Full Transcript
Thank you. [transcription gap] Thank you, Claudette.
Okay, I have a couple announcements to make before we get started. Number one, and probably a very important announcement, is the pre-submission meetings that we handle every Tuesday here in the town, for whatever reason, have been closed. To the public. And in researching our town code and in talking to my staff and in talking to other towns, we realized that these meetings, according to our code, the meetings should be open. And at some point in time, they were open. Years ago, from what I understand, going back maybe in time to when Barbara Blass was on the town board, and then when I came on the town board eight years ago, they were closed. So somewhere in that time period, they were closed. Instead of made open, the code says they should be open, and they will be open. We have nothing to hide. We have people who are very suspicious about these meetings, and there's no reason to be. So they will be open to the public. They'll be similar to a work session. Public is welcome to attend, but there won't be a back and forth with the public on the items that are being discussed. That will be discussed amongst the group that's working on the planning pre-submission committee. Okay. Those meetings are open. Those meetings are on Tuesdays at 930. They've been upstairs in the past since we moved here, but we're going to have them here in the town boardroom again so the public can attend. And it will be posted. The agenda for those meetings will be posted on Friday prior to the Tuesday meeting at 930 in the morning. So that's one announcement. Who here is going to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday? Where's our money going, people? Who? San Fran. San Fran, yeah. Kansas City. Kansas City all the way. The story of the San Francisco quarterback is too good for me not to root for them. I'm a Miami Dolphins fan, as many people know. My team didn't make it here this year. That explains it. But I love the story of Brock Purdy and how he was the last person picked in the NFL draft, and to see him take his team to the Super Bowl I think is pretty cool. Good luck this weekend, everybody, whoever you're rooting for. And enjoy the game. Thank you. Enjoy the weekend, and we'll get on to our town board meeting. Tim, wasn't Tom Brady at the end of the pick, too? Tom Brady at the end of the pick way long ago? No. Well, not at the end. He wasn't the last one. He was the seventh rounder. Oh, I see. But, yes, he was late in the draft when he was picked. So late drafts can do well. Hidden diamonds in the rough out there all over the place, absolutely. Sorry. Okay. We have no minutes to approve, so we will move on to correspondence and reports from the town clerk, James Wooten. Do we want to start with an implication? Yes, actually, we want to do the implication first. I'm very sorry about that. Yes, okay. Ken, would you? We are very pleased and honored to have Reverend Lorraine DeArmit from a retired United Methodist Church minister. So thank you so much for joining us today. What an introduction that is. Anyway, it's good to be here. Beautiful new room. Let us pray. Just bend the mic down a little bit. There you go. Only one. We come to you today asking for your guidance, wisdom, and support as we begin this meeting. Help us to engage in meaningful discussion. Allow us to speak with simple honesty and in our actions to nurture the bonds of community. I ask that God would grant the people of Riverhead prosperity and peace. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much, Reverend. Thank you, Reverend. Thank you, Reverend. Thank you so much. [transcription gap] as well as Gina Galaime and also Zinab Fath Elbab, excuse my pronunciation, but they're all letters regarding the renumbering of Linda Lane East. We have a letter from Cindy Clifford, comments from the public hearing from the Tango revision from the last meeting clarifying her position. We also have two letters from the Greater Jamesport Civic Association, one dealing with the cannabis zoning and the other one dealing with the expansion of the Rivet Charter School on the Sound Avenue. And also a letter from bid from Christy Verity, reference to chapter 301 increase of park and rec fees. And that's it for correspondence. Okay, do we have any reports? Under reports, we have the town clerk monthly report for January 2024 at $10,475.45. We have the tax receiver total collection as of January 17th, 2024 at $87,000. $24,832.11. As of January 24th, 2024, $92,122,430.28. And at the end of the month on January 31st, $92,758,380.42. We also received a report from the Rivet Sewer District, the Influent Gallagher report for 2023. And also from the building department their collection for January 2024 at $114,459. And that's it for reports. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Wooten. We have two public hearings on the calendar for today. The first public hearing is time for 2.05. It is now 2.08. And this public hearing is to amend chapter 289, vehicles, traffic, and parking regulations. And I will ask. I'll ask for Councilor Hurley to come up to the microphone and explain. Thank you. Good afternoon. So just quickly some background before the public hearing on this opens up. This was discussed at a work session in detail. But for those who didn't attend the work session or watch it, I'll reiterate. So the reason this code came about, we were getting reports from residents and PD about towing, they would leave shopping, they would leave their car in a shopping center. They would come back after shopping. Their car wasn't there. They thought it was stolen. They eventually found out that it was towed and then they were stuck paying over $600 to get their car back. There was also an opinion article in the local newspaper about these overly aggressive towing policies. So this topic was brought to code revision committee. I researched the suffocation, the ! I researched the suffocation, the! I researched the suffocation, the! county towing policy, Brookhaven town policies, and through code revision committee, we tailored this code to meet the needs of the town of Riverhead. So what this details is a plan for the owners that have these privately owned, publicly accessed parking lots, a plan for them to follow so that there are conspicuous conspicuous signs, the reasons that towing may occur, the hours of towing, the tow company's name, and the phone number. It also details requirements that the tow company itself must meet, and after, most importantly, after a tow is completed, the tow company gives a form that we're calling the seizure authorization to Riverhead PD so that Riverhead PD can be able to meet the requirements. that Riverhead PD can be able to meet the requirements. So Riverhead PD is put on notice right away that the tow has occurred in case that individual calls PD looking for their vehicle, they're able to, PD's able to direct that person to where they can retrieve their vehicle. It also puts a cap on how much the tow companies can charge. It's capped at 375, which is the municipal towing rate for the town, and it also contains a penalty section. Thank you. Okay. Do we have anybody from the public who would like to comment on that public, on this public hearing? No, absolutely. I think I may have written that letter. We'll get to the mic first. State your name and. Yeah, my name's Adam Strauss. I've lived here for, since 2003. My wife has parked and used the Jitney, you know, pretty much every week for 20 years. Mm-hmm. We didn't even know that you weren't permitted to park in Rowan-Up Plaza parking lot. She parked there in August. This is after doing it for 20 years. And my son and I went four hours later to pick up the car. It was gone. We first called her to see if she had indeed parked there and not in Calverton or across the street, which seems to have been fine also. She had parked there. The next thing we did was we were going to call the police to see if it had been stolen. I mean, obviously, that seemed like the only other possibility. Finally, my son saw a very small sign about towing that didn't really say anything about the Jitney. It said something about overnight parking, fire zone, et cetera, but it had a number for the towed car. We called. They said $600.00. We had to force cash to retrieve it. We went, scurried the cash up, paid for it, got it, felt victimized and robbed and carjacked and really criminal, called the police about it the next day. They couldn't do anything because it's a private, you know, property. So I called the manager, did some research about Brixmore, which is supposedly a private property. It's basically community oriented. And they have a sign that says, let's grow together, which I want to change to let's tow together. But anyway, called the property manager. He would hear nothing of it. It was legal, et cetera. So I said, well, I'm going to, you know, bring this to the public. I'm going to do something, you know. So I wrote a letter. Dennis Sivoletti published it in the local, Riverhead local. And here I am. So I would urge, you know, some kind of action, you know, because it's really very uncool. Male Speaker 1 Can I make a suggestion that maybe that you contact the Jitney and see if they'll lease X amount of spaces? Dennis Sivoletti They have been kind of opposed to that. They're not very helpful in that regard. But yes, that would be a very good solution because you've got, I mean, Riverhead is a very good place to live. It's growing. It's growing with people that go into Manhattan. It would be great if they could park legally somewhere other than Calverton. Male Speaker 2 Oh, not to mention the bus stops are predominantly in places where there's parking that's available. Dennis Sivoletti The bus stops are right there. Male Speaker 2 Exactly. Dennis Sivoletti Exactly. And parking. And one thing we have in Riverhead at this point is parking, you know. So I mean, it's like, it seems easier to get towed here than it is in Manhattan, you know. I mean, in that case, in our case it was. So that's just, to me it's just unacceptable. Male Speaker 2 Will Bricksmore do something about allowing X amount of spaces to be used? Dennis Sivoletti I don't, I mean, I haven't had any communication with them since, you know, this. Male Speaker 2 I would try to open that up. Dennis Sivoletti They were very unhelpful or very adamantly opposed to doing anything as far as I can tell, you know. I certainly checked with them again about it and the Jitney as well. Dennis Sivoletti But I also think many of the projects, you know, site plan approval requires a certain number of parking spaces, you know, for a particular shopping center and so forth. That's how they come up with those numbers. So I think when the Hampton Jitney, using them as an example, not to single them out, but you know, if you have, you know, 20 cars parked out there, you may be offsetting the actual parking space. I didn't have a clear head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head parking on Edwards Avenue. You know, it's reality is it's only two or three miles down the road. Yeah, not too far. And there's not a good parking there, but she's going there now. She does. She certainly doesn't leave it. But I think Danielle has done a great job addressing your concerns by certainly now we're going to require a large signage where it's going, what's going, what are the rules and regulations, you know, so where if you should find your car missing, you know, where it's been brought to and so forth. And we're also capping off because $600 for a tow is a crazy high, but, you know, expensive four hour parking. So this also addresses a cap on those fees as well, making it more fair. Absolutely. Tried to approach it different ways. It's actually a shame it can't be worked out because every parking lot that we have in every shopping plaza has way more spaces than ever needed. Our code probably actually asks for too many spaces, quite honestly. And for those spaces, sit there empty. All day long. Empty all day. It's not hurting anybody. It's unfortunate. You know, it's like. I agree with what Ken said. I mean, let's put the trees back if we're not going to park. Yeah, exactly. I mean, what are we doing? Right. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. But thank you for your letter because you started this. So thank you. And I hope you're satisfied. And thank you, Danielle, for putting this together. I think this will make things much easier and much more in the open for the public to realize they should not park there overnight. Anybody else? Anybody else on this public hearing? Anybody online? Nobody online? Okay. It is now 2-17. I will keep the public hearing open for 10 days.
Which brings us to the 16th, right? 2-16-24.
