Full Transcript

Thank you. [transcription gap] Thank you, Jim.

Okay. Matters on open session today. First matter we have is matters on surrounding the monthly police report. And we have Captain Woolsey with us here today to go over the police report. Good morning. So if we go over trends from December, we're sticking with December of 24, compared to December of 23 in terms of violent crimes, homicide, and state of study at zero. We went from 3 in 2023 of December to 1 in December of 24 in robberies, assault, and 132 in 2023 to December of 2024. We had no arsons in December. Two burglaries in 2024 December compared to four in December of 23, so that went down. Rang arsonies remained approximately the same with 17 in December of 24, 16 in December of 23. Vehicle deaths did go up in 2024 December 4 compared to zero in 23. Some of them are attributed to the same person. He was arrested. We're comparing some other total incidents 2023 to 24 for December. We have a decrease in domestic incidents December of 23, 65, December of 24. We had 65 and December of 24 we had 50. The total summons is issued December of 23 with 780. December of 24, 662. The number of total charges, went up a little bit in December of 24 compared to 23 with 81 compared to 87. And the criminal incidents went up by 5 in December of 23 compared, we had 155 compared to 160 in December of 24. If we're comparing November to December of this current year in charges, we have went up by 1 November of 24, we had 19. December of 24, we had 20. Shoplifting, in that same month period, we had 53 in November, 57 in December. No other significant trends in any other crime or vehicle theft remain the same. November of December with 1. Identity theft went up from 2 to 4 from November to December. Vandalism property went down from 24 November to 9 in December. We take a look at some other number of total charges from November to December of this year. We had 94 total charges in November, 87 in December. Total arrests, we had 91 in November, 85 in December. For juveniles, we had 3 arrested in November, 2 arrested in December. Town summonses, we had 32 issued in November, 30 issued in December. Traffic summonses, mostly unchanged, November 492, December 476. Total summonses, 700 in November and 662 in December. Another specific question for running crime funding. Do we have any non-DWI arrests? Fuck. Just like that, especially we do when we go into the holiday season and so forth? November of 23, we have 32. December of December of 23, we had 16. So it's a concern, you know, when it goes to New Year's Eve? Sure, if we do extra patrols, we have grant DV money that we put into usually a few nights before Christmas, New Year's Eve, sometimes the day before that. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. And no fatalities with overdoses? No. That's good. No, one non-fatal overdose. Okay. Very good. Board, do you have any questions? No. All right, I just wanted, just having more offices out there seems to be really having an effect. Yep, they're out there. Yeah, great. Thank you. [transcription gap] That was good? Yeah. Okay. Captain Wilson, thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Appreciate it. Anytime. Good job. Have a good day. Thank you too. Okay, next up, we have matters surrounding the formation of a new committee. Yes. Is that how we want to say it? Okay. Councilman Rothwell, you want to lead us off with that? Sure. So just to begin, we originally had met with a committee that was a little bit more of a ! I think it was a committee that was a little bit more of a committee. I think it was a committee that was a little bit more of a head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head and so we originally said access and then we said assess over Spanish for access but talking more with the community I think we've got to further elaborate because we want to make sure that everyone in community is aware of what it can provide and it'll be called the Hispanic development empowerment and education committee so we have some incredible leaders in the community so I'd ask if you'd like to come forward these are potential members for this new committee and we'll like to talk a little bit about we're going to do together so wherever you guys are comfortable supervisor we got a lot of everybody right morning right we go we start off just everybody's name for the TV and for the folks watching Alexander Escobar I am a community leader I am a business owner I operate and manage business here in Riverhead also very good business I might add yeah thank you very much very good food thank you thank you very much and bilingual. Gary. My name is Gary Vogel I run East Coast nurseries here in Riverhead we are a 175 acre container ornamental plant nursery up on Reeves Avenue we ship to distributors throughout the Northeast also bilingual and very happy to be here and working on this project. Excellent. Thank you for the time. My name is Ricardo Mejia. I'm a former Guatemala diplomat. I have over 10 years of experience in administration also bilingual. Hi my name is Montserrat Ruiz. I'm a dentist. I also have a business here in Riverhead and I have a masters in education as well. Yes I'm Pastor Roberto Saucedo, Pastor of New Jerusalem Church on Doctors Path. Good to see you again Pastor. So you see we've got a great group of leaders in our community and first right to begin I just want to thank you all for taking the time out. Thank you. for coming in and we've had a number of discussions but I'm just going to kind of read a little bit of our summary of what we'd like to achieve I think so the hand this Hispanic development empowerment Education Committee is founded and helped here by Alexander Escobar is dedicated to advancing the economic development empowerment and education of the Hispanic community in Riverhead HDEC provides access to essential resources such as mentorship financial literacy workforce development leadership training and community engagement initiatives by fostering economic growth educational advancement and stronger civic participation HDEC empowers individuals and families while driving inclusive progress and strengthening Riverhead as a vibrant diverse and prosperous community so I think the committee work together and thank you Alex I think that is exactly specifies our goals and what we're looking try to do Thank you. One of the things that we'll talk about briefly is the diverse within our community and like today as our children are going through schooling well we've learned that about 78% of the enrollment in Riverhead school districts is from the our Spanish and Latino community and so we want to make sure that we're providing services to everybody and so the simple tasks of when someone comes into town halls and making our documents more by language so we have clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear [transcription gap] clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear someone they could reach out to in this committee would walk them through the process to say okay so you want to open a business okay so let's let's show you the path so it's not just the language barrier but sometimes government in itself to everyone to including myself coming in here on the first day of work you know government is intimidating sometimes and and so it's nervous to say well where do I go what do I do and how do I get through but I have I have this great dream and I wanted to come to reality and so but how do I do it and I think this is a committee that will certainly perhaps hold a hand of many people within our community to walk them through those steps and so if you want to elaborate a little bit more on division statement mission statement to establish Riverhead as a leading center for Hispanic economic development empowerment and education where Hispanic entrepreneurs professionals and families strive in an inclusive and supportive community through our committee we are committed to fostering economic growth expanding educational opportunities and empowering individuals to become leaders and innovators by creating pathways to success and encouraging civic civic engagement we aim to strain local businesses generator generate job opportunities and celebrate celebrate cultural diversity making Riverhead a vibrant prosperous and welcoming destination for Hispanic individuals to invest live achieve and grow in the community and to be a part of the

the goal is to build a stronger Riverhead for everyone this committee is the sign to bring this Hispanic community into closer connection with the greater community fostering unity and making Riverhead a better place for all to live work and drive project some goals for this monster at race our objectives and goals are empowerment and economic development provide resources mentorship and support to help the Hispanic community and the community to grow so that's how we head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head Our goal is to unite Riverhead and make it a better place to live, work, thrive for us, our children, and the children of our children. Thank you. That was wonderful. And I also think that if Alex, I just want to mention we have a few other people that are just in debt that are not here. And we have a school representative. Correct. Unfortunately, she's not here today because she had to attend a family emergency. But she, Annalie Keats, she is part of the school district, as well as Daniel Sullivan, who is out of the country on some business matters. And so the reason why I bring this up is that sometimes people may be more off to go to a school leader, to a pastor, to business people in the community to seek help. And then we're asking them to bring those issues, those concerns, things that we could do on a town level in town government to do better to serve the community. To do so, so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we can do so much more so that we representing everybody that we serve. But now I feel like with all of you being involved in this, like you also become a voice. So I want you to bring the concerns to us, bring things that we can do better. How can we foster a great relationship with everyone in our community? Because we are a wonderfully diverse community. And so I think this could be really a great step in allowing us as a town board and the government itself to represent everybody. So it's not just, you know, we talk about business and we have represented school, but it's from our parks and recreation to activities and things that we do and to cultural events, to sharing diversity. I think a lot of those things are going to be. And one of the things that we spoke about is that this committee will also bring ideas to our other committees. So if there is a need for a different type of multicultural park or anything, then maybe this committee will ask for a meeting with Parks and Recreation. If there's an issue or concerns, about events that are taking place or any bias events, then maybe they'll go before the Anti-Bias Task Force and bring those things. So I think that you also are really going to be an incredible bridge between residents and all of the committees within the town of Riverhead that we have. And I think that you provide a level of comfort so that that's kind of what we began to achieve with the Anti-Bias Task Force is that we made it much more diverse so that we're reaching out to everybody. And I want you to feel the same. So I want you to come to us and go, here's what the town of Riverhead needs to work on. Here's where we can go. And here's where we can better force the relationships with all our residents. I think one of the things that we don't think about, but it's out there and it's part of the Hispanic and Latino community, they're afraid to come into government. They're afraid to come in and state their problems or ask for help. And that's a fear that we need. And hopefully, this is going to help with that. And having a group of people such as yourself to welcome in people to come in and explain to them, yes, you can go into town hall. Yes, they can help you. You're not going to get in trouble if you come into town hall. There should be no fear level there. And there is. There actively is a fear level. I've talked to many Hispanic people. And they're like, I'm not coming into town hall. I'm afraid of what they might do or what they might