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Funding for Wades Beach bathroom expected

JULIE LANE PHOTO Town Engineer John Cronin (center) told the Water Quality Board he anticipates the money the Public Works Department is seeking to complete the Wades Beach bathroom project is unlikely to change unless the Suffolk County Department of Health Services requires two parallel units instead of the one planned. Listening are Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. (left) and septic system installer Peder Larsen of Shelter Island Sand, Gravel & Contracting.
JULIE LANE PHOTO Town Engineer John Cronin (center) at a recent meeting of the Water Quality Board at Town Hall. Listening are Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. (left) and septic system installer Peder Larsen of Shelter Island Sand, Gravel & Contracting.

The Water Quality Improvement Projects Advisory Board asked the Town Board to approve a $20,860 allocation to install a nitrogen-reducing septic system at Wades Beach.

Currently, a concrete base and top are in place with a leeching field, constructed with the intent it would hold the actual nitrogen-reducing system when money became available to convert it.

“I think everybody’s strongly in favor of this getting done,” Water Quality Board Chairman Mark Mobius said.

Before the Town Board can vote to approve the expenditure, there will be a public hearing.

The Town Board has scheduled the public hearing for March 23 and, if there are no major issues raised, approve the spending at that meeting, according to Councilwoman Amber Brach-Williams.
Jay Card Jr., commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said the proposal needs approval from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

If the system they are recommending gets county approval, town employees will handle maintenance, Mr. Card said. But if the county prefers an outside maintenance company, he’s open to that, he added.

PESTICIDES
A letter from an unidentified resident asked the Water Quality Board to take up the issue of protecting properties from being sprayed with toxic pesticides, a concern that has been discussed by the Water Advisory Committee. The issue also came up at a recent Town Board meeting with baymen where one resident said that while fishing, he was sprayed with what he feared was a toxic pesticide being applied to a resident’s lawn.

Mr. Mobius said he would raise the issue with Greg Toner, a member of both the Water Quality Board and Water Advisory Committee .