Full Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Today is a special day for me. Today I don't only get to introduce my fellow colleagues, but I get to introduce my friends, and they are my extended family, being here today to be sworn into office. It's a unique day today. For the first time in a long time, every elected office in the town of Riverhead shall be held by a Republican. So we are doing a great job, and we are on a great path. Today we get to witness government at its best, the transfer of local leadership into new hands. Theodore Roosevelt said during his inaugural address, much has been given to us, and much will be rightfully expected from us. We have duties to others and duties to ourselves, and we cannot shirk either. So today let us begin the new work. I wish blessings to all my fellow elected officials. Remember this day and remember your promises, and know that I am honored to work alongside each and every one of you. Please stand now for our prelude. God bless America. Performed by Jim Flood. . . . . . . Thank you. Thank you.

Please remain standing for the presentation of colors.

Thank you. Before I take a moment to invite Colton Hubbard, Bradley Hubbard, Violet Howard, and Ruby Howard, grandchildren of our new supervisor, to please come forward for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you. We can continue to remain standing for just a moment. Today is a day of great jubilation and achievement. But within our celebration today, let us take a moment to reflect and remember those who we have lost. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mark M. K. McLaughlin.

Oh, say can you see By the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming And the rockets' red glare The bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there Oh, say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave O'er the land of the free And the home of the brave

What so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming What so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight O'er the land of the free And the home of the free O'er the ramparts we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there And the home of the free And the home of the free Oh, gracious and loving God, we ask your blessings upon Meredith, Denise, Laurie H., and Laurie Z., along with James, Timothy, Dana, and Joanne, as they begin the stewardship of our local government. May it be filled with the gifts of the Spirit, wisdom and knowledge, to fully learn about each issue, and make the best decisions. Understanding and counsel to seek the help of others, and to know how each and every person will be affected by their efforts. Fortitude to persevere in seeking what is right for our community. May the Spirit help each of you to seek cooperation and mutual benefits as the map to achieve mutual harmony and the common good of the Riverhead Town and all its people. We ask this because we want to know if our trust in you will be our guide forever and ever. Amen. Amen.

You may be seated, please.

So what a great day it is. Now we get to begin our work for today. And we're going to start with our oath of offices. I do want to mention that our first oath of office today is for our town assessor is Meredith Lipinski. Meredith did receive her oath of office prior to today, but we certainly want to take a moment to congratulate her on her award for another great tenure in the office. So coming first today will be, to receive their oath of office, will be Donna Brown. So Donna, if you would like to come forward. And we are going to be having the Honorable George Harkin be swearing in, Donna. And the Bible will be held by her daughter, Claudia. So please come forward.

the office of assessor. And I will faithfully execute the office of assessor. To the best of my ability. To the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you.

I've been teasing Donna since she got the nomination this year that she needed one vote in order to win. And she worked very hard to get my vote.

So also we want to take a moment to simply note our receiver of taxes, Lori Zaneski, was also previously sworn in today. So we also want to take a moment to thank and congratulate her for continuing service here in the town of Riverhead. So now we'll begin with our town offices. So coming forward first, our new town councilwoman, Denise Merriam. Denise Merrifield, if you would come forward. She is also going to be sworn in by the Honorable Judge Harkin. And the Bible will be held by her husband, Peter Timmons.

Raise your right hand, left hand on there. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. I, Denise Merrifield. To the best of my ability, so help me God. To the best of my ability, so help me God. Congratulations. Thank you.

Very briefly, I just want to say thank you so much to everyone in the town of Riverhead. I look so forward to continuing my lifelong occupation of serving in public service and helping the community. Thank you so much.

Now I see her standing so nervously in the back, but she's smiling. If you'd come forward, my friend Joanne Waski, if you would please come forward and be sworn in as a town councilwoman. Joanne is going to be sworn in by Anne Marie Zelnicki. Which is her aunt. And also Patrick Waski, her husband, will be holding the Bible. Please come forward, Patrick.