find out or what they might say. And that's not what we're about. And you said 78% in the schools. This is our community. And we need to react and work with the community and make this is, I like to think of Rivet as one community. And it's really not right now. I've got to be honest with you. And I'm sure you know that. It's really not. And I'll tell you a real quick story. I have two neighbors that are, one is from Guatemala, one is from Mexico. And when they bought the houses and moved in, I stopped to welcome them. And my first neighbor was like, I can't believe you're welcoming me. We were so afraid to buy in your neighborhood. We didn't know how. And I don't even think about that. It's like, if I went to buy a house somewhere, I would be afraid that my neighbor wouldn't like me because of who I am or where I'm from. To me, it's senseless. And I couldn't have two better neighbors than anybody in the world than the two I have. So there's a stigma out there. And that's got to be erased. It has to be erased. And I think this is a great, great job. And thank you for putting this together and all of you coming together to help. And I think it's a great job. And I think it's a great job for the whole of our community because it is much needed. I have to commend Alex because he really did put together the finest committee. I'd like to talk. Right away, I was just more impressed when we first met down with everybody's resume, kind of going through things. Like, wow, you've got the best of the best here. So I know the level of confidence was immediate that we can really do a lot of great work because we've got some great individuals. We have reached out to Pastor numerous times. He's been on committees with the town, with us. And your, your congregation and the church you've built is beautiful. And so many people have so much respect for you. The fact that you're on this board, I think, is huge. And I don't mean that to belittle anybody else that's on the board. I just don't know you that well. But Pastor, I've worked with in the past, and I think this is a, this is a fantastic opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And so they've all provided their resumes and I'll forward everything to the board too. But I would like to put together a resolution in the formation of the committee. And so I think we've got some great, great individuals. And if any other town board member has any other recommendations or anything else, but I think that this is something that I'll be extremely proud of. And I think that we can reach out, you know, to our community and embrace the diverseness and all the different unique features that our community has together as a whole. So I think it, it, it, and it'll also be fun community to do a lot of good stuff too. I think so. Councilman Rothwell, you should be proud of this is such a positive step in the right direction in the unity of all the residents in Riverhead. And I thank you as a board member for putting this group together because I think that you are exactly what Riverhead needs and that you will help to make a bridge for all of our communities to come together and I look forward to meeting, to working with you in the future. Thank you. Thank you. Alex, I've been after you for months. The first time I met you to get involved and I'm so glad you're getting involved. Thank you. And I really am and I think it's great. I think it's a great committee. I want to also let everybody know that we're doing a new website and there will be different languages. So we'll translate and we make sure that that, that will happen. Just a side note, a personal note, I have been speaking to people, I can't remember her name, to get the Day of the Dead Kite Festival here because it is an amazing, amazing event. Thank you. Thank you. And I think that's what I've been doing. Everybody I've shown it to is blown away. So. And we'll make it work. Okay. Good. All right. Great. Oh, and there is a position open on the business advisory so somebody might want to. Sure. Get up on that too. That would be very, I think, useful as well. Sure. Yeah. Thank you. Anybody want to add anything else or. Only to your earlier point about fear. There's also a literacy problem in terms of how government works. Licensing is required, how to get the licensing, insurance, all of those things. And for everyone to have a level playing field, everybody should be licensed insured. So helping get everyone to the same level playing field, I think is a great opportunity for us to help with and to allay their fears and how to do things. You know, I've been a big advocate for making sure that Spanish is incorporated into our website. And I think that it would be great, if we could, you know, if we had recommendations of different links to go to for the Hispanic, Latino community to learn exactly what you're saying and learn more about government and how they can do things and have it very friendly for that community to be able to utilize so that it is less intimidating to come to town hall and they have a better understanding of what's going on because we want everybody to be included and feel it. Thank you. And that's one of the things I think I mentioned earlier is that this committee would do is literally hold the hand through people for some of the process. So when somebody says, I'd really like to open up a business down on Main Street, but I'm not sure and it is a little intimidating to us, how do I go about to get the permits? I got a great idea for a restaurant, a business, you know, an accounting firm, wherever, and I need office space, but where do I go? How do I legalize that? This is a committee that will say, well, come to us, ask your questions, and they might not have the answers, but this is a committee that's going to go, all right, give me a few days. We're going to go to the department. We're going to get you those permits. We're going to help you walk through it and show people the process. And I think that's what's great because they're going to be the bridge to so many good things. Thanks for having us this morning, taking the time for putting us on the schedule. I've been in Riverhead for 50 years on the North Fork, and we've been established as a church for 30 years. Our church represents 17 different countries. So my four boys went to Riverhead High School to graduate. One of my sons is a teacher in middle school. So we're from Riverhead. And I think Riverhead is a focal point for a lot of people, even not from Riverhead, you know, you know, North and South Fork. And I think Riverhead is going to be the focal point for a lot of people, not only Hispanics from every realm because they come to live in Riverhead, but they go all different towns to work. And I think the Latino and Hispanic community is part of that, the difference that can be made in Riverhead. As a church, I've always said to the town, to the supervisor, we're there to help, cooperate. We have a building that, you know, we can lend to the community, to the town in any way possible. We want to be an instrument to help. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're part of the community. We want to be like a bridge to help the community, not just because it's a church, but Latino and, like you said, supervisor, helping people that, to be accessible to the town. And they don't have to be afraid. The way you're saying it this morning, you know, you can come in, we can assist you, help you, and if you want to grow, the town's willing to help, you know. And I think that's what being a community together is all about, helping others grow. Absolutely. you're all amazing that your terrific role models for people to see how you can succeed in the community here in Riverhead and it'll only bring more people that will know how to follow in your footsteps and succeed in our community I thank you very much have you gotten so far that you know like times and dates of when you're going to meet so the people listening we haven't set up the dates we did a great Alex had wrote a great outline of the committee and our goals achievement and so we're working on some creating like some type of I won't call them bylaws but like things that we want to focus on outline and so but I think we're we're pretty much ready like I think we're there we can put in the resolution and how often that will meet we're certainly going to at least meet monthly but one of the things is that one of the things we talked about is not just meeting monthly would be like a general meeting of everyone within the committee but then they talked about creating like subcommittees so if they're going to have an event you're gonna have a service maybe a business lunch other things like that to to bring people together we may have a number of different subcommittees that may meet and then kind of report in together so I think though I said to them when they first came in this morning I said today you go home with a lot of homework yes a lot of good things that you could do but we'll put out dates shortly and then we can absolutely publicize them we'll put it up off channel 22 so forth I think just going step by step I just want to present it today and ask for the board support and moving forward increasingly committee and I like to add thank you thank you councilman after not well because you provided an opportunity for the community we represent and thank you all I believe today we are making history Revaeh is making history because our community is going to show other towns how it should be done this is this is great it's history and thank you all for for the opportunity thank you all for stepping up absolutely well needed long overdue just for the public until they get a set date and time from when they're going to meet they can reach out to councilman Rothwell absolutely any information in the meantime as a contact person and then once you up in formalized in terms of dates and times obviously we get that up on the website and and provide a lot of information there's a lot of information there's a lot of promote that so everybody has an idea. And our meetings will be, in terms of a format, typically as we've done and we've been successful in other committees is that we'll have like a committee meeting itself with the members, but then we always welcome public people to come by and then we'll take a point in that meeting where we can have people come forward with concerns, thoughts, praise too. And so it'll be interactive, our meetings, and be open to everyone to come in. So it's not, we'll never have a closed door policy. So we want, even if somebody says, I know that they're meeting this month and I have one concern, I want to bring it to their attention, we want them to know this is the place to come and do it where you can share thoughts. Great, I'm excited. Thank you so much. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Thank you all so much for taking your time out, especially during the business day. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all, all right. Nice to meet you. Take care now, bye bye. Bye. Thanks. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Very proud. Thank you again. Nice to meet you. [transcription gap] Thank you. [transcription gap] Good to see you again. [transcription gap] Nice to meet you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Nice to meet you. [transcription gap] Oh, there's a lot of good times over there. That's great. Yes. I really feel good about it. Yeah. Awesome. Couldn't ask for a better resume. No. 100%. 100%. All right, next matter we have is matters surrounding the expansion. of the Wesley Ackerman Skate Park facilities. And again, Councilman Rothwell and we have a couple people in the audience that maybe want to come up. I think we have Wes's best friend and other people. If all of you want to come forward, you can all join us. Come on up. How are you? So I have this presentation, but I actually updated it slightly. Is there any way I could? Do you have it on the thing? Justin? I got it on my laptop and I have it on the flash drive. Do you have the newest presentation, Justin? It's been updated since I sent it. I was working on it still when I sent it. You might want it. I'm saying you've made one or two adjustments or corrections. There's minor differences. I was working on it. Do you have the thumb drive? Yeah. Okay. Give that to me. Perfect. Oh. Okay.

