Scott’s Pointe must resolve DEC issues before go-kart track approval, Town Board rules

The Riverhead Town Board is requiring the operator of Scott’s Pointe amusement park in Calverton to resolve outstanding issues with the state Department of Environmental Conservation before granting final approval for the use of an already-built go-kart track.

The Town Board’s preliminary approval of the project’s site plan amendment requires Island Water Park Corp., the operator of Scott’s Pointe, to “resolve any outstanding violations with the NYSDEC relative to the site improvements which were made without benefit of a permit from the NYSDEC.” The resolution also requires the company to close its mine reclamation permit from the DEC — which was used to create the site’s 19-acre lake.

The board passed a resolution granting the preliminary approval with the conditions on Wednesday in a 4-1 vote, with Council Member Denise Merrifield opposed. 

In an interview, Merrifield cited her ongoing opposition to the expansion and the previously approved court settlement with Island Water Park as the reason for her vote. The settlement required the town to review the amended site plan application, after the business undertook construction without permits. The town received $50,000 in that agreement, although it had asked the court for at least $100,000 in penalties and for the park to remove the unlawfully built go-kart track and pickleball courts. 

The DEC issued a notice of violation to Island Water Park Corp. and owner Eric Scott last June for building the asphalt track and parking lot on the site in violation of its mined permit plan. 

The agency also ordered the business to cease recreational use of the lake — including the inflatable aquapark, one of the park’s main attractions — because the mining permit was still active. After allegedly violating that order, the company and Scott were issued tickets, which are being administratively adjudicated by the DEC, according to a DEC spokesperson.

During last Thursday’s Town Board work session, Island Water Park project manager Ken Myers and Council Member Ken Rothwell pushed back on the resolution, drafted by Senior Planner Greg Bergman, particularly the DEC-related conditions.

According to DEC reports, the slopes surrounding the lake are required to be vegetated and  reach a minimum of 75% coverage before the DEC can close the project’s mining permit. 

Myers said the company has conducted two plantings this year and seven plantings over the past five years to vegetate the slopes. “We are at about 65% coverage right now,” Myers said. It could take a year-and-a-half for the permit to close, he said. “We’d be losing almost two seasons.”

Rothwell said the business is coming into the summer months and has paid the fines related to town violations. 

“To hold them back from opening — to wait for the grass to grow — I think would be an unfair request,” Rothwell said. 

Bergman defended the requirements during the discussion. “I think what the board has before them is a fair resolution,” he said. “[W]e’re not trying to stop anybody, [we’re] not trying to put anybody out of business. We’re reviewing an application [and] considering all the factors…” 

The town “needs something to be comfortable with to protect themselves, saying that we’re not authorizing or approving something that is in violation” of the DEC, he added.

If the DEC says the use of the lake and the go-kart is okay, “I would have no problem addressing that in a final approval,” Bergman said. “But until we have something concrete from the DEC stating that they’re ok with those uses in that site, I just don’t see how we can approve a site plan without any of those conditions being addressed.”

Bergman said the issues outlined in the resolution could have been avoided if the track and pickleball courts were built “in a proper fashion.”

As for the outstanding DEC violations, Myers said the company is “in the process of working out an agreement” with the agency.

The DEC has not provided an update on the administrative adjudication of the tickets. “DEC staff continue to monitor conditions at the site and the matter remains open and pending,” a spokesperson said in an email last week.

In addition, the Town Board is requiring the company to build a barrier around the outside of the race track “to control stormwater management and erosion into the lake.” That requirement came at the suggestion of the town engineer. 

The company must also file a covenant on the property prohibiting any vehicles other than go-karts from using the race track. The Town Board imposed other site-specific conditions to mitigate the environmental impacts of the race track in March, when it adopted a separate resolution linked to its environmental review.

The preliminary approval also permits Scott’s Pointe to convert a room in its building from storage space to a catering/event space, after all necessary Building Department and Fire Marshal are met. The company must also pay a fee to the Riverhead Water District to account for increased water usage before the catering space is approved.