Full Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. We're here for a town board work session. As we start all of our meetings, would we please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. All right, before we get started with the work session, I'm going to turn it over to Councilwoman Waski regarding an award for our Riverhead Litter Committee. Thank you, Supervisor. So we have someone here today that has demonstrated to be so helpful with our Anti-Litter Committee. Two times a year we have a spring and fall cleanup, a town-wide cleanup, and Fred Marsland of Riverhead comes and helps us every day. Every time. He is the first one there, the last one to leave. He even goes back the next day and picks up more garbage, and he's just so helpful. And we have a certificate of appreciation for you. Fred, if you could come up so that we can take a picture with you, with the board. Thank you. [transcription gap] Thank you so much. [transcription gap] Thank you, Fred. Okay, first item we have up today are matters surrounding an update on the Agricultural Advisory Committee, which is Bob Kern's liaison. So in our audience, we have maybe one or two farmers here from the local area. And go ahead. Yeah, so who would like to come up to the table? I know Julie.

This is not a trial. We do have police code enforcement and our legal team in the back. There you go. In case we need to be escorted out. And one million viewers on TV. It will be wonderful, Greg. That's pretty good. Everybody went to hair and makeup? Oh, yeah, they did. I love it. Okay. Just for you, Bob. Thank you. It's so great to see all the farmers here in the room. It is. It is good to see you. It's good to see you. A lot of old-time families here. The protectors of the vistas. Well, you know, first, thanks. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to come down and, you know, talk about some of the issues and things facing the Riverhead agricultural community. You know, as we all know, I think this community is a pretty important part of the town of Riverhead. You know, we want to see it continue and thrive. It's becoming more and more difficult. It's becoming more and more difficult. You know, business-wise and things beyond the town scope and that. But there are a few concerns in the town. I guess things we see that, you know, we'd like to address. Concerning, you know, setbacks of barns, you know, being unrealistic, thousand-foot setbacks, things like this. It's very costly. Some of the things that came up in the hotel code. I mean, hopefully that won't happen again in the future. One particular project where the guy's going to do indoor growing. There's a thing that, well, it must be grown in the soil after it's grown indoors. Which makes absolutely no sense at all. Financially, from a food safety perspective. I mean, as you know, I was fairly large lettuce grower. It's diminishing every year. But, you know, food safety. You know, keeping any kind of animal out of the field is very important. And. You know, whether it's deer, geese, birds, woodchucks, you name it. Woodchucks. Growing it indoors, obviously, they can get away from some of that. I don't know how feasible that stuff is. It's very expensive. It's not something I'm looking at to do. But, you know. But it's an option to build. Right. Right. And that's some of the things we're concerned about is, you know, the perception that agriculture has always been, you know, potatoes and vegetables. Well, you know, look around time. That's disappeared. I mean, to find that stuff, you have to look hard. It used to be everywhere. And it's, agriculture is changing. I don't know what it's going to bring in the future. Myself, you know, I don't really care for the retail business. I'd be loving to load two tractor trailers every night like we used to do. That's just not feasible anymore. So we've gotten into retail. We haven't done agritourism. But this seems. I don't want to do that. There are operations that do that to subsidize their farming habit. And, you know, that the town needs to be looking at that, that, you know, we can continue with that kind of stuff without too much restriction. Some of the events that people hold, I understand that, you know, there needs to be rules and things to follow. But let's not have that be overburdensome, you know, going forward. And I think that's what we need to do. Bill, can I just say, you brought up the vertical farming. And I'm very familiar with the way that code was written. And I'm very much against that. It's counterintuitive to grow indoors. And then when it gets to a certain point, transplant it outside. That code was not written with farmers involved. So I think that code needs to be looked at. And also the setbacks. And the fear that there was going to be vertical farmers everywhere. And to your point, the expense to do it is. Incredible. Number one, the energy to do it is incredible. Especially in New York. And I just had this conversation with Cornell yesterday. Somebody from Cornell yesterday. That the only way to really get that done is with solar. You know, if you don't have solar, the electrical expense in New York makes it a very difficult situation. So thanks for bringing that up. And one other quick thing. How do you see tariffs affecting? Oh, well. I'm just curious. Has that been on? Honestly? 35% for Canada isn't enough. I mean, I could give you all kinds of stories about. Your lettuce story is incredible. I tell that everywhere. It's not just lettuce. I know. I mentioned it because that's what I grew. It's potatoes and it's everything else. The vegetable industry in Canada is subsidized pretty heavily. Here it's not. And the exchange rate on the dollar has been 30 to 35% for many years. The last time I looked, I think it was last week. It's 42%. So they're getting 42% more than I can get. And the supermarkets and wholesale buyers. They're saying to me, Phil, we want the local product. We love your stuff. But you have to compete. I can't. Right. I can't. And that affects the pricing. And that affects everybody. And that is part of the reasons a lot of the vegetable farms and stuff have disappeared around here. I mean, it takes me two hours to get to New York Market. It takes them six. We're there the same day. Right. So the freight, it's really not a big deal at all. And again, I worked with them. When NAFTA. The first passed. And I know these farmers. They're good people. I'm willing to compete with them. But you've got to put us on a level playing field. I mean, when NAFTA passed, they were literally laughing. But, you know, chuckling anyway. And I don't blame them. They had this opportunity like crazy. And they capitalized on it. And a lot of people don't realize this all started with NAFTA. And the fact that the current administration is trying to level that. And I think a lot of people don't understand that. That was done in 92 NAFTA. Right. You know, when you read up on it and understand it. Right. And it puts people like you in your situation. Having to go to retail or having, you know, events. And I know because having been in this business here in Riverhead, you know, that's you need to supplement your business. Right. And I don't want to speak to other businesses how it affects them. But, you know, they talk about, oh, it could have raised the price of chips. It could raise the price of lumen. You know, well, how about we become dependent on the other countries for our food? Yeah. That's a good. You know, think about that. Yeah. And that's what's happening, you know. And they really have us. Again, this is, you know, beyond what you guys can do here for us today. But that's, you know, it's really affected. One of the things that's really affected. So how can we get a very specific list of items, you know, from you specifically that we need to work on that we need to make better to help our farmers? Right. Yeah. [transcription gap] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. because we know that you as a town board have always been supportive of the farmers and we appreciate the great working relationship that we have and we want to continue that way but my suggestion is AG advisory has been meeting regularly and we've been talking about specific issues so why don't the AG advisory committee come up with very specific things going forward to submit to you as as a board in general that we could start having more dialogue on and continue to work on one of the things that that I see is as Phil mentioned agriculture is evolving the farmers have no choice but to evolve and that means changing from a preconceived notion of what farmers were 40 years ago to what they are today but also where they're going we see brand new crops coming in that have never been in the river had before you look at maybe some some cannabis we talk about hops and the proliferance of breweries we have a great wine industry fruit and vegetable horses all of that is already in Riverhead but the question is where do farmers go and having done this for a long time we recognize that the best way to keep the farmland in production is for farmers to be profitable if farmers are profitable they're going to want to continue to farm and continue to grow the products they want to be left alone they don't want more people coming in telling them how to do things and if we can