Oak Beach residents press town for written terms after $16.84 million water project; board to provide answers
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Summary
An Oak Beach resident urged the Town of Babylon to provide written loan or assessment terms for a $16.84 million water system, saying 56 homes face a $2.5 million shared cost and asking whether assessments could be open-ended; the board said staff and the attorney will follow up with details.
James Shappert, vice president of the Barrier Beach Civic Association, told the Town of Babylon board on Jan. 14 that the Oak Beach water-system project has a prolonged history of changing costs and unclear resident obligations.
"That number ' which you can see here in front of you ' has grown into at least in 2022 it was 16,840,000.00," Shappert said, adding that dividing that total among the 56 homes on the system would equal about $303,571 per home. He said residents were told they would pay a $2,500,000 portion and that distribution-system connection charges were described in earlier documents as "capped at the assessment of $1,500 a year per home." Shappert said the resolutions use the phrase "in each case without limit," and he asked for a formal document spelling out the start date, term and legal limits of any assessment or levy.
Shappert said he had repeatedly asked for information and letters to the town attorney and received no substantive replies; he asked the board to provide the financial terms in writing and to clarify whether the town's resolutions that authorize financing allow an open-ended tax liability for the benefited area.
Supervisor Schaeffer and staff did not provide specific new figures at the meeting but offered to have the attorney and staff provide answers. The board did not vote on the matter; Shappert's request was recorded as testimony in the open portion of the meeting and staff agreed to follow up with the requested documentation.
The transcript references prior communications dating to 2012 and a 2022 project document, mentions an Environmental Facilities Corporation grant discussed in earlier years, and notes the town's communications with the Suffolk County Water Authority in project planning. Shappert asked for clarity because property owners who pay assessments may no longer be alive when long-term assessments mature, and he said he wanted the terms presented clearly in a resolution or other legal instrument.
