Full Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you.

Okay. Councilman Rothwell, do we have somebody for the invocation tonight? We do. We are once again honored to have Pastor George Dupree from the Living Water Gospel Church to join us this evening in our invocation. Pastor, if you'll come forward, and thank you very much for coming tonight. Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Supervisor and Town Council. Oftentimes when I'm asked to do an invocation, I will look online and I'll say, what's a good invocation for an occasion like this? And I normally read them to myself and say, that's not me. So I'm just going to pray from my heart. Father God, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to come as a town, to be able to listen to and discuss issues that are set before us. I pray, Lord, that you would bless our town council, our town supervisor. Lord, I ask you to give them grace and wisdom. I ask you, Lord, that you would help them to be able to see through all of the intricacies to be able to make the right decisions for the benefit of our town. It's a very complex thing to lead a town like this, and I thank you, Lord, for their service to us. I ask you to bless the proceedings of this evening tonight, and it's in your name that I pray. Amen. Thank you, Pastor. Okay, under announcements, I have in my hand a copy of the fifth edition of the Riverhead in Action newsletter that we have started up. This is probably the best one yet, and it's online, so I would recommend you check it out. It's got a lot of information about the town, the different departments. Where you can find things, where you can get things, and some of the great work that our 350-plus employees of the town of Riverhead often do. So I encourage you to read that and look at it. Under announcements, also I have starting Saturday, this Saturday, October 25th through Sunday, we have early voting starting in this building. This is the only place in the town of Riverhead you can early vote. So you come here and you go down into the lower level. And the first day starts this Saturday, the 25th. The hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then on, that's for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Those hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. here in the building. On Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, the hours are from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. again here in the town hall building. On Thursday and Friday, October 30th, and 31st, it starts at noon and ends at 8 p.m. And then the following Saturday and Sunday, November 1st and 2nd, the early voting hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It finishes at 6 p.m. on November 2nd. That's a Sunday. And then regular election day is Tuesday, November 4th. So you can still go to your regular polling places and vote there if you didn't get a chance to early vote. If you early voted, then obviously you're not going to vote on November 4th. Okay. Bob, you have an announcement? Yes. Thank you. The Halloween costume swap. If you have kids, on the second floor, there are a ton of costumes that some little kid grew up and grew out of, and you can bring your kids here and swap Halloween costumes. There's an amazing amount of costumes up there. And that's going on now. Through Halloween. This Saturday, 1 to 4, the George Young Community Center is where you bring stuff to get, what do they call that? Swap? You bring things that are broken. Oh, they're going to repair them. They have a repair cafe. It's called a repair cafe. So if your lawnmower is broken, bring it over there. They'll fix it. And a lot of people show up, and there are a lot of helping hands that know how to fix things there. And they're looking for people that are able to fix things to also come down and give a hand. Minor things. If the seventh plug in your V8 engine isn't firing properly, don't bring that down. But they can help you with smaller stuff, like smaller appliances and stuff around your house, a lamp maybe that needs a new plug put on it or something like that. It's very helpful. So it's a good program. Then November 1st, Saturday, is the Monster Mash costume party. Ages 5 through 10 from 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock. And where is that? At the George Young Community Center. That's all I have. Okay. Joanne, you have information on the Halloween Fest and Parade. I do. I can't believe that it's here already, but this Saturday, October 25th, beginning at 4, actually at 2 o'clock, the town is going to be fully engaged in Halloween. So the Historical Society is having trick-or-treating from 2 to 4, followed by that over in the town square. There will be performances going on. There'll be vendors. There'll be food. There'll be different restaurants from downtown that will be offering some of the food, some beverages. Our very first Pumpkin Derby will be on Heidi Bear Way, which is going to be very exciting. I can't wait to see how this goes off. Performances by East End Arts Council, School of Rock, the Peconic Ballet Theater, Blue Mask, and more will be there for your entertainment. There will be fireworks. Fingers crossed that it's not overly windy or it doesn't start to rain earlier than it's supposed to. Hopefully, if everything goes the way that it's supposed to, it's going to be a fantastic day. We look forward to having everybody come out this Saturday. Also, November 1st here at Town Hall, the Anti-Litter Committee is having their fall cleanup. If you want to come down and help do your part to keep Riverhead looking beautiful, we encourage you to come between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, November 1st. We have pickers, bags, gloves, t-shirts for everybody. Just come on down and join the day with us. Thank you. Councilwoman Waski, might somebody see you in a costume at the Halloween festival? They might. I actually put on my social media, I asked people to try to take a guess of what I will be dressed as. Has anybody guessed yet? Not even close. It's a big secret, but it's actually I will give a little clue. It's something that I have been involved in for the town with my Anti-Litter Committee. You're going to be a bumblebee. Councilwoman Merrifield, you're going to be a wave. Unfortunately, I'm a wave. You'll have to look at the photos. Very good. Okay. Supervisor, if I can just interrupt. Just a quick cleanup item. We realized we had a little error with the Zoom link for tonight's meeting. That's been reposted on the town website. Under latest news, so any members of the public that are looking to come in to make comment or participate in the meeting, whether orally or just to watch it, can now go on and do that with the link that's just been reposted on the town website on the bottom of the page under latest news. All right? Okay. Well, that's good news because now nobody except us knows what the costume is. That's right. Can I take a guess?

