Sag Harbor Receives $100,000 Donation for Fireboat Purchase

Someone attending the Sag Harbor Village Board meeting on Tuesday may have thought they had stumbled into Sag Harbor Justice Court by mistake, when Ed Burke Jr., a well-known local defense attorney, stepped to the podium to address the board.

Rather than seek a plea deal for one of his clients, Burke presented the board with a $100,000 check to go toward the purchase of a new fireboat from his clients, Jack and Cheryl Morris, who own a house on Rysam Street.

The Sag Harbor Fire Department has been raising money for the purchase, which Trustee Tom Gardella said could exceed $600,000, for more than a year.

Last summer, the Sag Harbor Partnership sponsored a fundraising cookout at the Brick Kiln Firehouse that raised thousands of dollars. All told, with the Morris donation, the village has raised about $249,000. That is nearly enough to match a $250,000 state grant that was originally intended to renovate the firehouse kitchen. With the help of State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., that grant money has been redirected toward the fireboat purchase.

Gardella said the fundraising effort would continue but that he was confident the village would be able to finance the remainder needed once it finalizes specifications for the boat.

Fire department leaders have argued that a fireboat is needed because of the number of marinas in the village, the possibility of boat fires occurring in the bay, as happened last year at least twice, and to help fight fires on waterfront homes.

The Village Board also cheered the receipt of $2.34 million in grant money from Southampton Town to help extend sewer lines along Bridge and Spring streets, as well as a $66,171 grant from the state to help fund a major watershed study of Havens Beach.

The board also cheered the success of its seasonal paid parking program on Long Wharf. More than $90,000 in revenue was used to replace sidewalks throughout the village business district last month.

The board liked the results so much that it introduced a measure that would extend the paid parking dates to May 1 through November 30. Previously, paid parking was in effect from the Thursday before Memorial Day through the Tuesday following Columbus Day. A hearing will be held at the board’s February 14 meeting.

The board will also hold a hearing on February 14 on a measure that would require the Planning Board to hold formal hearings on some presubmission applications for site-plan approval. Among the applications that would trigger the need for a hearing would be applications for special exception use permits from the Village Board.

The board had planned to introduce another new law, creating a village rental registry, but tabled that measure as it continues to tweak the language.