Lisa Goree Elected To Be New Chair of Shinnecock Council of Trustees, First Woman In Tribe's Trustee System History

Long Island Morning Edition

Even though the solar eclipse further delayed negotiations over the state budget, local school district administrators can rejoice over the fact that, for now, any changes to the way school aid is calculated are off the table. Desirée Keegan reports on 27east.com that Governor Kathy Hochul announced the decision last week, months after her original proposal which sought to modernize the state’s education funding formula, projecting a significant loss of money for most East End schools. While NYS Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said on Monday that the aid is being restored to at least what it was for this current school year, many school officials are still hesitant. That’s because the governor’s spending plan has yet to be approved, as discussions on the budget have been prolonged nearly two weeks past the April 1 deadline as differences over education, health care and housing have divided leaders in Albany.

Hochul has vowed to put a new process in place by next year.

But with school budgets needing to be adopted this month to be presented to voters in May, local administrators like East Hampton Superintendent of Schools Adam Fine were left scrambling to figure out how to present a plan with no definitive dollar amount. He said state officials need to provide districts with firm state aid figures early enough in the process to ensure the construction of accurate spending plans.

“As it now stands, we are struggling to know whether we will receive $775,000 in state aid in next year’s revenue plan. Given that uncertainty, it is nearly impossible to construct a spending plan to present to the voters,” said Mr. Fine.

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Engineers can start drafting plans for a new police station and justice court in Southold after the town board unanimously approved the construction. Tara Smith reports on Newsday.com that the town board voted 6-0 on March 28 to approve a $528,000 contract with Nelson + Pope to design the two facilities. Town officials met with representatives of the Melville-based engineering firm last week to outline their vision for the new public safety campus in Peconic.

After more than five years of searching, Southold is expected to close April 19 and pay $1.4 million for 3.79 acres immediately west of the existing police station, according to town attorney Paul DeChance. There, a pair of barns will be razed to make way for a new police station, whose headquarters will be torn down to build a new justice court.

Police Chief Martin Flatley said a new police station was long overdue and the department of 54 officers had outgrown the more than 50-year-old building. Flatley said the new complex would bring the department closer to accreditation, a voluntary process in which the state Division of Criminal Justice Services determines if law enforcement agencies meet standards for training, storing evidence and reporting incidents, among others.

The new police station will be bigger, with more dispatch stations, and meet state standards for holding cells, interview rooms and evidence storage.

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Lisa Goree has been elected as the new chair of the Shinnecock Nation Council of Trustees — making her the first woman in the tribe’s history to serve in the capacity since the trustee system was established in 1792.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Ms. Goree replaces Bryan Polite, who stepped down with a year left on his term. Polite served a total of seven years as chairman.

Goree has worked for the Town of Southampton for more than 23 years and has been the town assessor for the last 12 years. She is the mother of three daughters, Kristine, Korrina and Kesi.

Goree chose to run for a one-year term rather than a two-year term and explained her decision. “I want to make sure it’s the right fit, and make sure people want me in there,” she said. Turnout was so high on the night of the election that it took tribal members longer than usual to tally the votes. “My focus right now is to make sure our senior citizens are properly cared for, and their voices continue to be heard, and to continue to foster the care for our young ones,” Goree said. “We have a lot going on, and it’s urgent and crucial, but my responsibility and obligation is to take care of the kids and the elders in our community. The elders are our priority — they’ve gotten us to where we are today, so they can’t be forgotten.”

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The federal government will, for the first time, require utilities to limit “forever chemicals” in drinking water linked to cancers, developmental damage and other health problems, imposing stricter levels than current state standards on the contaminants in Long Island drinking water.

As reported in Newsday, the move will reduce exposure for 100 million people, the Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday. At issue is a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, which are found in Long Island groundwater and can be detected in the blood of almost every American. Used since the 1940s to repel oil and water and resist heat, they are commonly found in products ranging from nonstick cookware to cellphones and medical supplies. They are called “forever” chemicals because their components break down very slowly.