Okay. We have a second public hearing. It was scheduled for 2-15. It is now 2-18. And this public hearing is now open for 10 days. We have a full head-on press conference next Thursday. We'll head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head increases the dollar value, which would trigger apprenticeship requirement from 250,000 to 750,000 and or a thousand square feet would change to 250,000 square feet. The reason and the purpose essentially is, as the town board could appreciate and has appreciated, since COVID, the cost of goods, materials, services has skyrocketed. Our original language didn't account for that. I will tell you, I researched several other codes and they all vary. The town of Hempstead, the trigger set in 2017 was 500,000. Here we are in 2024. We were well below at 250,000. In addition, this policy allows for, quote, exclusions. Those exclusions are public contracts for a specific trade, which is not included among the lists maintained by the New York State Commissioner of Labor or such a trade is classified as miscellaneous or general. The contract is not a contract for which an apprenticeship agreement doesn't exist at the time of bid opening. It also exempts any construction contract wherein the town is receiving federal, state, county, or other funding, which precludes application of the apprenticeship section. And it excludes subcontractors performing work on a contract, which is less than $100,000. Again, you know, you can do a compare and contrast against other apprenticeship programs. For instance, town of Havishaw, subcontractor is less than $250,000. We're only going up to $100,000. And that's about it. I think Frank Mancini actually won the vote. Thank you. I think Frank Mancini wants to comment, because it's very relative to a lot of the competitive bidding that the Water District is putting out. And he'll explain to you that actually the way our existing apprenticeship language is working, it's actually excluding and prohibiting competitive bidding. So, I think that's a very good point. Thank you. Frank Mancini. Hi. I'm Frank Mancini, the Water District Superintendent. Thank you for having me. And I will just back Ann Marie up. And a lot of the trades we do are quite specific, like well drilling and horizontal boring. This particular standard we have is undermining our competitive bid process. We value all of our contractors, but we also value some of the smaller family-owned businesses that are more competitive. And that's why we're doing it. We're doing it to make sure that we're paying the same prices of our family-owned businesses that are more common here on the east end of Long Island than they were anywhere else. So when it comes to say a well drilling contract, we've got two really strong bidders as our number one and number two. Our number one is just under $500,000, and our number two is just under $900,000. So you can see this is costing my rate payers a lot of money. Our number two bidder is a great company. They happen to have every other well drilling contract So because no one else is really competitive because of this standard. The number one bidder, which is a great deal for us, is located on the east end, is the water authority's go-to contractor. So it's not like some fly-by-night contractor. And very popular if you're in your agricultural community here, you probably know them. So I think that we're unbalanced right now, and it's not equitable to either my rate payers or the small family-owned businesses that we depend on. And we also depend on the larger ones. The same thing with our horizontal boring contract. We're lucky enough to have a very competitive and strongly bid contract. We had five bidders here, and we're looking at more of like a $150,000 difference. And we're talking about a winning contractor that's local from Cinema Riches. So I just want to make sure that we're getting the best deal and we're doing it equitably for our rate payers. And I think right now, the way our standard stands, it's too heavily favored to the larger companies. Now, I want to apologize. The Pensionship Program can be provided by the union, but it is also a standalone product you can buy. So it's not eliminating. You don't have to be in it or not. You can purchase this requirement. But it's just going to add cost to our work and to our rate payers. We'll get less bang for the buck. Any particular questions for me? No? I just have one question for Anne-Marie if I can ask. On guideline six, the end of two. It just says that general municipality law was originally expired in August of 2017 and has been extended to 2019. Do we know if anything has increased or changed since then? Why we're revising this particular section of the code if it's been updated since 2019? I can certainly double check, but I don't have an answer for you. I'm sorry. I'm just reading it now. So I would normally try to point it out early. But just why we're doing it. If we have to. Change or update one more date. Oh, no. I can tell you those. Actually, I can answer that. Okay. Those requirements are still in effect. Okay. Is there a new deadline on them or no? They just continue to roll over and roll over. Years ago, the monetary amounts were far less than $20,000 and $35,000. They were more like $5,000 and $10,000. But it hasn't. Gone up yet. Okay. Thank you. Well, in a sense with this, say 10 years down the road from now, we're going to have to probably revisit this and change it also because of inflation, cost of goods, so on and so forth. Absolutely. And the town board should be aware that the water district superintendent, myself, Karen in the office, when it came to the well drilling contract, we actually did significant reach out. And we contacted the Empire State Water Well Drillers Association. And they informed us there is no apprenticeship program for water well drillers. Then when we went higher up in the state, the state acknowledged that fact and they said, well, perhaps you could use like a general construction type apprenticeship program. But again, we're not sure. We're not sure. We're not sure. But again, it's really not tailored to what this contract truly is. Right. And left in place, costing the rate payers twice as much. And I'm sure this isn't the only specialty where there's not an apprenticeship program for. So that's understood. I will say, though, that I really do appreciate the apprenticeship programs. I think they're an awesome way for a young person to get involved in a career. Absolutely. Absolutely. And a career that pays living wages for Long Island and it allows them to stay here. But I understand it is better suited for the larger projects. And I get that. I've known several young men that have gone through the apprenticeship and a young lady who went through it. And they're doing very well for themselves. And I'm glad they had it. College wasn't for them. They were more of a hands-on trades type person. And there's a lot of people out there like that. And I think the apprenticeship does a great job for that. So we're not alleviating it by any means. Right. Most of the towns that I researched had either qualification or exemptions. We did not. Right. OK. That's it. Do we have anybody else from the public that would like to comment? Do we have anybody online? Nobody online? OK. It is 2-27. I will close the public hearing and keep it open for written comments till February 16, 2024. And that's what we have today on public hearings. We will move on now to comments on resolutions. Comments on any of the resolutions that are on today's calendar. Do we have anybody from the public that would like to come up and speak regarding our resolutions? OK. We have two people online. Can we take person number one? OK. OK. Thank you. [transcription gap]
Good afternoon. Mike Foley, Resports. Are we OK? Yes, we can, Mike. Good afternoon. I'd like to comment on two of the resolutions that will go in numerical order. Resolution 147. That has to do with the cannabis wording changes to the zoning. It's on page. I'm sorry. I think it's on page 169. But don't quote me on that. I just wanted to comment on it that there have been three or four meetings that Ken Rothwell chaired and made available to anybody that wanted to sit down and comment. And I was a participant in two or three of those meetings. And the first meeting kind of put in restrictions that after investigating the restrictions in the original zoning really didn't open up more than a couple of plots and certainly didn't have any ability to put five zones together, which would be the equivalent of about six retail stores, two of them being on Route 58 and one of them being in each zone designated from Wading River to Jamesport. You know, Ann Marie and I have been in the same zone for a long time. And I think that's a good thing. You know, Ann Marie and her staff and Ken looked at this hard and looked at the best way to open up a handful of places with the least amount of inconvenience for residential lessening of the requirements of distance. And I thought they made a pretty common sense move. They went into areas where there was retail, where residents were within the location of the retail established. And wanted to put in some of those things. And I think that's a good thing. I didn't have a clear head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head retail environment, I think it will have a positive impact. But I think restricting the number of possible retail outlets was prudent. And like this zoning language has changed, we can implement additional changes down the road if we find out that the six that we're putting up there have already been a saturation point for the retail. There is more demand. And maybe we could put one or two in there, or maybe there isn't enough of a demand to handle six stores. So if there's only a need for four, it's better to have two guys go out of business than 10. So there was a, you know, for people that weren't in the know and weren't in the room, there was a tremendous amount of pushback to expand this well beyond what this new legislation proposes. I'm in favor of this legislation. And I think it is a matter of urgency to me now, knowing that there is a need at a public demand for retail weed, that, you know, retail weed is safe. You don't have to worry about any poisons or fentanyl and things on the street drugs that people worry about. And I was just curious, Ken or Anne-Marie, one of the things I had a lot of back and forth with the retailers on was that they got to do their homework, that there are spaces out there, go and get a get a local realtor and have them do the work for you, have them. And I think that's a really good point. And I think that's a really good point. And I think that's a really good point. And I think that's a really good point. And I think that's a really good point. I'd just like to check with Ken or Anne-Marie, if you're comfortable answering the question. Have any of these retailers come back successfully to let us know that there are, in fact, a couple places that they are getting ready to open? I see at the podium, Anne-Marie, hi. Good afternoon. So I will report to you. Obviously, it is still in planning review, but they're coming in pretty fast and furious. And you can anticipate two, if not three, if this legislation gets adopted. It wouldn't comply with our present zoning. But if this legislation gets adopted, you can anticipate that two or three right from the start would, quote, meet the zoning requirements of the new code. Yeah, Mike. So we're responding to those letters, you know, via the planning department, that are received through the town clerk's office. But those applications are currently being denied because we're under the current law as we sit here today, right now. So when the public hearing takes place and then it goes before a vote before the town board, looking at those same applications, if they were resubmitted after the new legislation, you know, potentially is passed, then there may be viable options for those applications. But we only respond to the application based on the current law right now. Not to disagree with the council, but just to clarify, because we have 30 days to respond to a notice of location. We're reviewing them, holding them. And under the law, we could request an additional 30 days. So we're not approving those applications because we can't. We're reviewing against the existing code and the pending code. So they're in the hopper rather than summarily dismissing them at this point. Yes. So if resolution 147 passes, then the applications that are presently not according to code will then fall into code and they can be approved without resubmission of paperwork? That's correct. As long as we can do it within the legal time parameters of either the initial 30 or if the state were... We're... We're... We're able to request an additional 30, which we fully... Well, that's good news for the applicants. Could I just ask one other question? Are any of these locations on Route 58 on any of these big box stores?
