Sandy-Damaged Car Company Extends EPCAL Contract

Cars damaged by Superstorm Sandy will still be sited at Enterprise Park at Calverton a while longer -- at least for the next month.

On Thursday, a representative of Insurance Auto Auction Corp. came before the Riverhead Town board at a work session and asked for a lease extension, to continue storing vehicles on 15 acres at EPCAL.

Supervisor Sean Walter asked how many cars are currently stored at the site; the rep said the number is approximately 1800, down from 7000.

Walter also asked how many employees were currently on site; the representative said the number was 10, but at the "heyday" of the project, there were around 100.

The supervisor said those employees frequented area restaurants and businesses and were an economic boon to the town.

And, Walter said, so far, the company has brought $1.7 million to Riverhead through its lease agreement. "We'd love to have you stay," he said. "You've brought a huge amount of money into the area."

Councilman John Dunleavy added that the company had been a good tenant, helping to clean the property.

The initial lease, Walter said, was a six-month lease with a three-month option. IAA sent a letter, he said, adding they would either terminate the lease, which expires next week, or stay on 15 acres. 

IAA, said the rep, no longer needs to pay for 52 acres; he added if the board was not amenable to leasing the lesser space for additional time, the cars would be removed by next week.

"Either we keep them for a little while longer or they're leaving next week," Walter said.

The new agreement would mean IAA would start by leasing 15 acres, for $48,000 per month, based on the original number of $3200 per acre, per month.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio pointed out that the initial contract stated they'd pay $167,000 per month; Walter pointed out that the original contract was now canceled.

The new agreement would state that IAA could not go below 10 acres, or $32,000 per month.

IAA asked for a month-to-month agreement; Walter said he'd like to start with a three-month agreement.

The IAA representative, however, said he was not sure how long the company would need to stay and would like a monthly agreement. "We're not sure we want to be here for three months because we have other options," he said.

Giglio said the new agreement would allow for the town to use the runways and other areas for events and activities planned by other organizations.

She also said she believed IAA should stick with the terms of their initial contract. "A contract is a contract," she said. "I don't know why taxpayers should get the short end of the stick."

Dunleavy and Walter both said taxpayers would suffer if IAA pulled out entirely, bringing no additional cash to the town's coffers.

"I see no downside to this," Walter said. "No one will come in and pay this kind of rent. And they'll still be bringing in ancillary money."

Dunleavy agreed: "The taxpayers are winning, because if they leave we get no money."

The board agreed to green light the new lease agreement.

The Riverhead Town board authorized  IAA to lease space on three separate occasions over the past months, amending the initial lease agreement.