Utilities to get use of runway at EPCAL for storms

In the event of major future storms, Riverhead will let the Long Island Power Authority, KeySpan and National Grid keep vehicles and other equipment on the south end of the 7,000-foot-long runway at the town-owned Enterprise Park at Calverton at no cost to the utilities.

The town board has also agreed to let utility workers and contractors use the kitchen and other facilities at the Henry Pfeifer Community Center — once part of a gatehouse building operated by Grumman Aircraft — for the duration of any emergency.

The new agreement, which will allow the utilities to pre-position equipment before a storm, is similar to one approved for LIPA but had to be redrafted after PSE&G agreed to take over LIPA operations. It was approved by the Riverhead Town Board Tuesday.