Voters Head To Polls in Fire District Elections Tuesday

Voters will head to the polls in the annual fire district elections throughout Long Island on Tuesday. All registered voters are eligible to vote in their fire districts. 

There are two races in fire districts in the Town of East Hampton. In the Bridgehampton Fire District, which includes Wainscott to portions of Water Mill, there is a race for fire commissioner and there are three referendums on the ballot.

Current chairman Steve Halsey is running for re-election after six years on the board, while Bruce Dombkowski, a former commissioner, has mounted a write-in campaign after his nominating petition was rejected. The term is for five years. 

According to the district’s newly hired attorney Brad Pinsky, one proposition would shift the treasurer position from a three-year elected term to a one-year appointed term. Under the current system, the treasurer is an elected term of office, which would require something akin to an impeachment proceeding to remove the person from office, according to Pinsky.

The ballot referendum on the treasurer’s position comes on the heels of the district’s decision to run an advertisement in The Southampton Press that was critical of longtime secretary Charles Butler, who has been working for the fire district since 1977. Butler was the appointed secretary and elected treasurer. His current term as treasurer ends at the end of 2014. If approved, the shift will not take effect until 2015.

The second referendum to appear on the ballot approves the sale of a 60-by-100-foot vacant plot of land to a private buyer in the amount of $940,000. According to Pinsky, the district-owned land, located at 113 Main Street in Wainscott, is no longer needed. Voters will need to decide on whether the district can go through with that sale.

Finally, another proposition is to establish a capital reserve fund.

Voting takes place at the Bridgehampton firehouse on School Street between 6 and 9 p.m.

With reporting by Matthew McGevna 

Montauk Fire District

Richard Schoen, the current fire chief who is leaving the post at the end of the month, and Dave Ryan, who has been a lieutenant of Company No. 3 on and off for the past eight years, are both vying for one seat on the board of fire commissioners. Dick White is not seeking re-election. 

The term will be for five years. 

Schoen has been a chief for seven years, serving the last three years as the head chief. He has been a member of the department for 24 years, having lived in Montauk for 29 years. 

Ryan has been a volunteer fireman for 17 years. He also drives the ambulance. "I know the fire department very well," he said, adding that he sees being on the board as the next step in his community service. 

The election will be held at the firehouse on Flamingo Avenue between 2 and 9 p.m. 

Springs Fire District

Commissioner Kenneth Brabant Sr. is seeking another five-year term. Voting takes place at the Springs fire house on Fort Pond Boulevard from 6 to 9 p.m.

Amagansett Fire District

Chairman Daniel Shields II is running unopposed for another five-year seat. Voting happens at the firehouse on Main Street between 6 to 9 p.m.