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“This is a biggie. Are we ready for a project manager?”
Town Board members were left to consider that question put them by Supervisor Gerry Siller at the June 2 Town Board work session in relation to the Water Advisory Committee’s Ground and Surface Water Plan.
Someone needs to own this, said Councilman Mike Bebon, chairman of the Water Advisory Committee (WAC).
“It’s a complex plan for a very complex problem,” Mr. Bebon told his colleagues. He believes that without a project manager, the many proposals contained in the report won’t be implemented for a lack of leadership. Volunteer committee members have given a lot of time and energy to creating the plan, but there’s a need for a professional to move it forward.
Water Committee seeks commitment from town Town Councilman Mike Bebon wants the town to start action on projects to ensure the saftey of the Island’s drinking water. (Credit: Judy Card)
Near the end of a more than two-hour discussion on the Water Advisory Committee’s Ground and Surface Water Management Plan, Councilman Mike Bebon warned his Town Board colleagues that they must commit now to implementing recommendations on the quality and quantity of Island water.
That was at the May 18 Town Board work session in which the councilman, who chairs the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) outlined all of the recommendations. He wasn’t asking that every recommendation be implemented immediately, but that the Town Board commit to starting the process and to developing a time line for implementing others.
(Reporter file photo)
The Water Quality Improvement Advisory Board (WQI) plans to reach out to other Island committees to join in an appeal to the Town Board to ban pesticides.
Members of other committees the Water Advisory Committee, the Conservation Advisory Council, the Waterways Management Advisory Council and the Green Options Committee have all expressed concerns about the effect of fertilizers and pesticides they consider dangerous to the environment and to people.
The issue was discussed at the May 6 WQI meeting. Co-chairman James Eklund pointed to the “fragile nature of potable water” and the condition of surrounding waters as factors in recommending action.