Full Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, everybody. Okay, a couple quick announcements. Channel 22, which had been down for a couple of days, we needed a new part, hardware part, and we got it in, and it's up and running, and there shouldn't be any more problems. So if you're tuning in live, you will also be able to stream our programs as you normally could prior to the malfunction. So we're up and going. Thank you to our IT team for working us through that problem. Also, the extreme heat earlier this week has subsided, and all recreational programming is back to normal scheduling, as are the beach hours, back to normal hours. And it looks like a really nice weather weekend. So get out and use the beaches, and come downtown and spend some money, and all those good things, because we have a wonderful town, and we have some new restaurants downtown. I highly recommend you stop around and check a couple of them out, and enjoy the town. Okay. Oh, the carnival is going on, the Jamesport Fire Department Carnival. We had the parade last night, and the carnival's going on through Sunday, and that's always a great time down there, the sausage and pepe. Sandwiches or? Saturday. Oh, Saturday then. Sorry, not Sunday. Saturday night fireworks. Saturday night fireworks. Okay. But sausage and peppers every night. Every night. Okay. Absolutely. Makes sure. And always a good time. Always a good time down there. It's a rite of passage for summer, I always say. And not for nothing, but we have some birthdays in the house today. And we have Ms. Devon Higgins, the Deputy Supervisor's birthday is today. Is there any way we can get her on the camera? Devon, can you come on up here for a second? I think this is camera worthy. Oh, this is definitely camera worthy. Wow. This is special crown. This is really nice. Yes. And it matches your outfit. Happy birthday. And if you need to take off the crown, you can wear your little ribbon. I'm going to wear it all. The sad thing is she really does like this stuff, and would wear this on a regular day. It's like she knew, right? Right. Happy birthday. Thank you very much. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Devon. But we're not done yet. And my wonderful legislative secretary, Joanne Cannon, who's watching us upstairs manning the office, it's her birthday on Sunday. So I have a ribbon for her too that she's going to get to wear. So we have a ribbon for her too. And Councilman Rothwell's birthday is on Monday. So you get a little extra special. First of all, every birthday boy needs a birthday boy ribbon. I'll take a ribbon. And while you're out on your birthday, you get to wear this special gold. Nice. I'm going to let you. Come on. Come on. He deserves that. I think so. Is that a skirt? I don't know. I'm a little scared right now. Slip one arm through. I don't know how to do this. What is this? Okay. Slip one arm. What is it? Oh, it might. Hold on. Talk. All right. It's my birthday. I'm glad it wasn't a skirt. All right. The picture up there, Ken. That picture up there. I'm with you, Alex. Oh. There's his picture. I'm wearing this. That is where I will be Wednesday morning. Do we get the other one too? Did we see the other picture? Yes. Oh. Thank you. Yes. I was lying. Awesome. That's our home. So. There you go. We have some great acoustics in this room. Thank you. So let's go with happy birthday to everybody. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. [transcription gap] Happy birthday to you. Enjoy the day, people.

Okay, that's all we have for today, so thank you everybody for coming. Alright, we are on our open session of our work session. First matter will be with the Police Department matters surrounding the monthly report with Chief Hegemuller. Good morning. Good morning, Chief. September 23rd, if you want to jot it down. Right around the corner. You might be sorry you said that. Yeah, actually, I checked the agendas. Okay, June monthly report, police report. Hopefully everyone got a copy. Yes. There is one typo on it to start. Okay. So down by charges by sector should be 89, not 84. Which is reflective of the charges above, which is 89. Gotcha. And that's actually on the last page of your report that I sent you. This page here outlines charges by sector. Gotcha. Okay. We're in good shape for June. Mostly everything is down. Cores received. Cores received down. Domestics relatively down. Status quo, I would say. Motor vehicle accidents up slightly. Deer strikes, Councilman Kern is not here. Reported deer strikes are up. Can I just make a note to that? I presume the Police Department are calling into the Highway Department. But I just want to say from being out during the night, like, we've been pleasured working with the waiting room fire department doing ambulance runs and so forth. But, like, I've seen the deer on the road. It impresses me that, like, at 8 o'clock in the morning, they're, like, gone. Like, the Highway Department, between teaming up with the Police Department, the communication, like, they're removed right away. And it's noticeable. And I just, I think, like, it's great teamwork. It goes right on the day pad at headquarters. And then they call in. And it must be, like, their first agenda because, like, you know, you return later on during the day and pass them by and they're gone. So good work. Summons are down. Arraignments are up slightly. Charges are down. Arrests are down. Criminal incidents are, I'm going to put an asterisk on this one, down. Relatively the same as last month. And I think it's reflective of the way we're counting it right now. We're counting it, so the 23 numbers are QED. That's our records management system. 24 numbers are now Niche records management system. So, yeah. So we're trying to count it the same way we counted it, which I don't know is that correct. So I'm reviewing all the criminal incidents for the month of June. I was going to ask that it said in 2023 it's 228. Right. And now it's just 125. Right. I think 228 was a high number. It's less than half. Right. Because the month before I think it was 160. So I think relatively as far as May to June it's about the same. So I'm thinking that at least we're counting it. We're counting it the same way. But I'm saying that it definitely needs to be looked at and figure out what's going on. We do submit the report now. It used to be UCR. It used to go to the state uniform crime report. It is now NIBR submission, which is National Incident Based Reporting System. So that's actually in the old UCR system it counted the top crime. Like if you had a burglary and subsequent crimes attached to that burglary, it was only the burglary that was counted. NIBRS counts everything. So I think we are going to see an increase in numbers as far as criminal incidents. But I'm still working that out. Okay. Our NIBRS submission was, June was our first NIBRS submission to the state, which is much easier than the UCR report. You only really have to push a button to get it. It goes to the state. The state looks at it. We only had, we had less than 2% errors on our report. Which is really good. We have to stay below, I think it's 5% consecutively, I think for six months before they actually accept the report. So we're starting off on a quick slope. Do we have more sectors now than last year? Basically the same. You have two sectors down on Main Street, 607 and 608, which is east and west respectively. So. Over on the town, though. Right. But overall on the town, though, did we hit a sector this year? No. Basically the downtown sector was split into two. 608, 607. It used to be all 607, now it's 608 and 607. Also you have on your patrol squad, you'll have 20 units now. Correct. More 20 units. Which is a spare unit that floats. It's like a floating car where it fills in if somebody's on vacation, which we didn't always have before when our numbers were lower. We just had the sectors covered. So there is actually another sector car out there and sometimes even two. Right. So definitely more units down there. Yeah. I didn't know if we were like, based on volume of cars, if we were dividing up or creating an additional sector or something like that. Well, 20 units. Non-crim lenses are up, revenues are down, and charges we talked about before. That's what I mean. That's like very bizarre. It's like a thousand more. Something is wrong with the numbers. Right. That way. 2712. 