To give a very brief recap of the major points of the FIMP (Fire Island to Montauk Point) project, the US Congress has appropriated approximately $750 million in aid for recovery from Hurricane Sandy and measures to protect the coast line from future storms. A significant portion of this money is earmarked for a dune project to be installed along Fire Island, and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has been assigned the project. The dune is slated to be nearly three times larger in terms of cubic yards of sand than any of our prior efforts, so it will be a huge boost to the safety and protection of all Fire Island, and most particularly, to ocean front houses. And a part of the FIMP/ACE contract is the maintenance and re-nourishment of the new dune (i.e., a "guarantee") for 30 years. The new dune work will be "free" in that it will be paid for by Federal aid, but it also means we no longer have access to the FEMA funding we have previously used for our dune projects. The FIMP project is now moving ahead, and is our sole option. For viewing prior updates, the preliminary maps for the dune project, and the list of houses presumed to be affected in the Pines please visit www.fippoa.org.

The FIMP project is complex.  It requires buy in from a host of federal, state and local government agencies.  We work in concert with other communities, the Fire Island Association (FIA) and our elected officials to try to push it along and resolve various issues raised by various federal, state, and local agencies.  It is a slow process but it is moving.  Since we last updated you, a great deal has been accomplished:

* The proposed Dune line, which was distributed to you last fall, has been accepted as the "consensus" line; this was the first huge step forward because there were proponents in both the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Dept of the Interior (DOI, parent agency for the National Seashore) for moving it further landward, or north, and there were Brookhaven and community representatives who obviously wanted it moved further south; no progress could be made with any of the required local, state, and federal agencies until they all agreed on a "consensus" line; we are advised that agreement is now in place

* At this time, the ACE, the Fire Island National Seashore (FINS), the NYS DEC, and Suffolk County, and Brookhaven Township all support not only the FIMP project as a whole, but also the need to implement it as quickly as possible

* Suffolk County will be the local partner in charge of doing any necessary surveys, easements, appraisals, negotiating with homeowners, etc; we view this as a major step forward since the County will be more responsive to our needs than the NYS DEC

* The ACE has decided (and the DOI has agreed, somewhat reluctantly) that the part of the FIMP master plan which encompasses the dune installation will be done as a "stand alone", one-time project; this has a significant advantage for us in that it permits the project to be done more swiftly with an "Environmental Assessment" instead of the lengthier Environmental Impact Statement process; a potential downside would be if the first part of FIMP, the dune, gets started, but the balance of FIMP, including the funding and guarantees to maintain the dune gets neglected; FIA feels that the communities are so desperately in need of the new dune work that we should take that risk, and our elected officials (primarily Rep Bishop and Sen Schumer) have advised us to take that route with the promise of their intervention should that be needed in the future

* The ACE has finally circulated a draft Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) to NYS DEC and Suffolk County, and those agencies expect it to be returned to the ACE shortly; the PPA includes the whole plan for the dune project as well as the proposed dune lines; we all hope it will be signed before the end of the month; as soon as the PPA is signed, the funds to begin FIMP work will be available

* If the current proposed schedule can be maintained, the ACE would like to have dredging equipment on the beach to start work at Smith Point this winter; they have yet to publish any presumed date for starting work in the Pines

* At a meeting on Tuesday, Jan 14th, Brookhaven and Suffolk County finally agreed that - with the signing of the PPA looking soon-to-be-accomplished - it is time to move forward with meetings with the three most affected communities (Ocean Bay Park, Davis Park, and Fire Island Pines); the County would like to schedule separate meetings with each of the three communities to discuss how the project will impact their homes and to discuss possible ways to resolve the impacts; neither Brookhaven nor Suffolk County will have final info on easements, appraised values, reimbursement rates, etc, but at these meetings they can begin to outline potential solutions and get the homeowners more closely in touch with the officials who will be guiding the process; representatives from FIA will attend each meeting in order to provide a "complaint forum" and to advocate for the homeowner point of view

* FIA has again requested that either the County or the ACE provide us with a time-line or flow chart of what will be happening, when, and by whom over the next twelve months; the difficulty is that four agencies have to sign off on even a flow chart; as soon as that chart is made available we will publish it

* As best we know, the degree of impact in the Pines has not changed since last fall; the same numbers of houses will be affected in approximately the same ways (prior updates are posted on fippoa.org)

* To get moving with these initial meetings, Brookhaven and Suffolk County will need the most reliable contact information it can get for all Pines ocean front owners; THEY ASK THAT EACH OCEAN FRONT OWNER PROVIDE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED ON THIS FORM (we know that many of you have previously given this information, but we have been asked to re-verify and re-confirm it again for the County to ensure that all residents are properly contacted)

The format for these meetings is still to be determined, let alone the time or location. As we get more information, we will continue to email you with updates. We expect and hope that after this long organizational period the pace of the project will now pick up.

We are scheduling another conference call at 11AM, Saturday, January 25th, to add whatever further knowledge is available; to once again summarize the details of the presumed impact to Pines ocean front owners; and to answer questions to the degree that we can. To join the conference call, dial 661-673-8600 an enter conference number 1055953# when prompted. 

Thank you,

Jay Pagano and Tad Paul