find ways with your support to say okay farming is transitioning how can the farmers be profitable that will take the pressure off us having to preserve everything right away if if we have to preserve all the unpreserved land you're looking at four or five hundred million dollars and there's no way that the town can come up with that so while we're taking little bits and pieces of preservation and and dealing with them we still need to find a way to keep the critical mass in production so that there is time for the town and the county and everybody else to continue to do this work. We're going to continue to do the preservation work there's no question that agriculture provides that role character in Riverhead and we want to see it continue and I think many of the residents as well as you want to see that role character still be here so we're eager we're ready to start having these conversations and we'll put something together for you that's a little bit more comprehensive. You're coming right into another planting season beginning so let's try to do what we can immediately so let's not dwell on it too long come right forward. Of course. These are our ideas that we need to get forward if there's something that we can do certainly to help you with this season right now then let's do it right away. Awesome thank you. I guess one of the other things we'd like to address is the John Kinsella property in in Waiting River. Yeah. [transcription gap] I'm going to hand it off to Julie because she's an expert on it. Sure. Yeah. So this would be something you actually could do right now. This has been kicking around for a couple months and just haven't gotten a response so I just want to bring it back to your attention. This is a map of Waiting River and all the parcels outlined in different colors were part of a farmland preservation effort that the land trust worked on for quite a few years and I'm happy to share that with you. I'll just head over to you so she's clear. All of them are now preserved. Oh, that's good. So that's a nice big chunk of river.

Let's see what's around. So one of the properties we worked on was this property right here, which was formerly owned by John and Bill Zuma. And the property had site plan approval on it for a shopping center. So there was some concern at the time of the site plan approval because you could have a shopping center on the portion along 25A, and they also could have had homes on the back portion. So there was an agreement as part of the site plan approval that an open space easement be placed on the back portion, and the shopping center would go on the front portion. You know, to mitigate the impact on the whole community. So the open space easement was really created simply in the context of the shopping center. So if we fast forward to December 2023, the land trust purchased the development rights of the property and, you know, the right to the shopping center. And we preserved it. We had a lot of work with an agricultural easement allowing for farming there. And so, you know, at that point, the shopping center is not going to be built. It will never be built, which is great. And, you know, so in a sense, the need that the open space easement was addressing, like no longer exists because the shopping center will never happen. Currently, the property is now owned by the farming family, the Kinsellas. And they would very much like to be able to farm, you know, the entirety of the property. So since the land trust already holds the agricultural easement on the front portion, we're willing to take on the responsibility of monitoring and enforcing, you know, an agricultural easement on the whole property. whole property so you know from a practical standpoint it makes sense right like one landowner one easement holder one consistent set of restrictions on the property Joanne you probably remember there was there was another condition of the site plan approval like a cross access agreement that planning were terminated because once we purchased the development rights you know the shopping center is not going to happen there was no reason for the cross access agreement so nobody's asking that you know the the easement just go away and you be able to put the homes there or something like that we're just looking to transition it from one set of restrictions based on open space to a different set of restrictions which would allow for the agricultural use of the property yeah I know that councilwoman Mary feels that the property is not going to be able to be used for the same purpose so she's asking she's asking she's asking she's asking and we met with Mr. Kinsella and walked the property. Okay. Councilwoman, what was the, there was something with the state. Yes. The state superseded. I spoke with Deputy Town Attorney Anne-Marie Prudente, familiar with this, and it's already, that land is now preserved as open space property. Correct. And it can't, by our town board, be changed to anything else. The action would have to take place on the state level. I will explain that it would be something that is beyond the town board's authority to do so. It was, otherwise, it's a taking. And she, I had given him the section, and I apologize because I didn't know you were going to speak to this today. I don't know if Ms. Prudente is available in the building, but I had even given him, what? Okay, she's on her way down. Okay. I had even given him the section of the state constitution that referred to it. Okay. So I'll let her speak. I'll speak to it more specifically. I mean, easements are bread and butter at the Land Trust. This is what we've been doing for 41 years, and we have several attorneys, one just for our easements. She works all over the country, and she wouldn't have let us present this as a potential solution here if there was any sort of legal impediment to it. What is the easement for? Like, in terms of access, is there a project behind? Like, when you're just speaking about the easement on the property, do you want to farm on the easement? Is that what they're asking for? Yes. Yes, exactly. So still completely projected. Once, you know, no houses, just allowing for an aggregate lease. But does it block, by him doing that, does it block access to any particular other? It's not that type of easement. No, it's not. It's not an access. [transcription gap] So when they say open space, open space prohibits agriculture. Okay. And only allows, like, no use whatsoever. Okay. Where agriculture allows agriculture for open space, basically, but no, like, more intensive uses. Right. Okay. I understand. That's why I was just thinking, like, is there something behind there that you, that, okay. No. Okay. Thank you. Ann Marie, we're talking about the Pinzella property. I know you're very familiar with it. The question is, is the state? Yes. Does the state have to do something to allow this land to be formed? As opposed to the town board. As opposed to the town board. The town does. It's the town. Okay. I've understood that we can't change this. I understood it had to be done by the state, not the town. That's not correct. Oh, okay. By the town. So what do we got to do to help them? Well, so the town board basically has to talk about it. What you're doing is you're taking a piece of preserved open space that, Eve is right, cannot be formed. And quote, doesn't have value. And you're converting it to a piece of property that now does have value. So. So we have the ability as a town board to go with the conic land trust and allow farming on that piece of property? Town board can do what it wants with the understanding that you're granting land to the town board. I have no clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear 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 Can I also mention something? My understanding was because the prior owner, Mr. Zumis, had already gotten value from this property. Could you explain that portion? Sure. So when the state of New York evaluates a piece of property, they do it based upon the highest and best use, the yield. I forget the name of the project. Square? Vienza. Central Square. The name of the site. Thank you. So when the state valued that, they valued it at the highest and best use, which was the site plan. That site plan required the sterilization of the BAC 9 to get that intense yield on the site plan. Okay. Right. If they were able to get that point of point of point of point of get 100 more seats in their restaurant by sterilizing that person on the property, you'd be absolutely correct. But that's not my understanding of what happened. They could have had the shopping center. They got what they could get. They could have had homes. The open space easement eliminated rates to the homes. So it didn't increase the value of what they got out of the shopping center. So I am not going to challenge the planning board. That was a planning board approved site plan. And their site plan, in order to get that, quote, development project, required the sterilization of the back nine. Okay, so the project... So it doesn't exist anymore. The development project is gone. Correct. And the then owner was paid the value of the entire project. And by selling, by doing what? Selling the development rights? Yes. So the state of New York did an appraisal. They had an approved site plan.

