Full Transcript
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Grace. Great job.
Okay, we start off our meetings with an invocation, and tonight I believe we have Pastor Ivan Chagas here from the Wading River Baptist Church. Is Pastor Chagas here?
Oh, no Pastor Chagas. Okay, so we go to our fallback. We go to Deacon Wooten, who's always prepared to each say an opening prayer. So if you wouldn't mind, please. Thank you. Thank you. Let us quiet our minds. Dear Lord, thank you for all that you've done for us and continue to bless us and keep us healthy. Please be with the residents this evening as they come to voice their concerns and voice their opinions. We hope that we have a graceful meeting, one where we can all attend to each one's needs. We ask all these things through your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jim. Okay, we have a large crowd here tonight. I will make an announcement that the TV monitors that you're watching are live. There's also one out in the front lobby. If you feel you're too cramped in here, because there's probably more people in here, honestly, than we should have, you can step outside. You can step right into the lobby and still watch and hear the meeting. And if you want to come in and speak, you will do so at the appropriate time. Can I just get a show of hands? Who's here for the charter school tonight? Okay, that's what I thought. Just a quick announcement. There is nothing on the calendar tonight regarding the charter school. I'm sure you're aware of that. And your public comments, the comments you want to make, yay or nay for the charter school, are done at the end of the town board meeting. So we have other business. We have to take care of first. Then when the meeting is completed, we open it up to public comments. And public comments, we are going to limit tonight to five minutes per person because of the number of people we have here. If you can't say what you need to in five minutes, we will ask you to step away, go back to the end of the line, and then if you want to come back and finish up, you'll be more than welcome to do that. But this way, it's fair for everybody to get a five-minute term. Okay, I have a couple, well, I have one announcement. Beginning March 4th, the town of Riverhead Parks and Recreation Office will be relocated to the second floor in this building. They will no longer be at Stotsky Park. We are excited for our fabulous park and rec employees to join us here at Town Hall. And we hope residents will appreciate being able to purchase their beach stickers inside of Town Hall instead of having to make a separate stop over to Stotsky Park. This way, if you have other town business, you come here, basically everything you need to take care of. The town is under one roof, and it's a lot easier. But keep in mind, also, the beach stickers can be purchased online. It's a lot easier to do if you have access to a computer. And they're online at riverheadrecreation.net. And further questions can be called. You can call 727-3200, and the extension there is 205 to the Recreation Department. Okay. At this point in time, we have a... We have a CDA meeting scheduled for tonight. So I'd like to make a motion to close the town board meeting and open up the CDA meeting. So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded. Vote, please. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. The ayes have it. Dawn, if you would mind taking over and... Sure. Good evening. Good evening. We only... We have two things on the agenda. Open comments from the public on community development matters only. And that is it. So if there's anybody who wants to make comments on community development agency matters, now's your time. I do, but I don't know how I'm going to get up there. Okay.
We just make way in the middle here. We have somebody coming up to the podium. It's not somebody. It's Mr. McAuliffe. I have a question. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Still looking. John McAuliffe from Roanoke Landing, Rolling Woods. Part of the numbers tonight, I suspect, is that we saw on our internet neighborhood system a notice that there was a hearing tonight on the school question. I put a note that that was false. And... I don't know who was putting out that story. I don't know either, but there never, ever was a hearing scheduled. Yeah, no, never was. There's nothing to even schedule because we don't have anything. No applications have been made to the town regarding this. So there's nothing to have a public hearing on. Yeah, exactly. It's just going to be public comment. Yeah, no, that's... And that's fine. As you know, I have a history of making such things myself. So I'm not objecting to them, but I just... I think there was some misinformation. What I wanted to... I wanted to ask about is whether you can share anything about the legal situation. I know you've announced the attorney, and Ms. Waskey at the heart of Riverhead made a passionate statement about the strength and quality of the attorney, and we're very glad to hear that. But I have a more narrow question that has to do with a resolution about the record of recreational grant for exploration. And the reason I'm raising it now is that I think it illustrates a question which you may or may not have an answer to, which is whether the pendency issue is likely to be resolved separate from the larger legal question. Because obviously, I mean, the pendency issue does not stop... you exploring options, but it obviously, they included all 2,100 acres, so the pendency issue would prevent you from actually doing any of that. But the larger question is, I don't know where you are on the commission or committee idea, but the only, there's no objection that I have to that resolution, or I would have brought it up during the resolutions, but my question is how that fits into what you wanted to create as to a larger commission or evaluation or creating a sense of what EPCAL ought to become. I went back and looked at the August resolution and looked at the proposal from the people in Florida. I don't know whether that came over the transom or somebody from here. I don't know whether that came over the transom or somebody from here. I don't know whether that came over the transom or somebody from here. I mean, it looks like a very credible company. I would note that within their orbit, they include entertainment, so that one of the ideas that's been floating around in this very amorphous milieu right now is that maybe a cultural center, a regional cultural center should be part of the use of EPCAL, and that that might fit into the orbit of this company so that you might, if the idea appeals at all to members of the board, you might specifically ask them to consider that. But more important is I hope that we are not driven by outside proposals until we've had a kind of town-wide evaluation of what that land ought to be used for, and you have the parameters in which you can respond. I mean, this process obviously started in August even before you dealt with the Jermasian problem, but so again, I'm not in any way critical of it, but I do hope that it goes within the larger orbit. The other point I wanted to make on that, I caught up with some papers and saw the Satter farm people, the folks who produce greens for restaurants and stores. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. They did a lot of work in the farm space. them to stay in Riverhead and continue with what is obviously a socially responsible and beneficial commercial project, whether that could be. But again, the question is this contamination one, and I don't know whether the contamination is deep down or close to the surface. Or any case, just two things related to EPCAL, if you have any further thoughts on your commission. Thank you, John. Do we have a status on the commission idea or dependency question? Well, this was probably the longest question in the history of questions, John. The status on the full blown out task force that I plan on putting together is on hold until we have a better idea, the legal status. I have been meeting, as a matter of fact, I had a meeting today again with a group of civic leaders. Regarding the EPCAL property, we will continue to have those meetings. And as soon as we feel more comfortable with what's happening legally with that property, we will then expand into our task force, including the members that I've been meeting with already. Yeah, I met with people in the industrial core before we went away, including the head of the fabricating company, which is, I had no idea the magnitude of it and the accomplishment, and also the head of the drug and alcohol team. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
! responsive to the idea and if the town is interested that we could do it with you or just as Ep Cal watch to organize a bus tour sometime when the weather's better and first part of April to really acquaint people and Riverhead of the real opportunity that's there the nature the natural resources the businesses that are already there and probably even the racing that's going on it would to have people see what is is really happening and and help that to form ideas of how the land might be used okay thank you talk to you about town buses okay do we have anybody else who would like to make a comment on the CDA meeting only the CDA meeting or anything regarding the CDA meeting or anything regarding the CDA meeting or anything regarding the CDA to Community Development Agency CDA to Community Development Agency we have nobody online okay in a motion we have nobody online okay in a motion to close the CDA meeting and open the to close the CDA meeting and open the town board meeting solo second okay town board meeting solo second okay moskyn yes Merrifield yes Kern yes moskyn yes Merrifield yes Kern yes Hubbard yes the meeting is CDA Hubbard yes the meeting is CDA meetings closed and town board meeting meetings closed and town board meeting open thank you okay all right we will go back now to the town board meeting and we are at the level of correspondence and I will ask Jim Wooten if he has any correspondence he would like to read off yes mr. visor we received quite a few correspondence which is all in your packet Gloria Gulli me reference to renumbering of Linda Lane East we had two letters involving the zoning for the cannabis map both from gay he oval we also received a letter from William McGarrett agarisa concerning rent of security greater Calvert a greater Jamesport Civic Association reference to agritourism resort zoning and then we had one two three four five letters from various union labor unions reference the procurement policy and then we have a letter from Jean O'Rourke with concerns about the special and the government's policy of the government and the government's policy of the government and the government's policy of the government and the government's policy Under reports, we have the tax receiver January monthly utility report at $848,530.41. We have the tax receiver's total tax collection, both dates in February, but the last one as of February 14th was $94,600,000 even. And we received the Riverhead Police January report as well. And that's it for reports. Okay. Thank you. All right. We're up to the point in time where we're going to start our public hearings. Could I just interrupt for one second? I'm sorry. There was one comment on CDA, but it's a joint town CDA meeting, so if we could make that quickly. Sure. Absolutely. Sorry about that. I apologize.
Good evening. Good evening, Supervisor, members of the board. For everyone's benefit, my name is Jeffrey Seaman. I'm an environmental consultant, and I've been working with ATVs, the town of Riverhead, and the CDA, to review the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the secret documents that have been prepared for the Riverside Redevelopment Action Plan. To give you a brief overview, Southampton had prepared, back in 2015, sort of an overlay district for the revitalization of, the city of Riverside. Juan Thomas and I have been working closely to define what those impacts are going to look like as that project comes to fruition. And as part of that project is a proposed sewage treatment plant, and that has been the primary thrust for the moment of my involvement. To give the board a brief overview of what Southampton has done, and what we're doing, I'm going to start with the first part, which is the the first part, which is the Southampton described as reasonably expected new development in their overlay district. It was comprised of approximately 130,000 square feet of retail, 37,000 square feet of professional office, 25,000 square feet of medical, a 97-room hotel, 63,000 square feet of a nursing home or healthcare facilities, some artist production areas and cultural resources that would be about 40,000 square feet a 100,000 square foot indoor ice and hockey rink but one of the main thrusts of our review has been the proposed number of residential units which they estimated to be at 2,267 units so certainly that type of a development impact is going to have some effect in the downtown area and what we've been looking at because right now Southampton has prepared a generic EIS to really examine the stimulating factor for this development which is a new system that is being developed in the area and we're looking at the proposed development of a sewage treatment plant and a sewage treatment collection system for both the existing and the proposed development that I had to just describe the total flow that they're looking at is 800,000 gallons per day for the benefit of the board Riverhead currently collects wastewater from the county facilities which are depicted in sort of that yellow area on the map up on the screen that hundred thousand gallons of flow is directed over the small bridge through a pump station at Nugent Drive and then flows all down Main Street and eventually to the sewage treatment plant on River Avenue some of the problems we're experiencing is is surely is clearly the capacity of the plant but also the capacity of the infrastructure to convey that wastewater there as the supervisor pointed out this afternoon at the Central Pine Barrens Commission we actually have to have a capacity of 200,000 gallons per day as a reserve you need to double the existing flow in the event the facilities that the county expand or there are other emergencies what we have been advocating through the secret process is for Riverside sewer district to incorporate the county facilities into their district this would allow Southampton to collect a straightaway sewer fee based on the flow and it would be able to remove the agreement that Riverhead has had with the county as an out-of-district provider of wastewater that has been provided to the county and then the other part of the district is the county's that has been in existence for about 60 years if that can be accomplished that opens up a remarkable opportunity to look at the western area of Main Street and connect those failing septic systems to the Riverhead district because combined a new treatment plant and Riverside and sewering the western end of the town would provide I think the greatest benefit to reducing nitrogen loading to the estuary which is really key for all development in the master plan discussions the topic has come up of creating a transfer development rights program that would look at ascending area north of sound Avenue and shift that density from the residential development with an incentive program to the areas that are sewered or ! !
can easily be sewered and could handle that density without having to exceed the Suffolk County standards. Now I think it's important to mention that timing has become critical. We have attended the public hearings in Southampton on December 12th, on January 23rd, and again last Thursday on the 15th. They have closed the public hearing process for public comments on the supplemental draft environmental impact statement. Written comments will be accepted until Monday of next week. As you know, under SEQR, once our comments are put into the final environmental impact statement, there are no comment periods on the final and there are no public hearings on the final. And once that is complete, they can move forward to a finding statement. After their finding statement is adopted, they will be able to adopt the district as they have proposed, which excludes the county facilities. So we are trying to work closely with Southampton to have that included in their district now, because the first phase of their two-phase project will allow connection. Really, if there is a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist nearest phase one sanitary collection system in Riverside which is about a thousand feet away to me it is pretty much a no-brainer Southampton feels strongly that to revise its proposed district which is yet to be adopted and still subject to additional public hearings but outside of secret that they feel it could jeopardize their opportunities for completing enough of the work to schedule it for public funding the entire the entire package for Southampton is estimated at between 35 and 40 million dollars I know Riverhead has had a great deal of experience in wastewater and expanding districts to be able to get the right information out there and to be able to get the space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space in space to the letters that have been submitted by Don Thomas. The next steps would be to make sure that the funding agencies, the Environmental Facility Corporation, Suffolk County, et cetera, are aware of your concerns. I think that they would be useful in seeing the light that I think is the most intelligent direction. And perhaps because of Southampton's inexperience, since this is their first sewer district and treatment plant, they may be intimidated thinking that the process would all be reversed if they modified their proposed district map, which we know is not the fact. The final option would be to, if the map is adopted and you are not satisfied with it, and they are not collecting wastewater from the county, which they don't mention in any of the documents that are in there, I've reviewed and they've been very well vetted would be to proceed with an Article 78. That would be a decision you would need to make with the town attorney's office. And then finally, I would just like to thank everybody's support and help on this project. It's had a very tight timeframe. There's been a lot of information that had to be collected, digested, reviewed, and I'd like to personally thank Mike Reichel for his assistance, Eric Howard's office, and in particular Ann Marie Prudente who's been very helpful, and certainly Dawn Thomas and the supervisor who personally has attended the meetings and made statements on everybody's behalf. So I would ask that we persevere and keep up the fight because I think we have an extremely strong record that I think would be... Undefeatable. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Seaman. And just for the record, the same presentation you made today before the Pine Barrens Commission also which was very helpful. Thank you. Yes, that's also part of the record and I think that they were listening. Yes. We agree. Jeff, excellent document. Thank you. Any questions that you have, please let me know and we'll continue to work on this for you. Thank you. Thanks, Jeff. All right, folks. I'm going to do something a little out of the ordinary here. It's never been done before that I know of, but we're going to move to change the order of the meeting since there's so many people here and we're going to go to open comments now and it may inconvenience a few people who are here for town board meeting for items on the agenda, but because it's such a large crowd and I don't want to make everybody stand in here all night, we will open the microphone now to anybody who wants to make a comment. This will be for charter school talk only. Come on up. State your name. State. I'm sorry. Before I do that, folks, I have to take a vote with the board to approve. I make a motion that we open up to open up the meeting to open comments now. I'll make a motion. Second. Okay. Vote, please. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. All right. If you would make your way up to the microphone if you're here to talk regarding the charter school. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. some things about our plan for this property this property of 70 acres we've already met with the Farm Bureau and the people who are in charge of preserving open space and we are well aware of the limitations on that property of the 70 acres 13 acres are designated as developable with the proper permitting of course and it's on that 13 acres that we would do the development of the high school the remaining 53 acres is preserved land that can only be used for commercial farming which is what we intend to do there so what better place we want our students to understand the importance of farmland and agribusiness in our community and what better way to do that than to have a high school surrounded by 53 acres of commercially farmed land so that's our intention should this sale go forward not to develop 70 acres but only to develop the 13 acres that are zoned non-preserved I do want to mention one other respond to one comment I saw on news 12 for a gentleman who said education for children no education for profit that's just a straight out lie we are not a for-profit organization no charter schools are we are publicly funded we are nonprofit a matter of fact we get less per pupil from the state than any of the sending districts that send their students to us so that we are not for profit we are a public school no tuition anyone is eligible to apply and get in by lottery in kindergarten so it's not a tuition school it's a public school and then the last thing I want to say is your comments about you worry about traffic I mean me too I live out here I know what sound avenue looks like I know what it's like and a left on Sound Avenue. But let's just think about our impact. It's not going to be that severe. Our buses arrive at the school very early in the morning. It's not going to impact that morning rush hour. Our buses leave at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It's not going to impact that afternoon rush hour. So I think the impact on traffic is a little overstated. There's a lot of other organizations and companies out there that contribute to the traffic in the fall and the summer, and I think you know what we're all talking about. Those are good for the economy. They bring money in. But is educating our students not as important as bringing money into the economy? What better way to sustain our economy by educating our students and letting them know about the opportunities for agribusiness and agriculture and getting them to perhaps stay in our community and start businesses and make a difference in the economy? And what better way to do that than to be a part of the community and to be a part of the community? And what better way to do that than to be a part of the community? And what better way to do that than to be a part of the community? So I love our school. I love what we do. We're very passionate. We have fantastic results. And we hear you all. And I just wanted to make you understand that it's going to be a farm. It's going to be a farm around a school. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. Capone. Thank you.
Next up. Hi. I'm William. Pierce. How are you? Good. Hi.
Sorry about that. No problem. Do I just leave it? You can leave it. Whoever has it will take care of it in a bit. Hi. I'm William Pierce. I'm in the eighth grade at Riverhead Charter School. Riverhead Charter Middle School. Next year I will be attending RCS High School. I like this school. But compared to many public schools in the area, there are fewer opportunities to do any extracurriculars. Currently at RCS, we don't even have a cafeteria and we eat our lunch in our classrooms. Our RCS to expand would give me and my peers the same opportunities as students in the districts around us. Due to a lack of space, there are fewer programs for students, especially sports. Yes. As an athlete who has a strong desire to play sports in a high school, this expansion will help me do that. More teams and clubs will offer me and my friends more options when it comes to college. If we rebuild the high school, students will get more education as college courses. And students will have more clubs instead of only a few options. And then in the reformed high school, students will be able to have lunch in the cafeteria and talk to their friends. And also teachers will have more room to teach. Please support expansion of the RCS and help us rebuild and expand the high school. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Does that affect you guys? Can you get these out of the way? Does that affect you? Sure. That's OK. I'll put mine on the screen. I just don't want people to feel like they're not going to hold hands. Yeah, no. I understand. OK. Great. OK. Yeah. Good evening. My name is Riley Stark and I'm an eighth grader at RCS. And I think that we should expand the high school. I've been attending RCS for nine years and I've realized over the years that my education was better than most people my age. Since we have higher education, we need to expand the high school. classes to expand our education and feel a bit challenged but one of the problems is the activities expanding the school would give students to choose from different activities to choose from and have activities that actually interest us one teacher who was impacted my education is miss Moscatelli she was my second grade teacher and has helped me through a lot they choose teachers who care for our students and help them to impact their future during the second quarter of the school year they started add more clubs and now I signed up for volleyball last quarter but now I'm not doing any clubs because none of them interest me but expanding the school would give us clubs that would interest me and my peers expanding the school will give us a cafeteria and gymnasium we have lunch when we have lunch it's in a classroom spending every day with the same kids not giving us time to socialize with kids we don't have classes with but we also need a gymnasium because we need to have somewhere to have physical education but also can lead to many other community events such as dances fundraisers and game nights having community events could start new friendship and help the community become closer together I believe at RCS we receive a better education than most students I know I feel we need the opportunity for advanced classes to expand our education expanding the school can give us higher classes like AP and Bachelorette if you can take these higher classes you can earn a higher GPA and get college credits with these classes it could help us get into a great college also for families with lower incomes having college credits will help lower the cost of attending college not having the financial burden of college will allow students to focus on their academics and will also allow families to be more involved in their children's education therefore this is why we should expand the school thank you for your time thank you
um hi thank you hi my name is Jasmine Gomez I'm in eighth grade currently attending Riverhead Charter School middle school I believe expanding the high school would give us a opportunity to have more education more sports for more kids to stay this would benefit us having a bigger cafeteria to socialize with others students and also a place where we don't have to worry about leaving our trash or our food because classrooms should be a place to learn not to eat this would also improve our education because if we had a library this would help us research more about the things that we're learning also a bigger school would help us when because when we switch classes we get squished together and it takes longer to get our classes and it distracts people from standing in the middle and talking to each other even the teachers can't get through um talked about me leaving RCS because it doesn't have enough opportunities and sports for me to attend finally I think having a bigger school would give us an opportunity to help us in our future in a space where we can learn about how to apply for college and learn about career choosing this would also make our lives easier that's why I think you should support expanding RCS high school thank you for having me thank you very much hey everyone hello good afternoon we would like to introduce ourselves I'm Angelica from the RCS Riverhead um Charter School and I'm a step and I'm Stephanie we're aether is at the Riverhead Charter Middle School and we would like to discuss about the expansion of Riverhead our of our Riverhead Charter High School and why we believe that it is but it is vital vital that the school dish that the district moves forward with the expansion we found we found that we don't have many opportunities such as helping us with our careers for the future and the space to help with our physical and mental well-being Riverhead Charter School is like a second school is like a second home to us and we would like to to thank you thank you and we would like to expand our environment and ensure that we are given the same opportunities as public schools. For us students to discover our talent and refine them, it is important for our school to expand and give us space for more focus. For example, a library. A library would be a perfect place to study and have some quiet time. Now, the only time, the only quiet time we have in our school is when sometimes we have a few minutes of free time and at the end of the classes. Similarly, a library would be where students could meet up with friends and study and maybe even start a book club.
Another thing that we can add is a new cafeteria. Because we have lunch and classes at the end of the day and the rooms are really dirty and gross. With the food on the floors, it feels messy. It feels messy when it comes to being in a class trying to learn. A messy learning environment is extremely distracting and having a cafeteria would ensure that our classrooms stay clean and distraction free for the benefit of learning. A personal experience that I've had and I'm sure plenty of our students have had, is having a cafeteria. And I'm sure many of you have had. Is that we have to sit and walk around the smelly stench and food on the floor. Another benefit of the expansion would be having a space to add a new soccer field. To be able to host our own games and for us to play competitive and non-competitive games. Having our own field would be amazing. Which would also allow for more opportunities to stay active. Overall, to help our schools get bigger. With this expansion, it would be beneficial for our Riverhead Charter School to have the same opportunities as other districts and which will hopefully allow us to grow as a family and environment. Our school population increases because of how many people want to be a part of the Riverhead Charter School. It would be great for the next generation to experience the growth of our school and for our new students. Thank you. Thank you.
! We're just going to ask you to make sure you speak into the microphone because we don't want your message not to be heard by the people at home that are watching us on TV. And if the volume is too low, they have a problem hearing it. So make sure you speak right into the microphone. Thank you. Hi, my name is Emily. I am an eighth grader at the Riverhead Charter School. Next year, I'll be going to the Riverhead Charter High School. And I believe that the high school should be able to expand because it would be beneficial to students. One benefit of the expansion would be that it would engage the students as well as make them feel more comfortable with more room. For example, I'm claustrophobic, so being in a small building with a lot of students like it currently is in the middle school makes me feel uncomfortable. I would much rather go to a school which has more space to accommodate the amount of students it has. I'm sure every student would most likely relate to that. If we had a bigger building, it would feel much better, especially if we could have a gym and a cafeteria, eating in classrooms doesn't feel right and it also just ends up feeling gross in the classrooms, which leads to a distracting learning environment. If they were able to expand and add more clubs and sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc., I would feel it would motivate students to stay and motivate them to try harder in school as well, since after their hard work, they'd be able to do something they actually enjoy and it would benefit them. Similarly, if they want to become a professional at the sport, then it would give them an opportunity to get better and practice more. If we had a library, that would also help. Since libraries are quiet, it would be a great place for students to study, which could lead to students flourishing in their academics, also helping students thrive during exams. If the teachers had more resources, they would be able to go more in depth in their lessons to help students. As of now, the school is pretty good as it is, but with all these improvements, I think we could definitely make it better, make the community bigger, and improve the education and opportunity students have. Thank you for your patience tonight. Have an amazing evening. Thank you. Thank you.
Hi. My name is... You can adjust the mic, too. Bring it up to you. There you go. Hi. My name is Megan Areola. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you all today. Thank you for taking time out of your guys' day to let me express my feelings about the expansion of Riverhead Charter High School. I believe being able to expand the school can help many students find their place by expanding sports and education. This would help students to be able to come to school with the goal to finish their day feeling excited. Having AP classes and other advanced classes can help me become a scholar like I've always wanted. I believe being able to expand the school can help me expand my knowledge about subjects that I'm interested in. As a student that has been in the school for now my ninth year, this school could be an even better environment by expanding cafeterias and other social spaces. Coming from a girl who's always had difficulties expressing her likes and dislikes, I believe having a bigger environment and more advanced classes will help myself and others to find a place where they belong, as well as finding classes that are interesting. Also, having sports teams and a bigger facility to practice sports can help keep our bodies strong, healthy, and fit. It gives us a change from the same old routine and relaxes our mind and body. Additionally, it is important because it is a useful means of entertainment for the community, as I'm sure more people would love to see RCS compete in sports. As an adolescent, I believe that expanding libraries is a vital part of this expansion. Libraries aren't just about the books. They're also an important social meeting point, accessible and affordable to all where everyone may meet on an equal footing. Libraries are an enormously valuable part of our society for all sorts of reasons. Unrelated to books, the books might even be considered a bonus. What matters is that we connect. I personally love Riverhead Charter School because it has helped me grow as a person and has helped me become better at expressing the difficulties I have. Advanced academics, larger facilities, and more opportunities is why the expansion of Riverhead Charter High School is vital in ensuring the success of our current and future students. Thank you for your time and consideration. Have a wonderful night. Thank you. Thank you.
