Upgrading the Bellport marina has been a long slog. Getting decisive approvals for a protective wave device in Bellport’s marina waters has been a long, winding road. Between applying for grants, obtaining them, choosing the right engineers, and informing the public. But just after Mayor Maureen Veitch’s first year in office, the village board voted unanimously on a fixed wave fence/screen concept by VHB Engineers on January 13 to ward off fierce storm waters.
The 164 boat slips include residential and emergency first responder boats, the Ho Hum Beach Ferry, and vessels associated with sailing clubs and other watercraft.
“What I saw was a need for really good project management,” said Veitch. “The year I was a trustee in 2021, I was the liaison with the Waterfront Management Commission with [then trustee] Mike Ferrigno and attended all their meetings. There had been as many as eight layout choices, and there was no real closure.”
Project manager Peter Sarich headed up Patchogue Village’s Living Shoreline project with Marian Russo, which won a recent environmental award and had worked with VHB Engineers through completion. The next step was entering into a contract with VHB.
“That’s for Phase 2 of the design and permitting project,” said Sarich. “That was a concept they showed, but the engineering design plans must be drawn up, that is, how deep down the water screen is placed, what it will be constructed of, how it will be illuminated. There are Coast Guard standards for piers that the engineers have to go by.”
Sarich is also the senior building inspector for Patchogue and Bellport villages.
“It saves time and money speaking with the agency on what they want to see beforehand. At the same time, VHB does an environmental review for submission to HUD (U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development). They must analyze all the environmental impacts of placing a man-made structure into the water. Then we wait for a permit.”
Sarich explained the DEC takes typically six months to a year to review plans such as this. “Other agencies like the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Services must also review them. So, 2025 will be involved with design and permitting,” he said.
“After we get approvals, the project goes out for bid… With approvals in place, the project would probably begin in 2026,” he said.
“When you go into a project as technical as this one, you want people who know how to complete it correctly,” he said, referring to his experience with VHB. “I give Maureen a lot of credit of moving this project to this point.”
The final decision was made based on affordability, effectiveness, and aesthetics. Additionally, two fixed wave screens have been operating successfully nearby: one at the end of Beaver Dam Creek and the other at Davis Park for several years. A $2.8 million Community Project Funding grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was awarded in May 2022 to enhance marine storm resiliency for the project, covering 75% of the total costs. The village issued an RFP for consulting services in September 2023, and VHB was selected in March 2024.
In meetings, Veitch mentioned that she guided the engineers toward safe but more cost-effective solutions. Budgets tend to rise with projects like this, and agencies add unforeseen requirements; other repairs also needed to be made.
Waterfront Management Commission co-chair Mike Ferrigno, a former village trustee for 10 years, has lived in a house that overlooks the marina since the late 1990s.
“The marina has always been vulnerable to easterly and southeasterly winds, and as early as 2005, we were trying to ameliorate or reduce the damage from the winds. I’ve been involved with it for the last 10 to 15 years, and politically things went slowly. You can’t do anything without paying for it.”
