Electric car chargers, naturalized areas coming to Bellport Golf Course?

Mayor Ray Fell said the board has started discussing installing electric car chargers.

“We have the public parking lot space and down at the marina,” he said for possible future placements. “We could probably put one at each area.”

Fell said the Bellport Golf Course has already begun a more organic and environmentally friendly approach.

“We’re meeting with landscapers about the possibility of going from gas-powered lawnmowers and grass clippers to electric,” he said.

“The golf course already started the transition with hedge trimmers, string trimmers, backpack blowers and pole saws,” he said of the move away from two-cycle engine tools which require oil and gas, to battery-operated, reducing the village’s carbon footprint.

Fell said the village has a five-year lease on its current golf course equipment.

“It’s up in three years and we’ll look into utilizing electric; for example, our sit-down lawnmowers.”

Based on feedback from membership, future projects may include wildflower plantings in some naturalized areas to improve pollinator habitat and possibly adding a few beehives. Other future plans include removing invasive species.

The village headed towards environmentally friendly products in its golf course maintenance six seasons ago, utilizing the EarthWorks company which promotes carbon-based fertility with an emphasis on soil health for more natural green spaces and playing surfaces. Also, Civitas is used as an organic fungicide on fairways and tee boxes, allowing turf managers to use fewer pesticides and fertilizers while reducing water usage. (The Organic Materials Review Institute lists Civitas for organic use.)

“When we redid the main dock, we put in the hydro separator,” Fell continued, of the equipment that removes fine particles, oils and other floatable debris from surface-water runoff entering the bay. “We’ll put two at the end of Brown’s Lane; one at the bottom of the hill and one at the top.”

“At the highway yard, there are two storm drains; we completely rebuilt them and inserted Fabco filters,” Fell said of additional stormwater devices that catch debris.