Full Transcript

Thank you. [transcription gap] Thank you, Ms. Higgins. Ms. Higgins, I'm so glad that was quite a reaction. The crowd's going wild. Okay. We have an invocation. Ken? Yes, we do. I apologize. Someone's here. I think there's someone. So we have Reverend Janet Wright is with us, an interfaith minister. And Reverend, if you would come forward to lead us in a nice invocation this morning, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for coming out in the rain. Thank you for the opportunity. You're welcome. I'm going to leave my coat and hat on because I'm so chilled I can't stand up.

Mr. Supervisor, Council, citizens of Riverhead, New York, thank you for the opportunity to open this with an invocation. Let us be in prayer. Thank you. Holy and loving God of many names, we thank you for our surroundings here in Riverhead, the river, the bay, and farmland. We thank you for our human government that makes our society possible. We thank you for the administration and services of justice, safety, education, recreation, health, and well-being that comes to us through our town government. We give thanks for the privilege and ability of our community and citizens and businesses to pay taxes so we have a share and a say in this governance. We thank you for the opportunity to be here today. We ask that you guide our elected officials by your spirit within them as their vision, planning, and decision-making affects not only them and their families, but all of us together. We pray that the resolutions today for new employees will give them humility, wisdom, and courage to work together to make Riverhead Town the best it can be. We pray for our newly elected town supervisor as he prepares the state of the town to be given next Tuesday evening here at Town Hall. We ask your blessing upon this council and all the citizens of this town. We are gathered here as you have placed us all together in this town. At this time and space, may we be a blessing for each other. As a Christian, I pray in that name, yet in this room we know we have many ways of knowing you. And so we ask this blessing by whatever way or name we call you in great confidence that you hear and love us all. May it be so. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Reverend. Thank you. That was beautiful. That was very nice. Okay, we have a couple of announcements today. First one you may be aware of already. The Long Island Railroad is performing road maintenance today at the railroad crossing on Osborne Avenue until 10 o'clock tonight. Thank God. So plan accordingly. That has been a pretty bouncy ride there. So they're working on the crossing and hopefully some of you will be able to get there. And we're hoping that you will be able to get there. Thank you. [transcription gap] Thank you so much. We'll head over next so you can head over [transcription gap] have. I just want to take a moment to update the public on the latest with respect to any possible code change regarding agritourism. The planning staff and the town attorney's office have worked diligently with members of the local farming community, whether that be folks on the farmland preservation committee or the agricultural advisorial committee, in attempts to land on what might be an appropriate balance between preserving the agricultural heritage of our area and allowing for development in the form of agritourism inns and resorts. To date, that balance remains a source of ongoing discussion and debate, and quite frankly, it remains to be seen whether the perfect balance exists. I remain open to further discussion, but defer to stakeholders of our local farming community as to whether this is possible, and we will keep the public updated. Councilman Rothwell, do you have anything you might want to add to that since you've worked diligently on this? I just want to say that the work has been intense by our planning department. They've done a great job along with our town attorney staff. I really appreciate the agricultural advisory committee, the farmland preservation committee. They have spent countless hours on this. The idea of this legislation was really to engage developers to have to work with local farming. This was in the initial effort was put forth to provide an opportunity for farmers to be able to do that. I think it's a great idea. I think it's a great idea. Thank you. farmers to sell TDRs. And so this was going to put it, the idea of this legislation is to put an influx of money to our farming community to have a 70-30 split where 70 percent of a project in its development would be farmed in the soil farms and 30 percent could be development. I think it has incredible advantages to assist farmers. It's one of many tools in which farmers will have. But until the farming community feels that this is more to precision, that I want to know that it overly helps our farming community and weighs more on the farming community than any type of development hand. And so with that in mind, until we can come to perhaps some type of amicable future that in this legislation that everyone can sit down and go, this is in the best interest. You know, we're not building large-scale hotels on Sound Avenue. I want to pursue that. And so I think it's a great idea to have a lot of money to do that. I think it's a great idea to have a lot of money to do that. And so I think it's a great idea to preserve and protect the, not just the historical values of it, but also the beautification of it. And no one wants to see, you know, Maersk trailers stacked high, you know, doing hydroponics and other things. I think we want to keep the historical heritage of Sound Avenue and its beautification. So I think we have a little bit of work to ensure that that is in fact the case. If this legislation moves forward, we're going to continue to work and we'll give you a progress update as we go forward. Thank you. Anybody else? No, I would just say that I agree with the Councilman and I think that having liaison to the Advisory Committee, I can't believe how close this is. And I thought for sure this would happen. I'd wake up today and it would be resolved. So I'm going to do everything I can to see this happen because I think it's a really