Smithtown schedules first public hearings since shutdown

Two months after Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic, some of the old rhythm of town government is resuming, though with gaps. 

The first public hearings for municipal ordinances since the March 18 declaration are scheduled for Thursday over Zoom. The board of zoning appeals is likely to hold a virtual meeting in early June, taking on a backlog of home renovation and other applications from canceled meetings. The tax receiver’s office is taking in-person tax payments, a semiannual ritual for some residents even in the internet age, at a drive-thru booth in a parking lot at Town Hall. 

“It’s their habit. They want that receipt in their hand,” Receiver of Taxes Deanna Varricchio said.

The gaps are noticeable. Town buildings remained mostly closed to the public last week, and many town employees were still on a staggered schedule, though town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said parks and highway workers are scheduled to return in full force this week to reopen parks and beaches and remove yard waste accumulated from canceled pickups. Sign-up for summer recreation programs for thousands of adults and children have been pushed back and some activities may not be held at all. 

“I do believe we’ll be able to reopen some of our beaches and facilities for public use, but at this point I can’t hazard a guess” about the fate of summer recreation, Wehrheim said. “Our primary mission is to keep the public safe.” 

Recreation Superintendent Thomas McCaffery said major questions remained about whether the town could use public school facilities for a popular playground program for children.

Officials were also seeking guidance on social distancing. “We’ve discussed limiting enrollment” to open physical space for some programs too but “right now we’re still in limbo,” McCaffery said. Socially distanced golf instruction could involve putting a child in every other stall at the driving range, but that might not work for sports like sailing. How would children distance on a 13-foot dinghy, he asked. “Can you put an instructor on there with them? You can’t send children out on a sailboat if they don’t know how to sail.”

Also drawing scrutiny was a plan to hold virtual public hearings, including one for a high-profile rezoning proposal that would allow developers to build up to 1,000 apartments in the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge. 

Garguilo said the plan would offer full participation without what could have been a monthslong delay if officials waited to hold the hearings in-person. 

Residents will be able to comment on the proposed legislation and listen to others, and comments will be transcribed. Sign-up information for the hearings is on the town website, and residents without internet access can call in.

“This is the safest way to do it without anybody risking their health, and everybody who wants to be heard can be heard,” Garguilo said. 

Not everyone agrees. "They're not supposed to be experimenting like this for projects of this magnitude," said James Bouklas, president of We Are Smithtown, a civic association that opposes the rezoning at the industrial park. "There are older residents who are active and involved in policy who are now being asked to forget everything they've done and figure out how to sign on to a conference call or use a computer with Zoom." 

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.