! So I guess briefly while we're waiting, we're going to set up a little slideshow presentation. But so everybody knows, I guess a little over a year ago, we all gathered around the skate park at the Pulaski Street School. And many of you may recall the story of Wes Ackley. And I know a lot of it is on the screen. It is on the slide presentation. But we had the honor of last year dedicating the park in his memory. So he was a leader in terms of the development, the building, and the construction of the skate park. But more importantly, a great young person that came forward first and spoke out to make sure that our parks and recreation was doing things for the kids and not charging fees and so forth. And so the park is greatly used. And they are looking to expand their operations. And so we're looking to potentially move the current, from the current location directly across the street adjacent to the Pulaski Street, well, the park over there. So Stotsky Park, I'm sorry I'm saying that. So right across the street from Stotsky Park. There is some county land that we acquired. So he has a nice presentation. And this is Wes' best friend that's coming forward.

You guys can all come forward if you want. Share any thoughts. Don't be shy. Okay. Okay. Good morning, Chris. Good morning. How's everybody doing? Very good. How are you? Good morning. Good to see you all. All right. So while we get this new version set up, I can start with the introduction here. Okay. So my name is Chris Paddy. And I'm here to give a breakdown on building a new skate park in Riverhead. I was born and raised in Riverhead where thanks to family, friends, and teachers, I experienced the ultimate upbringing. Present day, I own and operate a fine art printing business and skateboard company. Growing up, there was something special in the town of Riverhead, and that was the skate park where I spent most of my formative years. The skate park provided me with a unique experience in that I had somewhere to go at any time where I could spend countless hours honing my skills, learning how to be brave, and practicing something highly challenging over and over until I was able to achieve it. The skate park proved to be not only a training facility, but a creative outlet, a school, and a safe haven for the youth around me who were not as blessed with their home lives. It is at the skate park where some of my most meaningful friendships and discoveries about myself were made. It is the place where my best friend, Wes Ackley, and I grew from boys to men, gaining not only a mentality of commitment, dedication, and compassion for those that I love, but also a sense of belonging. [transcription gap] Park in honor of my friend Wesley Adley who passed away in this battle with cancer and chemotherapy in January of 2023 so first slide all right do I need to speak into this microphone there's this fine the way you are right one was the escape part first built 2005 yeah do you want to join us right back here okay thank you so much that's very three thanks right now yeah all right West was a well-known skateboarder on Long Island and in the city he was a longtime advocate for the skate park dating back to 2010 when he convinced the town of Riverhead to rethink the skate park membership fees which inhibited the park from many skateboarders this resulted in the skate parks best and most popular era you so this is a quote from news a year Wes actually likes to skateboard but he doesn't like paying $30 a year for a permit to use the town skateboard park in Riverhead so the Bading Hollow student did what any well-taught ninth grader would do he wrote to the town supervisor and his letter was so good that the town decided to reconsider its entire skate park fee structure to see if it should cut them West was my best friend so she's head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head to mentors, friends, and culture that they otherwise would not have become acquainted with. We made skate videos religiously with a crew of friends who I am still close with to this day, one of them being a professional rider on my skate company. Because the East End lacked in skate related resources, we built our own skate parks, learned how to work with our hands as a team, and created what was missing ourselves. I've told a few of you where Costco is now, that was actually a secret skate park in the woods at one point where skaters would come from all over, even the city professionals, come all the way out to the East End to skate this place in the woods that skateboarders made. Another one up off of Young's Avenue too that was used. Yeah, yes. It's funny you know about that, that's the second version of it actually. So we did it ourselves. The East End has seen many iterations of the DIY skate park, which are unsanctioned skate parks made by skate owners. Skaters themselves, due to a high demand for parks not being met. One of them, dubbed the Range in Rocky Point, was recently demolished. It boasted professional level cement obstacles made by skaters themselves. Skateboarding brought us to explore beyond the town of Riverhead, into the city, and eventually around the world. This is Wes and I at the... The Range in Rocky Point on the left there, that was the abandoned driving range which also turned into a skater made skate park. So these things have been popping up, you know, since skating started really. So these were the best years of our lives. My goal with these next few slides is to offer a glimpse into the Riverhead skate park during its most attended years, prior to the ramps being removed in 2016. We wanted to spend every single day at the skate park, and as long as our parents were willing to give us a ride, we did. If a parent couldn't give one of us a ride, we would carpool and have slumber parties. After a long day of skateboarding at the park, we would skate some more in the Grunge driveway. The community revolving around the skate park involved more than just extreme sport participants. Many children, including my son, were involved in the skate park. The park was a place where you could skate. The park was a place where you could play. My son, myself, and friends would have their birthdays at the skate park, the place they loved most. This brought not only friends together, but parents, siblings, relatives, and family friends. The experienced skaters would notice new participants, accept them into the community, and offer advice, creating a natural hierarchy and learning environment. This served as a blueprint for all future endeavors that I have embarked on. It showed me how to respond to the challenges that I faced. I was able to learn from them and learn from them. I respect those who dedicate so much of themselves to something and learn from them in return. The old Riverhead skate park catered to mid-level skateboarders, but not beginners or experts. The two most crucial skill levels of skateboarding, because you want people to easily get into it and then continue to do it without being hindered by a lack of facilities and resources to grow. Some skaters even moved out of Riverhead, into the city to chase their skateboarding dreams. With a well-made, challenging skate park, we can raise Olympic-level skateboarders right here in Riverhead. The skate park and the community it created had the minds of so many youth firing on all cylinders. We'd skate till exhaustion. We didn't have so many head lights. [transcription gap] is now missing and you wouldn't be able to do these kind of tricks at the skate park anymore because of the lack of those sort of ramps there this is another of the one of the more challenging features in the skate park that has uh since been removed ray why were these removed too dangerous yeah they were falling apart um i'll get into that too um so one harsh winter we shoveled two feet of snow off the beloved mini ramp which i just told you about just to be able to skate the mini ramp is pictured in this slide and has since been removed you don't see people shoveling snow off the pickleball courts or the hockey rink or the basketball courts skateboarders show an uncommon amount of dedication compared to other sports there was a petition with a huge response against removing ramps for pickleball courts garnered a lot of attention and a lot of support from the skate park community and the park was also hit by a huge storm but the man's to this to save the park were not met

so instead of finishing renovation work currently underway at the skate park the sound the town has decided to add a pickleball court that decision has encountered sharp criticism from residents who are eager to see recreational opportunities for youths expanded not reduced

