964. Long Island South Shore Estuary reserve council. 1. There is hereby established a Long Island South Shore Estuary reserve council to assist in the development, advise in the implementation, and review the effectiveness of a comprehensive management plan for the Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve that the state and local governments may implement.
2. The council shall consist of twenty-three voting members: the secretary of state, who shall be the chair; the county executive of the county of Nassau; the county executive of the county of Suffolk; the supervisor of the city of Long Beach, the supervisors of the towns of Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven and Southampton; a mayor, appointed by the conference of mayors, from a village bordering the South Shore Estuary to represent the villages within the South Shore Estuary Reserve, all of the aforementioned whom may appoint a designee; the chair of the citizens advisory committee; the chair of the technical advisory committee; a member of the Great South Bay Audubon Society, the dean of the Marine Sciences Research Center at Stony Brook or his or her designee, a member of the New York Sportsfishing Federation, a representative of the Long Island Association, and a representative of the Long Island Builders Institute, Incorporated, however, if any of the previous five member organizations decline to serve on the council, a replacement organization which represents the same interests as the organization that is vacating shall be nominated by a majority of the remaining voting members of the council and appointed by the secretary of state; the secretary of state shall appoint one member who shall be a representative of a property owner association from a community or communities bordering the South Shore Estuary to represent the interests of property owners within the South Shore Estuary Reserve; the county executive of the county of Nassau shall appoint two members, one of whom shall be a representative of the marina industry and one of whom shall be a representative of a regional environmental organization; the county executive of the county of Suffolk shall appoint two members, one of whom shall be a representative of a local baymen's association and one of whom shall be a representative of the charter or party boat industry. All members shall reside in Nassau or Suffolk county and shall have demonstrated expertise in the functional areas to be addressed by the council.
3. The department shall convene and conduct the council's meetings and record and prepare minutes.
4. Terms of appointment. The terms of all members who are elected public officials shall be concurrent with their terms of office. All other members shall serve for a term of four years or thereafter until a successor is appointed. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made for the remainder of the affected term in the same manner as the original appointment was made. Such appointment shall be made within sixty days of the date the position becomes vacant.
5. Thirteen voting members shall constitute a quorum. Any action requiring a vote or any adoption by the council shall require an affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the voting members.
6. If any member of the council fails to attend at least sixty percent of the meetings during a period of twelve consecutive months, the department shall notify the designating authority.
7. The members of the council shall serve without compensation and shall not be reimbursed for personal expenses.
Last modified: February 3, 2019