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Huntington rescinds mooring contract

BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS | deborah.morris@newsday.com

10:18 PM EDT, March 18, 2008

Boats in the waters of Huntington Harbor on Sunday. (Newsday Photo)

The Town of Huntington board voted unanimously last night to rescind a launch and mooring service contract it awarded to a Northport company last month.

Town officials said the move was an effort to avoid having residents sign expensive contracts with two separate companies offering similar services.

The town will now offer the service beginning April 7.

"We have to do the right thing," said Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone.

"We made a decision to make sure residents were getting the best deal economically," he said.

Seymour's Boat Yard in Northport won the bid for the contract last fall. Coneys Marine in Huntington holds the lone mooring permit issued for specific waters in Lloyd Harbor, preventing Seymour's from servicing the area.

That arrangement would have required dozens of boaters to have a contract with Coneys for mooring service and a contract with Seymour's for launch service.

Town officials had asked the two sides to work out an agreement, but a deal could not be reached, so town officials stepped in.

Dave Weber Jr., general manager of Seymour's, filed a $15-million lawsuit Monday alleging the Village of Lloyd Harbor and its officials conspired against him when they awarded Coneys Marine the permit.

Matt Coneys, president of Coneys Marine, sits on the village's Harbor Commission Advisory Board.

"I'm disappointed with the town," Weber said. "These people are representing us and it's just not fair to the residents or to me."

Town of Huntington spokeswoman Fran Evans said the town will provide the launch service from the town dock in Huntington Harbor.

She said a bid has already been put out for a boat.