Thiele to announce grant for joint septic project
Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) will be at the Mitchell Post 281 of the American Legion Monday morning to join town and school officials in announcing a partnership to undertake projects for new septic systems in both buildings.
In 2015, Shelter Island received $49,500 in a 50-50 matching Suffolk County Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program grant to install a new septic system at the Legion Hall.
What helped to qualify the town for that grant was the heavy use the property gets both for Legion, community and Youth Center activities.
That raised the idea that the school would also benefit from an upgraded septic system based on the heavy use its system gets.
School business official Tim Laube, who was new to the district when word of the Legion Hall grant became known, was quick to seize on the possibility of seeking a way for the adjacent school to join in the arrangement.
The school is the building on the Island that gets the most use and improvements to its septic system would help to protect water quality, Mr. Laube said.
Add to that the reality that the new septic systems are more efficient when there is a steady flow that only the school could provide and it made sense to find a way to create a project that would benefit the town, he said.
Still, there was the question of funding and Mr. Laube reached out to both Suffolk County and New York State.
Mr. Thiele secured a $250,000 state grant that will cover a number of improvements.
The new septic system at the school is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $70,000. From that grant, the district will allot $50,000 for the septic system and will use other money for various projects, including work on a couple of bathrooms in the building and various safety and security projects.
There’s still the possibility of more money flowing from Suffolk County, Mr. Laube said.
While the design of the new school septic system hasn’t yet been drawn, the business official said he hoped it would be “shovel ready” by next April.
Mr. Thiele’s press conference at the Legion Hall Monday is set for 9 a.m.
