Southold, Greenport Community Preservation Funds debate persists

Different year, same story. Should Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Funds in Southold be used for water quality and historic preservation? Or will the buck stop at land preservation on the North Fork?

Southold Town and Greenport Village officials debated CPF uses at length during a spirited joint meeting in Greenport on June 26. The meeting was round two of the municipalities’ 2024 joint forum.

The CPF passed in 1998 and has been accruing money from a 2% real estate transfer tax since its enactment in Southold, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton. It is governed by state law and town code and can be used for a variety of items that preserve community character. In Southold, the CPF collected $11.1 million last year.

Southold Town land preservation coordinator Lilly McCullough said the town’s current project plan governing the CPF prioritizes open space preservation. 

“The state law authorizes use of this money for water quality improvement projects and historic preservation,” Ms. McCullough said. “At this time, those are not priorities in the town’s Community Preservation Project Plan.”

She said that the amended state law is vague in its descriptions and definitions about funding allocations for water quality improvement projects and that a minimum of 10% of annual proceeds benefit disadvantaged communities. The changes would have to be worked into the policies of the town’s project plan.

“The problem is those changes are not especially clear,” Ms. McCullough said. “So, without guidance as to what they mean, it’s hard to update a policy document meaningfully. That’s why a project plan update has not happened yet.”

Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi and village trustees pressed Southold Town Board members about the CPF and urged the town to distribute funds to improve water infrastructure and preserve historic sites in the village during the meeting. Other towns on the East End have adopted water quality amendments to their CPF plans.

“This is like ‘Groundhog Day,’” Mr. Stuessi said. “Why can’t we adopt what everybody else has for the use of water quality and historic [preservation]? That’s something the village desperately needs assistance with.”

The town has invested in water quality improvements by eliminating stormwater outfalls, but hasn’t used the CPF to fund those projects, Supervisor Al Krupski said. 

“We’ve made a conscious decision not to use the CPF for anything really besides land preservation,” he said. The most recent stormwater mitigation project was financed by a $250,000 bond approved by the Town Board in February.

Southold Town engineer Michael Collins said the town would need a map of Greenport’s stormwater systems to coordinate its efforts to eliminate outfalls but that he had still not received one nearly a year after the town and village’s last meeting. 

“We can’t work in a vacuum,” Mr. Collins said. “In the absence of information, I have no way to help.”

While Southold Town residents enjoy “nice houses” and backyards with views of preserved land, village trustee Lily Dougherty-Johnson advocated for some of the CPF money to be allocated to improve water quality and preserve historic sites in Greenport where people live in “tiny houses.”

“We all should be taking advantage [of the CPF]. That was the idea behind it — going to disadvantaged communities,” she said, noting that it “really doesn’t feel fair” how the funds are currently allocated. 

Ms. McCullough added that the village had not supplied the town a list of parcels or desires for consideration of CPF monies, something the town would need to create framework to include water quality improvement projects and historic preservation in its CPF plan. 

“Any change needs to be well informed, and having a well-thought out list … and explanation, and how it relates to the other goals of the CPF, would inform that decision,” she said. 

“We want to know what we’re spending the money on, just like with the housing plan that I’m working on,” Councilwoman Jill Doherty said. “We have to be cognizant of how much money is going to this pot, how much money is going to that pot — but we don’t know how big those pots are. So, we want to have an idea of what [and] how big those pots are before we start adding to the law.”

Southold Town and Greenport Village officials ultimately agreed to continue the CPF dialogue at another point in time.