An upgrade being planned for town beaches this season may allow beachgoers to have free wifi access while relaxing on the shorefront.
The Riverhead Recreation Department is planning to construct new booths at the town’s beaches and equip them with wifi so beach attendants can use laptops to sell parking stickers. The wifi signal will cover at least some portion of each beach, according to town officials.
The new booths and internet access will allow beach attendants to access the new software system the department has put in place, which will now allow residents to buy beach stickers online, Recreation Superintendent Ray Coyne told the town board toady during its work session. The software tracks the sticker sales. With attendants able to use a laptop and wifi, they will no longer need to keep a manual record of sales.
The new booths will be equipped with desk and chair and a locking door to provide security for the beach attendants, who collect money, Coyne said. And the software will allow supervisors to track sales in real time and, for security purposes, allow them to retrieve cash from the beach attendants as needed, Coyne said.
WifiThe cost of the new booths, which will be constructed by the buildings and grounds division for about $10,000 per booth, will be covered by recreation fee funds budgeted for improvements to the Reeves Beach bathroom facility, Coyne said. “So it’s not taxpayer money,” he said. He said there is $42,000 left in the fund.
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