great thing for TDRs, preserving farmland and helping farmers and farmers and farmers and farmers and farmers and farmers and farmers and farmers farming in general. Okay. Thank you. Town clerk Woorden. Hi. Correspondents and reports, please. Can I do one other announcement? One more announcement. I'm sorry. So in an effort to always thank our local volunteers, the Town & River head, The Ice Rink, our Peconic Ice Rink over at Veterans Memorial Park, we'll be having a first responders' night. And so first responders, along with their families, are invited to come to The Ice Rink on Saturday, April 13th, from 3 p.m. to 3 p.m. 13th from 6 to 8 p.m. So we invite members of our Riverhead Fire Department, Janesport Fire Department, Manneville Fire Department, Wading River Fire Department, and of course, RVAC. So we invite them all to come down, bring their families, and to just have a nice, great family night. And thank you for all your volunteers all year long. We look forward to doing events like this in the future. So come on down, skate, and join us for some good music and lights. Actually, it's a good night to go because if I fall down and bust open my coconut, I've got plenty of help there to assist me right on the spot. Surrounded by EMTs and firefighters. I like that. I like that. Please join us and spread the word. Thank you, volunteers. Thank you. Jim? Correspondents and reports? Yes, under correspondence, we received several letters over the last two weeks of various subjects, charter school, agritourism, a few on the comp plan, and one on just a general letter on traffic signals and timing on 58. All those letters can be seen, not only part of the agenda on the website, but also in the town clerk section under correspondence. You can read all those letters verbatim. Under reports, we have the total tax collection as of March 20th, 2024, is $95,700,000. And then a week later, on the 27th, it was $95,850,000. Just petty change compared to the Powerball. Yes. And that concludes our reports and correspondence. Okay. That brings us up to public hearings. Today we have one public hearing regarding Chapter 301, and it's regarding the Pine Barrens Overlay District. That's Article 41. And I'm going to ask Mr. Matt Charters from our planning department to please come up. Good afternoon, everyone. Start it off. Yes. So as the supervisor correctly outlined, this is Article 41 of our zoning code, Pine Barrens Overlay. Just to take this back to 10,000 feet. This is zoning code amendments being done in response to amendments to the comprehensive development plan for, sorry, land use plan for the Pine Barrens, better known as the CLUP, which was adopted by the Central Pine Barrens Commission last April. Originally, we had a deadline of April of this year to make these changes as a participating municipality, so this is something that we have to do. That deadline since moved, we're a little bit ahead of schedule here in Riverhead, which is a good thing. So we're going to have to make those changes. So the deadline is now in June to adopt. If you look at the code, it's a little dense. A lot of it is really clarification to existing policies that the Pine Barrens do. Just to make things more clear, on the second page, you'll see a clearing chart. That's a real big change you can see in the compatible growth area. Those numbers did come down, and that's to reflect current zoning. So that's why you see 35% instead of, I believe, 52. Other than that, it's really just administrative changes that, like I said, we have to do. We have to do full abges so that's clear. [transcription gap] and trying to turn it into code. With that being said, Pine Barren staff has reviewed our code changes. They find it acceptable. This is on with the Suffolk County Planning Commission at tomorrow's meeting, which I'll be present at. And we have a draft recommendation to approve the legislation at their meeting, too. So that's really it. Unless the board has specific questions or the public, I'm happy to answer it. But like I said, this is something that, you know, we need to do. Male Speaker 2 Somebody have any questions? Male Speaker 3 Well, Matt, and thank you for going over this with me. Male Speaker 4 Yep. Male Speaker 5 I think it was great. Male Speaker 4 Just for the people watching, Matt, the Pine Barrens is compromised of people from the town of Riverhead, the town of Brookhaven, town of Southampton, and the county of Suffolk. Male Speaker 4 And the state as well. Yep. Male Speaker 4 And the state as well. Male Speaker 4 Yep. Male Speaker 4 And it's there's a commission that's put together and you and I happen to be on that board. Male Speaker 4 Correct. Yeah. Male Speaker 4 As representatives of Riverhead because we own properties or there are properties in the Pine Barrens within our township. Male Speaker 4 Yeah. For the sole protection for the protection of the sole source aquifer that's within the Pine Barrens. That's why it was developed. So it's New York State law. Male Speaker 4 Correct. Correct. Very good. Thank you, sir. You're welcome. Do I have anybody with any questions from the audience? Do we have anybody online with any questions? None. Okay. All right. The public hearing. I would make a motion to close it here at our level, but we will keep it open for written comment at the clerk's office until April 12th, 2024 at 430 p.m. Male Speaker 4 So moved. Male Speaker 4 Okay. Male Speaker 4 Moving on. Female Speaker 4 Second. Male Speaker 4 Second. Male Speaker 4 Motion. Move it on. Male Speaker 4 You made a motion. Male Speaker 4 You made a motion. Male Speaker 4 You don't need a motion. Male Speaker 4 I know. Male Speaker 4 Male Speaker 4 I was just humoring it. Male Speaker 4 Male Speaker 4 He's trying to throw me off. Okay. He did it. Male Speaker 4 Okay. Before we go on to resolutions, we're going to open up for any comments regarding the resolutions. If anybody has any comments regarding resolutions, I see we have some online. Why don't we go ahead? And take what we have online first. Female Speaker 4 Grace also wants to come up. Male Speaker 4 Male Speaker 4 Can't hear you, Mike. Female Speaker 4 He has himself muted. Male Speaker 4 You're muted, Mike.