wesley dean ackley the skate park park is a park that is a great place to live and to head head head head head head head head [transcription gap] head [transcription gap] head head head head San Francisco. This activity really does give participants an international community to flourish in wherever they go. I've even traveled by myself one time to Paris for a week with just my skateboard and I was accepted into that community. Many of them didn't even speak English and I was able to get along just fine. I took a few years of French in school so that helped but and I ate some of the best food in my life and you fall right into these communities and that's true for anywhere in the world that you go. As long as you really love this thing you're going to be accepted into any skateboard community. I have been facilitating events at the current skate park providing a platform for healthy competition and physical achievement. In addition to my own efforts the skateboarding community has thrown fundraiser events raising thousands of dollars and tons of awareness for this project. I'm very grateful to the people who have supported me throughout this project. I couldn't do it without them and everyone else who attends these events. We have manned fundraiser booths around town during events like the Riverhead Country Fair, the Polish Festival, the Blues Festival and Alive on 25. I have met many wonderful people who are enthusiastic about the project at our fundraiser booths. We've created a sense of community by running a raffle where many local businesses generously contribute to the project. These are businesses I have frequented since I was a child that are invaluable to the town. We even raffled off a motorcycle. Skateboard with a motor. We raised $10,000 in the first week of fundraising and now over $23,000 from over 220 donors. And this is all without a non-profit or anything up until now. We do have one but these were all grassroot donations. We have no incentive for people other than to just have a new skate park somewhere for the kids. The public's outpouring of generous support is a testament to the demand for a new skate park. So this is an example of a conceptual design here. A 3D rendering made in the computer. The conceptual design is a democratic process where community members will all have a say on how the new skate park should be made. We have raised enough to pay for the conceptual design process, further building community awareness and participation in getting a new park built. So that would be the next step after this meeting as long as this project is approved is to get this design made and get the community involved in the decisions. This project caters to many groups beyond skateboarders including rollerbladers, BMX bike riders, and scooterers. So we've been working with American Ramp Company who actually built the current skate park many years ago. And they have a subdivision who makes cement skate parks. And they build the best skate parks in the world. Here's another example here. So the new park will be made of cement. Saving the town repair headaches and tens of thousands of dollars every decade. Cement parks require little to no maintenance. I personally skateboard at cement parks that are 15 feet tall. 15 to 20 years old. Same age as the Riverhead skate park. That have required zero maintenance to their construction. The Riverhead skate park needed $70,000 in repairs in just over a decade. So here's an example of another beautiful cement park. I mean these are works of art really built by some of the most skilled construction workers in the world. It's a highly specialized thing to do. Excuse me Chris, could you tell me about the existing park? Or maybe Ray could tell us. What the existing park is made of if not cement? It's made of prefabricated ramps. So these are ramps that you can kind of just pick and choose. And they bring them in and they assemble them. So there's metal frames with a special type of plywood called skate light. There's many different brands that make this wood. So some of it lasts longer than others. But the point is that yeah it's falling apart to the point that it was dangerous. So they had to remove most of the ramps on the bottom level. About half of the ramps due to the expenses that it brought. So the solution would be yes the cement park where we pay up front one time. We can do it in phases. And then it's good to go for decades. It'll last for many, many years. So in this slide here is a pump track. And the company that we're working with, American Ramp Company, can actually make these ADA accessible. So we can build a pump track which will be the first of its kind on the east end. Pump tracks can be made ADA accessible. Enabling the disabled to participate. And opening opportunities for additional grant funding. This is a close up of what a pump track looks like. So you can ride a bicycle, a mountain bike, a skateboard, anything with wheels on this. And it's an amazing workout. It's a great thing because someone who has no interest in the skate park might have plenty of interest in this addition. If we were to build one of these in addition to the park right next to it. So this is an award winning world class skate park built in Montauk by American Ramp Company. And this is one of the best skate parks in the country. Certainly the northeast and the east coast. And they were able to build this in just under a year. The construction took once they broke ground there. And so many of these people are traveling through Riverhead to eventually make their way out to Montauk. Right. And even people in the Hamptons, many of them are much closer to Riverhead than they are. To Montauk. So even with the remote location of Montauk, you know, hundreds of people turned out to celebrate the official opening of that skate park. And that was again built by the company that we're working with. With any questions we have and hopefully they'll be able to construct a new park. And then Matt Jedlica of LK McLean Associates on the left here and an East Hampton Town Councilman, David Lease, both worked on the redesign of the skate park. And they received an award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York because of their efforts on the Montauk skate park. Chris, do you have a price on what that park was? So in a perfect world we would spend a million on the skate park altogether. But it can be done in phases. Perhaps we break it into two phases or three phases. And I'll get into that a bit more. But we're also privately raising funds now. You'll see later in the presentation we did start a 501C3. But ideally, you know, the Montauk skate park costed about $1.4 million. And like I said, that's one of the best in the entire country. So with a budget of a million we can come very close to that. Or maybe a million plus a pump track. But, you know, those are – everything is adjustable as we go. We can figure that out. I can say that the Montauk skate park actually has a webcam. It does. That's what we would do for sure. Yeah. And there are always people, you know, utilizing it. Yeah. It's a little of nowhere. It's beautiful. Yeah. And it's in summer to get there. People drive so far from all across the island. Because there's nothing else around. And Riverhead is so much more accessible with traffic and peak season and stuff. Yeah. Exactly. And Montauk also even has a busing program where it will bring kids from school to the skate park after school. And I think they just offer that as part of the schooling for free for the children. But it also helps to keep things under control. It reduces crime or graffiti or anything. Having a camera there on the park at all times, not only does it do that, but it shows people, hey, it rained out earlier today. Skaters are always asking each other, is the park wet? Is it dry yet? That's one of the biggest questions anytime the weather is not great. So it shows you, here's what the park looks like right now. And people have even made funny videos with the Montauk camera of people skating in the park. So it's a good – I think it's a good – I think it's a good thing to add as well. I actually looked at it the few times that I've seen it. Oh, yeah. And I thought, why can't Riverhead have something like this? Yeah. Yeah. That would certainly be something nice. I don't think it would be too expensive to do something like that. So in this slide here, this is the land adjacent to the current skate park. And it was acquired by the town of Riverhead under the Project Greenways program. In the Project Greenways resolution, a written binding commitment to improve and maintain the acquired properties as active park land was made. This land is also right next to the current skate park, which is walkable from the high school, middle school, Pulaski Street School, and Roanoke Avenue School. It's zoned in a low-income area, which also offers additional opportunities for government grant funding. So here's a part of the deed or the project. And this is the resolution here for that land. And we do – you might have on hand those documents. But if not, we do have those available. So we are working with the town of Riverhead's Community Development Department, who in the past few years have gained the reputation of the best our town has ever seen. So town officials and local business leaders have said that the true engine driving Riverhead's renaissance is Mrs. Thomas and her community development. And Tim Hubbard himself said, we have the best community development team department around. The assistant community project supervisor, Joe Mehrana, associate administrator, Carissa Collins, and grants analyst, Frank Messina, are unbelievable. They're constantly working on grant money, putting grant applications together, and submitting them for projects all over town. So we've had a few meetings with community development. And I'm very confident in their abilities to – Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you so much. [transcription gap] that promote good health and also it's now like we were saying it's in the olympics so there's it's it's growing and so it's in a very interesting place right now it's the demand is higher than ever and as i've proven throughout this you know people are building their own skate parks with their own bare hands so it's going to be it's going to be amazing to do this so the riverhead central school district enrollment was 5 434 in 2023. this is in the top 15 of enrollment sizes of 127 school districts across long island so we have a ton of kids in this town in walking distance that would benefit from this project so some benefits of a public skate park would be that they reduce illicit behavior they provide a safe environment for skateboarding they reduce damage to private property by containing skating within the park and it has obviously significant physical health benefits and mental health benefits as well and they also have a very positive economic impact and again i keep pointing towards montauk it's in the middle of nowhere but people are coming out to this park for events and contests even on any given weekend on a cold day like this weekend i'm sure you'll see plenty of people using that skate park and this is in a tiny town in a remote location um so we've started a non-profit a 501c3 non-profit and we have officially been granted a non-profit and we have officially been granted a non-profit and we have officially been granted