Mike, to be honest, I don't know if it's a box store location, but I believe one is on Route 58. There's been applications for Route 58, but I think some of them are single property, not like... Correct. Not like a home-duty shopping center at that point. Well, listen, let's get this passed. Let's get this going. Hopefully by springtime when I get back in May, I can go local and buy local. I like that. Finally, I don't want to take up too much of your time. I want to talk about Resolution 162. Just before you go forward, Mike, I thank you for your help on the other one as well. I thank you for your participation and help on the committee. Thanks, Ken. [transcription gap] I'd like to finish with the Resolution 162, which is found on page 228 of the agenda packet. It ratifies appointment of special counsel in legal action against the town of Riverhead entitled Calvin and Avian and Technology against the town of Riverhead, CDA, and IDA. This obviously, very quickly, garnered near unanimous support of the community to defend against these guys that, in my opinion, perpetrated a fraud on this town. I'll head over to Sean's next press conference next. Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Sean, Here we have a guy, the deceased Daniel Preston, who conned Sean Walters into thinking that this was the Howard Hughes of aviation and that he was going to turn aviation into the Silicon Valley of the East Coast. I was at a couple of those meetings. I went to Preston's presentation. I got one of his T-shirts and hats, as a matter of fact. So I go back a long way at this. And, of course, when he fell down on it and was looking for deep pockets, the Gramezians and him hooked up. You know, what a partnership that turned out to be. So, you know, it is clearly not just litigation against the town. It's litigation against the residents and taxpayers of the town of Riverhead. So I'm sure that there's a few negatrons out there that are doing an, oh, why is this happening to us? But you know something? I'm not sad. I'm angry. I want to be aggressive on this. And I want the town to have the financial resources to do that. So speaking of this resolution, looking down at the end, which was, I think, page 230, it talks about the financial impact of this. And I'm toggling down to it right now. And I'm almost there. And I'm there. So on page 230, Section G, the proposed source of funding. And, of course, that all stems from Section A. But let's go right to Section G, which discusses the sources of funding for this. The appropriation account to be charged can be from a grant or another revenue source. Now, I don't know if there's any grants available for this. It would be wonderful to have money to be able to spend to defend this frivolous lawsuit and hopefully get a counter judgment that can not only, you know, be a good thing, but also be a good thing. And I'm not sure if that's the right word. I'm not sure if that's the right word. I'm not sure if that's the right word. reimburse the town or whoever's funding this 100% for defending this frivolous suit. But who knows, maybe get damages from them for the years of delay and not gathering tax revenue because of one fraudulent submission after another. They didn't want a cargo airport. What was all the artwork there a year ago that we could throw to court? So just wrapping up, we need you to have adequate funds. We need you to know that this is something that the town supports almost 100%. And I, for one, believe that we need to tell the Garmesians, you're not going to outspend this year. If you want to get us into court, okay, we're going to go in there, we're going to defend this, and we're going to sue you for doing what you've done here. And maybe they will run away like they did in Brookhaven when they were challenged. I know Brookhaven's application was a lot shorter and a lot less involved than ours is. But the fact of the matter is, they were never qualified here, ever qualified here. They have been proven that way, and now they just want to hold us up hoping that we don't have the money to defend so they can come back and purchase this property. Everybody in this room knows that's not going to happen. Let's make sure that this gets funded. And if the taxpayers are told, we need $2 million to defend this, let's let them know so that they understand if the taxes are raised, that it was to defend this suit. And I believe you're going to have overwhelming support on whatever amount of money that you need to require to beat these guys back. Thank you. Mike, one thing regarding the cannabis, I just want to back up for a second on. One of the reasons I voted for the town to have dispensaries in our township was because of the availability of tax money that might come our way. I have seen some early numbers from some of the towns. The numbers are astounding. I realize because it's new and there's limited dispensaries, those numbers are going to be inflated. But even if you deflate those numbers, they're still pretty good numbers. And it's certainly something that the town can always use. So I just wanted to bring that up because we've been talking about it. Tim, you might recall that I spoke on this before the vote, and my guesstimate was that the town was going to get it at a 3% piece that's supposed to come from the state to us, about $1.5 million. And people thought that was high. Well, clearly to me now, we have to look at the numbers and also understand that if there's only five dispensaries in Long Island and then there were 50, there's going to be some diminishment in margin, but not a lot because the people will come. But I think the $1.5 million might be closer to $4.5 million. And that in and of itself could take care of an awful lot of musical instruments from our school, football uniforms for our people, surveillance cameras for our downtown, and paying to fight the litigation against these people. So I think that's a really important part of the process. Tim, I think that's a really important part of the process. And I think that's a really important part of the process. We want you to be comfortable funding this. And I want to hear anybody that says, we should not be funding this as a town. We have to support it. We have to be ready to pay for it. We have to hope. And I've seen the council that Riverhead Local just announced through you guys. They're certainly competent council. And I think they actually have a success against the guy that '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 head head Okay, online first.
Hi, good afternoon. Kathy McGraw from Northville. Just a quick question on Resolution 133, the licensing agreement for Cousins Paintball. I'm curious to know, it looks like they don't have utilities there, and I'm wondering what the provision's going to be for restrooms for that place. That's all I wanted to know. Thank you. Kathy, they're going to use porta-potties.
Is that right? Yes. Yeah, that's a lot of what's been used up there has been porta-potties in the past. We know we have to get permanent, but restroom facilities up there, we're working on that along with the hockey rink and other locations up there. There's probably about five, six, or seven different locations in the master plan map of the park up there that eventually will have permanent structured restrooms. But for temporary use, yes, we have permission from the Department of Health to do that. And just keep in mind... Okay, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Yeah, the baseball fields have been using porta-potties for 10 years. I just thought it was a little different since it was a licensee that's using this property and not the town. But if you're satisfied with it, that's fine. Thanks. Okay, thank you. Sir? Hello, how you doing? Mr. Hubbard, congratulations. Thank you. State your name, sir, and the town you're from. Hello, everyone. My name is Hugo Rivas. I represent the Long Island Cannabis Coalition. I'm here because, again, we appreciate it. We appreciate you guys, what you're doing. The work that has been done is amazing. Again, we always feel like there's always some information that's always been missing, and we would like to just kind of put that out there. The new zoning map, it's kind of doing what the old zoning map was doing in the sense of location-wise, in the sense of retail availability. It looks like there's more possibilities, but we also appreciate the fact that we have the resources available, and which there are. But we took it upon ourselves, and we actually sent Mr. Mr. Raffael the list. And I don't know. A few other people got the list of every single parcel that's available. And there's not many available. And they didn't also consider the fact that we have ColumbiaCare there. So ColumbiaCare itself eliminates other possibilities that were considered to be possibilities. So we would just appreciate that. 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 clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear whole bunch of dispensaries in your area it won't from what's available number one it's it's there's a very few areas available for it so and the restriction that we have with the 2500 feet that you have right now which is almost it was double and a half of what is an mrta it's also affecting that so if that could be also considered that would be also helpful um like i said we gave you guys information and i'm more glad to help it um to help send it again or reprint it and give it to you personally but that that's going to affect the whole situation the the people that are advantage here is columbia care because they're already operating and the and i heard that this um some applications that have been sent in they've been denied because of the rules and even the new rules are going to have those places in denial so please consider those situations like i said we we provided the information we went door-to-door on this situation just to make sure that we had the right information for you and please consider that information because it's very important and again we appreciate what the riverhead is doing you guys are going to be the next ones doing um cannabis legally and you're going to do a lot of good for community uh for the cultivators out here you know and the people that just need work so again we appreciate your work and thank you very much thank you we did all receive your information and it's kind of a constant source of conversation amongst board members because it's still somewhat of a work in progress where we we want to get it right and if we we put something out and we find it's not working we can bring it back to the table again and tweak it a little bit and i know a lot of work goes in from people in the community on this so like i think that tweaking we would definitely love that and i appreciate just having that um that frame of door like that's very important so we we definitely appreciate that right but i think we've proven ourselves in terms of that you know we admitted the first legislation is not you know that's in place right now is not working it's really down to i think really about four parcels you know and so it doesn't give you viable options and so realizing that this legislation goes from four parcels to 144 parcels but we have to take in the long-term planning so just because a particular parcel may not be available today if it's in in the middle of a 10-year lease or a 20-year lease you know when that lease expires it goes the owner landlord may choose at that point to say okay now i'm going to change it up i'm going to rent to a cannabis retail store so we have to take baby steps in this and you know we put this out my goal at least i'll speak for myself was to put this out there i think the cannabis committee did great work you've got a lot there are options out there we watch it we monitor it we see and then you know if time goes by and you're you're back in this room saying it's not working there's nothing available then we take a second look at it but once we open the gates and and allow it in in certain areas and zoning and parcels it's it's very hard to restrict it you can't take it back you can't go wait a minute now that's too much you know because what might not be available today under the current download without changing any town codes could be available a year from now six months a year or 10 years and that's what we have to take in consideration it's not our job to go out and specifically find you a location but to make it overall available and we can't speak on behalf of the landlords or property owners that may say um i choose not to you know rental lease into this particular type of retail establishment but but we hear you but we're taking baby steps you were very active during our our um forums and i appreciate you know taking baby steps and i appreciate you your insight and i think we're going in the absolute right direction but we've got to take these baby steps because you can't just open the gate and say all right we're going to allow it everywhere and then all of a sudden it's too many and too much yeah like i said like it's not opening the gates because it's just tweaking it a little bit to make it a little bit more convenient and then like i said like even with the same rules the rules were designed for for it to be spread out so it's not going to be like that taking the baby steps like you said it could be the baby steps could literally be like it says five to ten years and like right now you have smoke shops that are operating in your team town and you literally have them from one like two two blocks away on one block away and