Government

New planning, zoning board appointees in Greenport

The Greenport Village Board appointed some new members to its Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and also discussed some of its priorities for the coming fiscal year during its organizational meeting last Thursday at the Old Schoolhouse. 

Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said last week that two people were resigning from the Planning Board, one from the ZBA and two from the Historic Preservation Commission.

For the Planning Board, the board appointed Lily Dougherty-Johnson to serve the balance of the term of departing member Noah Thomas, and Patricia Hammes to fill the seat held by Ben Burns, who will also step down.

Mr. Burns, 88, has served on the Planning Board since 2012, and also was an village trustee from 1999 to 2003.

Ms. Dougherty-Johnson ran for village trustee in March but came in third out of four candidates for two available seats.

The Village Board also reappointed member John Cotugno to another five-year term, and reappointed Mary Given as Planning Board chairperson.

On the ZBA, the board appointed John Reardon to fill the seat that Ellen Neff had held for 10 years. She decided not to seek another term. The board also reappointed John Saladino as ZBA chairman.

Mr. Hubbard said the board still is looking for people to replace Caroline Waloski and Susan Wetsel on the HPC.

Plans for upcoming year

“We don’t have a lot of new projects coming up, but we have a lot of stuff in the works, and we’re going to try and get a lot of these things taken care of and finished up,” Mr. Hubbard said.

These included dredging Sterling Basin, connecting the Sandy Beach area to the village sewer system and seeking grants to help with that project.

The village’s fiscal year runs from April to March.

The mayor also said the village is “getting close” to establishing a mini-train in the north part of Moore’s Woods. That project, a joint effort with the Greenport Rotary and the Railroad Museum of Long Island, is awaiting state Department of Environmental Conservation approval. A groundbreaking is expected in mid-to-late spring, Mr. Hubbard said.

The train engine, cars and tracks are being purchased from Rotary member Frank Field, who offered rides to kids on the miniature train on his Greenport property for more than 30 years. The train would be located on village property.

Mr. Hubbard also mentioned the drainage project at the road ends on Clark, Flint, Brown and Sixth streets, for which county grants have been secured.

Another project the village hopes to complete is redoing the bathroom and the playground equipment at Fifth Street Park to make them handicapped accessible, Mr. Hubbard said.

Paving the north end of Moore’s Lane, for which the village also received state grants, is another project the mayor hopes to complete this fiscal year.

Mr. Hubbard said Greenport residents are very helpful with the comments and tips they send to officials.

“It’s very helpful,” he said. “We know if there’s a problem or an issue somewhere, and through their letting us know about it, we try to take of it right away.”

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