Dan's Papers - May 29, 2009 -LAND: WE BOUGHT IT. NOW WE'RE RETHINKING IT.

With real estate sales down, the money accumulated from the real estate tax that towns and villages collect on every transaction is down. In 2007, throughout the Hamptons, in the various towns and villages, a total of $90 million was brought in by the 2% tax, all of it to be used to purchase open land and historic sites to save them forever. In 2008, the total was half that. And in 2009, it's going to be down further, it would appear.

Because the towns and villages make these large real estate transactions in the same way we regular folks do, by mortgaging to pay them off with future income (the municipalities do this by bonding), the fall in Community Preservation Fund (CPF) income has created severe problems. Numerous properties in mid-purchase are being reevaluated. What can go through? What will have to be jettisoned?

As you will see, both the state and the county are coming to the rescue in some of these transactions. It is to their credit they are doing this. They have financial problems themselves. But they do have deeper pockets.

In Southampton Town, a treasured farm stand and farm in Sagaponack known as Pike's Farm is being rescued in a complicated transaction that will include funding from not only the State and County, but also from the Peconic Land Trust. This is a transaction involving 7.6 acres of farmland and about $4.5 million. In the end, the Peconic Land Trust will assume the title to the property.

In a transaction in Greenport where the village has purchased a 6.2 acre sandy beach on Long Island Sound for $1.7 million to make it a village beach for local residents, the County has stepped in to save the property after Greenport, deep in debt, announced it would sell the property to developers. The County will pay the Town $1.7 million to save this public beach, and presumably will make it a County beach with special privileges for Greenport residents.

In East Hampton, a major purchase made last year by the Town of the former Boy's Harbor Camp, located on the waters of Three Mile Harbor, is being saved by Suffolk County. The camp is 27.8 acres and was purchased for $7.34 million by the Town, which intended to make it a limited access wild nature area. It remains to be seen what the County might decide to do with it.

Also in East Hampton, while everything was coming under review, it was found that two properties that were bought with CPF funds two years ago never had the necessary historic designations to be eligible for the use of CPF money. As this seems to have been just more bungling by the current administration, which has so disappointed the townspeople that not one of the current elected officials has been selected for re-election by either of the two political parties in the upcoming elections, a big fuss is being made over this additional lapse.

The two properties are the Duck Creek Farm on Three Mile Harbor Road, a beautiful wetlands property of 2.3 acres abutting the harbor that was not officially designated a historic landmark at the time of the sale, even though a decrepit farmhouse and barn on the property were restored with CPF money. The other is the Selah Lester farm, a three-acre affair at the corner of Cedar Street and North Main, which was purchased and the buildings earmarked for restoration, even though they are not eligible because the money used was particular CPF money earmarked for open space. A hearing was recently held to repair these paperwork botch ups by passing retroactive or new laws and that was done.

Meanwhile, in East Hampton Village, it has been found that the purchase of the Hook School House on Main Street in 2008 was not listed on the town's Community Preservation Project Plan at the time it was purchased, and that error, too, is being repaired.

In other news, the construction of the new Town Hall in East Hampton from the historic 17th century saltboxes and outbuildings graciously donated to the Town Hall property two years ago by Ted Carpenter and Adelaide de Menil has simply stopped. It's right on the highway and it is easy to see there are now no workmen there during the workday. This project, which requires the conversion of these seven old buildings for 21st century use on the inside, was supposed to cost $4 million, then $6 million and now appears headed up toward $10 million. The donors of the houses made a contribution of $1 million toward the project after they gave these houses to the Town for free and paid to have them moved there. Last week, they donated another $400,000.