I have decided to invest some time and money to find out how our community feels about the following questions. I hope you feel that these issues have merit for you to take the time to fill out this survey and to spring for the postage. I will crunch the numbers and report these findings to the FHCA. If for some reason, these findings do not get posted on the Fair Harbor web site, I will insure that all who respond, will receive the report via snail mail or the preferred, E-Mail. If we generate enough interest, these issues will get addressed.

In order to make changes, volunteers can’t always solve the problem. Cash is sometimes needed!

(B) Encourage all Realtors to include a Community Service Charge on leases- 1% of lease, or $50 a month? This should have no negative economic impact to Landlords nor Realtors. The extra nominal fee that the renters would pay could be earmarked to improve the image of our town.

(C) Organize more fund raisers and auctions

(D) Encourage a stronger sense of Corporate responsibility- Ask that the businesses in our town step up to the plate more often-

i.e. Stores, Restaurant, Realtors, Contractors

(E) Expand Corporate Sponsorship and display recognition openly

(F) Fagedaboudit-Not an issue

(G) Incorporate and start printing our own "Fair Harbor" currency

Trash is a by-product of people. The more people, the more trash. During the summer, wow! Everyone enjoys pizza, ice cream, coffee, newspaper, drinks etc. The dock is a major receiver for the remnants of these items.

(B) Ask for volunteers

(C) Hire an employee

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Require everyone to throw their trash into the bay.

Everyone has seen garbage cans knocked over and trash everywhere. It appears that most of the problems are with rental homes. Homeowners who do not rent out their homes seem to have this problem under control but if we think back, haven’t all of us had this problem? So we finally figured out a system that works for us but didn’t it take learning? Should we expect that new renters be smarter than us and have this problem under control? I guess it depends on the system that we are using. If the trash cans are generic and all that is used to secure the lids, are bungee cords, assuming that bungee cords are available, we can still expect to see trash problems at that home. Some people have built storage bins which solves the problem for good. The FHCA has asked everyone to consider doing the same:

(B) Take pictures of problem homes and submit them to the Landlords to help encourage them to build storage bins

(C) Provide trash pails made by Rubbermaid with lids that screw on

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Direct next Hurricane to those problem homes

There has been much talk about mosquito control. Garbage pails are left empty and scattered by garbage men which creates a propensity for water to collect. Sometimes, the inhabitants leave the island for a long time increasing the odds of infestation.

(B) Require that garbage men, upright and secure emptied pails.

(C) Encourage people to use storage bins to hold the bagged garbage thereby eliminating pails altogether

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Round up and crush all unattended pails twenty minutes after garbage pick-up event

I was shocked when I saw trash flying into the air off the garbage barge. I counted fourteen things floating in the water heading towards the cove. One of the items was a large (five gallon?) plastic spring water container. Yes it was windy that day but how much stuff flies off the barge when it is in motion even on a calm day as it moves across the bay?

(C) Notify the EPA and other applicable agencies

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Stop using garbage company and send all of our garbage to old Saltaire dump or better yet to Kismet so as to be more competitive with them about cleanliness.

(B) Find out the rules and the facts

(C) Get town of Islip involved

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Stop drinking!

Talked about the children’s area already. Forgot to mention that there has been a "Lost and Found" sign and a location for these items on the beach. Piles of stuff grew from the beginning of the summer. Looked terrible. Obviously not a viable answer.

(B) Have a volunteer or paid employee round up items and stow them in the old Firehouse House. These items could be retrieved before or after the movie night. Perhaps to be auctioned off.

(C) Have a volunteer or paid employee discard all stuff and trash each morning

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Check for DNA and toss out offending parents with their stuff

Have you noticed how the freight house looks lately? At minimum, it needs a painting. This is one of the first images we see when we arrive in Fair Harbor. Also, what’s up with the broken chain link fence? I was told that this is the ferry company’s property.

(B) Take pictures along with a petition and encourage ferry company to improve this image

(C) Elicit volunteers and get donations to paint freight house- With permission of ferry company.

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Boycott the ferry company and swim across the bay. Maybe use the plastic pails that we collected to float across

Who hasn’t smelled the offensive odors emanating from around the pizza place? Crazy for pizza- I still found myself running through that area for my fix. What’s going on here? Is there a sanitary violation? I understand that the restaurant has a limited area for its cess pool and leach lines but if that’s the case, it needs to be fixed. Has this been looked at?

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Attach clothes pins to nose when frequenting the restaurant and pizza place

During low tide, the bay seems to smell stronger near the new Sunset Bench than other areas of the bay. I have noticed a steady stream of clear water at that area. It was mentioned to me that this was run off from the compressors of the Pioneer store. It was also mentioned to me that the waste from the restaurant is probably leaching into that part of the bay. I am by no means trying to alarm anyone. These were rumors and conjecture but worthy of mentioning. Probably nothing but even if it is something, we have been living with the problem for how many years anyway.

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Locate children’s swim area to that location and closely observe outcome

Lumber and other large items are placed on the ferry dock very haphazardly. Further more, some contractors and homeowners alike leave pallets and remnants: i.e. banding, wood chips etc., lying around.

(B) Encourage contractors and homeowners to clean up their mess at the time of pick-up

(C) Have volunteer or paid employee insure that this area is neat in the morning

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Incorporate and stop all construction except during Xmas day

In this booming economy, many of us have been building or upgrading our homes. There is a shortage of workers to accomplish all of this and so some things don’t get done and others are done during the peak season. I don’t think that we want to stifle business but we can ask for a better balance between vacationing and renovation.

