The Village of Bellport Board of Trustees held their long-awaited Public Hearing: Presentation of the Waterfront Commission Marina Proposal on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Bellport Community …
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The Village of Bellport Board of Trustees held their long-awaited Public Hearing: Presentation of the Waterfront Commission Marina Proposal on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Bellport Community Center, located at 4 Bell Street. All interested parties were given the chance to be heard at an in-person meeting, and it was also streamed on Zoom.
Concept designs and 3-D renderings were unveiled, and relevant design questions were answered before the vote to approve the conceptual design was taken at the following meeting on Monday, Dec. 6. It was subsequently approved.
There was a Q&A session where Adon Austin, of Rising Tide Waterfront Solutions, was on hand to field questions. The commission is working with Austin and Rising Tide on the design of the project, which included multiple options that were then narrowed down based on what is technically feasible and likely to be approved by the many agencies that would need to agree to the design, including the Department of Environmental Conservation, HUD, the Army Corps of Engineers and more.
Concerned citizens were requested to submit their questions in writing, so that all relevant queries could be compiled into a comprehensive list to be viewed on the Bellport Village website.
Bellport deputy mayor Bob Rosenberg explained that the funding for the marina basin was obtained through our three members of Congress for the Waterfront Marina in Bellport as well as at Ho-Hum Beach.
“This grant falls under transportation and HUD. We had come to them in July, and they said the submission needed to be in by the end of the year,” explained Rosenberg regarding why it is such a time-sensitive matter to be passed. “We’re open to public comments sent in writing to pull and respond to help with continuing the process. This process has many phases. This is the first phase with HUD, but the second phase [overall]. The first phase awarded $2.8 million in grant money from Congress,” he said.
The board dedicated that session to listening carefully to comments before the following week’s decisive vote on the conceptual design. One of the most-asked questions was regarding why the process seemed rushed to many. It was explained that there is a hard Dec. 31 deadline for the initial concept to be submitted to HUD, or funds could be lost.
“HUD, the DEC, and the Army Corps of Engineers will all have comments,” explained Rosenberg. He underscored that these are not the final plans. “Do not treat any of this as written in absolute stone. It is all subject to change and consideration.”
Some other salient questions included those posed by people who favored a rock jetty, which was deemed a highly unlikely possibility, as was a sand-filled pier.
“Two consultants agree that aside from excessive cost, a rock jetty is not going to be approved by the DEC,” said Rosenberg.
Another concept that has been ruled out is a “living shoreline,” which is not part of this proposal or grant and is an issue for a subsequent discussion and grant, since the shoreline is not a part of this specific proposal.
Other questions included concerns regarding cutting down the main pier, which the board explained is an ongoing discussion with the DEC and the Army Corps of Engineers. However, it will not be cut “one inch more than necessary,” said Rosenberg.
“This is the beginning. There is much more meeting and planning. Thank you for your input,” said Bellport deputy clerk John Kocay, echoing the sentiment that settling on an initial conceptual plan is a beginning and not an end to this lofty endeavor.
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