Heist and Bass use, they looked at it. Based upon the site plan, this is what could be developed. And then they were paid by the state for that. Okay, so then, I'm sorry. They were paid by the land trust. Oh, that's right. Sorry, sorry. I apologize. Okay. So the downside to allowing this to be farmed now is exactly what to us, to the town? It's just whether or not the town determines. Are you gifting yield to someone? The yield isn't going back, though. The yield, you know, it's still getting protected. The residential yield is still going to be gone. Farming is not a yield. So right now, it's open space. There's no value. Agricultural production is commercial. And, quote, commercial property is you're now planting, harvesting, quote, to make a profit. I mean, it's business. I understand that, but me personally living in Wading River, I'd like to see and keep that farm and that agricultural aspect of Wading River. And I don't really. I see the issue or a downside of allowing them to farm on that land. I see they're doing some work now, and it's kind of already cleaning up the aesthetics in the front looks of the property as you're going by in Wading River. It looks nice. So the front area is farmland. Yeah. And so then they're working on that. Because they're by the land trust. I understand about the conceptual, but as long as that, if what we're doing is in our perfectly legal steps to allow it, then I'd like to keep the, you know, I'd like to give them the opportunity to be able to farm in on that region. And keep it keep it agricultural. Because obviously it was it's right next to CVS up there. So you've got this you've gone from shopping center to farm. So I like that, that it's not just a continuation of more commercial stores that seem to often struggle in Wading River. So it would be great for this individual farmer at this point in time, obviously, but it's going to contribute to, you know, more landmass of agricultural lands in the town forever. And should it ever not be farming? I mean, it's still preserved land. Right. So it has the, you know, so, you know. My concern is, I'm sorry, my concern is, is the town then gifting this? Yeah. So we're giving a gift. So if he doesn't own the land, then he's not paying taxes on it. But if he's going to get value on it. The town is gifting yield on a property. Does Mr. Gonzalo own the land? Yes. Does he pay taxes on it? Presumably. I believe he does. Is there a different tax rate from ag land? To open space? Yes. What's the difference? I'm sorry. I wish I had the number. I'm not an assessor. I'm thinking it's not very much. Well, let's convert it to agriculture. No, I think you're getting an agricultural tax exemption. You know, how is it a gift if we're getting more tax dollars to the town? I mean, if we're getting something back. But that's one question. But the second question is, you have, Meconic Land Trust has already deemed this agricultural land. Did I understand you correctly? The agricultural easement is on half the property. Okay. Is there any reason why the farmer couldn't farm the entire piece of property? Yes, because. I just want to hear from the land trust. I'm sorry. I mean, you know, from like the actual physical characteristics of the property. It has good soils. It's level. It would be great. It fits in. Obviously ties in with the, you know, operation on the farm. But it's not a good property. It's not a good property. It's not a good location on the front. It would make much more sense if the entire property could be farmed. I mean, yes, currently they can't because of the open space. Right. But the land trust would sanction them farming the entire piece is my question. Yeah, we would definitely support that. It was a farm before Zuma started, right? Yeah. It's historically always been farmed and had been part of the Kinsella. But it had always been part of the Kinsella family going back in the, going back many, many. Generations. Which is one of the beauties of this whole thing is that it's really, you know, I mean, as Phil was saying, over time it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep bag operations going. And this is almost putting one back together a little bit and really, you know, increasing their chance for success in the future. But we're talking about gifting it to the farmer, but I also think it's a gift to all the residents. Yeah. And it keeps the, you know, keeping the agricultural heritage alive and it keeps the aesthetics of it as opposed to, you know, farming is also beautification. I mean, that's just, there is that when you're traveling to say, this is the town that I live in and I've settled along it, do everything we can to keep the agricultural heritage. I think that the gift is really to everybody. So if it's just about, you know, if it's about specifically giving the right to the farmer to plant it, I think it increases the aesthetics of the whole community as a whole, especially, like I say, living away from my past property. Yeah. [transcription gap] Yeah. [transcription gap] Yeah. Yeah. give me the opportunity to research and advise the town board that's but i'd also say let's do our best to find a way to see yeah and i'm i'm with that as well i mean this has been going on way too long and the land trust paid to preserve it you have an attorney and if there's any question what i would like to do is have your attorney speak with our attorney that's going to advise us so that you know there he would be amenable to that this is a covenant that the this town board would have to quote undo and vote to undo so that legal advice should come from council not outside in the term i'm not asking for their counsel to counsel this board i respect the fact that you will counsel this board but if there's any conflict i'm saying that's what i'm saying i'm saying that's what i'm saying i'm saying that's what i'm saying i'm suggesting that you then have a conversation with their attorney that's all okay to understand both sides that's all i'm saying i think at the end of the day it comes down to the issue that this property has already been value was given to this property to an individual and to now give it back to be able to form it puts a value back on this property where technically there is none where it's just open space and space for the property to be able to form it but it's also a space and nothing can be done with it and i remember hearing the term double dipping when it came to this um but i think and i know your concern for the town has always been the town it's difficult for the town to give things out to the community because there's a benefit to certain people that are going to receive from this but not the entire community but i think what bob said makes a lot of sense that by gifting this back and giving the the farmer the right to form it it's a benefit it is a benefit to the entire town as opposed to just the person that's going to form it and i think we if we can explain that publicly to the people of the town i can't imagine anybody having an issue with this happening so the farmers can get back to forming and so you can tell the family can use that property instead of just staring at it we we do we evaluate special permits and we evaluate special permits all the time can it be something in the form of a special permit granting them the rights to do it so that's why i want to examine it and it's critical for this town board not to set a precedent to quote give yield where none exists i understand farming is supported throughout the