To better prepare for emergencies, Assistant Deputy Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Lloyd Reisenberg is seeking volunteers to staff shelter locations. READ
Tag: Peconic Community Center
Southold Town officials are looking into the feasibility of relocating the justice court to the community center on Peconic Lane.
The Town Board has had to turn its attention to the court in recent months to acknowledge safety concerns and a lawsuit that alleges Southold Town — along with several other East End municipalities — lacks adequate conference space where attorneys can meet privately with clients.
The Town Board is currently considering whether to build a new facility or reconfigure existing town buildings to create a safer, more efficient court.
• See related story: Town Board mulling new $3M courthouse building
During its work session on Tuesday, Town Board members discussed holding court on its regular days — Monday and Friday mornings — in the community center as a temporary solution.
Southold Town Recreation Department director Ken Reeves said the space is mostly used at night and he believes scheduling court on Monday and Friday mornings won’t be an issue.
Councilman Jim Dinizo is expected to chair a committee tasked with finding out if the community center is a viable spot for the courthouse.
The Peconic Community Center could be Southold’s new primary emergency shelter. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)
Southold Town is considering designating Peconic Lane Community Center as a primary shelter location in the event of an emergency. (more…)
CYNDI MURRAY FILE PHOTO | A portion of the Suffolk County Community Block Grant funding was allocated to transforming this blighted Orient property into a Habitat for Humanity home.
Southold Town is divvying up approximately $98,000 in Suffolk County grant funding to support local housing and community development projects.
During the Southold Town board’s work session Tuesday, town special projects coordinator Phillip Beltz provided members with a breakdown of how the Community Development Block Grant money would be spent in 2014.
Recipients include several local organizations such as Community Action Southold Town, Maureen’s Haven and the North Fork Housing Alliance. There will also be money allocated for capital improvements at the town’s community centers, Mr. Beltz said.
Mr. Beltz said he would submit the Town’s recommendations on how to allocate the grant money to the county for final approval.
Capital Improvements
The Town is proposing allocating roughly $23,500 of the grant money toward creating easier access between the town recreation center and community center on Peconic Lane in Peconic.
The two neighboring buildings are often the site of community forums and activities, however insufficient parking at the community center and no sidewalks connecting the two neighboring buildings is an inconvenience for the public, Mr. Beltz said.
“What we are proposing is to connect both sites together as a campus,” Mr. Beltz said after the meeting. “[Under the proposal] there would be an extended sidewalk and to double the parking at the Community Center.”
There is also money set aside to paint the exterior of the community center in the proposal, Mr. Beltz said.
Housing needs
The Town has earmarked more than $50,000 toward meeting housing needs, said Mr. Beltz, who welcomes the prospect of bringing more affordable housing to Southold.
“We are in dire need of affordable housing,” he said before the meeting. “When I first started here the lack of perpetual affordability was one of the greatest oversights I noticed.”
Long time CDBG recipients, the North Fork Housing Alliance are slated to receive about $30,000 toward its goal of providing affordable housing in Southold Town, Mr. Beltz said. The money would go toward funding NFHA’s many services for lower-income families, including assistance with referrals, mortgage and foreclosures, housing rehabilitation projects, subsidized housing information, loan and grant applications, utility payments, and advocacy and counseling.
Another $10,000 is allocated to Suffolk County Habitat for Humanity’s plan to transform a but a blighted property on Greenway East in Orient into Southold Town’s first Habitat home, he said. The money would be used to facilitate the demolition and reconstruction of the home.
There is also $10,000 allocated to establish affordable housing on Fisher’s Island, Mr. Beltz said.
Community organizations
Both CAST and Maureen’s Haven are expected to receive a piece from the block grant, Mr. Beltz said.
A portion of the money for CAST would be used specifically to help fund the nonprofit’s new $30,000 Parent-Child Home Program. The national initiative launched on Long Island in 1965 focuses on children between 18 months and 2 years of age. Through the effort, CAST will send home-workers to the houses of participating families twice a week for two years, dropping off donated books and encouraging the parents to read to and play with their children.
Homeless Outreach Program Maureen’s Haven was also allocated $5,000 for its efforts providing shelter, support and other services to homeless adults on the East End of Long Island during winter months.
TROY GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO | The town’s natural hazard plan will deal in part with post-disaster relief. Rabbit Lane in East Marion (above) was among the streets hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy.
The Southold Town Board is hosting a public meeting on the natural hazards chapter of its comprehensive plan today, Tuesday.
The section deals with natural hazards and a suggested action plan for disaster and emergency response. It also includes numerous goals including designating shelters, developing a post-disaster relief plan and hazard mitigation. The town currently relies on hazard mitigation guidelines provided by the county, a system planning director Heather Lanza called “pretty good.” The chapter will update the county’s plan, she said.
It will also address problems associated with climate change, such as rising sea level and heat waves, according to town planning director Heather Lanza.
The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at the Peconic Community Center on Peconic Lane.
A final meeting on the chapter will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Fishers Island Community Center.
The draft can be read in the box below:
Natural Hazards Chapter Draft Comprehensive Plan Southold Town
TIM KELLY PHOTO | A man searches West Creek in New Suffolk for blue-claw crabs just after sunset this past summer.
Residents have a chance tonight to weigh in on part one of the natural resources chapter of Southold Town’s new comprehensive plan, which focuses on water resources.
The town will hold two public meetings — tonight and Saturday — at which residents can air their views on the chapter. Today’s meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Peconic Community Center on Peconic Lane and the Feb. 2 session starts at 10 a.m. at Poquatuck Hall in Orient.
The chapter deals with issues ranging from the quality and quantity of groundwater available for the use of Southold residents and on the quality of surfaces waters throughout town.
The draft of the full chapter is available below.
Southold Town Comprehensive Plan Natural Resources — water resources chapter