Councilwoman Jodi Giglio amended the Riverhead Town Board work session agenda Thursday morning to include an item for dredging of Wading River Creek.
There is money allocated for the work, which would cost about $123,000, according to Ms. Giglio. The area needs to be surveyed prior to dredging, which would cost about $6,800, in order for the creek to be dredged in October. READ
That the Environmental Protection Agency appears ready to allow dumping of materials dug up from dredging in Long Island Sound didn’t come as a surprise to environmentalist Adrienne Esposito. READ
Cases Creek in April. (Credit: Viola Hansen courtesy)
Cases Creek in Aqueobogue may finally be dredged next year, according to Riverhead Town officials. (more…)
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Riverhead’s bay constable, Jim Divan, heads to the bay from East Creek in Jamesport Monday morning.
The Suffolk County Department of Public Works is planning to dredge four creeks in Riverhead Town between now and Jan. 15, weather permitting, according to Bill Hillman, the DPW’s chief engineer. Those sites are Meetinghouse Creek in Aquebogue, East Creek in South Jamesport, Hawks Creek in Jamesport (near Great Peconic Bay Marina), and Miamogue Lagoon in Jamesport.
Cases Creek in Aquebogue was also on the list of creeks the county planned to dredge. But the work will have to wait until the new owner of the adjacent Dreamer’s Cove Motel repairs the bulkhead and jetty.
The owner has obtained a state permit to do so, officials said.
“It doesn’t appear that will happen this year, but the other four [creeks] are on our agenda,” Mr. Hillman said. “They will be done toward the end of our dredge season. Riverhead is always the last town we do since we keep the dredge in Riverhead.
Mr. Hillman added that for East Creek and Hawks Creek, “We need to double check and see if they actually need to be dredged.”
In September, county DPW commissioner Gil Anderson asked the Town Board to pay overtime costs for the dredging jobs, estimated to be about $11,300. He made similar requests of other towns, too.
Mr. Anderson said DPW would need to run double shifts working seven days a week to finish the 23 dredging jobs it plans to do countywide with its one dredge within the 107-day dredging season. That season ends Jan. 15 due to environmental constraints pertaining to winter fluke.
Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter said the Town Board has authorized paying for the county overtime.
The Suffolk County Department of Public Works plans to dredge five creeks in Riverhead Town, weather depending, but it also wants the town to pay the overtime costs for these jobs, which is estimated at about $11,300.
Gil Anderson, the public works commissioner, discussed the plans with the Riverhead Town Board at its work session Thursday. He said the department has 23 dredging jobs countywide and an approximately 107-day window to complete them. That will require workers in double-shifts working seven days a week, he said. Because of environmental restrictions pertaining to winter fluke, the dredging must be done within that period.
Mr. Anderson said the proposed dredging spots are: Meetinghouse Creek in Aquebogue, East Creek in South Jamesport, Hawks Creek in Jamesport (near Great Peconic Bay Marina), Miamogue Creek in Jamesport and Cases Creek in Aquebogue (near Dreamer’s Cove). He said all of the dredging is weather dependent, and he could make no guarantees that all five spots would be dredged.
This is the first year the county has asked town to pay overtime costs on dredging projects, Mr. Anderson said, adding that this is due to financial constraints the county faces. Town officials informally, and reluctantly, agreed to pay the overtime, but were unsure where the money would come from.
Board members also discussed a proposed resolution to ban parking on roadsides during snow storms in which the supervisor declares a state of emergency. Highway Superintendent George Woodson said he would like for parking to be banned automatically during all snow storms so his trucks won’t hit them while they are plowing.
To find out what else was discussed at the work session, click below to read out live blog of the meeting.
An Aquebogue couple wants the opening to the creek near their home dredged, a job they said hasn’t been done in more than four years.
Henry Bucher, whose home is on Case’s Creek, south of Peconic Bay Boulevard, noted that several years ago the creek was five feet deep at low tide. Now when low tide occurs, even kayaking becomes nearly impossible in the shallow muddy water. The stagnant water also attracts mosquitoes to the area, Mr. Bucher said.
He aired his concerns at he Town Board work session Wednesday morning at Town Hall.
“It’s depreciating my property,” he said. “We haven’t had our boat out in years,” added his wife, Claire Bucher.
Supervisor Sean Walter said dredging the creek should be a county concern, though the county wants Riverhead to indemnify it against collapsing bulkhead. There is concern that the bulkhead surrounding the nearby Dreamer’s Cove Inn is not sturdy enough to withstand dredging the creek.
“It’s a county issue in my opinion,” Mr. Walter said. “[But] for some reason, they’ve decided they don’t want to deal with it.”
Last year, the board amended town code to include bulkheads as structures that must be maintained, but the Buchers said this law has not been enforced at the Dreamer’s Cove property.
Mr. Walter said he would meet with county officials to discuss what could be done.
Drinking on Public Grounds
The board also discussed adopting a formal policy for alcohol consumption on public grounds for events such as the Country Fair, the Riverhead Blues and Music Festival and the Polish Town Street Fair. Town code prohibits public alcohol consumption though that law is waived for those events.
The board is seeking legislation that would require the organizers of these events to obtain insurance in the case of alcohol related injuries or property damage. Currently, whether or not insurance is required is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Town attorney Dan McCormick said he would draft a policy for the board to consider.
Budget Hearing
The board also set a public hearing on the town’s proposed 2011 budget for Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m. at Town Hall.