Town Hall Notes: Supervisor to Sign Indemnity Agreement with County for Dredging

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter has requested and received Town Board authority to sign an agreement with the county that would hold the county harmless in case any damages to bulkheads and the like result from dredging creeks and waterways.

Walter had first balked at signing the indemnity agreement, but on Thursday said that the town has no choice but to comply. "I've researched this with the county," he said. "I don't think it's appropriate that they ask for it, but if we're going to get dredged, we have to agree to indemnification."

Walter said that he had spoken with Southhold Town Supervisor Scott Russell who said that he had already agreed to sign a similar agreement for his town.

Formal authority for signing the indemnity agreement should come at Tuesday's Town Board meeting, allowing dredging to go forth in South Jamesport and Aquebogue at Hawks Creek, East Creek and the Miamogue Canal.

Ken Testa, town engineer, said that work there should begin around Dec. 15.

Three-year dog licenses

The Riverhead Town Board has tweaked its proposal for new dog-licensing fees to give residents the option to sign up for licenses good for three years, provided a pet owner can produce a certificate from a veterinarian showing that a dog has been given a three-year rabies shot.

Two weeks ago, in discussing higher fees made necessary by changes in the way the state handles licensing, Town Clerk Diane Wilhelm said she didn't think computer software in her office could easily handle documentation for both one-year licenses and three-year licenses and proposed that only one-year licenses be offered, as is currently the case.

At Thursday's Town Board work session, however, Wilhelm said that new computer programming would allow for both types of licenses. Since rabies shots are administered in both one-year and three-year doses, Town Board members wanted the convenience of a three-year license and have set a public hearing on new fees for the next Town Board meeting, Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m

Under the proposed changes, the fee for dogs that have been spayed or neutered would be $27 for a three-year license and $9 for a one-year license, up from the current one-year fee of $5. The fee for unaltered dogs would be $45 for a three-year license and $15 for a one-year license, up from the current one-year fee of $13.

Wilhelm said the higher fees are necessary to cover her costs beginning on Jan. 1, when certain administrative work once handled by the state will be shifted to municipalities on Jan. 2010 – another example, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio observed, of "an unfunded mandate."

As part of Tuesday's public hearing, there will also be a proposal to increase impoundment fees on dogs picked up by the town's animal control officers and brought to Riverhead's animal shelter on Young Ave.  Under the proposal, the fees for the first 24 hours would be raised to $40 from $30. For each additional 24-hour period, the fee would increase to $5 from $3.

According to Councilman James Wooten, liaison to the animal shelter, higher fees are required to cover increased costs.