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Construction on the Kings Park business district sewer expansion is expected to break ground in September.
According to a project timeline provided by a spokesperson for the Town of Smithtown, the construction bid process will start in May. A contract will be awarded over the summer and construction will commence after Labor Day.
The expansion in Kings Park will provide about 120 new sewer hookups, over 100 of which will link to commercial properties, the spokesperson reported. The project will also connect to the 144-unit Kings Wood complex.
Sewers are a desirable utility for downtown districts and dense residential areas. In recent years, commercial strips in Patchogue and Port Jefferson have thrived with sewer capacity. The Suffolk County Legislator approved sewer projects for Mastic and Babylon last fall.
Smithtown residents support the initiative for their township. In a special election last December, the public voted 87-1 to approve the Kings Park project.
The vote also approved sewer rate increases, a point of contention in a lawsuit the Long Island Pine Barrens Society and Kings Park Community Association filed last month. The suit argues that sewer fund money — $44 million of which the county transferred to a taxpayer trust fund following public approval in 2020 to alleviate the county’s swelling budget deficit — should have been used to stabilize sewer rates.
A years-old state grant will fund the Kings Park project. In 2017, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $20 million grant through New York state’s Transformative Investment Program to connect the Kings Park business district to Suffolk County sewer district No. 6 in Kings Park. He also announced a second $20 million grant to expand sewer connections to the Smithtown business district.
According to the town spokesperson, user costs for the project are expected to be $454 in 2026 and $740 by 2030.
