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Town Hall Notes: Septic systems under review, Bathroom improvements coming to Crescent Beach

Although no design work has yet taken place, there’s progress in the exploration of a plan to provide a septic system that could serve Town Hall and its annex, the Police Station, Justice Court, the Center Firehouse, the Community Center that also houses the American Legion Post and Shelter Island Library.

Originally, Shelter Island School was identified as part of the project until the administration and Board of Education opted to tackle its own septic system replacement project that should break ground next spring and is aimed for completion by September 2022.

A site assessment is underway to determine what exists now and what the needs are to create a system to serve the Center buildings most effectively, according to Town Engineer Joe Finora.

He told the Capital Planning/Grants Committee at its Oct. 5 meeting the study kicked off in September, but would take awhile before results could provide guidance for designing a consolidated system.

Fertigation project

If there’s a chance of moving forward with a plan to use treated wastewater from the Shelter Island Heights sewer plant to water grounds at the Shelter Island Country Club at Goat Hill, it now appears a second study would have to be conducted — this one to determine the effect such a project could have on Heights wells along New York Avenue and those serving customers in the West Neck Water District. An initial feasibility project financed by grant money, taxes and funds from the Heights Property Owners Corporation (HPOC) highlighted steps that would have to take place to facilitate the project. But another study, this one on flow modeling, would cost about $65,000 to determine the effect of a system on those neighboring wells, Mr. Finora said.

More talks will have to take place between Town officials and HPOC General Manager Stella Lagudis to decide whether it’s worth the added money when results could prove the project is prohibitive because of its effect on those other wells.

Crescent Beach bathroom

Bids are expected by Monday, Oct. 18, for a new portable trailer that would house a bathroom to replace the deteriorated one at the site.

Plans to set a new trailer on a concrete slab have been rejected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The slab was to provide a protective base for the trailer, but now the Town will have to go with a temporary structure in place of a permanent concrete slab, Public Works Commissioner Brian Sherman said. He said he’s exploring some ideas about such a temporary structure that would protect the under-surface of the trailer.