Southold Town Notes: Deer Meat Storage; Fall Brush Pickup Discussed

Instead of renting a large refrigeration unit, Southold Town passed a resolution on Tuesday night to buy one for this fall’s harvest from the town’s deer management program, which begins its third year of operation on Oct. 1. The used refrigerated truck body from Farmingdale-based S.A.V Truck Center will cost the town $6,400.

“It’s a lot cheaper than renting,” said Councilman Al Krupski. “We rented in year past to see how effective the program went, but we’ve been able to cull the herd in greater numbers, and people have been able to use the meat. That’s how the system should work.”

As of Friday, 43 hunters had signed up to participate in this year’s hunt, with a total of 75 slots available.

After Irene: Reinstate Fall Brush Pickup?

At Tuesday’s meeting, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell mentioned the dozens of emails and phone calls he received regarding the impressive cleanup work the Southold Town Highway department did after Tropical Storm Irene hit the North Fork in late August.

Greenport resident James Spanos said he wondered why, after such a storm, Southold Town would not reallocate funds to reinstate a fall brush clean up, which was nixed three years ago.

“Hurricane season is not over,” Spanos said. “Why not reinstate a fall pickup?”

Supervisor Russell said that the town did not have the funds allocated for a fall brush cleanup but that a spring cleanup was still in the budget, and the town is still offering free dropoff at the Cutchogue transfer station.

“Irene was a unique circumstance, and if another hurricane happens, we will address the issue at the time,” Russell said.

Councilman William Ruland added that Southold has gathered the information to submit to FEMA for reimbursement on some of the costs accrued to the town during the emergency cleanup — something that would not be possible during a routine fall brush pickup.

“The town could not have planned for an event like that,” he said. “We had to find a way to get the community back on its feet and move on.”