they're operating and they're not being restricted but we are and we're trying to bring safety in this so every time if you go to any other state cannabis brings safety in this it doesn't bring um doesn't bring harm because the way it's protected inside you have to go to security and then you have to go to a vote in order to get this stuff and if you go to these smoke shops you could literally reach over the counter and grab the products and be able to get it and you see miners going there so yeah i like the baby step situation but i think if we just give that little tweak and possibility with especially with the lot line to lot line which is not a big deal it's going to give that situation and give opportunity also for like the people that are in the community to open a dispensary not just the people that have like the r roads like columbia care because they're going to be able to operate right away but everybody else is being restricted about it but yeah we still have smoke shots operating so yeah let's take the baby steps but let's let's do that baby step in the beginning let's make it right like like mr herbert said let's try to do the right way so we have more opportunity for the people and for the people of our community not for the people that come from out of state have big companies and they're the ones producing so at the end of the day let's do it for each other right let's do it for community and i understand your you want immediate desire to have something immediately available but we have to legislate at least in my opinion for long term over the next year if this legislation is passed and goes into effect over the next year two years there might not be any cannabis retail shops in revere because nothing is available that doesn't mean without changing it that a few years from now there could be six and that's the way we have to look at it i appreciate it thank you so much sorry i just want to make a point too just to clarify for the public you said about smoke shops they are not legally permitted to sell any type of narcotic but we have them in our neighborhoods that's a big difference though yeah for the public that's not legally allowed understand you understand but but they're right in our neighborhoods and we don't understand that at least us that we are we're in the world of cannabis we know what's going on in the situation and we're trying to address it but nobody's looking at that picture as well so like i said at the end of the day bringing legal cannabis dispensaries is going to be the right thing for our neighborhoods and our communities taking these little tweaks to help out the people from our communities open up stores that's what we're talking about i'm not looking to do that immediately but we're trying to at least give ourselves opportunities as well not just like i said big companies that are already doing it they're already able to like switch over and we're not getting those same opportunities i mean it should be both ways we feel like we're being like neglected and even though we have you know opportunity to do the same thing as anybody else and we want to have the same responsibilities and we want to do it the right way so like i said we appreciate you everything you're doing but just please let's look at that you know the information is there we went to every single place so i mean we put the work in for you guys you know i know that you but we put the work in so please take that into consideration thank you very much for your participation in the in the forum as well thank you very much can i take the next caller online please i we kind of postponed him or her whoever it is it was kathy with it no did we have another one online yes
ron mitchell
you're on can you hear us
yes can you hear me yes we can hi i'm mitch haggler of roanoke heights riverhead um commenting on i believe it's resolution 148 uh the amendment to the um factory outlet overlay um a little bit of background my my family had a three-generation uh business on main street in riverhead um which i was involved in for about 25 years um so i'm you know i'm pretty keenly aware uh still to this day of you know retail cummings and wings and in riverhead um and much like the um the the downtown um um zero tolerance family-friendly zoning um that you the town board adopted last year um i'm always a little bit perplexed uh about um what the the town has decided is um allowed and not allowed in certain retail districts um i just want to highlight that in the the proposal that you're going to vote on today um there's there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a there's a That proposal limits or restricts or says no to cannabis, tobacco shops, adult entertainment. But again, much like the downtown family friendly, it seems to overlook firearms businesses. Tanger itself in various places around the nation, including in their flagship headquarters city of Greensboro, North Carolina, a number of their facilities do not allow firearms or firearms businesses. So I would ask that the town board look at adding that as a excluded use in. What it's going to be adopting to that or at least voting on today. Excuse me. Thank you. Thank you. Next up. Sir, say your name and your president. Now, you know, my name is Brian Stark. I'm a first round card licensee that got a cannabis license back in November of 2022. And I'd just like to make some comments about that kind of zoning as well. To speak about what Hugo was talking. About Columbia care would have a thousand foot door to door. State required buffer around it. It wipes out all the real available real estate East and the 58. The middle of 58 is out because a lot line restrictions to the school properties and the Western and only has one viable piece of property that will not work for anybody. I know Anne Marie saying that there's two or three applications that are in. It's not from anybody that's already licensed. These are people that are looking to get a license and probably won't get a license because they're only giving out 250 of them. And with the restrictions that are. In place now, obviously, there's nothing available with the new zoning that's being done. The majority of the properties that are on that hundred and forty four parcels are residential agricultural horse farms. It eliminates a majority of them. If not, you're going into areas on 58 that big box stores are in that. Have many. Mass leases you cannot rent. There so to go back to what something like what Mike was saying. Yeah, we worked with all the realtors out here. We've done the research. You're talking maybe one, possibly two properties that are not going to cooperate with the cannabis licensees so we're going to be back in the same situation. We would definitely like to. Addressing some more and see how we can open this up where we all have a fair shot. There's not going to be multiple. DISPENSARIES IN RIVERHEAD. THERE ARE SETBACKS. I KNOW YOU GUYS WANT 2,500 FEET. THE LOSS STATES THAT THE STATE MADE IS 1,000. WITH THAT 1,000 AND THE REAL ESTATE THAT'S CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, YOU MAYBE GET ONE, POSSIBLY TWO. AND THAT WOULD BE IF YOU FOLLOW THE STATE REQUIREMENTS. THAT'S ALL I REALLY GOT TO SAY. BUT I THINK THAT THE NEW MAP WAS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO END UP IN THE SAME EXACT SITUATION WE'RE ALREADY IN AND WE'RE GOING TO BE BACK HERE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW. SO I JUST THINK MAYBE LOOK INTO IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, SEE WHERE WE WOULD BE AT IF WE FOLLOW THE STATE REQUIREMENTS, WHICH IS DOOR-TO-DOOR REQUIREMENTS, AND SEE HOW MANY PARCELS ARE OPENED UP THERE AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING AVAILABLE. THAT'S IT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. I'M JUST GOING TO CORRECT YOU, BUT THE 144 PARCELS THAT WE LISTED ARE ELIGIBLE PARCELS. SO LIKE WE PUT TOGETHER ALL OF THE SURROUNDING RESTRICTIONS FOR THE SCHOOLING, YOU KNOW, TOWN PROPERTY, CHURCHES, AND SO FORTH, AND IT COMES UP WITH 144 PARCELS. WHEN YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE PERMISSIBLE TO GO TO SCHOOL, THOSE PARCELS WERE ALREADY ELIMINATED FROM THE COUNT. WE ARE AT 144. THEY'RE ZONED RESIDENTIAL. THEY'RE ZONED AGRICULTURAL. THEY'RE ZONED FOR A HORSE FARM. WE'RE NOT, NOBODY'S GOING TO TAKE THAT PARCEL OVER AND TRY TO REZONE IT INTO A DISPENSARY IN THE MIDDLE OF, FOR INSTANCE, THE CORRIDOR THAT'S IN JAMESPORT, ACTUALLY, WHERE THE GENTLEMAN WROTE THE LETTER FROM, IT'S 40 PARCELS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THERE. 30 OF THEM ARE EITHER RESIDENTIAL, AGRICULTURAL, HORSE FARMS, LAND RIGHTS, WHICH I GUESS THAT MEANS IT CAN'T EVEN BE DEVELOPED BECAUSE IT'S BEING SAVED FOR AGRICULTURAL. THAT'S WHAT'S THERE. YOU GUYS PUT THE LISTINGS ON THERE. IT SHOWS. HOTEL. I'LL LET AMORY CLARIFY FOR YOU, BUT THAT'S JUST, I THINK YOU'RE DISINTERPRETING IT. YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A MISINTERPRETATION. THE PROPERTIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED ON THE MAPS THAT WAS PROVIDED TO EVERYONE, TOGETHER WITH THE SHEET WHICH IDENTIFIES SECTION, BLOCK, AND LOT AND THEIR CURRENT USES, THOSE PROPERTIES ARE ALL WITHIN AND ONLY WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS THAT PERMIT RETAIL. SO THE FACT THAT A PIECE OF PROPERTY ON THAT LIST IS ON THAT LIST, THAT MEANS IT'S WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS THAT PERMIT RETAIL. SO THE FACT THAT A PIECE OF PROPERTY ON THAT LIST IS ON THAT LIST IS ON THAT LIST IS WITHIN A COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR THAT PERMITS RETAIL AS A USE. THE FACT THAT IN THE LIST IT SAYS VACANT RESIDENTIAL OR SINGLE FAMILY HOME DOESN'T MEAN OR TRANSLATE INTO NON-PERMITTED. BUT THAT SAID, AT ANY TIME, IF YOU WANT TO SIT DOWN WITH ME FOR ME TO FURTHER EXPLAIN AND GO THROUGH IT, I ABSOLUTELY WOULD. BUT I THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN THE PROPERTY THAT IS DISCONNECTED. THE ONLY PROPERTIES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED ARE THOSE IN THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS WHICH PERMIT RETAIL. THEY MIGHT BE PRESENTLY USED, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN DOWNTOWN, WE HAVE SOME SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. YOU MIGHT NOT SEE THAT IN THE ZONING OR IT COULD SWITCH TO A RETAIL SHOP EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HOUSE PRESENTLY. SO THEY'RE SEEING SOMETHING AS A HOME BUT THE REALITY IS YOU CAN PURCHASE THAT HOUSE AND CONVERT IT TO A RETAIL CENTER. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT PARKING? IT'S NEVER GOING TO WORK. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE A HORSE FARM AND TURN IT INTO A RETAIL SHOPPING WITH 27, 30 PARKING SPOTS TO HAVE BUSINESS. YOU CAN IF IT'S PERMISSIBLE. THAT'S THE WAY WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT, THOUGH. RIGHT. BUT IF YOU WANT, I'D BE HAPPY TO GO THROUGH THE LIST, THE COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS WITH YOU, WHATEVER YOU NEED. THANK YOU. [transcription gap] HEY, HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. MY NAME IS MICHAEL RITA. I RESIDE IN ST. JAMES. CARD HOLDER. HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THE UPHILL BATTLE. I'M A MEMBER OF LICC. SO I GREW UP ON THE EAST END. I GREW UP IN EAST MERCHES MY WHOLE LIFE. SINCE I GOT LICENSED, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RIVERHEAD BECAUSE I KNOW THE GROWTH THAT RIVERHEAD HAS HAD OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. YOU GUYS ALL KNOW 1871, WHICH IS BARCLAY'S BUILDING. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO PUT A DEAL TOGETHER ON THAT SINCE APRIL. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MAN IS JUST IMPOSSIBLE. SO, COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I DO WANT TO TOUCH BASE ON. SO BASED OFF OF THAT LIST, COLUMBIA CARES CURRENT ADDRESS ISN'T LISTED AS ONE OF THOSE PARCELS. SO WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT? SO WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THAT LOCATION? LIKE ARE THEY GOING TO GET A PASS BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY THERE? LIKE HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK? I KNOW THAT WE'VE SEEKED CLARIFICATION. I DON'T KNOW IF, EMERY, IF YOU'VE RECEIVED ANY CLARIFICATION ABOUT COLUMBIA CARE, BUT IT'S I'LL LET DAWN COME UP AND TRY TO EXPLAIN BECAUSE IT'S AN ONGOING THING. WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO IT BECAUSE OUR ZONING DOESN'T ALLOW IT THERE, BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE SO, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE LICENSE AGREEMENT. IT'S EXISTING, BUT THEY WERE UNDER A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LICENSE AGREEMENT WHERE THEY WOULD DO MEDICAL MARIJUANA. