Supervisor announces final ‘State of the Town’ speech to ‘tout accomplishments’ of her tenure

Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar will deliver her final “State of the Town” address on Monday, Dec. 4 at Town Hall.

The supervisor will “tout accomplishments” in her tenure as town supervisor, according to a press release issued last week.

“The speech will emphasize the many accomplishments of the Riverhead Town Board under the Aguiar administration over the last four years, including fiscal health, public health, public safety, economic development, senior services and open space / farmland preservation,” according to the release issued by the supervisor’s office.

“I am exceptionally proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved during my tenure a63rd Riverhead Town Supervisor,” Aguiar said in the press release. “Most importantly, I am leaving Riverhead in significantly better condition than where we started just four years ago. Riverhead is clearly on the right path.” She boasted of what she called a “record number of successes.”

The speech will be given at 11 a.m. on Dec. 4 and is titled the “Future of Riverhead,” according to the press release.

Aguiar’s last “State of the Town” speech was given on June 29, 2022. During that speech, delivered at the Sea Star Ballroom on East Main Street, Aguiar discussed downtown revitalization and the $40 million land deal with Triple Five affiliate Calverton Aviation and Technology.

“Downtown Riverhead is truly in the midst of a transformative and reimagining stage,” Aguiar said at the time, pointing to progress made on the town square on East Main Street and the transit-oriented development in the area of the Riverhead train station.

“This is presently the most blighted area in downtown. This project will vastly increase public transportation options for our residents to live, work and play in downtown Riverhead and beyond. We expect to have shovels in the ground in less than a year,” Aguiar said in the 2022 speech.

She called the Town Board’s then-recent agreement with Calverton Aviation and Technology to transfer the EPCAL property to be sold to the developer to the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency “another bold step” taken to close the long-stalled sale of 1,644 acres to CAT.

“This landmark action by this Town Board allows the sale to advance prior to the completion of a subdivision,” Aguiar said. “The transfer of title to the IDA will allow much greater local control of the redevelopment process,” she said.

“This development will generate millions of dollars within the town, school district, ambulance and fire districts. Perhaps, most importantly, it will create thousands of quality jobs for the eastern Suffolk County region, and once again allow the site to reclaim its place as one of Long Island’s key economic development generators,” Aguiar said.

The supervisor said she would recommend that $10 million of the $40 million from the sale go towards “property tax relief and lower our property taxes for our residents, along with further increasing our Police Department personnel.”

She spoke of her administration’s financial accomplishments, including an increase in the town’s bond rating by Moody’s Investment Services, which had been downgraded during the Walter administration, and holding the line on town taxes.

Aguiar spoke of her focus on public safety, citing efforts to hire more police officers and code enforcement officers, the establishment of a committee to develop a police reform plan as mandated by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. She said the board had “initiated funding to equip our police officers with body cameras,” a recommendation of the town’s Law Enforcement Advisory Panel, which developed the police reform plan.

She also spoke of efforts to improve recreational opportunities in Riverhead, including drag-racing at EPCAL, the town’s agreement with Peconic Hockey to bring an ice hockey rink to EPCAL, the anticipated opening of Island Water Park in Calverton, and improvements to town parks and recreation facilities, including new pickleball courts at town parks and new lighting at Stotzky Park.

The supervisor said in last week’s press release announcing her 2023 “State of the Town” speech she sees a “continued bright future for Riverhead.”