Riverhead Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Tracy Stark-James has retired.
Her retirement was effective last month, RIDA Chairman James Farley said in a phone interview Monday morning.
Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard mentioned the retirement of the longtime executive director during Friday’s town square groundbreaking ceremony.
Stark-James could not immediately be reached for comment for this article.
Farley said Stark-James told the RIDA board she was considering retirement before submitting her notice. Her retirement letter is listed under “correspondence” on the agenda for the agency’s meeting Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m. A resolution accepting her retirement is also on the agenda.
The executive director is the IDA’s top administrative employee. Farley said the board expects current members to handle pieces of the job until a new executive director is hired.
The board has discussed how to fill the post and is developing a job description, Farley said.
The board has discussed how to fill the post and is developing a job description, Farley said.
“A major theme is to address the administrative side of the organization,” Farley said. He cited increased regulatory requirements for IDA transparency and website content as factors the board is considering.
The RIDA board has not held a public meeting of the full board since September.
Stark-James was appointed executive director in February 2011. A Riverhead native, she was then serving as the Town of Riverhead’s Empire Zone coordinator, a position she’d held since 2002. The Empire Zone program was then in the process of being phased out statewide.
The RIDA board of directors oversees management of the agency, including staffing. The Town Board controls membership of the RIDA board, whose members serve at the pleasure of the Town Board.
In October 2010, the Town Board reconstituted the RIDA board, reducing its size from seven to five members. Only three sitting members were reappointed and two new members were named. Since then, the entire board has turned over.
Farley, an investment consultant appointed to the board in December 2018, said current members have a broad range of expertise and skills and are capable of handling elements of the executive director’s responsibilities while the board conducts a search.
Stark-James led the agency through periods of sharp public criticism of the RIDA and occasional calls for its dissolution, as well as local and statewide demands for greater transparency and accountability from industrial development agencies.
MORE COVERAGE: Riverhead Industrial Development Agency topic page.
During her tenure, the agency reviewed and acted on several significant applications, including an application by Calverton Aviation and Technology and the Town of Riverhead for benefits to assist CAT in developing the former Grumman site in Calverton.
The RIDA denied that application, and the Town Board later canceled its contract of sale with CAT, a company affiliated with Triple Five Group. The cancellation is now in litigation. CAT is suing the town, seeking a court order compelling the town to complete the deal, and a trial court judge is considering the town’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The RIDA during Stark-James’ tenure also assisted at least five mixed-use apartment buildings downtown, the development of the Residence Inn on Route 58, the Calverton Addiction and Treatment Center at EPCAL, and the Thirty West Main office building, among other projects.
Another major project on the agency’s agenda is the J. Petrocelli Riverhead Town Square project, a proposed mixed-use development that includes a boutique hotel and condominiums. A resolution accepting the developer’s application for assistance is on Tuesday’s agenda.
Industrial development agencies frequently face criticism over the impact of property tax abatements on local tax bases. Supporters of IDA assistance argue that projects may not proceed without incentives and point to new investment and payments in lieu of taxes. Critics argue abatements reduce revenues for taxing entities and shift costs onto other taxpayers.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
