Suffolk OKs $7.5M for medical chopper

Despite the county's fiscal woes, the Suffolk County Legislature Tuesday appropriated $7.5 million for a twin-engine medevac helicopter that could be used to speed up emergency medical rescues on the East End.

In addition, lawmakers, after hearing from a parade of upset Manorville residents, approved changing a flashing light to a stop light at an intersection on County Road 111 where a highly publicized fatal accident occurred earlier this fall.

The legislature voted 16-2 authorizing the new helicopter after Republican lawmakers tried to table the measure.

Legis. John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), the minority leader, said the county already has a fleet of four helicopters that can all do rescue work, and given the county's financial problems, this is something "that needs some earnest consideration."

Another Republican, Legis. Thomas Cilmi of Bay Shore, said, "I don't think it's prudent," adding that "$7.5 million could buy a lot of cops." However, backers say the resolution will simply preserve funding already authorized in the 2011 capital budget rather than have the money disappear at year's end. They say that will give the new county executive and his not-yet-chosen police commissioner a chance to determine whether to move forward with the purchase.The police department's four helicopters are split between Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. But the medevac, which has greater range and can handle multiple victims, is based at MacArthur. The others are single-engine choppers that must be reconfigured for rescues. If the medevac is needed for an East End rescue, police say, it adds 20 to 30 minutes to response time.

County Executive Steve Levy called it "an unwise expenditure of our limited resources."

Legis. Vivian Viloria Fisher (D-Setauket) said a second medevac is needed because East End residents deserve the same emergency resources as the rest of the county. "The medical people at Stony Brook tell me it takes too long to get the medevac to the East End and fly back," she said. "It's a matter of public safety. It is also a matter of life and death."

GOP Legis. Edward Romaine who represents the North Fork, backed the appropriation because, while concerned about finances, "I listen a lot more to the public safety argument."

The legislature also approved unanimously the stop light resolution for County Road 111 and Halsey Manor Road. "The figure-eight track at Riverhead Raceway is safer than the intersection," said Louis Lipira, one of 15 Manorville residents who testified.

In October, the road was the scene of a fatal accident in which Keri Trinca and her son Jason were killed and two other children injured while trying to cross the four-lane highway. Public Works Commissioner Gilbert Anderson say the agency will still have to complete a study before doing the $16,000 upgrade, but said the study should be complete within four weeks.

In other action, the legislature approved a $680,000 measure to reduce sewer connection fees for Canon USA, which is building its North American headquarters in Melville. Legislative counsel George Nolan cautioned lawmakers that he believed the reduction constituted a "gift."

Backers, however, said the move is legal because Canon in its contract reserved the right to seek a reduction.