Town Hall Notes: Public Hearing on the Acquisition of North Fork Preserve Set for Dec. 7

The proposed acquisition of the 311-acre North Fork Preserve in the hamlet of Northville moved a step closer to reality Wednesday when the Town Board voted 5-0 to hold a public hearing on whether the town should spend $500,000 of its available Community Preservation Funds bonding authority to contribute 10 percent of the purchase price.

Suffolk County has already approved spending $4,500,000, or 90 percent of the $5 million dollar acquisition price, which would come out of the county's Drinking Water Protection Program, established in 2007. According to the resolution approved at Wednesday's Town Board meeting, the county has expressed a desire to acquire the property "for active recreational use."

Although the resolution did not specify what the county means by active recreational use, the undeveloped parcel, which runs along Sound Shore Rd. and extends southward toward Sound Ave., is currently being used as a hunting preserve, with facilities for skeet shooting.

According to the county's tax map, roughly half of the parcel is owned by North Fork Preserve Inc., the other half by Myron Kaplan and the estate of Robert Krudop. Preserving the property for open space has long been priority of environmental groups.

The hearing has been scheduled for 2:10 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 7, at Riverhead Town Hall.

More discussion on lay-offs

Matt Hattoff, president of the Riverhead chapter of the Civil Service Employees Association – the union comprising most of the town's employees, with the exception of the police – spoke at Wednesday's Town Board meeting, asking what he described as a "simple question."

He wanted to know whether members of the Town Board felt that the roughly  nine percent reduction in the town's union workforce, as called for in Supervisor Sean Walter's tentative budget for 2011, would result in a decline in services for town residents.

Supervisor Sean Walter replied that Riverhead is not alone in needing to reduce its expenses by cutting staff, noting that in towns across the country, "everyone is being asked to do more with less."

Councilman John Dunleavy said he thought the tentative budget might be "picking on the wrong jobs to eliminate, " pointing specifically to the elimination of a fire marshall, leaving the department with only two professionals. "I can't see reducing that job," Dunleavy said.

Councilman George Gabrielsen emphasized that "nothing has been finalized" in the budget. Councilman Jim Wooten said the Town Board, in its budget negotiations, were attempting to "find way to save jobs."

By law, a final town budget must be approved by the Town Board by Nov. 20. This leaves the Town Board with two choices between now and then: It can vote on a budget that makes changes in spending proposals put forth in the supervisor's preliminary budget; or it can agree to make no changes, which automatically means that the preliminary budget becomes the final budget for 2011.

Walter's preliminary – or tentative – budget, which he presented on Sept. 30, calls for the elimination of six full-time positions and seven part-time employees, but does not touch the Police Department.  It proposes spending $42.383 million from the town's General Fund, representing a $894,878, or 2.07%, reduction in authorized spending versus spending in the current year.

All told, when spending authorizations for the General Fund, the Highway Fund and the Street Lighting District are included, Walter's budget would result in a 4.3 percent increase in real estate taxes, an increase that Councilman George Gabrielsen and Councilwoman Jodi Giglio have vowed to reduce to below four percent.

In presenting his budget, Walter had explained that, despite a proposed decrease in spending for 2011, an anticipated $2.6 million shortfall in town revenues made the tax increase necessary.

The only part of the tentative budget the Town Board cannot change are salaries for elected officials, which show no change from the current year and which were part of yesterday's budget hearing. Following is their salary schedule:

Town Supervisor                                    $155,148

Town Board Councilpersons (4)            $47,598

Town Receiver of Taxes                         $69,597

Town Assessors (2)                                    $$72,386

Town Assessor Chair                                    $81,718

Town Clerk                                                $72,386

Town Justices (2)                                    $73,012

Highway Superintendent                        $81,845

Dead-end street to get a name                       

When the traffic circle connecting Middle Road, Osborn Avenue and Horton Avenue was created three years ago, it cut off access from the north to the southern end of Horton Ave., making the section a dead end, with access only from Osborn Ave.

Now there's a proposal to give that severed section a name of its own – Horton Avenue South. Town Board has approved a resolution calling for a public hearing on the name change issue for 2:05 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Riverhead Town Hall.