Islip to spend nearly $12.3M to build town hall extension to 'remedy' accessibility challenges

The Town of Islip has allocated nearly $12.3 million to build an extension to its Town Hall on Main Street that will improve accessibility for people with disabilities, officials said.

Staff working out of offices in a frequently flooded Town Hall basement will move into the new annex, Supervisor Angie Carpenter said in a statement. The project “is designed to remedy the [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessibility challenges within an existing historical Town Hall.”

The expansion will be funded with $9.75 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, a pandemic relief program signed into law in 2021. The town will also apply $2.5 million in accrued interest. 

The federal initiative has provided Long Island municipalities with a windfall of cash — including $262.8 million for the 13 towns across the region.

For the Town of Islip, that has meant $47.6 million for a multitude of projects, including new turf fields in parks and a playground zip line at Anthony Casamento Park in West Islip,  as well as upgrades at the Brentwood Recreation Center. 

ARPA spending must adhere to four categories — replacement of lost revenue, public health issues,  essential workers' premium pay or upgrades to infrastructure, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

The federal aid must be allocated before the new year and spent by the end of 2026, according to the Treasury Department. Leftover money must be returned to the federal government.

Islip has allocated other ARPA money in recent months, including an additional $4 million to a program for small businesses impacted by the pandemic and nearly $6 million to mitigate chronic flooding in some areas of the town.

The Town Hall annex will be “solar ready,” Carpenter said. The annex will better protect IT infrastructure, she said, which is currently in the basement where flooding is frequent.

Also, the town will become more efficient because it is moving the planning and development departments into the same building, officials said.

“Currently, the [planning] department is divided physically between several buildings. The annex will streamline the process for residents seeking services as well as streamline communication between departments,” Ela Dokonal, the town's planning and development commissioner, said in a statement.

The move should “improve the town’s overall operations,” and staff is “excited” for the transition, Dokonal said. Town employees weighed in on the design, which will feature an open floor plan and collaborative spaces.

Chris Monahan, who is overseeing the project for Ashlar Contracting, said the annex will span about 18,000 square feet. Construction is expected to start no later than March, but possibly as soon as the end of January, and last about 18 months, he said.

The town board approved funds and contracts for the project at its November meeting. The work could total up to nearly $13.1 million, according to a town board resolution. 

The board previously approved $2 million for the annex in October 2023 for design and construction management services.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.