The East Hampton Town Board, meeting on Tuesday, will likely issue a bond covering increased engineering costs in connection with a new lighting plan for Amagansett’s Main Street, a project which has been at least five years in the works
In November, following a presentation by Matthew Jedlicka of the engineering firm L.K. McLean, the board supported the idea of placing historic lighting fixtures from Windmill Lane east to Meeting House Lane. McLean had been authorized to study the plan in 2023, and a bond for $16,200 was issued at that time. The additional work requires $71,280 to be added to the bond. The cost of actual construction remains an open question.
“The initial phase was the study, but the next phase is really trying to bring it to fruition by doing a field survey of everything, so, boots on the ground, and a survey picking up all the trees and any sort of driveway aprons,” Mr. Jedlicka told the board on Tuesday. “Delineating the spacing, working with the utility companies, coming up with construction specifications, and putting a bid package together.”
According to Becky Hansen, the town administrator, there are 1,500 parcels in the Amagansett Street Lighting District. She told the board that the owners of those parcels will shoulder the cost of paying back the debt. A house worth “just over a million dollars” paid about 72 cents last year for the feasibility study, and the new debt will increase that roughly fivefold. An owner in the lighting district, with a parcel valued at that amount, can therefore expect to pay roughly $3.50 a year.
“The larger discussion is going to be if you get to the construction portion of it, because it could be millions of dollars that would have to be repaid within 10 years,” Ms. Hansen said. “But, you know, we’ll have that conversation at that time, and that debt issuance would be subject to a public hearing.”
Councilman Ian Calder-Piedmonte pressed Ms. Hansen for an estimate as to what that tax burden might be.
“It will be a hit when we award the job and go to construction,” he said. “I’m supportive, it just seems to me like this is the time we make the decision. Because if we commit to this money, we want to be pretty sure we’re going to go. I just want to make sure that people know what they’re getting into as much as we can.”
Ms. Hansen cited swings in the interest rate market and wouldn’t provide an estimate. However, even without visibility on the ultimate tax burden, Amagansett residents called in to support the project. Board members, citing safety improvements, were aligned in their support as well.
“If anybody has strong objections, they should reach out, because this is the notice,” Mr. Calder-Piedmonte said. “I wouldn’t want to waste anybody’s money.”
The board will vote to issue the bond at its July 3 meeting.