! Yeah, sure. Speakers, when you come up to the microphone, just state the town that you're from. Name and the town that you're from. That's how we request that of everybody who comes to the microphone. My name is Evita. I'm a scholar at RCS Middle School and I come from Mastic. Okay. School plays a crucial role in shaping a student's values, beliefs, and attitudes. For students like me, school took the role of providing me with the knowledge and tools in order to succeed in various aspects of my life. Study shows that school gives confidence, stability, productivity, critical thinking. There was one that really stood out to me, critical thinking. I love my school because it shows me education isn't only about acquiring knowledge. It's about the experiences. It's about the relationships and opportunities that shape us into well-rounded individuals. In this regard, RCS Middle School stands as a beacon of excellence, fostering an inclusive learning environment of the minds and spirits of its students. There are several reasons why RCS Middle School is a school worth celebrating and cherishing. For instance, my history teacher, Mr. Amaru. He creates engaging lessons. He reviews a lot for the sake of others. He laughs, jokes around, and is generally always smiling. Similarly, I'm a student. I'm a student. I make friends. I make friends. Similarly, my ELA and math teachers, Miss Maudie and Miss Wenner, always ensure every class is engaging and enjoyable. Every class is always something to look forward to. I also love RCS for its volleyball program. Research states that sports or any physical activity releases endorphins, which are the body's natural happy chemicals, and reduces levels of the stress hormone, which is the body's cortisol. With the expansion of Riverhead Chaudhary High School, students like me would love to take volleyball to a more competitive level, enhancing our overall world for our future. I make friends for each and every class. I make friends for each and every class. I make friends for each and every class. and providing opportunities for personal achievement. It's a necessity that we expand Riverhead Shutter High School to meet the evolving needs of its students and ensure they have access to resources that are necessary for success in today's dynamic world. Participation in sports clubs, for example, provides students with the opportunities to develop and sharpen their A, athletic abilities, B, setting goals, and C, striving for excellence. They need a gym for PE, a cafeteria to eat, and a variety of choices to any elective they prefer. With more space, Riverhead Shutter High School can introduce programs like STEM, arts, and other fields. These programs would influence students of diverse interests and talents, providing them an improved learning. In closing, the expansion of RCS High School is not a matter of adding physical space. By expanding our high school, we're creating opportunities for enhanced learning experiences, increased academic achievements, and greater social extracurriculars. We're also building a future of circular engagement. It's time to seize this opportunity to build a brighter future for RCS students. And remember, guys, with the high school expansion, we're not just building more classrooms. We're building more room for unforgettable memories. So let's expand Riverhead Shutter High School to make sure there's enough space for all the laughter, learning, and occasional mischief high school has to offer. Thank you for your support of the Riverhead Shutter High School expansion. Thank you.
Name and town that you're from, please. Good evening. My name is Sydney Bosico. I'm an eighth grade student at Riverhead Shutter School, and I'm from the town of Bookhaven. I'm speaking today hoping you put in consideration to expand our high school. Most schools have big buildings, libraries, cafeterias, sports activities, and advanced classes. This helps students be the best they can be. Educational spaces have a major impact on students' performance in their work. With a bigger building, wider space, high school students will feel like they're more in a positive environment. This shows a physical environment in which students learn can either inspire or hinder their educational journey. A dilapidated, uninspiring building can contribute to a negative mindset. As an eighth grader, I look forward to a great space to better my future. I'm looking forward to academic classes. Personally, I would like to attend AP classes. Students who have similar interests as me would also agree. AP classes help internationally recognize stories, boost students' GPA, and earn college credit. As a charter school, we should definitely include this in our curriculum. Furthermore, parents also want their children attending Riverhead Charter High School to have a bright future. Expanding our high school will benefit our students. Even though it's on the expensive side, our students' education is worth it. It would be so much better for the high schoolers in Riverhead Charter School to have a new learning space and more activities. This is not only great for our current high schools, but for our future high schools as well. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Hi, good evening. Hi, good evening. I'm Allie Mancilla, and I'm from Bellport. From Bellport. I would just like to say that this school is the greatest school I've gone to for so many reasons, not just because of the wonderful education it provides, but because, not just because of the wonderful education it provides, but because RCS cares, cares about you, and, you know, it's a great place to be. Thank you. And about achieving your goals to become the best version of yourself. By being taken into consideration, the expansion of, sorry, by being taken into consideration, the expansion of the Riverhead Charter High School would not just benefit my education alone, but others who want the best for their education. I'm an eighth grade student. And I'm here, and here is why I believe Riverhead Charter High School deserves to be, deserves to be expanded. If we were to expand the Riverhead Charter High School, it would help to include more advanced classes, which I think is a great idea. When I joined RCS in sixth grade, my skill levels were very low, and I was an IEP student. To add on, I was making horrible decisions that changed the way I saw school. But with the help of amazing teachers and a supportive mother, I got the chance to achieve my dream in becoming a better student. To this day, I still want to push myself into becoming a better student. Sorry. So with advanced classes, I can make lots of progress that would just, that would someday lead me to success. Advanced classes would not just help me, but give students the opportunity to explore their interest and gain values, valuable skills for their future careers. By expanding the school building, it would offer a more diverse range of advanced classes. RCS can cater to different passions and aspirations for students. It would also provide a platform for students to connect with, like-minded individuals, and create a supportive community. I think this expansion would be a fantastic opportunity to enhance the educational experience and help students discover their potential. I hope you take this into consideration and expand the school building, as it would lead to more advanced resources to provide students with achieving goals, dreams, and success. Thank you for having me. Have a wonderful night. Thank you. Hi, my name is Mia Mancilla, and I'm from the town of Bellport. And this is why I believe that we should move forward with the Riverhead Charter High School expansion. I believe that the Riverhead Charter High School should be expanded because it would give more opportunities to students that would like to be in Riverhead Charter School. Not every student has a great education like the students of Riverhead Charter School. The curriculum here at Riverhead Charter School is more advanced than other districts. However, we don't have the necessary essentials that other districts have. Firstly, expansion is essentially to accommodate the increasing demand for quality education in the Riverhead area. As the population grows and the community evolves, which leads to rising interest in alternative educational options, such as charter schools. Riverhead Charter School embodies excellence fostering and inclusive learning environment that nurtures the mind and spirits of its students. Expanding the Riverhead Charter School, the Riverhead Charter High School is essential to meet the evolving needs of students. Moreover, the expansion would allow for the introduction of programs in STEM, arts, and other fields, catering the students' diverse interests and talents. However, as the demand for enrollment continues to grow and educational needs evolve, the Riverhead Charter School is Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's imperative that we consider the benefits of educational needs evolve. It's imperative that we consider the benefits of expanding Riverhead Charter High School. One of the most compelling reasons of expanding Riverhead Charter School, Riverhead High School, is the increasing demand for enrollment. By expanding the school size, we can meet the growing demand for high-quality education in our community, and make sure that every child has the opportunity to attend RCS. As a student of RCS, walking through doors of my eagerness, each morning fills me with a sense of excitement and anticipation. It's not just a place of education. It's a second home and community and a sanctuary where I feel valued, supported, and inspired by the students of Riverhead. I'm proud to be the best version of myself. The benefits are clear. Increased capacity to fit the growing enrollment. Enhanced benefits are clear. Increased educational opportunities for students and a strengthened sense of community. However, to make this vision reality, we need your support. Your voice and your action. Many of the students here from RCS have a passionate desire to play sports. However, without a gymnasium and outdoor fields, we will not be able to play sports we have that desirable passion for. I love the sport of basketball, and it holds a very big spot in my heart. But not having equipment to play it. Or. Or proper space makes me feel upset and even embarrassed. I feel embarrassed because when I hear my other friends that go to public schools talking about sports and how they have opportunities, it makes me feel as if we can't afford it. If we expand Riverhead Charter High School, I would not feel this void anymore. Thank you all. Have an amazing night. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, my name is Camila Ceteno, and I'm from Flanders. I am thrilled to be here today to discuss the Riverhead Charter High School. Having been part of this school for quite some time now, I truly believe in its mission of providing high quality education to our students. Today, I want to share with you why I am so passionate about advocating for the expansion of Riverhead Charter High School. During my time at Riverhead Charter School, I have witnessed our teachers go above and beyond to help students reach their full potential. They generously invest their time after regular school hours to assist us with any problems or struggles that we face. The expansion of our school offers several benefits for both current and future RCS students. For instance, additional facilities such as lockers would ease the burden of carrying heavy items throughout the day. Moreover, an expanded campus would allow us to continue staying after school for various activities. Importantly, this expansion wouldn't only impact us directly. It would also benefit the wider community, providing more opportunities for clubs and programs. We can ensure that future students benefit as well. If I were able to have a library, I could be there and be able to do my homework in a silent yet peaceful space, able to concentrate and also be able to have books that can help me with certain classes. The expansion provides an opportunity to improve our curriculum. We envision projects... including real-world applications in which we can get students with practical skills that exceed the classroom. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students. Join us in advocating for the expansion of Riverhead Charter School and help the future of education in our community. Thank you. Thank you.
Next year, my parents and I are considering leaving... I'm sorry. I have to speak up. Bring the microphone down to you. Bring it down. There you go. It's adjustable. Put the phone on the podium. That'll help you. There you go. Next year, my parents and I are considering leaving RCS and enrolling me into another school. My name is Marilyn Contreras, and I am an eighth grader from Riverhead. Riverhead. Yeah. I believe in the expansion of the high school would be very advantageous for us as future high school students and the current high school students. Because there's a lot of opportunities that we have been missing on. I hold the school of RCS very close to my heart. I've learned and have had many experiences here that have shaped me into the person I am today. When I was in sixth grade, I had gotten the opportunity to play volleyball with the high schoolers and the middle schoolers. This has had a positive impact on me as a person I am today. Some things have made my school... experience memorable and enjoyable are the teachers one teacher that has positive positively impacted my time at RCS is mr. Amaro he has made learning history fun and enjoyable and always lights up a room he's very he's a very captivating speaker and is always able to hold our attention when teaching in class with the expansion of the high school there will be more room for more jobs and teachers like mr. Amaro to be able to join and teach students unfortunately due to the lack of opportunity the school has to offer I may have to leave but if we expand into a larger building I may be able to stay and continue to be part of this beautiful community why should the high school expand anyways sports sports programs especially competitive ones can be beneficial not only physically but also mentally students can work on teamwork skills leadership skills and become closer with one another and even resolve previous issues with each other competitive sport programs can also help students who are who wish to play professionally in the future but are unable due to the lack of opportunity not only sports but also places like libraries or cafeterias these places would be able to provide safe environment to socialize and mingle with new people and friends but also could benefit teachers eating lunch in classrooms could lead to bugs and all sorts of messes this can be disrupts what's a class and can be detrimental to the education of students library libraries give students places to study especially if they don't have materials at home that they would need for their work sport sports programs and places to socialize or study can allow students in many valuable and impactful opportunities not just for our future but to our character I think the school should expand because it helps students it helps students um socially physically and mentally it'll help both students and teachers with keeping places clean giving students places to hang out or study and give us these much-needed opportunities to study and to learn and to to value friendships friendships friendships friendships friendships friendships friendships Folks out in the lobby, if you can hear me, if you could please keep it down out there. We'd like to hear what every speaker has to say. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Ariana Yalmaz and I'm from Flanders. I'm an eighth grader at Riverhead Charter Middle School. I've been going to Riverhead Charter School ever since kindergarten. There has been many changes that the school has made to make it a place for us to have a better education and connect with other students. I'm here today in support of the expansion of Riverhead Charter School. I love Riverhead Charter School because I've bonded with so many people throughout the years and it has also helped me discover new hobbies through the clubs that are offered. The teachers do their best to help each student and even offer after school help. I believe that by expanding the high school, it would add more opportunities to do sports, give a chance for more scholars to be enrolled in the school, give the teachers more space to provide students with a more enriching education and so much more. Because of the lack of students... Because of the lack of... of space, many people aren't given the chance to be enrolled. It would also make us feel less left out of the opportunities that other bigger schools are given like libraries, cafeteria, gym, and fields. Personally, when I talk to my friends from other schools and they're talking about their sports games or about what happened at the cafeteria at their school, I feel left out of those experiences because the school is so small it doesn't have a cafeteria, gym, or actual games or even teams. It also gives an opportunity for us to do sports as a profession in the future for any people who wish to do that. In my personal experience, my years at RCS have been with the same students every day because of the lack of space and facilities. With the cafeteria and even a library, I would have the opportunity to interact with more students, make more friends, and connect with students who I don't normally get to see. Similarly, a library can benefit students by giving us a space to study since many don't have a quiet place at home to study and get distracted easily. One of the things that I like about RCS is that it's a place where you can have a lot of fun. Once again, having more space, facilities, and field space will benefit all students, which is why you should support the expansion of Riverhead Charter School. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Everett Questis and I'm from the town of Riverhead. I've been attending Riverhead Charter School since kindergarten and so far I have had nothing but a good experience. Although I believe that Riverhead Charter School needs an expansion, my experience has been amazing so far. I've gotten to know many teachers and get along with many of my classmates. These teachers have given me nothing but wonderful opportunities on how to expand my knowledge of both academics and personal life. RCS has a bountiful things to offer. Those include classes that are more advanced, like Algebra and Earth Science, after-school activities, and varsity sports. Through advancing the high schools, it can give students of RCS more opportunities, like having more AP classes, which will be beneficial for students who plan on going to college by giving them harder and advanced classes as well as college credits. Expanding RCS High School brings significant benefits to the students and the community, especially with the addition of some sports programs. By increasing its capacity, it lowers overcrowding and improves the learning environment. Furthermore, the expansion allows for the creation of sport facilities and programs, providing students with opportunities for teamwork and leadership. This not only improves the overall educational experience, but also strengthens the community to support the local athletics and events. Overall, the expansion of RCS will positively impact the education, our community, and the sports program. Many parents, like mine, understand the importance of providing the education for our children. These reasons highlight the need for Riverhead Charter School expansion to offer more advanced classes and improve its sports program. This upgrade not only benefits the students, but also strengthens the community by promoting academic excellence and community involvement. The expansion of RCS will be beneficial for academics, the sports program, and the community. Expanding the school would benefit your child because it would present your child with more opportunities than a smaller school would. Thank you. Thank you very much. Hello everyone. I am a student from the Riverhead Charter Middle School. I want to thank you for having me today. My name is Angel Alvarenga and I live in Riverhead. I am going to be speaking to you today about my school expansion. To begin this, I want to explain why expansion would be an amazing idea for the Riverhead Charter High School. I've been in this school for nine years and I'm proud of it. I've seen many changes during these years, but that's in the past. And hopefully, I'll be able to share my experience with you. I'm a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist I believe the expansion for Riverhead Charter High School would be beneficial. If everyone here would agree to this idea, students would have an opportunity for better education and more space for us to practice sports that we love and host them to. It would also give us a place that would make us feel proud to call home. Furthermore, we would be able to build a cafeteria so we would have a place to socialize. There would also be many opportunities for students to play competitive or non-competitive sports that they love. And we would be able to expand the school I want to speak for me and the other students when it comes to sports because it is one place where we learn to work together and commit to a goal and a place where we gain confidence within ourselves so we can further that into our learning. It would help build a positive mindset leading to better grades in classrooms. We would also have a bigger hallway for students to walk more freely instead of being squished together. It would also be a place where we can move around more freely. It is important because it can get noisy and takes longer to get from one class to another which takes away further learning time. Lastly, this expansion would benefit me if there were more opportunities for me to have a place to focus. At times you might feel some type of stress or depression and sometimes you need a quiet place to distract yourself. So having some extra space and expanding the school would help me personally. This isn't just important for us but for the future generation that would also be a great place to start. I hope you all enjoyed this video and I hope you all enjoyed attending the Riverhead Charter School. I hope everyone feels this is as important to you as it is to us. Thank you for listening and we hope to hear you from you soon. Good evening everybody. My name is David Akinola and I am an honor student. I also attend Riverhead Charter Middle School. I live in Medford. I have a plethora of reasons why I think expanding our charter, our school and our I have a plethora of reasons why I think expanding our high school is a great idea, but I'll try to keep it brief. We need equal opportunities for minorities that don't have as much as others. The Riverhead School Board should expand the high school so everyone could have more AP classes. These AP classes can expand the growth in all students and give us more interest in what goal we want to reach in our future. This could also help us experience college-level education to allow us to get into a good college. Also, our exposure to more AP classes can help us adjust to the intensity of college courses. AP classes could also aid myself and my peers in our critical thinking skills and earn college credits. Furthermore, students that feel as if they are not learning anything from their classes now could expand on their intellectual knowledge once the high school acquires the right skills and skills to help them get into a good college. In addition, having a cafeteria could facilitate socialization and more friendship bonds. It will also allow students to walk around and stretch out their legs after long periods of classes. Last but not the least, we should expand the high school by adding a library, which would be a great resource for books and research materials to aid our learning. For students to grow into functional adults, we must have as much access to learnable resources as possible. Books, computers, encyclopedias all provide the information we need to learn and build our intelligence. At the moment, the high school lacks more space for these necessary resources, hence the need for this expansion. Where we have Charter High School is very diverse and these changes would further enhance the future of every student that attends both now and years to come. Once again, my name is David Akinola and I'm truly grateful for your time. Have a great rest of your evening. Thank you! fist fist fist ! fist
sure some of you are probably asking. I mean, why do we? My name is Finn Grylls and I'm here to answer that question for you. As many of you may know, this previous year the Riverhead Charter High School has recently acquired a high school building in Northville to accommodate for the addition of up to 12th grade classes. This has been a major upgrade from the gap filling that came before, but the small building size and increase of students coming in every year means that it can only be a temporary solution and it is necessary to expand before it quickly fills up. With new possibilities opened by the idea of expanding the school, the fairly average current high school could transform into an educational paradise, the likes of which adored by both students, parents, and educators. Personally, a bigger, better high school will be beneficial to me because that means we could have more difficult classes for students such as myself who would like more of a challenge and to get a greater education. Thank you. With a new, improved, and expanded high school, the Riverhead Charter could include advanced placement classes to challenge students and help them strive for success. Another school necessity that could be included in the bigger high school will be a cafeteria where students could not only just eat but interact with other students without being restricted by the kids in their class as it is now. A bigger, better school would create a larger community of people united under the fact that they all go to the Riverhead Charter High School. Sports teams could help bring an identity to the RCS and give it more of a name in the school world on Long Island. Teams for soccer, basketball, American football, I mean the sport team possibilities are endless. To expand and give these teams a chance to thrive would bring more students and parents out to games. After-school clubs like the yearbook club, drama club, and robotics clubs would also let less sportsy students enjoy extracurricular activities without being pressured by peers to perform at peak physical level. Speaking of less physically demanding, the arts. As RCS is today, there isn't much space anymore to house elective classes. One by one over the years have gone by, a new elective room has been converted into a classroom. First it was a music room, then the library, then the art room, and literally the literal stage for theater. While the elementary school might not have much hope at fixing this, a bigger high school would be big enough to include rooms for each and every elective and would greatly benefit the students scores and interest in these kinds of classes. So all in all, a bigger high school would be beneficial for all types of students. The needing, the advanced, the athletic, the artistic, and every student in between. Not only this, but it would be beneficial for teachers and educators too, as they would have more resources and classrooms to more adequately equip students with the skills they need to better their learning. This new potential high school could be incredible for everyone. And it all starts with you. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Hello. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Luis Miranda, an eighth-grade honor roll student from the Ray Archard School and I'm from Wind River. And I'm Samuela Akinola, an honor roll student at RCS and I'm from Medford. Okay. Picture a future where every student has the opportunity to thrive academically and reach their full potential regardless of race. Expanding our high school isn't just about adding more classrooms. It's about investing in the next generation and building a stronger, more inclusive community. Therefore, expanding the high school's infrastructure is imperative for fulfilling the educational aspirations of an ever-growing number of students, guaranteeing every individual, regardless of background, the opportunity to access the transformative power of quality education. Hi, I'm Samak, an 8th grade honor roll student at RCS, and here's why we need to move forward with the expansion of the Riverhead Charter High School. The expansion of the Riverhead Charter High School will be vital for the future of me and my peers in many ways. For example, some of my peers feel that their classes are too easy. And that we need to be sufficiently challenged for college. A solution to this problem is AP classes. AP classes will solve this problem because they're comparable to college courses in their difficulty and intense and rigorous classwork. On the contrary, some students are struggling in the same classes that some people excel at. To fix this, we should have easier classes. So, comment, and share this video. And if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at
indysports. Good afternoon, my name is Luis Miranda. Riverhead Charter School expansion reaffirms our commitment to academic excellence by broadening our reach. We aim to provide more students with transformative educational experiences. This move will enhance resources and facilities, empowering students to excel in the future. The school's expansion will provide an opportunity to review and refine the curriculum, ensuring a lot of students will be able to learn from the lessons learned. We also want to ensure that the school's education system is in alignment with the latest educational standards and the best educational practices. This may involve introducing new courses like the aforementioned AP classes and updating existing classes. Furthermore, to support the growing student body and enrich the educational experiences, the school could hire new people. These new teachers will bring diverse expertise and perspective to the school community, further enhancing the quality of education provided. Furthermore, the school expansion will encourage the implementation of innovative teaching methods.
Although building a new high school may be good for many people, there might still be some minor concerns. Objections about the expansion may relate to more taxes and lower success rates. Alternatively, with a larger high school, these concerns can be fixed. Expanded programs can better prepare students for the workforce by offering vocational training. ! Career counseling and internship opportunities. An expanded high school can also serve as a hub for cultural and recreational activities, hosting events like performances, art exhibits, and sports competitions. These events not only better the lives of students, but also provide entertainment and cultural enrichment for residents of the broader community. As the high school grows, it can create more jobs for teachers and staff. Also, a stronger school can attract families to the area, which can lead to more business opportunities. Furthermore, with the expansion of the high school, we can partner up with businesses for internships and sponsorships, Furthermore, with the expansion of the school, we could partner up with businesses for internships and sponsorships, team up for events and projects to address local needs, collaborate for college prep programs and scholarships, and engage them for support and involvement in school activities. The expansion of Redhead High School is not just about improving academic offerings, enhancing extracurricular activities, or bolstering sports programs. It's about providing a pathway to success for every student in our community. By supporting this expansion, the Board of Education has the opportunity to invest in the future of our youth and foster community where everybody has the chance to thrive. This concludes our speech. Thank you. Sorry. Hello. My name is Alisa. I'm from the University of California. I'm a student. I'm a student. I'm from the University of California, and I'm in the sixth grade. Alisa, you can adjust it even down further. There you go. Hello. My name is Alisa. I am from the sixth grade, and I'm from the town of Riverhead. And I want this expansion because I'm going to high school in a few years, and my brother is in the third grade. And I've heard about my cousins. Like, they say that they don't know any algebra or anything about that. And I'm learning about algebra, and my cousin, my brother knows. And we're learning about PEMDAS, which is another form of algebra. And we told my cousin about it, and they're surprised that they don't have those high advanced classes that we have. I also want the high school because I want, like, a club or after school activities. I want to be able to have a music club or at least something because I like expressing myself through music. I really like singing. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like music. I like singing. I like dancing.
I also like the expansion because we will have to have, we will be able to have sports. My brother likes doing soccer, and I don't think he might have the opportunity to do the sports that he wants to do if we don't have this expansion at all. I've seen people with these boards that say, no, charter school, high school. I don't think he wants to do that. I'm just a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist I didn't have anything planned to say, and I'm just making things up. But I really want the expansion to happen because I love my community, I love my school, and I love everybody. I love my teachers. And it's because of them I am here making this speech. They encouraged me to come here and to say this speech that I said with my input to my heart, because I don't know what to say, what else. But thank you for listening, and my name is Elisa, and I'm from the town of Riverhead, and thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you.