New York State in 2020 set a limit of 10 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOA, two of the most common forever chemicals, and most Long Island water providers already have equipment in place to meet that limit. The EPA is setting maximum contaminant levels at 4 parts per trillion for each of those compounds, the lowest levels the agency said are feasible for effective implementation. Public water systems have until 2029 to comply with the limits. Water providers said they’re in compliance with EPA standards or working toward it, but treatment will be costly.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, called the rule "one of the most significant public health victories in a generation. ... We have genuine hope this will reduce cancer rates throughout Long Island and the nation.”

James Neri, spokesman for the Long Island Water Conference, a trade group of water suppliers, said the number of Long Islanders drinking water that does not meet the new federal standard was likely far less than 1 million. “Most suppliers that have detected this compound have taken steps to address the contamination” after 2020 that meet the federal limits, he said.

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In a significant step forward for the establishment of a sewer district and construction of a sewage treatment plant in Riverside, the Southampton Town Board this past Tuesday voted to accept a notice of completion for the supplemental final generic environmental impact statement, following its fifth public hearing on the matter. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that the $35.5 million sewage treatment plant, in the planning stage for almost a decade and to be primarily funded with Suffolk County, New York State and federal funding, is intended to revitalize Riverside and the adjacent hamlet of Flanders. In its first phase, it is to tie in 237 existing residences, with others, possibly including the Suffolk County Center in Riverside, to follow.

The vote followed comment for and against the plan from about a dozen people, including a member of the Riverhead Town Board and other officials representing that town, and parents and administrators of the Phillips Avenue Elementary School in Riverside, who expressed concern about odor and potential toxic releases from a plant they said will be sited too close to the school.

Janice Scherer, Southampton’s planning and development administrator said the plant will be more than 900 feet from the school and 575 feet from its property line, and will be “heavily buffered.” The plant will be within a concrete building and designed to control odor, she said, adding, “The plant will treat waste to below 10 milligrams per liter…a drinking water standard…And then that water flows north: it does not flow toward the school, it flows away … It’s heading toward the Peconic River and it’s getting filtered by the soil in addition to all the filtration that’s happening as part of the treatment system.”

Riverhead and Southampton Town officials are scheduled to meet tomorrow according to Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore.

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April has been declared Dark Skies Month in the Town of Southampton. Southampton Town’s Dark Skies Committee urges everyone to go out and observe the night wonders above us. To see these constellations and planets we need to minimize light pollution – turning off outdoor lighting by 10:00 PM (it’s the law!) and shielding light fixtures.

Southampton Town’s Dark Skies Committee also invites you to attend their Celebrate the Night Sky event tomorrow at 7:00 PM in the Southampton High School Planetarium. Astronomy teacher John Walsh will lead an exploration of night sky wonders in the S.H.S. planetarium and step outside to observe the “real” sky…weather permitting.

Perfect for the whole family! Free admission.

Learn more about what you can do to protect our natural night sky on the Southampton Town website.

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Outdoor dining and outdoor seating permits were tentatively approved by the Westhampton Beach Village Board last week for the upcoming summer season for a majority of restaurants and food establishments that applied for them — save for five unidentified establishments that village officials said needed to modify their applications. Bill Sutton reports on 27east.com that the Westhampton Beach Village Board meeting last Thursday was packed with restaurant owners concerned that the board would deny the permits following a high-octane work session in late March, at which Mayor Ralph Urban and other board members said that approval of the permits had been on hold due to concerns from the Suffolk County Department of Health that the popular outdoor dining practice was being abused by some restaurant owners who were expanding the capacity of their restaurants without Health Department approval. The county had loosened restrictions during the pandemic but has been tightening them back up recently as officials had noticed an increase in sewer flow attributed to restaurants exceeding their allotted number of seats. When an eatery turns to outdoor dining or outdoor seating, it is required to reduce the number of indoor seats proportional to the outdoor seats. Many establishments in the county weren’t doing that, Mayor Urban said last month.

There is a distinction at the county level between outdoor dining, which offers wait service, and outdoor seating, in which tables are provided for self-service consumption of grab-and-go food. Restaurant owners became concerned about possible delays in providing outdoor seats by the beginning of the season, which is typically mid-April. Outdoor dining has become a staple, providing necessary revenue in the limited summer season.