Dan's Papers - May 16, 2008

Last Thursday evening, the residents of Water Mill and Bridgehampton went to bed waiting for a phone call. If it had come, they would have dressed, and in the middle of the night, and by the hundreds, driven to a location where lookouts would have told them the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) was erecting super tall wooden telephone poles. There, probably on Scuttlehole Road or Seven Ponds Road, they would have demonstrated and made a huge ruckus that, it was hoped, would result in LIPA abandoning the project and leaving the area with the poles still by the side of the road.

In these circumstances, LIPA did not show up on Thursday night. And the next day they came to an agreement that makes future demonstrations unnecessary. The lines will be buried.

These extraordinary circumstances had come about because for months LIPA has said it needs to bring heavy power lines from its Southampton substation to its Bridgehampton Substation on the Sag Harbor Turnpike nine miles away in order to meet increasing demands for power on the East End. LIPA was willing to bury the power lines along the shoulders of these beautiful farm roads, but only if the citizens were willing to pay for it. As that had not happened after months of dickering with Southampton Town, they were moving ahead to install the lines this week to get them activated before Memorial Day.

They needed no permission from anybody to go ahead. Like the water company, the power company is permitted by law to put lines wherever they need them without any approvals. The order had been given. The trucks, backhoes, bulldozers and workmen had arrived. Also brought in and lying beside the road were the heavy cables, and the 45-foot tall poles. It was feared that shortly, for some places, there would be 60-foot poles. There would be no stopping this work.

It is believed by many that the vigil, threatened demonstration and the signs painted on bed sheets and large cardboard hanging on fences and poles along the route resulted in LIPA backing down from what could have been a deadly middle of the night mix of high tension wires, bulldozers, workmen and angry locals.

The deal between the Town of Southampton and LIPA about how the $8 million cost of burying the lines would be paid for involved trust between officials of LIPA and officials of Southampton, and it was hammered out in a 13-hour session ending on Friday night. A special Town Board meeting was held Tuesday to vote on the resolution authorizing the settlement. It is considered a victory for everybody. The lines will be buried. And Southampton has a viable plan to pay for it. Furthermore, if there are lawsuits that might hold up their plan, the backup plan is that the Town will guarantee the payment of the project by collateralizing it. They will then move to create a smaller special tax district.

The holdup had been because Southampton Town needed to petition Albany in order to get permission to create a special tax surcharge district to pay the $8 million extra cost but failed to get the paperwork in on time to have it done by Memorial Day. This district would have included only those living along the roads and nearby to the roads where the underground lines would go. It would have resulted in a surcharge of about $100 a year for 20 years for people along the route. But Southampton failed to get the paperwork into Albany before April 29. They can't reapply until 2009.

In the new solution, the Town will use existing tax districts, which means that a greater number of people will cover the cost, but the cost for each of those in these districts will be only $45 a year. The districts include downtown Southampton, Mecox, Water Mill and some of Bridgehampton (which may include the office of Dan's Papers). The surcharge will continue for 20 years, just as it would have if it had been applied to the smaller special district.

We all use these back roads. For the preservation of a scenic view, this is well worth the money. And we are all for it.

The lighting company, which as I have said has dictatorial powers, has been most cooperative in this. Beginning Wednesday, they will remove the poles they have left by the side of the roads. And the digging to make the lines underground will once again proceed.