Okay. Clerk Wooten, do we have any correspondence and reports? Yes. Yes, we do. Actually, we don't have any reports, but I do have one announcement I'd like to make in keeping with your transparency and all the time and effort you put in with the website and with the new management program we got for... We're also setting November 1st, we're starting the next request, which is the FOIL program. I just want the public to know that it's a brand new program for anybody doing FOILs, and we believe we handle thousands of FOILs a year. The requester can go on to the website, go into the FOIL program, next request, and make their... request right to the department that they want to go through, which is excellent. We'll help them with it. You can select the corresponding department. The town clerk, of course, will help guide you through that. It's a great... And I let all the department heads know that starting November 1st, they'll be getting notified directly from the requester of what their request is. So it's going to be seamless. It's going to be painless, and I think it's going to be a great addition to the transparency of the... FOIL requests. On the correspondence, I received three letters for motocross track, all favorable. I received one letter from Barbara Blass in reference to the Monroe Test public hearing and her thoughts on that. That's all we got for correspondence. On the reports, there were no reports for this meeting, and that concludes it. That's it. Okay, Councilwoman Merrifield, do you have any announcements? I just wanted to remind everybody that November 2nd, the Riverhead Rotary is having their pancake breakfast at the Polish Hall, and that's from 8 a.m. till 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 2nd. Very good. That's always a nice event to attend. Okay, that brings us up to comments on resolutions. Do we have anybody here tonight who would like to comment on any of the resolutions in the packet that we have? Comments on any of the resolutions? Do we have any? Anybody online? No. Okay. Well, having seen nobody here and nobody online, let's move on to resolutions. Okay, first resolution up is Resolution 862. Sixty-two. Here you go. Number one. Water District Capital Project 82517, Summerwind, Farm Supply, and Land Use. Okay. Local Local Local Local Local Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Berryfield. Yes. Kern. Definitely, yes. Rothwell. I just want to say this is a great example of a great project being done up at Bayberry Park. We've waited a long time to get that parking lot completely refurbished with some drainage, and it's really not coming from taxpayer expense. So we have some funds that we received through the cannabis sales, which is kind of unexpected, so to speak. You know, we're first year out, so we're seeing what comes in. And then we have park and rec fees. So it's a great, you know, restoration project being done up there in Bayberry Park, Police Officers Memorial Park. So absolutely support, yes. And Hubbard. Yes, everything Ken just said, it has been a long time coming, and hopefully they're going to be up there within the week or so to start work on that project. So we're very excited about that. All right. Motion is adopted. Motion. Eight. I'm sorry. Resolution 864. Ambulance District Fund Balance Transfer Chassis and Body Remount. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Berryfield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Go Arvick. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 865. Ratifies Highway Department Budget Transfer for the Salt Barn Repair. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waske. Yes. Berryfield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution. Clerk, if you could hold up a second. We have, because of the problem with the technical issue, we have a late subject, I guess, online that wants to make a comment on a reso. So I will hold up and listen to that comment first. Okay.

