Town Hall Notes: Walter Starts 'Awareness Campaign' for Dogs, Riverhead Resorts Partner Expected Soon

Supervisor Sean Walter called for a recess at yesterday afternoon's Town Board meeting so he could introduce to the audience and TV cameras two dogs that are up for adoption at the Riverhead animal shelter on Youngs Ave. He said he would probably bring more dogs to future Town Board meetings in attempt to get more of them adopted to ease overcrowding at the shelter.

Yesterday's visitors were two Jack Russell mixes – one-year old Bill and his sister, Jill - brought to the meeting by the town's chief animal control officer, Lou Coronese, and his chief kennel attendant, Vicky Cain.

Earlier in the day, Walter issued a press release announcing the start of what he called an "awareness campaign" to step up efforts to publicize the dogs that are available for adoption.

The campaign comes after last week's work session, when the town board grappled over what to do with the shelter after a second request for proposal to privitaze operations only received one bid - again. One issue the shelter has constantly faced on a day-to-day level is dealing with pit bulls, which often go unadopted and left at the shelter for extended periods of time.

Walter had said, "my opinion is that the more humane thing is not to leave them in a kennel for another six months. I think the Town Code gives us a certain amount of time to hold the dog and after that we euthanize the dog."

On Tuesday, Walter emphasized that "we are not looking to deal with our capacity problems by putting animals down."

"Of course, aggressive animals that endanger or bite the shelter staff will always have to be dealt with," he stated, "but it is our intention to strengthen our efforts to have our animals find good homes and for our residents to have the opportunity to adopt a good friend."

A list of adoptable dogs at the Riverhead Animal Shelter can be found here.

Riverhead Resorts Partner to Attend Next Work Session

The next work session of the Riverhead Town Board – scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 13, at 9:30 a.m. – is expected to get a visit from John Niven, the Scotland-residing principal partner of Riverhead Resorts, which yesterday got an extension from the board on the approximately $6 million payments that are now overdue.

Niven is expected to reiterate what his lawyer, Mitch Pally of the Weber Law Group, has already told the board – namely that he has successfully arranged financing with a London-based financial institution and will be able to come up with the money by Nov. 3, the deadline the board set yesterday.

Work sessions are usually held on Thursdays, but Walter said he moved next week's meeting to Wednesday because he has jury duty the next day. As always, Town Board work sessions are open to the public to attend, with taped versions aired on Channel 22.

Leaf Bags Go Out for Bid

The Town Board voted, 3-2, to advertise for seal bids for biodegradable bags for use by the Highway Department in its by Highway Superintendent George "Gio" Woodson, which will ask residents to voluntarily use leaf bags starting this month to gather their leaves, rather than leave them loose at the curb for the highway department to scoop up.

Councilman George Gabrielsen, who voted against a transfer of funds at the Town Board's last meeting to pay for the program, voted against going out for bids Tuesday, explaining that he prefers to have the voluntary leaf bagging program start small in a defined section of the town to test how it works.

Walter, who has maintained from the start that the leaf bag program will cost the town money rather than save money, also voted against the bid authorization.

Very Young Supervisor, but Only for a Day

Six-year-old Jazmine Karprzyk, a first-grade pupil at Roanoke School, served briefly as a fill-in for Supervisor Walter at yesterday's Town Board meeting, sitting in the chair Supervisor Walter usually occupies.

Jazmine was awarded the title of "Supervisor of the Day" for completing a reading program this summer at the Riverhead Free Library. She said she had read 40 books, which qualified for a drawing to select a supervisor of the day. The naming of a fill-in supervisor has gone on for years, but Jazmine appears to be the youngest to ever be selected.