Riverhead’s birthday celebrated, warehouse site plan has hearing: Town Board meeting wrap-up

Riverhead Town celebrated its 232nd anniversary this month and Town Historian Georgette Case, dressed in 18th century garb, marked the occasion at this week’s Town Board meeting with the “delivery” of the act of the State Legislature, passed March 13, 1792, establishing the Town of River Head, which until then had been part of the Town of Southold.   

“Hear ye! Hear ye!” called out Case, entering the meeting room ringing a brass bell. “Six o’clock and all is well! Six o’clock and all is well! The stagecoach has arrived from our state capitol in Kingston and it brings wonderful news,” the “town crier” announced. “And our supervisor is going to tell us all about it.”

Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard, standing in for the first town supervisor, Daniel Wells, read the statute aloud. Wells was elected at the first town meeting on April 3, 1792 and held the post until Aug. 18, 1793, when he died at age 62.

After Hubbard finished the reading, Case led the board and the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Riverhead. 

The tradition of the annual celebration at the second meeting in the month of March was begun in 2013 by then-Supervisor Sean Walter.

Calverton warehouse site plan is aired

The Town Board held a public hearing on the preliminary site plan application of 901 Burman Blvd LLC for approval to construct an 84,250-square-foot warehouse building on a 20.6-acre parcel at 901-923 Burman Boulevard located in the Planned Industrial Park District, within “industrial core” of the Calverton Enterprise Park site. 

The property is currently improved with a 134,636-square-foot multistory building that houses two manufacturing companies, Reilly Custom Architectural, a subsidiary of Pella Windows, and Old Castle, a subsidiary of CRH, the largest company in Ireland, attorney Bram Weber told the Town Board. The building also includes the six-story air traffic control tower for the site’s runways.

Riverhead Town Senior Planner Greg Bergman said the proposed development will improve the appearance of the industrial park for people entering the park from its main entrance on NY-25. 

“The site plan proposes to reduce [the existing seven curb cuts] to three formal curb cuts and will result in the installation of new landscaping islands with trees and plantings along Burman Boulevard, which will help to provide an attractive visual statement to those entering the industrial park, as this is the first site you see when you come into the park from Middle Country Road,” Bergman said. “Landscaping is also proposed throughout the site, including plantings around the buildings, as requested by the town’s Architectural Review Board.”

Weber said the developer worked with the planning department to reduce the size of the building by more than half of what it originally proposed and added green space and landscaping. 

“We’ve incorporated basically every substantive comment that we’ve been asked to incorporate into the site,” Weber said, improving it overall. 

As proposed, the development conforms to all zoning requirements and requires no variances, he said.

“This is a project as a warehouse that’s being built, is where we’d like to see them in the industrial core,” Council Member Ken Rothwell said. “And I’m very happy to see that the landscape that’s being involved in this is going to kind of eliminate some of the blight in that area, for aesthetic purposes,” he said. He hopes other property owners follow suit, Rothwell said.  “I think it’s a great project.”

There was no comment from the public at the hearing. The supervisor left the record open for written comments until March 29.

In other action Tuesday night, the Town Board:

• Hired LVF Landscape Architects of New York City to design the “upper town square” and streetscape improvements and prepare drawings for permitting and bidding.
• Authorized the sale of the building at 201 Howell Avenue, which formerly housed the planning and building departments for $525,000 to a purchaser not named in the resolution.Town Attorney Erik Howard said the purchaser is Paul Kim, operator of Vojvoda Dry Cleaners. The sale is subject to a permissive referendum, meaning a public vote on the sale will be held if called by a petition signed by 10% of Riverhead residents who voted in the most recent election for governor. Under state law, the petition must be filed with the town clerk within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution.
• Authorized the appraisal of a 3.3-acre property in agricultural production for the consideration of the purchase of development rights. The property, on Tuthills Lane in Aquebogue, is owned by Paumanok Vineyards and is adjacent to a 33.6-acre site preserved by the County of Suffolk, which purchased the development rights on the larger piece. 
• Appointed a new member to the Zoning Board of Appeals, John Porchia to fill the remainder of the five-year term of Fred McLaughlin, who retired at the end of last year. Porchia, a Wading River resident, is an attorney and since June 2023 a member of the board of the Suffolk County Water Authority. 
• Appointed a hearing officer an authorized the suspension of an employee, including without pay for 30 days following the service of disciplinary charges against the employee. The employee was identified by employee number and the town attorney’s office refused to disclose the employee’s identity, citing privacy concerns.
• Extended a contract award for monitoring and management of the town’s closed and capped landfill on Youngs Avenue  (total cost of $72,398 for five quarters.)
• Approved a Riverhead Sewer District extension to serve property at 1418 Pulaski Street, which is located at the corner of Pulaski Street Extension and slated for development as a car wash.
• Authorized a license agreement with Celtic Quest for 65 feet of dock space at the town-owned East Creek Marina for the purpose of operating a charter fishing business for a term running from April 27 through May 31, at a fee of $1,500 plus $200 for garbage collection and a $100 processing fee.
• Scheduled an April 2 public hearing on proposed amendments to the Pine Barrens Overlay District, to comply with amendments to the Central Pine Barrens Comprehensive Land Use plan that take effect April 18.  The changes principally reduce maximum clearing and increase minimum open space requirements. The amendments also exclude lands within the Calverton Enterprise Park from the clearing and open space standards. The April 2 Town Board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m.
• Authorized a notice to bidders for residential solid waste collection and disposal services in the town’s garbage districts. The deadline for submission of sealed bids is 11 a.m. on April 25, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Bid specifications will be available on the Town of Riverhead website on or after March 28. 
• Authorized the issuance of a request for proposals for development of a new website for the Town of Riverhead. Sealed proposals will be accepted until  11 a.m. on April 25, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Specifications will be available on the town website or after March 28.

The Town Board on Tuesday also approved several special event applications:

• Chicken Kidz consignment sale April 30- May 5 at Polish Hall.
• African American Educational and Cultural Festival concert series in Grangebel Park Aug. 10 (rain date Aug. 11.)
• Polish Festival, Aug. 17-18, Marcy Avenue to Osborn Avenue, sponsored by Riverhead Polish Independent Club.
• Bob Feller Act of Valor 5K Run for Life, Sept. 28, starting and ending at the Riverhead VFW.
• CF Cycle for Life, June 1, starting and ending at Manor Lane in Jamesport, sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
• Tour de Cure, June 8, starting and ending at Hallockville Museum Farm, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.
• Scrambul Elite 2024 drag racing event, April 14 at the Calverton Enterprise Park

Opponents of the Riverhead Charter School expansion turned out for a rally outside Town Hall and some addressed the Town Board about the reasons for their opposition. See separate story.