No problem. Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? Yes. We can hear you. Can you hear us? Yes. I'm so sorry about that. Thank you for your. That's not a problem. We had a technical issue on our end. I tried to log in as soon as I heard the posting. So thank you so much. No, not a problem. I just wanted to, and it is up to you, whether you'd like to take this comment now or after the resolutions. I just wanted to address the town's letter with respect to one of the opinions that was issued in relation to a request for a location for a dispensary in the town at 655 Old Country Road. I'm not sure whether the town would like to consider that comment now or after the resolutions. All right, I'm going to stop you here, and you're going to have to make that comment under the open comments from the public after we do the resolution, because that's not a resolution in today's packet. It's somewhat related to resolution number with respect to the hiring of outside counsel for the litigations against CCB and OCM, but admittedly, it is not directly related. So if the town prefers, I will wait until after the resolutions. Okay, we don't have too many to go through, so it shouldn't be too long. Yeah, no problem at all. Just for the record, I don't know if I missed it, but did you state your name and where you're from? I'm so sorry. Patricia here from Hodgson-Ross on behalf of Ms. Ina Monty. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Absolutely. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you. Okay, we're up to resolution number 866, Men's Town Board Resolution 2022, so moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 867. A Men's Town Board Resolution 2022-583, so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 868. Authorizes the removal of fixed assets, so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 869. Appoints an automotive equipment operator, so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 870. Appoints a senior accountant, so moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 871. Appoints an office assistant, so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 872. Ratifies the appointment of an automotive equipment operator, so moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 873. Ratifies the appointment of a call-in food service worker, so moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted, Resolution 874. Terminates a principal accountant, so moved. Second. Vote, please. Waski. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Unfortunately, not for bad work, but for civil service situation. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Unfortunately, not for bad work, but for a civil service situation, this subject had to be let go. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 875. Appoints a principal accountant and deputy financial administrator. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 876. Ratifies the termination of an office assistant. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 877. Acceptance of 2024 audited financial statements. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 878. Assumes lead agency status. Issues positive declaration pursuant to SECRA for the special permit and site plan application of Duffy MX Motocross Track 2822 River Road, Calverton, New York, Suffolk County Tax Map number 600-136-1-4. So moved. Second. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Second. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 879. Approves firework application for Main Street Agency and Associates, LLC, Halloween Fest, October 25, 2025. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 880. Approves fireworks application for Baiting Hollow Club, October 28, 2025. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 881. Approves special event chapter 255 application for Racetrack Knot Street, 2026 Summer Motorsports Classic. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 883. Ratifies authorization for the supervisor to sign an agreement with the Riverhead Lions Club for use of the town square. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 883. Ratifies authorization for the supervisor to sign an agreement with the Riverhead Lions Club for use of the town square. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 884. Ratifies authorization for the supervisor to execute a license agreement for site access and staging with Long Island Electric Utility, Servco, LLC as agent for and behalf of Long Island Lighting Company doing business as LIPA. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 885. Authorizes the town clerk to publish and post a notice to bidders for Kimline M-Series M-1 Unit Milter Application or Equal. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 887. Authorizes the town clerk to publish and post a notice to consider a local law to amend Chapter 263 of the Riverhead Town Code titled Rental Dwelling Units. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 887. Authorizes the town clerk to publish and post a notice to consider a local law to amend Chapter 263 of the Riverhead Town Code titled Rental Dwelling Units. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Hubbard? Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 888. Authorizes the town attorney to bring legal action against the Office of Cannabis Management, the Cannabis Control Board, and the State of New York. So moved. Seconded. Vote, please. Waskey? Yes. Berryfield? Yes. Kern? Yes. Rothwell? Yes. Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Raphia? Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 890. Makes finding on the site plan application for Timothy Hill Children's Ranch Barn relative to the town board special permit 298 Middle Road, Riverhead, New York, Suffolk County tax map number 600-84-1-19. So moved. Second. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 891. Authorizes the Community Development Department to apply for a grant offered by the Department of Justice. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution number 892. Pays bills. