The Town Board, at a special meeting Tuesday, approved emergency bulkhead repairs at 66 Peconic Avenue. During its regular work session, the Board pondered options for the public toilets at Crescent Beach, among other topics.
The smashed up bulkhead at 66 Peconic Avenue is owned by Gary Sher. The property has a single-story house and a waterside swimming pool just a few yards from the bulkhead, which buckled recently.
“Every storm that hits definitely weakens that bulkhead,” said Councilman Jim Colligan, who lives on the inland side of Peconic Avenue a few houses away and is the president of the Silver Beach homeowners association.
He noted that other nearby bulkheads damaged beyond repair in Hurricane Irene about 10 years ago had to be replaced. [Editor’s note: Ours was a total wipeout — every single board was broken and tons of soil washed away from behind it.]
Bulkheads in the area were built when the shoreline there had a substantial sandy beach, nearly all of which has eroded in the 30 years since the structures were installed, Colligan said.
Town Engineer Joe Finora said the affected bulkheads likely were not engineered for the amount of shoreline erosion that has occurred. “We typically would not expect to see such a dramatic change in shoreline.”
He suggested that homeowners with bulkheads have them periodically inspected, and that anyone updating a bulkhead involved a professional engineer in drawing up plans. The Town might consider requiring such a review, he said.
Supervisor Gerry Siller said work on the Town-owned Congdon Creek bulkhead will be put off again in order to shift funding to a more urgent repair at the Town-owned bulkhead on Dawn Lane.
Crescent Beach public toilets
The board shifted back to its work session agenda. It appears there’s been a snag in the planned upgrade of the Crescent Beach public toilets, now housed in a trailer and served by an aging septic system.
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services has indicated that it will not approve the proposal that currently calls for “hold and haul” wastewater tank, similar to the system in place at the Volunteer Park public loo on Bridge Street, Siller said.
Project consultant Matt Sherman said the design for the Crescent Beach Bathhouse has evolved over time to meet shifting demands, as well as space constraints. Suffolk County would prefer the installation of a nitrogen reducing I/A system. While Shelter Island supports I/A systems and even requires them where possible, in this case it would mean building a bulkhead along the beach in order obtain the necessary elevation.
Such a bulkhead would block access to the shore needed by the Shelter Island Fire Department, Highway and Public Works departments, as well as by other Suffolk County agencies that maintain an easement over the Town-owned beach. This shoreline access can’t be provided on the other side of the proposed structure because of a utility right-of-way relating to buried power lines, Sherman said.
What’s more, the Town has serious concerns about the suitability of any type of septic system, other than an holding tank, in the ecologically sensitive area, he said. For their part, county planners say they don’t want to create a hold and haul precedent that could be used by others seeking to build in sensitive areas, Sherman said.
“There are several other options we can look at, but none is as environmentally responsible as a hold and haul scenario would be,” Sherman said.
The Board agreed to explore options, but members said that if no better alternative materializes they would be willing to pursue the proposal and initiate an appeal should the plan be rejected.
Among the immediate questions was whether Sunset Beach, which has more land to work with, might be willing to develop a shared I/A system with the Town. Councilman Mike Bebon asked that, should such a arrangement prove workable, that the Town also consider moving the restrooms away from the end of the beach to a location more convenient to most visitors.
Other business
The Town Board also decided to ask advisory committees to look into whether the Town should resume issuing day parking passes for the Island’s regulated beaches and whether and under what circumstances to permit commerce on Town property.
Last year, due to COVID-19 concerns, the Town Board suspended day parking passes. But Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar said doing so did not prevent day visitors from coming to Island. Instead of paying for a permit to park, these day trippers simply parked in unregulated areas, including many of the Town Landings.
No applications have yet been submitted for 2021, but Siller said he expects to hear soon from businesses that in the past have been permitted to operate on Town beaches — like food trucks, paddle board rentals, yoga instructors, and massage therapists.
Both the Shoreline Access Task Force and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee will look into the matters.
