Town Board to vote on agreement with company to allow cars damaged during Ida to be stored at EPCAL
What will happen to all of those cars that got caught in floods throughout the northeast last week?
Some of them may be coming to the Enterprise Park at Calverton for storage under an agreement with Insurance Auto Auctions Corp of Illinois, the same company the town leased space to for junk cars in 2014. That company “gave notice of its intention to use the 7,000-foot runway, taxiway and other paved areas at EPCAL for storage of damaged vehicles.”
The Riverhead Town Board on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on a resolution to execute an agreement with IAA that will allow cars to be stored on the runway and taxiway adjacent to the 7,000-foot runway at EPCAL, for a fee of $4,175 per month for 50 acres. The meeting begins at 2 p.m.
Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said it’s the same agreement and same company that leased runway and taxiway space from the town in 2014.
“These are cars classified as non-operable because of the storm,” she said.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida — which originally made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm — brought heavy rain to parts of New Jersey, New York City and western Long Island and resulted in serious flooding. The Associated Press reported more than 40 people drowned in their homes and cars in the Northeast.
The cars will not interfere with the runway space for the upcoming Scrambul drag racing series on the weekend of Sept. 25-26. The supervisor said Scrambul still needs to put all the environmental safeguards in place for its event.
She said the agreement with IAA is for three months with an option for two renewals.
“They are paying us a substantial amount of money,” Mr. Aguiar said. Specifically, the agreement says it will continue for two additional periods of three months each unless it is extended or terminated in accordance with the agreement.
According to its website, IAA sells “lightly damaged, salvage and clear-title vehicles, parts cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles and heavy equipment at auctions across the United States.”
