onto private property, which can become problematic, he said, if a member of the public is walking on a private bulkhead and gets injured.
But, he said, “I think the public should always have the right to walk along the shoreline. It’s their land.”
Field said the issue highlights one significant difference between the candidates. “I don’t think the current trustees talk about the public’s right of access enough,” she said. Some Southold residents, she added, “feel intimidated”. She displayed a flyer put out by the trustees that she said was not on the trustees’ website, outlining the boundaries. “This should be on the website, under the public’s right to access, things you need to know.” She added that she isn’t certain people have a clear understanding of what their rights are. “This isn’t about an agenda to change anything, it’s about informing people,” she said. “I think property owners should be more on notice about the duty to the common good, and I think the community should be more on notice about their rights to use it.”
Discussing evidence of climate change and asked about their thoughts on the hardening of the shoreline, Field said she believed in global warming, rising sea levels, and climate change and would love to work with stakeholders to create a map of what’s likely to happen, so trustees could see how to bring that information into policy making decisions. “I’m a research driven person,” she said.
As for hardening of the shoreline, Field said as a general rule, she’s against it, but in certain situations it was necessary. “I’m against hardening because it prevents the wetlands and shoreline from doing what they need to do.”
Bergen said his opponent “hit the nail on the head” and agreed that every application has to be treated differently and looked at independently, with decisions made from an environmental perspective about whether bulkheads should be replaced. Town code, he said, does not allow for new bulkheads in the bay. “We need to encourage living shorelines,” he said.
But, Bergen pointed out, the Long Island Sound is an entirely different situation, and if property owners don’t have bulkheads, “their bluffs fall down. They need them because of the dynamic wave energy of the Long Island Sound.”
The trustees were also asked if trustees should be required to undergo periodic science-based training on wetland and shoreline issues.
Bergen said “ideally, absolutely, yes,” but added that it was often difficult for trustees to get time of from work to go to what can sometimes be five-day seminars. He said he has attended recent seminars and believes it’s important to “stay abreast of what’s happening”.
Field agreed and said it’s critical to “stay up to speed”, adding that there are online courses. And, because she’s a stay-at-home mom, Field said she’d leverage her flexible time to attend educational events and work with other trustees to share knowledge.
On the issue of vector spraying, Bergen said the trustees had just recently discussed this issue and said he’d welcome an organic alternative to eradicating the mosquito and tick-borne disease concerns. He reminded, however, that Suffolk County does not need a trustee permit to spray.
“Like Mr. Bergen just pointed out, trustees don’t have any say in this matter,” Field said. “That said, I feel I have to be limited by what the trustees’ jurisdiction is, in terms of my participation in the discussion.” She added that she would be happy to become involved in a broader discussion to examine alternatives.
When asked about television trustee meetings by Democratic party chair Art Tillman, both candidates felt it was a good idea.
Resident Mary Eisenstein asked the candidates how they could influence the town board on environmental issues.
Bergen said the public has already facilitated a working relationship between the town board and trustees by electing former trustees to town board seats.
Field said she believed trustees could do a better job at public outreach and raising consciousness through enhanced communication.
In closing, Field said she believes she has the “scientific skills to do the job well,” as well as public policy skills and a commitment to the environment, public outreach, and focus on education to keep the “trustees functioning at the highest state of knowledge possible.”
Bergen said his record speaks for itself, along with his educational background and work with the Peconic Estuary, which he said is the “most valuable in the entire state of New York. I will continue to do my best to protect that estuary.” As a fourth generation resident, Bergen said, “I’ve seen this place for almost 60 years and we need to continue to pay attention and work to protect this great asset we have, our valuable wetlands, bays and creeks.”
Election Day is November 4.
Editor’s Note: Various quotes have been updated after viewing the videotape of the debate.
