Island Water Park Corp., which owns the Calverton amusement park, has filed a new application to amend its site plan to allow drifting events, the use of battery-powered bumper boats on the site’s manmade lake, a floating dock for the boats, a fire-suppression well drawing water from the lake and a zip line over a portion of the water.
Approval of the application would require the Town Board to amend a covenant imposed as part of the June 17, 2025 site plan approval prohibiting use of the track by any vehicles other than go-karts. It would also require amendment of an earlier recorded covenant restricting the lake to nonmotorized watercraft.
That go-kart-only restriction was not incidental. It was one of the conditions the Town Board relied on in March 2025 when it issued a conditional negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, finding that no further environmental review was required for the then-pending site plan application.
Island Water Park’s new application came before the Town Board at its work session Thursday, where Senior Planner Greg Bergman outlined the proposal and cautioned that the track restriction was tied directly to the 2025 SEQRA determination because go-karts were viewed as having more limited impacts than other vehicles.
Why the track restriction matters
He raised similar concerns before the board in November 2024, when the as-built track was still under review. Automobiles using the track, as depicted in social media posts by the park operator and others, posed greater concern than go-karts, Bergman said at a Nov. 14, 2024 work session. “If there’s an automobile crash, there’s a lot more potentially hazardous materials in an automobile than in a go-kart,” he said then. “I think that is something that the board really should consider on what’s appropriate.”
On Thursday, Bergman again warned that the board would need to carefully consider the implications of changing the covenant.
“In terms of the use of the track, and amending that covenant, the board needs to really consider, again, emergency response in the event that there is some type of accident, potential runoff into the lake,” Bergman said.
Concrete blocks line the south portion of the track, provide “some sort of containment that would prevent limited spills,” he said. “However, if a vehicle catches fire and they need to draft off the lake, that does have the potential to run off some of that material potentially into the lake.”
Bergman also said the board would need to address and justify any amendment to the go-kart-only covenant because of its link to the 2025 conditional negative declaration.
Board members, however, did not have a substantive public discussion Thursday about what it would mean, for environmental review purposes, to lift a condition that helped support last year’s no-significant-impact determination.
Scott’s Pointe project manager Ken Myers told the board that the track’s curves and hairpin turns limit the speed vehicles can reach, reducing the risk of major crashes and fires.
Because the application seeks permission to hold drifting events as special events, requiring Town Board permits, Bergman said that approach would give the board some control over when and how the events are held.
Council Member Bob Kern questioned why drifting should be limited to special events. He noted that Race Track, Not Street at EPCAL is already holding drifting events in addition to drag racing and asked Myers why Scott’s Pointe would “voluntarily” propose a special-event restriction.
“In retrospect, we really do consider this to be a track,” Myers said. “So if it would be possible, we would like to hold these regularly, but if it had to be by special event, I mean, we would.”
Council Member Ken Rothwell responded that all Race Track, Not Street events are held pursuant to the organizer’s special event permits.
Council Member Denise Merrifield said the Scott’s Pointe track’s location beside the lake distinguishes it from the EPCAL runway where Race Track, Not Street races take place.
“I think with the track, the issue has always been the runoff from the oil and such,” Merrifield said. That raises concerns about whether contaminants could make their way into the aquifer, she said, which is “the whole reason why you want all-electric on the water.”
The application also seeks to loosen long-standing restrictions on use of the lake.
Scott’s Pointe wants the existing covenant replaced with language allowing battery-powered motorized watercraft, including bumper boats, e-foils, canoes, kayaks, rental sailboats and similar craft, along with the rope-tow cable system already approved for the site.
“The DEC has approved these marine-safe boats on reservoirs throughout the state,” Kern said.
The application packet describes the requested changes as modest and says they would not expand the physical footprint of development, increase impervious coverage beyond approved limits or alter the site’s recreational character. It says the amendments would provide the operator more flexibility while maintaining environmental safeguards.
DEC oversight ends, but SEQRA questions remain
Bergman told the board he had contacted the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Mineral Resources Division because the site remained under an active mined land reclamation permit. According to his staff report, the “life of mine,” including the lake and adjacent slopes, was still under DEC jurisdiction, and the last publicly available inspection data showed hydroseed and slope stabilization were progressing but had not yet achieved final reclamation approval.
But about 20 minutes after the Scott’s Pointe discussion ended, Bergman returned to the meeting room with an update: he had just received an email stating that DEC had issued final reclamation for the site.
“So they’re free and clear,” Bergman told the board, adding that the development “would have changed the discussion a little bit,” because “essentially, DEC’s regulatory restrictions over the site are now done.”
That appears to remove one layer of uncertainty over the application by ending DEC’s mined-land oversight of the property. It does not resolve the separate issue Bergman raised about lifting a covenant that was tied to the board’s 2025 conditional negative declaration.
According to Bergman’s staff report, the next step is preparation of a Town Board resolution for coordinated SEQRA review and circulation of a lead agency request to involved agencies.
Scott’s Pointe has a long and contentious history in Riverhead. The property’s use evolved over time, and the owner repeatedly made changes to the site without required town approvals, drawing enforcement action from both the DEC and, eventually, the town.
The site, which Island Water Park purchased from the town in 2003, was first proposed as a water ski facility with two clay-lined manmade ponds. The ponds were to be filled by water purchased from the Riverhead Water District. After excavation for the ponds struck groundwater, DEC allowed the lake to be fed by groundwater instead of town water. DEC also prohibited motorized watercraft on the lake. The town incorporated that restriction into covenants required in 2013 and 2021, while separately approving the rope-tow water ski system and nonmotorized water sports.
More coverage of Island Water Park/Scott’s Pointe
Supervisor Jerry Halpin, who acknowledged meeting with company representatives some time before the work session, expressed support for the application, and support for following procedures.
“Like every other business in town, you’re here. We want you to be successful. You have a CO. We want to make sure we’re going through every step,” Halpin said. “And, you know, how we can assist them…So thank you for presenting.”
At least one board member made clear Thursday that he views the latest proposal primarily through the lens of expanding recreation and helping the business succeed.
“I think this is great,” Kern said. “I think the zip line is great. And I look at this also like the way we’re approaching Tanger. To me, anything, any use of your property that you can do that’s going to be entertainment and bring a new experience to people, I’m in favor of.”
Editor’s note: This story has been amended to add a statement made during the meeting that was deleted prior to publication due to an editing error.
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