that status this organization consists of myself my wife and others who were born and raised in riverhead the dexas project was founded to fund future events for youth on the east end revolving around learning and self-expression through skateboarding this project is for the children let's get them off those ipads and into the great outdoors where they can be blessed with the same experience i've shown you here i speak today from my heart and i'm head head head head head up. He wasn't just a friend, he was a guiding light and still is. This park will honor his memory, giving the youth and his friends a place to grow stronger, not just physically but mentally. A place where they find belonging and hope. Together we have an opportunity to create something that will make a lasting difference for generations to come. May we all work toward building a brighter future. God bless. So Chris, thank you very much for coming today and thank you for sharing your personal moments with us. So we were extremely proud to name the park in his name and he deserved that honor and he earned that honor. And I certainly see your need to expand. So what we wanted to talk about today, one of the goals was by having the presentation, was that we do have So we wanted to talk about today one of the goals was by having the presentation was that we do have the opportunity to share our experiences with the community and the community as a whole. the best CDA development and Dawn Thomas took time out and sat with Chris and I and I know that she's spoken to Ray as well and the recreation department, Ray is supportive of it. So one of the things we're looking for is to put forth a resolution allowing the CDA to engage and apply for different grants. And Chris has also been researching many grants on his own. And Tony? Tony Hall project is one that we're going to apply for. It's now called the skate park project. I'm confident that we can get those kind of grants, especially considering the low income zoning and the possibilities of having an ADA accessible element to the skate park. And especially if we can get some letters of recommendation from officials that would also largely increase our chances. Because they've already done some ground roots and raised some money, you know, they can have some preliminary designs and that allows us to eventually put out like an RFP and what things would really cost. But there's a lot of things that we've done to put it out there and how much money we really need to grasp. So like, I know we're talking in the realm of a million dollars, but we talked about maybe potentially even doing it in phases. So we may have phase one, two, and three until we get to that long term goal. And also to incorporate, I was impressed too that you bring in like a BMX community as well along with the skate board. So there's a lot of multi uses for the park in itself. Roller bladers, scooters, mountain bikes even if you do a pumper. A lot of people, yeah. I love the long term. things that River had struggled within its parks I'm sure Ray can agree is that maintenance. So we get funding for these projects, we put things in place, we put new slides, we put new swings and then there's a lifespan to everything and so this here like to go for the the ultimate goal of getting that cement park where there'll be little maintenance and it'll be here for many many years to come and so we certainly get more of a value every year that goes by and so but you know it sounds very very expensive but I think through multiple grant opportunities to fundraising efforts I think we can get there and so we're blessed because we we have the potential opportunity to utilize this this land so I'd ask my fellow board members and to kind of the to think about you know putting that land to use and that's always been our fear is okay we get the county gives us park land they give us opportunities and when we build something how do we maintain it and so this is a project that you know having that little low-cost maintenance over the long run says that this for many years can stand there and in honor to Wes. Right. And I would like to also add that skateboarders are very much appreciative of these kind of projects and they self-police these kind of elements of the community's kind of facilities so you know it's very close to their hearts these kind of places like the current skate park that's sacred grounds for myself and many others here so it's it's it does it you know it fixes itself like there's no repairs that need to be made or anything when you do cement so yeah. So we would ask the board to consider to put like a resolution forth allowing Dawn Thomas and the entire CDA development agency to to apply for grants to seek funding and to acknowledge that we would be in support of this project. Ray do you have any questions concerns or any ideas? No. I mean what the product the property settlement is the crude up piece I don't know if you remember that. That's a sandpit over on the back side of the parking lot for the soccer field. Yes. Least to us. So that was all that's a great location for it we've always looked at it for soccer fields and other things but they can accommodate all of it. And then what would happen to the old skate park area? Well if we ended up building a whole new skate park we could turn it into a spray park you know or something over there. You know it opens up more. Yeah. So that's a great opportunity. Some of them could be very low cost. You paint the pickleball court on there with get a net you know some of them would be extremely low cost and you have a beautiful cement perfect ground there ready to roll so we did the skate park is gonna benefit one community and then there's multiple other opportunities with the old skate park there. So it's a win-win. So it repurposes it right away right right so that yeah. Yeah. It's a win-win situation for sure building from fresh earth because with the cement park they want to survey the land and build directly on to the bare earth rather than have to rip up the old foundation. It would cost a ton of money. So turn it into a win-win that way. We would support you in Endeavors too if we want to do like fundraising events at the park and so forth and and so things like that we can you know help bring I think this would be taking Wesley's dream like once one notch up to a little bit more. Absolutely right right yeah and I could reach out to him. Reach out to my connections in the industry and get some bigger sponsors for these kind of things so we can bring in I mean hey it's okay with you guys we could bring in hundreds of people if we do this thing right for one of like events like this you know and it only benefits everything around the skate park the businesses the town itself. Restaurants, hotels. It's gonna make people want to move to this town I mean you know it's a serious thing. Let's get Tony Hawk here. Let's get him here. Let's get him out here. I commend John your presentation you did a fabulous job. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Chris I met you I did meet you at one of the times you were at a booth live on 25 and you talked to me about this. You have been active in moving this forward. I think it's great. I think anything that gives children an opportunity to get out of the house, go off the videos, get outside and get away from boredom and then drugs and other trouble. And get out just like the playground down in downtown will do just like the ice skating will do a YMCA anything that gives children a healthy alternative. I'm totally for and I think this is a great a great. Thank you and that's a good opportunity to also point out it's a self-initiated thing and like I made clear in the presentation skateboarders they show an uncommon dedication so they're gonna do this themselves they're gonna beg their parents to drive into the skate park every single day just like this. Thank you. I just want to clear this clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear The best way to get in touch with us and get to that fundraiser would be just on Instagram and even if you don't have a phone you can type this online it's Wesley Dean Ackley Skate Park. That's the Instagram handle you could even just type that on Google. It's just the name of the skate park Wesley Dean Ackley Skate Park. That's going to bring you to the Instagram where you can see events that we've done so far. There's plenty of footage of folks skateboarding and just being a community and just loving even what we have now. And you can be led to the fundraiser through the link there. So that's accessible. We want to start promoting those fundraising efforts. Lisa is here from We Del Signs and she's even offered maybe we can put some signage up there on the fence if that's okay with Ray where you can at least get the website or some location. So kids that are currently going there and things like that and everybody that puts $20 in a hat eventually it all starts adding up and it goes a long way. Yeah we have a QR code. Yes and it's already added up to $23,000 before we haven't even seen any larger private donations yet. We just got the 501c3 nonprofit status so we're going to begin. Councilman Kern mentioned actually a nice resource in the city where people you can find donors people who are looking to donate to projects like this. So this is really we're going into the next phase of fundraising and finding these private donors who would like to donate larger chunks. But we will be having events in a few months. Wes' mother Christine and Lisa they're helping us plan things. So we'll keep everyone in the loop. We have like I said over 200 donors so far so this is a big email list. We have everyone's email address. We're going to reach out and it's the process of doing this thing is also amazing because it brings the town together and it connects the community and it can reconnect people who've grown up here their whole lives. We haven't seen someone in 10 years. But there's a lot of amazing elements to the process itself of realizing that it's been a