town and it's probably much more unique than commercial but you don't want to ever put yourself in a situation where somebody's viewing it that you already set a precedent that's right we will give you the opportunity to research and and educate us further on this but uh with the mindset and i'm not speaking for the entire board but from what i've heard here so far it sounds like we would all support somehow trying to make this happen so that the gonzalo family can form that property i understand everybody benefits from that and the taxpayers we get some additional tax payers and we get some additional tax payers and we get some additional tax payers and we get some additional revenue on property that more than what they're getting exactly and how many other properties are like this and that would be affected like this in riverhead just so for clarity i mean but this i mean this is a very unique situation where where there was a project that was based on that open space being there so how many other i'd be very surprised you know it could potentially be dozens because pursuant to our town code we require so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so Let me ask this question. How many farmers in the room would even take advantage? I mean, everybody that's farming, how many farmers are looking to increase the amount of land they're farming right now? This is another question to this. I don't see people jumping and buying additional land to farm. Land is expensive. It takes a long time to work that. What's key is what you just said. Buy. You used the word buy. All right, but if that would bring in additional tax revenue, I could ask that question. How many people would continue to take up the land to farm on it? Could I take a crack at that? Again, we're talking about today, in today's world, in today's place and time. But as I said earlier, we need to start thinking about the future and how much farmland is there going, how much land is there going to be in the United States as other lands get developed, as we deal with droughts in California, as we deal with climate change and other scenarios. And is it possible that the day comes, not too distant in the future, that we actually need more farmland and the idea of turning some, where it's applicable and where there's good farmland, some of those open space clusters, into farmland to generate more farmland for our future is something that needs to be considered and needs to be thought about. I see a prevalence of very young people and new people that are looking to come into agriculture that are looking for five-acre parcels or ten-acre parcels which fit their size operation. The creation of new farmland could be a possibility if the day comes when some of these situations come to fruition. I'm not saying that it's right or that it's the best for everybody, but on a case-by-case basis, the option is there and it could be something the town board would like to consider. Well, I'm going to just say this. The one thing I was very happy about during COVID was when, you know, when we knew we could go to a farm stand and get food. You know, we had that ability. People in Queens didn't have that ability. You know, they couldn't go to a retail like yours, Phil, and get, and I've watched it. I can remember back in the late 90s when there was hardly any farmers having to put retail on their farms and how it just grew and grew and grew and grew and grew, and I knew exactly why it was happening. But Gonzalo Family in Wainey River, I feel like, has always battled their support. They've been there. They've been there. They've been surrounded by all those homes, and it's like I feel like they're the last force of pushing off development in there from both sides of 25A. That's accurate. Yeah, they're being surrounded, and I want to support this fight. I want to be, because it's the gateway to Riverhead. It's what you come in. It's the initial impression that I've arrived in Riverhead, and now I'm traveling east, you know, from the west, and I'd like to keep that as that view, and I just think that I look at the property right now. It's not been developed. It's not a grand aesthetic view. To me, it just looks like a vacant lot, but I think if we can get crops on there and grow them, we can show good farm production, and I think that's also healthy and benefit and beautification for Riverhead overall. And you have the next generation, John Jr., that wants to come back and farm with his family. Right, it's a place for him to work. He needs that access to that land because it's tough enough to farm on limited acreage, and that extra nine or ten acres will make a big difference, and him being able to continue the family operation. I love that farm. It's right down the home. Every day I go past, it's beautiful. I love the strawberries. I get the strawberries from them every year. I love the area that he's taken over on the other side by CVS, and I know he wants to grow hops because the trees will protect the hops. That's why he wants those back nine acres. I just want to make sure we're doing this, that we're not setting the wrong precedent, so taking a step. And I was under the impression that this would have had to been changed. I think it was a little bit of a change at the state level, because that's what I had advised him and given information to him on. No, it's town level. It's a covenant that was put in place by the planning board. We can do it. Let's find a way. I just have one more question. So you keep saying he was gifted that property? He didn't pay anything for it, the Konzella family? No. You're saying he was gifted the property, but he's paying tax. No, no. The issue was there was nine acres in the front, nine acres in the back. Zumis got the value all put up in the front, and then he sold it back. He's in some sort of agreement. Zumis is now in agreement with the Konzellas. My point is that's what the supervisor is referring to, the term double dipping. Zumis, not the Konzellas. I would say the Zumises were paid about $2.5 million less. I'm just saying that the land deal, the arrangement was. . . Well, the Konzellas now own it. They purchased it from the Zumises. That's completely done. All right. I have my marching orders. Okay. Let's find a way. Thank you. Yes. If we can. Thanks, Ann. Just briefly, one last thing. I know we've been talking probably for two years now about. . . No, but I like this. This is good. Combining our committees, the preservation committee and the ag advisory committee. Actually, Rob and I met with Joanne the other day. We're going to have a joint meeting together and discuss the feasibility of maybe doing something like that or not feasibility or whatever. So we'll support whichever direction you want to go. It's a decision you guys have to talk about and make. I want to be done being the chairman of this committee. Come on, Phil. And I think lastly we wanted to invite all of you for a farm tour this season. We would love to, through Farm Bureau, we'd love to be able to put together like a little tour of Riverhud's farms. They do so often for out of the area, out of state policymakers. And you probably haven't even been to all of our farms. So while the weather's good, we would love to host you even if you have a morning or however long you have for that. I would love that. We could do that. Who do we go through to arrange that? You? I'll take care of it. Do you want to do it together or do you need to do it separately? I think something like that I believe we can do