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Politics & Government

Town Hall Notes: Supervisor Lays Off a Member of His Staff

North Fork Preserve moves closer to acquisition.

One of the six full-time positions that will be eliminated in Supervisor Sean Walter's budget for 2011 is one held by his special projects coordinator, Dave Cullen, who has been filling the position of legislative secretary in the supervisor's office since the start of the year.

The move came as a surprise because the original plan was to eliminate a secretary in the Juvenile Aid Bureau. But a last minute switch was made to save that job and eliminate Cullen's instead.

The switch was spelled out in a resolution that wasn't shared with the press until after a vote on it was taken at Thursday's night's town board meeting, but Walter said there is nothing mysterious about what was done.

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"Dave did a wonderful job. We asked him to turn the Riverhead water district around, and in the year that he's been here he's done that," Walter said. "It's was a tough decision, but if you're going to be laying off staff members, you have to look to your own staff as well.

"He did a fantastic job, Walter continued. "When circumstances are better, Dave may end up again at Town Hall."

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This will mark the second time Cullen has lost a job at Town Hall. He had been an assistant to former Supervisor Phil Cardinale until he was let go in 2007 for refusing to take a civil service exam.

Other positions listed in the resolution for elemination include an animal control officer, a cultural affairs supervisor in the recreation department, a community development program technician, a fire marshal and a site plan reviewer.

According to Walter, Sean McCabe, the animal control officer to be laid off, has been transferred to an open position in the sewer district.

More progress on North Fork Preserve

The long-hoped-for public acquisition of North Fork Preserve – the 311 acres of pristine woodlands and wetlands between Sound Avenue and Sound Shore Road in the Riverhead hamlet of Northville – moved closer into view Tuesday night when the town board approved spending $500,000 in Community Preservation Fund money to partner with Suffolk County on the purchase.

Riverhead's contribution will be minor, covering only a 10 percent share in a 90-acre section of the preserve that will be set aside for active recreation. The remainder of the money to purchase the entire preserve – estimated by County Legislator Ed Romaine to be around $18 million – is expected to come out of funds held in the county's drinking water protection fund.

Romaine earlier this year introduced a resolution authorizing planning steps to acquire the property, passage of which indicated the county's willingness to move forward with the purchase. The next step, according to Romaine, is for County Executive Steve Levy to introduce an acquisition resolution stating that he has a contract with the sellers.

That has not happened yet, Romaine said, but he expects it to take place sometime in the first half of 2011.

Deer hunting lottery

The Riverhead Town Board approved a resolution Thursday night allowing recreational deer hunting on town property at Enterprise Park in Calverton between Jan. 3 through Jan. 31, the normal season for hunting deer with firearms in New York State.

When the idea was first discussed last week at a town board work session, the thought was to make hunting permits available to Riverhead residents on a first come, first serve basis. At Councilman John Dunleavy's suggestion, however, a lottery will be held instead, scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 27 at Town Hall.

To be eligible for the lottery, hunters must present a tax receipt or driver's license showing they are Riverhead residents, according to Tom Gabrielsen, a member of the ad hoc committee that is organizing the hunt.  They must also have a valid big game hunting license issued by the state.

Pursuant to Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, hunting will only be allowed on weekdays, with lottery winners given permits costing $10 for two consecutive days. Though the DEC allows three hunters for 30 acres, the town is permitting only three hunters for each of the seven approximately 100-acre sections that have been mapped out for hunting.

 

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