pleasure to work on the project and it's exciting. So long story short. One of the things I just want to mention too is that you know the first concern when somebody said we want to build a new park or anything like that. I was like wait a minute this is Wes' park. So I want everybody to know Wes' mom is here and she supports us in doing a larger endeavor to honor Wes in a bigger and greater way. And so it's not about dismantling Wes' park it's about bringing it to the next level. Rebuilding it correct. Yes. Yes. So it needs rebuilding. Family support. Yes. Yes absolutely. So Chris I have a question for you. Yes. And I love the pump track. Um. What would be your preference? The pump track or like the track that is in Montauk? Or you know. So the pump track is more of an auxiliary option. Like the skate park is 100% the goal here. But what we're going to do with the design process is to see what the public wants. I mean I've been skateboarding my whole life so I know what a good skate park looks like. I know what it should cost. I know of all this stuff. But it's important to get the community involved. Like I was saying during the presentation everyone misses the spine transfer. The ramp that was shaped like a you know goes up and down. Everyone misses that. So the new skate park it's got to have a spine transfer. Explain how Pivot reached out to the company. So Pivot the company we're working with they've explained to us that conceptual design process like those 3D renderings that we showed you. There is a democratic process where they do surveys for all the local skateboarders and we would share that through social media. And that process. Cool. And that's how we bring more momentum and attention to the project. But it's a democratic process. So with the pump track. Part of the appeal is there aren't any pump tracks. On the east end Montauk didn't do a pump track. They did. They just made the skate park a little bigger. So I don't want to make that decision myself. It's really a democratic process. But there's appeal to it. So it's definitely on the table as an option. One of the last things I'll bring to point is that the reason why I see the greatest potential in this project. Is that it comes with a great story. So even as you did your presentation today and you talk about Wes. The fact that a young boy walks into Town Hall and is like I need a skate park and I don't want to pay for it. It's an amazing story. So with the story I think that you will have a great opportunity to reach out to skateboard magazines. Right. And that we can really truly obtain some national sponsors and to get people in there because. Absolutely. You know sadly Wes passed away but he left a great story and legacy behind him that people want to somehow tie it up. Right. And say I want to touch somebody just like Wes did. And to reach out. So I think that you know I think we can really be successful in fundraising. And getting grants and sponsorships and so forth. So just because of the sheer story of him walking in here standing before a town board. I know it's a fantastic story. So you know this project is great in any case but we have this history here in the town. We have this era that happened. We have this history. We have this history that happened here that it's coming back even without the new skate park but with the new one it's going to blossom into something like a renaissance of sorts I think for the town more than on a higher level than just extreme sports. Like I said the families are involved. Everyone's involved around this hub. It's like a community center you know. Next up the Olympics. There you go. We'll get these kids in the Olympics one day you know. Thank you very much. I appreciate you coming in and sharing the story. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Great job. I appreciate it. Thank you. So we'll get those. We'll start getting the design made and everything. Like we can just keep this ball rolling basically. Right. Everybody's good. Right. So everyone is on board. Everyone's on board with this. Right. All right. One thousand percent. Fantastic. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. Excellent job Chris. Thanks. Enjoy. Thank you. All right. Everyone. All right. [transcription gap] All right. [transcription gap] I used to have an Alva board. A what? An Alva board. That was the big thing in the 80s, Alva. It's a type of skateboard? Yes. Oh, okay. I had doctor's appointments because I couldn't do very well on a skateboard. My brother did it to learn to surf. I see, and snowboarding too. Yeah, and snowboarding. Absolutely. Okay, next up we have Matters Surroundings. I'm going to show you a little bit of the monthly Justice Court report. Counselor Saru. Before you get started, I understand there's a new member in your family? Yes, I had a son. And what breed is this son? Okay. He's a Husky-Terrier mix. Husky Little Terrier or Big Terrier? Big Terrier. Oh, so this is a large son. Yeah. Cool. He's a really good boy. I'm very happy with him. How old is he? They think he's about a year and a month. I adopted him from the North Fork Animal Welfare League, and he's great. Good. Well, best of luck with him. Thanks for asking. You're welcome. What's his name? Balto. They gave him the name Balto and we kept it. Balto. Yeah, after the sled dog. Yes. Okay. So, he's a little bit older than you. He's a little bit older than me. [transcription gap] Yeah. After the sled dog. Yes. Yes. It was. Nice. Okay. So, does everyone have the ... I have extras. I might not have gotten ... I have this one. Thank you. Can you have one? Thank you. All right. That's good. Thank you. Okay. So, Justice Court was closed between December 16th and January 16th. Okay. So, I'm going to go ahead and close this one. Okay. So, I'm going to go ahead and close this one. Okay. So, I'm going to go ahead and close this one. Okay. So, I'm going to go head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head [transcription gap] head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head I work very closely with the fire marshal's office. They're fantastic. They're issuing a lot of tickets. But the reason why you don't see that many month to month is there's generally two types of cases that we're seeing with the fire marshals. We either have ones that are open for a very long time because there are complicated procedures like removing branch pipe, installing things like that, that involve visits to the site. Myself and fire marshal Keating have done a couple of visits this past month just to kind of meet with the owners of the property, meet with the defendant, and kind of go over the intricacies of how to get them up to compliance and ensure safety. So that's why some of these don't get disposed of as quickly. The other side of that are the quick ones. Like, for example, there's a huge uptick in blocked egress. And a lot of that was from Black Friday. Things like that. Those have a quick turnaround. Often by the time that ticket is arraigned in justice court, the owner has remediated the problem. It's usually a clothing wrap or a couple of boxes. So those will get resolved quicker. But for right now, you won't see it in the fire marshal section because what we've been doing, and this has been practiced for years, because everything right now, as the code is written, that I have written, is that we don't see it in the fire marshal section. So that's why we're doing it. And the other thing that we've researched is under a misdemeanor. If there are good actors that own businesses and remediate things very quickly, we don't want to stick them with a misdemeanor. So we'll often amend it to, let's say, a littering ticket. So that will fall under other. So I'm working with the fire marshal's office to see if we can get maybe a renewal of permit offenses or possibly, I forget what else we spoke about. We want to get one or two offenses to be remediated. And that's a good thing. [transcription gap] our reports accurately reflect the work that's being done by the fire marshal's office so that's I just figured I'd bring up that topic so that's what I have for this month as an explanation for the way that the chart looks this week this month if anyone has any questions means we'll be coming in January well they were closed the first week of January but yes another thing is the the increase in fines for the book building permit CEO rental permit those kicked in on December 17th I believe the the board voted that in on December 17th and then the court was closed immediately thereafter so you'll start to see that flow through in January reported in February but yeah we spoke to council Howard last last month and so we're looking maybe perhaps in February something to get that final report in January and then we'll see what happens next year but yeah I think we'll see how we get through with the final breakdown of just check how we did with yeah as much as I we can do from our office not knowing what's actually getting collected but yes of course I have a doing my running tab yeah and just to see where they can be applied to the different you know the penalties that were you know assessed yeah parks interaction other things that's everything for now okay next up we have matters surrounding monthly November and December code enforcement reports with investigator down morning how's everybody doing very good great presentation on that sleep that was a really was a nice job I apologize for my froggy voice I'm getting over cold but all right so we got two reports to go through November and December we'll start off with November we opened up 60 new complaints in November some of those categories include I highlighted some importation with no permits overcrowded housing and ! ! we had three residential no building permits that was up we had 13 shopping cart violations one and unsecured buildings we had two we had approximately 135 we have approximately 135 cases still under investigation from January summonses we've issued 48 summonses 52 notice of violations for them to the month of November and the