2,712 in 2024. I didn't know. 19 of 2 in 2023. Something is off. I wish I had my May report to compare that number to May. I'll have to take a look at that when I get back. 2712. Because relatively speaking, I'm going to say it's probably the same as May. It's just. Right. The numbers just seem something. Definitely. Definitely. And that's definitely reflective of the change in records management systems. Yeah. What else? ODs, none for June. All right. Which is good. That's good. So that's a good thing. [transcription gap] We talked about NIBRS. We received our $1.47 million for body cams from the state. So that's currently in our accounts. We'll be meeting with the vendor as far as proceeding forward as far as getting them. Awesome. Yeah. So we've got to put something together too with the contract with the PBA for usage. Correct. Okay. I think we're going to come lower actually than 1.47 million, which would be to our benefit because maybe we can get something else with that. Yeah. Okay. Technology-wise. That's great. That was great. Good news. Think that's about it? Two minutes. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. I just wanted to say thank you. The number of officers that were at Reflections of the Art Park was great. There was a sergeant and three or four other officers there that night. It gave the community a nice sense of comfort there. We got it covered. During the concerts. It was great. And I would like to thank you for the speed sign at Iron Pier. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sure the residents reach out to me and said thank you. And Reeves Park, the residents are very happy that there's been more patrol in the area and they've noticed that the ATV is on the beach now and patrolling and they asked me to tell you thank you. I'm watching a lot down there and they reported a lot above too. And Councilman Kern wanted me to bring up about scams. If it's too good to be true. It's too good to be true. Exactly. So be careful out there. Any questions, call a family member or speak to the bank teller or whatever. Or worst comes worst, call the police department and we'll take care of it. So you had that sign out there that said GT or whatever it was. Yeah. Yeah, that was all untrue. So. Chief, I also wanted to mention thank you very much. The report you gave about the vape scams. Speaking of scam, it made me think of that number of arrests for people with the alcohol and also the illegal drug products. That's a great point. Thank you. Thank you. And also the illegal drug products. Yep. That was great. Wearing them hard. So. Couple of months in a row now. Yep. There was an article in Newsday. I think it was this week regarding crime stats on Long Island are way down. By 44%, I think, according to the Governor's office. But she had pumped, I think, $50 million into Nassau, Suffolk and the town of Hempstead, I think. All participated in the study with this. And the money that they felt was very well spent. Because crime has been reduced island wide by a huge margin, which was nice to see. I thought that, I think they were focusing on larcenies. It might have been. It might have been. Patrol out there. So. Yep. So good stuff. Good stuff all around. Yep. All right. Well, thank you, sir. No problem. Appreciate it. All right. Next up we have code enforcement matters surrounding the monthly report with Senior Investigator Richard Downs. Welcome, sir. How are you? Good morning, everybody. Good morning. How's everybody doing? Good. Good. All right. Let's get into it. Complaint investigations. We had 84 new complaint investigations for the month of June. We're up on the high grass and high weeds complaint. We had 10. We've opened up four new overcrowded housing complaints. And we had a lot of residential no building permits this month. We had 20 of those. Seems to be contagious. Yeah. Tis the season to build. A lot of people may not have gotten the building permits. So we're looking into that. We have 76 cases still under investigation. That's from January 1st to now. We've issued 75 new complaints against the ! We've issued 75 new complaints against the! The! [transcription gap] The! The! The! The! The! The! [transcription gap] 25 summonses for the month of June. The ticketable infractions for that are no rental permits. No building permits. No certificate of occupancy. Noise. We've had some animal dog complaints. That's also a noise complaint. Parking in the non-driveway areas. We had litter. Both residential and commercial. Of course. We had the weeds. The rubbish. The. violations of your approved site plan, those are those commercial establishments that are not taking care of their parking lots. We had unsafe buildings, dangerous conditions, overcrowding. We had some stop work order summonses that we issued. We had swimming pools without the proper fencing, unregistered vehicles, unlawful signs. Accessory buildings and structures, setbacks at zoning, and some property maintenance code violations, New York State property maintenance code. Rentals, we continue to inspect these rental properties. We have inspected approximately 128 residential type structures for the month of June and 112 apartment units. Fees, we've collected $32,000. We've collected $13,600 in rental fees. And our totaling revenue to date is $151,550 in rental fees. So we're halfway through the year. How are you doing in terms of overall inspections of all rental units in the town? So we got half of them all done? How are we far ahead of the game, behind? Yeah, we're on par. We're a little behind. We're a little below. We just hired the new guy, Connor. He started Monday. He's replacing George. So as soon as he gets trained, we're going to get him going on the rental inspections so he can catch up a little bit. So, yeah. Since we moved to the annual inspections, it's a little bit of a catch up game. We said that it would increase the workload. But we were going to increase the workload. But we were going to increase staffing as well. So we wanted to make sure we stay on that. Yeah, absolutely. I think we're doing pretty well with it. Good. Very good. Can I ask with the rental, no rental permits, was that Airbnbs as well? Illegal Airbnbs? No. Those were just the properties that we had registered that failed to apply. Or properties that never applied for rental permits. Have you caught any of them? The Airbnb people? We're still actively pursuing those. Okay. As you know, that's a bit of a snag sometimes because most of the times when we go to these properties, people aren't always forthcoming with the information. And we do have to make sure that we get all the factual and the proper information in order to take it to court. But we still have some open investigations pending with those. Thank you. Any other questions? No, I think that's it. Thank you, Rich. Appreciate it. Thank you. Keep up the good work. All right. Appreciate it. Thank you. Next up we have Justice Court matters surrounding the monthly report. And, Counselor Saru, you look a little different today, but... I really got a haircut. Yeah. No, good morning. Good morning. I know, she's off. So... She's on vacation. She's on vacation. So, filling in. And if everybody has the report... I don't have a written report on that. You do? No? No. You? That's the town clerk. No. I have the report. Justice report. Yeah, no. Yeah, we didn't get that. No. Okay. All right. Well, I'll summarize it. Parking fines that Ms. Saru was able to secure for the month of June were $1,240. Okay. So, that's the total. And then, the other thing that we did was we took... I have extra confidence in this. If you guys need it. Thank you. [transcription gap] Do you have it? No. No? No. Thank you. Thank you very much. We took dispositions on the neighborhood quality of life type violations, which are the no CO, no building permit, the 251 overgrown grass charges, and the... No certificate of occupancy, littering, chapter 245. That totaled 3,365. And that's... When we say these fines, these are fines that are set by the judge after the defendant takes a disposition or we get a finding of guilt on a trial. So the payment would be a separate question that we would file. And then, we would follow up with... In justice court. Typically, the judges will give time to pay the fines. If the defendant doesn't pay by that date, the court will enter a judgment against them that then gets sent over to the county clerk's office. In terms of tickets issued by our fire marshals, we took dispositions for $2,815. It was one public urination conviction with the total fine of 315. Okay. Thank you. And that was... That would be a max penalty of 250 under... Probably prior... Under the code. And then... No. And... But then you'd add a surcharge. The surcharges that we're taking. It's... Not the mandatory. $65. Yeah. The mandatory surcharges. And then, we took dispositions of $1,370 on open alcohol cases. There was one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight of those. And those all carried the $65 surcharges. Okay. And