Hello, good evening. It's warm in here. My name is Danielle Amerquin Contreras, and I'm from Riverhead. I was... I wasn't going to speak today initially, but seeing as I'm part of the first generation of RCS high schoolers, I figured my experience is important to the conversation. I've been at Riverhead Charter School since I was five years old, and my experience at RCS has been nothing but exceptional. I've been an honor student for the longest time. I exceeded reading expectations. I had expectations from very early on, and that couldn't have been done without the help and support and the values at RCS. I will graduate in June with almost enough credits to skip a year in university. Thanks... Thanks to the RCS community who sponsors me to go. Diversity is a very important thing in our school, and I think we show that. I also was a part of the first theater program we had. I was a part of the varsity flag football team. I got my butt kicked in JV soccer, but I was there because it was an opportunity presented that our school fought for. And, oh, we also, I'm also a part of one of 800 AP African American Studies classes that New York offers. So, we're trailblazing, and I think that's something important to recognize as we sit here and we listen to these children who have been taught to advocate. You've sat through a lot of speeches, most of which were children. Our sixth grader, who just went up. And I've been advocating for RCS since I was in the third grade. Trips to the city. And as we've listened to a lot of these middle schoolers. I encourage you to thank them for their candor on eating lunch in classrooms and the smelliness. And I promise, as you enter high school, the hygiene thing, it fixes itself. You'll figure it out. But the candor of these children is so important. They've taken time out of their day on a break week. And they're here. And they want to be here. And they're here. And they're here. who may want may have to leave they want to be here too they're here advocating and they're coming from all over I know that's a point of contention oh you're not from Riverhead a lot of children who come to RCS do not feel they are able to attend schools in their district because they're bullied or the color of their skin is a point of contention which is something none of us should have to deal with and we don't at RCS we we accept everybody and everyone's thoughts and we and we cultivate children into into beautiful people and I hope my nervous speaking is proof of that I know I want to touch on on clubs we don't have a lot of space and yet we've made it we've we've done what we could with what we've had we've we've had cross-country teams who've you know we've had a lot of people who have been in the school district for
soccer team our JV soccer team last year didn't win a game this year we won most of them someone called the you know crew of McFarland because we've like pulled it together and we've and we've encouraged these children to to take what they have and do the most with it but as you've seen I along with the children here the parents administration the friendships the friendships the friendships friendships friendships
to save the children. Thank you. Thank you.
That's a tough one to follow up on. But hello, my name is Sierra Conyers. I'm from Patchogue. I've been at RCS since the third grade, so I've been at this school for nearly a decade. I have two younger siblings in this school, one in third grade, one in seventh, so this will affect them. When my mother first found RCS, I was living in Calverton Hills, and she was worried about putting me in the Riverhead District. But putting me in RCS is one of the greatest decisions my mom has ever done for me. I'm surrounded by faculty who care, and not because they're paid to care, but they genuinely care about me. I've had a 4.0 GPA and maintained an honor streak for the majority of my duration at this school. I have been in a dual enrollment program at Suffolk Community College. So academically, I have excelled. However, from an extracurricular standpoint, I've been limited. As you heard, we don't have a gymnasium or an auditorium. There are so many talented kids at RCS. But it's hard for them to blossom. And as we know, plants can't grow unless they have space to do so. And sending the high school could expand students' college choices as well, and expanding their horizons. It would be amazing to hear that one of our congressmen or congresswoman have came from a Riverhead school district. The only way this will become possible if we give the students a chance. Please give us a chance to have an equal playing ground so that students never have to live in a what-if situation. Thank you.
My name is Jerry Leon. I am a resident in Riverhead, and I am an 11th grader at Riverhead Charter School. Basically, I want to come up here and just ask all you guys just to listen to everyone that has been talking. And a lot of them, yes, were nervous, but to be honest, they're still here. They want to talk to you because they actually have a concern for the school that they grew up in. I've been here since kindergarten, and basically, I'm going to graduate from this school. And from what you've heard from our other students, they're really excited about this. Really excited about the future of the school. Really excited about the future of the school.
myself, and finally taking that away, I'm basically excelling in this school. And a lot of us, especially you guys, you guys graduated and you guys got your degrees. A lot of our students, even though yes, they're young, they're still looking for another future in their life. I'm looking at a new future for myself, and now I can see that a lot of us have very, a lot of differences. I can, like I'm really happy to say that I am a student at Riverhead Charter School. I'm proud to say that. No matter who it is, I have a lot of people come up to me and say, what school are you from? I said, Riverhead Charter School. No, what school are you from? They think I'm joking, but I'm not. I've worked in... I worked at... I've worked at Splish Splash, and it was basically... That was fun to, you know, a lot of experiences when someone said, what school am I from? Even though I, a lot of people told me I look 25, I'm not. And they kept saying, why are you in that high school? There's no point. Go to a regular school. I said no. Because I knew that I'm proud, I'm proud to be in this school. And as you heard from another of our, like a bunch of our scholars, they did, they're really good. And I'm proud of them. Even as Daniella said, she is a first generation. As so am I. I am also a first generation student. And I'm going to be basically the first to graduate from high school in my family. And that's going to be very inspiring. And a lot of us are really happy to hear that. And for your... Like, I don't know if you guys have... I don't know if you guys have... If you guys are first or second generation, but if you know how proud you are, you made your student basically become from nothing to someone that they are proud to be. I feel like a lot of us should hear that out. Yes, there might be people saying, we shouldn't build this school. We shouldn't build the high school because it's just, it's land. We need that nature in basically Long Island. Personally, if you give that high school an opportunity and see how those... How other schools will look at us going on, you know, go on and so forth, they'll be really happy. And I'm basically just really happy that we finally got the opportunity to get land. But by confirming that, okay, we don't got to worry about other people saying no, it's going to make me and especially our superintendent, Mr. Ancrum, and also my principal, I'm going to be really happy. I'm going to be really happy. I'm going to be really happy. I'm going to be really happy. I'm going to be really happy. Because if you're the high school principal, Mr. McKinney, I'm really happy for them that they can now finally tell us, you guys are officially getting something. Even though I might not experience that high school experience, they said that I'm also welcomed. Any graduate that might not be for that building are accepted to that school. My little sister, she's in sixth grade. And that's going to be very important to everyone else because they're going to be happy. Oh, look. little sibling could finally attend that school. I just want to say to everyone that hope you guys hear these words out from anyone or from whomever and I want you guys have a good rest of your night and thank you. Thank you. Okay. My name is Maria Leonardo. I'm going to be translating for her.
My name is Yesenia Lopez. And I've been a resident of Everhead for almost 20 years. En este tiempo he visto como nuestro pueblo ha ido creciendo en población industrial y educativamente. During those 20 years I've seen the town grow as far as resident, industrial and also education wise. Hoy tenemos un riveje diferente y podemos caminar y disfrutar en diferentes actividades en el pueblo. My name is Maria Leonardo. I'm going to be translating for her. Now since Riverhead has changed we have a different set of, we have a different town. And now we can enjoy the activities that and resources that Riverhead has provided in the latest few, in the latest couple of years of the change. Ahora podemos caminar con nuestra familia sin miedo porque lo que caracteriza Riverhead es que es un pueblo unido. Thanks to all the support families can walk around Riverhead town and feel safe and it shows a sense of community. And it shows a sense of community. And it shows a sense of community. Los jóvenes han tenido la oportunidad de elegir donde estudiar y queremos que siga siendo igual. Our students and our community have, have to have, now have a choice of which school that they could go to. La construcción de este nuevo edificio. The construction of this new expansion of the building of the high school. Se beneficiarán más de 1500 alumnos. Incluyendo a 500 alumnos. It's gonna benefit more than 1500 students. students. Incluyendo las futuras generaciones. Including the future generations to come. También incluyendo alumnos de la Sound Avenue. That's including the students of Sound Avenue. Escuchar a estos niños lamentarse que no tienen espacio donde comer, donde jugar, donde hacer deporte, como madre me quiebra el corazón. Hearing our students saying that they have nowhere to have lunch or to have to play sports or just to even play that free space breaks as a mother breaks her heart.
Me gustaría también incluir en un futuro que la charter también tuviera la posibilidad de tener ayuda para niños especiales. She would love the opportunity for later on for the Riverhead Charter School to also have a space for special needs kids. Porque ahorita anantes pueden con los que tienen y son muchos y como dijeron los alumnos quedan muchísimos afuera porque ellos son unos maestros y una educación increíble. And because of that unfortunately the town doesn't have all the resources to help these special education kids and they feel like they're going to be left up in charter school because we don't have those resources. A los maestros y a los alumnos no están solos. To the teachers and to the students, you are not alone. Los padres estamos aquí apoyándolos y ahora también pienso que la comunidad también porque nos están dando esta oportunidad de expresar nuestras necesidades. The parents are here to support the school, the alumni, and the teachers and also the community is giving us an opportunity to talk and to speak. Seamos honestos. Esto no se trata de ahorrar tierra. Let's be honest. This is not about buying a land. Se trata de un grupo de personas egoístas que desde hace tiempo se oponen a la charter. It pertains to a lot of people that are not in favor of charter and therefore they're causing the complication and not seeing us as a community. Y usan pancartas para intimidar bueno, ya miramos que a los niños and they have been sending letters to intimidate our students. También usan las redes sociales para meter para infundir odio al pueblo. And also use the social media to send out negative messages to influence our community. Eso no es Riverhead. Riverhead, todos somos unidos. Y son los que nos han ayudado. Y se ha visto en estos últimos años cómo ha progresado. This is not Riverhead. Riverhead is a community that unites and always comes forward. Muchas gracias. Thank you. Thank you.
Good evening. Thank you, board, so much for letting us speak tonight. And as a public school teacher, I'd like to commend all the students that spoke here this evening. They did a fantastic job. Thank you.
My name is Virginia Scudder, and I'm the proud mother of three Riverhead Public School District children. It is because of the Riverhead teachers and the students that I stand here because of their dedication to my children and all of those that walk the halls. That includes teachers like Mr. McCloud and Ms. Perrette. My son is autistic, and because of Ms. Perrette this year, he has made some strides and goals that he would never have met anywhere else. I am also the SEPTO Special Education Parent Teacher Organization president. Ladies and gentlemen, today I stand before you to shed light on the growing concern in our education system, charter schools. And I understand that many of you here will probably not like what I say. While touted as innovative alternatives, charter schools pose a serious threat to the foundation of public education. First and foremost, charter schools, sorry, take away much needed funds away from public schools by diverting taxpayer dollars to privately manage institutions. Like charter schools, by weakening the resources available to traditional public schools, exacerbating disparities in funding and widening the achievement gap. I think everyone else spoke and they were heard and you're speaking while I'm speaking and it's rude. I am here to express my concern about the proposed expansion of the Riverhead Charter School. The charter school can only move forward with this plan if the town board grants a special permit, since the property is on an agricultural protection. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But my neighborhood farmers and the businesses do just great. And that just offer to way manipulate the rules. From the beginning of the charter school, it has not been a good neighbor. One just needs to look at the K through 8 building in Calvilton to know that the traffic is unbearable during the morning and the afternoon hours. Its constraint demand of the local resources have been unrelenting. It goes without saying, but I will strongly convey that the character charter school, sorry, the charter school is a drain on the school resources. The Riverhead Public School. Let me be very clear that Riverhead Central School District offers a superior education with advanced college courses, AP, et cetera, technical programs, special education services, and E&L support. Our award-winning arts and humanities program, coupled with our athletic teams and wide range of enrichment programs and clubs, enhance the students' experience. And our sources. And our students for many experiences and school pride here in Riverhead. And I am proud. And my children are proud. And the students that walk the halls of Riverhead Public Schools are proud. Every school district has its issues. That we know. Even the one I work for. But the way the charter school administration seeks to exploit the few problems to advance its agenda is manipulative and quite frankly, a false narrative. Where does it end for the taxpayer? The charter school is funded by public school management. The good people of Riverhead are essentially being asked to fund two school districts. The RCSD and the BOE meetings are open to public. The school budget is voted on the taxpayer. And the school board members are elected by the community. The community that is Riverhead. The charter school is not required to provide anything like that. Ask yourself how is it that the charter school has so much money to make a land purchase of this size. They collect tuition. From the local school district. And spend far less on students and the pocket, the money. Snickering isn't going to really be necessary. Because everyone else votes. Address us ma'am. They get to pick the students that they want. So their outcomes look good. That means children like my son wouldn't go to the charter school. And since students they don't walk back to their home districts with more academic needs than they had when they left. If a parent chooses. The charter school. They do so knowing that the charter school cannot meet all the children's needs. It is not a responsibility to fund two school systems here in Riverhead. Furthermore, charter schools lack the same level of accountability and transparency as public schools. They often operate without the same regulations. I know I'm running out of time. But I wanted to say in conclusion, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Mary Mackey, Calverton. I'm here today to express my concerns on two issues. I'll wait. I'll wait. Folks, please keep quiet while the speaker is at the podium. I'll wait. Preserving open space and building a new high school for the Riverhead Charter School. And those were the two issues. Preserving open space and building a new high school for the charter school. It's very important to preserve what little open space we have left on the east end. Keep open space open. The acres in question are part of the agriculture protected zone for a reason. The charter school funnels millions of dollars out of the Riverhead Central School District every year. Our public school supports all children, all families of this community. They are not bussed in from other towns, Medford, Quorum, Patchogue. They live here, work here, and shop here. The school board of our public school is elected. We are the only school in the state that is elected by the residents of the community. My twin boys thrived in the Riverhead public school system. They took physics in ninth grade and Latin. One is in the University of Buffalo and one is at the Peconic Bay Medical Center Radiology School. Both with a 4.0. They did wonderful in Riverhead. I also want to commend the students tonight for speaking because it's not easy for young people to do that. It's not easy for an adult to come up here and speak, let alone the students. So I really commend all of them for doing that. And they did a great job. I have enough time. So I just wanted to inform the people here on how charter schools work because I think the students don't know the finance part of it. And that's fine. They're young. They don't need to. But the adults and the parents need to know that the tuition allotted for your student in your home school district goes to the charter school if the parents choose to send them there. Riverhead School District sends $18,000 per student to come to the charter school. We paid last year a little over $11 million to the charter school. We paid last year a little over $11 million to the charter school. We paid last year a little over $11 million to the charter school. Why are they eating in dirty classrooms? They have $11 million of funds to use. Why are they eating in filthy areas? That shouldn't be for any student in any school. So I ask you that. Why are they eating in dirty classrooms? I, again, didn't want to take too much time informing the facts, but there was some mistruths, and that's a big one. The home school that that child goes to, that money goes with them. If they don't complete the year, the charter school still keeps them. The charter school still keeps it. They keep those funds. So why are they eating in dirty classrooms with over $11 million from just Riverhead? When the application is processed, do not approve this special permit. Our open space and public schools are special too, and they deserve to be kept that way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Good evening. My name is Jennifer Comfort and I am a resident of Aquabog. Thank you for allowing this public comment tonight. And again, I want to commend all the students that came up and spoke. It's a scary thing to get up in front of a group of adults, especially, and voice your concerns. So I really commend you for that. I am opposed to the charter school, not the school itself. I'm not opposed to education. I'm not opposed to everything that these children want. They deserve it. I am opposed to the location. That's what I'm opposed to. It's agriculturally protected, zoned, and it should stay that way. A 68,000 square foot building plus athletic fields plus parking. 110,000 square foot? The potential for, you know, like where's all the sewer going to go? Is it going to get hooked up to the Riverhead sewer system? Are they going to have to construct large septic? Are they going to have to construct large septic systems? You know, all that is going to destroy the area, destroy the ground, especially around the neighborhoods that border where this proposed school wants to go. There's a liquor store right next door. There's a vineyard right across the street. I don't know that that's necessarily the best location for a school. Traffic on Sound Avenue is a nightmare, especially, and this is just especially during the fall, for sure. And, you know, as we've talked about, there's a lot of traffic. It was mentioned before, the traffic outside the charter school in Calverton is pretty bad during school hours, during drop-off and pick-up. So it's just going to add to the headaches of the residents of Aqaba. So, again, like I said, I commend the students. You guys sounded awesome. You're well-educated. I think that's wonderful. I'm not against your school. I understand that you want a larger school, a cafeteria, a gym, sports teams, fields, everything. My kids participated. I'm well-educated in all that stuff at Riverhead Central School District. So I get it. I understand why you want that. But it's just not the right location. And that's what I'm here to say. Thank you. Thank you.
Good evening, Mr. Councilman and the council. My name is Raya Churgin, and I'm a farmer. I farm in Riverhead, 1254 Northville Turnpike. I'm here because, you know, as a farmer, One mission is either to do or not to do. Our farmers and our community and our government entered into a tax plan to collect money on properties, to preserve farmland, to steward farmland into the future so that farmers, new farmers, farmers who are misrepresented, farmers who are socially not opportunities to farm, that we could purchase development rights and keep properties at somewhat kind of feasible level to allow next generation of farmers to farm. We have to protect our farmland. It's very clear about that. We can drive up and down 58. We can go to the South Fork and we see what happens when we don't protect our farmlands. Okay, we have that tax scheme to do that, and that is why I'm here to speak. Also, we have a new scheme. Maybe, you know, necessary buildings to go on protected farmland. No farm, no foods. Farmers are the first responders. Farmers are essential. And regardless of what kind of farm it is now, is that we are protecting that for the future because in an area that cannot feed its people, that cannot feed its state, and cannot feed its country is going to be a very sorry area. We see, excuse me, movement around the globe. We see a lot of men and women who have to leave their home because of poor stewardship of their resources, poor governance of their resources. They cannot feed themselves or make a living there. And I congratulate students who want all sorts of things. I mean, you know, that's true of the young. I mean, nobody said they wanted to farm, I noticed, because farming is a noble cause. And I don't blame the young for not knowing that right now because it takes a while to know that about yourself. But, you know, thank God you could go around, you could be the biggest sports star there or you could be a scientist there. But the land we have is all we have. There's going to be no more of it. We don't get more, we get more kids and we don't get more land. We don't get more land. And if we don't forget, if we don't support our farms, we are feeding no one. We have the future we have to look to and that is why we entered as a community into protecting our farmland. Okay, the 12 acres. Like my thing is I assume with these development acres is so that new farmers, young farmers could live on their property in a house because you have to be in it to win. And I'm telling you as a farmer, it's like, you know, that's the way it is. I can't live elsewhere. Got to farm where I am. I'm also, you know, not complaining about the traffic because I contribute to traffic myself. You know, I do a lot of trafficking. But as farming is not pretty, it's not, you know, it's fun, I love it. But it could be messy. It could be noisy, dirty. I'm also a certified pesticide technician having to do so by the DEC to know that near school there's a lot of things you can't do. And even if you tell me you're going to do that 12 acres, you make that other acreage unfarmable because it's too noisy, too dirty, too dusty, too smelly, too everything when a farmer gets down to do that farmer's work. We have to protect our farm. We entered in. Your job is to steward farmland. Yes, our kids are important. I was kidding myself. So I support kids. Okay. My husband, the smartest man I know who also farms with me, went to public schools. My stepdaughter went to public schools. They turned out to be fine and wonderful people. I'm here to talk about, you know, I have no fight with charter public school. It's to protect agricultural land for the next future because we cannot afford not to do so. No farms, no food. No farms, no food. We are essential. We are the first. We are the first responders to everything. And the global situation should let us all know that we cannot take our resources for granted. We cannot. Okay? And you know as much as driving down 58 and I see a lot of defunct, you know, malls there's a lot of people, a lot of individuals with bright ideas as to why we can't put housing there, why we can't put schools there. We have, it'll never be a farm again. You pave it. You pave it over. You build on it. No young farmer can knock down a building. building road sewer system to farm. So once you give it away, it's gone. It is gone. And that is what, now, like kids, very few, it's a noble calling. And right now, they're too young, can't even drive, to know that maybe one of these days, one of them might want to be a farmer. And they're not going to be rich, because I'm not rich, but our town is supposed to be guaranteed that if you decide, like, maybe you could lease, get together a collective and lease some land and farm in support of your community, that's what we're there for. And thank you. Thank you. Well, I'm here. I'll be 73 tomorrow when I've stood for this whole thing. I'd like to say that my husband and I, my husband who was liable tonight by this gentleman, being called a liar, are not political gadflies. The last sign I had on my lawn, and I think you'll recognize this, Mr. Hubbard. Yes. When Miguel Masonette, a Riverhead High School graduate, the pride of Riverhead High School, was the final, was one of three finalists for the FCS, which is the smaller college. Address the board, please, not the audience. Oh, okay. And we need you to state your name and your town. Oh, okay. Which was the FCS Walter Payton Award. My name is Karen Lee. I'm from Northville. I live at the corner of Sound Avenue and Church Lane, the epicenter for every traffic jam that happens on the Northport. We all remember our closings when we first moved out here to Paradise. The last check was for the Peconic tax. We gritted our teeth, and then we grinned because knowing that open space near our homes would be preserved forever. The private charter school is an improper use of preservation. I'm from Northville. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. I'm a riverhead resident. and programs, and this school wants our residents to pay for gyms and athletic fields. These facilities were available to it at McGann-Mercy High School when they closed, if they could have worked out a deal. Newsday reported on February 11th of this year that Long Island schools are reporting a drop in enrollment, yet the charter school plans a 1,500 student enrollment. This may not even be needed when the 68,000 square foot school is completed and our open space will have been destroyed for nothing. This school is planned for land that has been a sod farm for years. Fertilizers and pesticides have been applied there, and we don't know if a soil survey has been done for toxicity, if you would even want your child to be playing on that land. Church Lane is a totally residential two-lane curving and hilly road. And we already deal, we already bear much heavy traffic that really has no business on our street, but it's used as a thruway. In pumpkin season, which is high school football season, we are trapped in our homes due to traffic on Sound, Main Road, and Church Lane. The proposed 1,500 student plus staff of at least, I would imagine an additional 150 plus students, teachers, to care for all these children. We'll drive. We'll drive to school. And that is too much traffic for the area. Fire and emergency responders will be stuck in traffic trying to respond to this situation. And we all know schools have to be responded to very quickly when there are any problems. 1,600 people flushing toilets, and I don't want to sound like somebody who's always talking about flushing toilets, but 1,600 people flushing toilets will impact our water pressure and water table and the sewage system. Thank you. Many people on Church and the cul-de-sac have horses and other farm animals that will be impacted by the construction and operation of this private enterprise. My father, who was a farmer, used to say, do what you want, but don't scare the horses. This matter is in the hands of the town board. The opportunity to preserve land and the way it is intended is up to you. To approve this would set a precedent that would allow others to try and take more land. I for one, enjoy watching grass grow. Leave it alone. And I think Miguel should have won the patent, and I hope that we win tonight. And it's in your hands. And I'd just like to give a little of my background. I am, like many of you, the first child in my family. Ma'am, you have to address the board, please. I'm the first child, and me and my brother are the first children to attend high school. I got my entire education in the New York City public schools and went on to go to Queens College. And it was a public institution at that time. So I know how difficult it is for kids to come whose parents didn't have a chance to go to school. And you were all great with your speeches. You all went to five minutes to keep us all here until 8 o'clock. And I'm very thankful that we heard from you. And good luck to you all. I'm sure you'll do well in whatever school you end up in. Thank you. Thank you. Hi.