categories for those are listed so right when you say 135 cases those are cases remaining open do you know how many complaints you handled over the whole year yeah we're gonna get that to in the December okay sorry we're end of year yeah yeah so as I said last time I'm not concerned with that number because those are six officers so pretty much try to close out the case and then we'll get back to you in the next couple weeks. Thank you. so next up next up next up next up next up next up next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next I also have all the other statistics if the board needs any information. Just a quick one, Rich. On the shopping cart, do you remember what that violation was written for? Those are for businesses that failed to provide the locking wheel mechanisms on their carts. Great, thank you. We had a sweep in November and December for those businesses that hadn't complied with that. There's still some outstanding. How are we doing with the Staples parking lot there? We're still trying to get contact owner information there. We're not getting any good owner information. We're going to try to get that. We're starting to comply. I do know that that parking lot is neglected severely. Yeah. We've got missing stop signs. I know the pavement is all chopped up. The parking stalls have doubled. We have graffiti on the back of the buildings. Have fines been issued for any of that? Yes, we've had some open cases. We had some justice questions issued. And... We had some pending things in Justice Court, but I'm not sure. We'll have to talk to Victoria with respect to what's happening with it. Okay. Might be a good candidate for a Supreme Court action. That's what it sounds like. Yeah. Because they've neglected that for... For years. Years, yeah. Yeah. And that's not the look that we want for our town. Oh, absolutely not. Yeah. Plus, it's unsafe if you're trying to pull out of there and there's no stop sign. A lot of people are just running that... Running that because there's no stop sign there. So I've seen maybe a couple accidents almost happen right there. So... All right. Moving forward to December. Rich, I just want to ask one thing. Yeah. It says since January... This is all just January of 2024, right? 135 cases as of January 1st, 2024? The bottom there? CE has approximately 100. And then November? Oh, November. November. [transcription gap] Oh, November. It says approximately 135 cases still under investigation. Yes. Is that... Just from 2024? That's just 2024. Okay. Is that a total number of all cases? That's what I was asking. No. No. That's just... Those are just carrying on. Those... Those ones are still open. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Okay. And those are usually open from the prior two months. So... We really don't have a lot of cases open from January through October. It's mostly October through November. Okay. All right. [transcription gap] December, we've opened 95 new complaint investigations. The end of year... I'll do that because this is December... We've totaled 651 complaints open from January, 2024, to December. So, 651. Categories for the Decembers... We're... We have... [transcription gap] totaled 651 companies open January 24 to December. So 651. Categories for the December's were you know we had commercial site plans, we had three overcrowded houses, rental verifications we had 24, residential no building permits we had nine, unsecured buildings we had one. We had 158 cases still on our investigation from January 1st through December. So we closed some out, we opened some new ones, gives you a bigger number. Summonses, we issued approximately 63 summonses, 27 notice of violations for the month of December. Total summonses the end of the year were approximately 715 summonses. Some of the categories for the summonses were no rental permits, no building permits, no certificate of occupancy, parking in the front yard, litter, importation and exportation of materials. Unlawful signs, weeds, rubbish, violations of your commercial site plan, unsafe buildings and structures, shopping carts, unregistered vehicles, setbacks and violations in your property maintenance code and some zoning infractions. Rental properties, we inspected 113, we had a total of 113, and we had inspected 113 residential type structures, which would be the houses and 45 apartment units. End of year inspections, we from January 2024 to December, we approximately inspected 2,500 rental units. Month of December, we collected $41,525.00 in rentals. We also inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $2,000.00. We inspected $U.U.U.U.U.U.U.U.U.U.U.UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU The second one. Same numbers. So just make sure it's available for the press. So you get a lot more work. They're the same numbers. Yeah, I thought that went into the packet. There was a correction on the December 2nd page that I had submitted. All right. Any questions? How were your numbers? So you have your first full year behind you now for doing all the rental inspections. You did a great presentation about a year and a half ago in Old Town Hall and basically said, you know, here's what we need to do. Here's the potential for revenue. How are the numbers comparing, like in terms of what your expectations were? Are you on the mark? Oh, yes. How are we doing? We're pretty spot on with what we're receiving as rental fees, as far as what we thought. Since we, you know, definitely increased the fees, we also changed it to a year rental as opposed to two-year rentals. So, yeah. And those numbers reflected it certainly paying for the code enforcement officer that we hired to the additional. Yeah, absolutely. And then some. Yeah, and we increased the amount of rental inspections that we were doing. Right. So we needed that extra officer. The biggest thing, I mean, we love the revenue and everything else, but the biggest thing is that we are, we are battling safety in all the rental houses in there. By getting you in there on a yearly basis, we're making everything more safe. Correct. For all residents that are renting in the town. Yeah, I get it. That was a big thing, especially if a horrific fire did take place. The more we get you in there, the more we take look that we know that a smoke detector isn't just hanging down and taken apart. A battery died three years ago and, you know, you're not just going through the motion, you're physically walking through them. So I think that's great. Yeah, getting eyes on it annually as opposed to biannually is a big step. Yep. It's safety. Yep. Good work. Excellent, sir. Thank you so much. I had mentioned that I had a resident contact me about a house I'm waiting over Manor Road. I'll meet with you separately when you're feeling better. That's all right. I know the house. So we'll talk about it. It's a different one. Oh, you think? All right. Thanks. Not going on. Yeah. All right. Thank you. All right. Next up, we have matters surrounding the monthly. Town clerk report with Jim. Moot. This is going to be riveting. Those speakers are very sensitive. Back there it is. Not so much here. Yeah. Basically, December. I finish up in December. But this morning, I quickly looked at the numbers from my first year and from the whole year of 24. Although we had 247 FOIA routing. And I think it was in December. We had 2723 for the year 2024 that came through our office. Notably, and then handicap permits over 1,000. Marriage licenses, 352. Requests for certificates, 333. Now, Carol is a notary in my office. And a lot of people come to her or direct it to her. Right. And she's been doing that. And she had over 500 notaries. So. That she had to do. So, I've encouraged other departments to go ahead and maybe get some people. I'd be willing to pay for the notary stamp. But. So, the buildings were doing good. Andreas, I know he became a notary. And I think his staff is going to try to help alleviate some of that. Because that is distracting somewhat. Not to pull her away from what she's doing. Special permits. We've had over 63. Local law. This year. We had over 50. We had over 50. New local laws. That have been amended or updated. And, of course, we just got hit with the master plan. I know there's more coming next year. Right. But there's a lot of work involved with that. Between the postings and getting it to the state to get certified. And then back to us. And then getting that to the law books. To get them printed. So, we're almost done with them now. We'll have them out by the end of the week. The ones that we just went through. So, that's a lot of work with that. So, but all told. We had a. [transcription gap] We had a pretty busy, busy year. Which. And now, of course, couple that with the fact that we're looking at new software programs to accommodate, you know, the transcription services. And an easier way of conducting the whole minute thing. And voting. And tying it into the website. And the next request will fall through Civic Plus. And we're sitting through training seminars with that now. We just had our first kickoff meeting last week for the agenda. And then the management program. And then the week before that for the next request. Which is the FOIA package. So, I mean, it's all moving forward. And we're hoping that. For those meaning, it looks like we're looking like probably by June. We should be up and running with everything. You know, which is really going to be neat. Even complete. Which we're really looking forward to. And we got some. I know we got some fees that were. We definitely made the justification for small increases. In some of the local fees. Dogs. One of one dollar to ten dollars. Just so much easier. But it. Dogs. We were due for dogs last year. I pay rent out. We did for dogs. Nine hundred and seventy four dogs. We either licensed or renewed last year. We did have a practice that I stopped. North Fork welfare animal league that we contract with. They handle our dogs. And also South Pole does. For the longest time. When somebody adopted a dog out of Riverhead. They would send it to