so... We didn't have... [transcription gap] We didn't have... [transcription gap] And then the $65 would be on top of that. The one that's $215, that was probably somebody that came back with two open alcohol charges, and they resolved both for a combined $150 fine and then the $65 surcharge. Can we, like perhaps next month, will we be able to get an update on the fees collected through the mandatory surcharges and what divisions they account for, whether money has been additionally collected for parks and rec, building of grounds, that type of thing? So where the mandatory, we had categorized the mandatory surcharges based on the violation. Yeah, so we implemented Chapter 1-17, which sets forth all this. The mandatory surcharges, there's a fund for water quality, and then there was a fund for recreation and human services, and then there was one other one that I just don't have it in my tongue right now. Maybe begin to create a categorization so they go into that so it can be monitored, and if it's simply like parks and rec, it's as simple as, hey man, there's enough money here to buy a picnic table downtown and put it by Heidi Bear Way, let's use it, you know what I mean? Like, little things like that that we can see. Absolutely. Yep. You know. Okay, so we can get a report on what should be happening is once Chapter 1-17 is adopted, there should have been the three funds created, and then those should be getting funded with the surcharges as they make their way through Justice Court. So I'll follow up on that and take it from there. It's good to see you don't know. I think it should work out well. I think it should work out well over the course of a year. Okay. You know, just on that point too, I guess it's more for the Chief, but in their category for the Police Department, I see in the top of the Town Justice it says all crime charges and people. That would be part of the PD stat, prosecutions by the DA's office. I don't know, but I don't see a disposition stat with the Police Department on criminal charges. Maybe ask them to add it to theirs. Well, they would have to probably get that information from the DA's office. Right, right, so that we could just know. How, you know, how things are progressing. How many cases are pending, guilty versus not guilty dispositions. Okay.

The ones that are prosecuted in Justice Court, we could probably get that information without going to the DA's office. But some of the ones, they have to go to county court, charged felonies, things like that. Oh yeah, no, no, I'm just referring to the misdemeanors that are handled here in Justice Court. Okay. [transcription gap] Any other questions? Anybody else have anything else? All righty. Thank you, sir. All right. You're very welcome. Appreciate it. Next up is an all new one that we've added. This is the Town Clerk. Matters surrounding a monthly report. Hi, everybody. We felt we were leaving you out at a mix. Yeah, you were. So we had to. Yeah, I went through all the DA's and things. So it's the first time. I think you all got. Yep. I think you got everything I got. Yeah. Well, we all know what the clerk's office does. But for the public that don't know. Pretty much everything that comes in the Town Hall comes through our office. Whether it's the floor. Whether it's the floor. Or the floor. [transcription gap] We have full head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear [transcription gap] head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear head clear [transcription gap] licensing and I have all that on my monthly report the foil requests are the biggest ones that 429 came in just last month alone so and we route them pretty weak we've got them right we have to go and the poets are pretty good about within five days responding you know most of the responses we've got your request and it was 20 days to respond so I don't know whether they whether you instituted expediting but it's very good at responding I very rarely get a second call back that they have people haven't been responding to our others biggest one of course to our death death request and death certificates which is a big bigger part of what we do but we handle everything fishing license is a big hunting license are going to start August 1st so that's going to be a big influx in our office games a chance you and of course the town boards you know getting the agenda together get the resolutions together public hearings are posted and not only on the web but on the board so that people can see what's coming up and they're getting it posted in the paper which we're very good at and that's what we do on a daily basis as far as fees that we collect in the town clerk's office all of the fees if they're not set by state are set by town code yard sale permit to date is $5 there are towns south fold charges $15 for this and as per event other towns don't charge any so I mean that's we don't have a lot of revenue sources other than what the state sets for death certificates and marriage certificates and marriage licenses and everything else is set by town code I know we're looking to increase some of the revenue I don't know where that will take place and I'll be a separate discussion about that but I'm going to have to wait until the end of the meeting. down the road but as of last month we know we collected ten thousand five hundred twenty three dollars and of that our local share was nine thousand one hundred ninety nine thirteen hundred that wasn't part of the overall had to go to New York State Department of Health that's for our marriage licenses state controllers for any game that game a chance bingo game bingo licenses and of course the AGs of Marcus for our dog licensing and environmental conservation is for our fishing licenses and hunting licenses that we get so that's basically it I mean it's a very active office and we always try to treat everybody I mean pretty much first line for most of public that comes in even when they don't belong there they come and ask where they should go so it's a good receiving area and we try to direct them the best we can so there's really a service orientated office I mean we just treat everybody the same what do you need what help me help you and that's it is it true that of the four hundred and twenty nine oil requested Alec Lewis put four hundred of them even he puts one in about once a week we've learned that we try to put him on the top because he's very diligent about making sure that they know up at that end you know and And we do handle claims that come to the town, and I guess the last time he requested that, we sent him the receipts and not the actual claims, so the town attorney's going to take over that, because I received it, and then it goes to where it's got to go, to the town attorney, to PMA, and other areas. Although I have copies of them. And that's about it. Very good. Is it your birthday today, too? Not yet. Monday. Monday? Yeah. Going to be a speed limit? Not quite. Still hovering underneath it. Okay, good for you. And then when that happens, I'll lobby the state to increase it to 75. I'm going to be the Drury speed limit here pretty soon. Well, thank you, sir. Oh, you're quite welcome. Very informative. All right. You have a great day. You, too. All right, next up, we have the Citizens' Cooperative. Development Team, known as CCDT, the Organizational Chart and Overview, and that's going to be with Mike Foley, Barbara Blass, Takwee Turchin. Thank you, Mike. And we are missing one member today of this committee, Mark Hodner, who couldn't make today's meeting, but these are the four people that I've been working with since shortly after the first meeting. Because I had mentioned I wanted to put something together regarding EPCAL and the future of it, and this is the start of what we've done. We've met roughly, Mike, every six to eight weeks. About that, too. Actually, we sat down just before your inauguration. Yes, we did. To talk about the concepts. Right. And you were great on it. This is quite the team. It is. Quite the team, because it also involves Frank Mancini, Ken Testa, our engineer, Frank Mancini, our water guy, Juan Thomas, and who am I forgetting? Anne Marie. Anne Marie Prudente. Right. And it's been, I'm very happy with the direction it's going in and how it's going, and how it formed and how it kind of has now taken on a little bit of a life of its own, and I think it's going to be so helpful for us down the road with the sale or development of the EPCAL property. And it just, it feeds into the community, having community input, and it keeps them up to date as to what we're doing now, and that's why we're bringing it public now, because we've got our feet on the ground with it a little bit, and I think we're pretty firm with the direction we're going. And I'm going to turn it over to Mike, because you are the expert on this, so. We're co-experts. We're co-experts, okay. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Let's start with, none of this happens without Tim Hubbard. Let's start there. The fact that he's opened things up the way he has, the fact that he was open to communicating with the community for years, but was stifled by the organizational structure, with him sitting in the supervisor's chair, we're not really inhibited anymore. And he's really pushed that hard. So we talked about how we could better improve EPCAL, seeing that it came back into our lap when Triple Five was thrown out in October 2023. So this is less than a month before the election. Tim had some ideas. I had some ideas. I was not part of EPCAL Watch, but I was supportive. We knew what the problems were. We know what the issues were. And of course, the major problem was Triple Five couldn't be trusted. And they threw a couple of proposals at us that was just fluff. Which is why they certainly were deemed unqualified, and rightfully so. So now we're in litigation. So rather than sitting on our laurels and waiting for the litigation to finalize, we wanted to hit the ground running. So the best way we felt we could do that was, number one, establish a civic group, a small civic group, that could handle process, communications, environments, and coordination. So the best person I felt for environmental and environmental issues was Triple Five. And I think that's what we're doing. I didn't do so much. [transcription gap] blast with her experience at the town board level at the planning board level of those ciphers reader that reads everything understands it and can convey it zoning codes everything else I didn't think we could have anybody else better at all side of the table though we're at the same table but we need to in my mind in order to make sure the public knows about this is it needs to be a civic component as well as a staff and an elected component it gives in my opinion these civics the ability to discuss things in a proactive and not a reactive way and that's we'll go over the flowchart in a little while so Barbara at the table is a critical component of this communication all of the civics always felt that a disadvantage for years because they never really saw a project until they felt it was in completion so now there was a discussion not that it was completed but that was the perception as you know perceptions reality especially in politics so to get the civics on board from the from the cradle to the ground from its infancy to its finished product we established a line of communications that talk we I felt was best suited to handle talk we as everybody here knows has been a civic leader for years she's a great communicator she has tremendous street cred not only with the citizens but also with the public and the public and the public and the public and the public and the public and the public and the public and the public and the civics but with the citizenry so talk we is charged with with getting out information as it comes and that was going to be from the start to the finish of this process so that's how the I spoke to Tim about it Tim felt good about the team and then we decided the importance of this I mean that Cal again went from out of our control to totally in our control that the future of that of that land is totally in our hands so what do we want to accomplish on as well we wanted to make sure that there was great revenue we wanted to make sure that there was habitat of protection wanted to make sure that we had living wage jobs emanating out of that care and we wanted to have a societal impact a positive impact on everybody so that was the structure of the team on our side and sitting down with Tim Tim saw the importance of this committee and he decided to to become the chairman of this committee and to my knowledge no supervisor has ever chaired a committee in the history of this town. Tim saw the importance of it we couldn't have anybody else going to the town board as a liaison to this committee than the supervisor. He would be there from the start to the finish. We could hash things out, bring it to you guys to talk about, have us here to discuss things as well. So that was how this whole thing started. Of course you got to start with a vision statement. So when you look at the revisioning EPCOW again, Mark was a major component of this but the staff also contributed to the final revision plan. Ann Marie Prudente and Dawn were especially active in this. They made a number of positive changes to it. Took a few things out that we felt might have been a little bit too broad in our goals for the time being before we could rule the board. In the real world we figured we'd rule EPCOW. So what you're looking at for revisioning is really what we believe is going to be the prototype of what will qualify for placement at EPCOW. So it's a one pager but I think just the vision is the important part of this. The fact that we're looking primarily for revenue. We want it to be a model for dozens of creative initiatives. We want EPCOW to provide a safe and healthy and comfortable place to work. But there's a lot of things that we've had to think about. and comfortable place benefiting the entire community. And we want it to become an educational recreational destination experience for visitors. And EpCal is an integral part of the entire town for which all citizens can be proud. So the mission, the preserved habitat, and the outcomes will emanate from the vision, which is we want the best technology, we want the best innovation, and we want to be able to provide that in a coordinated way so that all the parts of this eventually fit together. Understanding we're not going to develop 600 acres in one fell swoop. This is going to take time. There's obviously a lot of issues with the DEC. The town board has to decide exactly how this is going to go. Is it going to be some of it sold, some of it leased, whatever that's going to be, and how do we roll this out. So we believe that if we can use this as our goal, that only good things can come out of EpCal, and the community will be positive towards it. So if there are any questions on that before we go into the flow chart, I'll be happy to take them. Moving forward, let's look at the flow chart. So the proposed development plan, starting from the left to the right, the proposed development plan is anything that comes on the radar that you guys feel might be of interest to EpCal. People will come. People will come to you. People will certainly come to Bob. Bob has stated many people have come to him. Ken, you've been a recipient of a number of ideas. So getting the proposed development plan in front of the CCDT to discuss what they're looking to do so that we can have a dialogue at its initial state, even before a pre-submission conference, to see exactly what they're looking to do, to make sure they understand what the qualifications are for placement at EpCal, and to answer questions. I think the first thing it's going to do is it's going to cut the town board's work substantially because only legitimate things will come before you. There have been some things that have come before you in the work session that were not ready for prime time. You spent the half hour, 45 minutes, and found out that the applicant didn't have an idea of what was required. I think probably the best example, most recent example of that, was that 100,000 square foot thing at EpCal where Bob brought them to the table and Ken said, Ken, from his experience in the hockey thing, saw three or four things that they were not aware of. And it put them at a disadvantage. I think it embarrassed them a little bit. And it ultimately was a waste of your time because they didn't understand the requirements for an application. So I think these are things that we could be a part of to kind of cut out the stuff that really is not ready for prime time and keep it from wasting your time. So that plan would come before the entire CCDT, which, again, if you look at the names, Tim, I don't know if you picked a planning person yet, but we discussed all of this. And, you know, we've got Dawn Thomas, we've got Ann Marie Pridenti, Ken Testa, Frank Mancini, whoever Tim picks as the planning person on this board. And Tim, so it'll be six people from the town side that are elected or salaried. And there will be four people from the civic side, if you will, that we don't get paid. We don't have a business interest in anything here. There's no... There's no interest in making a dime off of this. We have one goal, and that's