Male Speaker 4 Yeah, good afternoon, Mike. Can you hear me? Male Speaker 4 We can now, Mike. Yes. Male Speaker 4 Good afternoon. I did not mean to get on now. I've been having trouble getting access to the Zoom room and just got transferred to IT. So forgive me. I'll stay on mute and I'll speak during the public comments. Thank you very much. Male Speaker 4 Okay. You're welcome. Grace, what? Male Speaker 4 Do we have anybody else online? Male Speaker 4 Nobody online and nobody from the audience? Female Speaker 4 No, Grace wants to speak. Male Speaker 4 Oh, I'm sorry. Grace, come on up. Female Speaker 4 Male Speaker 4 Okay. How did I miss that?

Female Speaker 4 This is Grace with Calvertine. Resolution 332 about the senior advisory. Male Speaker 4 Great. [transcription gap] Male Speaker 4 Great. there that I know on Roanoke Avenue borders it's where the developmentally challenged people are. They have a food pantry in there for the public every Friday from 12 to 3. And I didn't notice it on the list. Okay. Because I have a master sheet of them. And the other one was to do with, I can't remember the head title right now, but it showed that the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Wading River, they listed the gathering in. That hasn't been gathered in about seven years. Okay. That's tough. Okay. And it stopped when the newer priest came in, who I don't know his name, but. Okay. It ceased and it was quite a few years before the pandemic. So. We'll try to get those corrections. Somebody may be thinking to go down there on a Sunday for it and it's not going to be there. All right. We'll try to get to those. If they haven't gone to print, we may be able to correct that. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Thanks Grace. Do we have anybody else in the audience who'd like to make a comment on the resolutions? Not seeing anybody. I would ask town clerk Wooten to please read the resolutions. Okay. We'll start with resolution number 287. Appoints a call in recreation specialists to the recreation department. So moved. Second. Vote please. Waskie. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution adopted. Resolution 287. 88 points a call on recreation leader to the recreation department so moved seconded vote please waski yes mary field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution accepted resolution 289 appoints an office assistant so moved second vote please waski yes mary field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes congratulations marissa resolution carried resolution 290. appoints a call-in senior recreation leader to the recreation department so moved second vote please waski yes mary field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 291 ratifies the appointment of a groundskeeper two so moved second vote please waski yes mary field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 292. ratifies a provisional appointment of the senior water treatment plant operator 1b salute seconded vote please waski yes murrayfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes congratulations to daniel keller resolution carried resolution 293 ratifies and accepts the resignation of a traffic control specialist so moved second vote please waski yes maryfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 294 ratifies a leave of absence tonk pro tonk so moved second vote please waski yes mary field yes i'm sorry kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 294. yes 295. terminates a loa and ratifies the reappointment of part-time police officers to active duty status so moved second vote please waski yes i would just like to congratulate um jordan stromski she's uh she's a really great girl and i'm really happy to see all three of them on but especially jordan i'll second that maryfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes this is three uh part-time police officers that completed successfully completed the police academy they recently graduated and uh now we're going to be adding them to duty for the town of riverhead pd so congratulations to all i believe yes i remember the days yes right resolution carried resolution 296 sewer capital project number two zero zero one six milk pond sewer extension closure so moved seconded vote please yes maryfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 297. sewer capital project 82209 north point development closure so moved second vote please waski yes maryfield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 298 sewer capital project number 81903-1226 201 Ostrander Avenue sewer extension closure so moved seconded vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes got ahead of myself resolution has carried resolution 299 sewer capital project number two zero zero four two EPCAL sewer upgrade closure so moved second vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 300 what a capital project number eight two three two nine dash 48 third Street closure so moved seconded vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 301 water capital project eight two three zero I'm sorry eight eight two three one six dash 15 Bay Avenue closure so moved seconded vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 302 water capital project number three I'm sorry eight two three zero five dash 809 West Main Street closure so moved seconded vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 303 water capital project number 8 2229 restaurant Depot closure so moved second vote please Waski yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution has carried resolution 3026 point 25 point 25 304 what a capital project number eight two two zero eight dash 420 East Main closure so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution it passed resolution 305 water capital project eight to 206 Riverhead charter school closure so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 306 water capital project number eight two two zero one dash 1998 iconic closure so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes yes resolution carried resolution 307 just keeping the water flowing here tonight water capital project number eight two one two five waiting River booster station closure so moved second vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 308 water