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The Westhampton Beach Village Board heard a pair of pitches from two companies, both interested in designing a sewer system for the municipality, during two separate public hearings last week.
The first was jointly presented by the Bowne AE&T Group of Mineola and Lombardo Associates Inc. of Massachusetts last Wednesday, December 16, while the second pitch was made by Melville-based H2M Architects and Engineers the following evening.
Neither applicant disclosed projected costs for their respective projects, with both stating that it was too early in the process to discuss dollar amounts. Representatives of both stated that, at this point, the village must first narrow down its needs, explaining that they need to know how much sewage would be treated, where a sewage treatment facility could be sited and where the sewer lines servicing the district would be located.
Perhaps most important, officials said they must know if the village intends to build its own sewage treatment facility—a project expected to cost several million dollars on its own—or move forward with plans to tap into a preexisting plant, namely the one now serving nearby Gabreski Airport.
Officials representing Lombardo Associates and Bowne AE&T presented the board with two options, one with the village tapping into the Gabreski plant and the other with it building its own facility. If they opt to take the latter route, village officials must find a piece of land that is large enough to accommodate the facility.
H2M representatives, meanwhile, presented three different options. The first taps into the sewage treatment plant at the Suffolk County-owned airport, the second suggests constructing a new facility at the Westhampton Beach Department of Public Works headquarters that sits off Old-Riverhead Road and just south of the airport, and the third suggests constructing the facility at the village’s former DPW property on South Country Road on Quiogue. The village still owns that 13-acre property.
According to Frank Russo, senior vice president and director of wastewater engineering at H2M, the one-time connection fees for tying into Gabreski’s sewage treatment plant could range from $4 million, to treat 134,000 gallons of sewage daily, to $6 million, to treat roughly 200,000 gallons per day.
Building a sewage treatment plant at the DPW yard, according to Westhampton Beach Village Planner Kyle Collins, could prove problematic as part of the land falls within the Pine Barrens. The Quiogue property, meanwhile, backs up to a residential neighborhood and that could also prove problematic, according to H2M Senior Project Manager Nicholas Bono.
At the same time, representatives of both firms agree that the top priority for village officials needs to be deciding whether they want to build their own plant or pay the county to tap into its plant at Gabreski. Then officials must decide what areas of the village the proposed district would service, and calculate how many gallons the district would generate daily.
Westhampton Beach Village Board member Brian Tymann said there are both economic and environmental incentives to installing a sewer system. A sewer district would enable more restaurants to open in the village while also cutting down on the amount of nitrogen entering nearby Moniebogue Bay.
Westhampton Beach Conservation Advisory Council members plan to discuss the two presentations at their monthly meeting on Friday, January 8, Westhampton Beach Mayor Maria Moore said. After their meeting, members will make a recommendation to the Village Board on how to proceed.
Greg Wehner on Dec 23, 2015