Update: Supervisor says Luminati’s insurance in place
UPDATE (Tuesday, 10:40 a.m.): Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said Friday afternoon Luminati’s insurance on the runway agreement is in fact in place. The current yearly policy took effect on Sept. 21, 2017 and runs through Sept. 21, 2018, she said.
“It’s unfortunate the way that this came out because the councilwoman, if she had spent little more time on this matter, would have found that Luminati’s insurance is in place,” she said.
She said policies are in place to make certain that files associated with the contracts are more readily available.
On Monday, Ms. Giglio said the insurance certificate wasn’t on file until after she sent out the press release Friday morning. The certificate refers back to the insurance policy, which the town does not have on hand, she said.
She also said the certificate shows there is no waiver of subrogation, meaning that if employees get hurt on the property the town could be held liable. But the town is ironing all that out she, said. The town attorney has asked for a copy of the insurance policy to make clear whether the town is covered.
“If the town isn’t covered properly and adequately, I’ll still move to terminate the runway use agreement,” she said Monday.
Original Story: Nearly a week before a qualified and eligible sponsor hearing on Calverton Aviation & Technology on the proposed sale of land at Enterprise Park at Calverton, Riverhead Town Councilwoman Jodi Giglio is calling for the immediate termination of a runway use agreement.
Ms. Giglio said Friday morning that Luminati Aerospace, the aviation technology company in a joint venture with Triple Five Real Estate I LLC, has failed to live up to the terms of the runway use agreement where they were to provide general liability insurance at $5 million and also cover the town.
Promises have not been kept, she said in a statement. When reached Friday morning, she said wanted people to know so that there would be no delay in obtaining an insurance certificate.
“By not providing the necessary insurance and certificates, the town and taxpayers are at risk,” she said.
In preparing her questioning for the Feb. 27 qualified and eligible hearing and reading through the runway use agreement again and testimony provided for that agreement, Ms. Giglio said she went to the town attorney’s office and asked for a copy of the insurance certificate, but it wasn’t with that office or the Community Development Agency.
“Nobody seems to have it, so until we find it and know that the town is covered, I’m calling for the immediate termination of the runway use agreement,” she said.
The runway use agreement began in late 2015 following a Qualified and Eligible hearing.
“The testimony provided by Luminati at the [2015] Qualified and Eligible hearing is what I based my yes vote on when granting them the agreement,” she said. “We’ve lived up to our end of the agreement by allowing them to use the runway, yet they have failed to live up to their end of the agreement. The Town Board cannot continue to allow this agreement to be extended another day putting the taxpayers at risk.”
The upcoming hearing is meant to vet the principals that in the joint venture on the proposed sale of more than 1,600 acres of town-owned land at EPCAL for $40 million.
“I can’t sit another day knowing that Luminati is using the runway agreement and the Town of Riverhead is not holding onto insurance certificate for liability purposes,” she said. “If something should happen on that runway, the Town of Riverhead would be liable. I don’t want the taxpayers to be at risk for another day.”