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. Resolution 893. Grants chapter 229. Permit for Sandy Pond Links, LLC Clubhouse, Trade Shops, Managers, Residents, 1521 Roanoke Avenue, Riverhead, Suffolk County tax map number 0600-821-12.1. So moved. Seconded. Vote please. Waske. Yes. Merrifield. Yes. Kern. Yes. Rothwell. Yes. Hubbard. Yes. Resolution is adopted. I'd like to make a motion to pull a resolution off the floor. Second. It would be resolution number 894. I'll read it. It says approves prepossession and lease agreement and authorizes supervisor to execute the same. So moved. Second. Actually, I would have to open it up to the board. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Open this up for public comment first. We have to pull it off the floor first. We'll peel it off the floor then open public comment. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. OK. and it's kind of a vague title, approves prepossession and lease agreement and authorizes supervisor to execute same. This is a lease agreement that's going to be signed in regards to the town square where the master developer is going to lease three small parcels of the property so demolition can start on that particular property. So he's going to lease it. The town's going to make money off of this. And then once the property is in fact demolished, after this goes to the planning board, it will then become, the ownership will be turned over to the master developer. Is that your understanding, counselor? Yes. So just to clarify, this prepossession agreement was contemplated in the original MDA. Right. And the purpose of it is to allow the master developer to lease the property. So the master developer has access to 127 East Main Street, which is now vacant. That is going to be demolished. And in order to proceed to closing, we need to do some lot line modifications. All that's also articulated in the MDA. So this just allows that process to proceed. And the hope is to have the building demolished and sort of get the site prepped for construction before the building is demolished. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. So that's the purpose of it. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. ! rolling woods as you know this is an area of great personal concern and I'd like some clarification does that mean the property will still be under the ownership of the town of Riverhead at the time of the demolition I don't quite understand how you lease something that's going to be destroyed is it still going to be Riverhead property at that point yeah it's Riverhead property until the closing happens right and have you thought through all of the dimensions of that in terms of state law for public parks it's not for so excuse me 127 East Main is not a public park it's part of the public park area it was a commercial building it's purchased by the town to be part of a public park I mean I'm not a lawyer but I think you ought to at least check with the Parks Department the state officials and the Comptroller's office and figure out whether you actually can legally go ahead and and destroy that building so the town square property has never been designated by any official act of the town board as Parkland it's never been represented as Parkland it's always been intended for development into this town square so if I or anyone in my office had any uh any hesitancy about proceeding this way we would have contacted Parks since we don't we didn't okay well you um and just just just to reiterate 127 East Main Street was never Parkland it has always been a commercial building located in downtown Riverhead and so it wouldn't be subject to any kind of Parkland analysis anyway but it was purchased by the town for the town square which if you look at the language from the Comptroller's office and the parks people the implied use of that land was for a public purpose whether you called it it's it's a public purpose but whether you called it a park or not it was a park anyway I've never I've never seen anything all right all right and when is the demolition date that you have in mind I don't have anything in mind and that'll be up to Mr petrocelli to tear it down well it would be he's he's the one doing the demolition he'll decide the date and will he try to rescue the Swayze inlay floor and the granite that's in the building I can't say that with any certainty but anything of historical significance would obviously we would make every attempt you realize it was originally a place that that land was included within the historic district and then it was taken off because the facade had been changed but at least I think there is a case to be made that you're destroying a historic building as well as having destroyed a vital economic institution so I'm not remotely true Mr McCoy okay well at any rate we have a disagreement on it and I'll come back after I don't disagree with you I'm just telling you what the facts are okay okay do we have anybody else who would like to comment on this nobody online I'd like to comment that I'm excited that the construction of the town square is beginning next week I agree I'm very excited I can't wait for this to start and then Mr McAuliffe an answer to one of the other questions I'll mention it a little bit later we tentatively have said October 30th as the date so it looks like that's what we're planning on right now uh barring bad weather or something else it looks like October 30th will be the date okay we took it off the floor we opened it up for comments we are now going to have to vote on this correct yep we have a we have a moment right can a second okay uh wasky yes Murrayfield yes Kern yes Rothwell yes yes resolution off the floor has been approved that concludes our resolutions okay that concludes all of our resolutions um we are now actually we are now going to go to opening the CDA meeting I would like to make a motion to close the town hall the town board meeting and open up the community Community Development agency meeting I got to open the meeting first before I do open comments for it oh you mean open comments it's six and one if you want to do the CDA let's keep it to normal water we always do it we're going to open for comments on any matter whatsoever for the town board right right right and open up the Community Development Agency meeting. You can do open comments. I've got to open the meeting first before I do open comments for it. Oh, you mean open comments? It's 6-1. If you want to do the CDA business now. Let's keep it the normal order we always do it. We're going to open for comments on any matter whatsoever first. For the town board. Right. So any comment? On any matter.

