Pinched by the tax cap, Babylon finds a way to move forward on two major projects

The Town of Babylon is ready to launch two major projects that had been postponed due to the squeeze of next year's tax cap.

Officials had been hoping to be near completion on a new animal shelter and recycling center this year but stretched out their bonding and put both projects on the shelf in an effort to keep their budget within the 0.73 percent property tax cap for next year's budget. Now the town is bidding out for construction on the shelter and starting on the foundation of the center.

"We were hoping to be further ahead by now," said Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez. "But we're really excited to move ahead with both projects."

Both the existing animal shelter and recycling center have "outlived their purpose," Martinez said. The 8,000-square-foot shelter in West Babylon suffers from an inefficient drainage system, cramped spaces and "logistically just doesn't work well," he said.

The shelter's cats are often without a space of their own, with cages in the lobby and a carport, he said. With cages facing each other in the kennel, the dogs become agitated, making them less likely to be adopted. "It's almost like an asylum for these animals," he said.

The town aims to build a 13,000-square-foot shelter on two acres of town land on New Highway on the Lindenhurst/North Amityville border. The building will be designed to more comfortably accommodate the shelter's 20 staff and more than 100 animals, he said.

After learning about the delay in the animal shelter from a recent Newsday story, state Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) identified about $300,000 in state grant funds that could be used for the shelter, a spokeswoman for Boyle said. If that money comes through, Martinez said, it will be used to furnish the new animal shelter. The town already has bonded for $3 million of the expected $6 million price tag for the shelter, which Martinez said he hopes will be in operation by mid-2017.

The town's existing recycling center consists of three 10-by-40-foot trailers "cobbled together" by the town ashfills in West Babylon, Martinez said. The 40-year-old trailers are the center of all recycling needs for residents, officials said, and also house eight workers.

"These trailers are falling apart," Martinez said. "They were never intended to be renovated and the conditions are not good for our staff or for our residents to come and visit."

Tom Vetri, deputy commissioner of environmental control for the town, has worked in the trailers for 14 years and said they've been patched up and repaired as much as possible.

"There's only so many times you can re-tile the floor," he said.

The town will replace the trailers with a prefabricated 3,400-square-foot building with a 665-square-foot mezzanine next door to the trailers. Officials said the building and newly paved parking lot will be able to accommodate residents much better and be "more welcoming." The town already has bonded for $650,000 for the center, which Martinez said is expected to cost between $900,000 and $1 million and be completed sometime next year.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.