Town eyes Riverhead armory for police headquarters
National Guard set to leave for Farmingdale
2 comments below
The Army National Guard will be leaving the Route 58 armory by the end of the year, and Riverhead Town has expressed interest in using the building for a new police station and justice court.
"I'm working on it," Supervisor Sean Walter said when asked about the possibility of a Route 58 police station.
Meanwhile, the Peconic YMCA group has also expressed interest in using the building's expansive gymnasium
The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs is planning to close all the armories on Long Island later this year in favor of a centralized Armed Forces Reserve Center at Republican Airport in Farmingdale, according to an agency spokesman Eric Durr, The Air National Guard base in Westhampton will not be affected by the move.
The Farmingdale building is expected to be ready by January 2011, at which point the armory buildings in Riverhead, Patchogue, Bay Shore, Freeport and Huntington Station would be declared surplus.
The town has been discussing the need for additional town office space for several years, with the estimated price tag of a new building being as high as $30 million at one point.
The procedure for deciding who gets the building is as follows, according to Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for the state Office of General Services:
The Division of Military and Naval Affairs would first declare the building to be surplus, at which point it would be turned over to the Office of General Services, Mr. Larrabee said.
From there, General Services Commissioner John Egan would weigh the benefits of a sale of the property versus a transfer to local government, based on the needs of the state and local government. The commissioner could decide the property should be sold at auction to the highest bidder.
"I'm hoping the Town of Riverhead will be able to secure the building, and then after that, it would be up to the local town officials to make a decision on how they want to use the property," said state Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson).
Peconic YMCA, which is planning to build a facility on county land adjacent to Stotzky Park, also has expressed an interested in the armory, Mr. LaValle said.
The senator said the issue of whether the town would have to pay for the armory, and if so, how much, has yet to be decided.
"My preference would be nothing, but the state has its own budget problems," Mr. LaValle said, noting he has discussed the topic with Mr. Egan.
Joe Van de Wetering of Peconic YMCA said they are not interested in using the entire building, just the gym. He said the proposed YMCA doesn't call for basketball courts, something people have indicated they'd like to see in the facility. Mr. Van de Wetering said he believes there may be room for both the YMCA and the town in the Armory.
No matter what the building is outfitted for, Mr. LaValle said it's going to need a lot of work.
"Parts of the armory, because of the gun range, have lead contamination and would require remediation in order for the property to be sold or transferred," he said.
Mr. Walter said he would be willing to put $1 million to $2 million to renovate the building for a police station, although he said he is not looking to make the building elaborate or state of the art.
The supervisor said he disagrees with the prior Town Board's decision to buy a former Riverhead Building Supply building on Pulaski Street for $2.5 million because it leaves government offices spread out throughout the town. He feels offices like accounting and information technology should be closer to Town Hall.
The Pulaski Street building currently houses the accounting, buildings and grounds, engineering, fire marshal, information technology, personnel and street lighting departments.
The Riverhead armory was built in 1957, and is home to the 133rd Quartermaster Company of the New York Army National Guard. That detachment has about 30 members and its mission is fuel and supplies, according to Mr. Durr, who said they spent a year in Iraq pumping fuel in 2008 and returned last year.
The plan currently is to put the Riverhead unit in the Farmingdale building, although it may also be consolidated with a unit in Brooklyn, authorities said.
"The goal is to move soldiers out of these older buildings and into new, modern buildings which are energy efficient and have computers and gyms and locker rooms," Mr. Durr said. "Most of the armories were built in the 1950s and '60s."
tgannon@timesreview.com
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2 comments found
Town eyes Riverhead armory for police headquarters : 2/6/2010
more tax dollars wasted by riverhead
armory : 2/5/2010
What about Downtown ? The vacant buildings with plenty of parking , and close to the courts, the Town can't find a better deal ?
The police station and Justice Court will just add more traffice to Rt. 58
Another group leaving the Downtown area ?
Where is the Town Board Vission ? Rt.58 ! forget about the Downtown !
Come on !