Thank you. Raise your right hand. I, Joanne Waski. I, Joanne Waski. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. The Constitution of the State of New York. The Constitution of the State of New York. And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of office of the Town of Riverhead Councilperson. And I will faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of the Town of Riverhead Councilperson. According to the best of my ability. According to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.

Well, I promise to do a better job at listening than I just did there. It's not as easy as it looks. Thank you so much for coming out today. I really look forward to the future of Riverhead. I look forward to working with this fabulous Riverhead Town Board, and I appreciate all of you, and Happy New Year. Thank you.

So now I'll ask to come forward, being sworn in to our town justice, Lori Hulse. A little honor if you would please come around. And she's going to be sworn in by her brother, William Hulse, Jr.

I, Lori Hulse, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of New York, the Constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully, and that I will faithfully, discharge the duties, discharge the duties, of the Office of Town Justice, of the Office of Town Justice. Congratulations. Thank you.

Did you finish your work? Are you ready? I'm ready. Really? is James Wooten, our town clerk, to be sworn in by Sal Mangano. Please come forward. And the Bible is going to be held by Olivia and Rebecca Wooten. Please come forward as well. Jim has already obviously been working this morning.

Excuse me right here. I, Jim Wooten, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the State of New York that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of Riverhead Town Clerk according to the best of my abilities so help me God.

Thank you. So do we want to take a half hour recess and just relax for a little bit? What do you think? Okay. It is my extreme honor. I have waited for this moment for a long time. Tim is a dear friend of mine and actually colleague and someone that has taught me the roads around here in Town Hall and taught great legislative techniques and knowledge. I'm super proud to call him my dear friend. So I ask now to come forward, Tim. Our supervisor, Tim Hubbard, will be sworn in by Megan Howard, his daughter, and the Bible will be held by his wife, Lisa. Please come forward for this great moment.

Thank you. Thank you. According to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Woo hoo! Thank you.

I'm sorry. This is she. This is your provider. Do you want to sign like that, please?

Oh, very legible. Thank you.

Wow. This is overwhelming for me. I have to tell you, never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to be the supervisor of the town that I love. But I am so happy that I am. And I am so glad to see so many friendly faces out here. People took time on a holiday to come down here for this. It means the world to me. I have a few people I would like to acknowledge. I have Jesse Garcia here. He is the Suffolk County leader of the Suffolk County Republican Party. He's all over the place today going to different inaugurations. But he took time out to come here, and that means the world to me. I have George Swirtle here, who is the vice chair of the Suffolk County Conservative Party. And he's here also. I appreciate all his support. On the local level, I have my chairperson. I have my chairwoman, Tammy Robinkoff, and Victor Pershanowski, the vice chair. Without all your support, again, we wouldn't be here today. So thank you very much. Chief Hagermiller from the police department is here. Hi, Chief. Thank you for coming down. And my former chief, Chief Joe Grattan, is here. And I tell Chief Grattan that one of the reasons I'm up here today is simply really because of him. Because he took me under his wing in the police department. He allowed me to... Blossom as a police officer and then a detective. And it all kind of paved the way for getting into more public service. So Chief Grattan, I thank you very much for all that you did for me. It means a lot. All these beautiful flowers that are here. George Gabrielson. Every time the town has a function, George calls up and he's like, hey, where do you need the flowers? And it's like, that is so great. So awesome. Thank you. Thank you. That's awesome. We appreciate it, George. We appreciate all your help that you've done throughout the years and various committees and stuff that you've been, former councilmen. And I want to remind everybody that when you leave here today, please take a poinsettia with you. George has donated them, so we can feel free. Take one, two, three, I don't care, take them and go home and enjoy them. And I am told that they will grow year round. If you care for them right, they will grow year round, and make good use of them. Thank you so much, George. From the entertainment spectrum, Jim Flood and Mark M.K. It wouldn't be a Hubbard function without the two of you there. My Irish heritage means so much to me. And Jim, when you play the pipes, I just want to cry every time I hear them. So I really appreciate it. Thank you for doing this. Mark, a voice like no other. You do a great job. We wish you nothing but the best. And thank you for coming down and helping out today.

