Board briefed on West Neck Preserve: Focus is on site development and stewardship

When the Town purchased the West Neck Preserve site at the corner of Nostrand Parkway and West Neck Road in Silver Beach site and cleared it, some neighbors and others questioned why the vegetation on the site was removed. What many didn’t know, was the site was actually restored to what it had been in the 1930s. Much of what neighbors thought were viable plants were, in fact, invasive plants that were killing off black locust trees and other plantings.

Community Preservation Fund Advisory Committee members never intended to simply have the site cleared and left empty. Members are now examining  proposals from four companies that responded to requests for proposals (RFPs) to develop concepts for the site.

Tim Purtell, a member of the CPF Advisory Board and Chairman of the Green Options Committee, told the Town Board at its Sept. 13 work session that efforts would continue to repress invasives in favor of native plants.

Over time, new plants and trees will make for an attractive site that will attract birds, insects, box turtles and various mammal species to the site.

The project won’t be inexpensive, with costs for the planning stage estimated at between $13,000 and $35,000. The four proposals the Advisory Board have are similar, Mr. Purtell said. CPF money would be used to pay for the work.

None of the four respondents have yet been identified, nor has the amount of each proposal been made public.

That will happen after the CPF Advisory Board and Town Board have had a chance to review the proposals and make known the choice and reason for its selection. Multiple proposals sometimes result in a low bidder getting a contract. But other factors, including availability, reliability and the specifics of a plan are  also factors in the selection process.

Cost of the work would include analyzing the property to show the location of native and alien or invasive vegetation.

It would include identifying what types of plantings would fit the topography; attract desired birds, insects, turtles and mammals to the site; and mapping of the site as a guide to creating a conceptual plan for the property that would be finalized by the Town Board working with the CPF Advisory Board.

Once it’s time for new planting, fundraising could be undertaken to help pay for that part of the project, Supervisor Gerry Siller suggested.

At the corner of West Neck Road heading west, there’s a need for a meadow rather than large trees that could interfere with drivers’ vision, Mr. Purtell said.

He showed pictures of grasses and flowers that could be used in that area and said the design work to be involved in the overall project can become a model for some other preserved sites.

Planting would be done in sections over a few years, Mr. Purtell said.