News

Greenport trustee accuses village of dragging feet on projects

Who’s responsible for getting projects done in Greenport Village? That’s what Trustee Michael Osinski wanted to know at Monday night’s Village Board work session. He complained about lack of action on two projects he has been championing, only to be told by the mayor that it’s been his responsibility all along to come up with a capital plan to plot out the work to be done, showing both the cost and the timeline.
That came as news to Mr. Osinski.
In the case of the boardwalk through Silver Lake, the Village Board endorsed the idea in conjunction with the Bay to Sound Trails Project shared by the village with Southold Town and Suffolk County.
But a specific plan of action to build it hasn’t been submitted or approved, Mayor David Nyce said.
Mr. Osinski insisted plans exist and accused the mayor of dragging his feet because it was part of the trails project Mr. Nyce opposes. Mr. Osinski said it was up to village staff members to dig up the plan and bring it back to the board.
The mayor answered that it was up to Mr. Osinski to develop the plan and submit it.
The second project on Mr. Osinski’s radar is expansion of the McCann Campground. Mr. Osinski said the village is using profits from McCann to support the Mitchell Park Marina, which isn’t a great money-maker.
“On any operation, you want to maximize your income,” Mr. Osinski said. While acknowledging that the marina is professionally run, he noted that its revenues aren’t increasing, while the campground nets between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. He recommended hiring fewer marina staff and using the savings to expand the campground to expand and so increase its flow of revenue.
Mr. Nyce said the economy has kept marina revenues flat, but there are more big boats docking there now and that, since more professional management has been hired, the marina has gained a good reputation among boaters.
If Mr. Osinski wanted to draft a capital plan for expansion of the campground, the mayor said, he was free to do so and submit it to the full board for consideration.
Mr. Osinski, who is in his fourth year as a trustee, said he considers it his job to bring ideas to the table that village staffers should carry out.
Prevailing WAGE
The Village Board had to pony up $50,750, taking money from its contingency fund, to pay higher than planned costs for work performed by Marathon Marine on “electric engines” for the village electric department. Marathon has been a frequent vendor whose contracts do not include prevailing wage stipulations. It turned out, however, that those higher wages had to be applied for this work because Department of Labor rules require them for public works projects such as renovations to electrical engines.
IGA FUNDS DANCES
The popular Dances in the Park summer series got a boost in the form of a $6,800 gift from the IGA Supermarket, it was announced Monday.
WHEN WATER RUNS ORANGE
Villagers’ water will run orange on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 31, not because it’s Halloween, but because the Greenport Fire Department will test its hydrants, resulting in the release of rust into the system.
HALLOWEEN
Trustee Mary Bess Phillips promised to dress in a witch costume as she joins village employees in running this year’s Halloween parade, which steps off from Greenport School at 3 p.m. on Oct. 31. She and her husband, Mark, are contributing candy for the event.
The parade will be followed by a costume contest and treasure hunt.
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