Water authority eyes public takeover of Aqua

The Southeastern Nassau County Water Authority met for the first time in more than a decade on Thursday night, nearly a year after the towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay reinstated the dormant body. The authority comprises five board members who will investigate the feasibility of a public takeover of Aqua New York, the private company that now provides water to residents of Bellmore, Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford, East Massapequa, Levittown, Massapequa Park and parts of Glen Cove.

Authority members include three Town of Hempstead residents and two Town of Oyster Bay residents; they are Richard Ronan of Merrick, John Reinhardt of Merrick, John Molloy of Wantagh, Edward Kennedy of Massapequa and Walter D’Amato of Massapequa. The five members are volunteers and Aqua ratepayers.

“We’re in the same boat as you as far as being ratepayers for this company,” Reinhardt told community members.

Board members introduced themselves and appointed Ronan as chairman, Kennedy as treasurer and Reinhardt as secretary. The board addressed the nearly 100 members present to explain how the process would unfold. As a public authority, the board must meet in a public forum.

Board members were appointed in early September; however, it took time to secure seed money from the towns before meetings could begin. The board received $10,000 from the Town of Hempstead and $5,000 from the Town of Oyster Bay. With those funds, the board plans to create a website and other necessities to get information out to the public, as well as set up a post office box. The board also plans to gather records from the previous water authority that was in place between 1991 and 1997. Board members said they foresee needing more than $15,000 and plan to write to elected officials seeking grants.