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Politics & Government

Town Hall Notes: Town Attorney Leaving; Municipal Health Care Plan and Community Garden Proposed; Police Roof Leaking

In addition, Town Board wants Dreamer's Cove to fix its bulkhead so county can dredge.

Dawn Thomas, Riverhead's town attorney since 2000, said Thursday that she will be leaving that position after the first of the year to become principal law clerk for Judge Ralph Gazzillo of New York State Supreme Court.

She said her probable successor will be Bob Kozakiewicz, the former town supervisor who served from 2000 to 2004, when he was defeated for reelection to a third term by Phil Cardinale.

"The decision is bitter-sweet," Thomas said, "because I love this place. But after 11 years, it's an opportunity I just couldn't turn down to expand my skills."

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She also scoffed at rumors that she was unhappy with Supervisor Sean Walter. "That's simply not true," she said, adding that she also has nothing but praise for the rest of the members of the Riverhead Town Board. "I think they work extremely well together," she said.

Thomas, a Jamesport resident, was appointed town attorney after 10 years in private practice with the firm of Smith, Finkelstein, Lundberg, Isler and Yakaboski.

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For Kozakiewicz, it will be a return to an old job, having served at town attorney under Supervisors Joe Janoski and Jimmy Stark. Since January 2010, he has been a part-time deputy in the town attorney's office.

Impediment to dredging

The Town Board wants the owners of Dreamer's Cove Inn and Spa in Aquebogue, which has changed hands several times in recent years, to replace their bulkhead because the county is refusing to dredge Cases Creek out of fear that the work could destroy an already deteriorating structure.

Under recent revisions to Chapter 54 of the Town Code, the Town Board has the authority to order that repairs be made to unsafe buildings and structures. If the owner of the property doesn't on his or her own contract for the work, the town can engage its own contractor and bill the property owner in the form of a tax lien.

Before taking action under Chapter 54, Supervisor Walter said Thursday that he would prefer to first invite the inn's owners to a work session to discuss the issue and asked Deputy Town Attorney Dan McCormick to send them a letter of invitation.

"It comes down to asking, 'Do you want to do it, or do you want us to do it?'" Supervisor Walter said, pointing out that it is cheaper for an owner to arrange for repairs because if the town organizes the work, it would have to be done at prevailing wage rates.

Reached Thursday afternoon, a man who described himself as Dreamer's Cove manager, but wouldn't give his name, said he is aware of the problems with the bulkhead and has already sought bids from contractors.

Councilman John Dunleavy said that repairs were urgent, because "one property owner is keeping the rest of the residents along the creek from using the creek." Plus, he said, the silted-in creek mouth was creating a health problem with mosquitoes.

Leaks at police headquarters

Riverhead police headquarters is in dire need of a new roof, town engineer Ken Testa said at Thursday's Town Board work session. But Supervisor Walter said he didn't need any convincing.

 "It has been leaking and patched, leaking and patched. This is another example of the town not investing in its infrastructure," said Walter. "The roof passed its useful life in 2008, and it should have been replaced in 2008."

He said that it is even leaking in the radio room, which threatens the dispatch consoles. Plus, he noted, "in the case of a hurricane or another kind of natural disaster, the entire emergency response team goes to the Police Department.

 "This is insane," he said.

According to Councilman Jim Wooten, who was on the board in 2008, the town went out that year with a bid package and even passed a resolution authorizing a $200,000 bond to pay for a new roof.

But Testa said the work never got done because of uncertainty at the time over whether police headquarters should be expanded, and the decision was to wait.

The Town Board asked Testa to proceed quickly with preparing a new bid package.

Community garden on track

A proposal to create a community garden on town-own land in downtown Riverhead will be the subject of a public hearing set for Tuesday, Dec. 28, at the start of a 2 p.m. Town Board meeting.

According to Amy Davidson, co-sponsor of the plan, the one-third acre parcel – located between two storefronts on the south side of West Main St. – would contain 30 garden beds for planting vegetables and the like, each measuring 5 feet by 10 feet.

The beds, Davidson said, would be offered first to people living in downtown Riverhead and then offered to residents town wide should all the beds not be spoken for.

Davidson and her co-sponsor, Laurie Nigro – both downtown residents and amateur gardeners – were met with applause at Tuesday's Town Board when they showed up to thank the Town Board for agreeing to a public hearing.

"Don't thank us, we should thank you for coming up with the idea," said Councilman George Gabrielsen.  Supervisor Sean Walter told them they could rest assure that their proposal would be approved when a resolution comes before the Town Board two weeks after the public hearing. "Oh, this is going to happen," he said.

Davidson said one of the beds would be reserved for education. "Call it a trial bed," she said, where seasoned gardeners can demonstrate a variety of techniques, such as building a cold frame for winter planting. Another bed, she said, would be reserved for young school kids.

Because the parcel runs south from West Main St. to the Peconic River at Grangebel Park, Davidson and Nigro have named their project, "the Roots and River Community Garden."

Health care proposal

Seeking ways to save money on health insurance for town employees, members of the Town Board heard a presentation Thursday on a proposal to join other towns and villages on the East End to form a municipal cooperative health-benefit plan, something now authorized by recently enacted legislation in Albany.

The idea was presented by the mayor of Southampton Village, Mark Epley, who said that predictions that his village's health-care costs would rise by16 percent next year prompted him to look for alternatives to the New York State Insurance Plan – known as NYSHIP –which currently covers most municipalities, Riverhead included.

"What we have to do is think outside the box, be pro-active and find new ways to address the costs," Epley said, noting that a 13-member inter-municipal consortium upstate in Tomkins County has reported savings of more than $90,000 during its first year in operation.

With Epley was Scott Bradley of a Melville-based insurance agency who, for a fee, would prepare a study on what costs Riverhead might be able to save. But he said that Riverhead would have to have partners because a consortium authorized by the new legislation requires the participation of at least 2,000 municipal employees.

Accordingly, he and Epley will be presenting the idea to all East End towns and villages, with Riverhead being his first stop on the schedule. They said in addition to municipalities, school districts could also be invited to join an East End consortium.

Supervisor Walter said he was intrigued by the idea because insurance rates have been rising for Riverhead. But he said he and his colleagues on the Town Board would have to give it more study before committing any seed money.

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