Letters

At first glance, the Southampton Town Board meeting on December 21 was a charming look at small-town local politics in action. There were warm tributes to longtime employees. Local captains and residents alike spoke persuasively on the pros and cons of the operation of commercial vessels in residential areas. We were all pleased by the preservation of farmland on Halsey Lane in Bridgehampton.

Then we got to the Climate Action Plan, and things started to deteriorate.

The CAP, which was only made available to town residents in mid-November, had been updated just a day or two before the December 21 public hearing. When Cyndi McNamara asked what changes were made, she was assured that the modifications were minor. But how can we be sure?

The night before this public hearing, I happened to look at pages 17 through 19 of the updated CAP, relating to community involvement, and discovered that they were different from the November version. These differences were not mentioned when Janice Scherer assured us that little had been changed.

How can a vote be taken on something that has been altered at the 11th hour? I came upon the changes by chance and did not have the time, during a busy holiday season, to reread the newly updated 98-page CAP. How many other residents and Town Board members did not have the chance to reread, or even be aware of, the updated CAP? Was this negligence intentional?

The public portion of the CAP hearing appeared to be civilized. There was no nastiness or hostility, until one of the last speakers concluded their remarks and, on returning to their seat, gave the finger to a resident who had previously spoken.

I was startled and frankly disgusted by this behavior. I spoke to someone else who saw it as well. The recipient of the gesture had simply spoken about holding off on adopting the CAP until there was more time for residents to read it. And for this he was insulted with a crude and arrogant gesture.

The public hearings are intended for each resident to speak freely, without criticism or condemnation. After witnessing this individual’s rude behavior, I cannot help but think what should be decent discourse is something else entirely — and it is not good.

We really need to do a better job of working together. Communicating contempt for others with obscene hand gestures is clearly not the answer.

I am hoping in 2024 we will see a fresh start to our Town Hall meetings, and we will listen to and treat each other with respect and decency.

Brigid Maher

Hampton Bays