capital project number eight two one two two four oh six Osborne Avenue closure so moved seconded vote please américans américans américans américans américans [transcription gap] you yeah that's a yes resolution carried resolution 310 water capital project number 82112 the shipyard closure so moved seconded vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 311 capital project 52311 island water park emergency access road budget transfer so moved second vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 312 capital project number 72 326 grumman planes refurbishment closure so moved seconded vote please merrifield yes i threw you off that night waski yes kern yes rothwell the work on this really they did a phenomenal job and those uh those planes really look awesome so and we're preserving our history there so absolutely yes closing it out hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 313 capital project 81902 reeves beach station sanitary system closure so moved second vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 314. capital project number 72002 railroad avenue urban renewal closure so moved second vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 315 capital project number 71802 cfa parking lot implementation closure so moved second vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 316. capital project number 71801 epcal bike path closure so moved seconded vote please waski yes merrifield yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 317. secret determination for first street parking garage pre-construction activities so moved second vote please waski yes murray field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 318. approve special event chapter 255 application for james point fire department for the fireman's annual bazaar carnival and fundraiser so moved second vote please waski Yes, it's my favorite week of the year. I love it. Merrifield. Yes, they have great fireworks. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 319. Approved special event chapter 255, applicant for East End Arts Community Mosaic Festival. So moved. I was going to say before I second that this is an amazing event and everybody should come second. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 320. Authorizes the chief of police to execute an agreement with Riverhead Community Awareness Program, Inc. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern.

Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 321. Ratifies the authorization of the supervisor to execute a license agreement with Suffolk County Council of Boy Scouts of America to utilize runway at EPCAL. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. This is the boxcar derby. That's a long way to go, 10,000 yards. So moved. Yes. And Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is carried. Resolution 322. Authorizes the supervisor to execute an intermunicipal agreement with Suffolk County. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 323. Authorizes the supervisor to execute an agreement with VHB Engineering, Surveying, Landscape Architecture, and Geology, PC. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 324. Authorizes the authorization for supervisor to execute a license agreement with Scramble, Inc. to utilize runway at EPCAL. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 325. Authorizes the town supervisor to execute a retainer agreement with Bowles and Vigilotti, PLLC. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 326. Authorizes the town attorney to execute a retainer agreement with Bowles and Vigilotti, Inc. to utilize runway at EPCAL. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution carried. Resolution 327. Extends bid for annual fire and security alarm contract. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Kern. Yes. resolution carried resolution 328 authorizes town clerk to publish and post notice to bidders for veterans Memorial Park sanitary system so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell longtime coming yes covered yes resolution carry resolution 329 authorizes the Raina group PE and LS PLLC to perform surveying services in the Riverhead downtown area so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 330 police budget transfer so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes yes solution carried resolution 331 acceptance of 2023 Justice Court audit so moved second vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes yes covered yes resolution carry resolution 332 approved senior citizen advice committee documents and authorizes printing and distribution so moved seconded vote please wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes Hubbard yes resolution carried resolution 333 authorizes Whiteman Osterman and Hannah LLP to retain appraisal economic Inc to provide valuation services in connection with a real property tax law R so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved so moved second vote please wasky yes murray field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution carried resolution three three four pays bills so moved second vote please wasky yes murray field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes resolution three three five provisionally appoints an account clerk so moved second vote please wasky yes murray field yes kern yes rothwell yes hubbard yes motion carried and that concludes the resolution so moved

okay we've completed all the resolutions for today now we're going to open it up to comments from the public on any matter comments from the public on any matter

