Dan's Papers - October 19, 2007 - *** COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION '07 ***

The Questions:
1) What is your position on the proposed ski mountain by Riverhead Resorts?
2) If you are elected as Town Supervisor of Riverhead, which local issue do you feel is the most important to address first?

1) The redevelopment of Grumman represents our town's greatest chance to reduce property taxes, create jobs, and make Riverhead a more affordable place to live. The choice to tie up the progress at the site and effectively take it off the market by negotiating for a ski mountain that will never be built is irresponsible to the Riverhead taxpayer and a bad business decision on the part of the Town Board. This project represents a 350 foot high (thirty-five story) building and a 90 acre lake which could endanger our water supply. It will also destroy an irreplaceable 7,000 foot runway. The project has a very slim change of getting the proper permits to be built. The developers' financial ability to carry out their proposal is also highly suspect.

2) The main issue facing Riverhead is taxes. The town must realize that they cannot keep spending money without raising taxes. EPCAL is our single best opportunity to stabilize and reduce taxes. Mr. Cardinale has been on the Town Board for 8 of the last 10 years and has allowed the political calendar to dictate his making a decision regarding EPCAL development. I believe it was a bad business decision. In addition, the landfill represents the largest fiscal blunder in the history of our town. As Chief Fiscal Officer, the Supervisor is the watchdog over all town expenses. Unfortunately no attention was paid to the spiraling costs and lack of progress during capping. Instead, Riverhead residents were told that the project was "on time and under budget". This alarming lack of oversight could ultimately cost Riverhead taxpayers $100 million.
I am confident that if I am elected at this critical juncture in the town's maturity, I can meet the goals that we share as residents of Riverhead, in a sound and fiscally responsible manner.

1) After 8 months of deliberation, a united bipartisan Town Board by a 4 to 1 majority chose recently to name Riverhead Resorts as preferred negotiating partner for the purchase of 750 acres of recreationally zoned land at the former Grumman property (EPCAL). I agree with that decision and voted for it.
The Town Board was required to choose between two good choices. RexCorp had proposed a sale price of 152.5 million dollars for an event oriented, family destination with a motor sports component (a 1/4 mile 10,000 spectator race track).
Riverhead Resorts proposed a higher sale price of 155 million dollars for a year round, themed, destination resort of world class prominence consisting of 8 properties including: 1) Sports Lifestyle Resort, 2) Equestrian Resort, 3) Corporate Conference Center Resort, 4) Wilderness Resort, 5) Rejuvenation Resort, 6) Water Adventure Resort, 7) Heritage and Entertainment Resort, and 8) Mountain Winter Sport Resort.
Riverhead Resorts also offered annual revenue sharing from operations to the Town, which could exceed 10 million dollars annually. The Town Board chose to commence initial contract negotiations with Riverhead Resorts because it reasonably believed that a year round, themed, destination resort of international prominence at Riverhead, the Gateway to the East End, is achievable and will prove a good fit for Riverhead's future.
Riverhead Resorts is well funded. The EPCAL site is within 60 miles of all major New York airports and within 20 miles of Islip MacArthur Airport. It is believed that this new world class destination resort location will capture a substantial percentage of the 70 million tourists who annually visit the New York City area and will provide a unique and extraordinary vacation experience. Clearly, 155 million dollars in sales proceeds, dramatically increased tax roll revenue, and substantial annual revenue sharing will result in much lower town taxes for Riverhead residents.

2) The first addressed issues for me continue to be open government and respect for the environment and the taxpayer. These issues distill to the essence the concerns of most residents.
Our Town government must be open like a window to allow the residents to view us at work and open like a door to invite residents into the process with their insights and suggested improvements.
Our adoption of Master Plan Zoning reduced Riverhead's maximum potential population from 75,000 to 45,000 and established a transfer of development rights program, which will protect our farm belt and enhance our tax base. All of this was motivated by my administration's respect for the environment.