County okays senior kitchen
After running afoul of Suffolk County Department of Health Services standards two years ago, the Silver Circle luncheon program is a big step closer to having use of its kitchen again at the Senior Activity Center.
Health department spokeswoman Grace McGovern confirmed recently that revised final plans for the project had been approved, allowing installation of a new septic system to get under way.
But Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. said last week that consulting engineer John Condon had suggested that the town enlarge the existing septic system instead of replacing it completely. He also has proposed a change in the well location to accommodate the expanded septic system.
Mr. Card said the changes were minor and he didn’t expect a long delay in getting the nod from the county .
The lunch program was disrupted in 2010 when the county said the kitchen lacked adequate dishwashing temperatures, ventilation, refrigeration and grease trap systems.
The kitchen had served about 20 people once a week on Wednesdays for lunch — members of the Silver Circle, the Island’s oldest residents, 80 and above, and their aides. Many would be unable to attend lunches offered by the Dinner Bell program at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church on Mondays and Fridays because that site isn’t accessible to the very elderly, according to Henrietta Roberts, who operates the Senior Activity Center.
Since the closing down of the kitchen, Silver Circle meals have been prepared at the church and transported through the Meals on Wheels program to those at the Senior Activity Center.
The latest construction plan Mr. Condon has proposed calls for installing a well at the back corner of the property and increasing the septic tank capacity from 1,000 gallons to 1,500 gallons, Mr. Card said. Workers were poised to drill the well this week but must await county approval, he said.
Councilwoman Chris Lewis last summer estimated the total cost of the project as $53,000.
The town is using past HUD Community Development Block Grant funds as well. Town Hall Administrative Assistant Barbara Bloom said the town currently has $19,558.20 in grant money and expects an additional $11,635.28 this year for a total of $31,193.48 dedicated to the project to date, Ms. Bloom said.
In addition, the Shelter Island Senior Citizens Foundation has given $8,000 for appliance upgrades and the Lions Club Foundation had donated all the proceeds from its October 9 scallop dinner totalling about $7,000.
To keep the HUD money flowing, there have been steady expenditures on the project, Mr. Card said, explaining that money must be expended locally and then submitted to HUD for reimbursement. A new oil tank was installed in mid-December. A new commercial-grade stainless steel refrigerator is already in place in the kitchen. A new dishwasher, hot water heater and three-basin sink are being stored on the premises, awaiting installation.
There’s also some work to be done on counters and cabinets in the kitchen, Mr. Card said. And eventually, the parking lot outside the Senior Activity Center will be repaved, he said.
