Environmental group to pay for town intern

John Cronin won’t be out of pocket.

At last week’s Town Board work session, Mr. Cronin, the town engineer, proposed hiring an intern for the summer to begin forming a database on septic systems and cesspools on the Island. The cost for the intern would be about $4,000. Mr. Cronin suggested several ways of funding, including taking the money out of his own salary.

Enter The Group for the East End. Robert DeLuca, CEO of the environmental nonprofit, told the Town Board Tuesday at its work session that he had read about Mr. Cronin’s proposal in the Reporter and his organization would gladly offer a grant for the $4,000.

In a letter to Supervisor Jim Dougherty, Mr. DeLuca said creating a database is “crucially important to developing informed recommendations and ultimately solutions for what is increasingly important water quality issues facing our entire region.”