My name is Kevin D'Amato. I live in Aquebog as well. I live on Fox Trail Court right off of Church Lane. And I've been a resident of Riverhead since 1975. I've lived in Aquebog for the last 24 years where I purchased the property where I am now. And while doing so, I made sure that I was conscious of what was around me as far as zoning. And while doing that, I saw that the farm was preserved and that there were 13 acres that were zoned for residential. And I could live with that. People need a place to live. And I was fine with that. And now, 24 years later, because someone offers a lot of money to LLC to buy it, those laws, those zoning areas are going to be changed. I'm 64 years old. I was hoping to take a reverse mortgage out of my home to pay for a good part of my retirement. And I had three real estate agents come to my home over the last two weeks. And unilaterally, the consensus was that the building of the high school would absolutely depress home values. The agent continued, the reasoning is simple. uh our bars are looking for a rural farming community a high school works directly against that appeal and i think that's the appeal that we're all upset about we bought into a community that wasn't developed we already suffer from the high the worst traffic patterns uh imaginable where we don't go out on some thursday uh some fridays and saturdays um said another uh agent that at these pride points at these price points i doubt anyone wants to live next to a high school now i don't i don't i don't begrudge the riverhead charter school or the or the our car our high school uh children need to be educated i'm fine with that it's the location so if the homes go down by 20 percent for myself that that comes to about 130 000 and that's a lifetime of savings for someone like myself a lifetime i'm a teacher that's a lifetime of savings that i hope to use to stay in my home and i hope to use that to stay in my home and i hope to use that to stay in my house forever and um it's a if if it does go through and i lose that i i will have to i will have to contemplate the unthinkable of moving off long island like i said i've been here since 1975. that's uh that's all i have to say thank you for listening thank you
good evening everybody my name is ! is gina ristow and i live on church lane in aquabog for the last 37 years first thank you for permitting the time given to everyone tonight i disagree with the statement the impact on traffic is overstated i am opposed to the location of the riverhead charter school families living on church lane with young children are concerned about the safety of their children riding their bikes in the riverhead charter school and in the riverhead charter school and walking from one development off Church Lane to another by the impact of increased traffic created from after school and weekend sports associated not only with the building of the Riverhead Charter High School, but the building of the Phase II Middle School, which has not really been mentioned tonight. It is my understanding that between these two schools, there will be 900 to 1,200 students. I encourage a traffic study be conducted before consideration by the town board to approve permits for the charter school. Everyone knows that traffic is already a concern on Sound Avenue. In addition, I would like to know how many special education students and students with IEPs are accepted by the Riverhead Charter High School and the Riverhead Charter School. I understand that the Riverhead Charter School is highly selective in the students that they accept, unlike our Riverhead Public School, who accepts all students. As these students spoke tonight, they complained of dirty areas to eat their lunch and also the lack of AP classes. Our daughter graduated with 50 AP credits from our own Riverhead Public School. Thank you. Which were accepted by our college and permitted her to graduate college early with two majors and one minor. Her majors were in speech pathology and Spanish and her minor was in linguistics. Lastly, why is the Riverhead Charter School purchasing the 53 acres of protected farmland? Is it in hopes to change the way we treat our students? Is it in hopes to change the way we treat our students? Is it in hopes to change the way we treat our students? with the changes in the town board as they expand into phase two with the building of the middle school. Thank you for your time tonight. Thank you.
Hello, my name is Gina O'Rourke. I live in Aquabog. First, like the other speakers, I have no, I believe, you know, to charter school, fine. I believe the location is not a good location for the reason that you have the 53 acres that are protected and have the development rights have been bought by the county and because the other acreage is in the agricultural protected zone. I think that we had Riverhead residents in general and the neighboring property owners had a lot of interest in the development rights. We had the right to justifiably rely on the zoning requirements that were in place when we bought the, when we purchased our properties. I think it would be a shame if the school chose to expand on that land when there are many other places that the school could build on. I, all the more power to them to expand, but not on agricultural. Really, thank you for all the space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space beginning. They have been educated through Riverhead Charter. They have gone to the public school in Riverhead and unfortunately my two oldest ones when they went to middle school actually their grades dropped and their IEPs were not met. So therefore my husband and I which were not rich but we made it happen working two jobs had to send our kids to Mercy State High School. It was not easy at all but we made it through and now because of that their base of education one of them is in the Air Force serving his country. The other one came back to the community and is now also a teacher helping this Riverhead community. The reason I'm saying this is because I understand the farmland. I love Riverhead when my husband and I moved here it's always been a beautiful beautiful land and I understand your concerns but you also have to understand us as parents. We don't have the resources educationally for these kids. Our Riverhead town has grown tremendously the last five ten years and we don't have the resources. The classes are overcrowded. The teachers even though they try to get the kids to go to school they don't get the education. They try to make the best of it. They can't. They can't. And it's very difficult to find a decision and believe me charter school has been looking for land. It has not been easy. You mentioned Mercy High School you could take that up with the Rockville Diocese with that because we did put an offer. In Rockville Diocese the bishop denied it. May I address the board please? Sorry. So in conclusion. You mentioned some statistics. My daughter who's right here goes to Riverhead Charter School. She does have an IEP and is a special education student. And Riverhead Charter School has done a tremendous amount of work with her. And I am so proud of that. My older son who is in the Air Force serving our country right now also had an IEP. And the first time I went to Riverhead Charter School they opened them with open arms. And it's a public school. And let me tell you when you pay private school. You're going to get a lot of money. You're going to get a lot of money. You're going to get a lot of money. You're going to get a lot of credit. Really. Really Really district keeps that tuition they don't give it back to us and I am paying also school property school taxes and the only thing that they gave me was not even transportation bucks that's the only thing that they provided so I urge you to please put the expansion because it is very hard as a parent who has been here for 20 years seeing our last children our last generation growing up here who love love Riverhead Town let them come back and serve their community and I'm also and I'm also a US Army veteran in United States thank you thank you good evening board members Phil Barbato James port I'm lucky enough to live on a a a a b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b
think it seems to appear to me that this problem of not enough space no room to had the lunch all these things that the new building would provide for these kids is that self-imposed why did this school why did this school accept all these additional students knowing full well there wouldn't be enough room for them so is is this problem self-created so that now the town has to bail them out and give them of the right to build a new building that that question comes to mind and it should be answered before we go any further I think just make sure that the other school districts that are affected by this from what I understand tonight if you if a student comes from a school district other than Riverhead that school district must also provide money to the charter school what is their opinion so I I would encourage you to reach out to those school districts and find out what their opinion is no farms no food
thank you Phil it's taller than me good evening my name is Valerie Rayner I am a 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 And it should remain that way. That piece of parcel that the school wants to expand on, I believe, was intended for farmers to keep their homes on so that they could continue to farm that land. That land is not useless. I have had vegetables grown in my backyard. Pieces, they rotate the crops. It has been a sod field for a few years now. I do not let my children play on that grass anymore. We were advised not to. There are a lot of chemicals, a lot of years before you were allowed to use certain chemicals. There was a lot of years on those. But I do believe that that space that the school wants to expand on seems to me to be too small for them. Their expansion seems a lot bigger, second phase for that lot that they want to go on. And, yes, why are they purchasing that other piece? That is not, you can't build on it right now. And Suffolk County has the rights. Is there another intention there? And I have another question. The kids did well tonight. And, you know, we're not trying to say no education for children. It is not the right spot. But the question is, is these parents signed their kids up for this school knowing that there wasn't these programs? It wasn't. There are leagues out there also that take children. Most of our kids play on private leagues. There are spaces around town that have fields, that have buildings near them. There are other places this town can look into to maybe help drive a better suited place for a school. Because if they want to expand that much, they're going to grow out of that area as well. So I'm just saying that please make the right choice. Please protect our investment. Because there are realtors coming around to us now telling us, if we're going to sell, sell now. My intention was that one of my kids can keep my home. It's not going to happen. They want to leave. Not with that. The lights, the animals, the horse farm, the vineyard. I don't care what time of day it is. In the summer, from April to whatever time, people are going to the vineyards. And their children are going to be out and about. There was a parent that said there's Sound Avenue children. Are they walking home on that road? My kids are not allowed to walk on that road. However, there are a lot of vineyards and a lot of breweries and a lot of everything else. I don't particularly think that it's the best spot to have at the beginning of the vineyard route. So, you know, our way, our vineyard way. But anyway. So I'm just asking you to please make. The right decision and protect our investments as your residents as well, because your residents put a lot of money. And a lot of years right there. We're not saying don't educate the kids. They all deserve the best education. Just not right in that spot. Thank you. Thank you.
Sorry, we have to translate again. I'm sorry. Hi, how are you? How are you? My name is Anna Ruella. She can help me to translate because my English is not very well done. The kids, you know, and you. But I can do that because I'm a very happy mother to stay here in front of you. And I have my children for like. 12 years because I love the education to Riverhead Shire School. And I'm very happy. Because. My daughter, my older one is the first generation. She can graduate and Riverhead Shire School and she's accepted a nine university right now for her. You know, for her education. For her grades. So she was accepted for nine universities because of her GPA. And that's what makes me feel like a mother. So happy about the education that my children receive at Riverhead Shire School. And that because as a mother, I am very proud and very happy because of the education that she received at Riverhead Shire School. I love that Riverhead Shire School is not just a number of children. It's a family. She loves it. She loves the fact that Riverhead Shire School is not about the number of students in the charter at the school. It's because it's more a family orientation. I love the education. I love how strict they are. I love the rules they have. Because I've lived in Riverhead for 22 years. She says she loves. How the structure, the rules, the norms of Riverhead Shire School are with the children. Yo vivo atrás de la Corte Suprema. Estoy a 30 segundos de aquí donde estamos ahora mismo. She lives in the back of the court, which is probably 30 seconds from here. Y mientras mis hijos están en la escuela, los otros niños de Riverhead, andan caminando y yo los veo fuera de los rieles del tren, haciendo nada. Los que están en Riverhead Shire School a las 3 y 45 terminan el ciclo de sus clases. She said that during school hours, she knows that her kids are safe in Riverhead Shire School, whereas because she lives 30 seconds from here and she sees the students coming around, that there's safety issues when it comes to the public school. She sees students walking on the train tracks. Es por eso que amo la educación y lo estricto que es Riverhead Shire School. Estoy tan feliz como madre que he dicho muchas veces a mis hijos y algunos padres que si yo me ganara la lotería de la loto, mandara hacer un edificio grande, inmenso y con muchas comodidades para que muchas personas se sientan bien. Muchas niños del futuro pudieran educarse de la mejor forma en ese building. She said she's very happy with the norms that the school provides, and because of the happiness and the education that the children are receiving, if she won the lotto tomorrow, she would automatically buy the land and the enormous building from Riverhead Shire School. Yes. I promise you guys. Me encanta la educación que tienen y de la forma que tratan a cada niño. Mis dos hijas han tenido algunos problemas mentales y nunca me los han echado de menos. Es más, han salido adelante con sus problemas por el apoyo que le dan en Riverhead Shire School. A cada niño. She said her two daughters have had issues mentally, and the charter school didn't set them aside. Instead, they embraced it, they supported, and they helped, and they moved her two daughters ahead. And because of that, she's forever grateful. Entendemos que algunas de las personas del foro me están diciendo, el tráfico, el tráfico va a existir siempre. Ustedes, que son las autoridades, sabemos que el tráfico, no porque exista Riverhead Shire, es por el building más grande. Vamos a parar el tráfico. El tráfico va a seguir, o sí, o sí. She said, you as authority members, you know that traffic is always going to exist out here in the East End. It doesn't matter if the charter school is there or not. Traffic is always going to be traffic out here in the East End. Si no tenemos educación, si los niños no tienen educación, no tenemos futuros inversionistas. Porque nosotros vamos muriendo y ellos van creciendo para ser los próximos inversionistas. The last comment she said is that invest in your children because they are going to be the future of this town. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Sorry. Try that again. Hi, everybody. Hello. Everyone, my name is Edith Franco. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. and I am very happy with charter school and preferred charter school my daughter she's in six six level six sixth grade I'm preferred charter school because they start early they need to stay at in the school inside the school eight o'clock another score is more late begins finish the class 345 I have translator because my English is not so good it's not very well I'm try she's translate me esto aquí para ser mi voz con tar joint yendo que estan diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que están diciendo que lo que yo están peleando son las tierras de las fincas she's here to support to express of a support of voice and to talk about charter school and she understands the concerns of the land entonces de ganas en que lugar o quien nos puede dar otro espacio para hacer la escuela amplia que nuestros niños necesitan said where else can the kids go if we can't purchase this land where we can have a building and have and have the resources for these students porque ni la escuela de riverhead se va dar a basto en high school con todos nuestros niños que está creciendo la comunidad y yo desde kindergarten me niña la tengo ahí una por el horario otra porque van vestidos formalmente no van con los pantalones a media nalga no van mal vestidos lo enseñando los pechos las niñas van bien vestidas formalmente
so what she's saying is is that where else can we find a place riverhead charter school has uniform rules and regulations where kids we respect their bodies they're not showing their bodies they're not showing these shorts or putting tank tops and showing shorts or putting tank tops and showing their body they're showing how showing their body they're showing how showing their body they're showing how they respect their own bodies and that's they respect their own bodies and that's one of the reasons why that she loves one of the reasons why that she loves one of the reasons why that she loves if they have the kids be in that school if they have the kids be in that school necesitamos toda la comunidad de que necesitamos toda la comunidad de que tenemos nuestros niños en riverhead Chara que nos den un lugar amplio para nuestros niños que son los futuros futuro ellos son nuestro futuro en este lugar entonces diga nos en donde podemos construir una escuela para nuestros niños en otras palabras si la escuela no puede ser construida y los niños de la escuela de charters van a vivir en la escuela de beaverhead donde van a encontrar los recursos que ahora mismo la escuela de charters es muy aburrida como es donde van a encontrar el espacio y los recursos para poner a estos niños
mientras la comunidad se esta negando de darnos un espacio amplio donde nosotros esta construida la escuela solo necesitan aumentar el building para nuestros niños y nos estan queriendo cerrar diganos a donde nuestros niños pueden seguir estudiando all we ask is for the expansion of the school in order to have our schools have the resources and the education that they very well deserve as a community but she she's what i'm asking is where could we find the expansion if you guys are denying us this for us to grow a high school in and in the land that were seeking necesitamos una respuesta no muchas gracias por escucharme y les agradezco a todos thank you very much graciously and and thank you for hearing our concerns thank you Thank you. Thank you very much and good night. I think we're going to round this out shortly. Thank you very much for taking the time to let everybody be heard tonight. Amy Lomonaco, long-term resident of the town of Riverhead, graduate of Riverhead High School, class of 1994, and current vice president of the board of trustees at Riverhead Charter School. Just a couple things. Service for me as a board member has been very valuable for a number of reasons. One, I'm super proud of the kids that they had the opportunity to come out and to say what they had to say. That took a lot of courage. Also I think we're talking about really adult problems and concerns that are impacting kids. So I view my position and my duty to navigate both of those. That's what we do when we give ourselves up to service. So I welcome as a board member, and I know the rest of our board and our leaders do as well, these conversations to continue to occur with our community partners. Because at the end of the day, as town supervisor Hubbard said at the beginning, we have not yet put forward anything before you because we're not ready. And here's where we are at. We're doing our due diligence period. We're looking at a piece of property. That means we're engaged with architects and engineers and attorneys and all of the people that need to be engaged. To help us understand this piece and the feasibility and all of those things that go with it. I've heard a lot of numbers thrown around about sizes of buildings and things like that. We don't yet have that all fleshed out. We're still looking at it to be perfectly clear. Is there a plan for a high school and possibly a middle school? Yes. That's what we're talking about. Are we going to do it in a way that's thoughtful and goes through that due diligence period? Yes, because we have an obligation to do so. And at such time, we're ready. We will present that to you for your review. This has been an odyssey for the charter school. I've been on the board now for 11 years and we have been looking for space for seven of those years. And part of the challenge that we have faced is that there are only nine zoning districts within the town of Riverhead that allow schools. So when you only have nine zoning districts, you're limited to those areas. So some municipalities allow schools in all zoning districts, but Riverhead does not. And I hope that that's something you look at. I hope that you look at that when you're looking at your comprehensive plan. I want to thank Ike Israel, who I know who's out here somewhere. He has combed corner to corner of this town with us, trying to find the right piece of land. Not the right zoning, not the right size. Can't go here. Mercy looked at it. EPCAL looked at it. Commercial space looked at it. Kmart looked at it. We have looked at them all. And I am tired. And I'm tired. And I want to do right by these kids. So I am ready to listen to you community members. I'm ready to take your concerns back. I hear what you're saying. Understood. Check. I would ask the town board as our partners, if you have thoughts, you have ideas, I'm ready to hear them because we need to do right by these kids and right by the community. And I thank you for your partnership and your time tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I want to thank yous all for taking the time. And it lasted a long time. You know, and I appreciate that because we do have a voice. Okay. I've been in Riverhead a long time. Okay. I had to meet Mark in Riverhead. CVA meets my father, my brother. I've been here a long time. I could be anywhere else in the world, but I want to be in Riverhead because I love Riverhead. And if you guys all know me and if you don't know me, you know I love Riverhead. Okay. We're not into a fight. We're not having a fight here. We just need your name. We know you're from Riverhead. Anthony Comfort. Anthony Comfort. I'm from Vineyard Way in Acklebog. Okay. We're not arguing. We're arguing about children. We're not arguing about children. We love children. They're the future. They're everything. It's just the wrong spot. That's it. It's the wrong spot. We paid the 2% so we could save it for the pecanic pay tax. It's just the wrong spot. That's it. The end of the story. We want a school. We want the school. These kids were amazing. They were amazing. I get anxiety too and so do my goats. And they're going to get anxiety when you start digging the land up. Do you ever, you know, every one of my goats is a rescue goat and sheep. Do you know how they feel when you start bashing the land or you light a firework? That's what this land was for. That's why I chose the land. So I can have my goats. That's all I want. I'm an Italian kid that wanted goats. And I got my goats. I want these kids to have everything they want. This is America. They should. But it's just the wrong place right now. Why don't we all work together? Riverhead High School, I mean, everybody's bashed Riverhead High School. I have a son that's in Binghamton right now, wants to be a doctor. I have another daughter graduating from Buffalo. I mean, so we love New York and we love this town. Let's not ruin it. Anything Easter 105, gavosh. That's it. Easter 105, we can't. Come on. That's how we, you know, this is Riverhead and we love everybody. I love everyone. Every one of you. I might not agree, but I love you. Okay? We might not agree, but I love you. We all want the same thing. We want a school for these kids so they continue to be the gentlemen, women. They were great. They were awesome. I love it. I love it. I love what they do. But this is, it's just the wrong place. That's all. Okay, thank you. The wrong place. You know, and I understand because that little girl came up here and she said she had anxiety. Just think about my goats when they have anxiety. And you laugh, you know, but I care about my goats more than I care about my family. And I mean that. I'm just saying. No farm, no food. Thank you. We've had one holding online. Hang on, ma'am. We've had one holding online for quite some time. I would like to take the caller that's online, and then we'll finish up whoever is at the podium here. Male Speaker 1 Moreen, you're on. Male Speaker 2 Moreen, can you hear us? Female Speaker 1 Yes. Can you hear me? Male Speaker 2 We can now. Yes, you're on. Female Speaker 2 Hi. My name is Brooke McKay. I am a resident of Ackbog, New York. I would like to start off this conversation by saying thank you so much to the town board for listening, and thank you for taking my questions. I would like to start off by saying that I am a 12-year-old. I am a 12-year-old. I am a 2019 graduate of Riverhead Central School District. I enjoyed every single moment. I was born and raised in Riverhead. I enjoyed every single moment that I spent through Riverhead Central High School. I was provided an amazing library. I was provided many sports opportunities. I was provided an amazing cafeteria, full support for my teachers and staff. I was gifted with a scholarship. I was gifted programs. And I am recently a graduate of Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania as a respiratory therapist. And that would not have been from my public education. So what I'm here to say is if you are choosing to send your children to a charter school, you are choosing knowing that you are not being offered all of the opportunities that you might not have in a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist public education school district. I have been born and raised through many farmers. I have worked for farmers. I have helped on farms. My backyard is a sod farm. And to know as a growing up adult who is going to have a future in Riverhead, which I plan to have because there's nothing as living in Riverhead and being a Blue Wave, I am proud to say that I am from Riverhead. And I am proud to say that when I was in Scranton, Pennsylvania, I was proud to say that I was from the North Fork. And I want to keep the open space. And I want to keep my backyard and my agriculture land protected. If this charter school is built on the land that is in my community, it will not only hurt my public schooling and my future for my children, but it will hurt our community. And I want to keep my backyard and my agriculture land protected. And I want to keep my backyard and my agriculture land protected. And I want to keep my backyard and my agriculture As many people have stated, no farms, no food. And I am 100% a believer in that, that if there are no farms, there are no food. Agriculture is 100% the most important thing, in my opinion, to the North Fork. The North Fork is known for our vineyards, for our breweries, for our beautiful agriculture, for our beautiful lands. And if you drive on Sound Avenue and you drive past a massive building on this beautiful piece of land, it's going to ruin everything about the North Fork. I understand. Yes, there's traffic. Yes, there's all this other stuff. However, adding this charter school and adding this to a land that should be protected is not going to be good for any of us. As a future taxpayer, I have recently graduated college. I am now paying taxes. I now understand that for the future and for my children, this is not going to be beneficial at all. So I can just say from the bottom of my heart, as a young, educated student from Riverhead High School, that keep this land protected and save open space. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thankfully, I didn't have to follow the goat guy because he was good. Allison Matway, I'm from... I'm from Waiting River. I will go on record as saying I have been to every public hearing every time the charter school has tried to expand and we lose every time because I am against charter school expansion. Lots of reasons why. I believe we cannot fund two systems of education. Riverhead School District provides $18,500 per student that they send to the charter school. Now, that formula is made up somewhere in New York State, up in Albany, based on an average of, in the 19th century, about $8,000. Really, in 19th century, about $8,000. Really, in 19th century, special needs who cost more than I'm sure was spent on my children, who have AP classes. Have not only AP classes, they have SUPA classes, which are college classes that they get credits from Adelphi. ACE classes, which are college classes that they take and get credits from Stony Brook University. Also Farmingdale University, my son studied, took a robotics class. He is now at Stony Brook University studying computer science, as well as applied math and statistics. My daughter is graduating, probably going to Binghamton to become a physician assistant through the Riverhead Central School District, our public schools. $11 million is what we gave to the charter school just this year. Now, Mr. Barbato wanted to know, how does this impact? And I'm not a representative of the district, but I've been in the district for a lot of years, and I've worked in special education for 25. So imagine you have a class, you have 27 students in that class. You pay a teacher, you pay, maybe you have a TA, whatever. One child gets pulled out to go to the charter school. $18,500 follows that child to the charter school. Those 26 remaining kids still have to be educated by that teacher. So say you lose five, you lose all that money, you still have to pay that teacher that salary and that TA. You lose all that money, and it's gone. And that is how it impacts. And that's why I say you cannot fund two systems of education. Now, in reality, charter schools do not have to keep students. They can help students the way public schools do. Charter schools can refuse a kid if they're behavioral, if they're not getting the high test scores that they all revere, which in my mind are not a measure of anything. It's actually true. Excuse me, folks. We have a speaker up here. It's across the country that charter schools get to pick and choose. They are not under the same rules and regulations as a public school. Now, that being said, they are looking to increase their population. So why would they turn? Why would they turn away kids when they're getting 18,500 from Riverhead? Less from non-districts of location. You know, if you're in Patrick Medford, they're not paying what we pay, but we pay a lot. So that being said, they could turn away those kids if they wanted to. We cannot. And if they do, they're not going to because how would they get their money, right? My understanding is the Riverhead Charter School works a little differently than other charter schools that maybe the money doesn't stay with them if they come back to the public school. But they lose whatever money they've spent up until that point. My other concern is they're claiming they don't have all these facilities, a cafeteria, a library, sports, all these things, AP classes. But we heard another student say she's taking AP classes, going to go to college and graduate early, which is awesome. I invite them all to come back to Riverhead Public Schools because we have all those classes. We have amazing staff. We have amazing teachers, amazing staff, amazing students. We have programs that are from the, you know, kids who are struggling all the way to the top. We provide special needs kids with services. We send them to BOCES if they need career and tech ed programs. We have sports. We have clubs. We have it all. And so if you can't even get a cafeteria and a library and that's what you signed up for and that's what we're paying $18,500 per student for. We're not going to let you go. We need to relook at this expansion in a big way because where is that money? Now, they have money in reserves, apparently. So clearly, they're not spending that $18,500 on educating that child. So they're putting the money in reserves to do what? To buy a new school? We are overcrowded. We have to answer to the taxpayers every time. We put up two bonds. Both failed because the taxpayers don't want to pay for it. So where are our kids? Where are my kids getting? My daughter has had 27, 28 students in her class since she was in kindergarten. She's a senior. There were five sections of kindergarten when she was at Riley Avenue with 27 students. Two more kids, they would have had to open a sixth. Where is the expansion for our kids? We answer to the public. We answer to the taxpayers. They do not. They get $11 million. Even when our budget failed, they got their $10 million. I have a problem with that. I agree that it's in a bad location. But I also don't want this charter to expand at all. And if they're not happy, they can come back to the public schools because we can't afford both. Thank you. Thank you.
