Politics & Government

Town Hall Notes: New Fire Marshal, Online Rec Payments, and More

Take a look at what's going on in town hall.

On Wednesday, the Riverhead Town Board voted on nearly three dozen reoslutions at its biweekly board meeting. No public hearings were held, though the board did hear a presentation lasting about 90 minutes on a Route 25A corridor study in Wading River, which drew mixed reactions from members of the public.

We've picked out a handful of measures that may interest you. Click here for the complete list of resolutions.

1. Following the , the town has re-hired former Fire Marshal Craig Zitek to take his place. , leaving the town with two fire marshals since. Since Davonski left, Fire Marshal David Andruszkiewicz has been on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Board members also passed a resolution granting on-call fire marshals one hour of pay for every shift of on-call they serve. 

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Andruszkiewicz was on edge waiting for the baord to hire Zitek, a former Jamesport Fire Department chief, who starts back in early March. "I haven't been able to leave town, take a vacation. So it will be nice to have Craig back."

Zitek will now serve as chief fire marshal, with Andruszkiewicz continuing his role as fire marshal I. 

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2. The board awarded a bid to Michigan-based RecPro for software that will allow residents to pay for recreation program services online. The three-year contract will cost the town $33,000, including support costs. Recreation Superintendent the software will make the lives of rec program users "much easier." He said the software should be up and running for summer programs.

3. Doing some construction around the house? Chances are less now that you'll need a building permit to do the work. Previously, homeowners had to file for a permit if they were doing over $3,000 in any ordinary repairs around the house. The town board now limited permitting to structural work, such as re-roofing, additions, and decks, with no dollar amount attached to the permit.

4. Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilman John Dunleavy removed themselves from the Audit Committee, and their vacancies will be filled by Susan Bandiera and Stephen Patterson. Bandiera is the treasurer with the North Fork Breast Health Coalition, and Patterson is the co-owner of the Patterson Energy Group. Dunleavy said he favored the group consisting of non-town board members, to give the committee greater autonomy. 

5. The town board posted a public hearing to codify dog parks on town property. Councilman Jim Wooten - - is working toward installing a park in Calverton.


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