Supervisor Petrone signs global warming measure, sponsored by Councilman Mark Cutbertson and co-sponsored by Coucilman Stuart Besen. Councilwomen Glenda Jackson and Susan Berland, who supported the measure, are joined by members of the Sierra Club.

          Huntington, NY – The Huntington Town Board today approved the Town's share of a major road project funded largely through federal stimulus money and took significant steps to reduce global warming, pledging to adopt measures designed to increase energy efficiency in the Town and reduce the production of greenhouse gases.

            The $7 million project to reconstruct Walt Whitman Road in Melville has been in the planning stages for several years. The town's share of the cost will be $2.3 million and the federal contribution will be $4.8 million in economic stimulus funds approved by Congress and President Barack Obama in February.  It is part of the $1.1-billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds allocated for highway and bridge infrastructure in New York State and one of the first local projects approved in the Long Island region.

Walt Whitman Road improvements include the addition of sidewalks, turning lanes, and general road restoration. Formerly part of State Route 110, this section of road was deeded to the Town decades ago when the State straightened and widened Rte. 110.  Walt Whitman receives heavy residential and commercial use as both buffer to the residential communities and as a "service" entrance to businesses on the west side of the Route 110 corridor.  Modernization of this arterial road is critical to the health of the Route 110 corridor, which serves as the economic and employment engine of the Town of Huntington

            "Our shovels are ready and we look forward to beginning this vital transportation project that will ease congestion, help the environment and create much-needed construction jobs," Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said.

            In a resolution sponsored by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and co-sponsored by Supervisor Petrone and Councilman Stuart P. Besen, the Town Board adopted the United States Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, urging the federal and state governments to enact policies and programs that reduce global warming pollution levels and calling upon Congress to pass bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation.

"Today we join over nine hundred Mayors, Supervisors and Town Leaders in signing the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Change Agreement," Councilman Cuthbertson said. "This document symbolizes our continued commitment to Clean Cities, by adopting specific guidelines that will ultimately reduce our carbon footprint and make Huntington a more sustainable Town.  With the addition of nearly $2 million in federal funding from President Obama to meet these goals, we look forward to working with our friends in the environmental community to develop creative municipal projects and incentives for our residents." 

            "Global warming is not a scientific theory. It's real, it's here and everybody needs to pitch in to reverse the conditions that have imperiled this planet's future. With this vote, Huntington is on record that we will do our part by reducing the town's carbon footprint and by urging our colleagues at other levels to do the same," Supervisor Petrone said. 

            Some of the measures the town has committed to take include:

n      Conducting an inventory of global emissions in Town operations, setting reduction targets and developing an action plan;

n      Adopting and enforcing land-use policies that reduce sprawl and preserve open space;

n      Promoting transportation options such as bicycle trails, incentives for car pooling and public transit;

n      Increasing the use of clean, alternative energy through developing renewable energy resources and using waste-to-energy technology;

n      Purchasing Energy Star equipment and appliances for Town use;

n      Make energy efficiency a priority through building code improvements and practicing and promoting sustainable building practices;

n      Attempting to increase the average fuel efficiency of Town fleet vehicles;

n      Evaluating opportunities to increase efficiency of wastewater treatment systems;

n      Increasing recycling rates in Town operations and in the community.   

"Whether it is upgrading your home to include renewable energy, or the Town working to replace its aging fleet with hybrid vehicles, these are all simple ways to truly make a difference," Councilman Besen said, "and just as every level of government can institute smart energy solutions, every age group can begin living by them today in order to insure a cost efficient, cleaner, safer tomorrow."

In other action, the Board:

-- Approved a resolution calling on the State Legislature to offer municipalities and other public sector employers the same exemption being granted school districts from the payroll tax under consideration to help bail out the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 

"This is yet another example of the state looking to transfer its own fiscal problems onto the backs of local governments, no different from the raft of unfunded state mandates that symbolize Albany's dysfunction," Supervisor Petrone said of the tax. "Exempting school districts lessens but certainly does not eliminate the burden every local taxpayer downstate will shoulder to extricate the state from its failure to monitor properly the fiscal operation of one if its own authorities. At the very least, Albany's solution should take note of the effect on all taxing jurisdictions and avoid hidden tax increases such as this one."

-- Hired Greenman-Pedersen Inc. to conduct a comprehensive environmental and traffic analysis of impact the proposed Heartland-Pilgrim Town Square project will have on the Town of Huntington. The 450-acre mega-project proposes 9,130 residential units, 105,000 square feet of civic space, 1 million square feet of retail space and 4.15 million square feet of office space on land located on the Islip side of the Islip-Huntington border. As part of the $50,000 contract, Greenman-Pedersen will help prepare the Town's response at the public hearing Islip has schedule on the draft environmental impact statement.

-- Authorized the signing of a contract with M&M Canvas & Awning Inc. of Huntington to furnish, fabricate and install an awning as the temporary replacement for the archway at the Crab Meadow Beach pavilion that had to be taken down for safety reasons. At $43,025, M&M was the lower of two bidders on the contract, which includes the cost of the awning, installing it at Crab Meadow, taking it down at the end of the beach season (when construction of the permanent archway will begin) and reassembling it at a yet-to-be-determined site next year.

            -- Approved rezonings allowing construction of a Lowe's Home Center at the former Huntington Town House site in Huntington Station and of an Engel-Burman Bristal assisted living facility on Doyle Court in East Northport. Both matters were the subject of public hearings at the April Town Board meeting.

-- Approved issuance of a permit for the Town to stabilize the shoreline at Heron Park in Centerport by replacing the existing railroad-tie retaining wall with planting bed tier supports and regrading and re-vegetating the shoreline.

-- Appointed members of the Town's Public Art Advisory Committee and designated the current chair, Sara Ronald Bluestone, to continue in that position until Sept. 10, 2009.

"The public arts initiative contributes significantly to the Town of Huntington's cultural identity," Councilwoman Susan Berland said. "The Public Arts Advisory committee provides opportunities for artists to show their work to a larger audience and brings this artwork to all corners of our Town. I thank the members of the Committee for their service and I look forward to enjoying this year's selected projects."

            Speaking about the Walt Whitman Road project, Councilwoman Glenda Jackson noted,  "The economic stimulus money from the Obama Administration for Walt Whitman road could not have come at a better time. Not only will this project transform the area and alleviate traffic congestion, it will act as a boon for the regional economy by creating jobs and supporting local businesses."