Scott’s Pointe operator pleads guilty to Riverhead code violations, pays $5,700 in fines

The operator of Scott’s Pointe amusement park in Calverton pleaded guilty Tuesday to Riverhead Town code violations in Riverhead Justice Court and was ordered to pay $5,700 in fines.

Attorney Fred Johs appeared in court on behalf of the amusement park’s operator, Island Water Park Corp., which was issued five appearance tickets on June 3 for town code violations for building a go-kart track and converting a storage space into an event room without permits or site plan approvals, and other violations.

Three tickets were issued by the town’s Code Enforcement Division for violating town laws that require permits and site plan approvals for new construction; two were from the town fire marshal for converting storage space into an assembly space without town approvals and for failing to install an emergency responder radio coverage system required by state law.

One of the tickets issued included a misdemeanor criminal charge. Johs told Town Justice Sean Walter that Island Water Park would not plead guilty to the misdemeanor. In an agreement between Johs and Deputy Town Attorney Victoria Ceru, Walter “knocked down” the misdemeanor to three separate town code violations whose fines totaled the amount the company would have paid had it pled guilty to the misdemeanor. 

Walter ordered the company to pay $5,700. 

Johs declined to comment after the court appearance.

The business was originally set to appear in court on July 23. Victor Prusinowski, the vice chairman of the Riverhead Republican Committee and a permit expediter, appeared in justice court on that date to represent Island Water Park Corp. Walter refused to let Prusinowski represent the company because he was not its attorney or its lawyer. The case was adjourned to Aug. 6.

While the violations in justice court are now settled, Scott’s Pointe’s operator still faces a Suffolk County Supreme Court lawsuit filed last month by Riverhead Town, which is asking the court to issue an injunction that would restrain Island Water Park Corp., which operates the park, and its tenants from “using, occupying and/or maintaining the subject premises” until several town code violations are remedied,” according to the complaint filed by the town on July 3. The town is also asking the court to order the park to remove the unlawfully built go-kart track and pickleball courts — restoring the property to “pre-violation status” — and to impose a financial penalty of at least $100,000 on the company.

Island Water Park Corp. has filed a site plan application with the Town of Riverhead to legalize the go-kart track and pickleball courts, and to convert the storage space into “catering space.” The site plan application submitted was incomplete, according to an Aug. 2 letter from Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman to Island Water Park project manager Ken Myers. The letter was obtained by RiverheadLOCAL through a Freedom of Information Law request.

The application is missing several requirements, Bergman wrote in the letter. There is also information missing or that needs clarifying in the plans filed with the town, he wrote. A revised submission from the company is required, according to the letter.

Bergman wrote in the letter that the use of bumper boats on the man-made lake at the site “appears to be in violation of and in contradiction to” the site plan approved by the town, which restricts the use of the lake to “rope-tow cable system, and non-motorized water sport use, including but not limited to canoes, kayaks, rental sailboard, etc.” The use of the bumper boats can be seen on social media posts from Scott’s Pointe and “must cease, immediately, until and unless authorized by the Town Board by amended site plan approval.” 

The planner also notes an article by Newsday that says that batting cages would be built at Scott’s Pointe. The batting cages are not shown on the amended site plan, Bergman wrote. “If the intent is to construct these features, they must be shown on an amended plan,” the letter says. 

The go-kart track’s construction violated the company’s mined land permit, according to a notice of violation issued to the company by the State Department of Environmental Conservation on June 26. The company is also not allowed to use the man-made lake at the site for recreation, while the permit is active, the DEC said. The DEC issued tickets to the business and Island Water Park President Eric Scott on July 3 for “failing to follow the permitted mined land use plan.” Island Water Park Corp. faces civil penalties of $8,000 for each violation of its mined land use plan and $2,000 per day for each day the violation continues, according to the notice. The DEC charges will be administratively adjudicated by the state agency, a DEC spokesperson said.

During a compliance hearing held by the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency, an attorney for Island Water Park, Alison LaPointe, said the company is working with the DEC.

“A great deal of the environmental [review] on the site will be handled here in the town under the SEQR process,” LaPointe said. “They have hired their best effort consultant that is helping them navigate the DEC process, and they’re working on their compliance. It’s ongoing.”

There have been no more notices of violation or tickets issued to Island Water Park Corp. since July 3, a DEC spokesperson Aphrodite Montalvo said in response to questions about Scott’s Pointe. “DEC will continue to work to ensure Island Water Corp. complies with DEC regulations and properly completes its mine reclamation,” Montalvo wrote in an email. The DEC did not directly address a question asking whether the DEC was working with Island Water Park to legalize its construction.

The company was also at risk of losing its tax exemptions from the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency. The company had violated its agreement with the agency in several ways, including by failing to make payments in lieu of taxes, breaking Riverhead Town law, and failing to maintain the nearly 300 full-time employees it promised under its agreement with the agency. The company has since paid the money it owed the IDA and is pursuing remedies to the other violations, an attorney for the company said during a compliance hearing on Monday. IDA board members gave no indication on Monday that the agency would claw back tax benefits.