New residential carter picked, comp plan impact statement accepted: Aug. 6 Town Board wrap

A new carting company will be collecting residential solid waste in Riverhead Town come Jan. 1.

The Town Board at its last meeting awarded a five-year contract for collection services in Riverhead’s six sanitation districts to Colucci Carting of Middle Island.

The per-household fee payable by the town for collection and disposal services in the sanitation districts will rise nearly 21%, to $415.80 under the new contract, up from the current per-household fee of $345.  According to the bid, the fee will remain the same for the duration of the contract (2025 through 2029.)  The sanitation district tax payable by each household within the districts includes an additional amount to cover the cost of district operations.

Colucci Carting was the lowest responsible bidder in response to a solicitation authorized by the Town Board on June 18. Sealed bids were opened on July 18.

Collection days and services will remain the same, according to the bid solicitation specifications. 

The award to Colucci came after the town re-bid the residential solid waste contract. It had previously rejected bids submitted in response to an earlier bid solicitation. 

Riverhead’s current contract is with Eúropean-American Waste Disposal Corporation, which won the award in 2017 for a five-year contract that ended in December 2022. The contract was extended through December 2024.

In other action at the Aug. 6 Town Board meeting, the board:

Accepted the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update;

Granted preliminary site plan approval to Tomcat Realty Holdings for the construction of a 40-foot tall, 60,000-square-foot building for warehousing, manufacturing and offices at 901-932 Scott Avenue, Calverton;

Accepted a state grant award from the Division of Criminal Justice Services in the amount of $1.47 million for law enforcement technology(body worn cameras) for the Riverhead Police Department;

Approved a change order to the contract for renovation/modification of Town Hall with GEC Contracting Inc. for additional carpentry, electrical work and painting in the amount of $33,220;

Transferred $130,000 from the Refuse and Garbage Equipment budget line to the Buildings & Grounds Vehicles budget line to cover the cost of purchasing two vehicles to replace vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life;

Transferred $33,000 from the Buildings & Grounds Equipment budget line to the Code Enforcement Vehicles budget lieu to cover the cost of a new vehicle to replace a vehicle that has reached the end of its useful life;

Transferred $22,200 to Veterans Memorial Park parks improvements from the Refuse and Garbage Equipment budget line ($21,500) and the Parks Professional Services, Engineering budget line ($1,700) to cover additional paving costs at Veterans Memorial Park;

Established a capital project budget for the downtown parking garage with the transfer of $2 million in Suffolk County aid to the Professional Services-Engineering budget line to fund the planning, design and improvements necessary to proceed with development of the parking garage;

Authorized the supervisor to sign a DWI enforcement agreement with the County of Suffolk for Stop-DWI funding from the county in the amount of $25,000;

Appointed John Rabal to the position of deputy financial administrator at an annual salary of $105,000;

Appointed Andrew Smith to the position of chief fire marshal at an annual salary of $103,701, effective Aug. 11;

Appointed Daniel Thompson, who has been serving provisionally in the position of housing inspector since July 2023, to that position, effective July 29, 2024;

Appointed George Dupree and Charles Parker and reappointed Jo Packard and Christine Livingston to the Senior Citizen Advisory Council;

Adopted a local law to amend the zoning code to allow the placement of traditional barber’s poles within the town (previously prohibited as animated, flashing, moving, revolving, oscillating or blinking signs);

Adopted a local law to amend the zoning code to allow alternative pervious paying techniques, with site plan approval;

Adopted a local law to amend Chapter 257 (“Peddling and Soliciting”) to allow the operation of one food truck on properties where the principal use is a restaurant, brewery, farm brewery, distillery, farm distillery, winery, tasting room or vineyard;

Adopted a local law to amend the zoning code to permit satellite earth stations on communications towers;

Approved the special permit applications of Race Track Not Street to allow  addition of go-kart and drifting events in the summer and fall racing series;

Approved the special event permit application of Jamesport Fire Department for its Sound to Bay 5K/10K run on Aug. 25;

Scheduled an Aug. 20 public hearing (6 p.m.) on the special permit application of Riverhead Charter School for the construction of three temporary trailers at 5117 Sound Avenue, Riverhead;

Scheduled a Sept. 4 pub oic hearing (2 p.m.) on a proposed local law to change the standards for residential docks to increase the maximum length to 25% of the width of the waterway, from 15%, or 150 feet, whichever is less, subject to the determination by the Conservation Advisory Council that the dock will not impair navigation or unduly interfere with the public use of waterways for swimming, boating or fishing, or unduly interfere with the public’s ability to transit along public beaches, or degrade the surface water quality or destroy beds of eel grass or shellfish.