together. I don't think we're not making any decisions on anything. It's only education. Technically it would be open to the public. So if the press wanted to join along, they could. We could do that. Yeah. Okay. Anything else? I think the only other thing was the TDRs and CPF money. Yeah. I'd like to get the TDR program going and workable. I don't know what else to say about it. It's a challenge. Yeah. It is a challenge. I think the first step is to get the bank set up and go from there. So there's been, I've had conversations with the accountant on how that would work and we'll continue that conversation with the TDR committee. There is a process to make that work. We've had one meeting with planning so far. We need to have another one like ASAP. I spoke to them yesterday. They said, you know, we need to make this work. I don't want to belabor this with units versus square footage, blah, blah, blah. But we need to, Richard lines on the . Oh. Really sit down and get this done and get it done now. And find ways to fund the bank for future purchases. Yeah. So I think there's a lot of opportunity and a lot of great things. And thank you all again for the work on the comprehensive plan. Which has set the stage for us going forward. And that document is going to be monumental in us being able to do a workable functioning TDR program and work to preserve acreage as part of the bigger picture. And definitely the funds that are going to start coming in from the community preservation fund will help. We're also talking to Suffolk County and New York State. And I'm at a meeting. And I'm advocating personally and through Farm Bureau for trying to get money from the bond act to help purchase farmland to partner with Riverhead in some way, shape, or form in the county. The more dollars we can get here, the better efforts we'll have. And we've had conversations with Catherine Stark in regards to working together with the county. Because together we can maybe do more than we each can separately. So there's a possibility of a good relationship there. So I'm still looking at it. I just want to say, having been on the Act Committee for 15 years and continue as a liaison, you guys are amazing. Everything is just factual and, you know, it's beloved. Bob was one of the first settlers here. Yeah, I was here back when I came over on the Mayflower. Poor Bob. I'm young. [transcription gap] I'm learning. I think you know that this board supports the agriculture community. I mean, we need you. We love you. We have to have you. And we have always tried to do the right thing to help you. And having conversations like this is excellent. To have an open flow and see what we can fix. This Gonzella thing has been kicking around for years. So to now maybe bring it to a head and work on it and get it back in the right direction. This is great. It's great having this conversation in this type of forum. So thank you all for coming in. I know you all have much better things to be doing. But this is very important. First day of spring. Absolutely. First day of spring. I just have one quick question because we often get, you know, from the residents, oh, we want the farmland protected. We don't want to see any more development. Just am I being conservative in saying that 60% of the houses in Riverhead are on what we call the farmland? We're not talking about the farmland. We're talking about the land. We're talking about the land. We're talking about what's under améric's head. [transcription gap] where I used to ride I'd be riding right through your house because that was normal so when we used to get snow yeah so thank you because I every time I see a project where you know a farmer is sell you know they've got up options right if somebody options their property for a development and I see a big development I go okay there goes another piece that someone's not farming and it's going to be a development and they're going to come down on out the residents but hey they need to support the farmers as well yeah that's why we need legislation that helps us even with some of these things that are maybe not the norm what we're used to for me again like I said I didn't want to do retail you know what kind of force to I think you should have all the size well haven't done agritainment I don't want to but your kids might you know it's always challenging well yeah there you go go yeah right there you go anyway thank you thank you so much for having us thank you thank you thank you I appreciate it thank you I was going to remember was that last year or two years ago that was when Romaine came out right yeah when Romaine came out yeah good to see you yeah yes thanks I'll put that tour together that would be awesome I'll reach out to your office if I'm appropriate absolutely thank you thanks perfect thanks appreciate it

okay next up we have matters surrounding the monthly police report with T Frost thank you everybody for coming in you [transcription gap] ! you so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much The families, the generational farmers, the new farmers that have come out and continued the industry. Good stuff. And it's really good. The young farmers in Farm Bureau is growing, which is important. Awesome. The party's over. Chief. Okay. How are we going? February, obviously, we saw a drop in total incidents of almost 300. Wow. We also saw the number of criminal incidents drop by 22. And the non-criminal incidents is down as well. Because there's a new chief in town. I just do want to go over, if you go to page three, which is the Nibir's report, I do want to address two specific ones. Because if anybody sees it, they might be like, what's going on? So you see in January, the top robbery. And in February, we had three. We had... We had two instances. Both led to an arrest. One was down by the post office. And the other one was up by Middle Road area by one of our youth facilities in that area. All three subjects were arrested for that. Also, just addressing 220, burglary. It went from one to five. Working with the district attorney's office has been great. They're very good. Good partner to have, as everyone knows. So what we've been doing recently is someone goes into a store for pedant larceny. We issue them a notice of trespass. So they could get arrested that time for pedant larceny. But then that document takes away their right and privilege to enter the store moving forward. So once they have that signed against them, and these are more of the repeat offenders that the specific incidents are going on, the ones with eight. We have 29. We get to able to charge them with a felony of burglary third because now their right and privilege was removed legally. And now they're committing another crime within, which is another pedant larceny or grand larceny. So so four... I like that. ...of those of the five are those typed, you know, from Tanger, one of those box stores on 58. One was the burglary downtown by the historical center, which we made an arrest. He was actually still in the... ...Uno... ...Uno... it was 313 West Main. You know he was it was the individual was in there. So that being said. Chief, can I ask you, you just gave an address, can you say what building it was that they were in there? It's the new office, it's a gray house across the street from Suffolk Historical Society. Okay, yes. They spend real estate over the years. It's an office in there, the office is in there now and the police got there so fast the guy was still inside the place. The nonfatal and fatals. We