so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so ARE HAVING ON OUR COMMUNITY AND TO SHARE SOME CONCERNING STATISTICS WITH YOU. AS OF NOW, OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN HEAVILY AFFECTED BY FORECLOSURES AS EVIDENCE BY THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS. CURRENT FORECLOSED HOMES LISTING FOR SELL OR AUCTION IS 80. CURRENT HOMES WITH RECORDED MORTGAGE LENGTHS IN FORECLOSURE PROCESS IN OUR COMMUNITY 357. THESE NUMBERS REPRESENT REAL FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FACING THE RISK OF LOSING THEIR HOMES WHICH CAN HAVE FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES ON THEIR WELL-BEING AND STABILITY. FORECLOSURE NOT ONLY AFFECTS THE HOMEOWNERS DIRECTLY INVOLVED BUT ALSO HAS RIPPLE EFFECTS ON THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY INCLUDING DECREASED PROPERTY VALUES AND INCREASED STRAIN ON SOCIAL SERVICES. I ALSO WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE OUR HOUSING HOMES AND FAMILIES TO THE HEALTH FORECLOSURE PREVENTION PROGRAM. OUR SERVICES ARE FREE OF CHARGE AND WE PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH AND HAITIAN CREOL. WE HAVE A FLYER THAT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PROGRAM AND I KINDLY REQUEST THAT THE TOWN BOARD MEMBERS TO PLEASE SHARE THESE FLYERS WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS. LOURDES FROM MY OFFICE WHO IS HERE TODAY WILL BE EMAILING YOU OUR FLYER. OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE IN NEED KNOWS THAT THEY CAN CALL US FOR HELP. FURTHERMORE, I URGE THE TOWN BOARD TO COLLABORATE WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HOUSING HELP INC. IN DEVELOPING COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THIS PRESENT ISSUE. WE BELIEVE THAT WITH COLLECTIVE EFFORT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING, WE CAN MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF FORECLOSURES AND SUPPORT OUR RESIDENTS IN MAINTAINING STABLE HOUSING. IN CONCLUSION, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND FOR CONSIDERING THE WELL-BEING OF OUR RESIDENTS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU. [transcription gap]

You said there's 80 homes currently in foreclosure, and there was at risk 157? Did I get that right? 357. I thought I had that wrong. Okay, thank you. Those are staggering numbers. Oh, absolutely. And this is reminding me of, some of you may remember, when the real estate downturn of the market of 2007, 2008, and 2009, this is how we started. Our goal is to prevent foreclosures, to prevent watered-up properties. Right? That's like our main goal. And obviously provide housing stability to individuals and families. Pilar, before you leave, are these numbers just Riverhead, or is this something else? No, this is the town of Riverhead. Just the town of Riverhead. Just the town of Riverhead. All right, thank you. I'll be happy to share my numbers from the town of Islip or the town of Honey. These are higher. Across the board. Yes. I just wanted to state, that as a result of the 2008 situation, there's been radical change with foreclosure laws in New York State, with real property laws. And there is a great deal of involvement by the courts in mitigation to help homeowners not lose their homes. I know there are extensive programs, and I just advise everybody, not as an attorney, but as a councilwoman, to be aware that those programs do exist out there for homeowners, so that they don't go into foreclosure. Absolutely. So our housing counselors work together with pro bono attorneys, whether attorneys from Nassau Suffolk Law Services or from Toro Law Center. We work with several pro bono legal services. But I guess if we are able to prevent a mortgage to go into that 90-day delinquency, that will prevent the foreclosure. So our goal is really to try to prevent it to go into foreclosure. Once it goes into foreclosure, we can still help the homeowners. The homeowners can still help the homeowners. So we're working with the local law enforcement agencies, but we have to work together hand-to-hand with pro bono legal services, which we do. Yes. Yes. We had our office here at 573 Roanoke. We work together with Episcopalian Church, but unfortunately the church, as you know, the church closed. So we are looking to see we're able to get another location. But in the meantime, we come here as needed for face-to-face appointment, or we are available through videoconferencing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And we will see you next week. Thank you. We'll do our best to promote what you send to us, and we can get it out to our constituents. So we appreciate the information. Thank you. Thank you so much. I am actually meeting with them after this. Oh, perfect. Yes. Perfect. So. Very good. Very good. Okay. Do we have anybody else who would like to make a comment? Miss McAuliffe? Why not? It wouldn't be a meeting without you. Oh, sometimes there are. Sometimes there aren't. colif from rolling woods and in this instance speaking on behalf of epcal watch a couple of weeks ago the work session of the board enthusiastically received a proposal for an rv park and a hundred acre man-made lake in epcal epcal watch and others in the community were afraid that the new board was following in the bipartisan tradition of its predecessors that had approved uh the concepts ranging from ski mountains to the luminati and and cat scams or projects um but we understand that second thoughts have happened and that there is this idea is dead in the water we're very grateful about that in part i gather because there was some suspicion that the real goal was a sand mining operation which according to our calculations would have generated a gross revenue of 130 million dollars from that much land that much sand um nevertheless the reason i'm i'm here today i mean at first is to celebrate those second thoughts and and i think the wisdom of of people on the board but also that were concerned about process that we're surprised that such a proposal made it to a work session with no vetting and with an implication that the town was basically being reactive to whatever came across the transom is i think the phrase or whatever somebody's friend thought was a good project we think that the supervisor and the board should learn from this and should do two things one is is that it should move forward on the subdivisions probably the 50 lot subdivision that needs to be moved forward on the subdivisions and the sub divisions that are probably the 50 lot subdivision that needs to get approval of the DEC and finalize that so that whatever goes forward is within an approved context this is all obviously the ability of the town to act on doing something with the land is frustrated by the jamesians suit and we're hoping that you will succeed when you make your response and the courts look at it to have that thrown out but we could be in a be in a several-year holding pattern, but