The meeting was held in person at the Eaton’s Neck Firehouse from 7:05 pm to 8:35 pm.  The meeting was also available via Zoom.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a roll call of officers.

Officer Roll Call

• Tom Kehoe – President
• Ryan Schaefer-Walker – Vice President and Treasurer – ABSENT
• Yvonne Lambertson – Assistant Vice President (Technology, Web and Communications) 
• Steve Neuf – Assistant Vice President (Engineering and Special Projects)
• Sally Neal – Recording Secretary
• Nancy Regan – Corresponding Secretary – ABSENT
• Anthony Fusaro – Assistant Vice President – ABSENT

Attendance 

There were 14 members physically in attendance, not including four officers.

Two corrections were submitted to the August Minutes:  (1) Neither POENB, as a 501c(4) organization, nor homeowners (within the POENB defined boundaries) pay property taxes on the two POENB beach properties.   (2) The Beach groomer’s name is Herman Lindau, not Hector.  Tom Kehoe’s motion to accept last month’s minutes as published on the POENB Website, subject to the two corrections, was accepted.  

Correspondence –  Tom Kehoe for Nancy Regan 

1. Road Paving

Parts of the roads in EN are marked with white arrows.  These marks indicate likely sections of the road that will be repaved.  No date has been set but EN is in the queue.  Residents will receive notices in their mailboxes to alert them as to when paving work will begin. 

2. PSEG Project Completion

While PSEG has finished its “bury the lines” effort on EN, it expects to conclude other electrical improvements that will provide reliable power to residents.  This includes the “feeder lines” from the substation in Elwood (near the LIRR tracks) to the other side of Main Street across from the two Churches in Northport.  

3. Bevin Seawall

Subject to NYS DEC’s objection, the VOA will begin a feasibility study to (a) raise the road (similar to Lloyd’s Neck access) and (b) move the road (and utility poles) further inland along the route from 501 Asharoken Avenue to Bevin Road. This effort may be Part 1 of several efforts that may include constructing an artificial reef, repairing the existing seawall and adding rocks and sand. 

NYS Assemblyman Brown and NYS Senator Mattera would like to conduct a Town Hall with residents who are directly and negatively impacted by the Seawall’s continuing decline.  This meeting has not yet been scheduled but the Board strongly encourages EN residents to attend this event.  We used our collective voices effectively to improve the reliability of electrical service and now we must continue to keep political pressure on remediating the Bevin Seawall public safety hazard. 

POENB also received copies of:

1. A formal request from NYS Assemblyman Keith Brown, NYS Senator Mario Mattera and VOA Mayor Letica to the NYS DEC to explore the possibility of constructing an artificial reef between the Seawall and the LIPA Platform as a means to dampen the impact of waves and storms.  
2. A letter sent by TOH Supervisor Ed Smith to the Commanding General of the ACOE expressing support for the reinforcement and fortification of the Seawall
3. An article in the Northport Observer regarding Seawall issues
4. A letter sent by VOA Mayor Letica to Gov. Hochul requesting financial assistance for the Seawall
5. A letter from VOA Mayor Leticia asking the TOH Supervisor and Town Council to formally petition the Governor for financial assistance to permanently fix the Seawall

4. Beach Related Matters
   1. PB Grills – Greg Hodges noted that one of the two grills at PB is completely rusted and needs to be replaced.  
   2. Filming a student movie at PB  – Received an email from a non-resident asking for permission to shoot a movie for his school thesis.  The Board declined the request given insurance reasons. 
   3. Watercraft assignments – Received various emails from members regarding watercraft storage and assignments
   4. Cleaning storm drains at VG – Bonnie Schalle inquired about the possibility of POENB’s landscapers cleaning out the storm drains in front of VG.  Since these drains are the responsibility of the TOH, the Board sent a request to the TOH to clear the drains.  The TOH formally logged the request in their books but did not commit to taking any action.
   5. TOH access to VG – Received an email from the TOH that requested access to VG and described their planned actions to repair the “outfall pipe” to prevent flooding.

Treasurer’s Report – Sally Neal for Ryan Schaefer-Walker

The Treasurer’s Report (see details on page X) includes the Income Statement for the period January 1, 2024 to September 5, 2024 and a partial Balance Sheet as of September 5, 2024.

