Montauk Pioneer - May 23, 2008 - Power Line Meeting

"We have been trying to do this for about 20 years, to improve the views of this scenic highway, and because of the threat of wind and fog to these wires," said John Keeshan, of Keeshan Real Estate, who is leading an effort to bury the existing poles along this oceanfront gateway to Montauk.

About 100 people attended the first preliminary public meeting about the poles, held at the Montauk Firehouse on May 15. This meeting was organized by Keeshan, who also led the effort to get better street lamps for Montauk's Main Street. Also at the meeting was a panel consisting of Suffolk County Executive Jay Schneiderman, East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill McGintee, and officials from LIPA, Verizon and Cablevision.

They discussed the possibility of burying the LIPA poles along the entire length of the Old Montauk Highway, from Route 27 to the entrance of Montauk Main Street, which is about four miles.

Bob Wetter, of Verizon, said so far he has not gotten together with the other utility companies, but that, "The costs could be reduced if we were in the same trench, rather than in three separate trenches of our own."

Dave Cervone, of Cablevision, said, "This whole project from start to finish is a massive one. We've done a few of them, but nothing of this scale. We need to do a complete engineering design to see who owns the road, and if there are any wetlands, endangered species, or archeological sites."

Mike Hervey, Vice-President of Operations for LIPA, said his company would be glad to take the lead on coordinating the route. "We've been looking for an opportunity to have a joint bid of a three-party trench job," he said. "We would find out if we need an environmental impact statement, which may cost another quarter to half million."

East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill McGintee said he thought the total cost could be reduced by obtaining grants. "In Southampton, it is not being paid for town-wide, but by a special tax district that was set up for those who wanted it. For this strip along the Old Montauk Highway, we need to find out from our attorneys if it would be subject to a referendum, if we were to lack grant funding. We also need to see how much it would cost in this tax district alone."

But Keeshan said later that research would be done into various government agencies to cover the costs through state, federal and possibly county grants.

Steve Abramson, who led the effort to bury the LIPA wires in Water Mill, also attended the Montauk meeting, to lend his support.. "In Southampton, we created a special tax assessment district, for an $8 million project, that only cost each of 30,000 residents $3.70 a month more on their bill," he explained. "We knew in that area we had widespread support. Someone should run the numbers and see what it would cost in Montauk and what the tax base is here."

At the meeting, Suffolk County Executive Jay Schneiderman, of Montauk, said since he owns two motels along the Old Montauk Highway, he would stand to benefit from the pole removal, and he therefore understands this is a "conflict of interest" for him. He explained that this highway also bears the brunt of the wind and fog in Montauk. The strong weather is a problem for the above-ground LIPA poles.

"In almost every storm, we lose power here, and also the humidity here is extraordinary," he said. "In winter, when the wind hits frozen wires, we see them snap. This is an area where we might be justified to get some money toward the cost of this burial." He said it might be possible to do beautification projects through the State's designation of this road as a "Scenic Byway."

Schneiderman said the difference between the Southampton effort to bury the phone wires and the Montauk effort is that this special State designation might lead to people viewing it as a tourist resource.