Riverhead Town Board wrap – Dec. 16:
planning director axed, six new cops hired, board balks at new flyboard code

The Riverhead planning director’s position was eliminated last night in a split vote by the Riverhead Town Board.

Council members John Dunleavy and Jodi Giglio voted without comment against the measure abolishing the position, which has been held by Rick Hanley since it was created nearly 30 years ago.

The 2015 adopted budget — the supervisor’s tentative budget, which was not amended by the town board and became the adopted budget by operation of law after the town board failed to vote to adopt a budget by Nov. 20 — eliminated funding for the position. The budget maintains funding for the department’s full-time planner position and includes $30,000 for a new part-time planner.

Under state civil service law, Hanley, as the most senior planner in the planning department, can bump the less senior planner from the position. Hanley, whose planning director position carried a salary of $118,843, can bump the less senior planner Karen Gluth from her $86,030 planner position. Hanley, who has not yet made his intentions known to officials, told RiverheadLOCAL last month he is considering doing exactly that.

The planning department lost its environmental planner this year with the retirement of another long-time employee, Joseph Hall. The environmental planner position was not funded in the 2015 budget; Hall’s 2014 salary was $104,869. A fourth planner was laid off due to budget cuts in 2011. A new position, that of building and planning administrator, was created in July 2012 to oversee both the building and planning departments. Jeff Murphree, a planner with VHB and a former Southampton Town employee, was hired to fill the $110,000 post. He was paid a salary of $112,200 in 2014, according to town records.

For budget reasons, none of the positions of employees retiring this year will be filled, except for retiring police officers, according to Supervisor Sean Walter.

Six new cops hired

The board appointed six new police recruits last night: Matthew Neknez, Byron Perez, Giuseppe Rosini, Christopher Tam, Richard Von Voigt and Daniel Walther. The addition of the new officers will maintain the town’s police force at its current staffing level, after the retirement of three veteran officers at the end of the month, Chief David Hegermiller said. Perez, the son of Guatemalan immigrants, is the department’s first Latino cop. He speaks fluent Spanish and while four other officers in the department speak Spanish, Perez will be its most fluent Spanish-speaking officer, Hegermiller said.

All six recruits are Town of Riverhead residents, the chief said. Four live in Wading River, one lives in Calverton and one lives in Riverhead, he said.
Draft flyboarding code stalls

The town board tabled a resolution calling a public hearing on a code amendment to regulate “JetPack Vessels” in town waters. Drafted in response to the operation of Flyboard Long Island adjacent to Treasure Cove Marina downtown, and with the aim of forcing the business to move off shore and out into the bay, the measure drew no opposition or even any discussion at last week’s work session when the board reviewed resolutions for Tuesday night’s meeting.

The supervisor was the lone vote against tabling the resolution and after the meeting was livid about it being tabled. He lashed out at Councilman George Gabrielsen in the hallway outside the meeting room just after the meeting concluded, accusing him of kissing up to the town Republican party leader who Walter said wanted the resolution tabled. Walter angrily directed loud air-kisses to Gabrielsen and Wooten as he walked down the hall to exit the building. Reached by phone later, the supervisor declined to explain his comments to Gabrielsen.

“Nobody had a problem with this on Thursday,” Walter said.

At a work session on the subject last month, all five board members agreed to push the flyboarding operation off shore — way off shore, into the open waters of the bays. They directed town attorney Bob Kozakiewicz to redraft a code amendment to require flyboard operators to maintain a minimum distance of 300 feet from the shoreline. The board held a public hearing Oct. 7 on a first draft of a code amendment intended to address the new water sport, but decided it needed to be reworked. Kozakiewicz discussed revisions with the board on Nov. 15 and thereafter finalized the latest draft, which on Thursday the board gave its final review — and apparent its apparent assent to hold a public hearing Jan. 6.
Shotgun hunting for deer at EPCAL, Dec. 18 lottery OKed

Portions of the Calverton Enterprise Park will be opened for special firearm season for deer again in 2015. The special firearm season, established by the state DEC, runs from Jan. 5 through 30, weekdays only.

Riverhead residents and property owners who are qualified hunters in possession of a valid N.Y. state deer hunting license and big game tag may enter a lottery for dates/times for shotgun hunting at the town-owned site.

The lottery will he held at Riverhead Town Hall on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. It is administered by the town’s wildlife management advisory committee.

In other action last night the town board:

• adjourned until March 18 a hearing on the special use permit of United Riverhead Terminal – see prior story;

•  banned the use of a boat equipped or operated with any electric motor in excess of 10 HP on the Peconic River west of the dam in Grangebel Park;

•  amended the zoning code to allow, without a variance from the ZBA, the placement of temporary trailers for occupancy by residents whose home has been damaged by fire or an act of God;

•  approved the distribution of free mulch to town residents at the town’s yard waste facility on Youngs Avenue, Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;

•  accepted the resignation of Riverhead Recreation Department program planner Thomas Filgate.

Correction:  A previously published version of this article misstated the native country of Police Officer Byron Perez’s parents. RiverheadLOCAL regrets the error.