Details on "toxic working environment" at Bridgehampton School come out

In a second try vote yesterday Montauk School District residents voted to approve renovations to Montauk School by passing a pair of referendums – one for a $34.8 million bond, the other for a $2.9 million savings expenditure. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the former passed in a vote of 508-262, and voters approved the latter in a vote of 546-160, both of which mean turnout was about 100 voters higher than in the spring, when the community sunk a $38 million bond in a vote of 361-318 and the same $2.9 million savings expenditure in a vote of 342-334. When that measure failed earlier this year, school district officials regrouped and ironed out the more modest $34.8 million plan, which they said was a better overall plan, even outside the cost reduction. Now passed, district officials have the green light to pursue a string of renovations, which will entail a new gymnasium, HVAC upgrades and the removal of a set of portable classrooms – essentially double-wide trailers – that date back to the 1970s and are at least 20 years past their expected lifespan. Next will be the planning phases, and Montauk School District Superintendent Josh Odom said the community will continue to be involved in that conversation, which will see officials work out the nuts and bolts of the renovations before they send plans up to the state for approval. Then the project will go to bid, and during a series of workshops in the weeks leading up to the vote, Odom said he hopes to see construction begin in advance of the school’s 100th anniversary in 2027, with completion ideally coming in 2028.

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Heavy tree-clearing equipment rolled onto the roughly 4.13-acre lot on Marsden Street in Sag Harbor last week to prepare the site for the construction of four houses proposed by developer Matthew Pantofel and approved by the Sag Harbor Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review earlier this year.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that Pantofel bought the property right across the street from Pierson High School, which had already been subdivided into four lots, from its owner, Pat Trunzo, after voters turned down a proposal to purchase the land for the Sag Harbor School District in May 2023. He and his representatives appeared before the board several times over several months, tweaking the designs of the four large houses he wanted to build on the site. In the end, despite the objection of several neighbors, the board approved all four houses, as well as a landscaping plan for the entire site that allowed Pantofel to remove virtually every tree on the property in exchange for replanting with trees and shrubs. Sag harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella said he “was horrified about what happened” when he drove past the site last week. He added that his daughter had seen a large number of squirrels running around the property “in a panic” after numerous trees were knocked down. But he added that the development of the property was largely a done deal after Southampton Town backed away from a plan to spend $6 million from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase the property with the school district, and voters rejected a referendum that the school district put up on its own. “What was the alternative?” he asked. “What did they think was going to happen?”

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The Peconic Baykeeper and the Peconic Estuary Partnership host their monthly Watershed Walk at the Seal Haul Out Trail at Montauk Point this coming Friday at 10 a.m. You’re invited to join Peconic Baykeeper and Peconic Estuary Partnership for their fourth year of the Winter Watershed Walk Series! Friday’s walk features four new and different locations around the Peconic Estuary. This is a great chance to learn more about the coastal habitats in the watershed. Walks are open to all ages, please register ahead of time so we may contact you in the event of a cancellation or rescheduling. This event is...