To the editor:

A recent editorial in The Daily News highlighted the urgent need for action on Plum Island regarding fixing the jetties, dredging the river inlet and using the dredging for beach nourishment to offset the damage caused by our south jetty. The issue was how to proceed.

Our congressman has 37 communities to represent; the two senators each have hundreds of communities to represent. They don't have the time or the staff to focus solely on our project and the internal workings of the Corps. That's why we need Howard Marlowe.

If a local government hired a grant writer to get the money we need and a consultant familiar with the programs and ways of the Corps of Engineers, I don't think anyone would have a problem. The only way to get federal money through the Corps is for Congress to specifically appropriate money for a project. A grant writer won't help. We need a lobbyist who also knows his way through the programs and procedures of the Corps.

For too long, we have been waiting for a solution to the increasing erosion along Plum Island. We need the help of a consulting firm that can do more than help our congressional delegation get federal money. We need someone to work with the Army Corps of Engineers - the agency with responsibility for fixing the jetties and the erosion problem - to figure out what short- and long-term solutions will do the job.

From New York to Florida, communities along the East Coast have already found out what we have yet to learn: Fixing coastal erosion is complex. It requires an understanding of coastal processes and the Corps of Engineers. Even after a plan is developed and federal funds secured, it will take regular meetings with the Corps' Concord office as well as the agency's North Atlantic Division personnel in New York.

Recently, we heard from a consultant who can provide that assistance. In addition to being a lobbyist, Howard Marlowe and his firm have a track record of success in working with the Corps of Engineers. And they helped members of Congress secure over $35 million for coastal projects last year.

Mayor John Moak has scheduled a meeting open to the public for Thursday night (Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.) for the public and city councilors to meet with Washington lobbyist Howard Marlowe, who specializes in beach replenishment projects nationwide.

It's time to think outside the box; let's keep all options open and hear what Howard Marlowe has to say and the answers he provides to questions asked by the audience.

BOB CONNORS

Newbury