Good evening. My name is Bob Klein and I live in Aquabog. I row in Terry's Creek and you may have seen something I sent to you all and I'm working with Mr. Howard. I row daily in Terry's Creek and on Broad Cove, which is a beautiful area in the town of Riverhead, especially with the Peconic Land Trust now on the other side. And what I've seen is the number of waterfowl blinds or duck blinds have grown from 3 to 6. One is falling apart. Four are falling. Five are unidentified. And so working with Mr. Howard and Lieutenant Devrew, who's the acting bay constable, and Victoria Pilo, we pulled together some changes to the code. And those changes, I think, are the best now in all the surrounding towns. Just about every town has codes for waterfowl blinds. And it's been through the Wildlife Committee. It's been through the Water Safety Committee. It's been through the Code Revision Committee. And I think it's gotten comments from both hunters who have been here for generations and kayakers. So, and it's also supported by the Greater Jamesport Civic Association, Peconic Land Trust, the Peconic Baykeeper, and three other organizations. So I'm just here to say I want to thank for all the work that's been done. And I hope we're able to move this along to a working session and then public comment and then finally a vote. Thank you. We certainly can. And, Will, I want to thank you for taking the time to put the effort and work in that you have with this because I think it is something that has kind of gone by the wayside over the years and it needed attention. So I appreciate that. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Okay. Warren, come on up. This is public comment on any matter. 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. maligning candidates. One candidate is running for county office, and she's a nice person. Another candidate is running for the town board. I've known her for 20, 30 years. And, you know, they're questioning their character. If you look at it, they're giving them a bad name. You know what I mean? So maybe you could speak to your committees, respectively. I think, you know, everybody running for town board is not mean. You know what I mean? So it hurts me when I know these people, and other people, too, as far as that goes. And it's also when people read these brochures, and the youngsters, the youth, it turns them off from voting. I hope our voting, with this way it's going now, with open voting at the town hall and everything, I hope it increases. But if it doesn't increase, if it decreases, maybe you should consider it seriously. And I'd just like to... You know, and also what I think, thought in my mind, is this, you know, if people keep on lying, they'll believe it. And that's what the bad governments did throughout the century. I don't want to bring up history here and there. And also, going back several centuries, just imagine if somebody aligns you or me or anybody else with bulk mail and mass advertising and leaves people questionable things and doctoring photos. I quote, William Shakespeare. He said, He who robs me of my good name is more valuable than what it takes from one who steals my purse. In other words, you know, respect the people's names. Don't... I asked you to speak. I'm going to speak to... You can speak to Republican committee. I'll speak to Laura Jen Smith or the other ones. So maybe we could get voter turnout and make a... not discuss voters. You know, voters. I'm not going to call. They're all a bunch of bums. You know what I mean? And the youth. And maybe we can make things better. My town doesn't dare to be maligned. The state committees, it says state committee, New York State Democratic Republican Committee. That reminds me of, I hate to say this, but Ku Klux Klan, they don't... It's a committee. Yeah. The person, the people who do this, you know, sounds like they work for the National Enquirer. You know. Mr. McKnight, I'm just going to say I'm not running for office, so I feel comfortable addressing this. Those mailings are coming not from directly... Not our... Yeah. New York State. Our... Yeah, New York State. ...committees running. Yeah. Not the town. I know both committees. I know, you know, Victor Prusinowski and the other people they treat. They're nice people. And the other people, Laura Jen Smith has, they're nice people, too. I'm not saying that, but... Unfortunately, these things happen and they happen in every single... Well, we have to make... I believe we should try to make things better. I agree with you. Thank you so much. And that's about it, guys. Thank you. Thank you. If I put on cable TV, I would swear I'm living in New Jersey because I see more governor ads between the two people running for Jersey governor that I feel like... I'm in the wrong state here or something. I mean, it just wears you down. The whole process is... Yes, I agree, Tim. I agree with you, Warren. It's part of democracy. It's not easy. Right. But we've got to make things better. Okay, do we have anybody else for any public comments?

