East Hampton Streetscape Steering Committee
Regular Meeting
Minutes
August 15, 2007
6:30 PM
East Hampton Town Hall Meeting Room
Agenda Item #1: Call to Order Streetscape Steering Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Harris called the meeting to order at 6:36 pm. Other committee members present were Sue Weintraub and Kevin Burnham. Ralph Stoeckle was absent. Susan Puzzo has resigned from the committee.
Others present: Alison Walck, Chair, East Hampton Town Council
Agenda Item #2: Approval of Minutes, July 18, 2007, Regular Meeting Kevin Burnham made a motion to approve the minutes with clarification of two items. Sue Weintraub seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved, as amended.
Agenda Item #3: Communications and Announcements Elizabeth Harris reported that she had not yet heard from Alan Bergren regarding the request that Shaw’s tidy the area around the Rotary kiosk, where some construction debris was reported to remain.
Agenda Item #4: Consider TPA’s revised scope Bell sign restoration: Ms. Weintraub will schedule a site visit with the vendor who has offered to donate powdercoating of the bell sign frame, which will provide opportunity for inspection and measurement. The vendor may be able to advise on any needed repairs as well as a source for the sandblasting required to remove old paint.
Landscaping at Shaw’s: Mr. Bergren would like to have a design plan before contacting Shaw’s regarding additional landscaping and erosion control at the southwest corner of the Shaw’s lot. Ms. Harris will contact TPA to see if they are able to provide a quick concept plan for the area.
Landscaping at Classic Auto: Ms. Harris reported that TPA has included property owner meetings within the scope, and that they will be able to work with the owner of Classic Auto to incorporate landscaping plants at that site.
Design fees: Ms. Harris met with Mary Ann Dostaler on August 10, 2007, and spoke with Val Ferro of TPA by phone at that time. Ms. Dostaler explained that the EDC expects more design work from Phase I than can possibly be implemented during construction year 2008. Remaining designs are planned for implementation with construction funds in Phase II and beyond. A man-hour breakdown of the design fees would require a good deal of time and be at cost to the Town. Additionally, the western boundary of the survey ended at the Main/East High Street intersection; investigation of a western gateway area would require additional survey work. However, the committee continues to feel that some of the proposed streetscape tasks might not be necessary at this time. Without more design budget detail, however, it is more difficult to
determine if there are tasks which should be deferred; therefore, all members present desired some breakdown of TPA’s proposed design fees. Ms. Weintraub asked for a list of services included in that sum. Mr. Burnham noted that any funds made available could be directed toward a number tasks, some currently deferred in the scope, which the committee deems more important, such as continuing to research and design a midblock crosswalk with area of refuge or obtaining a video log of the East High Street corridor. Ms. Weintraub felt strongly that design of gateways, both east and west, should be sought during Phase I, since they are an important part of a streetscaping plan but could be forgotten in the wake of other Phase I projects. A light for the Town Hall pocket park could also be purchased with spare funds. The committee agreed that the scope could not be well-considered and approved unless some breakdown of the design budget was made available.
Agenda Item #5: Survey results Ms. Weintraub expressed that the survey results could yield information regarding affected properties and identify potential encroachment situations; she felt that the committee would be able to take those situations into account when planning various streetscape tasks. Mr. Burnham has a copy of the survey and will examine it.
Agenda Item #6: Next Steps Ms. Harris will contact Mary Ann Dostaler to inform her of the committee’s decision to defer approval of the scope. The committee is open to meeting with her or other members of the EDC to discuss the committee’s desire for design budget detail.
Ms. Harris noted that, once the streetscape design scope has been approved, there will need to be a public meeting to present the scope in its entirety; TPA should be able to estimate when a public meeting will be feasible. Ms. Weintraub suggested seeking posters of the chosen light, bench, and trash can designs from their manufacturers. Mr. Burnham suggested using colorized visuals, less detailed than the construction documents, to highlight the work anticipated in the streetscape design. Color samples of materials, such as the sidewalk and trim, can be sought, along with photos of typical examples of these designs.
Agenda Item #7: Public Comments Victoria Wild, of East Hampton, attended the meeting to gather more information on the streetscape project; she became aware of the project only recently.
Alison Walck reported that two appraisals of the DiStefano property will be soon obtained, one from an appraiser of Val Ferro’s recommendation and another from an appraiser of the Town’s choosing. Additionally, $410,000 has been approved for sidewalk repair, and some of the funds will be used for repairs on West High Street.
Agenda Item #8: Adjournment Ms. Weintraub made a motion to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Mr. Burnham. The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 pm by unanimous vote. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 6:30 pm in the East Hampton Town Hall Meeting Room.
Respectfully submitted by Elizabeth Harris.
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