Riverhead Town is hoping to prevent stray shopping carts around town with a new town code amendment requiring retail establishments on Route 58, Route 25 and Route 25A to have carts equipped with automatic wheel-locking or similar mechanisms.
The requirement takes effect immediately for all new retail establishments in the targeted areas, while existing retail stores in those areas must comply within three months of the code’s April 18 adoption date.
The new code provisions also make it a violation by the owner of a shopping cart to be found on public property or in public rights of way. The owner is presumed to be the establishment whose name or trademark is on the cart.
A violation is of any provision of the code is punishable by a fine of $250 to $1,000.
The code also directs the highway superintendent to remove carts found in any public place and store them until redeemed by the owner, which will be required to pay $125 per cart. The highway superintendent will invoice the owner of the court and also refer the violation to the town’s code enforcement division for prosecution.
In other action at last week’s meeting, the Town Board:
Hired J. Petrocelli Contracting as construction manager for renovations to the building at 4 West Second Street, one of four buildings the town purchased in January from Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation for $20 million.
The agreement with J. Petrocelli Contracting pertains to the renovation of the three-story building that will be used as a new Town Hall. J. Petrocelli Contracting will be paid 10% of the total construction costs associated with the renovation. The costs have not yet been determined as the work has not yet been put out to bid.
At the board’s last meeting on April 4, it authorized an $85,000 contract with BLD Architecture of Patchogue for design and engineering services in connection with the renovation of the new Town Hall.
BLD Architecture and J. Petrocelli Contracting have teamed up on other projects in the Town of Riverhead, including the town square, for which Petrocelli is the town-designated master developer and the proposed development by Calverton Aviation & Technology at the Calverton Enterprise Park.
In addition to issuing bonds to cover the cost of buying the complex from PBMC, the town bonded an additional $1.5 million to cover the cost of renovations for town use.
J. Petrocelli Contracting built the former Suffolk County National Bank headquarters for the Riverhead-based bank in 2002. Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation purchased the property where the headquarters is located in 2017 for just under $11.5 million.
Accepted a donation of bleachers from Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation. The bleachers are from the former McGann-Mercy High School campus that the hospital purchased from the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 2020.
Approved the purchase and installation of two software modules from OpenGov. One is a budgeting and planning suite and the other is a citizens services module. The total cost for purchase and installation of both modules is $84,180, which includes set-up and training. The town will pay the software company an annual fee not to exceed $105,000 both (prorated for the current year.)
The software will streamline the town’s workflow, enhance communications among town department and allow the town to offer residents more services and transactions online, officials said.
The town is planning to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover the purchase and the first annual payments.
Scheduled a May 2 public hearing on a measure establishing a sewer rate of $8.223 per 1,000 gallons of annual flow based upon the water consumption for sewer rent and service to the county center facilities in Riverside, which are located outside the boundaries of the Riverhead Sewer District.
Riverhead Town is in a contract dispute with Suffolk County over sewer district charges relating to the treatment of sewage generated at the county center in Riverside. The town claims the county has an outstanding balance of more than $2.3 million for service in the years 2018 through and including 2022. The resolution on for a public hearing will add $889,758.30 to the county’s tab, due July 1.
The town-owned sewage treatment plant has served the county complex in Riverside since September 1969. The complex includes the county center, criminal court and jail.
The county sued the Town of Riverhead in 2021, seeing to annul a resolution adopted that year setting sewer rates for out-of-town users. The county argues the rate is targeting county facilities. The suit is still pending.
Ratified the temporary appointment of Deputy Town Attorney Annemarie Prudenti to serve as counsel for the Zoning Board of Appeals, effective April 1, Riverhead Community Development Director and former town attorney Dawn Thomas in that role. Thomas, who has served as special counsel to the ZBA since May 2017, recently took over managing the planning and building departments in the absence of Jefferson Murphree, who was suspended by the Town Board in March. Prudenti will be paid at the annual rate of $6,500.
Appointed a new fire marshal, Andrew Smith, to fill a vacancy in the the town’s fire marshal’s office, at an annual salary of $84,753
Approved special event permits for Cycle for Life, to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (June 3) and Duck Pond Day (June 11.)
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