didn't have any. In February. It says I have it. It's just a. Oh. I don't think you get that. I can. The rest of the information. I just wanted to really go over the you know those two main topics. And you can also see like the shoplifting has dropped a lot as well. I don't know. know if it's just due to the time of year, but our efforts, I think it was discussed and I think we put a press release out that we're working with the loss prevention of many stores now and putting actually details together to hopefully apprehend it while they're in progress. That way we're there. You're getting more in the stores. Yes, and then the stores are sending their loss prevention managers out so they will prosecute because a lot of the times with the stores, the local store has to contact a corporate loss prevention and a lot of times it goes back later on to be charged. Is your COPE unit helping in that? Yes. Well, the crime control is leading it and then obviously extra personnel is the COPE unit. I have to say, the DA, Ray Tierney, has the fact that he's done this, changed this to now three thefts basically is a felony? Is that? It could be. It could be. It depends on the really case-by-case basis, but like I said, taking it from a trespass affidavit and then the person returns back into a felony of a burglary, which is good. The last one did go to grand jury for it, so hopefully it works out. I love that. That's such a great setup to do that. Adding the trespass affidavit, get it signed, and now they're committing a crime when they go back in. Correct. While they're committing a crime. By committing a crime, if you will. Right. Yeah. Yep. And like I said, I think hopefully it's going to help out. Other than that, I don't really have anything else unless you guys have anything. Like I said, we're just moving forward. No, I keep hearing from the store owners downtown how happy they are with the 607, 608 guys. 608 and that spare unit, like if I have extra units. Going into the stores and stopping in. And you know, chatting with them, listening to them, helping them with issues. That feedback makes it all the way up here all the time and we really appreciate that. I'm down there weekly. You are. I was off last week. Do you know your chief is out there walking on the street? I'm like, yeah, we know that. We know that. We're very happy with that. It's good. It's good. You know, the businesses like it. It's good. You've got your, your patrol force likes it. They like seeing the chief out and about. And the business, yeah, you lead by example. Right. If I'm not going to do it, you know, why should they? 100%. But, you know, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. But the businesses do like it though because I actually speak to quite a few of them. So. Chief, what's good about the burglary charge too is it doesn't matter what you took for the pedal larceny. It doesn't have to be a certain property value. You can take the stick or gun. If you took, right, if you had no permission to be on that stone, you take it. It could be a very low level thing that you took and it's a felony. That's great. Yep. So that's like we've been working on with the DA's office. They're very receptive of it and, you know, they actually kind of brought it up, you know, as well. So we can do it. But on a crime note, those were the ones that were in the car. The motorcycles look sharp. Yes, the motorcycles are out for the first time. In the Janesport parade, they look good. I like the actually, I was going to ask Alex for the actual, the file for the motorcycle with the flag behind it. Which one? The motorcycles with the flag in Janesport. Nice pictures that were taken. Pictures. If you could just send that file to me, is that possible? I'd like to ask Denise about it. Okay. Please do because I'd like to actually, you know, put that up in the bill. Okay. Okay. It looked great. I'll send it to you on the website. Very nice. Okay. That's it. Do you have anything? Any questions? Excellent job, Chief. Thanks, Chief. Thank you very much. Have a good day. Yep. Okay. Next up, Matters Surrounding Monthly Code Enforcement Report with Investigator Downs. Good morning. [transcription gap] Do you have a permit for that computer? Could you check and see if that has it over there? Okay. Oh. Sorry. Call the team. You know. Alright. Do you have a handout? Yes. Okay. So, numbers are a little down for the complaints being recorded for February. We're down to 55. Not too much. I think. 25. [transcription gap] Some of the ones that I bullet pointed was unsafe illegal apartments, we had five. No CO complaints, we had five. Property maintenance violations, we had seven. Unregistered vehicles, we had four. And there's a bunch of others, but I won't go through them all. We have 123 cases still under investigation. We constantly eliminate some and regain some. So that number is pretty steady. We've issued 68 summonses and violations for the month of February. Violations such as no rental permits, no building permits, no COs. Accessory buildings without permits. Litter on commercial properties. Importation and exportation of materials. All of that. We've got some. Unlawful signs. Rubbish weeds. We had some swimming pool violations. Some of the people that have gotten permits have not gotten their COs, and that was some of the cases. We had a violation of approved site plan, unsafe buildings and structures, some property maintenance code violation, unregistered vehicles, and zoning use violations. Supreme Court actions, we haven't turned anything. We've got some new in February over to the town attorney's office, but we still have two cases pending. Rental properties, we've inspected 75 residential type structures and 65 apartment units in the town. We've collected $24,225 in fees for the month of February. Total revenue this year, $73,800 in rental fees. All right. That's about it. Rich, first I want to thank you for going out through the owner of the parking lot for Staples and West Marina's. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think that, I know it takes a long time, and I've gotten a number of complaints on that, and from what is my understanding that this will be done by the end of April, it's going to be repainted. Okay. Yes, that's great. Okay. Yeah. And Victoria was great in that too. I think she reached out to the actual owners. Is she here today? Yes. She's right there. She's right there. Thank you. The only thing I want to bring up, because I think it's important, is often, and I'm not going to name a specific project, but somebody gets slammed and it becomes a big press thing that they don't have a certificate of occupancy. But when you look at how many people are building without permits, do not have COs, and I also get that from constituents. Mm-hmm. And I say, you know, they're building without permits. Mm-hmm. Yeah. [transcription gap] But there's a lot of people out there, and code is on top of all of it. So ... Yes, we are. We are. Okay. Yep. Thank you for that. Appreciate it. And thank you for ... I always ... Longview, what was the name of that road? 12 Longview. Yeah. I'm sorry. I said the address out loud. Well, thank you. Thank you for that. It was on a public hearing, so ... Yeah. Yeah. And that took ... We started that, I think, back in October. I think they're starting the work this week, actually. Excellent. To clean that place up. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Very good. Good job. All right. Thank you. Thank you much. Appreciate the update.

