Cannabis cash to help pave Wading River park lot

Riverhead Town plans to use tax revenue collected from cannabis sales to repave the parking lot at Police Officers Memorial Park, also known as Bayberry Park, in Wading River.

The project, discussed at a Town Board work session on Thursday, Oct. 23, is estimated to cost about $325,000.

Town engineers Ken Testa and Drew Dillingham plan to mill and regrade the lot before paving a new surface. The redesign aims to direct rainwater away from the lot and includes drainage rings in areas where water tends to pool. Asphalt curbing will be added to keep water from flowing onto neighboring property, and parking spots will be re-striped once work is complete.

“We were asked to look at the parking lot of Bayberry Park and do an assessment, and things were  in pretty bad shape. It really hasn’t been touched in many years,” said Mr. Testa. “We tried to come up with a reasonable plan that would provide a nice level parking lot, with good drainage, that’ll serve us for 20 to 25 years at a reasonable cost.” 

The goal is to start the project in early November and be done by Christmas, when the asphalt plants close for the winter.

The repair would not have been possible without cannabis revenue, according to Jeanette DiPaola, financial administrator for the town. Riverhead collects 75% of the 4% local cannabis sales tax, with the remaining 25% going to Suffolk County. Combined with a 9% state excise tax, cannabis purchases are taxed at 13% total.

“Primarily, the funding is coming from the cannabis tax, which has provided great use for some of the parks this year,” Ms. DiPaola said. “It’s wonderful to have some extra funding to be able to use, so without that, we would not have been able to make these improvements.”

To date, the Town of Riverhead has received $303,510 in cannabis taxes tax revenue from Suffolk County, Riverhead officials said. A portion of the Bayberry Park project’s cost will be covered by development fees paid into a special recreation facility fund.

This isn’t the first project funded by cannabis money. The town allocated $25,000 in cannabis revenue last month to resurface the heavily used pickleball courts at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton and has also used the funds to repair the bicycle trail there.

Repairing the parking lot at Bayberry has been a priority for the Parks and Recreation Department for some time, said Marjorie Acevedo, chair of the recreation advisory committee.

“It’s unanimous, the support for this, because it’s so badly needed. I mean, it’s been one of the priorities of our top five improvements that are needed in our parks,” Ms. Acevedo said. “Bayberry is really at the top of the list. It’s almost dangerous.”

Mr. Testa said the engineering department is looking at paving an existing service road to create better handicap access and add accessible parking spaces, which he believes can be done within the $325,000 budget.

Councilman Ken Rothwell emphasized that the project isn’t funded by property taxes.

“We’re able to do projects like this through development fees, through cannabis fees, and we’re always looking for grants. We’re looking for every other opportunity, but I think that’s the fiscal way to do it, and I’m just so proud of that this project is getting done,” Mr. Rothwell said.

Even Joann Waski, a staunch opponent of cannabis in Riverhead, acknowledged the benefit of the funding. 

“As opposed as I have been to cannabis here in Riverhead, this is one of the positive things that has come out of cannabis,” Ms. Waski said. “Now that we have the cannabis funding coming in, we’re able to utilize it in such a positive way, and I’m so happy that Wading River is getting the attention that they so deserve.”

Cannabis revenue has become a significant funding source for local projects. Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer reported collecting more than $4 million in cannabis tax revenue so far this year at a Suffolk County Supervisors Association meeting held Wednesday, Oct. 22.

“A lot of the naysayers were worried that [cannabis] was going to be negative to our town by having dispensaries, and then just like the uproar about medical marijuana, when they first opened up, it just doesn’t happen,” Supervisor Tim Hubbard said. “I rode by Strain Stars the other day, and I saw an elderly couple coming out the door. The man had a walker, and the lady had a cane. There’s a lot of people that use cannabis for very different reasons.”

While cannabis revenue has provided benefits, the town is still working through disagreements with the state over local zoning authority. Riverhead has joined Southampton Town in hiring outside counsel to challenge the state Office of Cannabis Management’s determination that local zoning rules are preempted by state law.

Mr. Hubbard said a representative from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office attended the Oct. 22 supervisors meeting and heard the towns’ concerns about home rule and their authority to regulate where dispensaries can locate.

“You gave us the right to do this and time, manner and place, and now you’re changing the field on us, that’s not fair,” Mr. Hubbard said at the work session. “Hopefully we’re gonna get a positive outcome out of this very soon.