Riverhead building and planning administrator Jefferson Murphree is now the subject of an ethics complaint filed by the president of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association in connection with his consulting work for a developer in Riverside.
FRCA president Vince Taldone filed the ethics complaint Friday, following the complaint he made to the town board during its meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Taldone contends that Riverhead building and planning administrator Jefferson Murphree’s work for the developer of a proposed 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store on the Riverside traffic circle is “in conflict with his duty as the chief planing official of the town.”
The proposed gas station and convenience store is “in direct conflict” with the Riverside Revitalization Action Plan adopted by the Town of Southampton to guide development in Riverside, Taldone says. That plan complements the Town of Riverhead’s efforts to revitalize downtown Riverhead.
“Mr. Murphree is being compensated by the town to promote and encourage walkability and safe pedestrian access to the downtown community. That is his duty,” Taldone wrote. “Mr. Murphree is also being paid by and works for a private developer to advance a project that is clearly detrimental to the goals of Riverhead Town,” he wrote.
Murphree appeared before the Southampton Town Planning Board March 25 as the environmental planning expert for 9-11 Flanders Road LLC which is seeking to build the gas station and convenience store.
Murphree was one of four people who appeared at the March 25 meeting on behalf of 9-11 Flanders Road LLC. The attorney for the applicant is Keith Brown, managing partner of Brown, Altman and DiLeo of Melville. Its traffic expert is Andrew Villari, a project manager with Stonefield Engineering & Design in Islandia. The project engineer is Chris Tartaglia of High Point Engineering in Farmingdale.
Both Brown and Villari are also currently working for HK Ventures, the developer of a proposed 425,464-square-foot industrial complex off Middle Country Road in Calverton whose application is pending before the Riverhead Planning Board. Its review is being handled by the planning department which Murphree oversees.
Murphree declined to respond to questions about whether Brown directly hired him or recommended him to work as the environmental expert on the Riverside gas station project or whether Brown directs his work in that project.
He also said he had no comment on the ethics complaint filed by Taldone.
At Tuesday’s town board meeting, Taldone suggested the town board “consider making that kind of side job totally unacceptable for someone in such a leadership position.”
Taldone’s comments drew little response from town board members.
“Okay, so why don’t you write a letter to the clerk,” Supervisor Yvette Aguiar told Taldone.
“It seems like your concerns are lengthy. They’re a little complicated and we can — It’ll be forwarded to our building department and we could take it from there,” Aguiar said.
Councilwoman Catherine Kent told Taldone she was “not aware” of Murphree’s role in the Riverside project and said “In general, I do think that it’s important for Riverhead and Southampton to work together as neighboring towns, and the connectivity there is important.”
The Riverhead Town code of ethics does not prohibit private employment by town officers or employees, regardless of their position with the town. It contains a provision stating:
“A Town officer or employee shall not engage in, solicit, negotiate for or promise to accept private employment or render services for private interests when such employment or service creates a conflict with or impairs the proper discharge of his or her official duties.”
But the code seems to specifically exempt employment outside of the Town of Riverhead from this restriction. The next sentence reads:
“This shall not be construed to apply to private employment outside of the jurisdictional limits of the Town,” the code states.
The code of ethics also requires town officers or employees to discharge their duties “impartially, without taint of conflict of interest and without any appearance of conflict of interest.”
The current code of ethics was adopted by the Riverhead Town Board in 2004.
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