Good evening, town supervisor and members of the town board. I'm Harriet. I'm Gilliam of Riverhead. And I'm appearing here before the board tonight concerning an August 15th, 2025 letter which I submitted to the town clerk and to the town board pursuant to the decision by the board to have the hearing on the amendment to the community benefit zoning use district to have that remain open until August 15th. I submitted my letter, August 15th, 2025, pursuant to that determination. And I learned subsequently that although my letter was noted in terms of being on the website, that there was no attachment. Therefore, persons contacted me about, where's the letter? And the letter was not available on the website, although there were other letters on the website during that same time, that were noted and were available. So I would just like to make sure at this point that that situation has been corrected so that people who would like to read the letter that I submitted would be able to do so. And I understand that that supports practice and policy that letters that are submitted, the full text of the letter is made available for anyone who would want to read that. Is that correct? Yes. And that's the only thing that's been made available. So that's the only thing that's been made available. And that's the only thing that hasn't been done. We'll make sure it is done. Okay. And secondly, with that, initially, the letter was not made available on the website. I just want to make sure, as I had requested in the letter, that the letter be made part of the record that had remained open. And I also want to know if the town board had received a copy of the letter at the time that I submitted it. I received your letter. I did. Okay. I did, too. All right. Thank you. And lastly, I would like to know if the proposed amendments to the code as that resolution was adopted, if there were any changes made to the proposed resolution, excuse me, the proposed code amendments, were there any amendments to that or revisions to that? Or was it adopted as it had initially been presented? Judge�o would like to know if there would be any amendment to that fixed basis amendment?" Judge�o would like to know if Judge�o would like to know if Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" Judge�o would like to announce that amendment?" received we would if any substantive changes had been made to the legislation oh no I can't answer that I'm sorry no there's been no changes made to it based on any comment all right correct well I will not go through reading the letter with the representation made that assurances will be made that the letter is fully posted on the website however I will just close in saying that with this being a proposal that is an overlay zone and applies town-wide number of issues are of concern to me and others and while the proposed amendment amendment which is now the revised code speaks about suitability based on certain criteria within that code change I would just leave the board with the consideration that suitability does not compatibility make and I hope that that is taken into account. Thank you. Thank you Harriet. We have one online? Okay.

Can you hear us? Good evening Board members can you hear me? Yes. We would ask you to state your name again please. Absolutely. Patricia here of Hodgson-Ross assisting Miss Ina Monte who I believe is present in person this evening. Yes she is here. Great. Great. Okay. Wonderful. At least we have a lady stand up and say yeah that's me. Fabulous. Thank you so much for your time this evening. Miss Monte filled out and sent in the notice to municipality that's typically required of any dispensary that wants to locate within a town and so the town did receive that and it did respond to that notification by providing an opinion. And in that opinion the town did lay out all of the applicable regulations all of the laws all of the town ordinances that would apply to this location and really the only issue with this location as written in the letter is that it would be too close to another dispensary requested at 1201 Ostrander Avenue. It would be within 2500 feet which is a little bit too close to the location. Okay. So the town did explain that the location was not 100 feet which under the town's ordinance was prohibited. And the town did explain that opinion to OCM that there was a and the town did explain that 1201 Ostrander nevertheless did not necessarily could locate there could be used as a dispensary because among other things it didn't have frontage along the commercial corridor and it also explained that the commercial corridor. Okay. So the town did explain that it was within 1000 feet from residential use, but none of and so it was not approved by the town as a as a valid location and and but it did explain that letter that that issue was subject to litigation and Supreme Court decision that was issued in July, where the court where the Supreme Court did overturn the found invalid the towns 2500 foot requirement between the two. Okay. Okay. ! Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. in the opinion in its opinion that that ocm withhold on making any decisions on miss monte's request for a dispensary location at 655 old country road until the issue with um ostrander avenue was decided by the appellate court we are respectfully um submitting to the town that regardless of what happens with the appellate decision there's really no need to hold off on the decision on 655 old country road and we are requesting that the town reconsider that opinion and reconsider issuing an amended opinion or a supplement to ocm regarding 655 old country road and the reason why we do not think that um really a decision on appeal impacts approval of 655 because in either scenario whether the appellate court overturns the supreme court's decision or um or upholds the supreme court's decision 655 would not be in violation of any either cannabis laws or regulations or the town's ordinances so if we break it down if the in in into the two scenarios if the appellate division if the appellate court