during that time frame, we hope that we will not lose the opportunity to finish the subdivision process. But the other is, this is something that the supervisor spoke to both during the campaign and afterwards, that he was going to create a committee or a commission that would be responsible for looking at, in a comprehensive way, at the land at EPCAL, of figuring out with the 1,600 acres, 600 of which are really for us to develop, what would bring long-term benefit of environmentally sustainable jobs and not-for-profits, maybe the charter school. I mean, there's lots of ideas that are floating out there, and I think we hope that you will appoint some of those. I think you will approve such a committee or commission, and that you will appoint a broad range of people from the community to be part of it. Business, labor, civics, and EPCAL Watch itself would like to be part of that. Because we think that this is an opportunity, again, because of the holding pattern, where you really can open up a process and find out what kinds of ideas people have. I do have a clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear a proposal. One of our members that forwarded on to the supervisor had an idea based on European experience of creating a village for people with Alzheimer's. And this has been done successfully in Europe of that's devoted with all the support facilities to creating a more normal environment for people to finish their lives. But that's just one idea. I mean, there's also been ideas that we should look at whether or not to put in land-based turbines or more solar or entertainment centers that would serve the whole East End. I mean, there are many, many ideas are floating and what we just appeal for And I think that's a great point. I think that's a great point. I think that's a great point. I think that's a great point. But there's nothing there is that you create this committee and nothing come onto the floor of the work session or the board without it going within a comprehensive approach and a very seriously vetted process. Thank you very much. John, take a little bit of exception to your first part of the comments about what we did and what we had presented in regards to the RV park. You can't really have your cake and eat it, too. You can't really have your cake and eat it, too. But there's a lot of to. You cry, cry, cry that we do things behind closed doors. Then when we bring things to the table here, as soon as we get it and make it open in public, you admonish us for that. So you can't have the best of both worlds. I've opened up the transparency of our government tremendously, more so than I've ever seen it done before. And we get conceptual plans that come in all the time. Some are kooky plans. Some are not. But we felt obligated to present to the public what was presented to us. So I'm sorry if you find fault with that, but I'm going to continue to do that and continue to keep an open and transparent government going. Well, are you going to create the commission? I mean, I agree with that. John, I've had a conversation with you many times about the commission, and we're not doing anything with the commission short of the several people, that we meet on a regular basis, and we've been meeting since January. And we will continue to do that. While we're in litigation, we are not going to form a commission or a big committee. Until we have a better idea of where we know litigation is going, that will not be done. And I have told you this a number of times. Yeah, but there's nothing inherently in contradiction between litigation and creating a commission. And an informal group is not the same thing as a public group. Again, Tim, I don't disagree with making it. The trust that I have is representative of the town, and I trust these people. They're involved in this. They work very hard to follow government and follow things, and they will be part of the bigger group when the bigger group comes on. But your worry about EPCAL and some of the writings you've sent to me about wanting, you think a casino could go there. And even as noble as an effort to put a village of people with dementia there, our purpose for EPCAL and our mission is going to be for providing justice. I have no clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear clear [transcription gap] I'm touting the— Hang on, hang on. It's hard for me to follow where you're coming from sometimes. I don't quite understand. Where I'm coming from is there needs to be an open process. The issue of the casino had to do with the fact that Jermasians would be doing it on their basis. I think the town should consider, given the history of the Shinnecock people in the east end of Long Island, and should give serious consideration as to whether that is what the pluses and minuses of it are for several levels of reasons. I'm not saying that's what should be done. I'm not saying that the special village is what should be done, although that would itself provide jobs. I think there are many—the Wellbridge provides a lot of jobs. There's not-for-profit things. There's cultural things. I'm just saying that—and I don't disagree with it going public. It's a good thing. [transcription gap] But I think it first needed to go through a process. Or first, you need to have a process which really comes up with a comprehensive plan. You have to seek proposals within that comprehensive plan, not just respond to somebody coming in with a bright or not-so-bright idea. It's not a question of making it public. It's just a question of what the stage is. And while I know many of the people that are involved in this. It's a consultative group. It's a personal consultative group. It's not a publicly responsible body, which is, I think, what you need. And again, you can ask Mr. Howard, but I think there's no contradiction between a commission looking at how we want to use the land and the fact that we're still in—that we will be in this litigation. But nobody said that there's a contradiction between that. It's a common-sense move that why would we put a committee together when this very well could be tied up. So we don't lose the year-end. A year or two years. John, may I finish? Okay, sure. This may, in fact, be tied up for years. So I'm going to string along a bunch