Okay. Next we'll take Matters Surrounding Monthly Justice Court Report with Councilor Cerule. Good morning. How are you? Good morning. Good morning. Okay. Let's start off with item one. Does anyone need a copy of the February report? Wait. Oh, I have it. Now I have it. This is it. It looks like this. Okay. I don't have it. The February report. Okay. So we met three times in Justice Court in February. They canceled court February 18th because I was at Association of Towns. So this is just a reflection of three court dates. But nonetheless, we actually did extremely. Well, so you'll see fire marshals, the DJ next to it is default judgment. Those were for block egresses. Those were some companies from Tanger that just didn't appear. They don't appear to court twice over a four week period. I make an application for a default judgment, so it's not collected yet, but it is, you know, it was issued. Um, most of these that you see in blight medication are, um, companies from stores from Tanger. That did show up with council provided proof that the egresses were cleared in a swift manner. So they got a thousand dollar fine with a $65 surcharge. And this kind of takes me to the next item on the agenda. So I'll leave it at that. If anyone has questions about justice court, if not, but you want me to just flow through to the next. Go ahead. Um, and also for, uh, councilman Rothwell, uh, we started collecting the surcharges in March of 20. Yeah. Yeah. So next month I'll have the full one year reflection of. So we have 10, 11 more days in March and then we'll have the full year. Okay. One question on the surcharges. Do we have the ability to increase those on an annual basis? I mean, it's possible. I mean, by, by the same way they were, they were put into the code. I'm sure we can. Can we discuss that in what we're working on with looking at all the fines and, you know, adding, uh, you know, we, we, we need. Yeah. We need to do that. Otherwise 20 years from now, it's still going to be $65, which we'll buy you a stick of gum. Right. Okay. So I'll add that on the to-do list for that. I got a quick gum now. Store up stash.

So that's pretty much it. I just had a couple of parking trials. I had more trials in the month of March, which I'll talk about next month. Okay. There we go. So do we want to move on to that? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So as I was speaking about the, uh, fire marshal default judgments and also the blight mitigation, um, so right now as the entire fire marshal code is written, everything's a misdemeanor. So that's kind of problematic. Um, most business owners do not want to plead to misdemeanors, especially for example, what we went through in February, which were blocked egresses. A lot of it was black. They just kind of had racks in the back. By the time the ticket was issued, they removed them. In my personal opinion, you know, practicing both on the defense side and the prosecutor side. I don't really think that that rises to the level of a misdemeanor. And I think if somebody, you know, fixes it quickly, they deserve to be able to plead to a violation. Um, so. What we've been doing because there are no violations in the fire marshal code is, um, practice since before I got here. And. What. Has. Been. Done. Is we'll amend it to a littering ticket. So. For defense counsel and defendant, that's fine. But for the town, it, as I discussed probably in prior meetings, it doesn't give the fire marshals the credit they deserve for all the work that they do for these. So. If. If the code had been changed before this meeting, you would see that the fire marshal section would be probably to the, you know, close to the end. So. Um. What Liam and I did is we went through the code and we just kind of picked one random misdemeanor that we thought was like the least egregious. So it's the two thirty one fifty five. Um, that is a place of assembly permit. So if you have 54 more people, you have to get a yearly place of assembly permit and we put it under the penalties, which is two thirty one sixty six. So if you see very minor change, we'll just, we're just inserting. Um. You know, every part A is telling you about that everything's a misdemeanor. We're just putting in except for two thirty one fifty five. That way, when I'm in court and I'm disposing of these cases and I'm conferencing with defense counsel, I can now amend it and it'll actually make sense. Um, so that's, that's really the only change. Um, so. And you would, you wouldn't really have to amend it if the ticket was just written for two thirty five. Exactly. So no more amendments. Correct. So this one I'll really only use for the block egress or some other, you know, minor, um, infractions that, that occur. Um, not changing the fines, not lowering the fines, not, you know, not doing anything like that. We want to still collect the same, uh, fines that we've been collecting on them. So that's what I have for that.

