Controversial Marsden Proposal Voted Down By Narrow Margin

SAG HARBOR, NY — As voters headed to vote on the proposed 2023 to 2024 Sag Harbor Union Free School District's $48,063,027 budget — which represents a proposed increase of 4.50 percent — all eyes were on a controversial proposition that has divided a community. And after months of public discussion, the proposal to purchase the Marsden property was voted down by a narrow margin of 1,156 to 1,081.

The school budget itself passed by a wide margin of 1,619 to 570.

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Nichols sent a letter to parents and the community on Proposition #2, which would have involved the purchase of property at 15 Marsden Street at a cost of $9.425 million and authorizes the district to use $3.425 million in capital reserve funds toward the purchase, with the remaining $6 million to be financed by a bond.

If approved, the acquisition would have cost families less than $40 per year, the district said.

Community members have come out in force for and against the proposal, with some saying the plan is an investment in students' future and others voicing vehement opposition and raising issues such as the quality of the land and potential environmental issues — and concerns over a possible parking lot.

In his letter, Nichols said there has been a "spread of misinformation" and said the parcel is adjacent to the Pierson Middle and High School and provides an opportunity to expand and meet facility needs.

If the lots are approved, Nichols said the district will seek community input, with facility needs shared via surveys and community forums; those needs include a wet laboratory to expand science offerings; renovating or replacing the gym; and the addition of athletic fields.

Some parents have said on social media that their students have had no problem walking to fields in Sag Harbor while others said the Marsden property would mean their children did not have to traverse heavily trafficked roads, adding that more fields could only benefit today's students who all too often spend time on their phones and laptops and not outdoors.

Any additional funds necessary to develop the Marsden property would mean a separate vote, Nichols said.

While Southampton Town was initially planning to partner with the district to use Community Preservation Funds to purchase the property, that plan never materialized and now the district is seeing to purchase the parcel on its own, Nichols said.

He also addressed "allegations regarding wetlands, toxins and endangered species" that he said are "misleading." Nichols said the parcel is not located on wetlands and is zoned residential. Environmental studies have been done and will be done moving forward, he said, with the safety of students the number-one priority.

With the public rejecting the proposition, the property could be developed as residential homes, Nichols said. In addition, Nichols said there are no plans for 72-car parking lot plan, as some have maintained.

A second proposition to establish a security and technology capital reserve fund passed, 1,559 to 622.

Three school board candidates ran unopposed: Sandi Kruel received 1,588 votes, Daniel Marsili, 1,564, and Alex Kriegsman, 1,523.