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT SHOULD CONSENSUALLY GO RIGHT INTO RETAIL. I'LL LET DAWN EXPLAIN. SO THEY DID, COLUMBIA CARE DID SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO DO RETAIL AT THE LOCATION WHERE THEY ARE CURRENTLY AT. THAT CAME WITH A MEMO FROM THEIR COUNCIL INDICATING THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING MEDICAL THERE, THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO DO RETAIL THERE. WE TYPICALLY THAT LOCATION OR CURRENTLY THAT LOCATION DOESN'T COMPLY WITH OUR CODE, BUT BECAUSE OF ITS CURRENT EXISTING LOCATION, WE SUBMITTED OUR PARAMETERS TOGETHER WITH THE LEGAL MEMO THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY COUNCIL TO COLUMBIA CARE TO THE STATE, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE STATE WILL DO, BUT THEY MAY BE EXEMPT FROM OUR LOCAL ZONING BECAUSE OF THAT EXISTING MEDICAL DISPENSARY. SO REAL QUICK, JUST TO TOUCH BASE, DAWN, RIGHT? YES. ON WHAT SHE SAID, HOW, LIKE LOGISTICALLY, TO ME, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE HOW THEY COULD BE EXEMPT BECAUSE IT MEETS THE STATE'S LAWS, BUT ALL THE GENERAL STATE LAWS ON CANNABIS, EVERY, AND LISTEN, I UNDERSTAND IT'S NEW, BUT EVERY TOWNSHIP AND MUNICIPALITY ON LONG ISLAND IS ADOPTING THEIR OWN. AND I THINK THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE. SO HOW DOES THAT, THAT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME, HOW YOU CAN ALLOW, I KNOW THEY'RE EXISTING, RIGHT? BUT HOW YOU CAN ALLOW THEM TO OPERATE UNDER THE STATE'S GUIDELINES, BUT WE HAVE TO OPERATE UNDER THE TOWN'S GUIDELINES, RIGHT? WELL, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. YOU'RE NOT COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. WE ARE, BECAUSE THEY ARE TURNING TO ADULT USE. SO IT'S NOT JUST MEDICAL. BUT THEY'RE ALSO DOING THE MEDICAL, WHICH GOT THEM IN THE DOOR FIRST. THAT'S COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE. AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TELL YOU HOW IT HAPPENED. SO THE STATE REGULATES THEM A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR PROBLEM. IT'S NOT WHAT WE WANT. IT DOESN'T FIT OUR ZONING. BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO, LIKE WHEN I SAY WE OPEN THIS BOARD, BUT MYSELF, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN LEGALLY STOP OR PREVENT IT IF THE STATE OF NEW YORK IS IN FACT GRANTING THEM A LICENSE TO DO IT. BUT THE STATE OF NEW YORK IS CONSULTING WITH US ON EVERY OTHER APPLICATION THAT COMES INTO THE TOWN ASKING, DOES IT MEET YOUR CURRENT ZONING? SO WE SAY YES OR NO. SO WITH COLUMBIA CARE, THE ANSWER IS NO, IT DOES NOT MEET OUR CURRENT ZONING. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE STATE IS GOING TO TRY TO SUPERSEDE US. I UNDERSTAND. I JUST WANTED A LITTLE MORE CLARIFICATION ON THAT. EXACTLY. AND THEY'RE DOING RIGHT? OKAY. AND AGAIN, JUST TO REITERATE, WE ALL DO APPRECIATE THE TOWN OF RIVERHEAD TRYING TO WORK WITH US AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT MAKES SENSE. YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT MIGHT NOT BE EXACTLY WHAT WE ALL WANT RIGHT NOW. BUT LIKE YOU SAID, MR. ROTHWELL, HOPEFULLY AS TIME GOES ON, IF WE SEE THAT NOBODY IS ABLE TO ACTUALLY GET OPEN AND OPERATIONAL, WE CAN MAKE SOME TWEAKS AND MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS. I MEAN, IDEALLY, WHAT WE'D ALL LIKE TO SEE IS EVERYONE FALLING TO SUIT AND FOLLOW THE STATE'S GUIDELINES. I'VE SAID SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO REVISIT IT, MONITOR IT, REVISIT IT. IF TIME GOES BY AND THERE ARE NO APPLICATIONS OR THERE'S ONLY ONE AVAILABLE LOT AND WE THINK WE NEED TO READDRESS IT, I'M SURE WE CAN CERTAINLY REOPEN THE CANNABIS FORUM, COME BACK TO THE TABLE AND TRY AGAIN. SO WHAT I DO ASK, BECAUSE I AM WORKING ON A LOCATION THAT IS WITHIN ONE OF THE CORRIDORS, IS THAT ON THE 21ST THAT THE RESOLUTION IN FAVOR TO THE ZONING CHANGE BE MADE DURING THE HEARING. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BENCHED AND YOU LET'S HAVE A VOTE DURING THE HEARING. YOU CAN GET THIS DONE. YOU WANT TO END THE OPEN COMMENT PERIOD IS WHAT YOU ARE SAYING? YES. YOU GUYS VOTE AND PASS IT. YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST A LONG PROCESS THAT'S JUST GOING TO CONTINUE. YOU KNOW, THIS DEAL THAT I'M WORKING ON, EVERYONE THAT'S IN THIS SPACE HAS BEEN SPENDING COUNTLESS AMOUNTS. YOU KNOW, I'M WORKING ON ANOTHER LOCATION IN THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. THE ATTORNEY'S FEES TO DO A ZBA. AND I'M WORKING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT. BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY, THEY'RE NOT PLAYING BALL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TRYING TO HELP US OUT AND TRYING TO GET SOMETHING OPENED UP HERE SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IT WORKS AND WHAT IT DOES FOR THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT AT THE END OF THE DAY. IT'S ABOUT THE BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO THE CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY. BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD ASK IS ON THE 21ST, HAVE OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT AND LET'S GET THIS DONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MY ONLY RESPONSE TO THAT WOULD BE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO EFFECT EVERYONE THAT COMES HERE WITH THE OPEN COMMENTS. AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE RAISE VALID POINTS AND SOMETIMES WE NEED TO GO BACK. WE NEED TO LOOK, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE VOTE ON SOMETHING. SO MY PERSONAL DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT I WOULD CONSIDER TO VOTE TO WAIVE A 10-DAY, YOU KNOW, THE 10-DAY COMMENT PERIOD WOULD BE IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE THE 10-DAY COMMENT PERIOD. IT WOULD BE THE 10-DAY COMMENT PERIOD. IT WOULD BE THE 10-DAY COMMENT THAT WE NEED TO SEE HOW THE PUBLIC LEADS US THAT EVENING, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT WE FEEL THERE'S MORE WORK TO BE DONE. ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING FOR ME OR YOU GUYS? YEAH, MIKE, I'M JUST GOING TO I WANT TO JUST SPEAK TO YOU, BRIAN, AND YOU GO. I AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK THAT THE COMMENT PERIOD IS A GREAT WAY TO CONSIDER THE EFFECT OF THE EFFECTS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE [transcription gap] EFFECTS OF THE EFFECTS OF has been incredibly lengthy I do appreciate I've sat in on all the cannabis committee meetings and I appreciate all the work that's being done I think you're absolutely right about the 2,500 foot distance I know I've spoken to you guys over I don't know last month and I I can completely see what's going on and I agree with the supervisor that the tax and I'm familiar with the operation I think you're familiar with where they're doing in excess of a million dollars a week which equates to about thirty nine thousand dollars a week to Riverhead to utilize that tax in addition there's another 4% that goes to the state which allows any town that's participating in cannabis to then file for grants from that party percent it's for I'm sorry I said for it's 40% so you know I can appreciate and my concern is that this doesn't land where okay there's one or two I also don't have the the same view that if this opened up there's going to be a hundred dispensaries not it's never going to work they'll catabolize each other for sure so I'm not you know that's like having a you know 30 pizza places on 58 they'll catabolize each other they'll smoke each other out oh yeah you yeah I stand corrected they'll smoke each other out so you know I would like to see the distances change because I know if you put one in now you're 2,500 feet on both sides that's tremendous amount of listen the fact of the matter is if you guys adopted the state's regs I guarantee it would be what you guys are predicting six to eight max but realistically two to three dispensaries would open and that's it I agree with you I think we all feel pretty much that same way I agree with you 100% so let's adopt the state regs and we'll see what happens next. very simple get it done all right thank you very much you're very welcome thank you do we have anybody else who would like to comment on any resolution Justin anybody online no okay let's move on to the reading of the resolutions start out with resolution number one resolution 113 appoints a water treatment plant operator trainee so moved second vote please Waski yes Merrifield yes Kern yes Rockwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 114 appoints the public safety dispatcher to the police department chief yes so moved second vote please Waski yes Merrifield yes Kern yes Rockwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 114 yes so moved so moved so moved so moved adopted resolution 116 ratifies the appointment of a technical support aide so moved seconded vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes motion adopted resolution 117 reappoints a zoning officer non pro tonque so moved second vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 118 ratifies the reclassification of a maintenance mechanic 3 so moved seconded vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 119 ratifies the reclassification on of an automobile automotive mechanic so moved seconded vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 120 appoints financial advisor so moved seconded vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 121 accepts the retirement of a custodial worker one so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yeah i just i want to thank george modern for his years of service to the town he's been instrumental in keeping the building clean down at the senior center for years uh and i just wish him nothing but the best in his retirement i vote yes resolution is adopted resolution 122 ratifies the acceptance of a resignation from a public safety dispatcher so moved seconded vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution is adopted resolution 123 ratifies the termination of an aeo so moved seconded vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution yes 124. authorizes the attendance at the 2024 annual meeting and training school held by the association of towns february 18th through the 21st of 2024 so moved seconded vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 125. authorize attendance at judicial continuing education so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so 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resolution adopted resolution 129 appoints official online publication so moved second vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 130 authorizes the supervisor to enter into an agreement with specified employees so moved seconded vote please waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 131 I'm sorry I have it thanks authorize a supervisor to execute an agreement for court reporter services Colleen track so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved [transcription gap] authorize the supervisor to execute agreement with the adventure group LLC doing business as cousins paintball incorporated so moved second vote please waski yes very field yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard just another amenity for the town of Revhead yes resolution is adopted remember to duck Bob Kern I'm coming to get you he said he's gonna use me as a shield I don't know what he meant by resolution number 134 Oh authorizes renewal of a musical works license agreement with the American Society of composers authors and publishers s cap so moved second vote please waski yes Mary field yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution is adopted resolution 135 awards bid installation of a musical work license agreement with the American Society of Composers and composers and publishers and publishers and the ! and aperture aperture nins pertinences I apologize Seacrest Estates subdivision aka the villas at Roanoke Riverhead Water District so moved second vote please waski yes very field yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes and I think every board member has met has messed that word up every time they first read it yes I've never heard of it prior to coming to that board thank you I think it's made up resolution 136 awards bid distribution system maintenance and emergency services contract Riverhead Water District so moved seconded vote please waski yes Mary field yes Kern yes Rothwell yes and Hubbard yes resolutions adopted resolution 137 awards bid electrical system maintenance and emergency service contract Riverhead Water District so moved second vote please waski yes head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head Resolution is adopted. Resolution 139. Board Member Raczkiewicz. Awards bid, Mechanical Maintenance and Emergency Services Contract, Riverhead Water District. So moved. Board Member Raczkiewicz. Seconded. Board Member Raczkiewicz. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Mancini is going for a clean sweep. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 140. Board Member Raczkiewicz. Awards bid, Mechanical Maintenance and Emergency Services Contract, Riverhead Water District. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. You have enough employees? Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 141. Here comes more water. Authorizes town clerk to publish and post bid for water service materials. So moved. Second. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution. Authorizes town clerk to publish and post bid for charter buses. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 143. Authorizes notice to bidders construction of pre-stressed ground storage tank at the river. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 144. Approved special event chapter 255. Application for race awesome. Jamesport Triathlon. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 144. Approved special event chapter 255. Application for race awesome. Jamesport Triathlon. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 145. Authorizes special event chapter 255. Application for the American Cancer Society. Making strides against cancer of eastern Long Island. So moved. Second. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 147. Authorizes town clerk to publish and post a report on the !
