Restoration of Round Pond Shoreline in Sag Harbor Planned for Later This Year

An idea that has been tossed about informally for years — the removal of a bulkhead at the foot of Middle Line Highway at Round Pond on the Sag Harbor border, and its replacement with a restored natural shoreline — has once again gained momentum.

Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, Town Trustee Ann Welker and Sag Harbor Village Trustee Tom Gardella presided over an informational meeting on the proposal on February 15 at Southampton Town Hall. They were slated to hold a second meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, at the Sag Harbor Municipal Building.

Schiavoni said the proposal had been presented to the town’s Community Preservation Fund water quality advisory committee in 2018. At that time, the committee approved approximately $187,000 in funding.

“That is pre-COVID money,” Schiavoni said. “It’s going to take a bit more.” The project is now estimated to cost about $425,000, with part of the increase due to inflation and part due to changes in the plan, including the proposed installation of grass pavers to provide emergency and pedestrian access to the pond.

Schiavoni said an application for the balance, about $238,000, has been submitted for the committee’s review.

“If you have ever been down there, you know that bulkhead is in pretty bad shape,” said Gardella, “so something needs to be done.” The proposal would both secure the shoreline and provide an environmental buffer to the pond, he added.

Welker said removing the bulkhead could be seen as a pilot project for environmentally sensitive ways to reduce road runoff.

“There aren’t many bulkheads that are removed in the Town of Southampton, and this can set an example of what it looks like when you remove a bulkhead and create a natural shoreline,” she said.

Nicholas Jimenez, the town’s public works capital projects manager, said the project would remove about 120 feet of road. More than 1,500 plants would be planted and two rain gardens created to handle most rainwater runoff. A bioswale, shaped like a zig-zagging stream, would absorb additional runoff.

“It’s a great project in the sense that the town is charged with removing direct discharge of stormwater,” Jimenez said. “This goes to the bigger picture in that we are helping the environment by restoring it to nature while still allowing the stormwater to be removed in a sustainable and healthy way.”

He said the work could begin as early as this spring and be completed in late 2023.

The site is on the border of the village and town and the project will connect a greenway from Oakland Cemetery on the north side and a 3.6-acre parcel the town recently acquired to the south. Jimenez said the project would include educational signs, describing how the drainage system works.

A handful of residents attended the meeting either in person or via Zoom. Their comments were largely positive, although Tria Giovan, a neighbor, said the plan had been changed since it was last aired in 2018 and requested specifics on planting, how close the new cul de sac would be to neighboring properties, and what would the parking rules be.

Schiavoni said an updated plan would be posted to the town’s website this week.

Tom Thorpe, another neighbor, said today, people like to drive their cars to the road end to look out over the pond and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, but sometimes at night, a more rowdy element is attracted. With the cul de sac moved closer to their homes, he said residents might be bothered by their behavior and requested the town or village be prepared to step up police patrols.