sort of betterment to the town and its future. We've all... The two of us have grandchildren. While we both have a long history in this town, we only want what's best for this town. So to me, the best way of handling that is to make sure that the core team has no conflict of interest, has no personal interests in what happens here. Now, the subcommittees that Tim and I contemplated can have anybody on there that you guys want from yourself, and this is where we're going to bring dozens of people from the footprint that are subject matter experts in their areas of expertise that can sit at a co-chair position at a subcommittee with another co-chair from the staff side and the people that they want to put there as subject matter experts on a project before us and discuss it. Work everything out there. Hopefully come up with a say, yeah, this is going to work well, or you've got to go back and get this and this and this done before you approach the board with it for a... pre-submission conference, and then we move forward. The development assessment tool that they talk about here is primarily based on this revisioning of Cal. Okay? There will be additional development tools that are going to be coming out over the coming months, maybe even years, as we see what comes up by area of architecture or design or energy or habitat preservation, that we can move additional assessments in there to help us get what we want. And that's what the developer wants at EPCAL. And again, it's what we want. It's not what the developer wants. It's what's in the best interest of the town, not the best profit margins of the developer. And these are the things that we really have to keep in the forefront that if we do that, I think it's going to be a very successful venture. So you're looking at the structure. CCDT chair will be Tim. I'll be the co-chair on the civic side. Tim had a choice to make. I don't know if you made that or not, Tim. I don't want to put you on the spot. No, I didn't yet. I didn't yet. Okay. So those are the core people in there. And then when you look at the subcommittees, these are just some suggestions. I threw at Tim most of them from Mark and from Barbara. They're in alpha order, not priority order. So you take a look at the subcommittees. And that's how we see things going. The civics on the right is really not an accurate depiction of what we're going to be doing here. The civics are going to be involved in this from start to finish. So we put in the subcommittees. We put it on the right side to just let everybody know that once we see a proposed development, in an interval, we will meet, or probably via Zoom, with civic presidents to let them know what's going on. We will entrust the civic presidents to get it down to their membership level. Tim has requested and Tarquie has already agreed. This is not limited to civics or civic boards. Every member in the footprint, every resident in the footprint, is going to have access to Communicate. And we have set up a communications channel that is via a Gmail account. That is revisionepcal at gmail.com. I will say that again in case you want to write it down. Revisionepcal at gmail.com. Anybody can go into that email and leave us messages, comments, suggestions, and criticisms. It is manned by the city. It is by Tarquie, myself, Mark, and Barbara. We rolled it out about two months ago, maybe three months ago, with very little success with the RNPC president. So we're back to the drawing board. We did another run through about three weeks later. And that went fairly wrinkle free. Fairly wrinkle free. And by the time we gave it to you guys, the bugs were out of it. So I can tell you that the initial rollout resulted in about 18 emails, all of them positive. All of them thankful that they had access to ask questions. Only two asked questions that were very benign questions that we answered. Zero criticism. Zero criticism from the presidents of the RNPC board, which constructs of Sid Bell for Wading River, Tarquie for Greater Calverton, Cindy for the Heart of Riverhead, myself as the only non-president for Sound Park Heights, Linda Pritzer for Northville, and Laura Jen Smith, for South Janesport. Those are the core civics that are represented by RNPC. But there are other civics that I think Tarquie is probably going to talk to Tim about freeing up the civic identities for the quarterly civic roundtables. Give them an invitation to come in here. And of course, any non-civic member that hears about this either by looking at it on the website or calling any of us or emailing people will have direct access to the same information we're giving to everybody on a town-wide basis. So that's the critical component of this for the people. And again, take a look at the positive impact that Tim has had on the town board meetings because he's opened things up. He's given people more access to information on the website. We're now getting three or four days on town board resolutions rather than three or four hours. Opened up pre-submission conferences. All the things that have enhanced communication. All the things that have improved communication in the town. If they have not been recognized by the people, they should be. And certainly anytime they talk to us, they are. So the negative connotation that we had at the end of the last supervisor's term was a difficult thing to overcome. I thought it was going to take a year. I think it took Tim about two months. So again, that's all a reflection on him. the conduit for forming epcal as as we have time before the litigation is is is uh won by the town is our best way of getting us ready to hit the ground running on this thing it's mike you can have somebody take minutes at these meetings i'm sure there will be i'm sure that uh tim had debbie there for one of them i believe uh but to answer your question like any uh like any um uh committee there will be minutes taken you're just good because it would keep the other board members apprised of what discussions are taking place what proposals before you so we travel around town they won't be like no no no no listen i'm sure that tim equals or betters the communication at the town board level that he does at the civic uh at resident well tim's going to keep me informed on all this and i assume actually there was a uh there was a two-pager that got posted due to my uh inefficiency and competence at that uh in technology it had kind of a a a layout of what mark thought would happen and you were involved and kern was involved and prudente was involved kind of for one of the better term being on these subcommittees that dealt with these things i think you will mention our recreation well listen what i'm going to do is i'm going to cheat because i have a copy of that and i can tell you exactly what and i shared this with tim when we went over this uh maybe three or four weeks ago and um you know what what mark had come because again this looks good but what do these subcommittees mean what do they entail and this was mark's concept so uh for you what's the emerging techie at kern that would involve agrivoltaics a deep uh pyrolysis which sounds like a dental problem to me uh 5g 60 data centers and chips so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so our tool work and I felt the IDA would also be marketing but these are things that the IDA would have to be agreeable to in order to help us in this venture so all of this will obviously take shape over the coming months and years and I'm saying years because listen the cow's been foul for how long so if we can put something together in three or four years start rolling this thing out I'm assuming we're going to win this case within the next year or so I'm disappointed it wasn't thrown out far as I'm concerned it had absolutely no standing in the courts but you know how courts make money you know how lawyers make money things drag out whether they're called for or not so hopefully within the next year or two it's finished and by then we've got a whole bunch of things we've already looked at that we all believe are going to work here the community will be involved in it so when it hits the ground they're supportive they're not asking questions that we have the ability to answer in progress and that's what we feel we have the best benefit for the town board so do you have like set up times on us so if somebody has a project and they would like to sit down with you how does one coordinate that is it just through you would contact them or me and we would set up a schedule a date for them to come in and sit with the committee you know one of the things that I thought were going to be important to you is you know we're looking only for uptown we believe a