Public notice to consider a local law to amend chapter 301 zoning and land development part three supplementary regulations article. What is this number? 50. Okay. L11C. Thank you. Cannabis. I'm messing up left and right today. Cannabis of the Riverhead Town Code. So moved. Seconded. Rothwell. Yes. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 148. Adopts a local law amending chapter 301 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled zoning and land development article 17. I'm a Catholic school girl. We did our Roman numerals. I'm sorry. Roman numerals. Roman numerals. Business F, bus F, zoning, use district, manufacturers, outlet, center, overlay, zone. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. The resolution number 149. Adopts a local law amending chapter 301 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled zoning and land development article 17. Adopts a local law amending chapter 301 of the River head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head It's so approved. Resolution 150. Adopts a local law amending Chapter 301 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled Zoning and Land Development, Part 4, Subdivision and Land Development. Article 51, Site Plan Review. So moved. 56. 56. No Super Bowl for me. Seconded. Remember when it was Super Bowl X? I'm going to work this out. Super Bowl I. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 151. Adopts a local law to amend Chapter 273 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled Solid Waste. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 152. Oh, that's me. Adopts a local law amending Chapter 301 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled Zoning and Land Development Part 4, Subdivision and Land Development, Article 53, Subdivision Regulations. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 153. Resolution 152. What a district budget transfer for vehicles and equipment. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Much needed. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 154. Budget transfer emergency repairs at Reeves Beach. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. I just want to add, in the repairs done to Reeves Beach, the ramp should be done by Super Bowl weekend as long as Mother Nature cooperates between now and then. They should be able to get enough work done on it to open the ramp back up. The gazebo, definitely not, but the ramp will be available. I've gotten a couple of calls from residents wanting to know they're getting winteritis and want to get outside and get down on the beach. And they go down and they pick up litter. And they pick up litter and everything else. So the good news is, hopefully by the end of this weekend, the ramp will be open and available. Great. Resolution number 155. Budget transfer for 2023 legal fees. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 156. 203-213 East Main Street Road. Yes. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 157. Authorization to accept grant funds and enter into a contract with New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation for construction of the proposed town square and adaptive playground. Hooray. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 157. Yes. Merrifield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Great work, CDA. Yes. Excellent. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 158. Authorizes the filing of an application for New York State assistance from the Household Hazardous Waste State Assistance Program and signing of the associated state contract under the appropriate laws of New York State. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskie? Yes. Merrifield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 159. Authorizes application for funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE 2024 grant funding. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskie? Yes. Merrifield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 160. américano !
Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 161. Resolution calling for a public hearing regarding a capital improvement for the proposed lateral water main extension at 203 to 213 East Main Street, Suffolk County Tax Department District Number 0600, Section 129, Block 1, Lots 17 through 20, Riverhead, New York. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. And Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 162. Ratifies appointment of special counsel in legal action against the town of Riverhead entitled Calvertin Aviation and Technology LLC, the town of Riverhead, the town of Riverhead Community Development Agency, and the town of Riverhead Indoor. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. I just want to take a moment to thank our town attorney, Eric Howard, and the entire town attorney staff. They put together an incredible group of individuals from different law firms that came here and did a nice presentation to us. Some immense work. I firmly believe in this particular law firm, and I think there was many great accomplishments there. But there's a lot of work to be done. many great options in front of us so i think we are in good hands i vote yes thank you for you guys work hubbard yes resolution is adopted resolution number 163 pay bills so moved second it vote please waski yes maryfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution is adopted this completes our resolutions we're now going to open the floor for open comments from the public on any matter at all any matter at all and we have three online okay thank you good afternoon i am pilar moya mancera the executive director of housing help inc a tiny but mighty house of health and health care center and i'm here to talk about the housing health care center housing and financial counseling agency that has been serving long island for over 50 years i am here to express our sincere gratitude for the invaluable invaluable support from the riverhead police department during our three kings day event on a cold and snowy january 7 at centro franciscano the episcopalian church located on ronald roenick avenue the collaboration with the riverhead town police department was instrumental in the success of our initiative where we had the privilege of providing assistance to 521 adults and 507 children totaling 1028 individuals this was a drive-through event so their traffic coordination was crucial for the event's safety and success and play a crucial role in creating a positive impact on the lives of those we serve and the people we serve and the community we serve during the event housing help was able to offer a range of essential resources including food toys for the children and food gift cards this support will not have been possible without our local and regional community partners and local leaders a special thanks to council members joanne was waski i'm sorry from the peruaski and denise merrifield thank you who joined in the snow and cold to help us give out food to our event participants as we reflect on the success of this event i am excited to share that housing help will continue its mission in riverhead by launching a housing counseling on wheels initiative this innovative approach will enable us to extend our reach and provide support directly to the community the collaboration and support we have received especially from the riverhead police department have been instrumental in our efforts we are optimistic about the positive change we can collectively bring to riverhead and housing help is committed to fostering a better more inclusive community we look forward to the ongoing partnership with the riverhead town police the town council and the entire community thank you for your time and the continued support of our mission thank you thank you thank you that was a wonderful event that day and i look forward to the next one i'm i'm sure i can speak on behalf of councilwoman merrifield as well we really we really enjoyed meeting everybody and and you did a very successful event so thank you no thank you for participating and you know what we make hundreds of children so happy with those toys right so it made us happy yes so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so pre-submission conference, the town residents need to know what is being presented, what ideas developers have before they get acted upon. And I'm still disappointed that you changed that agritourism code without letting the comp plan deal with it. I know the whole hoopla about the circumstances, but it really should have been done in a different way. But I'm glad you corrected that. I hope if there's anything else that has been going on that we are unaware of, it gets corrected as well. Claudette, the comp plan actually did assist us with the agritourism. Okay, that's good. I have a question totally unrelated to anything that was discussed today. Last year, sometime the recreation department requested money or was looking into buying a computer program to allow for digital electronic activities. I didn't get that clear. I didn't get that clear. I didn't get clear. [transcription gap] I didn't get clear. [transcription gap] I didn't get clear. get the program or they're not getting the program? Mr. That particular program, they did not get. The money that they had went more into putting their applications and things online so you can do them online. Ms. I did that. I did it online. But we're not going to have that digital system. Mr. I don't think it's going to be ready for this year. Ms. Okay. Because I know they have it, I think in Brookhaven they're using it this year and stuff. So that would be saving. Mr. These were parts of budget things that had to be weighed in. Ms. But it will come up again in this year's budget. So maybe this year there's room for that. Ms. Okay. Always looking forward to progress. Thank you. Mr. Thank you. We'll take somebody from online.
