Will Mighty North Fork Triathlon return this summer?
Organizers of the Mighty North Fork Triathlon are hoping Southold Town will reconsider its special events policy, which doesn’t permit bicycle or running events within the town between June 1 and Nov. 1.
Event Power, a for-profit company that hosted the triathlon for 16 years at Cedar Beach, is encouraging supporters via emails and its Facebook page to contact the supervisor and Town Board members to discuss the policy. The race wasn’t held last year but was permitted to take place in 2015 after a Town Board vote.
“I think we’ve said, right or wrong, this is a great event that we’d love to see continue, but you can’t just look at it in a vacuum,” Supervisor Scott Russell said at Tuesday’s Town Board work session. “There’s all these other events that have been taking place that have been a source of concern. Don’t forget, we have a police chief here that said we need to do something, so we did.”
Mr. Russell said other events have been able to accommodate their schedules and that while he understands the triathlon includes a water event, the discussion puts the town in the same position it was in two years ago.
“How do you legally justify carving this one out from the pack?” he asked.
Mr. Russell said the town can either rescind the policy or try to come up with a legally defendable way to allow the triathlon to take place this summer while the restriction is still intact.
Councilman Jim Dinizio said he’d like some time to look into the matter.
File photo: A barefoot Adrian Mackay of NYC at the Mighty North Fork Triathlon in July 2014. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)