lot of the policies and practices we're looking to implement have a role in everything so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so separate work session that we could sit down and talk every three or four months like Tim said we've been I meant to look this morning but my printer ran out of ink I had to get by the way did that myself I didn't put in another 34 time where was I before I made a joke yeah you know I think we were trying to meet no more than every six weeks and I think it's probably gone to seven eight and nine weeks because of a number of things you know you want to have a substantive meeting and if you don't think there's enough meat on the bone we push it off and I think that's been successful we've spoken about the DEC issues we've spoken about Suffolk County water versus the Riverhead water department and to the thing that was most interest to me you look at a guy like Ken Tester I would have known him if I tripped over two years ago he knows more about renewable energy and the ability to do that for profit on EPCOW power purchase agreements and everything else this guy can make us millions turning him loose and using EPCOW as a place to do that I think I really think Ken is going to hit a monstrous home run and there were things that Dawn was working on with the state that looked like they could be a good fit too so this thing might very quickly become a situation where we can get rid of the problem that we have here and not knowing what the pollution ratios are in there from the former use where these things might really be of ultimate benefit to the town because we don't have to destroy the water and we don't have to disturb stuff for the future but that's what we were thinking Ken this is not going to be every four or six weeks it I think it'll probably end up being pushed out to every 12 weeks once we start this thing but anybody that comes to you and wants to see something to tell look let's get you on the schedule you know there's a Liz Pendens against EPCOW there's nothing that we can do right now anyway except plan for it so if you've got a plan I appreciate it because you're not waiting in other words we're not going to be sitting idle so we've got to have a plan for it. It was his idea from the start what are we you know what are we doing I said Tim we're gonna get we're gonna win this in three months he said I'm not sure so he knew well he's a lot more realistic about this than me yeah I just think we're right they're wrong and you know how long is it gonna take for them to figure that out but I guess that's not the way the court system works so let's stay ahead of it so so that's that's our thought. I just I gotta say I appreciate the commitment that the team is making because a lot of work has gone into this this looks like a couple pieces of paper right now but to get to this to this place we're at now you guys put a lot of hard work into it you came back with the ideas and we kicked it around we tweaked and and this is what we got I think this is fantastic I think it's gonna be such a better way to try to develop that property is have the community involved with it right from the beginning because as we know what the last time it kind of came in and then this thing was in the way of the everybody's face and it really wasn't a lot of talk about what the community wanted or what they felt should be there I think we all pretty much have a great idea that we wanted to be prosperous we want to we want our young people to be able to get jobs tech jobs that are maybe salaries or paying where they can afford to live here we want to be kind to the environment because we know how sensitive that environment is up there in particular and it was just a matter of getting it back on the ground. so I just want to clear up so I just want to clear up so I just want to clear up so I just want to clear up so I just want to clear up so I just want to clear up the town out financially. And all this put together is going to come to fruition through what we've formed here. And now that we start going into subcommittees and adding subcommittees to this, we really can get a great idea of what we want up there versus what the market's going to allow to be up there. Because that's an important part of it too. We may want certain things, but if the market isn't bearing that at this current time, we may not be able to go that direction. But we'll be prepared to entertain and look at all the different variations of things that may be coming and get a good grip on it and be transparent and up front right from day one. And I think that's hugely important. I appreciate the time you guys are putting into this. The other part of this, Tim, that we're going to see is that in these subcommittees, we're going to be getting subject matter experts from all over the footprint that are going to be working in a voluntary manner. They're going to be coming from civic associations. So that these people that come to sit and talk to us at a subcommittee level aren't just talking to us. They're going back to their board, look at what we're doing here. And that is somebody at the beach you're sitting next to that was at the table. And I think that's going to create tremendous goodwill and tremendous positive vibes going forward. I really do. I think any project or plan that gets the people involved from early on, it just enhances the probability that you're going to have a buy-in because you're going to have a buy-in because the objections can be put on the table if there are objections and you work through them. It just really saves everybody a lot of time, effort, frustration. I think that this team that the supervisor has put together, you are members of the community that other community members look up to. They respect you. They listen to you. They trust you. So it's important that you're a voice that's able to go back and say, this is what's going on. You know all the information from the beginning. And it's a way for all of us to work together. And I think it's wonderful. Well, these are the shakers and doers of the community. Yep, absolutely. And as many keyboard warriors as we have out there that like to sit back and do absolutely nothing, solve no problems, but like to throw their little comments down, we don't want those people. We want people who are encouraged and engaged within the town of Riverhead. And that certainly is the four of you. You have cared about everything. You come to meetings. You have a true interest in the town. And you do it through, you show your interest through the work that you do by getting involved and knowing what's going on. And that's what we really needed for this. We don't need somebody who's just going to, you know, collect dust and come to a meeting and say, hey, I'm on that committee. You know, we want the shakers and doers. And we got the four best shakers and doers right now. Well, thanks, Tim. We know a lot of good people, too. And they're anxious. They're anxious. They're anxious. They're anxious. They are. I mean, Mark has got people on an environmental and philanthropic basis that I think really has never been tapped before. We're talking about, you know, there's an expense for maintaining the habitat. So we've got all these deep pocketed people on the South Shore that give millions of dollars in Zimbabwe and to places for habitat protection. You don't think they're going to throw a million or two in here? We'll put up a plaque thanks to whatever deep pockets guy is. So we can bring his son there to see it. It's a natural. And those people are going to be brought to the table. And I think that that's where the financial aspect of this really hits a home run. I really think it's going to come together very well. We've just got to, you know, get the shackles off. Get Triple Five in your rearview mirror. Get that case beat. And onward we go. I think it's great because you're going to provide knowledge to the community and thwart off negative perceptions when people don't know what's going on. That's the part that's It's your... [transcription gap] It's your... It's huge to me. It's huge. We'll get ahead of it and create the actual knowledge instead of perceptions that just take everything down. No question. And when you look again, some of the issues we got hit with in January was the negative impact of an all-Republican board. Some of the Democrats instantly turned negatron, thinking political. And we stopped it. We said, we're not going to do this. You're not going to question the supervisor's resolve on beating Triple Five. You're not going to question the supervisor in the town hall. You're not going to question the supervisor's resolve in opening up government. You have to watch what they do. You got a criticism? Fine. Go to the microphone. But don't assume that they're going to be screwing the public by what they're doing. Clearly, your actions have spoken as loud as all words. And that's what makes our job a hell of a lot easier. I agree. To defend it. When it happens. I'm just going to say it a different way. There's no room at this table for politics in any way, shape, or form. And we put that out there from the very beginning. It won't be tolerated because it's not productive. Good ideas are good ideas. It doesn't matter what political party they come from if they're good ideas are good ideas. And that's what you have to remember. And that's why we have to sign on. Right. People have to sign on to what is being put forward here and be consistent and stick to the plan. Yeah, that's why this works. Exactly. Because there's nothing on there that identifies what party you're on. Right. So, I think that's a good point. I think that's a good point. Absolutely. Well, thank you folks. Thank you. I'm really interested in that. [transcription gap] I got a few more. If you need any autographs on them, wait until you come see me. Thank you for volunteering too. What was that? Thanks for volunteering. Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you very much. RevisionFCAL at gmail.com. [transcription gap] Test it out. See how long it takes for us to get back to it. You are my ignore just because you kept me waiting a week. But everybody else is good. Jay Waskie. Thank you very much, Tim. Thank you. [transcription gap] Don't happen without you, pal. Don't happen without you. Don't happen without you guys. Thank you so much. Okay. Last but certainly not least, we have Christy Verity and Wendy Weiss, Matters Surrounding Update on the Bid and East End Arts Happenings. Come on up, ladies. How are we? That's okay. Good morning. It's nice to meet you, by the way. Good morning. I'm Wendy Weiss. This is Wendy's first work session. And your new roller. Thank you. Yes. How's it going? It feels like a bit like jingling through a fire hose at the moment. But I'm very excited to be here and lead East End Arts to a new chapter. For those who don't know, Diane Burke left the East End Arts for another position, and Wendy is her successor. And we wish you nothing but the best, and we certainly want to work with you any way we can. Thank you. Okay. So I'll start off today, Christy Verity, with the Riverhead Bid. It's a pleasure to be presenting here with Wendy. We've worked on a lot of projects together, and it's exciting to continue the arts downtown and support each other in our endeavors. First, I want to give a quick bid update. We had our executive election last night, so we have some new, well, standing executives and some new people on board. The president remains Sean Kenna for another term. Okay. And we have our vice president, Gary Higum, from Suffolk Theatre, and treasurer Linda Lombardi with M&T Bank. So we're excited to have them on board. We are still seeking a secretary, and the secretary position and the executive position does not have to be somebody on the board of directors or within the big district. So if there's anybody interested in joining the bid and working with us outside of downtown, we welcome them. And please send a letter of interest to myself, hello, at downtownriverhead.org, or the contact form on our website. Let's see. We also had our June election, which was the general election for the board of directors, and we have two new board members, Mark McLaughlin, who is part of the anti-bias task force and many things with the town of Riverhead and downtown, and Amanda Capobianco, who is with Richmond Realty. Oh, yeah, yeah. So we're excited to have them both on board. Good. I'll do a quick debrief with Alive on 25. We had Friday, July 5th. Family members, we had a lot of people on board. We had a lot of people with. Fantastic weather for the event. Everything went very well. A big thank you to the police department, the fire department, ambulance, fire marshal, town electrician, Billy Merker, who is wonderful with us from start to finish. And all of our volunteers and sponsors. We appreciate everyone coming together. Like, it takes a village. You know, certainly a lot of hands on board. It takes a village. But I have to tell you, you don't have a village helping you. And you took a lot on yourself. And this was a huge success, July 5th, as they all have been. But it was extra special because you're working this harder by yourself, so to speak, with less help than you probably ever have had. And you did an incredible job. Thank you. And that needs to be recognized because that was a great Alive on 25. It was packed. Vendors were excited. The restaurants made money. It was good all the way around. The entertainment was good. It was just a good night. Thank you. Once again. I have to give credit to my two assistants, Jessica Herrera and Jessica Simmons, who are wonderful. Yes, I apologize for not mentioning her. That's true. And also Steve Schauder. You know, he's still dedicated to downtown and Riverhead in many ways. And he did volunteer that day. He was on the street with me again helping with food trucks and fire marshals and things like that. So, but I do appreciate the credit for that. Great job. Thank you. Also East End Arts was one of our stages there, speaking of entertainment. They were set up in front of Mugs on Main and will be there again next month, August 9th. Or next Alive on 25. And we'll have a laser show then over town square. So that's exciting. It's the same company that did the laser show in Calverton over the holiday season. Oh, right. Okay. So this will be taking place in town square. And the lasers are set to kind of bounce off the stage. And the lasers are set to kind of bounce off the buildings of the Bidsheeper office and the Science Center. So I feel like it really aligns with reflections and a lot of the other art initiatives that we're doing downtown. So, you know, we hope to have a scene turnout for that. We're also looking for a sponsor still with that. And one of the exciting things is that you can have your logo made in lasers and a part of the show. So, you know, anyone that is interested in supporting that and, you know, again, all of those profits that we have from Alive on 25 are really going to be there. Thank you. Thank you so much. [transcription gap] Shakespeare in the Park, which is coming up next Wednesday, Carver Boat Race, so it all kind of comes together. Let's see, what else? Christy, if somebody wants to get a hold of you, is it hello at downtownriverhead.org? Yes, and then downtownriverhead.org, the contact form that's listed on that comes directly to me as well. Okay, good. So for over a year now, we've been doing monthly collaboration meetings with some downtown directors. We have myself on behalf of the BID, Wendy with East End Arts, Gary Higgin with Stubbock Theater. We have some town representation, the Chamber of Commerce, Recreation Department, and so on. So we've been working together to coordinate events and happenings downtown, communicate with each other, supporting each other, and that's kind of where a lot of the BID East End Arts collaboration has been happening, and there's been so much more collaboration and communication than we've seen. And the past between all of the groups, so things are going great. So with that said, I'll hand it over to Wendy because we are partnering on an event at East End Arts campus in a few weeks. I wanted to start and just get to know you, how that you get to know me a little bit and a little bit of my personal background. I am from Bridgehampton, and I currently reside there from a long lineage of tradesmen and farmers and small business owners. I have personal connection here to Riverhead. I was born in Central. I was a graduate of Mercy High School. I had a NASCAR pit license at Riverhead Raceway because my family had a race team there, a Legends race team. So and I never thought I would be here working at Riverhead ever, and I'm so glad that I am. I started with East End Arts about four and a half years ago, actually, as a board member when I moved back home from 15 years in Boston. And after a year of being on the board, I joined the team, right, as COVID pandemic was kind of lifting. And since then, I've really been, I was really enamored with the potential of the area that East End Arts is in, this downtown area. The potential there is just, I mean, I'm spellbound by it, really. And so I've been striving to bring up the value of East End Arts through the position that I had, which was through gallery and membership and community initiatives. And then, you know, in turn, bring up