I know this says Tom Hughes, but he will come on after me. We had great confusion. We were trying to use two computers. This is Kathy McGraw from Northville again. And Mr. Hubbard, you pledged more open government and you've made some really excellent changes. I was delighted to hear the change you announced today on the pre-submission meetings. And I thank you very much. But there remains for me the question of what to do about the many such meetings that have violated that town code. And in particular, we have learned that since 2022, you and Mr. Rothwell, Don Thomas, many staff from the planning department and the town attorney's office have been meeting in person and by Zoom and through emails with Wiseman Realty. And as well as consultants paid for by Wiseman Realty. And specifically the subject of all of that has been a luxury resort to be built by Wiseman at 3394 Sound Avenue on the bluffs of the Long Island Sound. And if this is an aside, if the people of Riverhead are interested, you can read the countless, what I consider to be eye-opening emails that have been obtained by the Riverhead Local and were published today. Emails between town staff and representatives of Wiseman. Town staff with Wiseman reps has not only been reviewing site plans, but also considering changes to the TDR program and drafting a new zoning code, which we've heard about today, agritourism. That allows the Wiseman Resort, which otherwise, is a resort that is not a resort, but is a resort that is a resort. And that allows the Wiseman Resort, which otherwise, could not be built. This was all done behind closed doors until last July. When Riverhead Local checking on campaign contributions came across one to Mr. Hubbard from Wiseman Real Estate. The reporter then checked the Wiseman website and found on that site notice of a luxury resort near Briarmere. On point. Mr. Hubbard. [transcription gap] on Sound Avenue. And at that point, the cat was out of the bag. That was July of this past year. And when asked about this, no one from town government was really very forthcoming at first. And you, Mr. Hubbard, when asked specifically, said you would not support a zoning change to allow hotels and spas. Correct. But correct me if I'm wrong, at the next town board meeting, you are holding a public hearing on this zoning code change that will allow those very things. Correct. Mr. Hubbard, I have always, as a lifelong resident of Riverhead, that you have the best interests of Riverhead at heart. This episode has got me wondering a little bit if that's true. The Agritourism Code allowing this resort and also, identifying parcels where seven or eight more of these resorts could be located was done without the people of this town knowing anything about it. This is particularly egregious since all of this was going on at the same time. This town is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a comp plan update. I know you just said, Mr. Hubbard, that the comp plan was in vain. I didn't have a clear head head head head But I never saw anything publicly. I don't know if the representatives to the comp plan meetings know anything about it. I just think such a dramatic zoning change would be of real interest and very important to the people who live in Riverhead. And I think by not having it be front and center studied in the comp plan, it looks like this comp plan is a very expensive, empty exercise. In as much as the Agritourism Code all began with meetings that violated Town Code 301-305, I would ask that you withdraw this proposal, this proposed zoning change, cancel the hearing for the next town board meeting. And roll this out. This significant zoning change, it is truly significant to put luxury resorts along the historic Sound Avenue corridor and make this a part of the comp plan. It might cost some more money, but it will restore confidence in this town's government. And I hope that all of you on the town board will choose to do so. I very much appreciate your time. Thank you. And if you'd like, I'll be happy to take any questions you may have. Tom Hughes would now speak up. Go ahead. Good afternoon. I apologize for the confusion with two people sharing one computer. And I also had to make some changes in my script because of Mr. Hubbard's welcome but tardy acknowledgement that what has been happening with the developers of this proposed hotel is that it's not dead wrong. If not dead wrong, at least looks wrong. This can't be how Riverhead Town wants to be seen to do their business in this new age of open government, which we all welcome. It is legitimate for people to ask why is Mr. Wiseman a respected Westchester developer, why is he getting such concierge care from the town of Riverhead? Of course, as previously mentioned, we have since learned. Public records that Mr. Wiseman was a lavish benefactor during the recent town elections. There's nothing wrong with that. Perfectly legitimate. He gave a little more money than he should, but I understand that that's why we're talking about it. If it doesn't matter. Well, I think it's a germane point and why I believe it is reasonable to comment on how this matter is being handed. Certainly. Mr. Wiseman. Well, he's not getting. All this attention from the town of Riverhead because he built a nice new Hampton Inn in Yonkers. There's there is reason why the doors are open. If I go into town hall and say, I want to put a room over the garage or if I'm a businessman and I want to put up a larger sign or I want to open a new restaurant on a busy corner, the results will vary. I don't have that on trade. Mr. Wiseman and his law firm. Apparently do. And I'm just saying it is legitimate. That's simply not true. The planning board is open to the public and any resident, any developer, contractor, attorney, any investor can come forth. We run a town hall of open doors and it's not exactly investigative reporting. You can come to the town hall, come into the planning department, discuss your ideas and we'll make comments on them. And good ideas are brought to the table. Poor ideas are brought to the table. I don't really see what this is all about. All right. Well, it's an open door policy and we're proud of that. I will concede that this debate is a mere kerfuffle. This is just a concern that many people have about the operations of this board, which is only obviously weeks old and its predecessors and beyond. And there are enough people in town, obviously not enough. But there are enough people. There are enough people who share that opinion. But I think the bigger issue is the unsuitability of the proposed enterprise for that particular piece of land. We're being misled by the whole agritourism buzzword. There's been agritourism in Riverhead for the 50 years I've been there. You know, Briar Mere, the peach farms, Swedes, buffaloes roaming the range, wineries, breweries. I don't know. [transcription gap] I'm just going to say it. But there's nothing new. You know, agritourism is here. It's nothing new. And this idea that there are going to be fields of Vomdive and Sorrel and guests at the hotel are going to be out picking their own supper is just nonsense. They're using the word. This is public comment. And I'm, remember the public? I'm making my comments. They're using their code word to obscure what their real plan is, which is another hotel and wedding venue with a few fields of corn for hayrides in the fall. All right. You know, otherwise, there's also ample room for tents and bands and playing fields. I've heard talk of sports complexes. You know, the idea of playing fields for travel teams and mom and dad rolling in the minivan and stay at the hotel. And they're there for a couple of days and play lacrosse or field hockey or whatever. Mr. Hughes, excuse me. Are you in favor of major subdivisions along Sound Avenue? I understand the pressure on the agricultural land. And I think when they come up before the town, those questions can be addressed. So a project that would save land is not something you would support. A project that would preserve 70% of that land. When I first heard of this proposal, I was against a zone change, and I publicly stated that. When the proposal was presented to me with the TDR program and the possibility, to save and preserve 70% of 100 acres, that changed my mind instantly. And by the way, I do have the right to change my mind. If the project is bad, I don't support it. If it becomes good, I will support it. If it doesn't, I won't. And that's how things work. So to insinuate that because somebody who, if that person walked in this room right now, I would not know what that person looks like, but they donated to my campaign. Mr. Hughes, you don't know me. You don't know my credibility. You don't know anything about me. Nobody can buy me. Nobody has ever bought me, and nobody ever will. So for you to get on live TV and insinuate that people on this board are doing things because they received money, you're entirely in the wrong. I can't state that any other way. You are completely wrong. And I urge you to get on with your point quickly because we are going past our time period here. Okay. Well, I... My final... I do respect your... And I don't... I said that there's politics in America today. That's just it. There's no other reason. You know, you had campaign contributions. Your opponents had campaign contributions. That's... But it is part of the reason people will, you know, talk. We'll just... But what I want to get back to again is the future of this project. And if the town is relying on the developers and their attorneys and consultants to write their own code, which is the suspicion abroad in the land, you won't be able to stop what they eventually want to do there because they will have contrived a code that allows them to do what they will. Tom, I have to interrupt you. They did not... They did not write their own code, number one. Number two, Joanne brought up, asked you a question about subdivisions. So there's a... And you didn't answer that. Would you rather see subdivisions on the north side of Sound Avenue or not? This also... And having... I've spent two years on the comp plan. This plays a significant role in the TDR program in order to preserve land. And this is something that was brought to my attention, absolutely worth looking into. And how do we... How do we use the TDR program... And how do we stop subdivisions? Period. So any... If you want to weigh in on that, that part of the solution, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. As someone who has worked on the comp plan, why are we putting this before the horse? Why are we doing this before the comp plan that the town has... Because you're not listening. This was vetted through the comp plan. This was vetted through the comp plan. It was done through the steering committee. You just refused to acknowledge that. And I can't help you with that. And, Tom, you should know if you worked... Tom, if you've worked on a comp plan, you should also note that during the process of the comp plan, it does not stop the town board to have the ability to do zoning. There's 7,000 acres left. We're doing everything we can to preserve. So projects that may fall within the zoning category, if it's passed, have the opportunity to preserve. And to preserve that acreage and to purchase other parcels through transfer of development rights to increase their maximum density. So even a 100-acre site can preserve 70 acres, and then they can go out and potentially buy 20, 30 acres someplace else. The goal is to preserve as much as the 7,000 acres that does. If you're against this project, then what you must be for is that you'd prefer to see 350 houses built along Sound Avenue with an average car is for three cars per house to go in and out of there three times a day. day and and then to put all those 600 700 kids in our school district and i don't support that endeavor so i disagree with you well it it those are valid points and they are being addressed and will be addressed when the comp plan to the people of riverhead at some point again tom we don't have to wait for the comp plan to address this we're addressing it as the need comes up which is responsible without public input without public input no we haven't had the public hearing yet so you're painting a picture that's incorrect and that irritates me be truthful in what you're going to say when you come on camera that that would be what i say to you don't portray something use facts and tell the truth that that's what we prefer to hear up here that's what we okay so and just to add also that this is part of the recommendations of the 2003 comp plan an exact discussion in i believe it's 7.7 c but i don't hold me to that but check the 2003 comp plan and it talks of just doing projects just like this along the scenic and historic corridor and that the people wanted that so okay we've edited through the new comp plan we're going off the old comp plan i don't know what more we can do to you tom to make you uh you know feel differently about this you're entitled to your opinion obviously i feel strongly but i'm going to agree to disagree with you on many things that you said okay i understand and uh i i respect that but i do want to be on record as against this proposed hotel i do understand that this the pressure on agricultural land is intense not just in riverhead but on the entire east end and there are different ways to address the issue this one is not one i support uh i hope the dec will put a stop to it and i respect your opinion tom thank you very much town board i was just gonna uh state there is no site plan uh i conferred with matt he's never seen a site plan i've never seen a site plan so when kathy mcgraw aversed to a violation of the comp plan of the code pre-submission there is no site plan the appropriate time it's mentioned no no kathy kathy no we're not having this there is no site plan uh the time to hear a proposed code amendment is the purpose of the public hearing next just for the record and i've cited this before under the present comp plan section 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.6 c 3.6 g 3.7 c 5.2 uh
five uh i think it's 5.5 b goal 7.3 7.7 7.7 c and i just want to read one section in particular if you don't mind