Revenues for the period were $66.7K of which $56K was received from membership dues. The remaining revenue was attributed to watercraft fees, Changing Tides ads, social fees, and beach rentals.  Expenses were approximately $51.9K. The majority of these expenses were spent to clean and maintain the beaches.  Members may notice that beach expenses have increased over prior years. Nearly all of the maintenance work is performed by external providers (vs. partially by volunteers).  Additionally, repairs were needed to the VG stairs and significant parts of both beaches were overgrown and contained non-functioning, unslightly and unsafe equipment. Hauling away the discarded equipment and aggressively removing weeds has resulted in a more accessible, open and inviting area for relaxation and recreation (while still preserving the more “natural” look many members enjoy).  Net income for the period was approximately $14.8K

As of September 5, POENB had approximately $40K in all of its bank accounts. 

Social Report – Sara Coddington, Heather Kennedy Brown, Yvonne Lambertson, and Tom Kehoe

• POENB Dinner – Sara Coddington-White reminded residents that tickets ($75 per person) are still available for a dinner at Britannia Yacht Club at 7 pm on Saturday, October 19th.  Net proceeds will be used to beautify our beaches.  In addition to dinner and wine, there will also be raffle baskets.  If you’d like to donate a raffle item or have other questions, please contact Sara at saracoddington@hotmail.com
• ENFD fundraiser – will be held PB on October 19th starting at 11 am. 
• Membership Marketing – As discussed in last month’s CT, a small group of members met on Tuesday, September 3rd to leverage a more data driven approach to better understand why the percentage of residents who become POENB members is “stuck” at around 50%.  This group used membership data provided by Gene Caputo to discuss ideas and actions POENB can take to (1) acquire new members, (2) improve the engagement of existing members (both young families and seniors), and (3) retain existing members (stem unplanned attrition).  Actions from this group will be reported in future issues of the CT
• Movie Night – Michael Cohen generously offered to host a movie night at PB on Friday, September 6th.  The event will start at 7:30 pm with cartoons and trailers.  The feature film “IF” will begin promptly at 8:20 pm.  In the spirit of community outreach, POENB is opening this FREE event is open to ALL RESIDENTS of EN

Infrastructure and Public Safety – Tom Kehoe

VOA Police – Phil Cruifo Sr provided the VOA Police Force a plaque on behalf of POENB.  The VOA was both surprised and pleased. While EN is patrolled by SCPD, the VOA Police have always been willing to act as a “first responder” for EN residents. 

Tick Lecture – Moses Cucura (entomologist) at SC Dept of Public Works, División of Vector Control spoke to members about ticks.  A  PPT that provides further detail has been posted to the POENB website. Key take-aways include:

