As part of the ongoing effort to continue to gather as much community input, the Commissioners of the Hampton Bays Water District (HBWD), the Southampton Town Board, have provided a second opinion survey to all of the Hampton Bays Water District customers.
This additional survey has been mailed to all customers of the water district and includes a postage paid return response with five questions addressing customer satisfaction, water quality and the proposed management agreement with the Suffolk County Water Authority. Recipients of the mailed survey have until January 14, 2019 to complete and return their response card. After the deadline, the results will be tabulated and made available to the public on the Town website www.southamptontown.gov.
This new survey follows two public information meetings and a 10 question survey still available to the public on the Town website. The online survey has received approximately 450 responses to date.
In the recent public information meetings, the Commissioners heard requests for a public referendum, an option the Commissioners support. The Town Attorney’s office, with assistance from the Town Clerk’s office, is researching the proper legal protocol for holding such a referendum including establishing an accurate and verifiable voter registry and a mechanism for allowing for validated absentee ballots, since such a referendum cannot rely on the voter registrations established for a general election. It is important to also note, that a resolution to establish a public referendum and defining the details of any proposed management agreement would also require one or more public hearings allowing the additional public input prior to a referendum.
The Commissioners are encouraged by the community engagement in this process, an engagement that can only help them make a more informed decision.