Good evening. My name is Joseph Fortunato. I live in Aquabog. It's been a long night, so I'll be brief. Excuse me, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's been a long night, so I'll be brief. My challenge is to you, the school board. The charter school wants to expand. The community does not want its protected public space to be used. Figure out how to give both sides what they want. That's what you were elected to do. And just remember, there's a saying, God's not making any more land. So don't waste it. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Deborah and Peter Conrad from AqwaBagh. You guys need a break or anything? We will in a minute. No, my wife just texted, should she hold dinner? I don't know what to tell her. Go ahead. We have previously touched on the zoning regarding the property for the proposed construction of the charter school, and it seems to have been established that the acreage with the development rights intact allows a private school by special permit. We understand the issuance or denial of the special permit lies solely with you, but we also understand that there are criteria that must be met for you to grant a permit. While we haven't yet seen anything regarding what the school proposes, we have gotten morsels of information, including phase one of 50 to 80,000 square feet with athletic fields and 500 students, and then phase two of a second building of approximately 30,000 square feet. Just the sheer size and number of students makes us certain they cannot meet the criteria for a special permit, which is written in the town code. I wish the students had stayed to hear what other people had to say. The school administrators are saying this is a dream of their students. We commend them for speaking out, but I got the impression they believe we are questioning their education. That is not this debate. Our opposition is to the construction of this facility in this sensitive area. We need to consider the direction of the city. We need to consider the direction of the town, which is being laid out in our new comprehensive plan. There is a great focus on protecting agriculture, the rural nature of Riverhead, and the scenic vistas of Sound Avenue. This is what defines Riverhead. Let's not set dangerous precedents. Without our farmers, vineyards, breweries, and vistas, what is Riverhead? Just another town that didn't properly handle their development, and now it's too late. People who visit here to enjoy the rural character and agritourism will see that Riverhead is a place of peace. People who live here for that same reason will leave. Please don't let that happen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I just have a few comments, too. I was looking at the Google Earth, who was introduced earlier, Peter Conrad, Aquabog. And the purchased frontage that they are purchasing. I don't know if you have any. I don't know. Really? 12,000, 1,232 feet. And within that distance, and that encompasses both sides of the street, there's 11 entrances and exits in that span. That doesn't include the present charter schools, two entrances and exits. Also, you have the horse stables there where they have an entrance on, and the commercial property, the liquor store. So, a total of, what's that, 13, 14, 15 driveways in a short spans, exiting and exit. The other thing I am curious about is the town opening themselves up to a lawsuit, and I'm concerned about the three properties, residential properties that are there. Now, being that, they're going to be surrounded by the charter school and Sound Avenue there, the property values for those houses are going to plummet. So, being that you have to grant the special permit for those, for that construction in that area, where a special permit is not needed if you put residential parcels there, I'm just worried about the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, what the ramifications are for the town illegally if these people choose to bring suit because of property values of their property. What was the other thing? Oh, the other thing, a lot of the parents and students talked about after school sports, that they were going to, as parents of two children that did after school sports, I think the first gentleman that spoke talked about the buses only picking up the children at 3 o'clock. Well, from my experience and my two children, after sports activities happen after school and on weekends. So, as far as traffic is concerned, buses picking up those kids, parents picking up those kids at prime rush hour times because usually the sports activities take, what, if they, if they end school at 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 530, the sports activities end. I mean, parents and children or bus, parents and buses are, might be picking up those kids during the prime rush hour time. So, thank you very much for your time. Thank you.
Hello. Hello. My name is Sterling Churgin and I apologize. I don't really have any remarks that I wrote down and prepared, but I did drive directly from Plymouth, Massachusetts to get here this late. Okay, I just drove six hours to get here. My wife and I. Where do you reside, sir? I live in Riverhead on Northfield Turnpike. My wife and I own both Henpecked Husband Farms and Rococo Farming Ventures. We have 30 acres of property. We own 30 acres of land with full development rights. I'm not from Riverhead. I moved here and I love Riverhead. I'm the only non-government building, I think, in this whole town that flies the Riverhead flag that I bought myself because I love this town so much and they've been so good to us. Okay? We own 30 acres of land with full development rights. We were just contacted by Suffolk County about six months ago and we were asked, you know, we were asked if we would like to leave the APZ. And I said no. I'm voluntarily staying in the APZ and I am voluntarily not developing my land that I could easily develop. This is prime farmland. We all had to, there was a vote at some point where we all voted that we're going to spend 2.5% of our, of our, economic transfers when we buy land as a preservation. Specifically an agriculture, not open space. A golf course is open space. An industrial park, technically, there's one little building and lots of parking. It's open space. Okay? We signed up to preserve farmland. My wife and I have, we, me, myself, I spent, I've lost $62,500 that I paid in this 2.5% tax. I want it back. Okay? You're asking me. Okay. Really? And I am a great, we don't have organic certification because I don't feel like dealing with it. But our land is alive because we are organic, okay? And we take good care of our land. Now I'm not so well versed what exactly they want to do. They want to develop the 12 acres. They're not going to develop bologna. Okay, you open the door. Okay, whatever's done today has ramifications forever. One thing that's essential when you're a farmer, you have to live on your land, okay? To have that isolated farmland, if you take that 12 acres of land and whatever you're going to do with it, and you isolate the rest of the land which is supposedly for agriculture, okay, it doesn't work that way. Farmers have to live on farmland. There's enough land for a charter, there's enough land everywhere for a charter school. You have that, all that property in Calverton, okay, which was industrial, which is wide field, and you have to build a school there if you want. I'm just saying that if this school gets built, I don't see any reason why can't I become a multi-multi-millionaire overnight and develop my land. Zeyhu, that's all I have to say. Thank you for your time. Thank you for coming down. Good evening. My name is Rich Gendron. I live in Tuttle's Lane in Riverhead. I'm a 1990 graduate, Riverhead High School. Born and raised here. I just want to say I'm against the charter school expansion. Other people said it's not the right spot, and I don't think it's the right fit for the area. And I think, like that gentleman said, there's plenty of other areas in the town. There's EPCAL. You got 1,200 acres up there. I can't see why I can't find my home there. I worked on farms since I was 12 years old. I'm proud of it. Have a good night. Thank you. All right. We have two people online. If we could bring somebody up. Good evening. Ron Hariri of AqbaBog. First of all, I want to thank those incredibly talented people. They are incredibly eloquent and intelligent and passionate students. And I think it's important to remind them that they deserve the best education we can provide. And I think they need to recognize that there may be some issues regarding zoning and the agricultural protection zone. And I think that's a very important thing. I think that's a very important thing. And I think that's a very important thing. Because there are a number of issues about the space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space And I agree with one of the earlier speakers that it's incumbent upon this board to do their best to find an alternative location. Unfortunately, because the town botched the Epco disaster, that's not a possibility. But maybe at some point if the litigation is settled, that's an alternative. The difficulty I have is how in the world can this board explain that these wonderful kids can't have a school when for the past three years, this board and town officials have been working behind closed doors to find a way to put a mega resort on the sound down the street. Yeah. You can all draw your own conclusions. If you find a school inappropriate on this site, I'm sure the board should be bound by rejecting anything like a mega resort on the sound, even if it happens to be for one of their developer donors who's suddenly copying another one of the most generous, generous donors to Riverhead's Republicans on his emails to the town planning and legal staff. Thank you. Thank you. We have one more online.
! Hi, everyone. My name is Alexandra. I'm from Aquabog. I'm currently at the University of Buffalo finishing up my senior year on track to become a New York State Trooper. I decided to join this call because I completely understand the need for extra education and I understand the students wishes of extracurricular activities. But I'm a graduate of Riverhead High School. I was a UCA All-American. I went to Florida for cheerleading. I experienced so many things. I gained 12 college credits before even attending college through Riverhead High School. And I just want to say I'm not against education at all. I want to reiterate that throughout this. And I'm just against where it's trying to be put. The land is just not suitable for what they're trying to do. And there's so much more land that's so much closer to the current charter school in Calverton that would definitely be suitable for students. And I just want to say, I'm not against it. I'm not against it. I'm not against it. I'm not against it. I'm not against it. And I just want to say, just please take into consideration this whole thing and what's been going on on this land for years before many of us have even lived here. There's so many pesticides, chemicals that can hurt the surrounding area, the people living in that area, the animals living in that area, and even students years after this happens that it could affect. And again, thank you so much for your time. And have a good night. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. McAuliffe. Yes, John McAuliffe, Ep Cal Watch, living in Roanoke Landing. Very quickly, I spoke with the Vice President of the charter school board as she was leaving. The reason they rejected Ep Cal was for, or felt Ep Cal was impossible was because of zoning. So, I think that's a suitable, that's something the board could correct and make the land accessible for schools. And make the land accessible for schools. correct and make the land available. If people have doubts about it, they should think about the Wellbridge Addiction Center. Absolutely gorgeous building, land around it that's beautiful. There's a lot other land that could be used there. I personally think the HK Ventures land could also be used much better for this purpose, but that's a different question. I think the EPCAL land we own and I'm separating out location from charter schools. I have contradictory feelings about charter schools. It's very clear from what's said tonight that people involved in the public school system feel that the charter school is hemorrhaging off resources. It's also clear that the charter school parents and the kids show that a different form of education has produced a very impressive group of students. The other point I'd make about EPCAL is that a number, at least what I could hear, a number of the non-Riverhead students seem to be coming from west of us so that having the school more to the west would be beneficial in that way. Also, it obviously has been said is much closer to the existing school than the state. Thank you. Thank you, John. Since I didn't use all my time, I just wanted to say one more thing that I forgot to say. I know, I don't know zoning laws very well, but my understanding is that and I've heard it a million times that the Riverhead Charter School considers itself a public school, which I don't, but if they are considered a public school, are they allowed to build with even special permission? Because isn't it, you know, it's a public school, it's a public school, it's a public school, isn't it zoned, doesn't the zoning say something about they have to be a private school to be able to even build there? I don't, like I said, I don't know zoning very well, but that's my understanding of it and that's all. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, with that, we're going to move on to our public hearings tonight. I thank everybody who came out tonight. It's nice to see the community involved in their local government and even though it makes for a long night, it's well worth it for us up here to hear what everybody has to say. Also, real quickly, all those students who came up there and spoke, I'm thinking back to when I was in sixth grade and eighth grade, excuse me people, when I was up in sixth grade or eighth grade, a team of wild horses couldn't drag me to a microphone to talk in front of a group of adults. So kudos to them and I applaud them for coming out. Okay, our first public hearing tonight was scheduled for 6 p.m. It is now 9.07. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And this one actually has been canceled and I just want to have Town Attorney Howard explain to us the cancellation. Howard Howard. Okay, so this had to be canceled because the resolution that scheduled the public hearing and authorized publish and posting for the public hearing had an incorrect tax map number and so we had to pull the public notice. We have to redo the resolution which is in the packet for tonight which has the correct tax map number. It's a corrected tax map number and it will reschedule the public hearing. Thank you. Okay, our second public hearing was scheduled for 6.05 p.m. It also was canceled and that was the public hearing to amend chapter 301 zoning and land development, agritourism, in resorts. That is being brought back by the board back to work session and then will be put up again at a later date for a public hearing. Our third public hearing tonight, scheduled for 6.00 p.m. which should probably be 6.10 p.m. is a hearing regarding a water extension at 203 to 213 East Main Street. And at this time I would ask Mr. Mancini to come up and lead us off. Thank you for having me. I'm Frank Mancini, the Water District Superintendent. So this project is 203 to 213 East Main Street. Like other projects, we've asked them to contribute to replacing the old water main downtown. So their key money assessment is based on their usage. So that's going to cost about 315,000 and the replacement of 8-inch pipe or establishing new pipe I should say. From Main Street along the western side of the building to Heidi Bear Way so that the building is served from two directions. We call it looped. It really reduces the likelihood of any type of failure. Those improvements, we're estimating them to cost about $686,000. The total cost of improvements and key money is about $1 million which is on par with other projects that we've done of a similar scale in that area. And it includes replacing a hydrant and adding a new additional hydrant that the fire district requested. So are there any other specific questions on it? I have none. It's just nice to see some of our older structures getting replaced. I'm going to go ahead and ask the next question. I'm going to go ahead and ask the next question. Really just getting refurbished, rebuilt and new products being put in the ground and this is money that we've gotten, some money from the development that's going on downtown to help pay for this. So I appreciate that. Absolutely. Okay. Do we have anybody from the public that would like to comment on this? Do we have anybody online? Nobody online that would like to comment on this? Okay. We will keep this open for 10 days for a public comment, for written comment and that will bring us back to Tuesday. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. 10 days from now? March 1st. Okay. We will keep this open until March 1st for written comment. Thank you, Mr. Mancini. Thank you, Mr. Hedlund. Next public hearing we have was scheduled for 605, which probably should be 615. It's a public hearing on an unsafe structure at 29 East 2nd Street. This has been rescheduled from January 17th, 2024. Town Attorney Howard, would you bring us up to date here? All right. Thank you, Supervisor. So this was originally, as the Supervisor stated, scheduled for public hearing to commence on January 17th. That was my recommendation to the Board at that time was to adjourn that to today's date based on communications that my office had with the homeowner, tending to indicate that he was interested in pursuing remediation or restoration of the property. Since that time, there hasn't been a substantial amount of progress. And so my recommendation to the Board at this time is to proceed with the public hearing based on the condition of the structure. The public hearing is designed for our town engineer and our Deputy Town Attorney to lay out the issues that we feel render the structure unsafe. And then the Board will be called upon subsequently, to make a determination as to what, if any, action should take place with regard to the disposition of the structure, whether that be demolition or otherwise. Okay. We want to get started with the public hearing? Yeah. And so with that, I would ask Deputy Town Attorney Victoria Saru to head on up to the podium and open up the public hearing.
Thank you members of the Board. So this evening, we're here for a public hearing regarding an alleged unsafe structure located at 29 East Second Street, Riverhead, Suffolk County State in New York pursuant to chapter 217 part four of the riverhead town code. I am now going to Mr. Chester if you could be seated. Yes, thank you members of the Board. So this evening, we're here for a public hearing regarding an alleged unsafe structure located at 29 East Second Street riverhead Suffolk County State in New York pursuant to chapter 217 part four of the riverhead town code. I am now going to Mr. Chester if you could be seated. Yes, thank you members of the Board. So this evening, we're here for a public hearing regarding an alleged unsafe structure located at 29 East Second Street riverhead Suffolk County State in New York pursuant to chapter 217 part four of the riverhead town code. I am now going to Mr. Tessa if you could be so kind if you could hand the following packet up to the town attorney and all the board members and the clerk and I'm also going to leave a few copies for the press if they're interested in the literature. So where was I? The first two pages contain copies of the notification letter sent by code enforcement to the property owner. The next two pages contain copies of the public notice posted by code enforcement evidencing the notification of the hearing posted on the subject property. The next four pages contain the letters sent by the town attorney's office notifying the owner and the next nine pages are photos taken by code enforcement today followed by a two page affidavit by code enforcement Richard Downs who visited the property and confirmed that those notices are still up there today. In addition to that I'd just like to make everyone aware that the homeowner was here today at 6pm. He came personally he was going to give some testimony. He has a newborn at home so he went home. He did I did provide him with the packet that all of you have. He is expected to be on virtually. That was the best I could do when he had a run out so he should be online. Hopefully somebody could confirm that. So at this point if there are any. Counselor can we get his name so they can search. Sure. His name is Benjamin Saloff. Last name is spelled. He is online. Okay. Great. Thank you. fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist posted on December 1st it was reposted after we had the discussed adjournment it was reposted again on I believe February 15th but there was always at every time there was a notice for the January meeting and then that notice was replaced by the February meeting okay thank you so at this point I'd like to ask assistant town engineer can test out to the standard by stand I mean somewhere I guess can you can come back to the table here with a microphone
okay so now that everyone has been furnished with the paperwork I will start my questioning now with mr. testa he does have a mr. sorry you just real quick could you raise your right hand thank you mr. tested do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth so hope you got thank you thank you so mr. testa has a PowerPoint presentation prepared but first I'd like to ask him a few questions mr. testa what is your current position within the town of Riverhead okay and how long have you been employed by the town about 35 years since 1990 okay and what are your principal duties as assistant town engineer I provide professional engineering services to the town board and to town residents for engineering projects design construction and safety inspections okay and do you have any special certifications or qualifications I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New York and I'm also a certified code enforcement official I'm also an employee in the Department of I'm from the state of New York, and I hold bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering. Can I just move your computer a little bit away from the microphone? The mic's not picking you up, Ken. Don't move the mic. Just get closer to it. Okay. Turn your on stage. On stage. Okay, so we left off at? He's a certified code enforcement officer. Okay, thank you. Have you performed any structural inspections similar to the one we're here for today? Yes, approximately 50 safety inspections, both privately and for the town of Riverhead. Okay, and are you familiar with the property known as 29 East 2nd Street? I am. When were you there? I was there on December 1st of 2023. And can you tell me a little bit about the circumstances that led you to be on that property? How did you get involved in that structure? Sure. I was called in by the code enforcement department. They were responding to a request from the police department for assistance on a call they received for smoke coming out of the chimney of the home that was known to be unoccupied. The police arrived and found the home to be occupied by vagrants that were squatting in the home and had started a fire in and outside of the fireplace. They were removed from the home. The code enforcement then contacted me. They fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist next picture, next picture. But if this is an issue for anyone, just let me know, and we can go back to that format. So if there's no issues with that, I'll move forward. Go right ahead. Okay. So, Mr. Testa, can you please take us through your documentation surrounding this property on December 1, 2023? Sure. At the request of the code enforcement officials, I did a thorough inspection of the home. That included the exterior of the home, the basement, the first, second floor, and an auxiliary shed that was in the back of the house. I spent approximately three hours on the property doing a detailed inspection, and I summarized my findings in a structural report, of which I have summarized as bullet points to make it easy for everybody to see. I don't know that people can actually read it up on the screen, so I will read through the bullet points of my findings. These are the key points. And then I will follow that with photographs. I will also be able to see photographs of the deficiencies that I identified. Okay. And then a conclusion. So in the basement, I noticed that there was evidence that the foundation of the structure had become compromised, and you'll be able to see that in the photos that will follow. Several areas of the rock and brick foundation were found to be significantly displaced and partially collapsed. There was also a caved-in area of the basement in the west corner of the basement, which was further compromising the foundation. And it was open to the exterior of the house, causing earth to fall into the basement, allowing people to access the structure. Support posts found in the basement were made of locusts, which was common of the construction period of the home. But several were found to be somewhat compromised in that they were bowed, had significant corrosion around them or rot, and had heavy pieces of concrete and brick debris pushing against their bases. You'll be able to see that in the picture. The following. Several of the locust posts showed signs of deterioration at the base. Several were displaced and falling, which I believe is compromising the whole structure. And I'm going to move to, and it's not working for me.
Chip, I'm hitting the right arrow, but it's not progressing forward.
