Town Hall Notes: Community Garden Gains Final Approval

A community garden in downtown Riverhead is about to become a reality.

The town board voted unanimously Wednesday night to authorize Supervisor Sean Walter to sign a licensing agreement that will give a non-for-profit group authority to turn .33 acres of town-owned land on West Main Street, just west of Peconic Avenue, into a garden open to amateur gardeners.

Once spring arrives, the property will be divided into 30 garden beds for planting vegetables and the like, each measuring 5 feet by 10 feet, according to Amy Davidson, one of the co-sponsors of the garden, which will be known as the River and Roots Community Garden, inspired by its proximity to the Peconic River.

She said that the beds would first be offered to downtown residents and then offered to residents town-wide should all of the beds not be spoken for. Walter said there will be a link on the town’s website that residents can use to sign up for a bed.

The resolution authorizing Walter’s signature contained the proviso that the sponsors agree to work with members of the community that might be interested in establishing a war memorial at the garden.

The stipulation was included because, at a public hearing on the garden in late December, a representative from VFW Post 2476, John Newman of South Jamesport, had claimed that the property – adjacent to Grangebel Park – had already been promised as the site for a war memorial.

Walter told Newman that no record could be found of any such commitment being made, but said he saw as no reason why the garden couldn’t accommodate a memorial, perhaps in the form of a flag pole and a plaque.

Walter said he warmly welcomed the idea of a community garden because the site where it will be had turned into a blighted area, “filled with people who just hang around all day.”

Recreation fees hiked

The town board voted unanimously Wednesday night to hike fees – in some cases substantially – on everything from renting a ball field at Stotzky Park to holding a group picnic at Iron Pier Beach to tying up overnight at the town dock in downtown Riverhead.

No rationale for the increases was included in the resolution passed by the three board members present – Walter, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio and Councilman Jim Wooten. But after the meeting, Giglio said that the increases were only meant to bring the town’s fee structure in line with that of neighboring towns.

She said the intention was not to make money for the town but to simply break even by covering costs.

Click for a list of the proposed fee raises.

Unsafe structure to be demolished

Following a public hearing Wednesday night, the three members of the town board who were present seemed to agree that they should invoke Chapter 54 of the town code and order that a house at 77 Kay Rd. in Calverton either be made safe or else demolished.

Chapter 54 is the section of town code that deals with unsafe structures and gives the town board authority to demand a remedy, to be performed either by the owner of the structure or arranged by the town at the owner’s expense.

Because a fire in late October had destroyed such a large portion of the house, Fire Marshal Scott Davonski recommended that the structure be demolished because simply boarding it up wouldn’t reduce the risk to the public.

Davonski said the house was in foreclosure and was vacant at the time the fire occurred. “It appears that the owners have walked away from it,” he said. Though invited to testify at the hearing, they didn’t show up.

Several residents who live nearby the building also spoke at the meeting, one suggesting that the house could become a risky temptation for youngsters to enter it, particularly once warmer weather returns.

Davonski said that he had been in contact with the owners via email, fax and telephone directing them to secure the building, but they had not responded. He said he was also in contact with General Motors Acceptance Corp (GMAC), the lender that holds the mortgage.

According to Walter, the cost of demolishing the building would be borne either by the owners or by GMAC, if that institution were to take possession of the property. As for past-due taxes, he explained that the payment of back taxes always gets first priority, even before the mortgage itself.

Walter said the next step would be to go out with a bid package to contractors interested in being hired to demolish the house. He said the town’s highway department, if it had the time, could also do the job, with its expenses billed to the town.