upholds the supreme court's decision the supreme court held that the town's 2500 distance restriction is preempted and so only 1 000 feet is required and so if that's the case if that's the decision that stands then um then then tank or then then then presumably 1201 ostrander avenue could go forward at its location and so could 655 because 655 is over a thousand feet it's over a thousand and one hundred feet and so it wouldn't be violating that new distance restriction which would be one thousand feet um and and that's really the only thing that we can do to prevent that so i'm going to go ahead and and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and residential areas, well then 1201 can't be located at its location and therefore 655 can be approved because Tink wouldn't be allowed to go into 1201. And so in either case, really no matter what the appellate court decides, 655 would not be breaching any ordinances or state laws or regulations if it's approved at this point. Again, it was really in the letter, the only issue that was pointed out with 655 is that it was too close. It was within 2,500 feet from 1201. And so precluding at this point. 655 doesn't really serve anyone's interests. And really it's, and Ms. Monte has been working hard at trying to find a location and she has been spending a lot of resources and money in trying to find a viable location. And she thinks this location would be a good location. And it would raise, of course, we don't have to rehash all of the benefits to a municipality from having a compliant and very responsible dispensary within its town. Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to wrap up because we have a three minute time limit and you're well beyond that. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Um, we, in conclusion, um, you know, an appeal would also take a, take a little bit of time. It would take a long time to, um, to, uh, to resolve. And so we don't think that the town wants to prohibit any and all and minimize dispensaries. And so we also do think that approving 655 old country road would be a significant, um, showing of the town's support for dispensaries within its location. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for, for giving us this time. You're welcome. Thank you. So I'm going to counsel the board not to make any comments on this. If we want to discuss this issue further, I would recommend adjourning to executive session, uh, so that I could provide my legal analysis of this. Also, uh, just as an update, I think I've told most of you, but last Friday, the appellate division did give us a stay on our appeal of the tank matter. Um, so that is, that is a state that goes through the appellate division's determination of the case. Um, and they directed that. Our appeal will be perfected by November 17th, which is a somewhat accelerated timeline. Um, so, and that's the latest on that case. Okay. If I can address the stage just very quickly. No, ma'am. I'm sorry. Your, your time is more than up. We have anybody else who would like to make a pub public comment, please. On any matter, nobody online. Okay. At John McCullough, Roanoke landing. Um, first in support of what was said about election material, I totally agree with it. And there's also a lot of problem with a lot shows up on the internet also in social media, as we know, we haven't seen such bad stuff here, but in other places, uh, that's certainly the case. But I think we ought to be aware that this election is only for one year that because of the change in the state law, which has now been held upheld. Uh, the court level, you're kidding me, John. No, no, that really, yes. Being facetious. Okay. I'm well aware. Yeah. But I think, trust me, I think voters are not well aware and it's worth emphasizing. The point I want to make is that the process, the reason that these mailers and online stuff have an impact is because there's very little real encounter between the candidates and the people we had one. Public event. This. This year it was not a debate. Um, I think I hope for the next election that the candidates will make themselves available either by on their own slate or with the other slate for real discussion about the different opinions they have. I think all six of the people that are running are decent people and they have the interests of the town in in mind, but they do have different opinions and that's what I want to talk about for a minute. Um, at the Calverton meeting, it was clear that your opponents generally were not happy with the closing of crafted and with the hotel project. I hope that you delay the construct the demolition of 127 until after the election. Delay it for a week. See what the people of Riverhead, how they vote. If the people of Riverhead. