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Southampton Town Hall. FILE PHOTO
A resolution looking to expand the size of a proposed sewer district in Hampton Bays drew speakers opposed to the original site for a sewage treatment plant off Cemetery Road — a site that Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said is “clearly not a preferred site.”
When the site was discussed by consulting engineers last summer, opponents rebuked the notion of using a site right next to the cemetery.
It’s not town property. The parcel at 30 Cemetery Road belongs to developer Alfred Caiola. He wanted to use it for a sewage treatment facility for his own development of parcels in the hamlet.
According to Janice Scherer, the town land use and development administrator, town officials asked if they could assess the site for a plant, with the idea of hooking in and running lines to the business district. Caiola could still try to build his own private plant at the property to service his own downtown plans. At a recent Express News Group Express Sessions event, however, he acknowledged that it was adamantly opposed by residents.
The original study undertaken by the consulting firm Hayduck Engineering LLC and presented last summer described a sewer district bounds. It would run from 30 Cemetery Road south to the Woodbridge at Hampton Bays apartment complex on Springville Road, allowing the current system at Woodbridge to be decommissioned. Turning east, the district would include parcels on both sides of West Montauk Highway and run south to include pieces along Good Ground Road and those abutting Good Ground Park. It would cross Squiretown Road and Ponquogue Avenue, including Bishop Ryan Village to the north and a handful of parcels west of Squiretown and Ponquogue. In all, it covered 57 acres encompassing 99 individual parcels.
The resolution on the agenda this week looking to pay the firm an additional $85,000 notes, “Town is desirous to evaluate expanding the original boundary of the sewer district.” That would require additional study to delineate an expanded boundary, as well as seek other sites beyond 30 Cemetery Road for a treatment plant.
Speakers did not seem to believe town officials would actually seek a different site.
“Is Cemetery Road back in play?” Hampton Bays resident Ray D’Angelo demanded to know. “What’s the benefit of going down that road again?”
Resident Linda Wells, whose property abuts the Cemetery Road site, said the resolution doesn’t make it clear that Cemetery Road has been rejected by town officials. In fact, she recalled that the report prepared by Hayduck said it had considered other sites and the Cemetery Road parcel, while not compliant with regulations related to treatment plants, was more compliant than others.
Another Hampton Bays resident, Gayle Lombardi, wondered if the town wasn’t poised to spend $85,000 only to circle back to the original, opposed, parcel. She encouraged the board to make sure it was seriously looking for another spot and not using the study to rationalize using Cemetery Road.
“Be crystal clear about what your intentions are,” hamlet resident Elizabeth Hook said. She said that if the board was sincere about seeking other sites, reference to Cemetery Road should be removed from the resolution. She predicted that if the Town Board does pursue using the site, “there will be litigation.”
D’Angelo also complained of language that spoke of expanding the district; what will the new boundaries be? He favors considering placing the site at the Jackson Avenue transfer station. The community member noted that Village of Westhampton Beach officials hooked their sewer district up at Francis S. Gabreski Airport.
It should be noted, however, there already was a plant at Gabreski; for Hampton Bays, a new facility would have to be built. The site is in the Central Pine Barres and uphill, Scherer said. It’s probably cost prohibitive, but can be considered, she allowed.
As to the boundaries of the expanded district, they have not been established, Scherer said. That will be the consultant’s first task. She estimated it would run past the diner at the terminus of County Road 24 and past the King Kullen shopping center to the east. It would encompass a radius measuring 1 mile from downtown. Speakers wanted town officials to look beyond just 1 mile.
Following the public commentary, Schneiderman looked to amend the resolution to eliminate Cemetery Road and expand the district beyond the 1-mile radius and include the transfer station. Colleagues on the board wanted a chance to study the contract, and the measure was tabled until May 23.