sorry i have a lot of issues here i'm going to read the last sentence of the paragraph and i'm going to read the last sentence of the paragraph because this is what we review when we review legislation on page 7.4 i'm going to read just the last sentence of the paragraph tours are offered and farm products are sold in the future there may be potential for farm experience vacations or farm-based bed and breakfast so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so next so piece that avers to statements I made regarding environmental review, those I did not make. What I did state was that the present zoning that is in our proposed draft is already receiving area. So when I was asked the question by Alec Lewis, well, don't you have to do a generic environmental impact statement because of the sending and receiving areas, my response was, no, you do not. It's already a receiving area in the code. Next when he asked me about the developer submitting secret documents, I said, yeah, they may have, but I didn't review them. And I can tell you, town staff did not rely on them. And if you have any other questions regarding the secret review for this proposed land, I would be happy to answer them. I would just clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear Please go to the planners. That's their ballywick, not mine. The most recent comments you saw recited were worded and made a vermin that I made different comments than what I actually did. That's it. Jeffrey Siedman Ambrey, I stand by your work, Dawn Thomas's work, the entire planning department. You guys have been doing an amazing job. The goal in the long term is to preserve farmland and that's what we're doing. Jeffrey Siedman Absolutely correct. We have two people on. I have one more to come up to the microphone right now first. Hi there. It has nothing to do with what you guys are talking about. Jeffrey Siedman That's refreshing. I just wanted to remind everybody in the town of Riverhood that this Monday is Brian Simonson's fifth year anniversary since his end of watch. We will be going to Queens for Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. at the Holy Child Jesus Church in Richmond Hill. And the NYPD is going to be there. The NYPD will also be airing at live stream. So I would invite you all to watch the mass. I don't know if we'll be doing any more masses in Queens after this maybe the 10 year, but it is a lot on LeAnn and Linda and the whole family. So I invite you all to participate, watch, think about him. Jeffrey Siedman Melissa, for those who don't know, Detective Simonson was a detective with the New York City Police Department. He was a resident of the town of Riverhood. He was a resident in the 102, a resident, grew up in Jamesport. Actually Tim and Jim. We're on the board when we renamed South Jamesport Avenue Brian Simonson way. He was a detective. He was promoted after his death to detective grade one. But he was a detective in the 102 squad. Spent his whole career in the 102 squad and was unfortunately killed in the line of duty February 12, 2019. It ended up being friendly fire. We just convicted both perpetrators that were responsible for his death last year, which was a huge feat for the family. And this is just. It's a lot. Finally, Brian was a huge river head guy. Smiles was his nickname so if you knew him, you loved him. He was everybody's best friend. But at the end of the day, all this stuff going on is just smoke and mirrors so I just think it's more important to kind of bring it down to what is all about our town. And he was all about our town so if we could just remember him. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much. I actually will be in attendance at the service on Monday. Thank you so much. [transcription gap] Thank you so much. [transcription gap] Thank you so much. Very good great family. Yeah, and the work that's been done in his memory with money That's been raised for foundations and different things is incredible It goes it speaks volumes of what a person but they're gonna be fine Marshalls for the parade this year as well. Yes Jan Simonson His widow Brian's widow and his mother Linda Simonson are the grand marshals for the James port parade this year which is taking place on March 30th in James port. So I hope everybody can come and Share their day with them Appreciate it. Okay. We have somebody online
You're on can you hear us? Yes, thank you Backabag and first of all, I want to Thank Denise civility an award-winning journal And Alec Lewis of Riverhead local for their insightful Interpretation and provision of the black and white emails and despite your assurances I Think that the emails speak for themselves and they can construct can cause some concern. I would ask if any of the board members including the supervisor and mr. Rothwell What explanation there is? for the fact that one of the most prolific donors to Riverheads Republican Party namely Joe Petruccelli is copied on those emails including specifically an email of a clear clear clear [transcription gap] clear clear clear [transcription gap] clear [transcription gap] clear clear clear clear clear [transcription gap] clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear [transcription gap] clear Mr. Petrucelli continues to seem to have a favored status in our town. So what is the explanation for why he continues to be copied and involved in transactions involving a different developer?
You'd have to ask Mr. Petrucelli, I would assume. I have no idea. Thank you. Maybe we will be asking those questions, and I hope that Councillor Civilletti will get to those questions. I have another question, and it's really addressed to the town attorney. We previously discussed the town's litigation in Supreme Court involving Canal House. I recently read that it is a matter that has been settled. I have a question for Mr. Petrucelli. [transcription gap] So, Mr. Howard, could you tell me what fines, if any, that can recover against the defendant in that case, which just happened to be represented by Anthony Colombo? Mr. Harriot, so the matter was marked settled. It's pending our submitting a final stipulation of settlement. I expect that that stipulation of settlement will be signed by the defendant, and it should be included in the February 2015 statute. Thank you. [transcription gap] meeting uh for to to be approved by the town board but it hasn't been i mean it's actually been listed as as settled already yeah just justice just because because we had only a few minor details to to work out before we believed we had an agreement he marked it settled subject to restoration by letter if we for whatever reason break down on the negotiations so what is the agreement as to fines if any the fines will there will be fines um i i'm i'm not going to say right now because we did go back and forth on it quite a bit mr plumbo myself so the stipulation settlement will clearly lay out what the fines are and i expect that that'll be together with the resolution at the next town board meeting and just to clarify i know that you've been involved in code enforcement and overseeing that responsibility it's fair to say as alleged in your own papers that um that this defendant operated an illegal airbnb that's your allegation in fact he sent a a detective a riverhead police detective to the love shack there aside from a multitude of other um you know other irregularities and violations of zoning code and building code and other irregularities that are not in the law and that are not in the law so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so Good afternoon, Mike Foley, Reeves Park. Can you hear me okay? Yes, Mike. I want to talk about the controversy that I believe, Tim, you put to bed by putting things, as far as pre-submissions, back open to the public. And certainly there's not a whole lot that you can do other than disclose the things that are being disclosed now to revisit the past. But I want to correct the record, and I want to throw something out here that probably Ken and Ann Marie are the only two that know. Maybe they should. I've had a handful of conversations with Ken about the agriculture issue on putting this agritourism hotel up and about the problem I had with any catering or weddings that came out of it. And me and Ken had a good back and forth. I don't think we agree on everything. But certainly we had a good back and forth. And then Ann Marie apparently had a conversation with Ken. And Ann Marie sent me. A detailed email talking about the changes that were being contemplated. And also making some changes as a direct result, I believe, of Ken's conversation with Ann Marie about my concerns. You know, I think most people in the room know that I am a strong advocate for the historic Sound Avenue corridor. Certainly Joanne and I bumped heads on one occasion. And I was very thankful to her on another. She did a great job on the Baiting Hollow fog venue. And I feel she damaged our ability to protect by giving the Cider House what was ultimately ruled on. But that's in a rearview mirror. We're looking forward now. And I look at what Ann Marie, the time that Ann Marie gave me, and the language that changed as a direct result of my interaction with Ken and Ann Marie. And I'm here to tell you, even though it might not have been public. Uh. I was given all due consideration from them. And I had been in the past as well. Me and Ken have been actively involved in the weed issue. And then a couple other things. Ken, I forget what they were. But certainly you've always answered my calls. And we've always had friendly and I think productive conversations that I ended up disagreeing with you on a few things. But they happened nonetheless. And Ann Marie, I did feel that the language that she. Uh. That she. Um. Edited. Or changed. Uh. Went away a distance in making the agritourism possibility in order to save 70% of the land a possibility. Uh. At the public hearing, certainly I intend to attend it. And say we really do need to tighten up the language to make sure that there are no wedding receptions. Uh. Or those kind of events there. Uh. Because it's. Catering Hall should not be on Sound Avenue. Period. Uh. We just need to go back to some of the planning board back and forth between me and Joanne. Uh. To make that plain. But. The point I'm trying to make. Is that it wasn't just developers that had access to them. Anybody that had an idea. Had the ability to go before the planning board. And some of the ideas were zany and never got pen to paper. And some of them were good. And I guess. Pen got to paper. But I guess. What I want to say. Is that we are going to have a public hearing on this. I'm hopeful. That we can tighten up the language. So that there will not be weddings or catering events. On any of these hundred watt plus properties. That they do go along the way. Of having agritourism. You know. Obviously they're going to be nice. There'll be spas. There'll be pools. There'll be all that. But it will not be within the site. Of Sound Avenue. Or any of the roads. That are going to be continuous with these properties. That is in the code. I'm concerned about the bluffs. We haven't discussed the bluffs. And clearing all those things. And I'm sure that'll be something that comes up. But I want. And I don't know Tom Hughes. And because of the company he keeps. I take him that he's a guy. A well-meaning guy. Because certainly. I have high regard for Kathy McGraw. But I want to tell you. With 100% certitude. I believe. I believe in the integrity. And honesty. Of Anne Marie. Dawn Thomas. And Tim Hubbard. I believe they're all beyond reproach. And to insinuate that a thousand dollar check. Would turn Tim around. The guy that's been in here for generations. Has been in law enforcement. For 35 years. And is now serving the people here. What differences do we see. In the last month. From what we have been subjected to. For the last four years. With the last. I think that speaks for itself. And I want you to consider that. Going forward. Thank you. Mike. Do you have a twin brother. That would like to comment too. I don't. But you know my wife. You met her once. And she has asked me. To read this for you. In light of the supervisors. Notifying of the extra time. I was allotted. She yields back her time. To the supervisor. Mike. Thank you for the comments. Much appreciated. And. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. We'll talk soon. I'm sure. I do appreciate Mike. You. Your. Comments. And our conversations. Have directly changed. Some of the language. In. In our. Legislation. That's been put forth. Because of your help. And assistance. So I thank you very much. Well. And I think it's important. That the people understand. That Ken. That it's not just a developer. It's. If people reach out. And you know. Certainly. I'm on vacation. I consider this. Critical business. I consider the town's business. With the comp plan. And Epco. And everything else. To be possibly. The most consequential. Next three or four years. In the history of this town. That will shape. Its direction. Its economy. And its rural appearance. For the next 50 years. That's why. I take the time. To do this. When I'm on vacation. And I am very. Very thankful. That I've got Tim. In the center seat here. I really am. Thank you. Thank you Mike. Here's Kathy. We got a conference call. Hi Kathy.
That's it. We're done. OK. All right. Nobody else from the public. Wanting to speak. OK. I just want to add one thing to what Mike just said. He mentioned. I don't care that he mentioned me. But he mentioned Dawn and Anne Marie. And I have one hundred percent agree with that. But I also want to add Matt Charters to that group. Also because. The work that has been done on all these projects. And our planning department. Greg Berman and Heather Trojanowski. They're incredible. And they do a fantastic job. And I. Really appreciate it. And. Our good workers will be. Portrayed as good workers by this town ward. So we appreciate what you do. And if we have nobody else coming up to speak and we have nobody online. I would like to make a motion to adjourn the town board meeting. We have a second. I second. Second. Third. OK. All in favor. I. Everybody have a great weekend. I hope the Super Bowl team wins. And those of you who are better. So I hope you win some money. Have a great weekend. Take care everybody. I went.
! Thank you.