February 14, 2020

Details on National Grid Gas Line and Road Work Project

Home Owners:

In March or April National Grid will begin installing the new gas line on the bay side of the roadway from Village Hall to Duck Island Lane. The gas line north of Duck Island Lane does not need replacing. The following steps will be taken:

FIRST STEP: All homeowners along the route will receive letters from National Grid before the start of the project and/or during the project. The letters will provide a contact number to schedule an appointment with National Grid to have your service lines transferred over to the new gas main.

SECOND STEP: When National Grid is ready to begin transferring service from the old main to the new main; National Grid will utilize the appointments made and contact the homeowner to begin the transfer. The transfer for each home will take approximately 2-4 hours with interrupted service. Homeowners must be present at the end of the appointment to allow the service crew to relight the pilot lights on all appliances. Gas service will not be restored to your home until National Grid ensures that all appliances are re-lighted.

NEW GAS CUSTOMERS: A contact number for “New Business Gas Lines” will be provided in the National Grid letter for all homeowners who would like to start new gas service, service lines and meters to their homes. It is important that all new customers contact the "New Business" clerk ASAP to allow for ample time for National Grid to install the new gas lines.

TIMING OF OVERALL PROJECT: The installation of the new gas main will take 5-7 weeks. It will take another 5-7 weeks overall to complete all the service transfers from the old main to the new gas main. This may vary depending on crew availability and weather conditions.

ROAD CONDITION: During the installation of the new gas main, the road will not be closed but there will be alternate one way traffic conditions. Approximately 117 road openings will be made; these openings will be patched with hot mix asphalt level to the road grade. No interruption to property owner’s driveways will occur. Traffic control will be present throughout the project. The work will not be done during the weekends or evening hours.

COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT: Once the gas main is replaced, Asharoken Avenue from Village Hall to Duck Island Lane will be milled, repaved and striped. National Grid will pay the full cost. The Village also plans to mill and repave Asharoken Avenue from house number 355 to 501. A portion of the Village paving project will be funded by a $70,0000 Multi-Modal DOT grant. The two paving projects will begin at the same time and this will complete the paving of Asharoken Ave. The Village will look at mitigating several areas of the road that pond water.

Depending on the start date we estimate that the overall project will be completed by June or July.

Thank you for your patience with this project, if you have questions please email nrittenhouse@asharokenny.org .

Have a nice weekend,
Mayor Greg Letica

February 7, 2020

Dear Neighbors:

Here is a brief update.

The Village has made good progress in securing a new outboard motor for the police boat. Asharoken solicited three quotes from local Yamaha dealers and delivered them to NYS Department of Parks and Historical Preservation. This week we heard back from Chris Fallon, the Director of Marine Services, informing us that they are processing the lowest quote from KG Marine. The Village expects to have the boat repowered and in the water by Memorial Day weekend. The engine will be provided to the Village at no cost by NYS. I would like to thank Harbormaster Joe Affrunti for the great job he did to secure the new engine for Asharoken.

On January 17th the Village opened bids for a new Dodge Durango SUV for the police department and Requests for Proposal (RFPs) for a new in-line check valve by Village Hall. The two SUV bids were $100 apart and the winner was Huntington Jeep Eagle. The SUV will be paid for from an insurance settlement to cover the old vehicle that was totaled in an accident last fall.

The lowest check valve RFP went to Du All Industries. This company previously installed the first check valve in the road drainage pipe in 2017. It is very helpful that they are familiar with the layout of the drainage pipe and we expect the valve to be installed within 4-6 weeks. A DHSES grant from NYS will pay for 75% of this $17,450 project. The village will be saving $13,100. The Village expects that once the valve is installed the backflooding of Asharoken Avenue near Village Hall from high tides and storm surges should be dramatically reduced.

The Village continues to work with Senator Gaughran's office to finalize the DASNY grant to restore the eroded beach lot dune. The Village expects to get the full application in about 2 weeks. Once the application is approved by the State the Village can begin this project within the NYSDEC-required timeline.

The Village received an award through JCAP of approximately $475 to pay for a new court table. Additionally, big thanks go out to Police Officer Brian O'Connor who was able to get four new computers for the Village at no cost. The Village is in the process of upgrading our computers and changing to Windows 10.

The Village received notice that it will receive Public Safety Sharing revenue of $58,489 sometime this month.

The Village instituted the twice-monthly court sessions this month to comply with the new NYC criminal justice reform law. The new system is working very well, court is running very smoothly and we expect to see a reduction in the cost of holding court.

Have a great weekend,
Mayor Greg Letica