the value of the area. It's got such a huge impact. I'm so glad that I'm here. [transcription gap] I'm so glad that I'm here. [transcription gap] like the future is so bright there and you know and it's definitely been coming to fruition slowly but surely this past member show in January we had 300 people come downtown to January to the opening and go back and forth between our galleries on East Main and West Main we have a lot of putting a lot of traffic into the small businesses here which is very something near and dear to me coming from small business and you know utilizing the town spaces collaborating you know with the other organizations and companies around it's all things that you know we've really just been putting together and Easton Arts has a really rich history in the area and a really riddled history in the area and you know I try to just leverage the legacy of what it was meant to be and and you know ignore all of the stuff that it maybe wasn't when it wasn't in its primes we just were at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair as the only community gallery represented there which was fantastic and I'll tell you we definitely were contenders we had a really solid booth we had five amazing established artists they all sold work so they were very happy which makes me happy and we got a lot of attention to the organization and to this area too and we also have been working really hard to you [transcription gap] ! I have been working really hard to kind of unite the north and the south forks because it's kind of a value proposition that we as an arts organization on the East End bring to the table they all have their different centers and museums and you know those kind of things but there's nobody that's really trying to to braid the communities together and that's starting to happen so one of the places where you'll see that is at this event that Christy mentioned coming up which is our summer soiree we just got word yesterday that the Corey Foundation is going to be the title sponsor so we're very grateful to that great people amazing great people yeah amazing and so this is on August 3rd and I'd really like to invite all of you to come as my guests it's kind of become this unofficial celebration of my new role there it's right on our campus you know at the river it's a tented event it's lively it's bright it's fun the East End Arts bands and musicians will be playing on stage and you really get a great taste of the people that are interested in the area and you know I really work to make sure that East End Arts balances this inclusion and excellence you know I don't believe that the two need to be mutually exclusive I think we're doing a really good job of that and also when it comes to maybe the more local people that you know arts doesn't have to be something that's eccentric beyond it nor does it have to be something that's elite you know beyond reach it's really for everyone and it's to you know inspire and aspire and you know and I love the idea of doing more of that here with all of you so thank you thank you it's at 6 p.m. I have brought some flyers and we'll send a follow-up email to you because 8 p.m. starts the reflections in your right which is perfect yes there is a busy day downtown West End so I'm really excited to be here and I'm really excited to be here and we have the corporate boat race in the morning summer soiree and reflections going on at the same time a lot of traffic downtown I think you arrive at a perfect time frame for East End Arts in terms of just looking out into the future with our recent grant and the work that's been done through the CVA and the development now like I hope that this fall will start you know putting shovels in the ground for us to do that. I know through all the development process at East End Arts has constantly been a focus of it and how it will fit into the master plan for the town square and you know the outdoor amphitheater and the location of existing buildings in this so you are prominently very much a part of the whole process so I think you sit on the brink of some really great things about to come and so it'll be a big thing.

pleasure to work with you I think it's just gonna like you're got good timing yeah this is a great time in Rivet we're really like things are about to happen. absolutely and I think the work that we've been doing the past you know five years since Diane kind of really took the reins you know is also contributing to that like it's just all coming together. she did great work all around and so you know you'll continue that same work but that's just like you know it takes time and and and we've been saying for the last year right that there's so much work going on in the Community Development Agency and it's not always out there in the public and people will see people drive by the town square and they go what happens next and they see the East End Art buildings what happens next and I think it's about all to come out very very shortly. the enthusiasm is there. it's such an exciting time for downtown Riverhead right now. just glad that you're a part of it. see the future events and the utilization of that space behind the building as well as well as for you know the display of our work and everything inside so I think it's just gonna coordinate well. yeah. can you really take him seriously? I know. it's kind of hard to. I agree. I agree. if he can deal with my straight classes I can deal with this. he can pull it off I will say that. he can pull it off. but I just really like there's gonna be so much happening and I think that the town realizes that you are going to be very instrumental when I say you the entire East End Arts for bringing people to the town square and so we have to provide you with that platform and that workspace area to do that and so it's really gonna be. it's gonna be. a great partnership between them and that's always been that way since the very early stages of discussion of how do we go forward with town square. how do we we can build a town square. how do we get people to come there. how do we get them to want to be there and develop and East End Arts is a great. yeah we'll just continue to build the market. right. just keep building the market. great. but you got a lot of work ahead of you in terms of because we're gonna be really. not afraid of work. moving and developing. it's gonna be good. welcome aboard. thank you very much. best of luck to you and anything we can do as a board. thank you. please let us know. both of you. I know that. and I said it to Christy as well. I mean the same thing with BID and everything you guys are doing down there. it's like I just with everything it's all coming together. yeah. the whole United Party is down there. yeah it's all collective so I think that. you've done phenomenal work as well so not to leave you out of it. no not at all. you know sing praises to everyone downtown and talk about you know collective East End Arts will be performing this evening on Townscape summer stage in town square so 7pm. yeah 7pm. it's the band that won the battle of the bands. for the Southampton Youth Bureau. they'll play some of your favorite tunes I'm sure and it's incredible. awesome. to see the talent and hard work of these kids. yeah. and a lot of fun. yeah. awesome. thank you very much. thank you. thank you ladies. appreciate it. enjoy the rest of your day. can we get like the awesome power cider thing for the laser light show group of lasers on trucks. I mean the bright lights. yeah. I mean the lights are on. yeah. I mean the lights are on. yeah. I mean the lights are on. yeah. I mean the lights are on. yeah. [transcription gap] so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so The general public can't see, but I am not alone today. All right, we are a happy group today. Yes. And for good reason. There's so many good things going on in the town, and the town is moving so far forward. It's incredible. And I know we're all anxious for the shovels to get in the ground on the town square, and hopefully this spring it's going to happen. And, you know, such good things. I just can't stress that enough. And a great board to work with, too, by the way. It really is. That ends everything we have for open session today. Make a motion to close the work session agenda, and we're going to go into executive session to discuss a personnel matter with matters surrounding the change in status of an employee, and that will be with myself. Make that motion. So, motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Okay, work session is closed, and we're going to go into executive session. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody, and have a great weekend.