of people on a commission when we can't do a thing with the property. I'm not going to waste people's time, John. I'm not going to do that. How long does it take? When we get a clearer picture as to what's going on with the litigation, that will be the time to put that committee together, the full committee. But we are currently working. And Mr. Foley is waiting to talk, and I hope he refers to it because he's part of the group we're working with. This isn't just sitting idle. You may think it is. It's not by any means. So we are looking. We are vetting. We are looking at things, and we're still moving along. But to put this big commission together, I'm not going to waste a bunch of people's time until we have a better idea where we are legally with this property. Supervisor, if I can also add to it, though, Mr. McCullough, we're not sitting idle because we got a $35,000 matching grant. So we're investing $70,000 in a sports complex study up there. And that commission, they've come out. They've explored. They've explored the grounds. They've explored other components within our communities, checking out where our local water parks are and our hotel complexes are. And that's all the things that we can do while we're in the litigation time. We can do studies so we are actively preparing so that when we have a decision with our litigation that we are ready to move forward. But that's a big component up there, and I think that, to me, is going to be a great component because it's going to provide top-notch jobs, and it's not going to provide. It's going to provide the traffic damages and the potential environmental impacts, things like that. And it's going to provide amenities in our town if we can, in fact, develop that. But we're going to let them do their job. We're going to let them come back and do a presentation to us and the board when their study is completed. But I think that's been an excellent step in the right direction. So we're actively looking into our future there. So for you to say we're not doing anything is completely false and wrong. I'm sorry. Do you want to clarify whether that land is within the 2,400 acres that have been frozen or is it outside of? It's a mix. It's a mix. Yeah, from Veterans Memorial Park headed south. Okay. Now, I heard that at one of your previous meetings, and it sounds like a very interesting idea, a positive idea. But my point is that there needs to be a look at the whole comprehensive look at all of the land and a public space. discussion of how it ought to be used this could well be part of it there could be I know that the industrial the first component to give us guidance if they came back and said this is a wrong town wrong area no-go then we know how to re-approach it right but if they come back and be like you got access to ferries you got access to main arteries and roadways and you have developers that are willing to put the mills in it gives us guidance on on how to move forward but we're doing that but we don't have a context for it and the point that I'd also make is that that the it's a question you know we don't know what will happen on this litigation if we're lucky the judges will look at it and you know two months say that's nonsense and toss it out if we're not lucky we're gonna be involved with several years but we ought to be using the that time to think about what the best uses of the land are and involve people involve people not just in Calverton but from all over the town to figure out what would serve the long-term interests of doing that through means of grants we're doing it well it's not happening in it doesn't include you so I'm sorry if you know it's not involving public discussion from Epco watch but that's what your basis of your complaint is it includes people who have knowledge about the property we have concerns about the property and it's not the big Commission yet when the big Commission is put together you'll be the first to know and that I'm sorry John can I add something you know I get people I do I don't know about the other board members you know almost I'm gonna say weekly or bi-weekly basis that have all kinds of thoughts and ideas they're not waiting for a commission to express those thoughts or ideas so I'll just clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll clear up so I'll [transcription gap] ability to what do you know what are you waiting for commission to express your thoughts or your ideas well we know that the industrial core people want to expand that some of the interest in the land but my point is simply bob that that a conscious develop we have this big comprehensive plan that we've just we're coming close to conclusion on but there's a gap in that comprehensive plan in terms of talking specifically about the fcal land and all i'm saying is that a sort of more systematic public process uh would be you know that's a very mind's eye view of developing 600 acres i'm just going to be you know think about it you know you're going to put a commission together determine well this is what we want you know we want people that are going to want to come here you you know we have to entertain those people yeah i'm not going to pretend to say oh here's a great plan for 600 acres i'd be a moron myself you put you do requests for proposals once you know what you want to use the land for then you can put that out publicly some people are already coming my point is some people over the past six months or more have already come and said they wanted to do things and i want to debate this i just you don't need a commission to to express your opinion but i want to say that's what i'm going to say nobody else you know they i get emails and phone calls we're done with due time john i told you this over and over again and i've extended your time tremendously here so thank you for your comments and i'd like to move on and see if somebody else has comments they'd like to come up and make or do we have anybody online for comments we do okay we'll take somebody from online yeah good afternoon mike foley reese paul can you hear me okay yes we can we're going to go ahead and get started and we'll see you next time yeah you know tim you took a little bit of my thunder uh on your response to what i consider is a disingenuous comment