Huntington Town Board Meeting - May 14, 2026
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Huntington Town Board Meeting - May 14, 2026
The Huntington Town Board met on May 14, 2026, to consider several neighborhood enhancement and park improvement proposals, including banner brackets, a fence replacement, garbage pails, and electric vehicle charging stations. The meeting also included public comment and updates on ongoing projects.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Tugman appeared regarding his prior request for park improvements at Cedar Road Park. He noted that he submitted separate applications for fuel and a play center, and inquired about pickleball. He expressed appreciation for the updated Witch Fields and noted positive feedback from the community. The board indicated they need more time to review his request and will vote at the next meeting.
Discussion Items
- Banner Brackets for Keith Brown (Neighborhood Enhancement): A proposal to install 60 brackets (at $53 each, total $2,199) to display approved logos for the Hillside Harbor Walk area. Brackets would attach to lampposts and some wood poles. The board discussed that the logo itself has not yet been approved by the town board. A motion to approve was initially voted 6-1 in favor but then procedural confusion occurred; the chair eventually clarified that despite some opposition, the motion passed subject to town board approval of the logo. Assemblyman Keith Brown later arrived and confirmed the plan, noting that the logo is pending town board approval.
- Fence Replacement at Hale Site Marina (Park Improvement): Melissa Coban from Maritime Services proposed removing the existing chain link fence and installing a two-rail split rail fence (ACQ, painted white), consistent with fences at Ashroken Beach and Billy Joel Park. Estimated cost $47,000, with potential additional $3,000–$5,000 for concrete-embedded posts. Total up to $52,000. The fence is intended to beautify and define the marina area. After discussion, the board approved up to $52,000 from neighborhood enhancement/park improvement funds.
- Garbage Pails for Hillside Marina and Mill Dam (Park Improvement): Request for nine rain-guard garbage pails similar to those at the new Hillside Park, at a cost of $10,500 (approx. $1,167 each). Due to procurement limits ($9,999 threshold for simplified process), Melissa Coban suggested ordering eight now and the rest in January if needed. The board discussed piggybacking on existing contracts and placement flexibility. Motion to approve $10,500 for nine pails, contingent on discussion with the vendor and with discretion on placement, passed.
- Electric Vehicle DC Fast Charging Stations (Green Project): Jonas Wagner presented a project to install six DC fast-charging EV stations at the former Chase Bag parking lot. Total cost $570,000, funded by a DEC grant ($20,000) and PSEG grant ($240,000), with the town contributing $80,000. The stations will have high turnover, with users paying per kilowatt (competitive rates). The infrastructure is already in place. Motion to approve up to $80,000 as the town match passed.
Key Outcomes
- Banner brackets approved subject to town board approval of the logo (motion carried despite initial confusion).
- Hale Site Marina fence approved for up to $52,000 (unanimous).
- Garbage pails approved for $10,500 (contingent on vendor discussion, placement at discretion).
- EV charging stations approved for $80,000 town match (unanimous).
- Cedar Road Park application deferred to next meeting for further review.
Other Updates & Future Items
- Park improvements in queue: Arboretum Park (engineering phase), Coltrane House (phase one likely to come), Creek Road Boat Yard (contamination remediation, potential future park improvement), and a possible pocket park on Main Street (owner inquiry pending).
- Land acquisition: Two properties (Sabbath and CAF) donated to the town closed last week; asbestos analysis underway.
- New business: Kevin Smith (Green Lawn Civic Association) is working on a park improvement design for a garden/meditation area. Coltrane House restoration progressing with historic preservation elements.
- Public works note: Gas line upgrades underway on Main Street and New York Avenue; DOT approval pending for curbing at Chase Bag lot.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. We have a quorum. Let's come to order. Okay, we don't have a number of presentations tonight. So Assemblyman Keith Brown was intending to present to us. Can we do this without King and attendance? Yes. Okay. Alien Pro? Yeah. Good. How are you? Good. Here we go. But it's already on the table of running. Okay, so this one for Keith Brown. What's this? What is very good? Okay. Yeah. So we received a nomination from a selling in Keith Brown. Looking for brackets, um, banners displaying the approved logo for the area. There's a need for 60 brackets. They'd like to order them. Um the ones that are used for the hometown heroes project, that's throughout Hurnington Village. Um, so the cost is $2,199. And this would be a neighboring hood enhancement. Yeah, yes. It's outside Parklands, right? Yeah. And this is for the proposed harbor walk? It is for the vicinity of the harbor walk, so from the firehouse south uh around the American Legion. The American Legion, of course, is a project inside the overall thing. So where is all over the outer? Uh uh then uh so it comes south on one ten, turns the corner and then goes across the building. What are they being attached to? Uh so I have not been working on this piece of it specifically, um, um, but I'm aware of it. Um my understanding was that the the banners themselves were being funded by 1653. That's my understanding. Uh this is just the endoring permanent bracket uh being attached to the traditional lampposts. They are in some places. Um so there was a some back and forth uh on this, so I'm not um discussed this was 40 brackets. Um and you can see they're $53 each. So that there was in some cases I think there were wood poles there also. Going across Mill Dam, there's no traditional light poles, so it's going to go on wood poles in those locations, but otherwise on the metal poles where they exist. This this walkboard thing has not been approved yet, right? It's an area of the town. Um so it is uh much of it occurs on public sidewalks. Um and then in some cases it would be say behind the American Legion where that that's a project within the project. But it also I think it's also encompasses this again.
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