Riverhead Town Board wrapup:
2015 organizational meeting

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio broke ranks with the rest of the town board in a series of votes yesterday granting raises and/or promotions to seven town employees who are being assigned extra duties as a result of the restructuring of the sanitation department following the retirement last month of longtime sanitation supervisor John Reeve.

Most of the employees getting raises to go along with the additional responsibilities are members of the buildings and grounds crew, including its chief, Guy Cawley. Assistant town engineer Drew Dillingham and an account clerk typist in the engineering department also received raises to compensate them for additional sanitation department-related duties.

Councilman John Dunleavy joined Giglio in dissent to the promotion and raise for Cawley, but went along with the other board members to approve the other measures.

Giglio said she believes the town highway superintendent can take on management of the town’s sanitation department and yard waste facility which “wouldn’t be a burden on the general fund which is facing up to an $8 million deficit.”

Councilman George Gabrielsen said the restructuring eliminated departments and actually results in a net savings to the town of more than $70,000.

Hanley retirement, payout made official

The board accepted the retirement of longtime planning director Rick Hanley — after it appointed him to the position of planner and laid off planner Karin Gluth for a period of three days. Hanley’s retirement was effective Jan. 3.

The board then reinstated Gluth.

The machinations to keep Hanley on the books for three days in 2015 were intended done to allow the 33-year staffer to earn his five weeks’ worth of vacation and sick leave for 2015. The leave time accrued to his benefit as of the first of the year under the terms of his contract of employment, Supervisor Sean Walter said in an interview. Hanley was able to “cash out” all accrued time, including some 50 days of previously accrued sick leave. The three days in the current calendar year were worth an additional $8,200 in cash to Hanley, according to Walter, who said Hanley’s “total walk-out-the-door” cash payment was $48,000.

The measures received unanimous support from the board.

Water quality advocate: perchlorate in 2010 water tests ‘raised flags’

A public hearing on a proposal to spend up to $555,000 for a perchlorate removal system for well 16 in Calverton drew comment from one member of the public, Kevin McAllister of Defend H20, who questioned why the district went ahead with drilling the well when initial tests showed the water contained the chemical, which is known to affect the human endocrine system. (See prior story.)

Engineer John Collins of H2M, the district’s longtime consulting engineers, testified yesterday that initial tests showed about 9 or 9.5 µg/l; state health regulations set a limit of 18 µg/l.

“Shouldn’t there have been flags raised at that time that this was a problematic well point?” McAllister asked.

Among the other actions taken at its organizational meeting the board:

•  replaced Lyle Wells with Riverhead businessman George Nunnaro on the planning board, a position that carries a $9,000 annual stipend;

•   ratified the promotion of Det. Michael Henry to the rank of detective first grade, a position carrying a base salary of $126,434.78, an annual increase of $1,488.79

•    ZBA member Frank Seabrook to the $6,000-per-year position;

•   reappointed town historian Georgette Case, who earns an annual stipend of $5,000;

•   reappointed Richard Wines to the landmarks preservation commission, an unpaid position;

•   ratified the reappointment of Ron Schmitt and Marge Acevedo to the recreation advisory committee, also an unpaid position.

•   named RiverheadLOCAL.com the town’s “official online publication” and Riverhead News-Review its official newspaper for the publication of public notices.