1. Data used – Moses and his team collaborate with Cornell and Rutgers to obtain data on the tick and mosquito population (density and species) in SC as well as the efficacy of pesticides and other insect mitigating treatments. While the data isn’t as rich as many scientists would like, it’s better than other regions in NYS.  Long term data collection efforts have been hampered by NYS fiscal challenges. 
2. Top 4 tick species on LI ranked in terms of density per square mile – (1) Lone Star Ticks – migrated from Texas and live in eastern LI’s wooded areas; (2) Deer Ticks – prevalent in Western SC and carry Lyme disease, (3) American Dog Ticks and (4) Asian Longhorned Ticks
3. Tick’s lifecycle – three stages:  larva, nymph and adult.  
4. Adult tick “hosts” – Adults feed primarily on large animals – typically white tail deer.  Adult ticks also attach themselves to turkeys, rabbits, white footed mice, woodchucks, raccoons, possums, voles, moles and squirrels.  
5. #1 driver of the tick population on LI – The white tail deer population drives the LI tick population.  Therefore, the first step in reducing the tick population is to reduce the deer population.
   1. Currently in SC, there are 10 to 12 deer per square mile. 
   2. The population is DOUBLING EVERY YEAR, because
      1. The deer have plenty of food;  they graze on a variety of plants and people feed them! 
      2. Females have twins every year
      3. They have no natural predators (cars and trucks are the #1 killer of deer on LI), and
      4. Existing “deer management practices“ are not sufficient to curb the population   
6. Pros and cons associated with the 3 primary deer population practices:
   1. Organized community hunting – Requires a property owner’s permission, Outside of the Morgan Estate and perhaps parts of the 2 acre zone, organized community hunting (with a bow and arrow) is impractical because the homes in EN are too close together.  Hunting is typically only permitted 1 hour before dawn for 2 hours.  On EN, deer are visible 24/7. Because the deer on SC are so tick infested, the meat cannot be harvested for food. 
   2. Female chemical and surgical sterilization programs – Female sterilization is expensive and not very effective.  Staten Island and Southampton spent millions on this effort without much impact.  There are always more females than males and while females limit their movements to a small area, males travel over large distances to impregnate non-sterilized females.  Therefore, to reduce the deer population, it would be more operationally effective and financially efficient to castrate the males than sterilize the females.  
   3. 4 poster tickicide station – Uses corn as bait.  While a deer eats the corn, a paint roller puts pesticide on the deer’s neck and the pesticide kills the ticks.  1 station treats about 40 acres of land and costs about $7K to $11K to install.   Ask Moses about access to funding  
7. Because it is not possible to completely eliminate deer from LI (and ticks would still be hosted by mice, rabbits, dogs, etc.), there are 3 other actions to mitigate tick bites:
   1. Keep deer and other hosts (mice) off a resident’s property – by making it as UN-inviting as possible.  If a deer walks across the property and/or lies on ground, ticks will be present.  Deer are creatures of habit and will follow the same migration path unless a barrier or deterrent is put up to alter their route.  Options include:
      1. Put up a solid/non-transparent fence. While deer can easily jump a 9 foot fence, they are skittish about going into unfamiliar areas.  They won’t leap the fence if they don’t know/can’t see what’s on the other side.  
      2. Use “deer resistant” shrubs (foliage that is unappealing to eat) on your property.  
      3. Plant vegetation with odors that deer find unpleasant – lavender, mint, peppermint, sage, cinnamon, catmint, rosemary, garlic.  Deer have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell. 
      4. Don’t feed the deer  
      5. Don’t over water your lawn – ticks need moisture to survive
      6. Keep your property free of debris – where animals can hide and borrow and ticks can breed in standing water
      7. Watch for signs of tick carrying deer mice – who eat acorns and deer feces
   2. Applying pesticides (granules or liquids) to one’s property
      1. Ticks do not die in cold weather.  Deer ticks lay their eggs (larva) in the early spring.  A single tick can lay 2.5K to 10K eggs.   The eggs start hatching in April and become adults by mid May to mid June.  
      2. Moses and his team are currently testing the efficacy of 8 pesticides.  Most pesticides are not tested on multiple types of ticks – the packaging will read “ticks” 
      3. Put down various pesticides (granules or liquids) – from mid May to mid June when ticks are most active.  
      4. Wondercide and Cedarcide are flea, mosquito and tick sprays for pets and homes
      5. Bayer’s Seresto collar is advertised to protect dogs from fleas and ticks.  It contains two pesticides:  neonicotinoid and flumethin (a pyrethroid).
      6. Tick tube – looks like a toilet roll tube with cotton balls. It is only good for deer – not rodents and for nymphs – not adult ticks.
   3. Wearing protective clothing when outdoors.
      1. Knee high boots (ticks can jump 3’), long sleeved shirts, gloves, and socks inside of boots/shoes.  
      2. Tuck shirts into pants and pants into shoes.  
      3. Buy and wear Sawyer Permethrin-treated clothing that repels and kills larvae and adult biting, chewing, soil and flying insects. Sold by LL Bean, REÍ, and Cabelas
      4. Spray Sawyer Permethrin onto clothing and into shoes and boots – DO NOT apply permethrin directly to one’s skin.  
8. Lyme disease – symptoms and treatments
   1. 25% to 30% of nymphs and 40% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease. 
   2. Tick bites do not have a uniform appearance because individuals have different reactions to being bitten.  The bite (may or may not be itchy) and might look like a:
      1. Big red circle (30% of the cases)
      2. Mosquito bite
      3. Black and blue mark
      4. Raised rash
   3. Symptoms of Lyme disease include fever and headaches
   4. These symptoms appear 1 to 3 weeks after becoming infected – you only test positive for lyme 3 weeks after being bitten
   5. Most MDs can’t identify tick bites.  Southampton Stony Brook Hospital has a dedicated Tick Resource Center; (631-726-TICK) for a tickkit.  Karen.Wulffraat@stonybrookmedicine.edu  
   6. Within 24 to 48 hours after being bitten, one receives prophylactic antibiotics; once diagnosed, one receives doxycycline for 3-4 weeks.

Next Meeting

Next month’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 7:00 pm.