After combining the recommendations of county and state officials with the hopes and wishes of residents, the Babylon Town Oak Beach Park Task Force has unveiled two conceptual plans for development at Oak Beach. The two concepts will be the subject of a public meeting at Town Hall tonight, and follow the mandates of the mission statement the Task Force adopted several months ago when it began the planning process. That statement: to develop a distinctive facility that is a credit to the Town; that features a mix of uses, is compatible with the surrounding area and is financially viable. And, most important to offer to all who step on to the site the best opportunity to revel in the beautiful waterfront vistas. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

"The object was to bring all players to the table for the process so that at the end of it they could come back to the town board with a recommendation that we could approve and bring to Suffolk County," said Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone who unveiled the plans last week with Task Force Chairman Patrick Halpin and the project’s engineer, Kevin Cameron of Cameron Engineering of Syosset. The presentation ends months of discussion with officials at the state and county level and which included two public hearings at which residents expressed their ideas for the site.

The plans are similar in that both make most of the site’s shoreline, opening it to non motorized water sports that are not available elsewhere throughout the Town. This includes scuba diving, kayaking, and canoeing. A fishing site on the easterly portion of the shoreline is also included in both plans, while swimming was eliminated due to concerns about safety.

Both plans call for demolishing the two larger buildings on the property, the infamous Oak Beach Inn and General Store buildings, which Cameron said were esthetically, architecturally and proportionately out of character with the site, and the projected uses as outlined in the Mission Statement.

"They block off the vista of the waterfront and if we left them we would never be able to capture and meet the statement goals," said Cameron, one of which is to protect and enhance the site’s natural resources.

Both plans also call for the construction of a two-story building for a bed and breakfast. Under plan one, a 20 room, 100 seat facility is included, while plan two calls for a slightly larger facility with room for seating 125 people and perhaps offering catering services.

Already, the Town has received inquiries from individuals interested in operating such a business on the site, however formal requests for proposals will not go out until the town and county have adopted the final plan.

In both plans, the site will combine walking trails, boardwalks and open areas with natural plantings, an area for a spray and play park, picnic area, comfort station, and a food concession. Plan two has an area for special events adjacent to the Bed and Breakfast, as well as docking for a special event vessel or water taxi service.

All of the parking areas will be covered with a porous material such as gravel or crushed shells, providing both a natural base for the site and a base that is efficient for drainage. Plan one calls for parking for 155 cars, while plan two calls for parking for 185 cars.

The Bed and Breakfast concept, as well as introducing private money to operate the water taxi service, scuba diving facilities, wind sailing and kayaking, was an integral part of the plan from the outset because of the cost of restoring and reconstructing the site said Town officials.

"It is very important that the operations there generate some income through the private sector to help underwrite the cost of construction and the ongoing maintenance of the site," said Halpin.

"We recognized from the start that this had to be economically viable or it would not work and we need input from the private sector," said Tom Melito, the Town's consultant for special projects.

Bellone estimated the cost in the millions, and said that the Town would also be reaching out to public officials at other levels of government to look for funding to offset the costs of the project.

With the two plans in place, the Task Force will now reach out to the community again for sugges-tions. A third and final plan will be designed, which is likely to include a combination of features from the two plans as well as some new things that might be incorporated as a result of the public’s input.

The two plans are on the Task Force website at www.oakbeachpark.org. Residents can access them there and e-mail their comments directly. The plans will also be on display at Town Hall and the Town Hall Annex, as well as at local libraries throughout the Town. Comments can be written to Tom Melito, Consultant for Special Projects, Babylon Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst NY 11757.

The Task Force hopes to have a final plan to the Town for approval by the end of October and to the County a week or two after that. "Then comes the hard part," said Bellone. "Implementation."