(B) The clutter of materials and debris on the ferry dock

(C) The noise of construction and transportation of the materials

(D) The appearance of the site after work hours and on the weekends

(E) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(F) Paying the bill?

What happened to the days of saying, "What’s nice about Fire Island, is that we don’t have any cars on it". What’s up with all these cars, mules and go carts? Are people skirting the law?

(B) Investigate and enforce the law if it’s a good one

(C) Initiate a new law or incorporate

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Remove and recycle the tires of these vehicles

I was told that the town is considering widening the walkways from four feet to six feet. Unsure of status.

(B) Expedite process with a petition

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Remove all wooden walks and walk on sand, then walk on water

Why are there bicycles everywhere downtown? Most of them are locked up and left for sometimes weeks and weeks. I don’t see many people chaining their bicycles at these downtown locations while hanging out downtown. Like parking spaces for cars, shouldn’t we be expected to not leave our bicycles overnight in a non-residential area? This situation clutters and also restricts the ability for people to park their bicycles and so they have to park them in the middle of the street.

(B) Modify the bicycle rack so as to prevent chaining.

(C) Have volunteer or paid employee, round up any bicycle left overnight the next morning and stow in the old Fire House for retrieval at a later date.

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Require late night drinkers to ride unattended bicycles off the end of the dock

Who’s wagons are these? I suspect that most people who get off the ferries do not use them. Perhaps more Saltaire and Dunewood people use them than Fair Harbor residents. We used to pay enterprising young adults to help with the luggage. These days, most of the luggage is on rollers anyway. Looks trashy don’t you think? Am I going overboard?

(B) Start over by removing all of them, decide on who wants and needs them, assign these stalls for our residents and eliminate unnecessary spots.

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Have the late night drinkers who don’t know how to ride bicycles, ride the wagons off the end of the dock.

We have a cutting board attached to the pole at the end of the dock. It is funky.

(B) Eliminate cutting board

(C) Extend water service to that area

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Wait to see how gross it can get

All summer, we have had two major holes in the concrete at the base of the dock. We pay taxes to the Town of Islip and in my opinion, we do not get worthy representation.

(B) Find out who to call and get personally involved

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Change careers and become an ambulance chaser-Hang at the dock and wait for someone to trip

Concrete walks in downtown area looks terrible. Does the Town of Islip clean their streets on the mainland? At minimum, it could be occasionally power washed and swept daily.

(B) Have a volunteer or paid employee sweep daily and power wash at the beginning and middle of the prime season

(C) Check to see if Town of Islip has some responsibility for cleanliness

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Shield oneself by wearing darker sunglasses

Anyone notice that the relatively new dock is not only warped but the nails are dangerously sticking up?

(B) Call and see what Town of Islip will do for it

(C) Have a volunteer or paid employee spot check and knock the nails down

(D) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(E) Petition to have the dock be closed until further notice

I think that most people would agree that the new Sunset Bench is a nice addition. Many commented about the railing being too high which tends to diminish the view. I am sure that most us have seen people moor their boats and walk to our dock area. Those concrete slabs that were put there illegally are dangerously slippery. I am not for encouraging visitors by boat to our town but I would prefer they not get hurt while trying to access our town. How do you feel about this?

(B) Recruit volunteers to clean up that area by moving the concrete slabs towards the private dock. Rake the immediate water area in front of the Sunset Bench area. Remove the railing and cut the ends of the boards evenly so as to create another row of lower seating. This would provide for a safer entrance for visitors, improve the general appearance of that area, and also allow sun setters to dip their feet into the water as the enjoy the setting sun.

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Outfit the Sunset Bench with canons and blast the visitors back to the mainland where they belong

I have a bicycle with a broken bell and I don’t have a night light. So sue me! But don’t call me Sue, or Shirley for that matter

(B) Incorporate and police the policies

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Confiscate all bicycles that do not have a bell and a night light attached.

Walking on the boardwalks can be treacherous in the darkness. Even when not drinking!

(B) Install reflectors or reflective tape on the boardwalks to illuminate paths as bicyclists and pedestrians use flashlight

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D Install high output lights every ten feet on all boardwalks

I was told recently that charcoal barbecues are illegal. I bought one two years ago. I also saw a new one in the freight house.

(B) Educate the homeowners- Mailings, leaflets at doors etc.

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Random midnight house to house inspection

The old Fire House is used very infrequently. Youngsters and teens hang around with few places to go in the evenings.

(B) Have a volunteer or a paid employee run the center from 7 pm to 11 pm . Arts and crafts, ping pong etc.

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Use the old Fire House as a holding cell for the kids who have nothing to do but to act mischievously.

(B) Recruit only family practitioners

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Recruit anyone who wants to play doctor-Maybe charge more for a visit?

Most of us enjoy the freedom from scrutiny. Our town has been pretty much devoid of problems requiring police assistance. However, some people have mentioned to me that they get frustrated with noise problems after 11 pm. They say that you can fagedaboudit if you think that the police will come over to control the noise. Especially on the weekend!

(B) A policeman from 11pm-4am to patrol the dock area and respond to noise complaints

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Demand a precinct to be opened in Fair Harbor

Okay, time for me to get into more trouble- How do feel about the deer? I do not know the current laws but shouldn’t these mangy and unhealthy animals be truly protected and cared for? Should we petition to have them placed in an area where they can be pet, fed and perhaps have the fleas and ticks picked off? My fear is that some day one of them is going to seriously hurt someone who is just walking down the walk. Sentiments would change if, God forbid a kid gets......Anyone out there hurting from Lyme? Hot issue!

(B) Find a legal way to safely move these creatures to a better place for everyone

(C) Fagedaboudit- Not an issue

(D) Politely ask them to leave