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Overcast Council approves residential bulkhead project
Reconstruction program aimed at mitigating future flooding
The City Council passed a resolution at last week’s meeting that paves the way for residents who live on the bay to rebuild bulkheads that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
City officials described the measure as the first step in establishing a program to obtain permits, hire a contractor and finance the construction. The cost of the work will be covered by the city, and residents will be required to pay it back with yearly payments spread out over 20 years.
Homeowners who live along the bay suffered some of the worst damage from the storm, and the damaged bulkheads potentially put them and their neighbors at risk for future flood damage, officials said.
City officials announced the bulkhead program last month, with some homeowners saying that their insurance does not cover the cost of new bulkheads, which can top $30,000, officials said. The city will issue bonds to pay for the project, which is why residents may take so long to pay the money back.
The city will do much of the work, providing consultants to help with permit applications, finding a responsible contractor, and laying out the money for the construction, reasoning that if it lumps all of the bulkheading jobs together, it will get a lower price.
The council approved a resolution on Sept. 17 that allows the city to enter into an agreement with Brookhaven-based L.K. McLean Associates P.C., which officials said was the lowest and most qualified bidder. The city will pay the firm $9,000 to prepare requirement contracts for bulkhead replacement, provide a non-site-specific proposal design and obtain permits for bulkheads.
The firm will submit permits for construction on behalf of the city and residents to the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Town of Hempstead.
Department of Public Works Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba said that the firm will prepare specifications for the bulkheads so that the city can put them out to bid.
“And then we’ll be back here to award the bid for the actual bulkheading work,” LaCarrubba said. “As the permits come in, we’ll already be in a position to go ahead and get construction started.”
