Riverhead issues RFP for new master plan, awards solar contract for landfill: town board wrap-up, June 4

Riverhead is seeking proposals from planning firms to develop a new comprehensive master plan for the town.

The town board yesterday authorized publication of a request for proposals for the job.

Specifications and guidelines for submission of proposals will be available beginning June 13, on the town website at www.townofriverheadny.gov under “Bid Requests.”

Proposals are due by a.m. on July 18.

Riverhead has not completed a master plan since 2003. That plan, the result of a four-year process, was prepared by Abeles Phillips Preiss & Shapiro of New York City. It analyzed existing land uses and population trends and resulted in the creation of new zoning codes aimed at preserving the town’s agricultural areas by limiting residential development and its rural character by eliminating shopping center uses in districts outside of the Route 58 corridor.

The 2003 plan was the first comprehensive plan done in Riverhead since its first master plan, which was completed in 1973.

Officials have expressed concern about the future of the Route 58 commercial corridor as brick-and-mortar retail has suffered with the rise of online shopping. Several “big box” retailers and other national chains have closed their doors, creating vacancies in Riverhead that officials worry will not be filled unless the zoning code is changed to allow new uses.

In other action yesterday, the town board:

• awarded a contract to EmPower Solar to develop the Riverhead landfill site on Youngs Avenue with a renewable energy facility, subject to the company’s ability to connect the facility to the electrical grid; specifics of the bidder’s proposal were not made available.

• adopted increases in fees charged for subdivision and special permit applications and zoning board appeals; Councilwoman Jodi Giglio voted against increasing application fees for subdivisions, citing the comments of a resident who protested the fee hikes as excessively burdensome on property owners who want to subdivide and transfer land to family members.

• established a capital projects budget of $350,000 for the following purposes:

• Bayberry Park tennis court resurfacing: $22,000
• Reeves Beach facilities (rest rooms): $125,000
• Stotzky Park handball court: $10,000
• Edwards Avenue parking lot: $15,000
• upgraded playground equipment: $70,000
• contingencies: $8,000
• special trust fund deficit repayment for Calverton ball fields project: $100,000

• approved permits for the following special events:

• North Fork Brewing Co. first anniversary party- June 29
• St. John the Evangelist 150th Anniversary family car show and festival- July 13
• Jamesport Fire Department bazaar- July 23-27
• P.C. Richard & Son tent sale- Aug. 6-30
• Polish Town Street Fair and- Festival Aug. 17-18
• Railroad Museum festival- Aug. 24-25
• Hallockville North Fork Food Truck Festival-Oct. 26
• Hallockville Country Fair- Aug. 25

• approved a fireworks permit for the Riverhead Business Improvement District Management Association for a display on July 3 at Grangebel Park produced by Bay Fireworks

• approved pay increases of $5,000 each for the town attorney, chief deputy town attorney, and deputy sewer district superintendent, and an increase of $10,000 for the sewer district superintendent; Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith abstained from the votes, saying that these increases should have been put through during the budget process.

• approved a budget adjustment (increase) of $12,500 for replacement of a senior building inspector to be transferred from the planning consultants budget line;

• promoted justice court clerk Marianne Vail to the position of senior justice court clerk.

Outgoing co-chair of Veterans Advisory Committee recognized

The board also recognized Elizabeth Stokes, who has stepped down as co-chairperson of the Riverhead Veterans Advisory Committee after five years of service. The board presented Stokes with a proclamation honoring her for her dedication to veterans in the town and for her contributions as a member and chairperson of the committee, including: establishing a veterans merchant discount card, a veterans resource fair, Operation Eagle Heart honoring women veterans, and a Veterans Day program at Acadia Nursing home and for her work with Suffolk County United Veterans to assist veterans living in the Town of Riverhead.

“Riverhead Town always has a big heart for its veterans,” Stokes said. “We will never repay our debt owed to our veterans. They were made promises that were never kept. While you can’t fix an entire country, you can make sure it’s right by the veterans of this town,” she said, thanking the town board for its support.