Civic Association Leader, Walter Spar Over Wading River Development

A heated argument broke out at Tuesday's town board meeting between Town Supervisor Sean Walter and the president of a local civic association, as both accused the other of threatening the other person and lying.

President of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition (RNPC) Dominique Mendez slammed the Town Board over , as well as a recent Planning Board decision to approve a site plan for Knightland, a commercial complex on Sound Avenue. to block the approval of the development.

Mendez accused Walter and the town of reneging on a promised "public workshop" for residents of Wading River to state their concerns for an independent study of the 25A corridor approved by the town. Walter fired back by claiming a meeting was held, but that the RNPC "squandered that opportunity" by choosing to "lambaste public officials" at the meeting. He added that the study was not finished yet, and would be discussed at both a future work session and public hearing to allow for public input.

The contract between the town and BFJ Planning, who are conducting the study, includes $6,000 for a "focus group and public workshop." Walter said Mendez was mistaken, and that the focus group and public workshop were, in fact, the same meeting.

Walter also called Mendez's group a "special interest" that "is splintering the town," and said he doubted the RNPC actually had the more than 1,000 members it claims to represent.

Walter claimed that a new proposal for a 42,000 square foot commercial development on the north side of Route 25A was filed by the owners to "preserve their property rights" in response to the RNPC's lawsuits.

"Your group brought this to a head at this particular time where it would not have come to a head at this particular time," Walter said.

"So they're going to develop land to spite the RNPC?" Mendez asked sarcastically. Walter said it was true, and that the civic association had brought the development upon itself.

The exchange reached a boiling point when Walter accused the group of threatening him. Mendez immediately called his assertion a "bold-faced lie," claiming that Walter was the one who threatened the civic association.

The heated exchange was the latest in an escalating series of stand-offs between the town and the RNCP. A few days before the election, , the executive director of the Pine Barrens Society who has worked closely with the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition and . Walter warned Amper that the RNPC had "sealed [their] fate" over what Walter said was a "political hit piece" allegedly produced by the group.

"Look, do me a favor and save this message and repeat it and play it back," Walter said in the voicemail. "You better hope that Phil Cardinale wins because you’ve sealed your fate." Walter later said he stood by his claims and would pursue legal action against the civic association, which he called a "political party."

The flyer in question, which falsely quoted Walter in a fictitious newspaper called the "Wading River Press," included a statement that it was "paid for by the Riverhead Democratic Committee." Mendez and Amper have both denied the RNPC's involvement. Officials from the Democratic Committee could not confirm or deny whether Amper played a role in the flyer's development.