Schools

Seaford Harbor School Access Road Hits Speed Bump

Long-awaited driveway project may need voter approval.

The long-planned access road that has been in the works since the mid 1970's hit a potential speed bump this week when district officials learned a referendum may be needed for the project aimed at improving traffic flow in and out of the elementary school to become a reality.

Last month the long-awaited project appeared to be close to the end zone after the Seaford Board of Education unanimously  at its Oct. 7 meeting the submission of final plans and specifications for a new Seaford Harbor School driveway. However at the Nov. 4 Board of Education meeting, which was ironically held at Seaford Harbor School, Seaford Superintendent Brian Conboy said in his administrative report that the district's bond counsel Martin Geiger issued a letter saying a separate referendum is needed for the project. Conboy said that even though money for the access road project will be from left over contingency funds of a capital improvements bond three years ago, a separate referendum is still needed in the opinion of Geiger since the project was not included in the 2007 proposition.

"If we follow this opinion it would mean that it's not that the road won't happen it is just that the voters of Seaford would have to approve the fact that the road should be built and that the money we've already raised from the bond can be applied to the road," said Conboy during the Nov. 4 school board meeting.

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Chris Venator, an attorney for the Seaford Board of Education, reviewed Geiger's opinion and said he agreed that a separate bond is needed for the access road project to move forward. However Seaford Board of Education president Brian Fagan said he would like the district's legal counsel to further review the issue to make sure that a referendum vote is absolutely necessary.

The access road would stretch roughly 100 yards north of Seaford Harbor School and connect Bayview Street and Iona Street. This would enable cars and buses to access the school from Iona Street and alleviate the current congestion that exists on Bayview Street, according to district officials. The project is estimated to cost around $521,000 but Conboy is hoping there will be competitive bidding from contractors for the project to help bring costs down.

Find out what's happening in Wantagh-Seafordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Conboy said a major reason the Seaford Harbor School access road project was not included in the original 2007 bond was that the district did not have jurisdiction over the Nassau County-owned land that the project would be built on. Seaford district officials are now in the final stages of acquiring a little over an acre of land that is being provided by Nassau County surrounding the property.

Some parents at the Nov. 4 meeting expressed concerns that even though the project is paid for that many voters may still decide to vote no on a referendum and put the long-awaited access road in further jeapordy.

"We want to make sure that we are following the letter of the law so that there is no further delay," said Conboy. "I would be satisfied with breaking ground a year from now if I knew it was done right rather than going through another lengthy set of delays that could take several years because we decided not to do our due diligence in every aspect of this project."


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