us to be licensed. But it wasn't necessarily living in Riverhead. Right. And they made a practice of doing that by issuing what they call the temporary license. There's no such thing. So. I sent them a letter six months ago and said I will no longer license dogs that are harbored in Riverhead. Because I was sending out licenses to Ron Conklin. Connecticut. [transcription gap] I was all over the place. I said I'm not. I can't be sure that it was North Fork where animal shelter in Riverhead that adopted the dog out. But. In any case I just told them I look. I will put you in contact with all area clerks. And you know you. You live in Ron Conklin and you want to buy a dog in Riverhead. Get your license from Ron Conklin. And then come in and make that part of the redemption. And that worked out well because it was kind of a lot of work. And I. And the whole. The whole thing wasn't the work involved with licensing. The work for me was I have no control over that. So. From that point on. I don't. And the state gave up their database. So. Yeah. If your dog is running around on a concomitant like they run the tag through the numbers that come up. We don't know where this dog belongs. So. And let's have a chip. So. So it all comes down to just being the whole idea behind licensing is to keep up with the shots and make sure that it is vaccinated. And you can't do that if I don't have control. Of my. Town. So. So we stopped that practice. So the dog licenses may come down a little bit. But we still have sportsman kennel over there which is good for about 500 dogs a year. So. I just want to clarify as a board member for the North Fork Animal Welfare League. Nobody buys a dog from the league. They adopt the dog. Adopted. Well I know I have two of them. So. Yeah. I just want to put that out there. All right. I should have known that because I was instrumental in bringing them and privatizing that stuff way back when. So I should have known that. But. But that was it. We're down a bilingual clerk. So I'm glad that you said this committee because that seems like a nice place to go to help maybe find some people who may be interested. Yes. To come. It's a few hours a day. 11 to 2 30. So it's perfect in the middle of the day if someone wants to come and help us with the marriage licenses and vital records and language barrier really. But we have a large as you know Spanish community. Hispanic community and the language barrier. Although we have our phones and we you know we just it's nice to have a friendly face there. So do we still have the person we hired. No. Well you had to leave. She she came for a few years for about three or four weeks. She loved it. She appreciated it. But she had a chance to advance at the hospital where she was working and that moved her to a day to daytime towards a daytime shift which she wanted. See this is what we talk about with the town in terms of payment. You know. We're constantly hiring because people are leaving finding better employment. Yeah. Well she was at the hospital anyway working nights. So this is nice for her. We we but that when she went straight day she because I and it will talk about the fee structure. That's not a. But I think it's a nice fit for somebody. I mean it's 17 half hours a week. The middle of the day. I mean so I think we'll find people. And like I said if I go to. We just some of the churches and maybe something from that committee. Absolutely. We are advertising through personnel now but I know it's I can I can picture the fit in my head. Yeah. Just touch on if you don't mind me asking again the total FOIL requests for the year. For 2024 was two thousand seven hundred and twenty three. The public. And that's not that doesn't include police. Yeah. Because they get their own. Right. So the public just needs to know and what this amounts to. And hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not only does it start in terms of hours with your department but then it goes to the legal department. Then it goes to each individual whether you whether you're foiling stuff from the building department of planning department. Tell me what all those individuals. When it comes to us we disseminate and find out where it has to be routed to. We generate the course the letter that says it's been sent where it has to go. But we do the follow up too because who they're going to call two weeks later when they haven't heard back from the call us. I have to relook it up and find out what's going on. But it's a good thing. Yeah. Yeah. And it is it is an extreme cost to the tax base. Oh it is. And I just hope that we can somehow narrow down specifically more of what what people are looking for as opposed to these broad spectrums that encompass the last one I think I got was over 3000 emails. It's just it's it's way too broad of a spectrum and it's unbelievable hours. Well that's that's part of our discussion with next request how that can have you can streamline it even finer than that. Because. It. I. I was never aware of this ever. I mean. No I didn't. And that's it's a lot of money. So when you look at our yearly budget what we are to spend what we take away from people from doing. Oh and this is a service that we do it. I'm just thinking not only time and effort but you're talking about database and all that other stuff that's getting caught now. So I blame the local media that we're going to vote. Oh I'm sorry. I think it's important to point out that it's really not not the journalists that are. That are the heavy hitters for a lot of the foil. So no it's just regular residents of the community that are. Well I think it's abused a little bit. Yeah. You got people that are expecting you to do their title searches for them or to do their you know liens and all that. That it's a lot of it's being used to circumvent maybe a different process. So it does get cumbersome. We we won't do a foil for those people. I know. For their title searches. They'll come and ask oh yeah they'll come and ask is there any liens on the property. I need a map. I need a. Is there. A lot of real estate. I'm just saying there's companies that do all of this stuff. A lot of realtors come in they want to have their COs. I'm just saying there's companies that do all of this stuff. They want to hold their tax. Okay I just want to say that's not me. No I know. No no I know. I'm not saying that. I'm like there's a. I like want to sink down in my chair. There's a lot of realtors that want to hold their COs if there's active permits if there's all. There's companies though that people can hire to do all of it. I know but they'll come in with a whole list of one and fill out foils for all you different properties just to you know get somebody else to do their background check. Yeah we're on our way to set up a program to charge for those services. For that reason. Yeah. It's just it's becoming an enormous cost for the taxpayers. It is a lot of work. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of employees involved in one solution. My office first thing in the morning we come in and first thing we go to we look at EDRS to find out if any deaths came in because that's important to certify them and we look at foils. That's the first thing we look at. So we're not holding up funeral homes. We're not holding up people who we want to meet suffering. Yeah. So. Unfortunately the law is the law and we have to. Yes. We have to do it. Oh I don't mind doing it. I'm just saying it's got to be an easier way. It is a it takes a lot of resource to do it. So you know it's one of those things that you know it's like unmade unfunded mandates where you know you got to do it but nobody says okay but we'll give you money to hire somebody to do just that because honestly we could have somebody almost do this full time. Well you know and ours is although we're inundated with it it's the easy part. I mean we just disseminate around it pretty much. I feel sorry for the building department who I know have 140 in the queue and you got Heather I think that's all she does. She has to go downstairs. I mean she can handle it. She can probably close out maybe five a day, ten a day. I know there's 140 people waiting. And that's just that's the flow. You know I'm down to 130, I'm back up to 140. And then it goes through the town attorney's office. Right. And they have to review it. But anyway so. But that's all. That's all. I didn't mean to. It's been a great first year really and I've been looking forward to getting that new software going and getting those minutes going on and make it easier for you guys. We're going to try to get you all vote buttons so you can just vote yes or no. Did you print out something for us to share? Maybe even Justin can put it on channel 22 that there is a job opportunity for bilingual position. Yeah. Ashley did. I'll see what Ashley. Advertise that right away. Yeah. Ashley said she did that so I've got to find out how she did that. Share with us and I'll put it out too. Good. Good. I was going to try to grab one of those guys. Yeah. We'll make sure they get it. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think the last one we got was from one of the local churches. Joanna I think came from a local church. Perfect. Appreciate your time. I told you we'd be visiting. Thank you sir. Thank you. [transcription gap] Adoption. [transcription gap] state park yeah it was great I hope it really works out a lot of work went into that I think you lost a stellar job I feel like it was a bad thing and he's so young yeah that's great I feel bad that you have to do this because it's just making you know you just changing one right now another that's just the way it works yeah so very briefly I don't want to waste anybody's time these are the likes or the last hangovers and we'll housekeeping from our massive code amendments from the comprehensive plan I believe there's five sections here I think I found everything that was left so it's very very simple it's one of the mini packet that I sent you is for the compoundable growth area that deals with pine barrens it really just