meeting minutes

january 23, 2003

I. Open with Moment of Silence for Gordon Hurley followed by Pledge of Allegiance.

Ref: "walk-thru" @ PPL property with Bill Lewis. WR Civic continues to encourage healthy relationship with utility.

II. Minutes of November Meeting not available for January 23, 2003 meeting.

III. Treasurer's Report : Approximately $2,279.00 in Civic Business Acct and $1,839.00 in Duck Pond Acct.

Ref: Grant -- Michael Caracciola

Reminder: Dues are Due for 2003.

IV. Correspondence

Hallockville Museum director and it's members have sent letter of thank-you to the WR Civic for being among Civic groups lending their support to the "Citizen's Advisory Roundtable" - Riverhead.

Still waiting for "Councilmanic" Districts to be designated and implemented in Town of Brookhaven. The recommendation is to establish two districts (one Republican, one Democrat) in three different areas within the Township. There should be a total of six councilmanic districts- (2) in Northern Brookhaven, (2) in Southern Brookhaven, and (2) in Central Brookhaven. So far, Supervisor John J, LaValle has been cooperative.

The Shoreham-Wading River H.S. students enrolled in Mr. Kevin Mann's "Community Relations" class have been hard at work preparing a brochure for the community. The Civic has been presented with a prototype of the brochure, and according to Sid, "it looks great!". The final product will definitely be worth collecting.

V. Committee Reports

Helga Guthy's report was accompanied by a bevy of detailed pamphlets which can be viewed on the BNL website if you were not able to acquire them. Helga referred to "Cleanup" at the Lab, Tim Bishop's Visit to BNL, Peconic Risk Assessment and Removal of Sewerage Tanks.

ZERO INCIDENT at Grumman site. The WR Civic has been on a committee for the past four years involving a cleanup, by the U.S. Navy, of approximately 400 acres of land that was formerly utilized as a landfill by Grumman. There are concerns about the Southern portion of the area and subsequent groundwater contamination. Bill Gunther is an active member of this committee.

WR CIVIC WEBSITE : Howard Zelzer is in the process of beautifying the website and would like to see the "hit" counter click! It's informative and soon to be interactive in "real" time. Currently, you may respond to issues, ask questions and offer feedback. Check Out The WEBSITE at WWW. WADING RIVER. ORG
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VI. Unfinished Business

A. Status of Little Flower Proposal(s) : Still controversy surrounding topic of "infirmary" expansion and installation of new programs for previously abused children, who could potentially develop abusive tendencies. Sid met with current president of Little Flower, Mr. Herbert Stupp and there is no new information to be had.

B. Kiddie Academy Entrances: The original site plan submitted to the Town of Riverhead in '2000', showed two entrance/exits at the new office park. When the Plan was disclosed to the public, residents disapproved of the two entrances and approached the Developer, essentially requesting a single entrance to be located on 25A only. Apparently, the Developer needed to have a Change of Zoning approved by the Planning Board, so he agreed to one entrance/exit on 25A. Now it seems, as of January '03, a work session revealed that a single entrance would not satisfy "safety" issues and the Planning Board reverted back to the original Site Plan. The "new" second entrance/exit will open to North Country Road (Parker La.). Mark Kwasna (Highway Dept.), and Rick Hanley (Traffic Safety Riverhead) headed up this site study.

C. Horizon Condominiums Fence: All new developments along Rte 25A need to include a 50 ft. setback (just in case the State needs to widen 25A), and also Natural Buffers are to remain INTACT. There are concerns regarding the meandering fence /\/\/\/\/\/ along 25A at Horizon & Kiddie Academy's 25A side is CLEARLY violation. We could push for new plantings to create a new natural buffer.

D. Duck Pond Day will resume in 2004.

E. Pond Dredging: The Ponds are still as shallow and in dire need of a dredge. The original grant fell through, but Nicole Fanelli and Rich Gibney are planning to make new applications for grants. Nicole and Rich had a meeting with Bill Lewis of PPL Global, our new neighbor to the West. Hopefully, we will hear some good news pertaining to removal of sediment from our twinponds.

F. New Parking Lot: Revitalization of the Downtown parking lot should begin when the weather breaks, optimistically-speaking, this could be soon! The bond amount was for $238,000.00 and an East End Contractor won the Bid, the Corazzini Brothers of Greenport, NY.

G. Spring Meadow: Spring Meadow is the property located on the southside of Rte 25A between Wading River Acres and Wading River Estates. The "File" on this particular parcel goes back to '1987'. The parcel encompasses 187 acres between Route 25A and Route 25. Most of the property lies in the SWR school district, with a small portion in the Longwood Dist. (Lake Panamoka). Legislator Mike Caracciolo successfully prompted Suffolk County to buy 120 of those acres. The remaining 57 acres has a new owner. This new owner's application to build is close to being approved. The Pine Barrens Association, however, declared that this new owner is not entitled to build as many homes as he has apparently made application to Brookhaven's Planning Dept. to build and if he did build as he deems is his right to do- then these new houses will infringe on the covenants of the Pine Barrens. A Judge has ruled in favor of the Pine Barrens and now the Town seeks to have this decision overturned. It is not too late to call the new Commissioner of Planning, Mr. Daniel Gulizio to inquire about this land. Telephone: (631) 451 - 6400 .

VII. New Business

1. Last Chance Riverhead Coalition : The WR Civic has joined the Coalition and our membership is "Pending". The next Coalition Meeting will be in March and will probably be held at the Riverhead Free Library , Downtown Riverhead. January 23, 2003 - Civic members voted in favor of a motion to join the Coalition.

2. Guest Speaker, Mr. Ken Barra of East Wind Caterers, Wading River Mr. Barra was invited to join the Civic this evening to discuss his plans to build a second "Country Inn" on land adjacent to the Wading River Professional Center on Route 25A. The application was approved by the Town of Riverhead in Nov., 2002. Mr. Barra submitted his proposal to build a
year before the October 2002 Work Session discussion redefining the term "country inn" from 50 rooms down to 20. Mr. Barra brought architectural renderings of the Inn and the new restaurant to be built there, as well. Civic members voiced their concerns pertaining to noise levels, lighting, night time traffic (i.e. delivery trucks) and landscaping to provide natural buffers for existing neighbors of North Country Rd.

This concludes the Minutes for WR Civic Meeting