Okay, now for the speech. It won't be long, I promise. I'm honored to be here as the next supervisor of the town of Riverhead. Thank you to all the residents of Riverhead that overwhelmingly voted me into this office. I will work extremely hard to solidify your support and help make Riverhead a place that all can be proud to call home. Thank you. Thank you. promises to be an exciting year for the town of Riverhead. As the 64th supervisor of our town, I look forward to the development of the Riverhead Town Square and the Transportation Orientated District. Both projects will help complete the revitalization of downtown Riverhead. The cancellation of the sale of EPCAL to 555 and CAT will present us with fresh opportunities to develop that land from a new perspective. Smart growth and green growth must be incorporated with any development of the site. I will immediately begin the formation of a commission and or task force to explore the best uses of EPCAL. In fact, I have already met with members of the local civics to discuss the future of the property. This commission will include knowledgeable members of the development community and the business and real estate world, along with local civics and residents. The purpose of this commission is to guide us to the proper and best use of the property. It must create living wage jobs while being mindful of the environment. It is imperative to get this right for the future of our town. This property needs to be back on the tax rolls. The long-awaited completion of the town's master plan will soon be done. Much needed information and guidance will be put into place to assure Riverhead is on the right track for the next 10 to 20 years. Thank you to all that have participated in the process. Many things are needed for a town to be successful. Two very important components are health care and education. Riverhead is blessed to have Peconic Bay Medical Center in its backyard. The days of traveling west for quality health care are long gone. Northwell Health and Peconic Bay Medical Center have lured top-rated physicians and medical staff to its facility. They are in the process of expanding onto the old Mercy High School property. I promise the town will assist them in their endeavor to provide our community with first-rate medical center. Another positive health care benefit will be the addition of an assisted living facility in Riverhead. I have already met with the principals looking to provide this facility. This will be state-of-the-art, affordable, and include a memory loss center. Riverhead is lucky to have choices when it comes to education. We have St. John Paul Regional School, the Riverhead Charter School, and the Riverhead Central School District. I have already met with the charter school representatives regarding the expansion of their Sound Avenue facility into a high school campus. I will be fostering a relationship with the Riverhead Central School District. This has been missing for many years. There are many shared services that can benefit both the school district and the town. I have met with the acting superintendent and school board president regarding the resurgence of the school resource officer program. It is a top priority to provide this important service very soon. We need to renew a positive relationship with the school district for us both to be successful. A strong school district adds value to everybody's property. Police services, fire services, and EMS are very important to the well-being of our town. I commend and I am excited to be a part of this. Thank you. I am extremely grateful for all of our first responders and I see many in the back in their uniform. Thank you RTVAC and fire departments for coming down. I will continue to provide the police department with the tools and support they need. We are fortunate to have men and women in blue that do an excellent job protecting our town. I will keep hiring police officers to keep up with our growing town safety needs. We will be providing a police substation downtown and unveiling a new plan of enforcement for quality of life issues that have plagued the area. The tremendous fire services in our town are provided by the Wading River Fire Department, Manorville Fire Department, Riverhead Fire Department, and Jamesport Fire Department. I am proud of all our volunteers who put their life on the line to protect us. I will make sure that all of our fire services will receive the equipment and training needed to protect themselves from new building trends and energy sources. If a developer has a project that will require additional training or equipment, it will be their responsibility to provide the means and access to our men and women of the fire services. The EMS services in Riverhead are provided by Riverhead Town Ambulance Corps and Wading River Fire Department. Riverhead Town Ambulance Corps responds to well over 5,000 calls a year. We have instituted full billing on all ambulance calls, increasing much needed funds to support our Corps. I will immediately work with the Corps to build a new headquarters for them. Their equipment is currently left outside because they have seriously outgrown their facility. New protocols since COVID require facilities to have rooms and areas for decontamination. A new facility will not come cheap, but it is money wisely invested to meet the excellent level of care that they provide. The Justice Court has been operating in substandard conditions for some time now. The purpose of buying a new town hall was so Justice Court could move into the old town hall. We will retrofit the old town hall into a new town court complex. It will be larger and safer than the current facility. It will meet current standards required by New York State Unified Court systems. This in turn will allow the police department to expand in its building. I will be changing a few things during the course of normal town business. The first thing I'm going to do is reinstate the quarterly roundtable meetings with the civics. This is important for me to have frequent contact with all of the civics. Next I will be having department head meetings every other Monday. This allows direct communication between department heads with each other regarding all projects. It also keeps me involved and knowledgeable in all projects proposed and ongoing. The town board work sessions. We'll spend more time on resolutions and explanations. I will be explaining them to both the board members and the public. I will encourage department heads to place more items for open discussion on the work session agenda. The board will now sit down below at the work table for all work sessions. This provides a more intimate gathering while conducting business. Board members will provide committee reports during the last board meeting of the month. Town board meetings will be conducted in a civilized manner. Both elected officials and the public are expected to be courteous, patient, and polite. I understand things can get heated, but we can all take a breath and conduct business in an adult manner. No more circus atmosphere at board meetings. If individuals cannot be civil, then they will not be given the floor. You can see there will be a lot going on in the next couple of years. I am confident with a new board starting. We will be able to achieve many things. I look forward to working with new Councilwoman Waski and Councilwoman Merrifield. Together they bring many new ideas and fresh thoughts to the board. Along with Councilman Rothwell and Councilman Kern, great things can and will be achieved during the next two years. Congratulations to all the newly elected and reelected officials for the town. I look forward to working with each and every one of you. I am excited to get started and I want everybody in town to know that I will be accessible to you. I will provide a level of transparency to the town board that has not been seen before. Together we will make Riverhead the best town in Suffolk County. May God bless you and may God bless America.

