Eleven Riverhead Town employees have put in their retirement papers as a result of an early retirement incentive program adopted by the town board earlier this year. Last night, the board voted unanimously to accept their retirements, effective Dec. 31.
Retiring as of year’s end: Water District Superintendent Gary Pendzick, Riverhead Police Det. Timothy Hubbard, police officers Emil Breitenbach and Christopher Parkin, environmental planner Joseph Hall, electrical inspector Richard Gadzinski, police department head clerk Victoria Vourakis, water district maintenance mechanic Chester Majeski, municipal garage mechanic Richard Warner, senior cook Ann Clinton and switchboard operator Verna Campbell.
The retirement incentive program was adopted in May as an expense-cutting measure. It was offered to eligible full-time employees with at least 20 years of service. The retirement incentive is built around additional health insurance benefits for the new retirees, such as fully-paid family health coverage for 48 months.
North Fork Coffee
A proposal to establish a coffee shop in a Main Road building had a public hearing last night. Hampton Coffee Company owner Jason Belkin wants to open the shop in a 963-square-foot free-standing building on the north side of Main Road, just east of County Route 105 in Aquebogue. The building is the former home of a solar energy company, a woodworking shop and a automobile service station before that. The site is in the Rural Corridor zoning use district and the coffee shop use would be allowed as a “bistro use” in that district, which requires a special permit of the town board. Coffee will not be roasted on site.
Anne Ondricek, who lives on Shade Tree Lane “directly across” from the site asked several questions about the proposed operation and expressed concern about its impacts on traffic flow on an already-congested road as well as its planned hours of operation and whether there would be live music at the coffee house. She also expressed worries about the provision of adequate off-street parking on site.
Belkin said the shop would be open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. in winter, and 7 or 8 p.m. in summer. “We don’t usually have live music,” he said referring to his other two locations on the South Fork.
Angela DeVito of South Jamesport cautioned the board about traffic impacts, citing the Valero gas station on the corner of Main Road and South Jamesport Avenue, which she called “a free-for-all.”
The record of the hearing was left open until Sept. 26 for written comment.
Second Street rezoning
A public hearing on a proposed change of zone for the old Second Street firehouse, which the town board intends to sell to builder Bob Castaldi for $500,000, drew little public comment but questions from council members Jodi Giglio and John Dunleavy.
Giglio asked why the zone change proposal included the parking lot, which the town has added to the parking district. The town plans to sell the building, but not the parking lot.
“I’m not sure you can just zone a building,” planning and building administrator Jeff Murphree told the board. “I believe you have to zone the whole lot.”
Current zoning is downtown center, residential transition zoning, which has limited uses, Murphree said. Rezoning to DC-1 allows a lot greater diversity of uses, he told the board.
“The residential neighborhood that exists is a mix of residences and homes,” Murphree said.
DeVito questioned whether the town plans to change other parcels to DC-1 in the future. She said she’s concerned DC-1 zoning will favor development that won’t provide homes for young families. Small apartments designed for singles won’t provide housing for young families. The community needs young families to maintain a healthy mix of uses and support commercial entities downtown, DeVito said.
“If you want to fix Main Street you need to address the surrounding residential areas,” DeVito said.
She also suggested creating “a housing authority that goes after landlords that create overcrowding, with 20 or 30 people in single-family homes,” something she said is “working successfully in the Town of Brookhaven.”
The hearing record was left open until Sept. 26 for written comment.
Special events approved
In other business last night, the town board approved the following special event permits:
Darkside Haunted House, Rt. 25A, Wading River, Oct 3-Nov 2
East End Rowing Snowflake Regatta, Peconic Riverfront, Nov. 9
ABATE St. Mary’s Food & Toy Run, Elks Lodge, Nov. 2
Antique car show at Hallockville, Sept. 28
L.I. Antique Power Fall Festival, Oct 4 and 5
Jamesport Triathlon to benefit the Daniella Maria Arturi Foundation, July 25 and 26, 2015
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