The Water Advisory Committee on Monday unanimously endorsed the Suffolk County Water Authority’s proposed 40-year lease agreement to run the Town-owned West Neck Water system.
WAC member Lisa Shaw, who is also chair of the WNW board, told the committee that she was grateful for its support during the negotiations, which are now in the hands of lawyers.
“We’ve been diligent about teasing out some of the things that we felt needed questioning,” Shaw said. “I want to thank everybody for their input.”
[You can read our extensive coverage of the lease talks in this post.]
WAC member Andrew Chapman, who has taken an active role in the lease talks, said: “There’s real unanimity that we should get to yes on this contract.”
Impact on ratepayers?
Shaw said certain details remain to be worked out, specifically how the long-term arrangement with SCWA will affect WNW ratepayers. SCWA has been running the system, which serves about 71 customers, under a short-term agreement since the local operator retired last summer.
The Town invited SCWA to consider a long-term agreement. Toward that end, SCWA assessed the system and proposed $1.7 million in necessary upgrades. An early (and very rough) estimate of ratepayer costs suggested WNW customers may pay twice what they’re now paying under the terms of the deal.
However, Town Engineer Joe Finora said costs would be significantly higher if the Town attempted to improve and operate the district.
“Shelter Island Town does not have the resources to embark on any other path for WNW nor does any other path offer comparable costs and long-term advantages as SCWA,” Finora said in an email to the Town Board last Friday.
Shaw told WAC that Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams — an accountant who leads the Town Board’s annual budget review — is working with SCWA’s finance department to firm up ratepayer costs.
Under the Town resolution that formally created the water system in 1995, customers should cover all costs. They’d pay a surcharge for 25 years for the capital improvements, in addition to other fees and metered water usage. The Town Board has agreed to seek grants to offset some capital expenses.
WAC endorses agreement
After a lengthy discussion, WAC chair Peter Grand polled his committee, and members — Chapman and Shaw, as well as Ken Pysher, Doug Sherrod, and Greg Toner — were unanimous in their support for the SCWA contract.
“Water is such a different utility,” Shaw said. “You could do without electricity or a cell tower, but you can’t do without water. We’re all guardians and stewards of this resource.”
The committee members were also unanimous in encouraging the Town Board to retain an active role in decision-making, particularly as water woes in other areas of the Island make an expanded SCWA presence more likely. The authority already operates the public water supply in the Village of Dering Harbor.
SCWA has the exclusive authority within Suffolk County to develop water systems where they do not currently exist. This means SCWA does not need the consent of a municipality when it sets up new water systems. However, SCWA says it only goes where it is invited, and in this case, the Town asked it to assume WNW operations.
The Town will retain ownership over the system. It can exit the agreement at any time (with numerous caveats in place to ensure SCWA is reimbursed for the un-amortized value of any capital improvements).
During contract negotiations, a major sticking point was whether the Town — through this lease — could exert control over SCWA actions elsewhere in the community. The short answer is no — but that’s been the case since SCWA was created in 1937.
WAC members floated some proposals for how the Town might beef up its influence in future SCWA actions (WAC will, no doubt, spend time at future meetings further examining ideas.) But as Joe Finora pointed out Monday, it’s bad public policy to create a situation where political biases control who gets access to potable drinking water.
Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely joined the WAC meeting late to say the SCWA board extend the short-term operating agreement, which was to end Monday. It will remain in effect until the lease is approved.
Once the legal wrangling is done, Town Board approval of the lease would be subject to what’s known as a permissive referendum. This means that during a 30-day period WNW customers could petition for a public vote on the matter.
“I just want to reiterate,” Shaw said, speaking for the WNW board. “There’s no one that doesn’t want this to go forward at this point.”
(Editor’s Note: intruders briefly disrupted Monday’s Zoom meeting in an incident being investigated by the Shelter Island Police Department due to the disturbing and potentially illegal content they shared. As a result, the Town is changing how it provides access to Zoom meetings.)
