Big Ticket Wish List Aired

    A draft capital plan for East Hampton Town in 2013 includes $9.5 million in projected spending, on items ranging from playground equipment to new stairs at Culloden Beach in Montauk and Police, Parks, and Highway Department vehicles.

    In 2014, the proposed plan, for which a town board vote is forthcoming, includes $1.9 million in projects.

    The projects will largely be funded by borrowing money — through issuing bonds — although some will be subsidized by federal, state, and county grants.

    Of this year’s projected $9.5 million project total, for instance, $7.2 million would be borrowed. The town expects to receive $1.6 million in federal emergency reimbursements related to Hurricane Sandy, as well as $649,310 in other grants.

    While the town board may approve the two-year capital budget as a whole, separate votes must be taken in order to move forward with individual listed projects, and a supermajority vote is needed to approve issuing bonds.

    Included in the draft is $300,000 to pay for a townwide wastewater management plan, to which Councilwoman Theresa Quigley and Supervisor Bill Wilkinson have been opposed.

    Councilman Dominick Stanzione pointed out that the projected capital budget does not include any planned spending at East Hampton Airport. If town officials opt not to accept new Federal Aviation Administration grants, which some residents have advocated as a path toward gaining better control over airport use and noise, the capital budget would have to be increased by $12 to $13 million, he said.

    Also absent from the capital plan is any sum for erosion control efforts or beach replenishment. The town is hoping to get $20 million in federal funding to rebuild Montauk beaches from Ditch Plain to the downtown area.

    Big-ticket items that have been recently discussed by the board and are included in the capital spending plan are construction of a fueling station for police and other town vehicles for an estimated $300,000, the purchase of two generators to keep Town Hall and the Montauk Playhouse open and running in the case of a power outage, for which the budget includes $500,000, and building upgrades and repairs to the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter, a $165,000 item. 

    In addition, the capital budget includes a $300,000 project to address stormwater runoff around Accabonac Harbor, a total of $150,000 over two years to digitize town records, and $60,000 for a vault to house documents. It also earmarks $190,000 for a second phase of repairs to dock pilings. 

    The town anticipates spending $2.2 million this year to repair damage from Sandy, 75 percent of which will be refunded by the state and federal governments.

    The capital plan also calls for spending $15,000 both this year and next to make town buildings more accessible and compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

    At a town board meeting on March 12, Len Bernard, the budget officer, said that the capital plan contains “just about every request that department heads made during the budgeting process.”