Okay. Thank you. There we go. Sorry about that. So I then went to the exterior of the building and took a good hard look at the building envelope, which consists of the exterior walls, windows, doors, and roofs. I found that the building envelope showed signs of rot, deterioration, openings from the exterior of the home to the interior. There were multiple areas of the building siding that were open to the interior of the building, allowing wind, rain, vermin, and other elements to enter the structure. Several windows were broken, further exposing the interior of the structure to the elements as well as unauthorized entry. There's also evidence that the roof has begun to fail and is allowing rainwater to enter the structure, which is further contributing to the continued deterioration of the interior of the home and its structural elements. The brick chimney on the house was found to be in very poor condition with loose and displaced bricks and an area of the bricks on the top. Okay. The bricks on the top of the chimney are in danger of falling, which you'll be able to see in the photos as I get to them. The interior of the home showed signs of ceiling being partially collapsed. There was evidence of people living in the home. Plaster walls showed signs of cracking, bowing, and obvious evidence of trespassing and squatting in the home, including bedding, clothing, food packaging, burned wood in the fireplace, and human waste on the second floor. There's also exposed wiring in several areas of the interior of the home where walls and ceilings have collapsed. There's evidence of roof leakage, which is exposing structural elements of the roof to rainwater. There's also an exterior shed on the home, and you'll see in the photographs, which is extremely deteriorated, in danger of collapsing, and there's a concern, obviously, that curious children may get into it and it may collapse and injure them. So I'll jump into the photos, and I'll try to get you to see them. I'll try to go through them quickly for you. This is a picture entering the basement from the interior of the house, and you can see, if you can in the photos, that there's an area in the foundation wall that the house is resting on that's cracking and displaced. The second photo in the basement, as I entered into the basement, shows areas of the brick walls that are holding up the joists of the home being displaced and missing. This second photo shows the area from the basement looking outside through the area of the foundation that has totally collapsed into the basement. That's allowing the elements to enter the structure, allowing people to get into the structure, and is obviously compromising the support of the structure that used to sit on that missing wall. Again, another shot that I took of that open space, and you can see signs of cans, beverage cans that people have been coming in and out and using the basement of the structure. This shows pictures of the locust posts in the basement that are holding up the main joists. Those are serious structural members. You can see that they've eroded and decreased in size, and there's just some deterioration around them. This one shows signs of bowing. This one shows signs of bowing, and if you can notice at the bottom, part of the caved-in foundation wall is pushing on the base of that post, leaving me with serious concerns that that post could be displaced and cause structural failure in the home. This is a shot of another locust post. Again, this post is a structural support of the first floor of the house, and you can see the bottom of it has begun to deteriorate and rot. Here's another area of the foundation wall inside the basement showing that rock and brick is missing. There's a serious area under one of the columns of missing brick. Another photo of the foundation wall. Another photo of the basement showing missing brick of the foundation wall. Another area of the basement showing missing brick of the foundation wall. And again, the same. The brick is displaced, and this is the area that is caved in through the hole that's in the foundation wall. This is showing a main support that's holding up. It's a gird that's holding up the floor joists that's sitting on a questionable brick wall. Another shot of that same structural member. And again, the same member. You can't really see too well, but the beam that that main girder is sitting on is pretty seriously rotted. It's a missing brick. That's a brick wall that's holding up part of the house, and you can see there's a serious section of it missing. Now I move to the outside of the house, and you can see this is an area between the first and second floor where the siding is missing. Water is getting into the structure. Once water gets in, it begins to deteriorate the structure even further. Just another view of that. And it looks in this photograph like the siding is actually settled, which leads me to believe the sheathing and the structure of the second floor could potentially be settling down because of damaged interior joists and wood studs. This is a shot from the back of the house showing how the siding of the house is missing in certain spots. This is the chimney showing how the bricks are displaced in several places on the chimney. This photo shows, it's a little hard to see, I tried to zoom in on it, but on the top right of the chimney, if you look closely, there are actually bricks that are displaced and in danger of falling off the chimney and potentially hitting somebody. Just a bit of a back away view of the rear of the house. This is a shot showing how the windows are open and allowing people to get in if they should choose to climb and broken windows. A photograph of the foundation of the wall showing missing brick. Some rot around the windows. Yeah. The rear of the house, this is the entrance to the rear of the house showing that it's in pretty bad condition. This is now going into the interior. This is a shot of what we found, or what the police found when they entered the home. There were obviously people living in the house. I believe they evicted two people from the home, and frighteningly, there was a fire in the fireplace and on the hearth outside the fireplace. You know, raising concerns that there could have been a fire in the house, causing police and fire to have to enter the house with the foundation I just showed you, which could have potentially jeopardized those emergency service personnel. Again, some missing slathing and plastic on the ceiling. Exposed ceiling areas on the first floor of the house, showing wiring that's hanging and exposed. I'll go through them pretty quickly. I think you get the message. You know, there's some damage to the flooring on the, between the first and second floor. Obvious beams that are not in great condition. Again, water damaged beams and joists in the first floor of the home. That's the ceiling of the first floor. Ceiling of the first floor. That plaster wall concerned us because it's bowing out pretty significantly. Hard to see in the picture. But it is bowing out for some reason. That's a structural concern. Second floor, water coming through the roof, causing leakage into the home. That's the shed in the back of the house, which is in really bad condition. It should be, regardless of what happens, that should be demolished immediately. Because serious kids are going to get in it and, you know, it's dangerous. And that brings me to my conclusion. Would you like me to read it? So just, so we can go through it. We can go over a couple other photos. After your visit on the property on December 1st, what happened next? What measures were taken? Okay. We directed our buildings and grounds department to board the home up to keep people from getting back into the house. So we boarded up all three access points, front door, rear door, and a window on the side of the home. And then the code enforcement department hosted it as an unsafe structure. I have photographs of that as well. I'm going to have to go all the way back to the beginning. Chip, help. Can I go back to the beginning? Can you get me back to the beginning? Thank you. I can scroll back. I text stuff, I tell you. All right. I'm waiting. If not, a zoomed in photo of the original public notices are in the packet. Thank you, Chip. Okay. Thank you. So this is a photograph of the front door of the home showing on December 1st when we were done with our inspection that the home was posted as unsafe and a notice was sent to the owner. We boarded up and posted the side window that was being used as access to the home and posted it. And we boarded up the rear door. We put the rear door to the home and the rear windows and posted them as well. And this is, you can't read this of course, but it's available from the town attorney's office. This is just a photograph of the actual posting that was posted on the home. The post was boarded up and posted. Thank you. So what is your conclusion in reference to this? Now I've got to go back the other way. Sorry. That's okay. That's my fault. I should have put the postings at the end of the presentation. So my conclusion is. It is pretty obvious from the pictures I hope. Press the code of paint. Press the code of paint. Okay. So in conclusion, my official opinion as a licensed professional engineer and certified code enforcement official is that the structure is in poor condition with signs of possible structurally compromised components and contains hazards to both occupants and emergency service personnel as well as the neighboring homes should the home catch fire. As such, it poses a danger to the health and welfare of the public and presents a danger to anyone entering the building including police and fire personnel. This structure also presents a public health hazard due to the potential for rodents and vagrants to enter the home, occupy the building as well as injury to emergency services workers who might have to access the home to rescue somebody or put out a fire. It's my recommendation that the structure either undergo immediate renovation with submission of design professional plans and specifications, indicating reuse of any of the interior components or demolition of the structure. One last question for you. So out of the 50, you mentioned earlier that you have inspected 50 plus buildings in your capacity as engineer in the town of Riverhead and otherwise. Where would this rank in terms of the other buildings you've? Probably in the top 5% of the worst I've seen. Top 5% of the worst? I believe, yes. Given some of the structural concerns that I saw, I would say that it's definitely not in great condition and needs some attention very soon. Okay. Thank you so much for your testimony today. I have no other questions. If the town board has any questions or if the homeowner who I know is online. Ken, I have a question for you, Ken. You talked about renovating this structure. From what I saw, do you think that's even worth it? I mean, it's totally. Well, you know, it's a matter of economics. You know? It is possible. If it's jacked up and the foundation is replaced and the roof and the . It's feasible. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. The question was whether it was feasible to renovate the home. And my response was that, you know, anything's feasible. It's a matter of economics. You know, the home could be jacked up, I suppose, and a new foundation placed underneath. And, you know, the roof replaced. So is it possible to renovate it? Yeah. It's just a matter of economics and what the owner wants to do. But it should be done soon because people are getting into the house and it is a hazard to both those people and the people like myself and the code enforcement officials that have to go inside these houses. Thank you. I have a question. Go ahead. No. So this property is part of the historical landmark stretch of Second Street, correct? You know? It is. It has a historical status. It does. So what happens with trying to preserve it somehow? It's my understanding from the code enforcement. Microphone. Yes. I'm sorry. It's my understanding from code enforcement personnel that. You want me to speak on it? Yes, please. So section 241-6 of the Riverhead Town Code provides for a section that, this chapter, it's a section that is not a part of the code enforcement code. It's a section that is not a part of the code enforcement code. This chapter shall not apply in any case where the building department or any authorized enforcement personnel orders or directs alteration or demolition for the purpose of remedying conditions determined unsafe or dangerous. So there is a carve out in the code for situations such as this. Right. That's my. It basically means, you know. Microphone. I'm sorry. It basically means that, you know, the town has the authority. If the town board feels that it's an imminent danger, you know, they can go out and do whatever they want. But for the time being, you know, make sure you have the authority to demolish the structure. But also, obviously, if there's an attempt by the owner to restore it, that would be a wonderful thing, too, because it is a historic building. And speaking to Richard Wines, it does have a significant, you know, historic background. So hopefully, that's, you know, one of the directions that will be taken. It's just that, in its current state, it is unsafe, and it's a concern, and, you know, it needs to be addressed immediately. Yeah. way or the other. That's my next concern, Ken. You talked about it's a safety threat to neighboring buildings. You know, how long, what's your patience on that? You know, because this is a liability for the town. We've recognized this, and if we don't act on it immediately, then don't we have some liability to that? Well, the danger to the neighboring houses would be the result of a fire in the home. It's not going to collapse on the neighboring houses at this point, unless it's left, you know, for another period of time and gets worse. But my reference to a danger to the neighboring houses is if there's a fire in the house, that fire could damage the neighboring houses. We boarded it up so nobody can get in it, but people remove boards and they'll get in. So it really needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Okay. I had a couple questions. Wait for the train. I just wanted to ask you a question. Could you just elaborate for us what it is that the notice actually advises the homeowner? It's posted there, but the notice that's placed on the door, what does it tell the homeowner? It tells the homeowner that the structure has been deemed unsafe by engineering and building officials, and that it needs to be remedied immediately. And I believe there's some deadlines placed on the notice, and I believe the original posting, those deadlines may have passed. Right. That's what I wanted to ask. You posted that sign in at least three separate locations on the house? Yes. All the potential entry points. And I don't know if that's a question to ask you or if there's another witness, but has that individual ever come forward with plans? I think, Counselor, you had indicated that the person is supposed to come forward with site plans or something? He did come forward with, some sort of plan of possibly having a town, it be demolished and replaced by townhomes. And then, I mean, I've been in contact with the homeowner since December 8th. We've been back and forth. He's never given me solid plans and a solid means for us to put this off. We have, he's been notified since December 1st. This hearing was originally put on for January 17th. We gave him another month, and we still just don't have those solid plans. So, you know, we figured out what was the best course of action was to put this in front of the Board, just to get all the facts out there, just to get both sides, and so that the Board can really make a decision on this, with both sides being heard. Oh, no, I understand. I just wanted to make it clear that he is, he has not come forward with what's required. Correct. Okay. And this, and you mentioned something about being in the top five worst. Does that mean, in your experience, in all these years you've been doing this, this is a building you would have demolished? If it's not renovated. Oh, in its current condition, right. I don't believe it needs immediate demolition, but I believe within the next 30 to 60 days, if it's not seriously addressed by starting to reinforce some of the foundation walls and the posts, that demolition should be considered. In your expert opinion, you'd want it demolished if it wasn't rectified. If it's not, yes. If it's not remedied, there's a potential hazard. Thank you.
We have the owner waiting to speak, Counselor, online. Yes, this would be an appropriate time to hear from the owner. Someone else with their hand raised as well. Well, the public doesn't participate in this, so it would only be the owner that we would take testimony from.
Yes. Thank you.
That's a notice. Hey, good evening, everybody. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes, we can. Okay, good evening. And I apologize for not being there in person. I was there earlier, but as Victoria said, I had to on my way home to take care of a newborn. But anyways, first off, just want to let you guys know that I purchased this property just a couple of days before, all of this kind of went down on December 1st. I purchased this in November 2023. And it's unfortunate that there were squatters there, but I am super appreciative of everyone in the town doing what they needed to do to, you know, get these squatters out, board up the house, and do what they needed to do to make it a safer situation. Since then, you know, I was leaning towards, like Victoria said, demolishing the house and building townhomes. But then I was approached by Richard Hines, who expressed to me the historical significance of this house. I think it's from the 1800s. It's one of the old, like, I think I believe it's the second oldest house in town. That was of a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I've retained architect John Van Velser, who's done some pretty exhaustive inspections of the house with his engineer. He's of the opinion that he doesn't believe there's any immediate risk of collapse. And he's in the process, as we speak, of drafting plans to, you know, first make emergency structural repairs and then to renovate the rest of the house. And he expects those to be submitted to the building department within, you know, hopefully the next two to three weeks. And then subsequently, I'd like to, you know, do the structural repairs as soon as possible to do what I need to do to make this house safe and to restore the, you know, the historical beauty of it. So I appreciate everyone listening to me. And I would just like to say thank you to all of you everyone to know that i'm 100 committed doing to doing the right thing here and uh you know making this safe because that's that's certainly the number one priority
okay thank you and i would like to say i have been speaking with the homeowners since the beginning and i mean we've maintained a great report just we wanted to get everything out there and let the board make the decision yeah i i just have a quick question mr solop does your engineer or your architect have a uh a report on the condition of the building that you'd like to submit in connection with us to support his uh representation that it's not structurally unsafe he did draft a letter uh asserting such and i believe he he sent it to victoria victoria i believe you do have that yes i i have i i wasn't sure if you were going to provide it when you were here so i do have one copy i'm more than happy to make copies for the board between now and tomorrow and hand it out but i can hand it up to whoever would like to see it maybe read it well mr solop is it your request that that letter be submitted as part of the record yeah i should clock that in it is thank you okay so i'll just hand this up you want to read it into the record or i just have i have a question for the homeowner are you prepared to do the repairs within the next 30 to 60 days as the engineer here has indicated it needs to the repairs need to be done immediately i am
so the repair you you you had said that it would take um you'd have the plans in two to three weeks to make it structurally safe right so you that is correct okay so then you expect to have it uh you'll have the plans and those plans will be executed in within 30 to 60 days in the future if you're in a space space space space space space in within 30 to 60 days i mean as i i assume that there's going to be some type of approval that the town has to review the plans and uh i'm not so articulate when it comes to this but uh i hope that you guys could review it on an expeditious basis and then i have uh you know a foundation expert that's ready to go um provided that the town is okay with the plans to begin the work and uh the repairs the engineer is is uh acknowledging in the affirmative to that that it could be expedited okay great at this time i'm just going to hand the copies of the the letter that um the homeowner is provided
okay okay they give one to the clerk to make it part of the record
thank you
so
so in the second to last paragraph it has it mentions that um plans will be filed with the building department within next the next four weeks it's dated february 16th so i guess we can anticipate plans by mid-march would be
and i'll do everything in my power to actually expedite that and you know hopefully get that sooner than that date okay yeah it doesn't have to be plans for the complete complete renovation of the home but rather just plans for assuring it up until such time that you can get the plans for the full renovation of the home i would think yes understood understood
all right i would be willing i don't know what the rest of the board thinks but i would be willing to wait the four weeks for the architect to present plans this is a historical building i would hate to lose it um if there's any chance of saving it i would love to see that and i would be willing to go the four weeks uh necessary to see if that could happen what that you agree with the mayor thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank Okay, so we'll reserve decision for 30 days at this point? Correct. We will reserve decision for 30 days. Subject to an extension? Yes. Okay. Okay, thank you all so much. If anyone else has any other questions, I'm happy to answer. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay, we are moving on to our last public hearing of the evening, and this was scheduled for 6-15. It is now 9-45, and this is a public hearing to amend Chapter 301 on cannabis, and I would ask Anne-Marie Prudente, Councilor Prudente, to step up and give us an update. This is a proposed amendment to our cannabis code, specifically Chapter 301, Section 283.19 and 301, 283.20. I'm going to be very brief. As this was discussed in many open cannabis forums where the public, every member was invited to attend, it was a question-answer. In addition, we highlighted this at, if not one, two work sessions. So keeping it very brief, the code as originally written basically only permitted or opened up for availability. And so, the first part of the code was to provide a !
The first part of the code was to provide a! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! A! the projections are, and we mapped it, and we shared maps with everybody during the process, and even created a list of potential properties by section, block, and lot, address, even identifying their current use to those who participated in the open forums. In corridor number three, the Route 58 corridor, potentially there's anywhere from seven maximum projected to approximately four, depending on where they're located, because there's a 2,500-foot distance requirement. So without further ado, and because a large number of these people sitting before you right now have waited more than three hours, so if the town board's all right, I'd like to open it up to their... That's fine. They all seem pretty mellow, though, so... LAUGHTER LAUGHTER No pun intended. OK, would anybody like to come up and speak on this public hearing? I would. Mr. Farley. How are you? I'm fine. How are you? James Farley, South Jamesport. Well, I have to say that despite all the open forums and everything that were provided, I'm not sure I saw all this information, but that's OK. It could be my fault. But I think what you're saying is that, so for the Jamesport corridor... I'm just going to throw these questions really probably at Anne-Marie. For the Jamesport, there's meant to be one facility, one, what do you call it, dispensary? One retail, one... OK, one retail for a cannabis lounge or dispensary? Either or. You can't have both. You can't have both, one or the other. So then my only real question here is that Southhold doesn't have any... They opted out, right? OK. OK, so Southhold opted out. I don't know what Greenport did. Are they part of Southhold or...? Yes. Yeah. So they're opted out too, in effect. So then where we're at is we're in a situation where, in effect, it's not the town line liquor store, but it's the town line dispensary. Is that all right? We're going. OK. So the concern that I have, in simple terms, is early on in these discussions, when it was just kicking off, I think even before the town formed a committee for this, people were circulating some reports from other parts of New England and that where they had these things. And there were some pretty significant sort of preliminary traffic estimates. Well, we know that traffic's been a pretty hot topic tonight. But that was on Sound Avenue. We're not going to have a dispensary on Sound Avenue because that's sacrosanct up there. But the question really I have was whether or not we've done any kind of study or I believe there are some sort of what I call major studies that are... I mean, I think there's a lot of research that's been done on the traffic flow and the traffic flow that's been attempted to figure out what the traffic flow is going to be. And my only concern is that as a resident of South Jamesport and the Jamesport, if you will, Hamlet area, we do have traffic problems already with respect to that nice little cafe there in terms of getting the fire trucks out when there's a fall weekend and people are trying to get to the vineyards and there's a fire and everybody's parked in front of the restaurant for their ham and egg sandwich. But I'm just wondering where this, this dispensary could be and what the in and out flow of a lot like that might be. And I don't know, where are we in terms of having it in a retail area like, you know, where Lenny's is and that? Is that permitted there or not? So, if you want to share the mic, I'll respond to your questions. Please. So, this has been fully mapped out. I have copies of each of the corridors for you. I have a list of the properties. To be crystal clear, this is a very, very, very, crystal clear to the town board and members of the public. The areas designated are the areas which permit in our current zoning code retail because that's what this is. It also, so when you ask about studies and plans, the comprehensive master plan was the study of where to locate retail. So, we're not changing that. These locations are in the retail designated locations. I agree with that. And I think the point I'd like to make though is that this is a bit of a unique situation because we have a liquor store in Jamesport but there's a liquor store just up the road one mile. There's a liquor store down the road one mile. We have a deli in Jamesport but we've got a deli up the road a mile. We've got a deli down the road a mile. This is a unique retail destination because no one in South Hold has one. And so the traffic flows coming into South Hold, I don't know where, where do we stand on Wading River? I don't know whether Brookhaven is opted in, opted, I don't know. Brookhaven opted in. Okay. So we don't really have, in my mind at least, I don't see the same issue because Brookhaven can have its own. But in this particular situation we have all of South Hold starving for a joint and they're racing into Jamesport to basically get their weekend pizza. I think go over to the next slide. Go over to the Shinnecocks. They have. Fair point. But all I'm saying here is that in terms of traffic studies that support generic retail that have been historically, shall we say, checked or experienced, this one is not on that list because this is going to be a unique location that's serving not just a cross section of a riverhead population. It's going to be serving the entire South Hold Greenport Orient population unless they want to take the ferry over to Sag Harbor. But I don't think you can get one over there, can you? Maybe not though. I mean you got to think, this is going to be just like going to your favorite beer distributor or your favorite deli. The first store they come to in Jamesport if they're coming from Greenport may not have the product that they like. I understand that. And everything else. So you can't portray the first one in Jamesport as being this mega traffic problem because I don't think that's going to be it. I come from a part of New England that used to have dry towns and wet towns and I can tell you right now that the town line liquor store, you know, it's a little bit more expensive than what you make for your liquor stores, were definitely a very, very busy place. John Haskell, Jr.: I will tell you though, that argument is a lot more for people to drink alcohol than smoke marijuana. John Haskell, Jr.: You guys already voted for opting in, great, fine. You want to put it in more places than one spot or whatever, fine. I'm just saying, have you really thought it through? That's all I'm saying. Dot the i's and cross the t's, but I don't think you've looked at the traffic in this particular situation. Thank you. John Haskell, Jr.: Thank you. So I'm just going to state for the record, throughout the cannabis forums and the work sessions and presentations before the town board. Some individuals criticizing us for us, even with this rollout, for being too restrictive. It is restrictive because if you think of the numbers, only one in corridor one, two, three, and four, and anywhere from max of seven, likely four in Route 58,
it's, I think, a conservative approach. And I will share with Mr. Farley the background work that was done and shared at all the forums. Mr. Thank you, Ann Marie. Anybody else like to speak? Brian Stark, First Round Card Recipient, Allio, First Round Card Recipient, also a board member of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition. Two things I'd like to say quick before I get into what I really want to say. One is the Jamesport corridor, I'll ease his mind real quick, only has 10 available lots in it. Out of those 10, even though they say it's a zone for retail, they are residential homes or farmland or a horse farm. Nobody's building a dispensary there. Restrictive is completely restrictive. You're not giving us anything to work with. We're not giving you anything to work with. We're not giving you anything to work with with these maps. Second of all, when she speaks about Route 58, and four to seven dispensaries going there, it's never going to happen. The east end of 58 has Columbia Care, which is not on the map, which should be on the map, and it should have a thousand foot radius buffer around it, which knocks out a very large amount of those 144 lots that they're speaking about. That pretty much takes out the east end of 58. The middle of 58 is knocked out by a lot line restriction, which is a lot of the high school, which you can't even see the high school from Route 58 at all, but the school fields are behind the shopping centers where big lots are, so that's out. And then you go down to the west end where you have car dealerships and maybe one or two buildings, and that's where you will find the one or two available buildings, all on 58. And one, the guy will not work with anybody. He wants $8 million. He's not going to cooperate. And the other one, I don't think anybody's had luck with either. So as of right now, you're not going to see anything. It's going to happen on 58. The small corridors have very limited availability. You're going to find the same issue that he's saying. There's really not a lot to work with. You're dealing with a lot of houses in those corridors. And I just wanted to get those two points across. What else was I looking at saying? So now if we went by the state regulations, which measure door-to-door, the state actually just re-released how they want to do it. They want it to be measured. And it is being stated 500 feet to a school on the same road as to the front door of it. Right now, you guys are using a lot line measurement, which is one of the biggest restrictions in Riverhead. So that's what's wiping out 58. So we followed the state code. A lot of that retail area where people really want to open and probably a lot of the people in the corridors would like to see because of the traffic and flow there. We filed the state regulations. The President. The Speaker. The mayor. Really fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist was about ColumbiaCare. For some reason, I don't know who's convinced anybody that ColumbiaCare can just abide by their own rules and not follow the town's codes and just adopt recreational, you know, under the state guidelines. It's not true. Whatever rules they follow is the same as us. It's the same license. So we would like to have the opportunity to open at or before, particularly before ColumbiaCare because they are vertically integrated and they can control pricing and do things that we cannot do. They will also pretty much knock out the small farmers where us as the card licensees and the other small business owners that would open the dispensaries are going to support your small farmers. And you have a lot of them in Riverhead. And that's about all I want to say. Thank you. It's the closest dispensary right now to us in Farmingdale? Correct. There is two. Right. Okay. Brian, I have a question. You mentioned the... The $2,500 from door-to-door from a school. My big concern, because a lot of you guys and attorneys calling me over the last six months is driving me nuts because I don't support these distances at all. And I'm the wrong person to really talk to. But a big concern that I have is what you said. Is the 2,500 feet from one store to another, that just knocks everything out. Yeah. That's a... That knocks everything out. I don't know how they're measuring four to seven dispensaries with a 2,500-foot distance. I think Emery said that as well. If one got in there, it could potentially knock it out. She did say that. My concern is, you know, unless that's 1,000 feet, which I... Make it 1,000 feet. What are we doing? That's the state regulation. I don't understand why we opted in to opt not to make it impossible to do it. I... You know, we keep doing these little... Little steps. So we're trying this. Let's just do it because people have this thing. There are not 100 liquor stores. It's not going to happen. You're not going to have 10 cannabis shops because they'll cannibalize each other. Correct. You know? And that's just basic retail common sense. And I don't know what we're doing. I agree. I think if we adopted the state regs... Stop calling. You got to call the right people. Don't call me. Call Emery. I'm on your side. I want to fix it. With all due respect, under the state statute, it was very clear, and it's very clearly written, that a municipality may adopt time, place, manner, and saturation restrictions. Absolutely. In addition, before Penn ever went to paper, we held numerous forums. Anybody interested, was invited. People from the school district came. People from CAP came. People from BIDMA came. Residents came from different areas. So the, quote, distances reflected in the law were born out of those meetings together with research in part. The drug-free school zones measured 1,000 feet from the front. The !
