Jens-Smith: Town will go ahead with hearing on EPCAL sale

The public hearing on the proposed sale of more than 1,640 acres of land at the Calverton Enterprise Park, which was postponed by the town board two weeks ago “until further notice” will be rescheduled, Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith told RiverheadLOCAL Friday.

Jens-Smith said in an interview she expects the town board to adopt a resolution at its next regular meeting on Feb. 6 to reschedule the hearing. She said the hearing date has not yet been settled.

Opponents of the deal have urged the town to terminate the agreement without holding a hearing and expressed hope that the delay would lead to a termination.

While it is not clear whether a majority of the board’s five members supports the proposed $40 million sale to an entity involving Luminati Aerospace — Councilman James Wooten is the only sitting board member who has consistently supported moving forward with it — board members say they have been advised by counsel that they must hold the public hearing before making a decision one way or the other.

On Dec. 19 — the last meeting of year and the last meeting for former supervisor Sean Walter and former councilman John Dunleavy — set the hearing for Jan. 17. Council members Jodi Giglio and Tim Hubbard voted against moving forward, with Giglio arguing that the incoming town board should make the decision.

The Dec. 19 resolution setting the Jan. 17 hearing states that the “Agreement of Sale has been deemed acceptable by the Town Board, but only if Calverton Aviation & Technology LLC is found to be a Qualified and Eligible Sponsor.”

The “qualified and eligible sponsor” designation is required by state law before the town can sell or lease land in a designated “urban renewal zone” like the Calverton Enterprise Park.

According to rules adopted by the Town of Riverhead Community Development Agency (which is the legal owner of the EPCAL site) the town board, sitting as the governing body of the CDA, in deciding whether an entity is “qualified and eligible” as required by state law, must consider:

• experience of the individual, firm or corporation with development, construction, management and financing of similar projects in size and scope to the proposed project;
• demonstrated ability to finance the acquisition and development of the specific project proposed including the review by the CDA of pro forma financial statements for the proposed project, including sources and uses of funds, certified personal and corporate financial statements of the applicant sponsor, financial commitments of participating lenders, proposed security for the project, business plans and economic analysis of the project and past compliance with municipal laws, rules and regulations.
• demonstrated integrity and responsibility of the applicant sponsor as determined by the CDA based upon appropriate investigation by the Town Attorney and consistent with case law.
• presentation of the applicant sponsor at the public hearing.