Town Board Approves Conte Center Construction Funding

          The Huntington Town Board, at its April 4, 2017 meeting, took the next step in the transformation of the former New York State Armory on Fifth Street in Huntington Station into the James Conte Community Center.

          The Board authorized spending up to $10 million for construction at the center, of which $8.5 million will raised from the sale of bonds. The Town had previously secured $1.5 million in state aid for design work and construction necessary to renovate the building.

          The Town took possession of the Armory in 2013 and since then has completed environmental remediation (removing asbestos, lead paint and mold). Currently, the project is in the design phase – the Town is reviewing plans submitted for both the building and the exterior – and hopes to begin construction some time next year. The center will be used for various recreational and community activities.

          The center is named after former Assemb. James Conte, who passed away in 2012. One of his last official acts was to sponsor the bill that directed the state to transfer and convey the Armory at 100 E. 5^th Street to the Town. The State had declared the property surplus after several National Guard units’ operations, including the one in Huntington Station, were consolidated in a facility in Farmingdale.

          In other action, the Town Board:

— approved an application to change the zoning and rescind covenants on a parcel on the west side of Walt Whitman Road, south of Fletcher Place, Melville,  to allow construction of a Home Goods store. The covenants had applied to a previous application for a day care center that was never built. The rezoning included new covenants and restrictions pertaining to this particular proposal.

          — appropriated $65,000 from the Neighborhood Enhancements Fund to install new concrete curbs, sidewalks, accessible ramps and trees relating to the realignment and signal changes at the intersection of Depot Road and East 17^th Street, Huntington Station.  This funding is in addition to capital budget funding to rebuild the signal and realign the intersection.

          — authorized spending up to $2.5 million for improvements to the Halesite Park bulkhead. Of that cost, $1.735 million will come from the sale of bonds and $765,000 from other sources. 

          — approved spending $175,000 to resurface a municipal parking lot on West Carver Street. The Town purchased the property in 2016 to expand parking in Huntington Village.

          — approved spending $50,000 to replace sand on Town beaches for erosion control.

          — approved resolutions exempting the Dix Hills, East Northport and Melville Fire Departments from site plan review and compliance with certain provisions of Town Code to allow each of the departments to construct new buildings. The departments do have to comply with various building department regulations.

          — reappointed Paul Mandelik as Planning Board chair and Jane Devine as vice chair; Christopher Modelewski as Zoning Board of Appeals chair and Peter Tonna as vice chair; and Brian Orange and James Kelly as members of the Audit Committee. The Board also appointed Mortimer Francis Roberts to the Veterans Advisory Board.