Really, really limits, really severely limits the spaces where this can go. And that's not really what we're trying to do. We voted to accept this. We got to try to make it work. There's good tax money out there that's available to the town. Well, unless you've researched that list of properties that was put together by our engineering department, and I'll get it to you. I have it here tonight. I've seen it. I know. So, you know, to say, well, it's not available, well, we don't know that yet. If this is unsuccessful and these lots truly turn out not to be available, then maybe you're right. But our evidence doesn't show that. But their evidence where they're going and knocking on doors and dealing with real estates and it's not available, we're not helping the situation. You cannot force someone. You cannot force someone to sell their property or lease their property. Just like development rights. We can only deal with willing sellers. They, too, are in the same predicament. I respectfully disagree that there aren't properties available. There just may not be willing sellers or they don't want them as a tenant. They just may not be willing sellers. They just may not be willing sellers. They just may not be willing sellers. They just may not be willing sellers. They just may not be willing sellers. They just may not be willing sellers. right as a landowner, but that doesn't mean we haven't opened up over 100 sites. I get that, but it doesn't help the problem. The problem is either the landlord doesn't want to rent to somebody or lease to somebody that is selling cannabis, and that creates a problem that we've restricted it so much as, yeah, maybe there's seven properties there, but none of them want to lease to it. Well, we as a town board opened this up to make this happen, and we're losing a lot of tax money. I've seen the numbers that are coming in to some of these shops that are opening up Westin and New York City, and it's staggering the amount of money we are losing, and we're handcuffing ourselves as a board by really limiting down. I think personally, and I appreciate all the work that's been done on it, and I get that, but push comes to shove. I think we still may have to go back. I favor going back and looking at the state regs and saying what works here might be better using the state regs than us imposing our own control over it. That's the legislative body's prerogative. Right. I agree. I have to say, I agree with the supervisor, and I was at all the committee meetings. I walked away, perhaps, out of stanchion. I was at the committee meetings. I was at the committee meetings. I was at the committee meetings. I was at the committee meetings. I was at the committee meetings. I was at those meetings, and I heard people say, and especially this gentleman here, and I don't know if Gary is here, but they had already researched all these properties. Hi Hugo. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. Hugo Bambus. piece of places good luck who's gonna survive it's just not going to happen hugo oh how you doing uh hugo revis i'm representing the long island cannabis coalition um again thank you mr harvard kern and everybody else from the board for attending tonight very importantly yes um just to reiterate that information we did pass it along and we did the door knocking so we know what's available so it's being very restrictive in that sense because there's nothing really available um so we just want the opportunity like any other store out there the liquor store there's many smoke shops that are opening up we want to have the same opportunity to open up and like i said in a responsible manner um and just we feel like we're being restricted we appreciate all the work that's been done by everyone i mean it's amazing and even like having the forums it's it's it's definitely something new and we wish every other town kind of follows suit on this situation so you guys did very very well in that sense and you considering the the mrta which is the marijuana taxation and regulation act is very important because that's what it's all about it was made for a purpose it's it's it was studied and it was put together and that in that sense so so and how you say it's not going to get saturated out here it's just impossible this this this barely property is available and again the the regulations that are being set for are not really working with we're trying to do so again please let's take a look at that again we really really really really appreciate that and sorry i'm tired and hugo i have a question for you because somebody said from the school it's 500 feet from door to door but i don't believe that's correct because if i look at our schools right if i did that some you know isn't it lot line to door on at a school not door-to-door somebody because i go ahead
three see some of our school properties are really really large and i think you know i think that's something we'd have to look at but lot line chess but not door-to-door yeah i mean if it's a lot line to door right that could possibly be also work um i you know i don't want to we don't have to solve that right now but i mean for me i totally agree with the supervisor we have spent this was voted on three years ago and we are losing a ton of revenue that we could use for public safety etc etc and i don't know i don't know what we're trying to do by testing it at another couple of feet here and there and it still doesn't work and let's just make it work correct enough yeah please and i think that would be the perfect example of the situation we're right there with it um you guys have everything almost ready to go in that sense and just like this those little regulation changes are ours will we'll do amazing and you'll be the example for every other town how it's supposed to be done correctly so thank you very much the problem i have is if we don't have the dispensaries here people are still going to be buying on the street and the problem i have with buying on the street is the fentanyl epidemic right now that stuff is everywhere you have no idea whether it's been put on what you're smoking or not we're not trying to kill people we're trying to help people and when you sell marijuana from dispensaries you're getting safe product to use i appreciate your humanity and and i and i see you seeing as a person as a citizen that's a real person living out here so i really appreciate your supervisor you're amazing thank you it's just common sense you too about you know i'm going to bring up one other thing you know people talk about cannabis and i and somebody i think it was gary gave me the stats people 48 to 65 are really the cannabis smokers you know what concerns me is gas station heroin you know what concerns me is delta 88. we're all sitting around here talking about something that's legal regulated by the state but nobody's doing anything about gas station heroin or delta 88 we're all just sitting by and letting kids take this stuff and die right and not for nothing it's like counterintuitive to me it's like almost insanity we had the issues with the tax money too with the charter school we could literally find property do something we could literally do something we could literally do something we could do something for that situation as well and that could be done right away yes so thank you very much thank you mr moore how are you good evening good morning all day i was trying really hard not to speak tonight but as i believe the sole representative from the school community i feel obligated to speak on this i'm also a local resident my wife and i were probably the only two people that walked here today it's going to be a little chilly going home tonight but we'll make it i attended i believe all of the cannabis meetings and i commend mr dente over there it's been a long process i know discussions on both sides and i just feel obligated to speak on behalf of the school i know mr colhane's not here tonight i just we weren't aware that this was going to possibly be discussing changing regulations at this point you know i just support uh the maximum distance from the school i've been sitting here for over four hours now smelling marijuana i smell marijuana in my backyard on main street i pay over fourteen thousand dollars in taxes and it's just not right you know somebody to enjoy their thing and i understand you know it's not the worst thing in heroin which worse and things like that absolutely i agree with that but i i am completely against any potential you know use I deal with it in the schools one person's things like it it's chasing people out people are going to the nurse's office it's a problem here it's a problem in the school it's a problem walking downtown so you know I'm completely against that I know just about everybody here is probably for it but on behalf of my son his friends the students in the school and the school community I support you know holding to the standards that the committee set I spent countless hours there as did many people here and I can appreciate your time but that's where my point is and that's why I chose to speak on this matter Garrett just so you just so you know it's illegal it's illegal to smoke anything in downtown absolutely always but we need to enforce that with code enforcement and the police well you just call the police every time it happens that's what they're there for you know the more you call them let let them deal with that you know Bob you know I'll I know you do but I'm going to tell you that the chief is over there he's nodding to me like oh I just like to say sir that I agree with you I don't think that at this point there should be any changes I don't and we can't make this less restrictive than the smoking regulations that are in place I didn't do my homework for tonight I wasn't planning on speaking in this but we have to hold the line somewhere thank you hi my name is Ralph Romano I'm the chief of the police in the county of New York and I'm here to speak on this matter you know I have me and my family have basically secured a property on Old Country Road the one restriction we have from being able to open is the school distancing you know we are within the property line distance regulations that the town currently has but if you go from a door-to-door measurement you know we're over 3 000 feet away main door to main door which you look at the 500 feet on the state rules that's over six times the distance and the property lines that connect are the back of the athletic fields very far away from the actual building of the school to the back parking lot of our property line so completely opposite ends of the spectrum and funny enough when I first went to go look at the property what I noticed even before getting to that location but closer to the high school was a smoke and vape shop so what I don't understand is how smoke and vape shops that are selling nicotine to kids are allowed to do it but then there's a more advert concern I mean it might be allowed but it's similar everyone's concerned about the closeness to the kids but I don't see why the laws had to be different if the smoke shops are allowed within that distance or a liquor store allowed you know so should the cannabis business I understand the saturation of so many different dispensaries is what every town wants to avoid of course you know that's would kill every business you know themselves but it's an all these years later not even have one and my properties maybe another 100 feet 150 feet and it would technically be granted so it's like these very small little steps need to be taken and we can make major headway in dispensaries in Riverhead thank you that's all can I just address you again on that point you talked about vape shops selling products with nicotine that you can't be you can't drive drunk and kill somebody with nicotine in your system you can if you're impaired by drugs there's a big distinction between vape shops I understand that but I was mainly referring to the proximity of the children in the school you were just asking about vape shops and trying to say there was no difference has a very big difference well well illegally yeah illegally nicotine Delta aid call call whatever you want gas station heroin hello my name is Scott Greco from uh yeah bank uh I just want to address everyone here tonight and just commend everyone for the work they're doing this is uh probably one of the toughest topics that you have to deal with across the board uh very few people really understand the complexities of what it takes to get into the cannabis industry and uh after the civil and the recreational side it's clear this is one of the most complex jobs and uh really professions you're ever going to get into and I take that from uh you know somebody's got 300 million dollars of project management on their plate every day and I have steered away from this industry because of the complexities and the volatility that are here so when we talk about this there really is no cut and dry scenario that works for everybody and I think we all need to recognize that um you know one of the big things that I I think actually worked out for us tonight here listening to the charter school talk a little bit was just hearing the the layout of restrictions for places you know a lot line to lot line and different things like that one of the things I noticed was the charter school uh is right across the street from a winery and a liquor store it doesn't sound like that school's happening to me so unless we're going to change some zoning rules here and defy New York State law doesn't sound like that school is happening which to me kind of pushed me to the next side I mean how well is River School funded uh River uh Riverhead schools funded these days I mean it sounds like if you've got to have charter schools here I don't know personally I grew up in upstate New York I come from a little podunk town of about 2 000 people 5 000 cows so we didn't have much to begin with when I started so coming down here when I moved here it's like people got money falling from the sky around here and when I hear that Riverhood school Riverhead schools have people moving out to charter schools it makes me wonder how well this town is funded which then brings in the question of how much money are you going to make in cannabis businesses here because I'm pretty sure that the law is written that a certain portion of that uh sale in tax money is going to go to the local school systems where that is sold so I'm looking at it here thinking to myself I realize the over saturation the you know the questions about children and safety and things like that but how much could this impact and help the community and I don't think anybody's having that discussion and the further discussion that I think we're not having there now is has anyone from the town boards or you know people who are liking this and hating it, have you actually sat down and spoke with someone from a cannabis business? Have we talked to any of these people out here about what their business plans are like? What is their community outreach program? Has anybody even addressed that? That is a typical standard for a cannabis business that intends to be successful in a community is having that plan. And everybody will tell you, oh, I can't take money from the cannabis industry because that's federally illegal. Well, you know, there's a lot of ways to get around that. It's not illegal for a dispensary owner to walk out and buy $5,000 worth of baseball gloves and buy a whole bunch of jerseys for a little league and give it out to every single kid who signs up because their parents can't afford it. Those types of things are the benefits that can come from cannabis. And people don't look at it like that. It's been stigmatized. It's been frowned upon for generations. And I think that we really need to just start changing our mindset here because nobody's frowning upon the alcohol industry. But yeah, we have deweys going through the roof. You know, we've got all sorts of drug and alcohol problems here on Long Island. I'll be honest with you. When I first showed up here, I was shocked to hear what kids in school were doing for drugs. I'm like, we didn't even see that stuff in college where I came from. So to think that, you know, cannabis is going to get to our students, it's already there. And as one person once explained to me from Colorado, actually, there was a study that said when cannabis legalized recreationally from 18-year-olds down to 13-year-olds, it dropped by 40%. And I was in one day and I happened to see somebody who we're talking about this. And I said, how do you figure? Like, how does this happen? And the guy said, buddy, let me explain this to you. You don't have kids. Whatever I think is cool, my kids automatically hate. And he was actually right when I listened to it. And that was the major thing that parents talked about was, I think this is great. My kids automatically hate it. And I don't think that's the full answer here. Being a parent's a big deal. And that's a big part of this. Like being engaged as a parent, teaching your kid how to be young is a serious part of it that I think society today has kind of forgotten a little bit about. They expect your kid to go to school and be taught everything to make them the ultimate human being when they come out of there. That's not what that's for. And so just as a community, I think Riverhead has taken a good approach here on how you're trying to do this. I don't necessarily feel that the 2,500 foot set off is a step back is a beneficial item. I think that kind of does restrict things. But all in all, I think what you really want to do is just consider the there's a couple of rules written into the MRTA legislation that actually could impact a town. And you want to be very mindful of that. No one likes to admit the fact that resources are short in towns and lawsuits typically burn up resources for places. So, you know, realize that there is a law or I believe a phrase written is called reasonable impracticality. And it's basically saying that if a dispensary owner feels like they're not doing their job, they're not doing their job. Really, if there's a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist tradition was lifted right everybody thought the world was gonna the country was gonna fall apart if you if you look at it speaking with the people on the cannabis commission what is that the mra whatever they're called ocm office of cannabis management guys right and and women i'll tell you the the sense that i got in about two or three years it's just look it it's gonna be you know you're going to be following that this mass hysteria over nothing is just like kind of again look at fentanyl deaths and gas station heroin delta 88 it that's what i care about the stuff that's actually getting sold there's no regulation on and it's like we're ignoring it and i think that's a valid comment that needs to really be addressed i think before we we just discussed that products being sold from a legal dispensary go through testing. They go through all these track and trace and things like that. And those are the types of things that, frankly, we should be pushing to, I don't want to say pushing it to children, but educating. When people are coming of age, you don't just, you know, tell some kid, here you are, you're 21, go out there, start drinking and driving. That's the 3% windfall for the town, man. We start to educate, we start to develop, and let's face it, if cannabis can bring benefit to the community, it's a win. It's here whether we legalize it or not, it's here. It's legal. Stop pretending it's not. The same hysteria happened when Columbia Care came here for medical marijuana. And they tried place after place after place, and it was like, oh my God, you can't put it on 58. There's a high school across the street. Okay, it's medical marijuana. Students aren't coming over at lunchtime and buying. It's not how this works. Columbia Care found a location, and Peconic Bay Medical Center actually supported it at the time because they were very happy. They knew it helped people, and they knew they had doctors that could get certified to dispense it, and it was going to help people, and it was going to help kids with seizures. That really got me, because I heard stories from parent after parent who's saying that the drugs on the market, pharmaceutical drugs, weren't doing it. And if they did do it, the side effects were so horrible. And so, you know, it's a good thing that we're doing it. But I think it's terrible. And with medical marijuana, it's even better now than years ago when it first came into play. And I've said this a hundred times. It's the most benign business in the town of Riverhead. There would have been no problems there, but the hysteria, you would think the world was ending when we were going to have a medical marijuana facility come into the town. And it just hasn't been that way. And I agree with Bob. The hysteria is overblown, and two years from now, everybody's going to be saying, what? It'll be something else that's out that we're dealing with and looking at. It'll be long forgotten. So let's make it work, and let's get the tax money to the town, and let's have people smoke safe marijuana. Yes. And, you know, just another side note, recent study that just came out related to medical cannabis indicated that medical cannabis consumed at the rate prescribed by your doctor does not inhibit driving ability. That is a massive study to come out within the last couple of days. You're going to see a lot of people who are going to be driving, and they're going to be saying that that's probably not accurate. We just need that to be replicated. Yeah. Connecticut is looking at regulating the amount of THC for that reason. It's much like moonshine compared to 80 proof liquor. So, you know, don't think people running the state, New York state, have any kind of big brains because they roll this out like garbage. They keep changing it, you know, so it's not... This... Anyway. I'm not going into it. And normally, being a lifelong New York resident, I think this state can screw things up a lot worse than most states can. So I think we just all need to recognize that no state that rolls out a recreational cannabis program does it smoothly. Okay. Connecticut did a good job. Massachusetts did a good job. Maine did a good job. And yet, Massachusetts went through a price per pound drop that pretty much knocked everybody out. You know... And it knocked out a whole bunch of small businesses that put it back into the hands of the big corporations. We risked that happening here. We know that. I think the people going into it, the black market is still really strong. You know, so that's... It's a risky business. It's not like it's going to, you know, a pot of gold is going to come because there's still a huge black market. And the state has to really get on top of the black market to... You know, it's like selling illegal alcohol, right? And liquor stores are trying to make it. Okay. And just to kind of elaborate on that comment, from the legal cannabis side, small business side, and I don't want to, you know, throw, go hucking spears at Columbia Care here today, but the multi-state operators are the greatest threat to small business in cannabis, 100%. They control the price per pound. Their production levels are typically unregulated, which once you start getting over 100,000 square feet, no small business is going to compete with that. Well, that's for those guys that are opening up these things to, you know... Which I think... I think is what you're going to see the pushback with folks here talking about Columbia Care moving over to REC when they're not complying with all the other zoning that's going on here in the town. I mean, I know that big corporations have some pull in America, but I'm still pretty sure the town runs the town and they tell the business what to do here. So I think we would like to just make sure that Columbia Care is playing by the same set of rules as everybody else, regardless of whether they are vertically integrated or not. Right. Because once Columbia Care gets to run their own show, vertical integration, you're going to see every single micro business come out of the woodwork and start throwing lawsuits against you because they're going to say, hey, I'm vertically integrated too because I'm doing the same thing Columbia Care is. I'm just at a small scale. And at that point, you're probably going to have very little recourse as to how you can prohibit them from coming into your town because you already gave Columbia Care the green light. It's just going to take one slick lawyer and that's going to be a lawsuit that's going to be sitting in your face. So I think, again, you know, you've done great work here. Just need to just kind of hash this out and kind of get the ball rolling here because I do believe that once the town sees three or four dispensaries happening and the revenue is coming in and people have seen that chaos and, you know, anarchy are not ruling here in Riverhead, it's not going to be such a big deal, as you say, two or three years down the line. So thank you very much. Thank you. I'd just like to make one correction. I said Delta 88. That's a Buick. It's actually Delta 8. Yes, sir. How are you? My name is Julie and I'm also a card license holder. I just want to thank you guys for giving us the opportunity to be here and even opting in in the first place. I'm a Nassau County resident and we have no shot out there right now currently. So it's just want to extend that gratitude. But I do want to say and I'll keep it short and sweet. I want to reiterate that I think the state's guidelines are the guidelines we should be following and they will provide for a very safe and lucrative business venture for most of the, you know, the license holders that are here. And, you know, that's really it. I'm behind everything that everybody here is doing. I'm a proud member of the LICC. Gary and Hugo have been doing a great job. Brian has been doing a great job spearheading all this. And I just hope you guys come around and do the state regs. That's really it. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Joe Michuli. M-I-C-C-I-U-L-L-I. He's with the FBI. I wouldn't tell him. Do we have anybody else?
Hello, everyone. My name is Leslie Rodriguez. I've never addressed this board before, but thank you for giving me this opportunity. I'm a lifelong Long Islander. I'm a justice-involved individual, awarded a conditional adult-use retail dispensary license in the state of New York. I co-founded the Long Island Cannabis Club. It's the third retail dispensary to open in Deer Park. I'm also a member of the Cannabis Association, the Association of New York, CANI, the Women's Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, and the National Hemp Association, and most importantly, the Long Island Cannabis Coalition. Four years ago, I was seriously injured at work. A 15-foot ladder fell on my shoulder and resulted in two multilevel spinal fusions, having implanted titanium plates, cage screws, and rods as my new hardware, holding up my head and torso. Opioids was my only alternative for the state, which had me then as my only form of pain management. So it forced me to have to fight the state to provide a healthier alternative because I didn't want to risk my life. Awarding me, I had to fight them. They denied me three times. And then finally, I was awarded a New York State medical license cannabis patient and reimbursed by the state as an opioid alternative. I now do medical cannabis advocacy for the Long Island Cannabinoids, and I'm a member of the Cannabis Coalition, spreading education and awareness. The public health and public safety are a tremendous concern within our townships. I already, being a licensed board-certified massage therapist, furthered my education in the field of clinical massage for veteran patients, patients who suffer from anxiety and depression, substance abuse, and opioid addiction. I'm also certified in Narcan training and CPR certified in infants and adults. I strive to provide a healthy alternative, plant-based alternative, and a healthy life. Thank you. I'm a representative for these concerns our residents face. The cannabis sativa plant, both CBD and THC, have greatly aided in my recovery. I now walk without assistance, have any life-threatening debilities, or have any chemical dependencies because of my injury. I'm living proof of the benefits of the cannabis used for rehabilitation and recovery. I became a licensed cannabinoid hemp retailer and distributor, creating my own brand of natural plant-based supplements, called LexHill LLC. Our goal here is to open our locations with the licenses awarded, providing safe, lab-tested, adult-use products provided by the New York State licensed growers and processors. Our intentions are to follow all provisions, regulations, and guidelines adopted by the Office of Cannabis Management and comply with the MRTI. The municipalities not allowing us for entry have created tremendous hurdles. The injunction caused a restraining order on the process, and the city has been forced to close the doors of our applications, setting us back. Our hard work and invested capital and countless efforts with the town have been going unnoticed. These zoning restrictions have made it impossible to operate. We need to stop the illicit market that is selling who knows what to our children. The fentanyl deaths are still on the rise, and we would just really love for you to help provide our community and serve the citizens with our retail locations that are suitable for public convenience. And move forward with a healthy path towards the legal cannabis adult-use market. Thank you for your time and consideration. I am the medical advocate for the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, and we're here to bridge the gap. So thank you very much for your time. Any questions, Denise, I would love to answer them, because this is something that helps, works, and nobody has to die rehabilitating in this fashion. So thank you very much. Just so you know, I'm not opposed to people using that for medical purposes whatsoever. It's helped me tremendously. I'm not opposed to it. That's what I'm saying. I'm not opposed to that for medical purposes. I'm just saying I'm... Or recreational use, if people want to do that. My issue is with the locations. That's the issue we have. We're here to show you the benefits and how it's needed in the public. I understand. I just don't want to be characterized as someone that wants to see people suffer who have medical conditions, and certainly not. All right. Thank you so much. Appreciate everything you guys are doing for us, the community. Thank you. Good evening. It's a long time getting here, right? That was quite a show that we had before we started. We appreciate you still being awake. We appreciate everybody who stayed. It was tough. I'm not saying we're awake. We just make it pretty good up here. We haven't even actually started our meeting. Yeah, really? That's probably at 11. I just want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I have a statement prepared. I'll kind of walk right through it, and it'll cover a lot of ground, and any questions I'll be glad to answer afterwards. My name is Gary O'Falley from the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, and tonight is all about finding the best solution for cannabis zoning in Riverhead. The first attempt failed miserably because it only offered a single location for cannabis retail, so you went back to the drawing board and created a new set of maps. And after going through those maps, we realized the same problem exists in just a different way. Too few locations are actually available for cannabis retail. And the idea that converting horse farms or residential homes for retail purpose, that's just ridiculous at best and not feasible as a business owner. No other retail business is subject to that, and neither should we. We appreciate the town board and the cannabis committee trying to find a creative solution, but the real answer... is much simpler than that. Accept the New York State's regulations that are already approved and in effect. The fact of the matter is that compliance is a two-way street. You as the municipality and us as the licensed operator need to be in compliance with the same set of laws and regulations. And the difficulty arises when you attempt to create a different set of rules and standards that we have to follow that no one else does. So I would ask, where are the corridors that only delicatessens can operate? How close is a pizzeria allowed to be near a residential home? How do you measure the approved location of a florist shop? We should be subject to the same set of rules because we are part of that retail landscape. Within these same corridors, Columbia Care, a medical cannabis provider, who is now allowed to sell recreational cannabis, is allowed to operate according to the state's regulations. And yet in those same corridors, we have to be subject to the municipal regulations. That is fundamental to the law. And that is fundamentally unfair and compounded with the 2500 foot distance requirement is unreasonable and impractical. And you heard that language used earlier. Cannabis is now legal in New York and as such it is no different than any other 21 and over business like wine stores and bars. Our businesses need to coexist in the same places and we just need to find some common ground where that can happen. So there is a common misconception that dispensary owners are something other than business professionals. And when in fact we are excellent corporate citizens and deserve the right to open our businesses and serve our communities. Our businesses address the wants and needs of your constituents who are 21 and over, who deserve access to legally regulated and safe products. And your resistance to that is what allows so many illicit shops to flourish while making unsafe products accessible and available to our children. We also know that as a result of the revenue that we generate, there is a tremendous tax benefit for the town. Directly from the sales generated within the town and additionally by access to a state fund for special projects for the town. Like building a YMCA for example. Or perhaps it could help solve some of the school issues that we were listening tonight. Any deficit funding issues. Ultimately we know our rights and compliance is the answer. So please work with us as we both fall in line with the same state regulations. And please remember that Riverhead has opted in to cannabis retail. You are not allowed to pick and choose which portions of the regulations you want to follow. I'll finish with this. At the cannabis board meeting in December, someone had mentioned that the town has no desire to control the market. And I would agree with that sentiment. And would now like to see it in action. By following the state regulations, the town will not be flooded with cannabis dispensaries because there are rules that limit the amount that can exist. Let the fundamental rules of emerging market determine the success or failure of any of these businesses on their own merit and not due to the arbitrary discrimination set forth by the town or their committees. And in that is my statement. And then I would just like to address a couple of things that have come up from some comments that happened earlier. Traffic was brought up. Babylon has already conducted these studies and required the dispensaries to conduct these traffic studies. And they have found no nuisance in the traffic. And they have found no nuisance in the traffic. And there is a fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist fist state regs and we'll quickly find out that it provides a solution that you want it does not over saturate the town and it allows us to open and operate in a fair way according to the state regulations because compliance is key right and smelling cannabis right I'd say listen what about cigarette smoke it couldn't be more than that right and and there's not so much resistance when you talk about cigarette smoke being a problem which has been a nuisance for everybody who doesn't smoke at all right like myself I don't I'm not smoking cannabis or cigarette so I'll give you the ability to do what you want because you're allowed to enjoy your vice of choice and yes the smell of it is not something that allows me to discriminate against you what I would say is allow equality and equity for cannabis businesses and cannabis consumers to exist and even though there might be right and so I think that's a good thing to do and I think that's a good thing to do and I think that's a good thing to do and I think that's a good thing
again, with the ability for time, place, manner, and saturation restrictions. In addition, and more importantly, a town such as ourselves have zoning power. It's our health, safety, and welfare, and we deliver it and utilize zoning to do that for our residents. We also are vested with municipal home rule powers. As far as relying on the state, well, it shouldn't surprise you that in March of 2023, New York State doubled the amount of cannabis licenses. So I truly believe it is the municipality's responsibility to zone and put in the time, place, and manner. And I truly believe that the city of New York has the right to do that. I truly regret that Councilman Rothwell wasn't able to be here tonight and to participate because I know he probably would have wanted to say a lot on this topic. Regrettably, he could not be here. Okay, we have one online we're going to take.
Just me.
Good evening. We'll take him first. Okay, sir, we'll take you. I'm sorry, are we taking the online person? No, no, no, no. We'll take you first. Apparently, they're still trying to figure out online. Brian Lachow from Old River Road, Manorville. I just wanted to kind of like point out something that is clear to myself. And I don't know if you've heard of it. I don't know if you've heard of it. I don't know if you've heard of it. I don't know about if everyone in the room sees it the same way.
Typically, in politics, certain categories would fall on one side or the other. Right? So the cannabis community would be typically more received from Democrats. So for everyone in the room to, I don't, and you're laughing. I just want to say that this board, that it couldn't be more Republican, is proceeding. Like, we're working towards getting more businesses out and up and running. That's monumental, like, at a time when there's such political unrest. So for this board to be moving forward when so many opted out, that's tremendous for all of us. So, like, this may not fix everything in the world. But it's the grassroots of something very progressive that maybe it hasn't been a discussion, but it's a real thing. So as a Riverhead resident and a father to a daughter that's going to be in school here, as well as I'm a big Second Amendment advocate, and Riverhead is a firearm-friendly town, I just want to say thank you. It's a tremendous undertaking for all of this to happen. And I'm very grateful. And I'm very grateful to the people of this town. And I'm very grateful to the people of this town. This town is going about it, in my opinion, in a very different way than a lot of the places currently on the island. So I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you. It shouldn't be political. It should be common sense. And that's how we approach it, or I approach it anyway. So I can't speak for everybody else. Yes, sir. I just wanted to, like, with the licenses that were given out, I just wanted to rephrase them. Just to let her know that it wasn't doubled only in Long Island. That's all New York, right? So the licenses are all over New York. So you can't just bear that there's going to be only Long Island. That's all New York. So I just want to put that statement out there because now it's not going to congest only Long Island. Understood. Thank you.
