North Fork Preserve price tag: $18.3 million
The Suffolk County Legislature’s environment, planning and agriculture committee on Monday unanimously approved resolutions authorizing $17.8 million to acquire the 307-acre North Fork Preserve property in Northville.
A vote of the full Legislature is still needed to make the purchase official.
Last month, Riverhead Town authorized paying up to $500,000 toward that purchase, bringing the total price to $18.3 million. The county plans to turn the land into a major park. However, the issue of trap and skeet shooting still has officials at odds.
In its resolution, Riverhead Town agreed to contribute up to $500,000 toward the purchase so long as trap and skeet shooting and all-terrain vehicles are not permitted in the park.
County legislators Bill Lindsay (D-Holbrook) and Kate Browning (GP-Shirley) have sought to relocate a controversial skeet shooting range in Ms. Browning’s district to the North Fork Preserve park. A trap and skeet range was not included in plans for the site recently unveiled by the county parks department.