Clock ticks for shed at Recycling Center

It looks as if the Town of Shelter Island just might find the time and money to put a roof over its new $90,000 paper baler and recycling collection area at the dump before winter snows begin to fly.

Public Works Commissioner Mark Ketcham and Brian Sherman, who heads up the Recycling Center, told the Town Board Friday at a budget review work session that the money to pay for the project — about $75,000 or $80,000 if built in-house — could be found in balances remaining on hand in the 2011 budget.

But with a delivery time of six weeks for the structural elements and the need to install concrete footings for the building’s posts, there is little time to spare for getting the structure up before winter.

The 40 by 110- foot open structure would be purchased as a kit for just under $36,000 from a manufacturer in Arkansas. It  would have a sloping metal roof to protect residents as they use the recycling bins and to keep rain and a snow off the new baler.

Mr. Sherman first told the board last spring that a shed with a roof could be erected at the Recycling Center this year. The project seemed to go to a back burner until Councilman Ed Brown in recent weeks began pushing for the town to get a structure put up to protect the machine before winter sets in.

Last week, Mr. Ketcham and Mr. Sherman reported they had been shocked to learn it could cost $200,000 to have the building put up by a contractor. That put it out of the town’s reach financially, board members agreed.

They came back to the Town Board on Friday with better news. They are expected to return next week to clarify the cost of options for the future installation of siding and solar panels, as well as engineering and labor costs and the cost of concrete for footings.