It’s about more than Docks
Kevin O’Mara writes:
When I joined your organization, I took at face value the statement that your organization cared about something more than boating on the Bay. Many members have property on the Sound, and little to none of what you seem to talk about affects the Sound. Erosion control is a key issue for Soundfront property owners, likely the largest issue since it relates to the permanent loss of our property, not the ability to sail out into the bay from a personal dock. This is not to minimize the concerns of Bay boaters, but rather to ask that this organization address the entirety of its mission, rather than one narrow aspect of it. This organization gives no attention whatsoever to the issue of erosion control, despite the fact that erosion control is listed as one of the issues SoutholdVoice was formed to address. The reality of the Town of Southold is that there is little to no interest in the property rights of non-resident taxpayers, who disproportionately own waterfront property. Until non-residents register to vote in the Town of Southold, and use their voices to mandate change at Town Hall, this will sadly continue.
Thanks for the posting and some good ideas! You’ve noticed that we need some more folks like you to take a minute to post a comment? Please email me: southoldvoice@gmail.com so we can meet for coffee this wknd and discuss some ways we can involve our soundfront members. Perhaps we can get a few people together!
At every opportunity, I always mention that SV is not “my organization” I am a founding member as are you, and the act of paying $35 doesn’t hire me and the board to “do something about______”…. We have set up a forum to foster discussion of issues of mutual interest and to promote reasonable and balanced legislation in matters involving waterfront regulation, among other things. So if you see activity about docks, its because people are active in that aspect and there may be regulation discussions that generates the interest of similarly situated folks, etc. Ditto dredging, stormwater runoff, etc.
We are a large group of owners, businesspeople, fishermen, boaters, and others with all kinds of different interests and “hot buttons” and political leanings. SoutholdVOICE is big enough to provide an information resouce to most of our members concerns through this website. Let’s get together and see what we can do for the Soundfront eroision problem and how we can be effective. (I now know how to plant 2000 beach grass plants, having done that in the last 3 afternoons!)
John