Hey, how's everybody doing tonight? Good. Mike Rita. I was here a couple weeks ago and spoke for comments. So I just want to say, obviously, all of us in the room want you guys to just adopt the state's rights. We all know that's not going to happen overnight, right? So I have gone out and secured a location in one of the corridors that will be able to open once this amendment is passed. So what I would ask is to pass this amendment while you guys are trying to. That wouldn't be self-serving, would it? No, no, because this is the way it's going to go. This was supposed to happen the beginning of January. We're at the end of February. So let's say you guys are going to talk about adopting the state's regs. This is going to be another three-month process until that happens. Everyone on the board is okay with the current amendment. Let's pass the current amendment. You guys can sit down and discuss what you guys are willing to do to adopt the state's regs. Because you and I both know this isn't going to be a process that happens overnight. We have discussed it in that fashion in the past. We have discussed it in the past regarding that this is all new to us and baby steps have to be taken. And that's instead of jumping in blindly, we are doing it in a more conservative fashion. But as we're finding out, my opinion is that it's too conservative and it needs to be opened up a little bit. So I understand where you're coming from and I get it. If you've been the lucky guy that could locate a spot, great for you. But I would really like to make this right. For everybody and not just right for one person right now. We would all like you to make it right for everybody. But again, we're looking at another three-month pause. And I went out, secured a property in this proposed corridors that were going to be passed. And now we're talking about tabling it to further discussions. So I think it makes sense to pass the current amendment while you table it to further discussions. Okay. Because I maybe would have not went out there, put my money out there to secure a property. Because if you did, you might not have a space in the space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space they could do it i don't know you're taking a huge risk because i didn't know how that you know the rest of the board if this was going to be adopted or not so i wouldn't advise anybody on anything you know in terms of this but so i stood at the public hearing and i informed the board that i was holding some in the queue in the hopper because they quote could be approved meeting this legislation but i was holding them in abeyance not denying them nor could i approve them obviously the gentleman just who stood up he has yet to submit that application so that would be quote the third so i just want to be clear while he probably i'm sure is ADVOCATING FOR HIMSELF, I DID IN FACT PUBLICLY TELL THE TOWN BOARD AT THE PUBLIC HEARING I HAD OTHERS IN THE HOPPER I WAS HOLDING. HOW ARE YOU DOING, BOARD? MY NAME IS RYAN ANDOS. I'M A FARMER OVER IN MARICHES. MY NAME IS RYAN ANDOS. I'M A FARMER OVER IN THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN IN MARICHES. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SUPPORT THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY. I'M A FARMER BEFORE CANNABIS, MEMBER OF FARM BUREAU AND MEMBER OF CANNABIS ASSOCIATION IN NEW YORK. WE'RE THE ONES THAT GROW IT TO SUPPORT THESE BUSINESSES SO THEY CAN THRIVE AS WELL. WHAT YOU GUYS DECIDE DIRECTLY AFFECTS MY BUSINESS. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE LONG ISLAND AS A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM WHERE IT CAN BE GROWN, PROCESSED AND SOLD RIGHT HERE ON THE ISLAND AND DOESN'T HAVE TO GO OFF THE ISLAND. I WOULD INVITE YOU DOWN. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO COME IN, WE'RE HERE. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO SEE A WORKING CANNABIS FARM AND ALSO JUST A WORKING FARM IN GENERAL AND JUST SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AS FAR AS TESTING, REGULATIONS, TRACK AND TRACE SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, WATER SOIL TESTINGS, IT'S MUCH, MUCH MORE STRINGENT THAN YOUR TYPICAL AGRICULTURE OPERATION. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO COME DOWN, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME. WE HAVE SOME GROWERS OUT HERE. YEAH. TOWN RIBBIT HAS A PART OF YOU. THEY'RE REALLY CONCERNED, YOU KNOW, AS GROWERS AROUND THE STATE ARE CONCERNED. YOU KNOW, THAT THIS ROLLED OUT SO SLOW, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH OUR PLANTS? YEAH. SO IT AFFECTS THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY. YOU KNOW, IT HAS A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. DID YOU EMAIL ME? OR IS THAT A DIFFERENT RYAN? I DIDN'T KNOW. SOMEBODY ELSE. HE GROWS VEGETABLES. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANKS. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY ELSE? NOT SEEING ANYBODY? NOBODY? ONE PERSON ONLINE? OKAY. LET'S TAKE THAT. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY ELSE? NOT SEEING ANYBODY? NOBODY? NOBODY? OKAY. LET'S TAKE THAT. GOOD EVENING. MIKE FOLEY, REEVES PARK. CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES WE CAN, MIKE. I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE MIKE, THE GUY THAT CAME UP AND SAID THAT HE FOUND THE SITE WITHIN THE PARAMETERS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET TO THAT. WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THAT. TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO TO have left now. Did you say that there were two other approved applicants that have found locations in one of the five zones as they are presently contemplated with this resolution? Did I hear you right that we now have three people in locations that were contemplated with this resolution that have found locations? Is that correct? Mike, just to clarify, they have not been approved. I'm holding them in the hopper, but they appear to meet this legislation. So I'm just holding them in abeyance. I don't want to deny them, but I certainly can't approve them at this point. Have they secured the locations? Only because the resolution that's being contemplated now is years. But once it passes, these people will have gotten three sites out of the five zones. Is that correct? Mike, I'm sorry. There was a little feedback and Councilman Kern was trying to ask me a question. So I really apologize. I just want to respond to him. Those notices came in from the state of New York. Okay? For an address. For a specific address, location proposal from the state of New York. Right. I've seen the proposal. Oh. I've seen the proposal. I've seen the proposal. Okay. So did they secure an address? I would assume so because they filed it with the state of New York. And now submitted that application to the town. Okay. Pursuant to law. Good. Sorry, Mike. Keep going. So I guess what I'm trying to confirm here is that with the five zones, four of which we anticipate only one per zone being approved for the state of New York, the state of New York is going to have a ! Really? 58 that could have as many as four or six but i think after looking at it we figured we might get three in there i i guess the point i'm making is i attended the december 19th meeting and you know i had a back and forth with gary he real smart guy he's there and i understand his position but my position at that time was and remains with 147 new locations in those five zones that opened up because of this legislation which there's no question it's going to pass it should pass five nothing i mean just the fact that bob kern wants 20 or 30 instead of four or five he's not going to say no to this we're going to get this off the ground and those people that have approved applications the way they're complicated uh excuse me contemplated in this uh public hearing we're gonna have three stores open my my my opinion is we need to go slowly i don't want to open this up to a plethora of locations i always thought that a handful of locations rolled out in the first two or three years would be a good judge of us of number one confirming that the tax revenue is coming in the way it should be number two making sure that any illegal smoke shops or anything else that is selling things that they shouldn't be selling are identified and shut down so that the tax revenue flows through the approved locations and we benefit from the taxes and that after we get six in those five locations we'll take a look at it in three years as far as i'm concerned these three people have the golden ticket they're going to make a lot of money good for them i hope that some of them qualified under the social injustice mandate that has been unfortunately in my opinion lessened by the state now they're letting everybody in i prefer the people that got screwed by stupid laws to be the ones to make their money on this but it's going to be what it's going to be but my my position is very simple uh ken rothwell uh a guy that voted in the first three years of the state against weed here one of the two votes thankfully they lost that vote three to two has run an open and fair and objective um um committee he's let everybody in and they're 20 or 30 very active people including myself in there i think what we have right now is workable if we have three licenses that are going to be approved after you guys pass this legislation uh this resolution in a couple of weeks already have license and we're going to have to make sure that we're going to If we can't get the other three filled with the present resolution, then I'm all for going to those locations. Let's say Jamesport doesn't have the ability to get one retail store there. I would say it's a default. I'm not committing to say, you know something, it's time in the areas that did not fit the parameters that we set forth. Let's default to the states and what they say is allowed, but limit the number. And limit it because this is what the town wants to do. This is how we want to start. And two or three years later, if we think we can go with 10, we'll improve it. We'll make those exceptions so that we expand the operation. But just going willy-nilly right now because we're in a panic, in my mind, is ill-advised. We have three now with the present legislation proposed. Let's pass the legislation. And if everybody else that's trying to get licenses, here you go. If they can't get three more in those locations, it would be my recommendation in those zones, open it up to the state regulations, let them open up their first store there, and we'll see what happens in two or three years. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me. It might not be what the Cannabis Committee wants. It might not be what the Cannabis Club of Long Island wants. They want as many entrepreneurs in there as possible. I get it. I don't want 20 stores until I know what the first six are going to do. And as you all know, I've been smoking weed for 50 years. I'm one of the guys. I'm one of the guys that opened this thing up and fought hard to get you guys to allow it. So if it's coming from me, I think it should have a little weight given my history with the product and everything else. Thank you. Thanks, Mike. One last one. Just real quick. So the thing she's saying she has in the queue, there was 5,000 applications that just went out for new licenses. This closed, I think, December 18th. So when you applied for that, you had to wait until the end of the year. And you had to wait until the end of the year for that round. That's not us. Most of the people in here are already licensed. When you applied in that round, you had to submit to the municipality saying, hey, I'm looking to open at this address. They've only given out 25 licenses in the last meeting to those 5,000 applications. That doesn't mean that those three in her hand that she's holding onto are ever getting a license. We have licenses. Some people in here already have state approval on properties in Riverhead and can open if you adopt the state regulations. And this thing would move forward. That's all I want to say. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay. Anybody else? Seeing nobody, we are going to close the public hearing and keep it open until March 1st for written comment.
And I thank everybody for coming out. Nobody wants to stay for our resolutions now? We're not done. Jim. Oh, one way. One way. You come here about one and now you're being, all right, I get it. I get it. You're welcome. No, no, no. Lock the doors. Nobody's leaving. Thank you, Joanne. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good night, everybody. Good night. Good night. Thank you. You're welcome. Good night, everybody. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. 7th inning stretch? Woo! Just to stand for a minute. James, past your bedtime? Way past mine, I'll tell you. Public hearing is for hearing. What is this back enforcement going on? A conversation, man. You've got to put effort into it. Oh, I appreciate that. I heard it. That was a tired way. Your stomach is growling. It's a York Peppermint Patty. You know, I usually don't have a problem like that. That's the longest meeting I've ever been to in 267 town boy meetings. I haven't sat this long. I know I've heard they've had them go to a government talk, but probably before like Victor and Jimmy Stark and those guys. I know they've had them go to a lot. But they started at 7. You're right. And they would take a break. Stark would jump up after two hours and go out of smoke. I don't know. I don't know. Okay, Councilman Kern, let's get the show on the road. So you're going to do, Tim, you're going to do Ken's? Yes, I will read Ken's. I can't even speak anymore. When Ken comes up, I'll be Ken. You're welcome, gentlemen. Bye-bye. Councilman Kern, we have town business to do. Come on. Let's go. Oh, I got three. All right. Okay, we're going to move on to public hearing. I'm sorry, to resolutions. But before I open it up to comments on resolutions, I would like to ask Anne-Marie Prenente to come up and just talk about the amendment that we made regarding the procurement policy so it's explained prior to when we get it. Because when we had the public hearing, we said one thing, but we've since amended it. And tonight we're presenting something a little different. And I just want to make sure everybody's aware of that. Okay. So the... Town proposed an amendment to the town's procurement policy. And we did that via public hearing and local law. So when we originally proposed it, we proposed amendments to guideline two, the monetary amount and the square footage that would trigger the apprenticeship requirement. In addition, we carved out... Exemptions for emergency contracts. Don't make fun of that! Some happy people. For emergency contracts, those grants, be it state or federal, that may not permit us to contain in our competitive bids the requirements for the procurement of the contract. So we're going to make sure that we do that. And we also included a limitation regarding the requirement for apprenticeship or a donation for apprenticeship. And we also included a limitation regarding subcontractors. We noticed that. We publicly heard it. And at this time, the proposed adoption does not include an increase in the monetary limit, an increase in the square footage, nor does it include an increase in the monetary limit. Nor does it include the carve-out exception for the subcontractor. It only amends guideline two as it relates to apprenticeship for emergencies, grants, donations, and that's what the amendment is. And the town, the supervisor, myself, Water District Superintendent, met with union representatives. And actually, Frank Mancini and myself met with them now, I don't know, Frank, three times. And we've met with different labor unions as well. And it was decided that those provisions, which we noticed, heard, but are not adopting, we would revisit and have an opportunity to have a discussion with the union representatives. And we would have a sit-down. Not that we won't seek to make amendments to those, but we would work with the unions and try to craft it in a way that would work for the municipality, its competitive bidding, our taxpayers, ratepayers, and at the same time, the labor unions and the young people that benefit from apprenticeship programs. And I know, Supervisor, I don't know, since you had me address it, I think there's two people in the room that probably are going to want to comment on that. Frank Mancini. No problem. No problem. And that's what we're going to do now. We're going to open up for comments on any resolution that we have before us tonight. If anybody would like to come forward and talk on any resolution, we have a few minutes left. Thank you. I'm going to turn it over to the chair. I'm going to turn it over to the chair. I'm going to turn it over to the chair. I'm going to turn it over to the chair. I'm going to turn it over to the chair. Thank you. Good evening. Been a long wait tonight. But Josh Slaughter from the Mason Tenders District Council, representing thousands of union laborers here across Long Island. And we were very involved, you know, five or six years ago with adopting, you know, the current language and appreciate the support we got from the town. And really, this is law across all towns in Long Island at this point. You know, maybe a few of the ones here on the east side of the state. I mean, I think that's a lot of people that haven't done it. So certainly, I guess there's going to be continued conversation about thresholds because those are standard across the towns. And we certainly want to keep it uniform. I mean, I think that's easier for all contractors when they're coming to various municipalities if they're working under the same conditions. Just I wanted to clarify because some of the changes that are still on the table, in particular, I just want to make sure when we're talking about federal, state, county grants and assistance as well as donations, this would only be exempt if those dollars that you're receiving specifically state that you're not allowed to use apprenticeship. Is that correct? I will defer to Ann Marie on this. I've been asked this question several times, twice by Riverhead Local. So it would only be, Town of Riverhead applies for a plethora I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. It would only be a state grant. State, federal. It would only apply and preclude apprenticeship in the competitive bid language if the grant criteria, be it federal or state, precluded us from doing that. Have I seen that? No. Am I trying to protect the town because we're going for some large grants and if that was in there, I want the town to be accepted. I want the town to accept the raise grant if we're successful and it has that provision in it. Have I seen that? No. That's what I'm trying to protect the town, the rate payers and residents. Ann Marie, could you address though charitable donations? So and we talked about this, right? Under New York State law, a municipality may receive a donation. In addition, under New York State law, the town may, accept a donation with conditions. Many of the donations, well, maybe that's an exaggeration. The town has accepted many grants of donations, monetary donations with conditions. Have I, have we, the town, or I, working for the town, experienced a condition, no apprenticeship? No, I haven't. Do I anticipate that we will? No, but we've received some significant funds where the conditions are how we spend the money, and they really fully detail. You may not spend it on this, but you could spend it on this. You could spend it on this, but not on that. So we want to account if we have a large benefactor that wants to donate 500,000 or a million dollars to the town, and they put in a prohibition against the apprenticeship in the language, I think the town board would still want to take the money and utilize the money for the benefit of its residents. That's all. Absolutely. And if you can find any of these benefactors, Kevin, give us a call, please. Well, I certainly appreciate the clarification. We just want to make sure that, you know, if this is a grant in the future, if this is passed, you know, we don't have someone come in and say, oh, well, this is federal funding, and this means we can't go ahead with apprenticeship language. I mean, I agree. I've never seen grants that prohibit it. I mean, if anything, you know, the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was a pass actually requires it. So typically it's something that, you know, state and federal government wants to see. They're encouraging. So I think it's quite the opposite. I understand maybe you want it there as an option. It sounds like, you know, coming up with a law to solve a problem that doesn't exist. But as long as it's not going to be used to prohibit it, if and when you're getting grants that don't say, you know, there's a prohibition. Right. And I guess there's just some other language in there that talks to an exemption for trades or work that may not be classified. So it's more of a general exemption for things outside of your typical trades. Is that correct? So if you have, you know, a profession plumber, laborer, those are defined clearly. It's for work that doesn't fall under those definitions. Is that correct? Yeah, for the oddball, occasional thing that you may have that there is no apprenticeship program for. Right. Okay. There's not many. Yeah. No, I just wanted to make sure those are clear and concise on the record, you know, for if and when you do make the changes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If anybody else for comments on any resolution? And we have nobody online? Hallelujah. All right. Let's get on with the resolutions. Let's get Frank to talk about water. I'm sorry, quickly before. Frank, you want to talk about water for a while? No, don't let him get up. Okay. Go ahead. Okay. Supervisor, if I could quickly, before we get started, I have amendments on two resolutions. Okay. I'll just say which resolutions they are. They're very minor. Resolution 2024-167 is going to require a slight amendment. And resolution 2024-175 is going to require a slight amendment. What was the last number? Well, 170, 20, 2024-175. 175? Yes. Okay. Well, let me take it off. Okay. All right. Okay. Resolutions. 164. 164? 164. First one, yeah. First one. 2024-164. It's number one. Number one. I'm sorry. There's six different numbers on each resolution. Everybody uses a different one to go by. Okay. The first one. All right. It's Kern. Yeah. Wait, then I'm looking at this. I'm looking at 160. That's what I'm looking at. What are you looking at? 160. I have 164. I have 164. So does the ledger has 164. What's 160? The packet that was sent around yesterday starts at 164. Let me just get one. Okay. I'll get to 164 real quick. Sorry. Hold on. Oh, my word. Well, but . The one that was something I think on the menu. Let me see. That's you then. Yes. So, okay. It's me. And it's me and you. Yes. Appoints a call on recreation aid to the recreation department. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 165. Accepts the resignation of an automotive equipment operator. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 166. Reappoints an automotive equipment operator. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 167. We need to amend resolution 167? That's correct.
Okay. So in the first resolved, where that is, it should just say comma and authorizes supervisor to sign memorandum of agreement relative to such appointment. In the first resolved, I don't have that. Yeah. I don't either. First resolved I have says pending the results of the successfully completed drug and alcohol test. Okay. So I don't have that. I don't have that. Okay. I don't have that. Really? Really? Really? and yes D yes it says now therefore be it resolved pending the results of successfully completed etc and then it says salary schedule which is 57 990 80 per annum should be comma and authorizes supervisor to sign memorandum of agreement relative to such appointment okay so we're adding to the last sentence yes yes relative relative to such appointment okay okay appoints a PSD one in the police department as amended so moved seconded Woski yes very field yes Kern yes Hubbard yes resolution is adopted as amended resolution 168 appoints a part-time court officer to the police department so moved second moved and seconded Woski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Hubbard yes resolution is adopted resolution 169 ratifies the termination of an interpreter so moved seconded vote please Woski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Hubbard yes Resolution adopted. Resolution 170. Ratifies the appointment of a water treatment plant operator to be. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 171. Ratifies a salary increase for a code enforcement officer so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 172. Ratifies the appointment of a call-in food service worker so moved. Second. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 173. Approves a salary increase for a call-in food service worker so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 174. Authorization for town employees to attend training so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 175. This needs to be amended. Yes. Yes.
The amendment is to in the first resolved when it references resolution 2008-625. It was brought to my attention by the assessor that by resolution 2024-8, we adopted about a month and a half ago, changed the salary for this particular appointed position. So we just need to amend that to say 2024-8.
Okay. Appoints member to the. The board of assessment review Hogan as amended. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted as amended. Resolution 176. Recreation project 82322 Horton Avenue basketball court closure. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 177. Recreation project 72324 Stotsky Park walkway closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 178. Recreation project 72307 parking lot at Veterans Memorial Park closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 179. Recreation project 72216 Stotsky Park tennis courts closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 180. That's me. Water capital project number 82055 plant 10 storage tank rehab closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Waskey. Yes. Kern. Yes. Waskey. Yes. Kern. Yes. Waskey. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Yes. Water capital project number 81953, plant 4, rehab closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Murrayfield. Yes. I'm sorry, Waski. Yes. Turn. Yes. Howard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 183. Public parking district capital project number 52104, closure. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 184. Water capital project 81851, USGS, test wells budget adjustment. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 185.
912. West. Main. Street. Seward District. Capital project. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 186. Authorizes the supervisor to execute an extension of license agreement and addendum with island exterior fabricators. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 188. Adopts a local law to amend Chapter 289 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled, Vehicles, Traffic and Parking Regulations. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 188. Adopts a local law to amend Chapter 289 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled, Vehicles, Traffic and Parking Regulations. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 189. Authorizes the supervisor to execute an agreement with the Nassau County Police Activity League Lacrosse Unit for Referee Umpire Services and Team Peas for Town of Riverhead Police Athletic League Boys Lacrosse Program grades K-8, 4. 2024 calendar year. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Turn. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 190. Authorizes the Town Clerk to publish and post notice to bidders for Police Department Marine Unit Boat and Outboard Motor Maintenance and Repair. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Murrayfield. Yes. Moderator. Yes. 91. authorized town clerk to publish and post public notice of public hearing regarding a capital improvement for the proposed extension number 99 of the riverhead water district for the marist farm subdivision and other properties collectively known as suffolk county tax map number district 0600 section 017 block 01 lots 6.1 6.2 7.2 7.3 and 7.4 in riverhead new york so moved i'm sorry joanne i wasn't listening yeah second vote please waski yes very few yes turn yes covered yeah i just want to say this one there'll be another resolution coming up that we probably should have done first but it will fit in with this resolution so i vote yes perfect resolution adopted resolution 192 awards bid for propane fuel and equipment maintenance so moved second vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 193. let me get through this contract oh here we are adopt special event chapter 255 application for our future generation for us by us for all of us so moved second vote please waski yes murrayfield yes turn yes hubbard yes resolution is adopted resolution number 194. a men's policy for transfer of funds so moved second vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 195. authorizes the sale of banners and brochure ads by the state of the state by the recreation department and sets the fees for 2024 so moved second vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution number 196. ratifies authorization for the supervisor to execute a stipulation with an employee so moved second vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes hubbard yes resolution adopted resolution 197. authorization authorization for the town board to support suffolk county district attorney raven a tyranny's public campaign and efforts to change new york state laws relating to fentanyl so move second did array vote please waski yes merrifield yes fist Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 198. Authorization for the town board to support the New York State deadly driving bills S.3135 and A.174. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Can we just make a note that on these last two resolutions, the one with the fentanyl and the one with the deadly driving bills, that we send copies of these to the Suffolk County. God, I got to give you a raise. Before I can even say it, she's doing it. You get a free Mancini tonight. Good stuff. Okay. Thank you. I would have done it. Resolution 199. Authorize a supervisor to execute an agreement with. Goodman Marks Associates, Inc. to conduct an appraisal of a leasehold. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 200. Authorizes execution of incentive proposal for Empire State Development Grant recreational complex feasibility study at Calverton Enterprise Park. So moved. Second. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 201. Amends Resolution 8015 authorizing application for funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation raise 2024 grant. So it's the raise grant 2024 grant funding. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 202. Authorizes purchase of one 2024 Kenworth Model T 480 dump truck. So moved. Seconded. All right. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. I just have to comment. I heard a lady mentioned earlier tonight, way earlier tonight, when you went over the money that was brought in, the tax money that was brought in, and I heard the comment was, where's all that money go? Well, one dump truck is $278,000. Just so you have a little reality check, lady, this is where it goes. And I vote, yes. Thank you. Resolution adopted. Resolution 203. Authorizes the supervisor to execute an agreement with Urban Design Associates, LTD. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution number 204. Just a quick note. These next two resolutions are procedural for the cancellation of the other public hearings that we're supposed to be on tonight. Okay. Correct. Second. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. And resolution 205. Ratified. Resolution number 2024-109 and cancels public hearing. Agritourism. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. And resolution number 206. Pays bill. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Okay. That's it on the resolutions. We will now open it up to public comments on any matter. Any matter. Imagine if we had all those people lined up now to do it again. Oh, gosh. Do we have anybody that would like to make a public comment? Do we have anybody online that would like to make a public comment? I'd like to make a public comment. It's past my bedtime. I make a motion to close the town board meeting. Seconded. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Meeting is closed. Everybody have a great night. Thanks for sticking it out. And we appreciate all the input tonight. Have a great night, everybody. Thank you.
Thank you.