Town Board Ignores Mayoka's Resolution to Close Laborer Site

Many Huntington Station residents said they were thrilled with the Town Board's decision Tuesday to close the day-laborer site on Depot Road.

They were not all thrilled with the way they did it, however.

As the Town Board sent a letter to the Family Service League, which for the past three years has run the site under contract with the town,  stating that the town could "no longer justify funding for the site, especially since it appears no longer able to remedy the situation it was created to address: the public safety concern of persons soliciting work on public streets, creating dangerous conditions for potential employers, employees and passing motorists," according to the press release.

Mayoka declined to sign that letter. He explained why later, saying, "The letter refers to the past three years of service that the town received from the Family Service League. Since I was not elected at the time nor knowledgeable about the relationship  how could I possibly attest to it? Second, facts and figures were stated in the letter. How could I sign the letter without receiving and reviewing any underlying support documentation?"

During Tuesday's 2 p.m. regular board meeting, Supervisor Frank Petrone confirmed the decision to close the site.

"It will be closing at the expiration of the contract, which is in June, and this board will not be entertaining the site. Every three months we contemplated this and discussed whether or not we were going to give it another few months," he said.

 "We asked for private funding. There was some. It wasn't enough and we didn't want this to be funded through taxpayers dollars.  We gave it a noble try and time and we've come to the conclusion that it's time to close it," he added.

At the meeting, resident Matt Harris urged the board to go one step further and "put a resolution on the table," as Councilman Mark Mayoka had promised he would do at a community meeting April 21.

"All of us in Huntington Station thank you for [closing the site]. It was a noble experiment," said Mark Harris. "All I ask is that you offer a resolution to close it."

Supervisor Petrone said a resolution was not necessary.

"It takes a contract that's expired and has us vote on things that are expired, which means we would be doing this for about 50 resolutions just about monthly," Petrone said. "You've been heard. We've all listened."

Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said that people will still congregate near the site, whether it is open or not.

"We are not able to remove people from the street. And we asked Suffolk County police if they would enforce loitering and they said, 'No.' They are generally not going to enforce loitering laws. So we are in agreement that it should be closed because it's not successful," he said but added that residents shouldn't think closing the site is going to be "a magic wand" that will make the problem going away.

Councilman Mark Mayoka tried to say that he was trying to offer a resolution but was told that he didn't follow the set procedure for a so-called late entry on to the agenda. He also doesn't think it's a magic wand, but rather a "good start and we have to make that start."

Supervisor Petrone said he agreed and gave credit to Mayoka for having been "in the forefront" of closing the site.

"We are accomplishing that together," Petrone said.

Later in the meeting, Mayoka attempted to add the resolution to the agenda again but he didn't get a second to his motion, much to the irritation of many audience members.

Someone said, "Just second it."

Councilwoman Susan Berland said, "It's not necessary."

 The supervisor said the board knows "what the legalities" involved with the situation are and members have made their decisions. It was not voted on.

Another resolution Mayoka wanted to add to the agenda as a "late starter" was for $39,500 be put in the "town treasury" for use in tax cuts in the 2011 budget year.

Mayoka also said he has in the past received "late starters" from other members of the board.

Cuthbertson called that a "fair statement," but said that in those cases, the resolutions already reviewed by the comptroller's office, the town attorney's office and the town clerk as is the procedure.

"This resolution was clocked in 40 minutes before the meeting," he said.

Mayoka said that no procedures had been set by the Town Board in its current formation and that he was unaware that resolutions had to be approved by the comptroller.

Supervisor Petrone said that regardless of whether Mayoka agreed that the comptroller look over a resolution, she had raised objections to  the proposed resolution at the meeting's work session held earlier in the day.

"So I am certainly not going to second that resolution," the supervisor said.

Mayoka sent a letter to the editor of Huntington Patch today regarding his proposed resolutions not being added to the agenda.