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Village Board delays vote on Hampton Jitney contract

The Greenport Village Board held off last week on voting on a proposed contract with Hampton Jitney that would require the bus company to pay a $15,000 annual maintenance fee for the use of the parking lot south of the Long Island Rail Road station. Officials said the language in the proposed contract contradicted itself in spots.

The land in question is leased to the village by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for a nominal fee, and the Jitney has used it as a bus stop free of charge for many years.

The money would be put into a maintenance and repair account the village would create and would be used for work on the parking lot and adjacent roads.

But the confusion came with a paragraph that says the village “agrees to allow Jitney non-exclusive use of the parking lot” and then later says the area is “reserved to 20 parking spaces.”

“Are we giving them 20 spaces?” resident John Saladino asked.

“No, we’re just allowing non-exclusive use to a certain portion of the lot, in exchange for the consideration,” village attorney Joe Prokop said, acknowledging there’s conflicting wording.

The board held off on voting on the contract until the language is corrected.

The term of the proposed contract is five years, with the possibility of extending it in the future, and the $15,000 fee will increase or decrease based on the Consumer Price Index.

The proposed contract states that Hampton Jitney “recognizes the joint responsibility” of the company “to assume joint responsibility with the village for the maintenance” of the parking lot and adjacent streets.

Photo credit: Tim Gannon

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