Civic Leaders Vow to Vote Down Bus Barn

"We're going to fight this all the way. We're never stopping."

So said Rich Naso, chair of the Southampton Town citizens' advisory council, about a proposed relocation of the Riverhead school district's bus barn to Riverside that has residents outraged.

"We're angry," said Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association member Chris Sheldon.

Members of various civic organizations turned out for Tuesday's board of education meeting to express their opposition to the second proposition voters will be asked to decide upon during the school board election on May 21.

The proposition would ask the voters to allow the Riverhead school district to purchase two parcels of land that could pave the way for a new bus garage to have access to Route 24/Flanders Road.

"I recognize that some people are opposed to this idea, although I also recognize that there are no ideas where absolutely everyone will be in agreement," Riverhead School Superintendent Nancy Carney said Tuesday in an email. "The plan we have was developed with several factors in mind."

The bus garage currently utilized by the district was built in 1920 as a horse barn "and has fallen into disrepair," with holes in the roof and exposed wires, Carney said at Tuesday's board meeting.

"Unfortunately, for many years it was neglected as budgets were spent on other priorities. We have done our best of late keeping up with its maintenance, but the building is failing in many regards and needs to be replaced."

The first proposition on the ballot asks voter permission to establish a capital reserve for a new or renovated garage, Carney said. The capital reserve, which functions like a savings account, results in no increase in taxes, no impact on the levy and no debt.

"We are simply going to save money year after year in order to pay for a new garage," Carney said. 

The money would come from two main sources -- proceeds from the sale of district owned land on Tuthills Lane in Aquebogue, and from excess funds available at the end of the fiscal year -- up to $10 million, she said.

"Once enough has been saved, we will be able to replace or renovate the existing structure," Carney said.

The second proposition, totaling just about three acres, asks for voter permission to acquire two small parcels of land in Enterprise Zone Drive in Flanders for $480,000 that are adjacent to district-owned property, Carney said.

"We are exploring the idea of placing the new bus garage on district-owned land and using this new land as an access road to get the buses in and out without impacting any residential neighborhoods. In looking for a location for the new garage, we set three factors: the land had to be centrally located; the land had to be removed from residential areas; and the land had to be affordable. The land we are looking at acquiring meets all three of these tests," Carney said.

The superintendent said since the district only reaches out to the voters once per year, if they were to wait until May 2014 for approval to purchase the property, "we run the risk that the land would be sold to another party."

However, Carney reminded, much analysis still would need to be done before the board determined whether the garage could stay in its current location or be moved. "But without acquiring voter permission for these two tracts, we would have no options to proceed."

Even if the board purchased the land, the public would still have to vote next year about whether to move the bus barn. And, nothing could happen until funds were saved to build a new transportation facility -- so the proposed move would still be years ahead in the future.

Carney said, in response to the public outcry over the bus barn, that the board of education holds public meetings to discuss such issues. "We welcome the public to attend and voice their concerns, questions or wishes with the board."

She added that she regularly attends civic association meetings and will continue to do so at the invitation of any organization that wishes to meet with her. 

"As far as input from the town board, I am proud of the working relationship the school district has with representatives from all three town governments that our district encompasses. However, the planning and construction of school facilities is solely a matter for the local Board of Education and the New York State Department of Education to govern," Carney said.

At Tuesday's meeting, Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association President Brad Bender read a letter from Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst -- and signed by Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman --over the proposed bus barn relocation.

Throne-Holst said she was writing to express her concern over the plan, which she said would have "a negative effect" on schoolchildren who attend the Phillips Avenue Elementary school, which is adjacent to the proposed site for the bus barn.

The proposal, Throne-Holst said, would also negatively impact economic revitalization and place "a major traffic burden squarely on the backs of residents who live in a mainly residential area."

The buses, the supervisor said, would add buses to an already overburdened traffic circle in Riverside during peak times and place an "impossible burden" not only on schoolchildren but on already "woefully inadequate" area roads.

"Additionally, the use of the LI 40 zoned property proposed for purchase by the district for a 'driveway' is alien to the use that the Town of Southampton has in mind for the light industrial park envisioned for the Enterprise Zone," Throne-Holst wrote. "The Flanders/Riverside community would lose much-needed tax base revenue if the parcel in question is used solely for a 'driveway'. It would have a negative impact on the town’s marketing efforts for the other parcels in the Enterprise Zone, again, causing undue tax burdens on the Flanders/Riverside residents, and impeding the Town’s revitalization vision for the community."

Throne-Holst and Schneiderman urged the board of education to reconsider the plan.

Vince Taldone, FRNCA vice president, said local civic organizations have worked for a decade to boost the area economy and generate much-needed well-paying jobsa and revenue.

He, and others who spoke, were angry about the lack of outreach by the school board to the community.

"We were unaware of the district's plans. There was no outreach about plans to build this facility in our backyard. I think that's wrong and a bad policy of this board. This board of education has a policy of, 'If they find out, we'll deal with it.' Well, we did find out -- and we oppose it."

Flanders resident Carl Iacone said the board's lack of transparency was "an injustice to the whole community."

He added, "We're a poor community, we're not a rich community. We may be a part of Southampton own, but we're the poor end of town. We need what we can get."

A bus facility on the property, Iacone said, will spark traffic woes, no matter what time of day the buses. "And the fumes near the schoolchildren? That's disgraceful."

Iacone said the proposal would call for additional cost to residents, including the need for increased police and fire services. 

"We're going to vote this down," he said. "We are asking you to reconsider and find another spot for this garage. We're looking for relief -- not to be buried more and more."

Chrissy Prete, a Flanders resident and former Riverhead school board member said the decision to purchase three acres for $480,00 and sell the development rights on the 25 acres in Aquebogue for $1.3 million "makes absolutely no sense. That's not good business."

She asked why the bus barn could not be sited in Aquebogue on the property being sold; board of education president Ann Cotten-DeGrasse said the community there opposed the idea.

Naso expressed disappointment at the way residents learned of the proposal and said traffic studies were needed. The county's proposed plan to redirect traffic into the Enterprise Zon would cause a "bottleneck," he said. "You need to go back to the drawing board."

Sheldon said Riverside and Flanders residents were already burdened by school taxes. "You've got working class people, in the most densely populated part of Southampton, living paycheck to paycheck. You've got to see the whole picture -- and communicate with us. We're a huge population and if we all turn out to vote we can swing an election. If this goes forward, we will continue to fight."

Carney said nothing had been decided. The current bus barn could be demolished and renovated, she said. "Just so you are aware, we are still looking at options," she said. She added that she was glad for the communication with the public.

Sandy Adams, vice president of the Riverwoods Home Association, called for a traffic study. Currently, driving to Riverhead "is a nightmare at times," she aid.

Taldone added that although FRNCA members opposed the bus barn project, the organization works year-round to support the Phillips Avenue Elementary school with a toy and coat drive and fund-raising for a new playground and scholarships.

Bender said the buses are already located adjacent to the school; moving the site would mean an increase in fuel bills and travel time. Also, he and Prete said the land on the current bus barn site could be "toxic" and might need remediation. "What will that cost?" he asked. "How much more money are we going to be squeezed for? Seventy-eight perent of our tax bill is on your shoulders. We can't stand much more."

FRNCA members, he added, could not watch televised school board meetings. "We have no clue of what's going on over here. We are going to go to the ballot box en masse and vote this down."

"We are not a cash cow," said Iacone.