Northport Dock Electrical Replacements Delayed

A replacement of the Northport dock electrical system, damaged during Hurricane Sandy, is taking longer than expected.

Originally estimated to be completed by Memorial Day, Northport Village Trustee Damon McMullen said work on replacing the electrical outlets and wiring on the dock was delayed by about a week.

"The boxes we ordered took longer to arrive than expected," he said at Tuesday's Northport Board of Trustees meeting. McMullen expects the boxes to arrive this week and said work should begin next week.

The dock's electrical outlets were destroyed when Hurricane Sandy caused record storm surges, and have since been out of commission.

"The boxes are meant to get wet," McMullen said, "but they're not meant to be submerged for hours on end."

The village hopes FEMA will cover about 75 percent of the cost to replace both the electrical boxes and the wiring underneath the dock, estimated at roughly $16,000.

One prerequisite for FEMA mitigation funds is that the replacement boxes be above the hundred year flood line. Village Clerk Gene Guido worked with board members to develop a telescoping mounting system that will allow the boxes to be raised in the case of a storm.

McMullen added that warning buoys have been replaced at the outflow pipe for the sewage treatment plant and at the wreck of The Gloria.