Riverhead Town Board Approves Salt Transfer, Budget Moves at March 3 Meeting

Battered by a winter that showed no signs of easing, the Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday approved a $100,000 budget adjustment to replenish its roadway salt supply, citing recent severe snow storms and persistent icy conditions that have strained highway department resources.

The salt transfer was among a handful of actions the board took at its March 3 meeting, which also included a public hearing on a proposal to prohibit parking on a portion of Northern Parkway off Roanoke Avenue. Officials said the parking ban is aimed at alleviating traffic congestion on the side street, though specifics from the hearing, including any public testimony, are expected to be the subject of a separate follow-up report.

The $100,000 budget adjustment represents the most concrete financial action from Tuesday's session. The board authorized the transfer to fund additional salt purchases for town roads, a direct response to a stretch of winter weather that has repeatedly sent highway crews out to treat and clear streets across Riverhead. The town has not released details on the vendor or the quantity of salt the transfer is expected to secure, and vote totals from the board were not immediately available.

The March 3 meeting also covered budget adjustments, highway and public-works items, and procedural steps on local planning issues, though the board did not release specifics on all agenda items addressed. A separate reference to snow removal activity on Pulaski Street on Tuesday morning reflected the broader winter conditions driving much of the board's highway-related decision-making at the session.

The Northern Parkway parking proposal will likely draw further scrutiny as the process moves forward. The stretch in question runs off Roanoke Avenue, a corridor familiar to residents navigating one of Riverhead's busier residential and commercial transition zones. Whether the board will hold additional hearings or move directly to a vote has not been publicly confirmed.