uh by john mccall john mccall knows that there are people at the civic level people that are environmentalists people that know process as good or better than any planning board members sitting right now that are involved in looking at the future of the city of california and the city of california and the city of california uh holistically uh and in anticipation of beating triple five uh you haven't said we're not going to do anything tim uh you've actually said let's work in anticipation of getting this frivolous lawsuit dismissed and work towards the better good of the town and the county and as my good friend mark albner says the bio region you're looking at environmental habitat protection and you're looking at the environmental habitat protection and you're looking at the environmental habitat protection and you're looking at the environmental habitat protection and you're looking at the best possible use of the developable land once it is identified and i know that uh there are people on your staff uh that are looking at that right now but again uh for mccall to say that this needs to be an open process and then to criticize the fact that you had a concept brought at a work session uh that that was wrong i don't know what he wants either tim i know this i know you've had an open mic with him i know that you've done more to open this town up than any supervisor in my lifetime and i know you're just getting started so let me say this for the civic members that know what you're doing thank you i want to thank you for doing it i want you to do your best to ignore those who go to the microphone because they don't have a seat at the table and because not everybody can get a seat at the table everybody gets a seat at the table at the time and maybe if john wants to run this town he should run for office and we'll see just how many fans he has but i'll say it again thanks for everything you're doing i look forward to our next conversation when i come back into new york in late april and early may and onward we move thank you thank you mike do we have anybody else nobody online okay um i just have one quick thing i'm going to say is that i'm going to say that i'm going to head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head [transcription gap] head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head [transcription gap] head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head head Apparently, PSEG has installed over a million what they call smart meters on people's houses over the past umpteen years. And you'll know if you have a smart meter on your house because if you check the electrical meter, it will be reading in digital. So if it's in digital, you have a smart meter. PSEG has a program where you can sign up with them, and that smart meter can read when you're using your electricity. And what it means is you can use it during what they call the peak hours. The peak hours, I believe he said, were from 7 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. That's when you pay the highest amount for electricity. From 3 p.m. to, and don't hold me to these numbers, but I think he said 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. or thereabouts, it's what they call an off-peak hour. And then from 7 p.m. to the following morning, it's called a super off-peak hour. So what it allows is it allows you to, if you have an electric car and you're charging your car, you're going to charge it at a certain time. You're going to charge it from 10 o'clock at night to in the morning when the lowest rate of electricity is. If you have a dishwasher like I do with a timer on it, you're going to set your dishwasher to run after 10 o'clock at night when the lowest rate of electricity is. And you can program so many other things in your house to bring down the electric rate because you're paying, and during the super efficient time, you pay pennies on the kilowatt as opposed to if you're running it from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. We also invited them to come in and do a work session. Maybe to explain it to the public a little better than I have. But I just found that super interesting because I know we pay such a high kilowatt rate on Long Island for electricity. This could save a lot of people a lot of money. And we said, you know, can we promote this? And they said, absolutely, by all means. He said, most people don't understand this, but we are actually in the business to save people money, to help them make their homes more energy efficient and help them save or stop using as much electricity. So he said, promote it. Do it all you want. And hopefully we'll have them come in and give a full readout on this whole situation. But you can check with PSAG. You can go online and check this program out. If you have that digital meter, which I'm sure almost everybody does, you can get some savings, some pretty substantial savings if you use it properly. So I just wanted to throw that out there for all our residents. Board members, you guys have anything to add? No, but now I'm going to have to do laundry at 3 a.m. [transcription gap] [transcription gap] And I just got a new wash machine, and it's programmable from my telephone. Wow. So you can do it whenever. And I said, you know, I'm in bed by 930 at night. I'm not going to wait until 10 o'clock to put something on. But these things are timed. Like your car charger certainly can work on the time as to when you set it to come on and charge your car. Same with your dishwasher and a lot of modern appliances. My dryer has Wi-Fi, and I don't know why. Now you know. My dryer heats my house, I think, all winter long. I don't know why. But anyway, good way to save money. Just wanted to pass it on to you. Nobody has anything else? I appreciate everybody coming out on this rainy day and visiting with us. And that's it for our board meeting. So we're adjourned. Motion to adjourn? So moved. Second? All in favor? Aye. Okay, town board meeting is adjourned. Thank you all.

Second? Second. Second. [transcription gap] Second. Second. Second. [transcription gap] Second. Second. Second. [transcription gap] Second. [transcription gap] Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. [transcription gap] Second. [transcription gap] Thank you.