Town Board - Regular Meeting

Suffolk County
Tuesday, July 21, 2026Official site

The Town Board discussed proposed irrigation legislation, heard public comments on water conservation and traffic safety, and adopted new water restrictions due to ongoing drought conditions. The new restrictions prohibit sprinkler use from 9 AM to 7 PM and limit well-drawn water for pool top-offs to two inches in any five-day period.

About this meeting

Government Body
Town Board
Meeting Type
Town Board
Location
Shelter Island, NY
Meeting Date
July 21, 2026

Published excerpts

Only published remarks appear here. The full transcript is not published.

7 sections

13:43 – 14:30•Margaret Larsen

Yeah. So with this irrigation legislation, it's been working in subcommittee back and forth, back and forth, and it's gotten to the point where it really just has to be a public dialogue. We have had multiple meetings with the landscapers and irrigation guides. We've had meetings with experts in irrigation who taught us how it works and how to use it effectively, what works, what doesn't work. And so at this point, it's really that we need the public and the board to make decisions and choose a path. There are a couple changes. If we look at, we'll go to the definitions first.

14:34 – 22:34•Margaret Larsen

or we've had the salinity testing or fluoride testing for the grandfathered irrigation systems. And what we've been doing is testing sort of in the off season in the winter after there's been recharge and everything's kind of at its best really. And so we've added a definition of the fluoride test, which should be performed by a state certified lab. So it's not just a field sample. Then we've also added the definition of a maximum permissible chloride level, which we've always been using as 125, which is half of the potable limit. So the Department of Health says you can't drink water that is

22:38 – 27:14•Margaret Larsen

that it should only be used for the establishment of plantings for a period of up to three years. And then we also have if drawing from the aquifer, it's subject to chloride testing and permanent bar provisions that are in the other section. And then at the end of three years, the drip system shall be removed and the permit closed unless the drip system is fed by a sister. So this is really the question. Is it necessary to force abandonment of the drip system after three years? if there's been no issues with chloride, if there's been, you know, if the plantings are healthy and, you know, is it

27:27•Margaret Larsen

Yeah, that's fine. Then everyone has a red line and clean version. So you can. If everyone's easier for you to reach.

29:09•Margaret Larsen

Yeah, call the non emergency number to report that. Yes. Yes, exactly.

46:12 – 48:27•Margaret Larsen

I had green options on Thursday and they're getting ready for the Green Expo in August. So just starting to plan for that. We did receive a request from Tim Quartel to put up signs like the week before the event. So we can look at that at our next meeting. We also talked about the RFP for solar at the recycling center that is going to go out this week. It's going to be available at the clerk's office and we're going to send it to people that we know are interested. Then we had, let me see. Water advisory committee yesterday, and as Andrew came and said, we spent about an hour talking about the

48:58•Margaret Larsen

Yes, they're available and they are 10 bucks. And they look really good.

These excerpts are remarks by officials whose identity a person confirmed, from a transcript generated automatically from the official public meeting video and presented unedited. Accuracy may vary; view the original recording for reference.