7/25/2019 Remarks by Francis Zappone, Deputy Supervisor, Town of
Southampton, NY
1/1
Remarks by Francis Zappone, Deputy Supervisor, Town of
Southampton, NY
The East End faces a unique set of interrelated challenges:
coastal resilience, water
quality and energy. The coastal nature of our community
compounds the search for
iable solutions to each of these challengers.
!hat we hae learned in our e"orts to #nd these solutions is that
local input and
direct inolement in the decision making is critical to the
e"ectieness of any
solution proposed and implemented. $n recent years, for e%ample,
&ederal, 'tate
and (ounty agencies hae put more resources into the hands of
local communities
in matters related to emergency management, storm recoery, and
erosion control.
)lthough there is much more that needs to be done, this changing
paradigm is
demonstrating a measure of success.
*ikewise, in the area of water quality, the deelopment of the
(lean !ater $nstitute
partnering with the 'tate, the (ounty, 'tony +rook niersity and
local
municipalities in deeloping and piloting innoatie waste water
treatment optionsleading to tested and innoatie best practices and
new technologies. )gain, this
new approach has demonstrated positie early results.
$t is indeed encouraging to see that on the energy front that
the regional power
authority, *$-) through the operational management of -'E *$, is
understanding
the importance and alue of local participation in #nding
solutions to our energy
challenges. /ther NY'ER0) funded programs such as the reen 1omes
and the
'olari2e -rograms also demonstrate the desire to empower the
local communities.
)s a community, we are encouraged by the oernor3s call for more
renewable
energy sources. !e know that old solutions 4conentional fossil
fuel power
generation5 cannot be brought to bear to address today3s energy
needs. +oth East
1ampton and 'outhampton hae laid out rigorous renewable energy
goals for
themseles. !e welcome partnering with -'E *$ to those ends. The
fact that there
is local representation from both East 1ampton and 'outhampton
in the reiew of
the proposals in response to the 'outh &ork R&- is a
signi#cant #rst step in that
leel of partnership. $t is our hope that this leel of local
inolement will not only
continue but also grow. $t is sometimes said that we are best
sered when we sere
ourseles. $n matters as comple% as coastal resiliency, water
quality and energy, we
are best sered when we sere each other. East 1ampton and
'outhampton hae
formed a strong alliance. !e hope that forums such as today3s
will further that
partnership with those representing the energy industry as well
as our local energy
proider.