Thank you. ! Can we just keep bringing a smile to my face? Now if Father Larry can please come forward again for our benediction. You can sit down, it's fine. I have a few questions, though. I've never been at an installation before, so thank you for inviting me. In the oath, they swear, you know that stuff? They promise to support the Constitution. Don't they also defend it? Is that some other place it's done? I'm just curious. And then they faithfully discharge. Shouldn't they also honorably discharge? I don't know. I'm just asking those questions. And then lastly, they say, with the help, no, help me, so help me God. But they should probably say, with the help of God, so help me God. So I'm just bringing them out. All right, let's do it again. Mr. Hubbard, I appreciate everything that you said, and I wish you well. Please make sure you take some time off. If you need a place to bum out, you can always come to my place and sit in a living room and watch a show or something. Appreciate that. Okay, because no, it's a never-ending task, and so often people get frustrated and burned out. So please do that. Today is the World Day of Peace. And... Um... There is so much in the world that is not at peace. So let us keep that in mind. And I love the fact that you asked that we be civil with each other because it's from a peaceful heart that we are civil. And so let us now ask the Lord to bless all of you. May the Lord bless all of you who will serve in our town. May the Lord let his face shine upon you always. May God's graces be with you. And may God look kindly upon you. And give you peace and joy. Amen. Amen.

Just before we conclude today with our recessional, I do just ask that at the conclusion of our service today, if we could have all the elected officials please come forward up to the podium just for photographs, so that we can get such a great, hospice-wonderful day. Let's memorialize it forever. So we have retired our colors. And so at this time, I simply ask our dear Jim Flood leading our recessional hymn. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. riverhead it's a great day to be alive thank you all so much for joining us today god bless each and every one of you thank you

Hey, can you be that phone? Yeah. Ha ha ha ha! Oh my goodness! Who's that? Who, uh, who's for you? My daughter, Claudia. Oh. Really? Really? Really? Really?