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. for getting giving the people of Riverhead a chance to express their view of what they would like to see happen in the town square. In reverse what about all the people that are in favor of this happening? They'll vote for it as an elected official I favor it happen. Sure they'll vote for the incumbents what I'm saying is that's what the election will be about in part. The election is not about crafted John. Oh it's about the kind of local government people want included in that is ten different issues from the last two years but particularly the hot one of the hotter issues has been the issue of crafted and the hotel. You say that John. I say it but. I completely disagree with you. Well then why don't you let people vote and then abide by what the vote is. Because Sean actually you know what. I've been talking about what we've done. I'm going to finish up your time John. What is the downside of delaying for one week. John they're elected officials and their term if they do not get reelected goes on until December 31st. I understand. So they have every right to do. Oh they have every legal right I'm just saying. I do not think that this is appropriate right now. Since this whole concept has been behind the scenes and Feda Company. No nothing's been behind the scenes. John again. I don't think they should be up there anymore. We're going to continue to demand public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public public Their social media posts you need to take a hard look at that. I'm really glad you're looking at it But take a hard look at it We're not here to conduct business about the election. So we're gonna move right away from that topic altogether That's not what this forum is for

The state your name and where you're from, please Wow

Good evening members of the board and members of the community. My name is Ina Monty. I immigrated to the US in 1980 and for more than 18 years. I've been proud to call Long Island my home My family friends and professional network are deeply rooted here and I'm grateful to be a part of a community and values integrity progress and responsible development Professionally, I served as a regional manager at North Fork Bank where I gained extensive experience overseeing operations Managing compliance and ensuring that business operation operate in a manner that strengthens the communities they serve Beyond my career. I remained actively involved in local initiatives fundraising efforts always with a focus of giving back and contributing to the property to the prosperity of our area The site we are proposing for this project is a former bank located in old country Road It's prior use as a financial institution means it was originally designed and constructed with security and safety in mind It fully satisfies all distance and zoning requirements established by both the town and the state moreover the site requires only modest interior alterations We're not proposing any exterior construction other than resealing and restriping the parking lot Importantly the property exceeds all parking requirements and does not require any variances as My attorney Patricia clearly stated the outcome of the town's ongoing litigation has no bearing to this particular location Regardless of whether the town prevails or not in its appeal our proposed site remains fully compliant under both state and town regulations The basis currently being used to deny our application Where would therefore be invalid under either outcome? It is respectfully a situation that seems to have been unnecessarily complicated by the planning Department's interpretation of the pending appeal in reality the appeal whichever way it is resolved cannot logically or legally justified denying a project that means every existing requirement I Respectfully urge this board to evaluate Our proposal based on the facts and merits before you the site is compliant secure and ready for responsible use Approving this project would not only utilize an existing underused property, but also bring local jobs economic activity and renewed vitality to a part of our town that deserves thoughtful investment in Closing I ask we move forward together with transparency Fairness and a shared commitment to strengthening our community Let us make decisions that reflect not only the letter of the law But also the spirit of service progress and mutual respect that defines Riverhead Thank you for your time your service and your and your thoughtful consideration But just one more thought on that state if I may If you want to say that the state does not impact the court's decision because it does not prohibit the town from making any decisions with respect to other applicants

All right, she's at the microphone I can't have people talking from the audience Mr.. Howard yeah, I'm not gonna litigate this case at a town board meeting Okay, if your attorney wants to call me that would be fine. I'll have a conversation with her absolutely. Thank you I appreciate your time. Thank you for Thank you me out Anybody else on open comments from the public Anybody online nobody online okay now I will make a motion to close the town board meeting and Open the CDA meeting can I have a motion? so moved Second All in favor aye All opposed okay the town board meeting is closed We will now open the CDA meeting and in opening the CDA meeting we will open that So the town board meeting is closed the CDA meeting is open and we have no resolutions on the docket tonight for the CDA So we'll just go ahead and open it up for public comment on any CDA matter correct public comment on any CDA matter right now We have anybody in the room? for a CDA comment Anybody online nobody online nobody so then we'll go ahead and make a motion to close the CDA meeting so move second it all in favor Aye, and I guess we need to call a vote right because I'm filling in for dawn so Merrifield Yes, I move to close okay, and I'm close well. We got the second right so now I need to vote voting to close the CDA So the vote is yes from each one of us. Why don't we go with that? Yeah? All right, so the CDA meeting is closed good job dawn great Okay People have a great weekend be safe out there. There's a lot of events going on this weekend look through the town website we have most of them listed and Be safe be healthy, and we'll see everybody next week. Thanks for coming out to the meeting. Thank you