Letters

Our environment is a finite resource that we must jealously guard. Continued environmental protection must be an integral part of the legislative agenda of any candidate seeking a seat on the Town Council and, as with any issue, a candidate must identify a specific agenda that they will pursue if elected. As our understanding of climate change and its environmental impact evolves, one’s agenda must also include a variety of measures in addition to land preservation.

What follows is a list of what I would do.

I would make our continued protection of the environment a signature part of the Comprehensive Plan update on which the town is about to embark.

I would prioritize the completion of sewage treatment plants and community revitalization efforts in the hamlets of Riverside and Hampton Bays, where residents feel forgotten and plans for such improvements have languished for decades.

I would support the development of clean energy initiatives in the town, fostering the implementation of technologies that will assist us in addressing climate change in our own backyard, including the use of solar arrays, offshore wind, battery storage and other technologies identified in the Climate Action Plan.

I would advocate for the thoughtful placement of battery storage facilities in our community, balancing their potential environmental impact with our need to combat climate change.

I would advocate that we pursue sand mine amortization thoughtfully while working with business interests in our community that may be impacted by the staggered closures to alleviate any disruptions that such closures may cause.

I would work with state and county agencies to improve public transportation around the town and between towns on the East End.

I would address coastal erosion by working closely with county, state and federal agencies and fighting to bring resources into our community for that purpose.

And, finally, as a very long-term goal, I would begin discussions on sewering as much of the town as possible and upgrading drainage systems to remove nitrogen from our bays due to leaking septic systems and stormwater runoff.

I am, of course, pleased with the approach that we have taken over previous decades to preserve land for the sake of environmental protection. But land preservation is only one tool in the toolbox and, as we have seen, the environmental issues we need to address have multiplied since our understanding of climate change has evolved. Because of that, I believe the time has come for us to collectively define our environmental priorities and our response to climate change for decades to come and to start the hard work of planning and implementing our environmental initiatives.

If I am elected, I am committed to seeing that through.

John Leonard

Hampton Bays

Leonard is the Democratic candidate for Southampton Town Board — Ed.