Any questions? No. Like I said, because it doesn't mention on this, but the surcharge will still stay. So for fire marshal level offenses, there is no surcharge. What? Um, I mean, when I look into increasing the surcharge amounts, we can always, I mean, I'll confer with other people in my office, but if it's possible, we'll see if we can add a surcharge onto those and then that would have to create a whole new, um, section of where the, where the surcharge is collected. I would like to even have it. Even if it was a surcharge for the. For the public betterment of when somebody penalizes that and the town can purchase like smoke detectors. Right. It has to be. Yes. For free. There'd be a program that could essentially be covered through surcharges. So when you do a fire marshal offense. Exactly. And it can be allocated and seniors maybe have the opportunity or anybody, you know, that you can be given to some of the fire chiefs that if they go to a house and you have a senior, it doesn't have one, they can give them a free smoke detector. Right. It's just a small little thing, but. So the surcharge has to be somewhat, there has to be a nexus between. Yeah. The surcharge and where it's going. So. I love that. Yeah. All right. So I'll look into that. And that's what I have. You going to court today? I hope not. So far there's nothing scheduled. I don't know. Okay. Let's check it. Unless someone's brought in a warrant. Yeah. So. Well, we have a trip and fall case in the audience. So we'll, you know. Okay. All right. I'll keep my eye out for that. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Until next time. Next up, we will take matters surrounding the monthly town clerk report. Sorry I was late. Yeah. I was in the office, but we have a caravan vacation, so it's just the two of us. Basically, the monthly report is a little lower than the month before, but it's always going to start in February. So. I thought marriage was going to be up for Valentine's Day. Yeah, that's true. But we are excited about a lot of things that aren't on this report. And that, of course, is the new software programs that, in fact, we're meeting today. Talk about work flow and stuff like that. So we're meeting at 1.30. So we're hoping by the end of the month, we're going to go ahead and start training on the new agenda management, which is going to be a home run. It's going to be so much easier to create dockets. It's going to be better for the public where they'll be able to really weigh in. It's going to be good. And that. Plus the next request, which is almost ready to go online for the FOIL package. And of course the website as well. So I mean, we're busy outside of the day-to-day work inside the town clerk's office trying to get that agenda management going. Just all around. It's just a much better program than that minute track. I hate to say it, but minute track. You know, of course they assumed other roles now, but we're going to, I think we're on a good path right now. Very good path. And that's about it. Special permits are coming in. We had a special permit come in yesterday. Because you'll probably see it. Pulaski Street. I guess there's a battery storage or something. Something going on. Oh, yeah. That's circulating. I haven't had a chance to look at that. Yeah, it just came in yesterday. It's a special permit. It just came in. So that just got circulated. So we handled that. Thank you. And that's about it. Jim, real quick. How many, we have taxi renewals at four. How many taxi companies are in Bremen? Do you have any idea? Yeah, we only have about four. Oh, so they, and we have the new fee, so. Right, we have the new fee. And yes, thank you for that. We just passed that. We just updated. It wasn't much, but you know, we went up a dollar for our animal, for our. Well, every little bit helps. Yeah, I didn't, I don't want to say, how did you put it? I think I said it wrong last time. Adopting animals. That's right. That's right. So, but it's, it all helps because it was the paperwork trail alone and the filing of the statement. So that one dollar actually helps a little bit. And we went up on Pebblers Price, which was a long time over there. Really, we're still, although we. You see a lot of those? A lot more coming in. Yeah. You know, even the ones that go around with, that go around with Power Group. You know, put on roofs or solar or anything. They have to get that. Because you see a lot of people out walking doing that. Yeah. And they all need to get their Pebblers permits. Right. That's, I mean, that's concerning to me because you never know who's real. Right. Well. Well, you can ask to see their permit. You can ask to see their permit. I mean, they're vetted very well. Okay. If you get Pebblers permit. I mean, they have to pay for background checks. That's what I do when they come to my door. It's a big deal. That's a good thing for the public to know. If somebody knocks on your door. Yeah. Ask. Ask them to see their Pebblers permit. Their Pebblers permit. You know, I mean, that's. Yeah, the town. That needs to go in the press. That would be a very good thing. That would be a very good thing. That should also have photo ID. Most of them do. Yeah. Yeah, where they get a little card from us. Right. And they have to bring that all in. So, it's a real deal. I mean, it's not. They want quite extensive background checks. I hope the press picks up on this. I'm not sure you'll be able to get one, Bob. Honestly. I'm kidding. [transcription gap] But, no, there's a lot of work in there. Which is a good thing. It's a really good thing. When you've got somebody knocking on your door, you want to know what they're here for. Did we increase that fee? We did. Okay. Do religious groups have to have a Pebblers permit? What's that? Do religious groups have to have a Pebblers permit when they come? No. No? No. See, I think they should because you don't know who's coming to your door. That gives the criminal the opportunity. Yeah. No? No. I'm being told no. Well, I mean, it's religious freedoms and stuff. I mean, they're going on. Aside from government, that is the role of most Christians, is to go around and tie on. Now you're giving away ideas. All right. All right. Any questions? Any questions? Lots of questions. Anything? Yeah. You can have your tie on with my shirt. You did a good job today. You look good. I'm sorry. I'll be more prepared next time. But no, like I said, we're so excited about the new software program. That's what we're really gearing up for. We're going to year for it, right? Yeah. It's time to move forward and get that. You wait to see how it works. Can't wait. Excellent. Excellent. All right. Thank you. Thanks, Jim. Okay. That completes everything we had for work session. Two things I wanted to mention quickly here. Again, today is the first day of spring, so we welcome that after a long, and dreary winter every year. All our farmers were here, so we know they're going to be out tilling the field shortly. Just waiting for it to dry out a little bit from the last rain we had. And also want to mention that we mentioned this when he submitted his resignation letter. But Michael Reichel is retiring tomorrow after 40 years. And, you know, it's going to be a big loss. We've, he's, he is the true story of a Riverhead worker that came when he was young, started at the lowest level of the ladder, and climbed all the way to the top, running in an award-winning sewer district. We couldn't be more proud of Michael for the work that he did. Local boy done good, if you will. Really, really, we're going to miss him. We're in good hands with Tim Allen coming up behind him. But Michael's leaving with a lot of institutional knowledge, and a lot of awards, and a lot of credit to how that sewer plant came from, and how it's going to be used. Thank you. Thank you. And from back in the day, dumping so much nitrogen into the bay, to where the water that comes out of the end process now is actually used to irrigate Suffolk County Golf Course, Indian Island. And that's one small part of what they do down there, and what they've done. And other sewer districts are copying what Riverhead has done. So that's always a nice credit to what we have here. So we thank you, Michael. Best of luck to you. I know you're going to do something. You're going to do some hiking. Enjoy, and thank you for your service to the town of Riverhead. We really appreciate it. All around a great guy. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Best of luck. It's like a scientist when you talk to that guy. Yeah. Yeah. Love it. He's a wealth of knowledge. OK. I will make a motion in a minute to close open and go into executive session. And we're going to discuss legal matters, matters surrounding the sale of real property with Howard, Prudente, Hurley, and Thomas, matters surrounding potential sale and or lease of real property with Howard, matters surrounding possible sale of real property with Kern, matters surrounding acquisition of real property with Prudente, Hurley, and Thomas, under contractual, the matters surrounding contractual agreement between the town of Riverhead and Environmental Facilities Corp. with DePolla, Thomas, and Dillingham, and under personnel, we have matters surrounding hirings or possible appointments with Councilwoman Waskie. I'd like to make a motion. I'll take a motion to close open session and go into executive session. So moved. Seconded. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? OK. Open session is closed and we are going to go up for executive session. Everybody have a great weekend. Enjoy the first weekend of spring and we'll see you next week.

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